Ahoy! From Pisek, Czech Republic

(Code: blue is Dave and green is Shena...)

Hey Dave. How's it going?

Oh, you know, not much.  Typical day.  Got up at 5:30 [on Friday - Chicago time], cleaned up the house, had some lunch.  Then I felt like getting some Star Bucks, so I hopped on a plane to London.  It was yummy.  Then I had a hankerin' for some snacks, so I got on another plane to Prague.  They served "sweet and savory" snacks on the plane.  Delicious.  Then, I got a bit tired and decided to take a nap inside a mini van for an hour or so.  Now I'm chillin' in Pisek.  But enough about my dreary day.  How are you doing, Shena?  Say, what is that on your face?

Well, Dave, I'm glad you asked. It's actually an "Anti-stress / Plant Collagen / Spa Fabric Facial / Face Tonic / Five Minute Miracle / Pelvetiane seaweed / Uplifting & Firming Face Mask". At least that's what it says on the package.

(Yes, I look like this woman, right now...)

I'm wearing it because I've had a long day. Or days. I'm not sure which is the correct answer... All I know is that I left the states a long time ago, survived a 6 hour flight, 3 hour layover, 2 hour flight, 3 hour van ride, hour and a half wait for dinner (but my catfish and your pork ribs sure were tasty!), and now it's face mask time! Then, some sleep... Cuz I've only gotten 3 hours or so in the past... however long it's been since Friday morning at 5:30! So, Dave, what are you up to tomorrow?

Hmmm... I haven't thought much about that...  Maybe after breakfast I'll stroll on down to ye olde kirk, equip myself with a couple chiseled timber logs and lay down some phat beats on those polymer skins (layman's terms for "drum at church").  Then I'll crash at my sweet hotel room, which is also conveniently called a suite.  I need to rest up for the week ahead.  We've got some bomb-diggity plans this week, don't we Shena?  Why don't you tell our friends in Cyber Land what we are going to do?

Well, dear geek-husband, after church tomorrow and meeting with the church leaders, we will head to the English camp, where we will be for the rest of the week. There, we will teach English to our small group of Czech students - about 8-10 advanced students (as far as we know right now). We're pretty stoked to teach them all about idioms, fluency, and how to play Taboo and Scattegories in English. Then, at the end of the week, we'll come back to this hotel in Pisek for a night or two, then head to Prague for a day, then come home! Whew! It's gonna be a busy week. We're probably gonna need some prayer... Hmm, how can people be praying for us, Dave?

Good question, Shena.  First and foremost, pray that Jesus be glorified in all we say and do.  Pray for open opportunities to share the gospel.  I'm sure there will be plenty since most people in this country are atheist or agnostic.  Pray that our lessons go well and that we can make great connections with our students.  Pray for the safety of the team.  And pray for the Holy Spirit to move in the lives of the people we encounter!  Woo hoo!  It will be an exciting adventure indeed.  *yawn* say... I think I might be a wee bit dosey.  What say you, my dear, shall we off to bed?

Those are great prayer requests! And yes... How about we turn on some weird European TV channels and turn in for the night?

Sounds good.

As they say in Czech... "Dobrou Noc!" (Goodnight!) :)

(Note: We may or may not be able to update the blog again during the week. If we can't update during the week, we'll do our best to post some pics when we get back to this hotel on Friday or Saturday!)

....Here We Go

Shena is feeling the GOOD kind of overwhelmed right now... YAY! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers and support. It means the world to us!!!

A few things before we head out the door...

• We may or may not be able to update the blog while on the trip. We're hoping we encounter some WiFi along the way. However, regardless of our ability to log online, there is a way that you can stay up to date on what's happening on a trip. Go to:

http://fromthefield.ccclife.org/

  - From this site you can listen to voice-mail updates (from our team leaders) about our trip! (Just go to the section that has "Czech Republic" updates. Keep in mind, there are other teams there right now, so updates concerning our trip (Czech 20's English Camp) probably won't be posted until later this weekend.

• Prayer Requests - Please keep us in your prayers while we are in the Czech! Pray for safe travel, health, spiritual strength, physical strength, and effectiveness in ministry.

• Wanna see some pics of where we are headed? :) Here ya go...

Camp building...

Dining hall

A typical bedroom at the camp...

