Last night in the Czech & "See you laters"

My delicious coffee!

I do not believe in goodbyes. I call them see you laters because it does not matter when I see the person. I know I will see him or her again whether it is on this earth or in heaven. That might be why when I say goodbyes now, I do not get as emotional. It is not because I'm heartless or don't have emotions but because I truly believe that if you care and love someone you will see them again. However, it means that I am intentional with each time and moment I spend with someone. I never want to leave wishing I had told them something that was on my heart, and that is what I kept telling myself on this trip during every FBI time. Ultimately, I wanted to leave this trip knowing I had allowed God to use me in every way showing His love for the Czech. Earlier in the day after camp, I had to say a "see you later" to Gabi and Simona because they were not joining us for dinner. It was really hard to leave them because we have all gotten so close, but I knew in my heart I would keep in touch with them. :)

Entrance to Charles Bridge

Bara and her husband Marek as well as Nikol pick us up at our hotel at 6pm. Poor James had thrown out his back the day before so he has been with Bara the whole time. I was so excited to see Marek wearing the shirt I gave him that morning! If you ever get a chance to meet Marek, he is just the funniest and most loving person ever. Very sarcastic and just awesome!

View from restaurant

We go to dinner on a boat near the Charles Bridge, but the boat does not move. It is just a restaurant, and it has to be the most gorgeous view I have ever seen in my life! We got here around 6:30 right around sunset, and our table overlook the water, Charles Bridge, and Prague castle. Once the sun went down, the beautiful view continued with the city lights. There are just certain things you can never get in California, and this was one of them. I ordered the salmon ravioli, and for dessert the best coffee I have ever had! yum! :) Only negative thing was how long our table was. I had to keep moving up and down the tables so I could have some time with each person. :(

During the whole dinner, I just sat and took in every moment, reflecting on all the wonderful experience of the week. Out of the 4 times I have gone to the Czech, this had to be the best camp/trip ever. Not only did I feel that I was able to build on the relationships I had built in the past, but I also made a lot of new ones that I will never forget. My first trip in 2005 changed my life forever, and I knew I was going to be back. I just didn't know it would be seven years later, and my feelings for FCC missions and the people of Czech are just as strong.

Bara (left) and Marek (right)

Some of my favorite moments from dinner were when Ondra was so excited for the shirt I gave him he put it on right away. He was so happy and grateful it put a smile on my face. Erica even cried a little hehe Another moment was just talking and Bara and Nikol. It is so great to catch up and enjoy the moments we have with each other. I call these two ladies my Czech moms because they truly care and love me like their child (much older child) ;-) I look up to them so much and for everything they are doing for cheerleading in that country. Even though it has been three years since I have last seen them, it was as if nothing had changed. Words cannot express the magnitude and depth of love I have for them and their families.

Salmon Ravioli

After dinner, we took one last walk down Charles Bridge. Prague at night is a beautiful sight. I honestly would not mind living here and seeing this view every day. Going to another country and experiencing their culture is something I think everyone should do, especially Americans. It has made me thankful and appreciative of what I have, but in the same way for other cultures as well. There are certain things we take for granted or forget to appreciate. Sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone to see how things are outside of our confined thoughts and ideals.

Ondra and his shirt!

Erica

Finally, we head back to the hotel, and as Bara and Marek dropped me off, it was hard to think that I would not see them for a while. We stayed in the lobby a few moments and just expressed how glad and thankful we both were to have gotten to see each other again. After a sad but hopeful "see you later", I headed back up to my room to finish packing then headed up to the girls room and had a late night chat with Addi. We talked about our experiences and how it has impacted both our lives. I told her I would come back to say goodbye in the morning and headed back to my room. Since I wanted to sleep on the plane, I didn't sleep much and just finished up my "I love you becauses" for the U.S. and Canadian staffers. Til tomorrow!

Last Day of Camp

Jana and I and our FBI gifts (Milk chocolate, Prague Eagles medal, and famous gingerbread cookie!)

Gingerbread cookie from PM Stars-the town where they are from are known for these cookies

I can clearly remember waking up this morning and realizing how fast this trip has gone by. Not only is this the last day of camp, but it is also my last night in Prague. Last night, I spent a few hours as well as an hour this morning writing "I love you becauses" for the FCC staff. Since I have been out of college, I have not had a team for over a year, but this staff has truly become my family and team the past 10 days and I will truly miss them. My college coach used to have us write "I love you becauses" for every person on our team. The purpose is for you to express how each person meant to you and why you love them. It's really neat to look back on them through the years and remember all the great memories you had. For me, I wanted to write this for staff to express how blessed I was to have them in my life and how I truly do love them. Each person brought something special to the staff and camp whether it was leadership, humor, heart, servitude, courage, talent, or encouragement. Some of these people I will never see again, and that is just how it is. We can never predict life, but it is those small moments and how someone made you feel that can last a lifetime, which is why you should never miss a moment to tell them how much they mean to you.

Team Dynamic

Staff got to sleep in a little bit since campers warm up on their own for camp championships. For those of you not familiar with FCC cheer camps, the last day consists of evaluations and a little competition. It is always exciting to see how team improve throughout the week, and I know that my Faithful Buddy teams improved immensely. Two nights ago, one of my teams the Prague Eagles/Basta struggled during evaluations because they were not familiar with the routine even though they are a talented team. I was so proud of them to see how they did not let that affect them as a team but rather used that as motivation to practice and improve. My other team, Dynamic, did an awesome job as well. For a small all- girl team of 5, they grew closer as a team and had a very clean and sharp routine. All the teams did really great and it was definitely a successful camp.

