The Success of Camp 09

1^st and 2^nd Weeks of Camp Gahini 09 just went down in History. The simple fact is that camp so far has been a huge success. God brought us here to start something that has become very special. The returning kids from last year have jumped into the program with both feet, ready to do camp all over again, while the first timers are coming in timidly and transitioning into loud competitive team mates that have made life changing decisions.

When you step on the red soil of Africa you are bound to leave a changed person. Even more so when you are prepared early to start Camp Registration, and you open the big green gate and see anywhere between 300 and 400 kids ready and wanting to come in, it begins to feel like a camp for 120 kids seems so small. At that point it doesn't matter what kind of system you use to choose kids; it isn't a great one. You see a lot of kids turn around and walk 30 mins home in hope of making it next year. I can only imagine that the walk home feels a lot longer for many of them. It would be so great to see camps begin all over this area.

For the Kids who do come in it seems as it there is something special in the air. Even mentioning games, going swimming, or keeping their T-shirts has the kids cheering. But before we get to any part of our program the kids burn some of their endless energy the best way they know how; singing, jumping and dancing for Jesus. I often wonder if one of us didn't mention we are late for our first activity how many days straight they could jump and dance and sing. 'Would they skip lunch?' I don't know. (A toss up I imagine)

Our Canadian team + two Floridians have also created an awesome standard for what a team should look like. We are all switching roles to give everyone a chance to be a team leader. Each person has brought something valuable to the table and has demonstrated good leadership for our local leaders in training. I even see smiles on our faces when the sharp painful smell of BO burns through the sinuses during group hugs and dance circles. (don't worry team soon your sense of smell becomes totally destroyed and then it won't be bad at all)

This Camp has been all about huge upsets... We have had several games that the underdogs come through and win it all. In Team games and in Dodge Ball for example Robbie's green team had 5 kids left towards the end against one girl from Steph's Orange team, who pulled through for a huge win. As the camp 'games guy' I have seen the points go all over the place in the last two weeks, but I expect week 3 to be very stable, I expect a very consistent winner. (We'll keep you posted)

*Team Leaders for Week 3 are: Jordan, Daniel, Clinton and Kenno*

Kenno

Head over heels

Africa really has been incredible so far. Our team is gelling, and is already making fun of each other. I almost cried when Stephanie made fun of my back hair tonight…o’k not really cause I knew its just cause she loves me. Everybody tries to make fun of me a lot and apparently my good buddy Nigel gave them all instructions to annoy me as much as possible. I don’t mind though cause everyone who knows me tells me that I feel loved when people make fun of me. (I’m still not too sure if this is the truth or not yet). Today as we made our daily trek down the hill we had an entire fan club of kids follow us; each one trying to hold the hand of one of the “Mzungu’s”. Zach and the team strode majestically hand in hand with the beautiful children. It didn’t take long and I began to hear them starting to sing, “I luv you Jesus dee dow in my hart…” We soon had a whole choir of singing and dancing as we trucked down the hill to find our taxi bus to the city. I was a bit afraid that Carla would try to fit one of the kids in her bag to bring with her but we eventually tore ourselves away from the children to find a bus to the city where we found a whole new adventure. Standing in the bus area it only took minutes for a crowd to gather around to watch the “show” Andrew started singing the Brad Paisley song “when you’re a celebrity” and most of the team joined in. We eventually found a bus to take us on our adventure to Kigali the capital city. It was there that my eyes were opened; I had one those feelings come over me today that only come once every few years and for some people only once ever. Its that warm weird feeling inside that anyone gets when they begin to realize that this could be much more significant than they realize. I don’t know yet if its just being far from home and here in Africa but my eyes have been opened to understand more of where my hearts really at. The climax of my feelings were met earlier today when I walked into the jewellery store to see my prize first hand. Holding it in my hand for the first time sent chills down my spine and I just quivered at the thought of slipping it on. Today I can now proudly say that I am the owner of a calculator watch. That’s right, an authentic 100% plastic calculator watch straight out of the 80’s. I still can’t even sleep for the excitement and head over heels love that is in my heart for my brand new calculator watch here in Rwanda Africa! - Daniel