• And finally, a word on fundraising.... We are at almost 80% for fundraising. That is SUCH a huge blessing and we could not have reached this level of our goal without generous contributions from our friends and family. THANK YOU!!!  And even though we haven't met our total, we still get to go on the trip. However, we will need to finish paying the total ASAP. So, even while we are in the Czech Republic, we can still accept contributions for our trip! If you are still on the fence about giving, then we ask that you prayerfully consider it. You could become a part of changing the lives of the Czech people! :)

• Wanna send a check to the church while we are gone? Just make a check out to Christ Community Church and put "Czech 20s Camp, 7/29-8/29" in the memo line. Remember, DON'T put our names any where on the check! Just put a note in the envelope that states that the donation is for Shena and David Fowler's Czech trip. Then, you can mail the check to 37W100 Bolcum Road, Saint Charles, IL 60175

We love you all!! Hopefully we will be able to post more soon. Otherwise, we'll return on August 9th and will fill you in then! :)


Love,
Dave & Shena

The Bad Kind of Overwhelmed

There's the good kind of overwhelmed feeling... The kind when God's grace and blessing overwhelms your life and you FEEL the presence of God. Or the kind you feel when someone throws a surprise birthday party for you. Or when you win the lottery (not that I'm speaking from personal experience... but those people look happy-overwhelmed when they get that big check).

And then there's the kind of overwhelmed that I'm feeling.

We leave in 9 days. I'm excited. But I wish I had 9 weeks instead of 9 months. I feel underprepared and under attack.

Two days after paying $100 to update my license plate stickers, my Honda decided to die. I'm not sure how dead it is yet, since it's in my garage and I can't drive it to the shop (or pay the shop). So, we're down to one car (Dave's)... which also needs it's license plate stickers updated (but is a bigger hassle, since his car is not under our name, but under his parent's)... I've already been pulled over once because of the expired plates and given a warning. (Note: drive with cute puppies at all times - cops may take pity on you...)

We're still not at 100% for our fundraising. We still have about 75% to go. This wouldn't stress me out nearly as much, but being down to one car makes it a little scary...

Work has been insane lately. I'm trying to work ahead on my freelancing and nannying hours so that I can take 11 days off to go to Czech.

It's been the busiest two weeks of the year for the children's ministry. We have "Hot U" (sort of like VBS on steroids) and it's awesome. I get to do the motions for the songs (it's like living out my dream of being a rock band performer person AND praising God... so cool). But, as a result, I've been getting up early and working every day for the past 10 days.

Dave has been honoring his commitment to his band, which means he's gone on Fridays and gets no sleep on the weekends. Bands are cool. Dave is an incredible drummer. But it is draining.

And there's a plethora of other little stressors that I could go on and on about. Family drama. Puppies who create messes. Bills. It goes on and on...

This is a gloomy post. We could use your prayers. We are not defeated. Just very overwhelmed. I'm sharing this not to complain, but because I am trying to be honest about where we are at. And at this moment we are not at a super peaceful and excited place! But we know that God has a plan and we know that spiritual attacks often come when God wants to do big work in our lives.

We covet your prayers. And we look forward to God's mercy, grace, and provision!

Getting Closer!

We've made it past the half-way point in our fundraising!!!! HUZZAH!!!!!! I'm so stinkin' excited. We've had some very generous people contribute to our trip and I am SO thankful.

But, I have to admit that the contribution that just about did me in was a little bit of love I got in the mail last week...

My baby sister's contribution is what pushed us past the half-way point for our fundraising! 

She amazes me...

Seriously?! She's not even 11 yet... I can remember what it was like to be 11 (uhhhhh... I was sooo awkward) and the value of cash was amazing. We didn't get a weekly allowance in my family, so cash was usually the result of a Birthday present or some serious chore-payment negotiations with the parents. Wow... This girl teaches me so much about selfless love. I mean, when I was 11 I was most concerned with growing out the worst haircut in history. Forget sharing God's love with people halfway around the world...

Note the awful hair. Note my other adorable sister - Kendel. Note the matching sailor dresses thanks to grandma! :)

So, Linden's contribution (plus some other AMAZING gifts) means that we are at $2,545 dollars raised!!! That means we have only $1,555 to go! Thank you thank you thank you to all who have given! To those that are reading this blog for the first time, or still on the fence about giving - please prayerfully consider making a contribution! Even if it's only $5. Every little bit counts. For just the cost of a latte, you could help make a huge difference in the life of someone on the other side of the globe. The Czech people desperately need to feel that God's love is real and that He cares about their lives! And since our team leaves on the 29th of July we have only 3 weeks left to raise our support. So, think about it...! :)

In other, Czech related news...

• Dave and I are going to do some BIG lesson planning on Friday! Pray for us. We have to plan for 4 days of 3 hour classes with an advanced class of students. We definitely want to challenge them, but we want it to be fun, too! In the Czech Republic students are used to lecture classes with no chance for student dialogue. So it will be really exciting for them to get to actually talk in class! I'm so pumped to get THEM pumped to learn!

• Pray for health! Dave and I have been soo busy lately. We're not sick. But we've been running around like fools and not hitting up the gym nearly enough. We need to stay healthy for the trip!

• Pray for continued financial support. We're getting closer and closer to reaching our goal! Also, pray for the rest of our team to meet their financial goals as well. 

