Deep Thoughts With Jody :)

I (Jody) don’t often blog. In fact this may be my first time writing on our blog, but I have a lot on my mind and heart and just want to share some of it.

So much has happened in the two short and very quick months that we have been here it’s hard to know where to begin, so I will share with you what I feel God’s Spirit is speaking to me. Let me begin with our town Hlinsko and the meaning behind the name of our town. The name Hlinsko comes from the Czech word "Hlina" meaning clay. This area was once famous for the high quality potter's clay found here. That got me thinking and I opened the Word of God and was lead to John 9:6-7 NKJV. In this verse, Jesus heals a blind man with his spit and some clay from the ground. As I read this passage I began to wonder, "What if God is going to use Hlinsko (meaning clay) the same way Jesus used the clay? What if God is going to pour out His Spirit on the people of this town in such a way that He then uses them to restore sight to the rest of the nation and around the world." Why Hlinsko? What is so special about this town? Maybe that is the very reason why...there is nothing special about this town, but our God loves to use the ordinary to do extraordinary things ('Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:16 NIV). I can’t tell you why, but I can tell you that I really believe we are standing on the edge of a pouring out of God’s Spirit like few have seen. Here in Hlinsko we have a beautiful hill that overlooks almost the whole town; it’s a great place to go up and be alone. The other day I went up the hill to pray and I began to weep for this town and pray for God to move in the hearts of the people. As I was praying I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me, “Tell them to wake up!” and so I began to say, “Wake up.” And then I felt the Spirit say, “Louder!” So I said it louder. And again He said, “Louder!” And before I knew it I was shouting at the top of my lungs, “WAKE UP!” After this I continued to pray and I felt the Spirit say, “Declare the name of Jesus to this town.” And so I began to say “Jesus” over and over, and again I felt the Spirit say, “Louder” and once again I found myself shouting the name of Jesus over this town. I shouted it in English, in Czech, in Spanish and in Hebrew over and over. It was one of the most amazing prayer times I have ever experienced.

I have been reading a great book on 24-7 prayer, Red Moon Rising, and I began to feel as though God was calling us here in Hlinsko to prayer 24-7. I shared this with some youth from our church and they told me that there is one youth who has had that on his heart also. And with that we have decided to press into God 24-7 in partnership with the church and youth group and begin continuous prayer the first Sunday of April.

I also now more then ever see the vision for a youth drop-in centre here. There is one particular building that we have been praying about and we will see how God moves and provides. The vision is to see a drop-in open during the week after school and on the weekends with Saturday night being a youth lead worship and praise service and every week a clear presentation and invitation to receive Jesus as Saviour. So for now I am working towards that vision as God leads and laying the foundation in prayer for a mighty outpouring of God in this town and nation.

View of Hlinsko from the hill

Hopscotch at Home

The girls and I decided to make an indoor hopscotch court today...in the livingroom! We used tape to make the floor and then had a great time!

Now I have to go get groceries and get ready to teach tonight...fun, fun!

Oops!

Yikes! It has been waaaaay too long since I last blogged. I have to make a rule about blogging at least once a week, because this is unacceptable!:) I have to give you a bit of an update...


We have settled in here quite nicely and are really enjoying our life! Hannah and Grace are still speaking in their own made up language because they want to learn Czech so badly. It is neat to hear how real Czech words are starting to pepper their speech though. We registered them for pre school (školka) last week! They got to see their school, meet the Director and even play for a bit. They won't be able to begin until the fall, but they are excited! The other day, Hannah prayed: "Dear God, please help me to learn Czech so that I can make friends here!" ...Talk about ripping a parent's heart out!


The hockey season officially ended last night with a win for the Skulls! Their championship game was last Saturday and it was also a victory! The team was so excited; you would have thought that they won the Stanley Cup. At the final buzzer the team threw their gloves and sticks in the air and were yelling, and hugging and spraying champagne into the crowd! It was a great experience for Jody and, from the outside looking in, it was neat to see how they really love him and are truly happy that he is part of the team. At least a couple of times a week, there is someone from the hockey team calling Jody and wanting to get together with him. It is awesome to see this openness he has with the guys!

Teaching English has been a wonderful experience for me. I am really seeing how it can be used to establish relationships with people. After six weeks of teaching them, I have begun to care for my students in a deeper way and I hope that we have more opportunities to deepen relationships and share about our Hope in life. I find teaching itself, enjoyably challenging. At the end of a class, my brain is on overload! I never realized how difficult it could be to try and explain certain words. It's funny because my speech becomes so simplified as a result of speaking on my student's level, that I sometimes forget that my family and friends can speak English and I talk to them like they are my students. Jody will often look at me and say, "Rachael, I can speak English!"

This last week we have a group from Word of Life Church in New York here. This morning Jody and I were talking about how they don't feel like a group, but like family. This is the church from New York that we visited in December and it is SO wonderful to see them again! Their hearts for ministry, for Hlinsko, for serving, and for Jesus are as big as Texas! Pastor Greg preached on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as Dave and Clarissa (their worship leaders) led worship with our youth group on Saturday. It has been a time of spiritual blessing and refreshing for us as we have prayed with them and fellowshipped with them. We don't want them to leave!

Oh, another update...poor Jahoda our snail died. We are ok with it though...snails don't live forever:)