A casual report from Prague.

Here with Anya, czeching in (shout out to the Richkind clan back in San Fran). After a teary reunion at the Praha airport, we made our way to old town and attempted to catch up on the last year... we didn't make it through all the stories.. but we did exchange a few tales.. and some music, too. So, check out these artists!
                                                        

                                                                                              First Aid Kit:

 

Treg and Karissa from the September MOTA (Marriage of the Arts):

Photos from Ukraine

Photos taken by Chloe:

Playing with the kids from the after school program

Team Ukray-kray! (minus Louise and Ryan)

Playing a song for a local Church in Ukraine

Playing with the kids

Towing the van

Snowball fight!!

Simplicity of Truth

Kayaking at Globe Trotter

Kayaking, rock climbing… rain, sun, ice… one hour… one building… Where am I?!? Globe Trotter!!! During Saturday's day trip to Dresden, I stopped by this REI-esque store where there’s a pool for kayaking, a rock wall, a rain-room, and freezing room. Yeahyeahyeah! Along with the day-trip to Dresden, this week was packed with 2 concerts at the castle (check out http://lizandthelions.bandcamp.com/), a dance and celebration for the September school’s graduation, and a challenging topic for lectures..

Some thoughts from the lectures:

G-d is complex, G-d is infinite, and yet, G-d is simple. David Gava talked about the Holy Spirit and, in many ways, the complexities of living a Christian life. Truly living a life for Christ, he explained, is not easy- it requires sacrifice, discipline, and a real leaving behind the things that draw us away from G-d. I found myself questioning… if Christianity is so complicated- if there is so much I have to understand and so many specific things I have to know, have to learn about G-d, is it really Truth? Doesn’t having child-like faith mean that there is a simplicity to Truth?

I was walking through the woods next to the castle, loving the spring sunshine, when it became clear: Yes, truth is simple. G-d can be found in being present to each moment- in paying attention to life. If I am present to people, to my surroundings, to my senses, I will find that G-d is constantly there. And yet G-d is so infinite that G-d is in all of this and in the words and doctrine that David was describing. The words and doctrine are not there to make G-d seem distant and hard to reach, but to help me know G-d more closely. The challenge is to use doctrine to encourage and inspire rather than leave me feeling distant and separate from G-d. 

U-Kray-kray!!

It's 8pm on Saturday and we're lounging in a Polish family's living room drinking tea and watching the Simpsons on their 40-inch flatscreen... How did I end up here?! Images from the last day float through my head... bright stars at 4am, an endless line of cars, Egyptian Ratslap, a towtruck, the Polish countryside... in a lot of ways, nothing happened in the last 24 hours: rather than arriving back at the castle as planned, we spent 16 hours moving less than 200 km... And yet getting stuck in Poland transformed the trip.

Here's how the the day unfolded:

We woke up at 4am and after sleepy goodbyes to Mimi and the daycare center, we began the supposed 17-hour drive back to Herrnhut. We were driving steady down the road with heavy metal pounding (ha), when we saw a long still line of cars in front of some guards- it appeared that we were approaching the Ukraine-Poland border. We stopped in the back of the line of cars and tried to stay patient- an hour passed.. drivers were out of their cars to have a smoke and stretch their legs... two hours... four... five hours… we played Egyptian Ratslap to pass the time... six hours... NINE hours later we finally were into Poland and on our way once again!

Or so we thought.

We drove less than 100 km when.. dreaded silence... the engine stalled! So, after our 9-hour wait to cross the border, we found ourselves stopped on the side of the road in an unknown town in Poland. We spent the next several hours searching for someone who could fix the van as Ryan made phone calls. We finally got a hold of the insurance company and by 7:30pm, a tow truck had arrived to drag the van to the repair shop. We climbed aboard began the ride. Seated on the flatbed, we drove through the Polish countryside… the sun had just set and the sky was still orange over the rolling hills- the delay was not so bad after all. 40 km later, we stopped in front of a house with an unusually large garage and a sign that told us it was the auto shop. Out of this house in the middle of no where, a young girl welcomed us in to her chandelier-clad home and offered us tea and cookies. She handed us a remote and thus, we found ourselves sipping tea and watching the Simpsons..

The whole ordeal blew me away. We'd spent nearly the whole day waiting- to cross the border, to get a tow truck, to fix the van.. and yet it hadn't seemed so bad. We got to see Poland, we had more time together as a team, we had some snacks and the sun was out... and now, the generosity of this family was amazing- tea, coffee, cookies, a cozy place to stay for a while.. It seemed that after two weeks of outreach this Polish family was the one reminding us to live out the gospel.. Matthew 10:40 says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me… if anyone gives gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will surely not lose his reward.” We were blessed in so many ways by these strangers: food, hospitality, rest..

