From Yaya to Praha

Well, tomorrow we leave Richmond for Prague! We have one (long) layover in New York, but we'll probably need every minute there to transfer and re-check our bags with a different reservation (in an effort to save some money). We're almost through packing, and each bag is almost maxed out on the weight limit. Pray for our safety as we fly and for even a fun time together. We have had such a fabulous time in America, but we're excited to re-enter Prague life and get back to our home. Thanks for all you've done to encourge us, no matter which side of the ocean you're on.

Fountain Friend

One of the last things we got to do in Charlotte before we leaving was hang out with Miss Joy (one of our favorite people) at the mall (one of our favorite places). You may remember that Miss Joy lived with us last summer in Prague for several weeks - and she still likes us! She has been a very special friend for Lucy and Clark, and we're glad that they got a little more time with her before we left.

Pearly Whites

Lucy had her very first trip to the dentist last week - we were probably more nervous than she was, as they took her back by herself for most of it - but she did great! No problems to report thus far, and both Lucy and Clark got new toothbrushes, stickers, and a big hug from the dentist. Perhaps the dentist-phobia is not hereditary.

Of the four of us, Clark probably brushes his teeth the most and has ingested more toothpaste than most children.

Pizza and Prada

A few nights ago we had a fun pizza and movie night with some friends, taking advantage of one of our last babysitting opportunities (thank you, Miss Betsy!). We went to Brixx Pizza (one of our old stand-bys) and then on to "The Devil Wears Prada." All of us, even the boys, enjoyed the movie - and one of the best things was that, unlike in Prague movie theaters, there were no assigned seats! That's right, you get a designated ticket like a concert or sporting event when you go to a movie in Prague. (For rules-oriented people like Phil, that makes it quite hard to change seats)

One more Sunday

Shanna and I got to share during our church service yesterday at Uptown. It was our last Sunday in the States before we head back to Prague, so it was filled with lots of emotions, getting to worship with our old community one last time. We have been loved so well while we've been here, and it reminds us what we are in Prague to do. Today it's back to Richmond - so long, Charlotte!

Must...Keep...Eating

We've had almost every single meal with friends since we've been here - it has been great fun, and the last two nights have been no exception. We went to our former "life group" Bible studies - one was a cookout and the other was a pizza party. It was great to see even more friends on a more personal level and see where these groups have gone since we've left. The pizza party group was really a reunion of sorts, with lots of couples that had met through Bible study who are now married, and who are even now having kids of their own! We feel so proud to see them doing well - we miss them a lot, but when we are with them it is like things haven't changed at all (i.e. Ben is still goofy - picture by Lucy).

Must...Keep...Playing

Lucy and Clark have had so much fun the last few days - pool, playing at Ian's house, jumping in the bouncy castle, riding in the "tractor" while Daddy drove, riding big swings, eating with friends...phew!

One Sunday, Two Churches

We had a wonderfully busy day yesterday on Sunday. Along with our future Prague teammates Dorothy, Mark, and Joanna (and Sasha) we went to two churches - Christ Central Church and Hope Community Church. Both are church plants of Uptown Church and are located very close to Uptown but are doing very different things. Christ Central is a fabulous mix of ethnic and cultural diversity; Hope is reaching a younger, more post-modern audience.

We got to share at both churches about what God is doing in Prague and how we need more people. It was exciting to be there as a team (minus the Syvertsens, who are actually IN Prague still). We had a fun weekend together and spent some time just hanging out too.

In the evening we had a dessert update at the home of the Fergusons from Uptown. It was fun to see so many of our friends in one place at the same time - we caught up with a lot of people and had a chance to share in a larger setting, with about 40 people there.

We've been going non-stop since we got to Charlotte, but it's been great. Thanks for keeping us going!

The Big Prague Video

So HERE IT IS!!! This is a great video that our summer intern Becca put together for us. It's about 11 minutes long, and it has pictures from our (1) family life, (2) ministry life, and (3) Prague life. We have been giving copies out to friends on DVD, so if you'd like your own personal copy, let me know. And if, after watching this, you'd like more info on Prague, World Harvest, or how you can help us - definitely let us know!

Clark's newest obession- max the dog. He is the Macurdas' 13-year-old dog who is deaf and a little blind. Clark loves him and wakes up in the morning with one goal in mind - to see max asap. Before we arrived Max spent his days lounging on a red blanket, but since the flurry of Clark max spends his days at the mercy of a 20-month old!

photo by lucy

sweet friends

These are the ladies that keep me going!