welcomed with open arms...kinda

After 2 very long days of travel our team finally landed down onto the red soil of Rwanda. We stepped out of the airport and sure enough our Rwandan friend from Canada Eddie was there to greet us. It was so nice to see a familiar face, but we had pretty high anticipation only to find that nobody was there to pick us up from Gahini. After finding public transport out to Gahini we found that there too we were on our own. In fact we have still yet to meet a leader or even an English speaker after 2 full days of being here. We’re starting to get a little bit nervous about this but nonetheless we have no loss of excitement, anticipation and confidence in being here. The team is all very excited to be experiencing the life changing soil of Africa with all its sounds, smells, landscape and mostly the smiles. We covet your prayers now as we prepare for our first camp this week and all of the uncertainties that face us at this time. We know God has brought us here but our hearts cannot help but feel the anxiety of all the unknown factors in play. Thanks to all you troopers who keep us in your prayers. Without the good Lord we are wasting our time and we are surly to fail. Praise Him for He’s worth the pursuit. Even all the way in Africa where we have no English translator, It makes it a lot more interesting this way especially for all our newbies!

The team from Left to right back row. Clint , Andrew, Zac, Dylan, Brett, Robbie

Front row left to right : Daniel, Kalena, Jordan, Gwen, Kenton, Carla, Stephanie.

Be blessed, From Team Rwanda and Limitless Ministries

Thanks

Thank you so much to all who have played an important role in Camp Gahini 2008. Team...you were amazing and we are all hoping to be back next year. To our donars....wow the support we recieved was amazing. We still have money left over from the camp that we can turn around and use for promo material as well as for Camp Gahini 2009. We dont have our website as of yet but if anybody knows someone who designs websites. we are in need of one, so until then send us your thoughts on our blog and we will do our best to keep everyone updated about what is going on with Camp Gahini and future Limitless ministries. Also if you are interested in having us do a presentation in your school or church please contact us and we would be more than happy to make this happen. Dan

Keeping It Real

Camp Gahini was all in all an incredible experience. For a dream like this to come together so quickly and so well, is truly amazing. God was working powerfully through this camp. This camp is unique in the effect it has on people, despite challenges and barriers, such as language, kids were affected and changed in awesome ways. It is humbling to see the ways God can use us despite our inabilities. I never knew what to expect from this experience, I never knew what Africa was like or even how this camp would affect kids better than any other method we could use to help the African people. So I stepped into this adventure trusting that God would take this camp and use it, and he did. My perception of Africa before I came was the pictures most people in North America know, a world vision commercial is all they every see, so they assume that is what Africa is. But this adventure opened my eyes. I realized that it is awesome to give money or support in any way you can; however African kids need more than money. They need opportunity. And that’s what this camp gives. It gives kids opportunity to just have fun, to learn and to feel loved. For us to show kids love and tell them we do what we do because God loves them is a profound concept for them. That is why to me it is important for us to be here. Money is great, but love is a necessity. That’s what we are here to give. It was extremely fun to watch as the kids had fun and learned that they can worship God in whatever they do. I feel that I have learned so much from the kids and from the whole culture in my short time here. I am excited to see where the camp will go in the future. All of us involved have ideas and dreams of what is possible, but none of our dreams can match up to God’s plans. That is why I believe this camp will be powerful for years to come. Caleb Davis

Speechless

I am speechless daily over the kids that surround us. Yesterday I stood under the shade of a tree and preached about love to a crowd of Blue as they sat on the grass and listened. At one point I wanted to hide behind my translator Georges just to hid the fighting tears as I talked about my love for money. Most of these kids have no understanding about the god of money for they have probably never owned any of their own. I asked them to pray for me and to pray for my country for I dont think I will ever understand simple faith the way that people here in Rwanda understand it. I find myself daily learning from these kids as I see pure joy on their faces. I hope and pray that God will break my heart for these people and for the people that God has put in my life at home. God's love for us is more pure than anything we will ever understand and all He asks of us is to love Him back. I guess in these past weeks that is the message that I have been preaching. These kids have been incredible, as I was speaking about love to them and how much God wants us to love Him and to love each other they began to put their arms around each other. Again I needed to fight back the tears. My best memory of this camp was watching the biggest smiles you could imagine as kids went shooting down the slip n' slide that we set up leading into the lake. Everyday I embrace smiles of children experiencing true joy. I learn so much from these kids and am daily challenged in my life. I know that God has good things in store for this camp and for the people of Rwanda. A couple of days after we arrived our main camp leader and translator Betty told me that weeks previous to our arrival she had been praying for a camp In Gahini and even called all the people she knew trying to organize one. only days before we arrived had she given up on the idea of having a camp for the youth here in Gahini. God knows our hearts, He knows His children and the more we seek Him the more He will put us where He wants us to be whether thats in a job or traveling or school or even living in a foreign land. When we let God's love overtake our lives and lead our steps we are left speechless. -Daniel

