Jonny and Lisa Lobel

Frýdlant is really starting to feel like home. There are still days when I get frustrated that I still don’t know the language well enough to actually use it, but for the most part I am really comfortable and happy here.

I really enjoy not needing a car to get around. Taking the train from work is such a relaxing time and often reminds me of my dad. It is so great that I can walk to the store in 3 minutes to get the random foodstuffs I forgot last time I went. The little secondhand/antique shop where I can get things to make our apartment a little bit less like an IKEA showroom is kind of like a Target substitute (if you squint your eyes and use your imagination). 

I have always wanted to live in the same building as my friends and near cafe where I can go and be pretty confident that I’ll see someone I know at some point during the visit… and now I have both! AND Jonny and I get to have a Bible study with the totally awesome couple that lives upstairs from us. I love being able to walk to the river with my husband on random Thursday evenings. And I just found out yesterday that we have a dry cleaners in town!! Frýdlant is a great town.

Besides Frýdlant being a great town, I am also making more friends and building existing relationships and Jonny and I are getting more involved in our Church. Our new pastor recently asked Jonny if he would lead the worship ministry team and, after talking about it and praying about it, we decided it was where the Holy Spirit was leading us and it would be a great way to be more involved in our local church.

I am really looking forward to visiting our families in Chicago and Albany, but although it doesn’t mean I love or miss my family any less, I have to admit that this is home to me now. It feels good to be home.

The pitch floated in right down the pipe and I hammered it to deep center field.  While the students oooo-ed and aaah-ed at the high arc of my blast, I started a celebratory victory trot around the bases.  Caleb, a first year BMA student, was still backpedalling and squinting into the sun.  Much to my chagrin, he stuck his glove up, brought down my home run ball, and tossed it back to the infield.  ”You were out anyway,” the catcher gleefully reminded me.  ”You threw your bat.” I knew I would regret letting my wife play for the other team.

 ”Catch It” was the name of BMA’s first student planned and led retreat weekend, which lasted all day Friday (a Czech national holiday) and Saturday at a local hotel in the Beskydy Mountains.  Baseball was one of many highlights including music by a student band, drama and photography workshops, a tea house evening, midnight Frisbee, and spiritual discussions.  Lisa and I supervised the event, which sounds more ominous than it should.  Hanging out with twenty-five BMA kids for the weekend was an absolute delight.  Judging by the Facebook albums and status updates, the students enjoyed it even more than we did.

As the resident adult, I was invited to give introductory topics to spark a couple of the spiritual discussions.  On Friday morning, I lectured on “Surviving a Zombie Attack” before getting more serious and discussing how our daily lives are full of zombie like tendencies.  The students then broke into small groups to discuss what they think really gives life meaning.  After a full day of sports, games and workshops, our local youth pastor, Boža Lach, spoke that evening about what a relationship with God means.  Again, students got to discuss the topic together before enjoying a late night of tea, music, and Frisbee.

Saturday morning was powerful.  The student band, led by BMA fourth year Tyler Patty, belted another round of dance-invoking songs before a second year student told everyone her stunning life story.  Every eye was glued to her as she shared the hope she found in Jesus.  I told the students how new life comes through God’s free gift of grace and our willingness to repent.  We took a half hour of quiet time so that everyone could comfortably respond in his or her own way and ask questions.

For the rest of the day we continued our workshops and played baseball again before heading home.  The atmosphere was excited, sweet, and close.  I think the whole weekend embodies our vision for BMA.  It is a place where students are empowered to dream, achieve, and enjoy themselves in a close family atmosphere; where students are challenged to think about important things; where they will hear the message of hope in Jesus, and can feel free and valued as they respond in any way; a place where students are encouraged to run with crazy ideas and do new things.  Though it is full of Czech students, BMA is quite unCzech in these ways.

The students that participated in “Catch It” caught more than just baseballs.  There is a contagious energy at BMA right now that has everyone excited and looking for more!