Great weekend of Discipleship moments

Wow this weekend has been amazing I was working in the town of Roznava where I did my last camp. I spent time with each of the guys on the team and talked to them about setting goals for the fall for their ministry and personal spiritual growth. There were some really amazing things that happened during these meetings. I am excited to see these young men grow during this year! Please pray that God will give them focus and clarity on setting goals, and that they will follow through with these goals. When I returned home to Presov on Sunday one of the boys I am mentoring here came over to my apartment for dinner and then I went with him to a worship service at his church. When we were eating dinner we began to speak about relationships. He informed me that him and this girl he likes talked about dating and decided they were not going to date right now because the only difference they saw in dating and being friends is a physical. difference He said that neither of them wanted to risk going to far so they would stay away from the physical and just focus on their friendship. This was so amazing to hear! Please pray for this boy Filip, that he will continue to make wise decisions and that he will be bold in sharing his faith at school! Personally I am doing well right now but last week I had a breakdown. the process of changing into the fall routine and the language barrier got to me along with Satan's discouraging words and I was feeling quite depressed, but through prayer and wise council I was able to see through these lies. Pray that God will make me strong daily and that I will constantly be reminded of who I am and Who's I am!

An amazing conference

This last week I went with 16 other Slovak Youth leaders to the Josiah Venture Conference in Czech. This was an amazing week of encouragement and extremely challenging talks. The topic for the week was passing on the baton. It was about discipleship. There were so many amazing stories from people in other countries and so many good teachings from the word. It was a great encouragement to be able to talk with people from all of the 11 countries Josiah Venture is in. It was so encouraging to hear about how God is working in their countries. It was also a good time to hear about the struggles in others countries, to see how similar they are, and to be able to encourage each other and pray for each other. I met a couple of really great people there from the countries of Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, and Romania. It was so exciting. After the conference I traveled with Mike, one of the missionaries over here, to Prague, to visit a couple of the students from my first camp that are studying in the University there. This was a great time. I had a really good conversation with one boy about faith and about how he could be an example to the others on his campus. It was really exciting to see this young guy so interested in living how God wants him too! It was a great opportunity for me to put into practice what I had just learned at the conference. The First picture is my group from conference. The second is from Prague the guy next to me is the one I was talking about.

Encouraging the guys and Train evangelism in Slovak!

Well I know that I just posted about my experience so far in Presov, but I have something new to write already. I traveled this weekend to the town of Levice where I did my second camp. I was there for the purpose of encouraging and equipping the guys on the team there to connect with the younger guys from camp. It was a really rewarding time for me! I was able to help the guys on the team connect some things in their minds about how to connect with the male students from camp and to be involved in their lives. I was also able to have a conversation with two of the boys from camp about God and what He means to me. We talked about how the church has screwed their thinking of God and how God was different, that he loves them for who they are. In the end I think they understand God a little better than they did before. On Sunday I was able to connect two of the older guys on the team with them. Please be praying for the guy leaders in this group. They are very afraid to step out and take the initiative with younger guys, Pray that they will have courage and strength! The final thing I would like to share was the amazing opportunity God gave me to connect with one girl I met on a train. I was sitting in the train compartment on my trip back from Levice and a girl came in and sat down. She spoke to me which I thought was interesting. Generally I do not want to talk to people on the train because my Slovak is not very good, but I thought to my self maybe I should try. So I proceeded to speak to her in my broken Slovak. Lo and behold the conversation turned out to be really good. We spoke for nearly an hour and a half in Slovak. I shared what I was doing in Slovakia and that it was because I was a Christian, she informed me that she did not believe in God and told me it was because of her parents. I was able to share the gospel with her and to share how God had changed my life, IN SLOVAK!!!!!!! This was amazing to me because I know it was not me, I do not speak Slovak well enough to have a conversation like this! I know it was the power of the Holy Spirit working in me!! It was sooo powerful for me! Though she did not accept Christ or anything she told me that it had given her something to think about.

First Week in Presov

This week I began life in the town of Presov. It is interesting to be a part of normal life here, riding the bus and buying my own food at the grocery. On Monday Presov had their end of the summer party for the youth that were apart of the camp this summer. It was an interesting time, I believe the students really enjoyed. I also made one really cool connection this week. This last year I was introduced (online) to the younger brother of one of the girls who was in my English class at last summers camp in Presov. I found out that he lives in the apartment building behind mine. I was able to meet with him at a pizza place and get to know him better. I am excited that he lives so close to me and that I have the opportunity to connect with him this fall! Please pray for this connection and the connections I have with some of the other guys here in town, that God can use me to be an example for them!