A Sea Of Blue

The second week of camp has concluded, it has been a myriad of emotions, chaos and fun! I often walk through this sea of kids wrapped in blue camp Gahini shirts and let the reality of this venture hit me. Just over a year ago it was a dream that God had placed into our hearts and now here we are half way done the first year of camps! It is overwhelming to ponder, the greatness of this God we serve.

This morning I was reading about Elijah and Elisha and how they went for a walk one day and as they came to the Jordan river they hit the water with their robe and it parted, so they could walk across on dry land. This is the God that we serve, the impossible becoming possible, dreams turning to reality. These past two weeks have been an incredible stretching process for the entire team. We have experienced so many trials, whether getting sick physically, dealing with cultural differences or the ever prominent language barrier. It has been such a blessing to watch as each team member takes on the responsibility given them and also continually picks up the slack for those sick or tired or just weary from the cultural differences and needing a break. We have had two camps thus far, each camp having roughly one hundred youth attending. In every camp it has been surreal to see the change in these kids lives, to hear their questions during team devotionals about where God comes from or where He lives. I have loved seeing smiles on their faces and even the tears in their eyes as the last day they walk out of chapel giving hugs and speaking in their broken english, "I shall never forget you". It is these smiles and tears that inspire and encourage us to continue to dream, and to trust that God has big plans not only for our lives but for the lives of each and every kid we have been able to get to know these past couple weeks. One story to leave you with; When we first arrived I was in meetings with the church leaders here in Gahini. As we went over what the camp was going to look like and all of the small details that are involved with starting a project of this magnitude my good friend and the man in charge here spoke up. He told me that this camp is not only our dream but has been their dream as well. The idea of bringing kids out of their day to day lives and letting them be kids for one week, of giving them good memories to replace all of the pain and hurt in their lives and showing them God's grace love and joy. This he said is something that has been needed here for years and is an incredible blessing to this country. Please continue to pray for us as we have two more camps left to go. Jordan

Great Comments

Thanks so much for responding to our blogs and corresponding with us. It is wonderful to hear what you are all thinking... It seems that we often make the mistake of not expressing ourselves to the fullest with each entry. Perhaps we forget about those who haven't the slightest clue of what we are doing and only tell small portions, and perhaps we also keep it too short and brief as we neglect to give our blog the amount of time it demands of us. For this I apologize.

First off, our lack of knowing the blogging world is why we are continuing a blog that was created for a different journey. This is our way of sending our stories home. For those of you more interested in this mission to Rwanda we have not expressed our hearts for this, and our mission statement to the side of the page here is more in regards to the World Faith Tour.

The connection between our last journey and this mission is this; We still have the same heart for seeking out our calling, to live as God would have us live. Our stories are those filled with adventures and excitement. We hope people who read this will be encouraged and possibly inspired to dream.

"Getting back into the Game" hopefully this saying isn't taken so seriously that we can base our theology on it. I find that in many ways we are getting back into something different. I personally don't feel as if I will be a different person in or out of the game. But as we prepared to leave our home and enter into a foreign country, everyday life becomes a little different, almost like a game. Suddenly nothing is familiar, the people treat you differently by our white skin. The prices get hiked up and people try to scam you on the streets. But in no way is this mission, this chance to teach kids, a game. We take this responsibility seriously.

For those of you who have been supporting us. We send you more "thanks". Your prayers have been needed. Your finances have been important. Many of you would know that we have gone through the organization of AYMI, who you sent your checks to. This relationship between AYMI and ourselves has benefited us as a way to keep our finances accountable to someone.

I would like to answer a few good questions asked by Kim;

Q: Is there need in Rwanda? Greater or lesser than Canada?

A: I feel there is a big need in Rwanda and we are here to work towards changing that. I could possibly write a book on the needs of this place and why I came. In the blogs to come I hope that some of the needs are expressed, and any of us are more than willing to share in person our understanding of the situation here in Rwanda. Canada too has a big need, in which we are all responsible for. Personally, I don't know how to measure greater and lesser need. There are many ways to help make Canada a better place, we should all do what we can.

