Prague (October 4) - Wrap up

October 4

Friends...

No surprise -- saying goodbye is always hard.  It was interesting to see how each member on the team did their goodbyes in their own unique way.  Most of the members are home by now (we stayed a couple of extra days to spend with Sue's family here), and a couple of them were still struggling with illness on the trip home, but they've made it safely, and are beginning the task of re-integrating.

I was sick again and missed the last day of the outreach (Saturday) which turned out to be sunny and relatively warm.  There were more conversations, and several on the team were able to finish up pieces they were working on.  Throughout the week, we had been collecting names in a big jar for a give-away on the last day, so on Saturday, the church team was able to pick out names to give away various pieces that we had worked on over the last two weeks.  Unfortunately, my pottery pieces hadn't been fired yet, so we couldn't give away any of those.  However, there were a lot of people who received artwork, and they were all very happy!  For some of the pieces, the artist was able to give a description of what the piece meant, and have a photo with the winner.

Then, off to Japan, Korea, Atlanta and South Carolina... and Poděbrady.  We were picked up by Sue's cousin Frank at the hotel to spend a few more days with them before returning.  Last year, we spent a LOT of time driving all over the Czech Republic, visiting castles, museums, art galleries, ruins and natural sites.  This year, we did a little driving around, but we wanted to spend more time with family and less time on the road.  We were able to visit with one of Frank's daughters and her two teenagers.  Their town has been in existence for 700 years, and I'm not sure how old the house itself is.  They live in a valley surrounded by limestone cliffs.  Some of the cliffs are directly behind their house, and they have caves carved directly into the stone.

We also met with two local pastors here in Poděbrady.  It is great to be able to visit with local pastors, since it gives us a chance to begin to build bridges with the local church here, which opens doors to more cooperation in the future.

We are now packing up to head home again.  Pray that we can keep our luggage under the weight limit.  Pray especially for our time through JFK airport.  I've heard that making your way through the lines in customs can take more than two hours!!

  Blessings!