And as the evening went on, it only became more clear how blessed we were...

By 10pm, the van still wasn’t fixed and we didn’t have money for a hotel. The ten of us were stranded in Poland, exhausted from the 4am wake-up, hungry from having no real meal all day.. and yet later that night we somehow found ourselves in a 4-star hotel, had some powerful prayer time and group sharing, and in the next morning, had a breakfast waiting and a new van to drive back to the castle. The insurance company provided all. At last, the trip felt complete. The unexpected last day taught me the most important lesson of the entire two weeks: G-d takes care of us. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… If…G-d clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more care for you? …Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” Matthew 6:25-34.

A.M.D.G.

4am wake up. Say some prayers. Pack the van. Check for art supplies, musical instruments, cameras, boots, and a set of clothes. Double check for passports
.
Thus the journey begins- heading East towards Ukraine!

In the dark, the streets of Germany all look similar... buildings appear the same and fields stretch far on both sides. Slowly, the sky turns from black to orange and the sun begins to rise in front of us. beauty! Sweet conversation, soft music.. I take a bite of my turkey sandwich and hope that the bread in Ukraine better than that of the castle. 2 hours pass... Poland.. graffitied buildings, interesting statues...4 hours.... Stop to pee at a gas station.. carry on..7 hours......8... Stop at the Ukraine border. Border Patrol checks passports and peers into trunk. Where are the documents for the van? Did you steal this van? No. We don't speak Russian. Or Ukranian. 9 hours... still stuck at the border.. ten hours... pray. Let us pass please. Finally- into Ukraine!! The change is immediate. The land is desolate. Graveyards next to silver and bronze churches.. The villages seem deserted. Thank G-d, the GPS still works. 11 hours... potholes are everywhere! Ryan steers the van and we fly over deep holes in the road. How are our tires in tact? Are we going the right direction? Turn onto a sketchy road. Oh GPS... where are you leading us?! Broken and abandoned houses line the side of the road. More potholes. The sun begins to set over the fields and again, all is beautiful. Fields stretch for miles and it looks reminiscent of Route 66. The light softens the land and the abandoned houses and barely green fields looks picturesque. I can't take my eyes off the scenery. It gets more beautiful by the second. The sun sets. The road turns into the forest. We swerve around more potholes. The sky is dark and my eyelids are heavy.. I become accustomed to the swerving and doze off. My head bangs against the window as we fly over a pothole and I'm jerked into consciousness. Are we lost? Make some phone calls. Phone dies. Notice landmarks... 15 hours.. Could it be??! We're here!! We step out into the cold and Mimi welcomes us. She ushers us in and serves us a hot meal- potatoes, cabbage, sausage, muffins, tea. Food, glorious food! We eat, laugh, yawn, and TJay falls off his chair.. ahahh.. Grateful and exausted, I roll out my sleeping bag and shut my eyes. Sweet rest! Welcome to Ukraine.

Sanctuary

7 hours until the journey to Ukraine beings!! Hoorah! After a busy week with photos, leading worship, and powerful lectures, today was a sweet day of rest before the start of the 20-ish hour drive to Ukraine. The sun was shining for the first time in a while and the river’s been running, too- spring is approaching! Hallway music, outdoor (yeah!) soccer, and salsa dancing in the dining room filled the afternoon and evening.

An exciting tidbit from this week is that we found out our location for the longer outreach that starts in April… We’re going to Ethiopia!!! We don’t know too many details yet, but it’s three months and it’s possible that we’ll be make it to a couple other countries as well. Yeahh!! More details to come.

On a different note, Rogario, this week’s speaker, challenged us to ask how we define ourselves. If we want to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God,” we must first know our identity in Christ (Micah 6:8). What are the implications of being a child of G-d? What does that really mean? Here’s what’s been on my mind: It means that G-d will take care of me. Not because I’ve earned G-d’s love or care, but simply because I am a child of G-d. Made and known by G-d. But if I can’t earn G-d’s love, then why do I pray? I challenged my motives this week.. So often, it seems I go to G-d hoping for something in return or even just to fill “daily prayer time.” But the real reason that I am called to go to G-d is because I am made to be in relationship with Him. Made to know G-d. Rogario said, “G-d wants to make a home, not an office within us.” G-d doesn’t expect something from us, but simply desires relationship with us. I can do nothing, and G-d’s love and care will remain. I’m reminded of these lyrics:

Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary

Pure and holy, tried and true

And with thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you