Challenge, rebuke, encourage, pray and create lots of laughter in my life!

good ol' times

A highlight for us each week when we lived in Charlotte was playgroup. Lucy and I started attending two weeks after she was born and we were there every week after. It was my life-line to this new world of mothering, a place to play and connect and it is where our life-long friends developed. Julia, Neely, and Kim have become my dearest friends - our relationship stared out of the births of our children and continues to grow as they do. Lucy loves her Charlotte friends Caleb, Ian, and Anna Riley and misses them tons. This week we were able to have a very special playgroup reunion. We all gathered and had a morning of laughter and lots of play time. We also had the next generation join in Clark, Ally, Cole and Porter who are all the same age and the next generation. Then there's new two week old baby Everett!

Another future Prague-er

Meet another future Prague team member - Dorothy Jones! We are extremely excited about her joining our team, and she was the grand organizer of last night's cookout. Dorothy was part of one of our life groups in Charlotte and went to Uptown Church with us.

She taught for several years at a Christian school here before she felt God leading her to Prague, and she was recently approved by WHM to join us, hopefully in early 2007. She is now raising her financial support, so pray for her to come to Prague quickly! Along with the Stewart family, we need more people like Dorothy to help us start a church.

We've had a great time getting to know Dorothy a little more on this trip - she even stayed with our kids one evening while we went out, just so she could get to know Lucy and Clark better. She makes us laugh very hard too! Look out Prague!

World Harvest cookout

Last night was a great opportunity to reconnect and meet other World Harvest Mission missionaries. With all of our 16 months of experience on the field, we were actually the seasoned "veterans" of the group! There were several others who were recently approved and raising their financial support to go to Spain, London, and Prague. Also there was Pastor Tom and his wife Ann, WHM's executive director Bob Osborne, and our good friend Lisa who works at a Christian counseling center here in Charlotte.
It was fun to share, hear from each other, and enjoy good food. We really love our World Harvest Mission family.

Fun for Adults

Not just the kids (see below) but the adults too are having fun with their friends. Phil has already seen a late-night movie with his seminary buddies and had the "Bronx Bomber" Brixx pizza with Nate, and Shanna has done some shopping. We've also spent time with...

The Krugers and Rogers

David and Peggy

... and more!

So there I was... in the Congo...

After a few juice boxes the conversation just really flowed between Lucy and Aiden.

Fun for kids

Our days here in Charlotte have been packed full of fun, for both kids and adults. Yesterday was a great day at church, being able to worship with our old community and seeing so many of our beloved friends. We have so missed them!

Lucy and Clark have had a lot of fun playing with all their friends, some "old" and some new ones too...

Lucy and Aiden

Lucy and Clark playing with Austin and Marion

Lucy and Anna

On to Charlotte!

Yesterday we left Papa and Yaya to recover from our visit, and we arrived in good ol' Charlotte last night, where we'll be for about 2 1/2 weeks. We drove around a bit on our way in, noticing all the new buildings (or demolishings, rather), checked on our old house (still being held together by paint), and ended up at our friends' house - they have a wonderful living/sleeping area above the garage where we will be.

This morning Lucy looked out their window at the back yard with the playset and swings and excitedly shouted, "Look at that park!" We explained that this was called a yard. She's so urban.

Today we met up with Miss Angela, one of our favorite people (and Lucy's former babysitter) who now works for RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) just south of Charlotte. We met at the food court and walked around the mall a bit. It was a great start to our time in Charlotte!

More beach pix

All of us on the beach Out to eat

Mama

Kids

So this is an ocean

You can't get much more land-locked than Prague. And you don't want to be swimming in the Vltava River, so we got to experience a true natural body of water at Virginia Beach with Phil's family for a few days. Clark had never been to the beach before, and it had been over two years for Lucy, so this was great fun for everyone. Lucy played harder than she's played before, and Clark got dirtier than ever.

Here are some of the things we got to enjoy:
Swimming with Mommy
Burying Daddy in the sand
Riding the aqua bike with Papa; Putting sand down Yaya's bathing suit

Digging holes (and making a sand octopus) with Uncle Tom; Riding the merry-go-round at the mall

We had so much fun - thanks for a great trip!

Why Papa needs to retire

He could spend hours of foosball with Clark...

Or spraying Lucy with the hose...

More reunions

We had a great evening a few nights ago with some of our best friends, the Whislers. Brian and Margaret and their 3 kids - Abby, Riley, and Zachary used to live in Charlotte and are now just a few minutes down the road from Phil's parents in Richmond. Abby and Riley were the flower-girl and ring-bearer in our wedding too - you can see they've still got the talent - they're pretty amazing kids. Their younger brother Zachary is hilarious - I'm hoping that he and Lucy will develop a long-distance romance one day. We had so much fun catching up with our friends!