Finishing up!

The Cedarbrook Czech work team finished up their efforts to build an amphitheater platform on Friday!  We were able to finish all the framing of the large oak timbers, complete with 18 additional "scalloped lookouts" ... affectionately referred to as gargoyles!

We made an awful lot of sawdust this week, reducing a huge pile of random oak timbers to a completed oak frame!  The oak decking was delivered on Thursday, with hopes that we could install it on Friday, but in the end we decided that, due to very wet and snowy weather, it would be better to let the timbers dry out, the snow to melt and the moisture to evaporate before we put dry deck boards down.  Petr and Tomas will most likely do that sometime in late May or early June.


As far as impact, we all definitely felt that God used us to accomplish a lot, but more so, relational bridges were built and great encouragement was felt across the board.  There is not doubt that God was present in leading us through this entire experience.  For everyone, the time here was truly life-changing.

There are a few more pictures we'd like to share from our last couple days ... you can find them in this Photo Album.

Thanks again for your prayers and support ... we're very blessed!

Connections and Easter Snow!

The Cedarbrook Czech Construction Team had an Easter weekend that we'll never forget!  It snowed over 20 inches overnight and on Easter Sunday! After church in the morning, we spent nearly the entire afternoon shoveling snow! Then, on "Easter Monday" we shoveled over 20 cars out of the Hotel Malenovice parking lot so the guests could go home!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll continue on with our work building an amphitheater platform out of oak timbers!  We'll have to a little shoveling, but we're hoping for good progress!  Please continue to pray!

You can see some photos of our adventures here -

Cedarbrook Czech Construction Team1

Cedarbrook Czech Construction Team2

Rockin' in the Big Easy with the UW Eau Claire Intervarsity Team (and others!)

What a joy it was to serve in New Orleans last week with our partner Urban Impact!  We joined with 40 others from 2 other locations to help with renovations on a 100 year-old church that will become a new youth center and hip-hop church!

Not only did we paint, pound nails, drive screws and lay concrete, we were able to hear some great speakers talk about their lives and how they've been changed by the ministry of Urban Impact and the teams that come.

You can see some pictures of our work here: UW Eau Claire New Orleans Spring Break Trip!
Everyone left a little of their heart in New Orleans, were challenged to think, speak and act differently, and developed some deep relationships that will continue into the future!

Thanks so much to those who prayed and gave so that this group could go and serve.  We know that there were many lives impacted by this experience!

Stay tuned for another adventure coming soon!

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!