Greg in Czech

Blueberry Fields Forever

One of my favorite parts of English camp is being in the mountains and forests of Czech in July.  That's when wild blueberries are in season.  This year there is a bumper crop.  When we go hiking the kids (and me) come back with blue mouths.  After our first camp this year with the youth group from Pardubice we went on a hike in central Bohemia.  We stopped for lunch by some rock outcroppings and ended up in the middle of blueberry heaven.  Camps this summer have been good so far.   My team and I just finished our second camp and have our last in one week.  I sat down with them on Friday, the last day of camp.  I was the only one who wasn't sick or injured somehow.  We're hitting the second camp slump I think.  Camps are an exhausting ministry.  If you are doing one camp you can pour yourself into it and spend the next week recovering with the knowledge that life will be normal until next year's camp.  But, when you do three in a row your body really suffers.  Not all camps have the best food.  People usually don't sleep that much while at camp.  Those of us doing camps all summer long take a beating.  On the right hand side of this page are a couple of photo albums from our first two camps of the summer.  In them are some stories of what makes this ministry worth the physical pain.  I would love it if you would take some time and pray for Andy, Bonnie, Bethany, Julie and I.  We're pretty tired, but want to finish the summer ministry well.

34...And still darn good-lookin'

Last Friday was my 5th birthday in a row on the road in a foreign country.  Even though I'm away from home each year, someone always seems to pick up on or remember that it's my birthday.  My team made me a cake for breakfast, two of my former interns gave me a bag of vegetables, and the youth group in Tabor threw me a surprise party.  And I also got some birthday blessings from Mom and Dad.

June is the month that I hit the road with my intern team and visit all of the churches that we will be doing English camps with this summer.  So far we've visited the churches in Pardubice and Tabor.  Pardubice is a church that I've worked with in the past, so it has been great to reconnect with old friends.  My former intern, Jerry will be leading the camp while I mentor him through the process.  This will be his first camp that he's led.

Tabor is always a blessing for me to visit.  It is especially sweet this time, because I will be moving here in a few months.  So far this weekend I've learned of 3 new believers in the youth group.  Continue to pray for my team, the youth group from Good Shepherd Church in Portland, OR and the youth group in Tabor as we team up for camp in 4 weeks.  Check out the photo album in the upper right hand corner of this blog formore stories and pics.

School, Interns, and Control Issues.

I just wanted to write a bit of an update about the summer so far.  I'm having some technology issues, so I have not been able to get out an update email in the last couple of weeks.  Hence, a blog update.  This last Saturday, by God's grace, I completed something that most of my middle school and high school teachers never would have guessed.  I completed my master's degree from Bethel Seminary.  When I was a kid I hated doing homework.  I ended up graduating high school 6 months late with a 1.5 GPA.  My last trimester of HS I had 2 A's and 5 F's.  Being able to complete this degree is proof that God loves to take silly things and do something with them for His glory.

While finishing three papers and studying for a final exam I welcomed my summer team of interns.  We spent our first couple of days running the 3rd annual JV amazing race.  It's a bonding event we put on for the interns every year to give the leaders a glimpse into their teams' personalities under stress.  This year it was more of glimpse into my personality under stress.  While racing my phone stopped working, I lost $500 and two train tickets, found an unknown naked woman occupying our hotel room, missed numerous buses and trains, all while studying for my last final exam and preparing for a seminar.  God stripped me of every form of control on my life: technology, money, and the ability to care for my team. I'm still sorting through what God is teaching me through this event.

For the rest of this week we are at Josiah Venture's training center/hotel in the mountains of eastern Czech getting ready for our summer of ministry together.  I have no homework for the first time in 5 years.  The program is not my responsibility.  I only need to get to know my team.  Pray for Julie, Bethany, Bonnie, Andy, and me as we prepare for a summer filled with English camps, school visits, youth group parties and discipleship.

Maple Blessings

This weekend I visited my church in the village of Bohumilice.  Normally when I go there it's for work, I have an agenda and people to see and meet with.  This time, however, I just went to spend some time with friends.  David and Desneige have become good friends over the past couple of years that I've been working with their church.  While in MN last month for my brother Brian's wedding I received a gift of homemade maple syrup.  This is a rare treasure here in Czech, So I wanted to share this blessing with friends who would appreciate it.  I thought to myself, my friend Desneige is Canadian, Canada has a maple leaf on their flag, that's a winning combination.  So, I made David and Desneige a deal, "Make me pancakes and I'll share my syrup with you."  A wonderful breakfast was had by all.  It's funny how little things like syrup can enhance friendships and make life more enjoyable.

A note for readers in the Czech Republic: I still have more syrup, so the deal still stands for anyone who has a hankering for pancakes or waffles.

Elusive Yellow Fields

When I first came to the Czech Republic the summer of 1998 I was enraptured by these bright yellow fields.  They were incredible.  The rapeseed plant is grown to produce oil and biofuels.  But I just wanted a picture of the yellow magic.  For the last 10 years I have either not had my camera with me, arrived in the country after the blooms had fallen, or not had transportation when the fields were in bloom.  But, finally this last Sunday I had the winning combination: a camera, a bike, the sun, and a magnificently bright field in full bloom.  Here are a couple of my favorites.  Nothing spectacular as far as photography goes, but I like them.