• We've got our second-to-last team meeting on Friday. I can't believe it... We leave in 3 weeks... AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Shena

Almost Half-Way!

It's morning. Dave is half asleep and I'm wide awake. We are sending out another wave of support letters, tallying our current total, and writing thank-you cards.

Check out the fundraising thermometer to the right! We are almost half way! This morning's total is $1590. That means we have only $2510 to go. That seems like a LOT. But we are trusting God.

To all of you that have given - THANK YOU. From the bottom of our hearts. We are overwhelmed by your generosity.

To all of you who are tight on money, but praying for us - THANK YOU! We desperately need your prayers and encouragement.

And to those of you that are getting a new support letter or still hanging on to the first one... Please pray about giving to our trip! Even if it's only a small amount in your mind - Every. Little. Bit. Counts! :)

Oh, and in other trip related news - Dave and I will be teaching one of the advanced level English classes... EEK! I think it's partially because I have experience teaching... And Dave is good at whatever he does! I'm excited. I want to get some cool flash cards and learning materials. I know they have teacher stores with those types of things. Anyone have any recommendations? Let me know!! :)

Okay, I've gotta get back to Dave and make sure he hasn't fallen asleep at the desk. Then we've gotta get off to work.

Love,
Shena

Skepticism, Linguistics and Mountain Dew

Every Sunday morning was the same.  I'd wake up to the smell of sizzling bacon, come downstairs and indulge in the plethora of pancakes, donuts and rolls, compliments of my dad, the master breakfast chef.  Next, I would hurry back to my room, put on my nice shirt and slacks, hurry to the bathroom, brush my teeth (by this time, my mom would say, "hurry!  We don't want to be late for church"), grab my Bible and hop into the car.  Next came the 30 minute drive to church, a grueling amount of time for any 12-year-old.  My dad always drove, my mom was always in the front set, my brother and I were always in the back seats.  Every Sunday.

One Sunday was different.  I remember when my 16-year-old brother asked a simple question, "Why are we going to church?"  My parents explained it's where we worship God.

"But I don't want to go to church.  I want to go somewhere else.  Why can't I be a Muslim, or a Buddhist?"  My brother was trying to get a rise out of my parents.  My mom responded calmly, "No one is making you go to church.  You can do what you like."

"Okay, I will."  My brother said.  And that was it.

I was shocked.  Was he really going to be a Buddhist?  What was going on?  Why didn't my parents stop him?

The next few Sundays were different.  My brother stopped coming with us.  It was awkward.  When I asked where he was, my mom just told me that he had some questions that needed to be answered.  I didn't quite understand at the time, but now I do.

My brother was a skeptic.  He was also a Christian.  Actually, he did what I believe every Christian ought to do.  He QUESTIONED God.  For a couple months, he visited other churches.  He looked into other religions.  But none of them provided him with answers.  Instead, they only reinforced his belief in Jesus Christ.  Skepticism was the path that he walked, strengthening his faith.  Today, he still asks a lot of questions, and I know very few people who have a stronger faith than him.  What does this have to do with Mountain Dew?  Not much.  Except for the fact that he is also an avid Mountain Dew connoisseur.

This story encourages me as I look forward to our mission trip to the Czech Republic.  We will be encountering a lot of people with questions.  People will ask me why I believe in an invisible entity.  They will pose me the so called "problem of evil."  They will ask questions that I could not possibly answer.  And, to make matters more complicated, I will not be able to answer them in their native language.  But I am not afraid of these questions.  I believe that the word of God transcends the language barrier.

Consider this:

In December, 2008, I found myself at a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Perusing the menu, I recognized my limited options.  Chicken with rice.  Beef with rice.  Shrimp with rice.  Woo hoo.  Something caught my eye as I closed the menu.  There it was, listed with the drinks: Mt Doy.  Of course, I knew what it really was.  Sweet, green nectar of bubbly deliciousness.  You see?  Mountain Dew is the still the same.  It doesn't matter if I'm halfway across the world, if there's a typo or "language barrier."

It is the same with evangelism.  The Spirit can minister to anyone, anywhere, in any language.  We, as messengers must open ourselves to this, letting him control us.  I am excited.  I pray expectantly for the Spirit to move through me.

Twenty Percent!!! Gym Dates, Nerves, and Love

We are at 20% of our final goal! Wow. This is cool! 80% to go seems like a lot... But we have faith! Every little bit helps and we feel so honored to be a part of this!

Here's how we're doing aside from finances:

Health: Shena has a sore throat. Dave loves Mexican food. Otherwise we are doing awesome. We have a date at the gym tonight. It's actually pretty exciting.

