Pressing On!

So, what's going on in the life and times of NEXT International, you ask! ... well, the next leg of our journey of faith and service begins this Friday afternoon, March 15!  We are taking a group of University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire students with us "down the Mississippi!" to New Orleans to serve during their spring break.  We will work alongside our partner there, Urban Impact (www.urbanimpact.org).  These young people are ready to serve our brothers and sisters with their whole hearts!  We're so thankful to have this great group go and experience ministry in New Orleans with us! ...  

 Last year's team heading to work!








 ... but that's not all! ...
 
In addition to our little group,  we've been helping to facilitate a larger group of 34 people from Cedarbrook Church Menomonie, WI to go and serve in New Orleans as well.  The group is about half high-schoolers and half adults.
  This effort continues the partnership between NEXT International and Urban Impact to help "create a neighborhood where its safe for kids to ride their bikes!"  During this ministry time we will be working on renovations of a youthcenter/hip-hop church called "The Sanctuary" in the Central City area of New Orleans!  We're anticipating a super fun and life-changing 9 days!
Please pray for us as we travel and serve in New Orleans!  Here are some specific areas you can pray for:

• Pray for safety in travel and work
• Pray for great connections with each other on the team
• Pray for heart-felt engagement with our hosts and co-workers in New Orleans
• Pray for changed lives (ours and those we meet) ... for a greater desire to invest our greatest and best resources to see "His Kingdom come and His Will be done!"

In addition to this blog, you can catch up with us and some occasional updates on our Facebook page ... just search for NEXT International.

Stay tuned! ... the adventure continues!

Packin' Up and Headin' Out! ... (again!)

This is an incredibly exciting day for us!  Tomorrow morning (Wednesday, July 24, 2012) Joyce and I and 9 others are embarking on yet another NEXT International adventure of faith and service!  We will be flying to Prague, Czech Republic ... and then taking a 5 hour train ride to the city of Zilina, Slovakia!

For the third year, our non-profit, NEXT International, has been invited by Josiah Venture/TCKompas (www.josiahventure.com), a partner organization in Eastern Europe, to help conduct an Outreach English/Activity/Sports Camp for high school students in the country of Slovakia!  These camps are hosted by a local church and led by a very committed group of Slovak leaders who want to share God's love in practical ways with their peers.

These kinds of camps consist of a ton of "American and Slovak" games, activities and sports ... (think water balloons, dizzy bat, football, baseball, and just about any other crazy game!!) ... along with a daily 2 hour session devoted to teaching English.  Students are drawn to the camp because they can improve their English speaking skills by hearing and learning from native English speakers.  Each evening will also include an evening program and "talk" ... with this year's theme being:

>GREATER THAN>

Our hope is to help these students see that a relationship with God is >GREATER THAN> any other thing they could think of or pursue!

Check this blog or our NEXT International Facebook page for updates!

**NEXT International is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, so all contributions are tax deductible.

Cedarbrookers in Europe!

Well, even though its only been a few days since three Cedarbrookers landed on European soil, there have already been enough experiences to fill quite a few pages! Please allow me (Dave) to give a few highlights!

• We landed in Prague, Czech Republic on Friday morning (March 23). My dear friend, Marek, met us and treated us to a quick tour of Prague and a great lunch. We walked over the 900 year old Charles Bridge and took pictures in the narrow, winding, cobblestone streets of the "Little Quarter."

• From there, we boarded a train at the main train station for the 3 hour ride to the city of Ostrava, where we were met by my friend, Petr. The biggest challenge for all of us was keeping each other awake for the 3 hours ... (after being mostly awake for nearly a full 24 hours! We arrived safe and sound in the town of Frydlant nad Ostravici just in time for supper at the Hotel Malenovice (click on the name to go to the link).
• After a great night's rest and a wonderful Czech breakfast (and plenty of strong coffee), we had a look at the building site, and worked for a number of hours preparing for, what we hoped would be Monday's work.
• During lunch, we were invited to join a group of Czech young people and their baseball coach for a 9 inning game of softball. This scribbler (Dave) declined, due to having rotator cuff surgery in December, but Todd and Clint jumped at the chance. The game was fun and filled with some really good "form" ... as you can see from the pictures!