"Myska" coach of Prague Eagles

It was hard to say good bye to all the campers because again, there is a good chance I may never see some of them again. All I could hope for is that God used me to make some little impact in their life. Every time Bara gives her final goodbye of camp, it is always so hard to hold back tears. Her organization has given FCC a wonderful opportunity, and I am so grateful for everything they have done for us. They always thank us for giving our time, but really, I am thankful to them for doing all that they do.

After the official camp goodbyes, we all went to lunch at the campers hotel. From there, we went back to our rooms to pack up and head back to Prague. It is bitter sweet because I am glad to have some rest, but it is my last night, which means I have to say goodbye to staff, Bara, Nikol, and the rest of our wonderful hosts :(

Basta girls putting me in a thigh stand- I promised them that if they hit their routine I would let them put me up. They did so I kept my promise ;-)

We get back to Prague by 4:30pm and get settled into our hotel there. Bara, Nikol, and Petra have a special dinner planned for us at night so check out the next post for details! :)

Day 3 of Senior Camp and Ashley's B-day Surprise

Me and my tigers

 Today was considered the "international" day of fun and is a record breaking one because we have countries representing from Czech, Canada, U.S., and Great Britain! The U.S. staff decided decided to get our faces painted by the Czech staffers. I wanted to be a zebra, but they forgot and painted me as a tiger...(Get it? Tigers hunt the zebra?). Well we started off the morning with the fun day warm up and of course the fun day song that has been made famous in the U.S. The campers had a lot of fun in the large conga line in the small gym.

Petra and I

 We then moved into jump class, stunt class, tumbling class, and FBI time. For tumbling, we decided, or Blake decided, to have us spot back hand springs the whole class ;-) In our FBI time, we recapped the primetime from last night. I asked them what they put faith and confidence in and many mentioned friends, themselves, or family. It is tradition to play ships and sailors on fun day and because of the new rule "SAL" short for Staff Always Loses, we cannot win. I will add that I was the last staffer standing though...

After lunch we had private coaching, which is when an instructor coaches a team for 45 minutes (30 minutes on the 2nd day) to perfect the routine they have to perform for evaluations. Today, Jana and I had our FBI's so after private coaching we moved back into electives class.

Birthday girl

 We then moved into pre-evaluations where we give the team we are assigned to three things to correct, and after dinner they must perfect those three things to get a blue or silver ribbon.

At primetime tonight Zuska gave her testimony again, and since she was speaking in Czech, we (U.S. staff) needed a translator. Linda and Petra, our Czech staffers did a great job translating for us, and it is amazing to hear how God has used FCC in Zuska's life. Blake then shared his relationship with God and why FCC always shares about Christ. He compared it to a gift, and when someone receives something very special, the first reaction is to tell someone about it. Our goal as a U.S. staff is to provide the best cheerleading instruction possible, but more important to us is our God, and we want to share Him with the people we love at every moment :) During FBI time immediately following primetime, many groups had some questions regarding our personal relationship with Christ. I shared with my group my testimony and background of how I became a Christian, and how He influences my life.

Back at the campers hotel, Bara and Nikol surprised Ashley with a birthday celebration. Her birthday is not until Tuesday the 14th, but since it was camp, we got the whole camp to sing to her!

We then had our usual observations, frustrations, and prayer requests. Afterwards, we went and hung out with the campers and coaches as well as enjoyed the last night of camp as a staff. I have grown so close with the entire staff, coming in only knowing two of them. It will be a hard goodbye, but I am so blessed and grateful to God for bringing each and every one of them into my life.

Ashley's cake

Bara and Nikol gave Ashley an ICC jacket

"Faith" and Day 2 Senior Camp

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

One of the gyms for camp

Day 2 runs pretty similar to the camps in the U.S. We had our typical jump class, stunt class, and electives. For electives we taught 2 different dances, and the boys were allowed to go to partner stunting class. One thing we offer the Czechs and not in the U.S. is tumbling class. We have a separate time blocked off for everyone to learn some basic skills. The stations were broken off into handstands, cartwheels, round offs, forward rolls, and back hand springs. The campers seemed to enjoy the tumbling stations, and some even did new skills for the first time!

In the evening we had tumble jam, spirit sticks, and primetime. Tonight, Addi spoke on having faith and confidence. She related it to stunting and how the flyer has to place faith in her bases that they will catch her. In the same way Addi and the rest of the U.S. staff puts faith in God. Everyone puts faith in something or in someone. Some people place faith in their friends and family, some place confidence in money, some place it in relationships, and many place it in many other things. We place faith and confidence in something or someone that we can "trust". For me, God is the only person I can put faith and confidence in that is consistent. Materials fade and even the people in your life can fail you at times. As humans we are imperfect. It's life. I can always count on Him to show me when I am in the wrong or give me encouragement (through his Word/Bible), talk to Him when I need comfort (prayer), reflect on his greatness through his creation (nature), and to have strength when everything else around me fails. I think about my experience getting to the Czech and how God provided all of these things and more. He provided for me financially to get here, spiritually and mentally through prayer and word, and strength by putting the right people in my life at the right time.

After primetime, we headed back to our staff room at the campers' hotel as usual and did our observations, frustrations, and prayer requests. Again, it is so nice to have the Czech staff involved in observations and frustrations because it helps the U.S. staff learn and see things from their point of view culturally as well as bond as a staff by getting out our frustrations of the day. Tomorrow is fun day and I am pumped! :)