Emotions (from Shena's perspective): I'm actually starting to feel nervous. This Friday we have a team meeting to learn how to teach ESL classes to the Czech people. I've seriously been dreaming about this class... I think I'm afraid because I "should" be well-equipped and have some expertise in this area. After all, I have been to Czech English camps twice before. I have a degree in English, plus a teaching certification, plus a year's experience teaching high school English... But I'm still nervous. What if I misspell something? What if I stutter? What if I totally fail the Czech nation and my team and my church and every donor that supported me?!?!?! Yeah... I have fears. AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Spiritual: We feel very enveloped in God's presence and His love right now. We really feel His blessings. We are trying to balance good stewardship of our time and resources with humble faith that He will provide for all our needs. We're not always the best students. But we do feel the love of our eternal Teacher.

Reason 5793 that we are excited to go to Czech:

We get to see the oldest stone bridge in Europe. It's called "Stone Bridge" or "Old Bridge" (hahaha) and is in Pisek, Czech Republic!

Experiencing Grace and Heat Waves!

Let me just say... that experiencing God's grace is a pretty cool thing. We received a couple donations yesterday in the mail... And I was blown away. One was an amount that I did not expect and the other was from a donor that I did not expect! I feel humbled and so grateful. Wow...

On another note... What in the world is with this sudden heat wave?! I'm wearing the thinnest of shirts and I'm still sweating... I hope it's not this hot in Czech! Or, I'm going to be severely tempted to teach my English class in the nearest swimming pool or stream...

 - Shena

OOPS! Update to Support Letters...

If you received a support letter then you probably noticed the line that said "Don't delay! We have a goal of raising half of our support by May 20th." The "Don't delay!" part is still true. But we actually have a little longer to raise half of our support. We need to have half of our support by June 10th and our total goal reached by July 22nd. And if you're on a tight budget we totally understand. But hey, even $5 helps! Just think... one skipped Starbucks drink could help make a difference in the life of someone halfway around the world! Crazy, huh?

Our First Team Meeting

Just got back from our first meeting... I am SO excited. Oh my goodness!!! I felt peace while I was there. Little things stuck out to me... Like the fact that the verse that our team leader opened with was from Romans 10 (the very same verse that we posted on our Why We're Going portion of this blog... the very same verse that Dave and I think is such a GREAT supporting verse for missions trips, but we rarely hear it used!)

I am thankful for the people that are going on this trip. We have some very experienced people (that have lived in the Czech Republic) and some people that have never been out of the country. We have several college students and several adults. And we have two adorable kids (children of our team leader, whose wife is also going on the trip). There are almost 2 dozen people total.


Please pray for...

• ...the planning of the trip... there are still passports to be gotten and flights to be confirmed. Plus, we have several sub-leadership roles on the trip that people have been asked to pray about and consider.
• ...team-building. Some of us know most and many of us know none. Pray for friendships to begin!
• ...the Czech people. Pray that their hearts would be softened and prepared to receive God's love.
• ...fundraising. Each team member needs to raise $2,050.

Thanks!!!

God-Given Bugs Bunny

From Shena...

(Disclaimer: This blog will be pretty honest. I am by no means perfect. I may or may not come across as fearful, conceited, arrogant, stupid, depressed, or ugly-minded.)

Okay, here's the honesty part. We don't have a lot of extra money. There is no way we can personally finance the full cost of this trip. So, the only way we can go is through the donations of others. And, I'll be really honest, the idea of going on a missions trip and asking people for money feels really super weird to me. Because, the truth is, I want to go.... And I'm excited to go... And even though there are parts of me that are nervous and a little overwhelmed by it all, at this point I feel really enthusiastic! And here's the untruth that has been whispering in my mind:

If going on a missions trip is so exciting and rewarding, then isn't it kind of like a vacation? A free trip? How nice. Just ask people for money and you can go on a missions trip! A FREE vacation! Wow, that's a great little scam you got goin' there! Way to go!

It's like there's this part of me that feels guilty for asking for donations because I am so excited to go. And then, on the flipside, I feel kind of overwhelmed when I think about how much money we have to raise. And that's not even including the extra expenses... Like updating my passport, mailing support letters, buying stamps for the support letters, return envelopes, and thank you cards, setting aside extra meal money for the trip, etc...

Two days ago I was feeling a little burdened with the mere cost of stamps. As I ran around my house cleaning and organizing, I consciously thought "Ohhhh shoot! I bought enough stamps for the support letters... But not the return envelopes.... That will be another $50..."

And then, God sent me a little love note.

After thirty more minutes of cleaning and organizing I went to my car to look for a lost piece of paper. I looked everywhere. I even reached behind the glove compartment (you know how items can fall back into the car?).

And lo and behold - I pulled out a set of 32 cent Bugs Bunny stamps. Now, there were only 10 of them. And they are ancient (and thus 32 cent instead of 44 cent). And who knows how they got there! But I knew... they were a God-given sign - just for me.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! :) We will be updating this blog regularly so you can follow each step of our adventures.