As we wind down this project we know we missed some stories. This is an invitation for the students who went on the trip to add their own stories when they get home. Add any story in the form of a comment on this post.
Thank you so much for the incredible prayer support you have provided during this IWC trip.
Before the team even landed in the Czech Republic, we asked you to be in prayer for:
This time last week Steve and April Brown were making plans with IWC Olomouc group coordinator Boyd Lipham in Olomouc before the group even arrived in the Czech Republic.
Now that the week is complete, Boyd and the Browns said they are very pleased with how the ministry went, and they were encouraged and proud of the students’ work.
Steve said, “They were effective in fitting into the ministry that we have ongoing because they do what we do. They look for lost people, look for commonalities, and a way to spark some type of conversation and draw some interest, which took place.”
Beth Cummings, a co-leader of the IWC group, had the opportunity to observe each of the crews at different stages in their ministry. She said it was an incredible thing to witness the progression the students went through this week.
“When they were sent out to their ministry sites [Sunday] after we told them what to look for and what to do … you knew right away that they just didn’t quite have a handle on what was going to happen,” Beth said. “Monday morning when we went there was a lot of fear. Just plain old fear.”
It was exciting, Beth said, to see the students push through that fear, following the examples of their crew managers.
Read the rest of this entry »
After investing so much in the city of Olomouc and being changed by all of their experiences here, the IWCers were not running to the train station to depart this morning.
Jenna Condit, from Trinity Baptist Church, said it is hard to leave this place.
“It’s sad to leave because there are so many non-believers here and there’s so much work to still be done,” Jenna said. “I was looking at a bus and I thought, ‘wow, I bet no one on that bus is a Christian,’ and I look at these buildings and I’m like, ‘wow, no one is Christian.’ That’s very sad and different.”
Students and crew managers have been working hard all week on projects that were only revealed tonight—a set of creative films on the subjects of freedom, hope, truth, trust, God and love.
By this afternoon all of the scenes had been captured on video and everything came down to the last few frantic hours of piecing clips together and splicing in music and effects for the grand presentations at the Culture House of Olomouc.
Brian Morales, a Namesti crew member from Yorktown Baptist Church, was one of the film editors who was struggling to get his team’s film together with the equipment and time constraints he had to work under this week. Read the rest of this entry »
All week IWCers have been using whatever means they have available to share God’s love with the people of Olomouc. Ali Drury, a Nadrazi crew member from Trinity Baptist Church, said her crew was encouraged when they were able to have contact with a group of children who returned to play Frisbee with them two days in a row.
“When we got there [the second day] they were waiting for us, most of them, and if they weren’t waiting [those who were] called down their friends from the windows of the apartment buildings around and they were so excited,” Ali said. Read the rest of this entry »
Tomorrow morning is the last time the crews will be headed out to the different areas of Olomouc where they have been involved in ministry this week. During the afternoon the teams will be finishing final edits on their films, which will be shown at the festival tomorrow evening.
With so many things happening on this last day of ministry in Olomouc, your continued prayer support is vital for the IWCers.
During the ministry in the Upper Square today, Jason Hales, a member of the Hejcin crew, had an exciting experience he was eager to share.
Jason said, “I was giving out books and stuff as much as I [could], and I had the thought, ‘maybe I should stand here and let God bring me someone.’ So I did.”
He said he stood in that place and it was only a few moments before a man walked right up to him. Read the rest of this entry »
All six IWC crews gathered in the Upper Square this afternoon in a mass-effort to reach the highly-trafficked area of Olomouc.
Students handed out English camp invitations, New Testaments and other Christian literature, while making themselves available for conversation.
What interested some people the IWCers were able to speak with was the singing and guitar playing of Jeff Hanshaw, worship leader for the week. Read the rest of this entry »