I don’t think I can amply put into words the beauty that surrounds me. I am in Malenovenice, Czech at Josiah Venture’s conference center. We just finished the “amazing race,” which is a race that all the intern teams from all eleven of Josiah Venture’s countries compete in. Once you get off the plane in Vienna, you must race to Malenovenice with 70 euro per person. We had to follow clues through Bratislava and Budapest. This was very challenging as I slept a total of eleven hours in four days, constantly walking and running to the next step, with only one meal in my stomach. We simply didn’t have money for food. Haha. But man, talk about getting over jet lag and bonding with your team really fast. It was adventure, and I loved every minute of it… even when we missed the very last train home and had to jump a mystery train with no ticket. We didn’t know where exactly it was headed, yet ran to catch it for over a mile because it could possibly lead us somewhere. Anyways, now I am in Czech for intern training. I am learning from the missionaries here, and drinking in the Word; for it is alive and active. God is so very relational, and He is fulfilling me. I was made for a relationship and He is the only One that pursues me and satisfies me, engulfing my every need. He really loves me.
This morning I got up early to run through the dense fog and mist. There are many forests here, and I ran besides a stream the whole way. Sometimes I couldn’t see the stream because of the fog, but I could constantly hear its trickle. Czech is very green, and mountains surround me. Fog reminds me of God’s presence. The tall trees were covered the authority of the clouds. I ran through a couple of fields (one of my joys in life…) filled with wildflowers. But I couldn’t see further than only a few feet in front of me. More and more of this beautiful country would appear with every step I took into the fog. I ran on cobblestone, up the steep, curving roads as the town awoke. I looked up one moment and saw a magnificent church. It was on the top of a hill looking out over the city. I couldn’t help but kneel and pray at its doors. I couldn’t see the view, but I knew my Father could. God is my friend, and He travels with me. Faith is beautiful, and God is beautiful. He pursues me.
Today I sat down at the coffee shop with Laura, my aunt. We talked for another hour, even after the long train rides, late nights, and meal conversations. I know God blesses families and I am so encouraged by my aunt and uncle. Laura’s faith makes my heart leap for joy, and I don’t think I can soak up enough of her aroma. I can’t spend enough time with her.
I hope you read this note while listening to Mat Kearney’s new song, “All I Have.” Just ponder his lyrics, and realize the truth of CS Lewis’ words, “The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become” (Mere Christianity). Oh, and I pray for greater faith. Because faith is the adventure I seek. I just learned about it last night. Living a monotonous life means that I am missing parts of the mountain. I tend to only explore certain easy routes up the rock, but I overlook the exciting ones. Jesus over and over told his disciples they didn’t have enough faith. Faith is like a muscle and I need to exercise using it. Faith is active, persistent, and obedient. I love God’s bigger picture of faith, and I’m excited that God Himself wants to fulfill my cravings for adventure. He doesn’t want people (the Hash’s), places (Poland), or sports (running/soccer/mountains) to substitute in me a purer, higher, more extreme adventure that He alone can provide through faith.
amen, sister.
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