Mission to the Czech Republic

Oh how that day draws near! In just two days I'll be Ostrava bound. We're all full of a variety of emotions, excited about what God has in store for us and anxious about the unknown. The last week of training was full of events such as a Native American Pow-Wow on campus, a musical performance by a native Quechua woman from Peru, a talent show, and commencement (see Stacy and me with our certificates in the picture). I am now certified to teach! With training now behind us, we've had some free days to enjoy the city and get last minute packing and shopping done. I was so blessed that my mom was able to come out for the weekend! We had an amazing time swing dancing in downtown Pasadena, exploring the California coastline, and visiting Santa Anita Racetrack.

Of course my life would not be complete if it did not include a significant amount of stress, this time in the form of...packing...again. With baggage restrictions changing daily, none of us seem to have any idea what's going on. My friend Jen and I have had a great (and I use the term "great" loosly) time this afternoon sitting on our suitcases, trying to use those vacuum bags, and just arguing in general over who is the bigger moron for bringing so much stuff. It's difficult to picture what you really don't need when you already have it with you. And we don't want to just throw things away right? Right? Haha.

On a more serious note, we do have some prayer requests we'd like to be lifted up if you feel led.
1. Pray for the logistics of traveling...the baggage, the flight, the paperwork, potential strikes for Tuesday, just that the whole process is as smooth as possible and we all actually get on the flight with no incident
2. For our attitudes, as we know the enemy can use our stress and frustration against us and against eachother
3. For smooth transition into our host cities and schools, for the administration to be accepting and willing to help us non Czech speakers!

Thank you so much for your prayers. This will most likely be my last update until sometime next week. So until then, na shledanou!