  

• Sunday we had a great relaxing "Sabbath rest" ... including a couple nice walks. The afternoon walk was from the hotel down to the town for a 4 o'clock service. The walk was about an hour! But, the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the service! Fortunately for Clint and Todd, a great young man, Matej (Matt) translated from Czech into English.
• Monday we started on our first "project" ... not exactly what we planned, but, oh well ... in the missionary world the best word to know is "flexible!" ... we worked on re-staining boards in the ceiling of the cabin that had been built a year ago. Because of the wood not being completely dry, and shrinking over the last year, there are many "white stripes" that need to be stained. Todd found a great way to get the highest point of the ceiling!

• 

Monday is drawing to a close, and we're ready for a good night's rest in anticipation of what ways God will use us tomorrow to encourage people here!

Today we are super excited as we embark on the latest leg of our journey of faith and service! Tomorrow afternoon 8 of us will begin the long journey "down the Mississippi!" to New Orleans! We're taking 6 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire students with us for a week of serving in the inner city with Urban Impact (www.urbanimpact.org).

Our non-profit, NEXT International, has been invited by Urban Impact, a partner organization in New Orleans, to help "create a neighborhood where its safe for kids to ride their bikes!" WOW!!! ... It doesn't get any better than that! We will be working on renovations of the new neighborhood outreach and ministry center in the Central City area of New Orleans! We're anticipating a super fun and life-changing 9 days!

And ... oh, wait a minute! ... this is just in! ... the trip to New Orleans ... well ... that's not all!!

Then, on March 23rd, Dave will be landing in Prague, Czech Republic with two other workers where we will travel to "the Eastern Front" and spend a week working with our Eastern European partner, Josiah Venture (www.josiahventure.com).

In a region where less than 1% of the people know God in any sort of personal way, we feel privileged to help with facility expansion and improvements, knowing that God will use those facilities to help touch the lives of those who stay there for conferences and retreats.

Please pray for all of us as we go and serve!

Watch for updates here and on our Facebook page!

How Was the Trip?

Today is the 6th full day for Joyce and I and our work partner, Jack Duerst to be back in the USA. One week ago we were finishing up the last of the projects we had set out to complete at "Selah" ... the Josiah Venture retreat facility in Eastern Czech Republic.

We are so appreciative of all the encouraging smiles, words and conversations we've been able to have since we've been back. Of course, the winner for the "most-asked-question" would have to be the title of this blog ... "How Was the Trip?"

That question always throws me a little off ... not because I don't expect, but it really is hard to put into words the experiences we have as we go to another country and serve. Honestly, we don't consider ourselves all that special ... but we are humbled and feel very privileged to have the kinds of opportunities that we do.

I guess what makes it the most special are the people we get to work with.



Yes, there certainly are some "exotic" parts of eating different foods, seeing, hearing (and yes, even sometimes speaking) other languages, but in the end, being away from the familiar gives an opportunity to see other people (and ourselves, certainly) in a different light.

We've found that people everywhere have some of the same basic needs; to be recognized, respected and loved ... to share joys and sorrows, to connect with others in meaningful ways ... and to live a life of purpose.

These are the things we remember most about each "trip" ... and the answer to the winning question is pretty much centered around these thoughts ... "It was great!!! ... We met some fantastic people. We got to work with some really great young men and women! ... and finally ...

"You've got to come with us next time!!!" ...

So, click here on this picture album to enjoy the of our last few days ... and thanks again, so much ... for being with us! Stay tuned for future adventures!

WOW!! What a Great Team and Great English Camp in Slovakia!

It was just 2 weeks ago that you last heard from us ... (that may seem like way too long of a time for our readers!!). At that time our Slovakia English Camp Team was packed and ready to fly ... and honestly, much of these 2 weeks are pretty much a blur!!