Strocknich Wedding

This last Saturday I had the immense privilege of being the officiant at my baby brother Brian's wedding.  He and Jen Oknich tied the knot at Wild River State Park next to the St. Croix River.  I've got more pictures in the upper right hand corner.  I'm not ordained so I didn't do anything legal, they did all the legal stuff last October.  We just had the public ceremony in the wild.  I made it through the ceremony ok, but when I laid hands on them to pray for them I lost it.  I cry when I pray anyways, so nothing new.  Brian and Jen were gracious in planning the wedding when I would be in MN, so we braved the chilly early May air.  The two days prior to the wedding were torrential rain showers with forecasts for more rain through the weekend.  But, Saturday morning we woke up to sunny skies.  God was very gracious to us.  The day culminated in a unity bonfire which Brian and Jen lit with drip torches lent by the state park.  It was such an honor to be asked by them to do this.  Now I can say "Always the groomsman, best man, photographer, pastor, but never the groom."

No Comment

This car was parked out in front of my building this morning.  No comment necessary...

Kids Getting Married

This last Saturday morning two students in my youth group got married.  I met Lukáš at English camp in 2003 when he was 16.  He had become a believer the summer before at camp.  That summer we made a habit of praying together each day.  The next summer at camp we did the same.  Tereza came to Christ a few years ago also.  I've posted pictures of the wedding in an album on the right if you'd like to look at them.

This has been happening for a while now...former students from my various youth groups getting married.  I love celebrating this life change with these "kids" of mine, but it always makes me reflect a bit on my singleness.  This winter while I was home I had a couple pastor friends of mine ask me about being older and single for illustrations in their sermons.  One interviewed me in front of the congregation.  I had to clarify to the church that this was not an advertisement. This forced me to gather my thoughts on the subject a bit more.  The Bible has a few things to say about the blessing of finding a good wife.  I could quote them all.  But, it also talks about contentment in all circumstances and the freedom for service to God in singleness (I can't quote that part as easily).  The last 16+ years of my life have been spent figuring out the balance between desiring marriage and knowing and serving God fully in my singleness.  I don't think I'm called to celibacy and anything monkish like that.  But I am called to offer my whole self in all it's singleness to the Lord.  I do want to be married someday, but my goal in life is not to get married, but to know Jesus.

I don't mind when people ask me why I'm still single at 33.  I think it's fun when ladies in the church try and hook me up with their friend's daughter because she's a missionary in the jungle somewhere...and single.  I get a kick out of it when my dad tells me I should go after a girl because she's "signed the contract" (that's his term for becoming a Christian).  For now I will enjoy being as much of a godly, passionate, single man as possible.

Place and Significance

I got back from Israel a couple of days ago.  How do I put my thoughts on that place in writing? One of the themes that surfaced several times for me was the idea of place and significance.  It seems that every significant place in Israel is memorialized by some sort of mosque, synagogue, or church. The Italian dictator Mussolini built this church in honor of the traditional place where Christ preached the sermon on the mount.  On the temple mount the golden dome on the rock honors the place where it's believed that Mohamed ascended into heaven. There are two sites where Jesus' tomb is believed to be.  One has a huge church and the other has a garden.  What started this train of thought was watching orthodox Jews praying by the western wall of the temple mount.  This is one of the most holy places in Judaism.  So many religions, including Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, have holy places.  Jesus challenged this by saying the Kingdom of God is near, not referring to a physical location, but a place inside a person.  1st Peter 2 talks about how believers are being built into God's house.  The Holy Spirit, who indwelled the temple in the Old Testament, now indwells believers as the new temple.  Because of Christ's work on the Cross I now have access to the Holiest of places, God's presence, no matter where I am.  What is the significance of Christ's tomb?  He isn't there.  He is in risen from the dead and His Holy Spirit lives in me.

For the past two weeks I was at the Global Youth Initiative conference in Israel.  GYI is a cooperation of youth ministries from all over the globe with a common vision for a movement of God among the youth of the globe.  We gathered as 250 youth workers from 56 different countries in Jerusalem to study the life of Christ together.  In the two photo albums on the right are a whole bunch of stories and pictures of our time together.

Israel

Just a quick note to update you on Israel.  I've here in Jerusalem with 200 youth workers from
56 different countries.  It has been an incredible time studying the life of Christ together in the place where He lived and ministered.  Yesterday we were on the temple mount which is under Muslim control right now.  If you have ever seen a picture of Jerusalem you will recognize the big golden dome that dominates the skyline.  This is the dome on the rock, a Muslim shrine memorializing the place where Mohamed ascended into heaven.  This also happens to be where the Jewish temple used to be.  As I was walking around the temple mount I was awestruck by the fact that this is where the glory of the Lord filled the temple that Solomon built.  I stood on the steps where Jesus was presented by Joseph and Mary when he was 8 days old.  this is where he overturned the tables of the money changers.  I was filled with a mix of emotions.  My instinctual was that this is where the temple should be, not a Muslim shrine.  I was jealous for God's temple.  But then I remembered that each time the temple was destroyed, both in the Assyrian conquest and in fulfillment of Jesus prediction in 70 A.D. it was God's doing.  God is bigger than my desire for Him to be honored.  Ufdah!  I have a lot of thoughts and feelings going on inside of me now.  I'll right more later.  I have to get to our next session now.