I find it odd being here and hearing how so many people here wish Rwanda could be more like Canada. I often tell them, I wouldn't wish that upon you. Rwanda has many strengths that we don't as Canadians. I often mention to Rwandise that in Canada we often worship money.

Q: Are you fulfilling your desires for adventure?

A: Absolutely! I hope I speak for everyone on the team, its full of ups and downs, mostly ups.

Q: Is the money going towards a Project that is sustainable?

A: We hope so. It is kind of an expensive one-time thing to do here. So far many local leaders have taken an interest in using this program and performing it in smaller scales around the country after we leave. Thus far we are getting closer to setting things in place for next year, to make things better. Our plan is that this camp will be running locally in less than 5 years from now. It seems to be catching on so fast it may be less!

Q: What is it that attracted you to Rwanda?

A: Jordan is the guy who had some dreams and visions of this camp when we were here last year, so we committed to coming back in a year to make it happen.

We hope that our blog has not given you the idea that living 'extreme and going overseas' is hand in hand with obedience and righteousness.

Kenton

Familiar Red Soil

Sitting on a bus in Kenya my nostrals were filled with that very familiar B.O. that can only be found on this continent, Nigel says it is a warm inviting smell, but I am not so sure I agree with him on that one. Warm, and Inviting is how I would describe being back in Rwanda. Someone told us the other day that the first time you meet someone in Africa you are their guest and the second time you are their friend and the 3rd time you are their Brother. So it is such a great feeling coming to a place where I am a friend. It feels incredible to be walking on this familiar red soil that has the power to change lives. Kenya was beautiful and after only a day we got on a bus to Uganda and then here to the peace of Rwanda. (32 hours on a bus later)We got to Gahini Rwanda on Saturday night and were woken early Sunday morning being told that we were doing Sunday School. I have been waiting for a year for this!! The kids were in a huge circle and we jumped into the middle of it and sang songs and laughed. Kenton did the story of Noah getting all the kids to act as animals and again everyone laughed so deeply. It all just seemed to fall into place so fast. From the moment we have arrived we have felt almost as if we are visiting old relatives and as if the work here is second nature. Things seem to be falling into place around us and we daily see the ripples of a hand larger than ours shifting the waters. Thanks for your prayers we need them desparately for if we do things on our own we are destined to fail. Blessings, Dan

And we're BACK IN THE GAME!!!!

Well I am still pinching myself in the reality that almost a year has gone by since we returned home after our world faith tour. As I pulled my backpack out of the closet and brushed all the dust off to put it to use once again I just had to shake my head. I dont know if I have even looked at that pack since november of last year. Ya maybe it sounds weird to you to dwell so richly over my back pack but you gotta understand that for a world traveller my back pack is like my best friend. he goes everywhere with me. At times he's a burden to carry but he always delivers great prizes like...clean underwear, and socks. well hopfully clean anyway. So I filled her up with all I thought I needed and now we are off. Only a week ago I can recall sitting in the truck at work with the guys, looking at our unfinished house and shaking my head saying "guys, how in the world are we going to do this." At the time we had about 3000 dollars in our budget for the camp and a house that needing the outside to be finished. Now here I am sitting at the computer with my flight only hours away with over $15,000 in our camp budget and a house that's pretty much done on the outside (sorry Daryl, have fun!). People keep telling me that I must be so excited and I just smile and nod and say "ya...excited...I guess" yes I am excited but I suppose its a different kind of excitement. its different than the excitement of going to disneyworld, its kinda like the excitement of swimming with dolphins (cause all of us know what that is like) your excited but nerveous cause anything could happen. so we covet your prayers today and for the next weeks. We have high hopes for this camp and believe that God is going to do amazing things. blessing everyone and we will do our best to keep up posted. please reply if you can commit to praying for us everyday, we would really really love that. Dan

So, What's Next?