I'll try to pick out just a few highlights to share here ... but suffice it to say that everything about this camp was a "home run!" ... despite Amanda's luggage being lost for 3+ days ... and almost an entire week of rain!

The team did great ... and from what we saw and heard, the students really enjoyed all of the camp's activities, English classes, sports events, hikes ... and even the food!

It was "rise and shine" at 6 am for the leaders ... to get personally ready (with some strong coffee!) and then a meeting with the American and Slovak camp leadership team. That was followed by a very full day ... with lights out somewhere around midnight. Although midnight was the "official" lights out call ... there was always some "after hours" talk going on in the Man Cave! ... which Dave and Peter's room (along with Tomas and Robo) was officially christened the first night ! Actually, I don't think any of the leaders had more than 5 hours of sleep per night for the entire week! It's amazing what energy young people have after midnight!

Our cook was a gas! ... and we enjoyed getting to know her ... and her sweet smile ... and readiness to pour the "early morning coffee" for the old guys!

We had days filled with songs, dances (ask Steve and Terry to do the camp dance for you!) ... English classes, team-building activities, sporting challenges, American sports (baseball in the rain!), evening talks and "E-Nights" ... which were environment nights; designed to create an atmosphere for further discussion on various topics.

Here are a few more pictures of the team in action!! ... just click on THIS LINK to view an on-line album! ...

And here's ANOTHER ONE! (photo album, that is)

We want to thank everyone who gave, prayed and tried to follow our escapades! As I'm sure you can tell ... this camp was a great success!! Please ask us to tell you some stories when we get back!

Stay tuned for more adventures!!

Packed and Stacked and Ready to Roll!

So after nearly 6 months of planning, preparing and praying ... our team of adventurous servants have packed a mountain of duffel bags with teaching materials, sports equipment, treats, t-shirts, and everything else needed to help host an English/Activity/Adventure Camp in the country of Slovakia!

Our team consists of (l to r) ... Joyce Johnson, Jack Duerst, Peter Duerst, Amanda Chartrand, Steve Duerst, Dave Johnson and Terry Sullivan. Everyone except Jack will be traveling together. Jack will be joining us in about 10 days.

We'll be flying out of Minneapolis this afternoon (Wednesday) ... skip across the Atlantic Ocean tonight, and have breakfast in Amsterdam in the morning. From there we fly to Vienna, Austria tomorrow afternoon.

In Vienna we'll meet up with all of the other North American Teams who are coming to help with these camps all over Slovakia. The camps are hosted by our partner organization; Josiah Venture ... and specifically their Slovak division; TCKompas.

From Vienna we'll take a bus to Zilina, Slovakia where we'll gather for an exciting time of getting to know our co-workers and preparing to connect with the Slovak students who come to camp.

After spending a couple days in Zilina, we'll make our way to the camp where we'll greet the students with raucous and crazy excitement!

Our goal is to help build bridges into the students lives through teaching English, leading fun activities, teaching, coaching and playing "American" sports like baseball and football ... and all-in-all, having a blast!

Above all, we want to share the love of God with these students, most of whom have never had the opportunity to hear a clear explanation of how much God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.

Recently, as I was thinking about this camp, I had a "small" inspiration ... I thought ... what if, what if, what if ... God would use the 6 of us to really impact the lives of the 60 or so students who come to camp. And what if, what if, what if ... those 60 would go back to their friends and family and really impact the lives of 10 people each ... As the Bible says, that would be "hundred-fold" fruit!

Would you please pray with us and for us to that end! ... That God, in His great grace and love, would use these 6 humble and pretty inept folks to bring 100s of people to Himself!

In addition, please pray that we travel safely, that no one gets sick, that our luggage all makes it to its destination on time and that we connect deeply with our new Slovak friends! Oh, and pray for our families, who also sacrifice that we can go and be a part of what God is doing in Slovakia!

Stay tuned to this blog for future updates! We appreciate comments and encouragements!