Coming home to Canada and finishing the biggest adventure of our lives felt very melodramatic. Since that day we have accustomed to life in Canada very quickly...almost too quickly. When a person comes home after something like this we must ask ourselves....what next. We can't stop dreaming, now we have to dream bigger. So this is it, the next dream for the lowly world faith travellers, PROJECT RWANDA, We hope to begin in November of 2008 bringing people and materials to begin a camp for youth in Rwanda. the location is already steaked out and now we need you. we need direction and eventually we will need a lot of money. If this is something that interests you please leave a comment with your e-mail and we will be sure to contact you in the next months as things come into place, or please send us an e-mail at one of addresses listed in our profile. Thanks and be blessed and dream big for the God we serve is so much bigger than this little world we live in at such a time as now. Daniel

The Final Days

I am sitting here in the shotgun seat of my friends motorhome looking out at the sun setting and driving towards home. Its a strange feeling that I am crossing north america yet again on my way home, but this time from a trip that has transformed my life. I cant explain all the ways that I have been changed but I for sure have a deeper sense that the God of the universe is just that. He is the God who holds everything in the palm of His hands, who is bigger and greater than I could ever imagine. Which is so exciting for me. He is not this god that I built and place in my home, something I understand and is tangible. Because why would I worship something I can understand. Before I left on this trip I was talking with a friend of mine who said that going and experiencing something like the world would surely destroy my faith. Well he was right. The immature faith that I had a year ago has been destroyed. I now have a faith so much deeper and more intense. Like nothing I have experienced before. I feel confident to step out, trusting that He will catch me, trusting that He is beyond my understanding and faults and that He loves me. I wish that I could put a years worth of experience and adventure and teaching onto this page for all of you to read. But the truth is, it takes a year. And reading it would not come close to the experience. Seeing the worship of idols in India and the secularism of europe, the freshness of Papua New Guinea all needs to be seen first hand for it to transform the soul. If you read this and your a person who does not know Jesus, I say start looking around, He is there in the places that rationale and western thought never look. He is in the eyes of the poor, the hands of the sick and yet fills the sky with glimpses of His glory! That is the God that I worship with excitement and awe.

Blend

Basking under the Italian sun with the Colosseum in the horizon and thousand year old ruins behind me was a memory to hold. As I shiver now in the damp cold of England I can hardly believe that only 2 days ago that was my backyard, then 2 days before that it was the water streets of Venice and a day before that it was giant statues of Hungary, before that, Romanian, and before that, Ukraine. You get the picture, its been a blend of countries in a blend of days. Looking back this morning it all seems to blend together in a mixture of culture, languages and confusion. It was hard to leave Josh's comfortable Polish apartment but with every new adventure comes a slight sacrifice. After a long night on a smelly hot bus of Ukrainians we arrived to the thriving metropolis of Le Viv. We soon found out that unlike the rest of Europe Ukrainians don't bother to learn English in their schools and the the Ukrainian alphabet unlike most world languages uses completely different letters so as we stood in the bus station looking blankly at the sign in front of us it was difficult to decide where to go next. Well as always the good Lord was looking out for us and we met a translator after some time and went back to the bus station to get our ticket to Romania. Then we spent the day eating authentic Ukrainian borscht and having our own personal Ukrainian tour guide who was also our much needed translator so thanks to Nadia for being a sweetheart to 3 homeless bums in our time of need. The days really did blend together now that I think back and I know looking back that it was all by God's grace of where He has brought us today. A bed become a luxury and a shower a weekly activity as we toured Europe in what seems like only a few days. 12 months ago I think the Dan I used to be would have whined and complained and wished for a bed but it seemed to be part of the journey and I wouldn't trade it. I remember one vivid night where we slept in a train station for lack of anywhere else and we soon found out that it wasn't really a waiting room for the train but rather a haven for the homeless. The smell quickly faded but the weirdo's came in and out. This one man sat next to me around 3 in the morning gave me a look and grabbed my hand and shaking it profusely he rambled on and on in Ukrainian. I tried to motion that I didn't understand but I soon learnt that he wasn't really talking any language and wasn't too understanding of most coherent things around him. He soon pulled out a deck of cards and would have played all night had I not finally refused and curled up on my wooden chair to make it through the night. He periodically shook me through the night and would try to tell me something but with time came the morning and we got out of there as fast as we could. Europe is beautiful and the time left is short, its hard to describe the emotion I feel being so close to the end, so many stories, so many lessons spinning in my head and heart. The anticipation of familiar soil fills my dreams but I thank God for every waking moment in these next days and weeks as I am filled with His grace to be here. Daniel

A Warning To Humanity

Auschwitz concentration camp has transformed from a place where people would never want to go, to a place where all of us should go. It is a reminder of what humanity can and has done to its self. Perhaps this plaque shows the vastness of terror and evil that took place here, but until I stepped foot in these two Auschwitz camps I wasn't aware of the horror that took place. The people who were brought here were not only killed they were tortured and stripped of the things it means to be human. Jordan and I did an extensive tour of the camps and Dan also saw a lot of what they show. We gained a little bit of perspective of why those men who fought in that war, who saw these horrors and then came home are not wanting to talk about their experience. I can't imagine wanting to tell people about the things that happened here if I was a true witness to it. There are rooms here that display some of the items taken from the prisoners: Shoes, suitcases, and toothbrushes. They even shaved their entire bodies and gathered the hair to be sold and made into socks for the Nazi soldiers. We saw a room with 2 tons of hair left behind not yet packed. We were also shown the gas chambers where the most killing was done. It would be an underground bunker with 3 major rooms, one would be a room that was where all the prisoners were told "to undress themselves, and remember where they left their clothes so they would not be lost after their 'shower'". They would then move into the next room where they could fit 700-2000 people tightly depending on which camp they were at. At this point when they were all tightly squeezed into this huge shower room, a few cans would drop through the roof into the room. The cans were opened and filled with crystals that give off a gas that stops the oxygen circulate in your blood. This caused the people to internally suffocate, causing a very painful 20 min death. Often they left a loud truck running outside the building, to muffle the sound of the screaming. Then the bodies would taken out of the room into the third room where they were incinerated. Several incinerators all very easy to use would burn the people quickly afterwards. Those last rooms even had tracks in the floor for carts to load bodies and push them with ease straight onto a metal table that could slide into the fire and out with just the ash remaining. All of this would be happening to about 80% of the people who got off the train their first day, because they were 'unfit to work', and that was decided in a three second glance. Those who were fit to work were doing jobs like shaving the new prisoners, sorting their things, and even hauling the dead bodies to the fire. Those who did that particular job were considered to be dangerous because they were the strongest and they knew too much, so as a result these workers would be killed and replaced every two weeks. The short life for these prisoners was very terrible, often working them to death, sometimes with that exact purpose. Even time on the toilet was limited to 10 seconds twice a day. The people in this camp were tested to see how far they can be pushed before dieing. Experiments were done to see how little air a person could live with in their concrete cell, or some were made to stand in a cell too small for sitting for the night, all while being forced to work the next day. Many were starved as experiments, or cut open to have their living organs examined. The horror of it all is sometimes more than I can comprehend. I find the more I hear about what happened here, the more I tend to separate myself from it. It doesn't seem real to the life that I life today. But just being here... seeing faces... looking at their hair, I see it's not a movie. Its very real. And the evil mastermind who put it all together, The King of lies, still wanders to and foe in this world causing pain and suffering. And it is only by God's grace that His power came through and has restored peace in this place. I imagine that Auschwitz concentration camp was very close to hell on earth, but one thing Satan didn't take from those people was that... 'to live is Christ, and to die is gain'. That's a promise we all have from God. Kenton

Adventure Outlook?

The intoxication of sleep deprivation had fully settled upon both kenton and myself. We arose from the well lit storage room that was accessible from a stairwell at the back of a catholic church. It was a room full of spiders, scorpions and other creepy crawlies I am sure we only imagined. But it also contained some hard Styrofoam that took the chill from the cold concrete and was the perfect setting for us to get out of the rain and spend the night. As we hit the road again to try and make it to Cieszyn and meet up with Dan and his brothers friend Josh we hoped for better luck during the early hours of the morning than we had the previous night which led us to that dungeonesque accommodations of the previous night. Until then our journey had been splendid, we were privileged with a ride that blessed us with twenty euro, an especially large sum of money for a backpacker on a tight budget and many miles still to go! But maybe what goes around comes around for real. Although as we stood on that road side in Poland now where the euro was not accepted and no one would exchange a dime with us or even point us in the direction of an ATM, our stomach's growling and minds still hazy from the lack of sleep we were blessed yet again. A chief prosecutor walking by stopped to help us, over coming the fear that had held so many others back from talking with us. He helped us to get to a ATM where we took some currency out and then helped our selves to a hardy breakfast from the super market before hitting the road again. This last short jaunt was cold but we thankfully did not have to wait overly long before a ride and then another getting us to Cieszyn in time for lunch! Now as I sit writing on this wonderful Mac laptop, smelling a wonderful meal cooking in the other room and having a bed close by to chill in for the night that's warm and safe from scorpions, I laugh! During adventure it can suck, but usually the greatest trials make the best stories and through them we can always look back and see what a rad God we journey with! Be blessed. Lehmann

Intimidation

As Karstin drove away in his German station wagon I stood at the gas station with nothing but the open road ahead of me, I wouldn't admit it then but I felt nothing less than intimidated. I walked around the gas station is hopes of finding English and friendly Germans which combined would get me a ride. I gotta admit I didn't want to leave my homeland of Germany. Staying in the home of Patrick and then Kathrin and Karsten was just a little too comfortable. Sleeping every night in my own bed, delicious German breakfast's every morning....mmmm. I had to chuckle as I stood at that gas station preparing to leave Germany, I just spent the last week with two amazing Germans and their families, people 11 months ago I didnt know existed. We met them 10 months ago in the tropical mountains of Costa Rica and now to cross paths in their home was almost sereal. Germany did indeed treat us well, from Suzie's cappaccion's to chilato's with Patrick followed by what felt like 2 sets of grandparents and a big brother and sister with Kathrin and Karsten, it was... about perfect I would have to say. It wasn't long until I found English and a friendly German and I was on the east bound road. I spent the day in a lot of random fast German cars driving whatever speed they were comfortable with on the famous Autobon. And when I wasn't in a car I was waiting, bundled up in everything I had; at exits, at gas stations and wherever I could find slow traffic. Eventually I made it to the Czech city of Prague, a beautiful city of rich Christian history. Unfortunately the only Christianity in Czech is just that... History. Being on the open although intimidating at times was a feeling like no other. Its the feeling of freedom, like I can do anything and go anywhere and no matter what happens it will be an adventure. There was times standing on that road with the sun going down that I didnt think I would make my destination but somehow I just knew that something bigger than me would get me there at just the right time. I got to Poland late Monday night and met the man my brother talked so highly of and I am thankful to find out why. Looking back on these few days of travel, of hitch hiking on the open Highway in a foreign country with foreign languages I know that the Daniel who left Canada 11 months ago could never have done it. There's something about stepping out that makes all of the following steps seem just a little bit easier, all of a sudden the world doesn't seem so big anymore, language barriers don't seem to matter as much and no matter where I go or what I do somehow I know that God is in fact leading my steps as I go. I think stepping out in faith will always be intimidating, but to let intimidation alone hold me back would be robbing myself and the world of what could have been. With only 4 weeks left I pray I will step boldly into the intimidating moments and to experience all that this small world and the Big God who controls it has to offer. Daniel (oh and this last pic, is us busking to make some extra cash... 1 euro 63 to be exact)

Arriving in Europe has been like waking in a fairy tale dream. The castles on the hills and the quaint little cafes on the street corners with well dressed students sipping their espressos and talking about philosophy. Having a stove that when you turn a knob it heats up instantly and you are ready to begin cooking. All of these creature comforts that but a year ago we took for granted, have become part of this surreal experience that is so enticing. Since coming to Germany we have been amazed with the efficiency and detail with which things here are done. But it has not just been a mechanical way of life but it has a great culture and history that fills the place with a certain brilliance. We have trekked to Cologne where we saw the wonderful Cologne Cathedral a wonder of architecture and God's majesty. The massive building is stained with the black smoke from the bombs of WWII and has a certain aura to it that captures ones imagination. On the inside the giant pipe organs haunting voice echoes throughout the hallowed place making it a magical atmosphere that tingles the senses. All of this has been just the beginning of our journey here. The struggle though has changed to an inward battle as opposed to meeting it face on in the day to day poverty that we have become accustomed to seeing. Beggars no longer seem in dire need, and we have become the ones looking shabby and forlorn instead of like the rich white people. That in itself has been a unique change, we are no longer celebrity status, but instead normal people living out their lives. So with that understanding we must begin to press into the word even more and realize just because Europe seems more like home, we cannot become comfortable and stagnant. With poverty slapping you in the face turning to God and asking why and what can I do and just seeking was a mandatory start to each day. But with practical room service some days here in Germany the need of a God who is bigger and guiding your every step almost seems quizzical at times. But its then that we truly need to press in the most. God has plans for our every day and that doesn't change depending on the continent we stand on. Lehmann