Encouraging Exercise

Why have I taken a picture tracing the outline of my hand? It reminds me of an activity we did during a Women's Spring Weekend Retreat that I recently attended. I am so glad that I participated with the other 20 plus Czech women. I had many opportunities to practice speaking and listening to Czech. To ensure that I understood what was going on often I had Olga sit next to me and periodically I would whisper in her ear what I thought the main speaker was talking about. I got excited when Olga would confirm that I understood correctly the main points of what was being discussed. I didn't understand every word but got enough to understand the main concepts. It sure was a big encouragement for me. Saturday night we sat in a big circle and as the speaker asked each one of us to describe our mothers. I quickly looked up a few words to make sure I knew what I wanted to say about my own special Mom. It was such an honor to share a few things and the ladies understood what I said :-) It is interesting to think about how much we are influenced by our mothers and families in general. That was a highlight for me as well but the biggest encouragement came from our last activity. We took a piece of paper and traced our hand on a piece of paper--similar to the above picture. Then we left that paper on our chair so other women could write a couple of positive attributes about us on our traced hand. As we walked around writing on each others' papers, I made sure I had a Czech dictionary handy so I could find the write Czech adjective to describe the other ladies. It was a great way for me to study and practice using my Czech and not only that but what an encouragement it was to me. The first thing I read on my paper when I first glanced at the attributes was (translated from the Czech language) "you love Czechs, thanks!" I'm sure glad they see the love God has given me for these wonderful people. Please continue to pray that God continues to move in the hearts and minds of Czechs. Thank you so much!
Until next time, take care!

Many Blessings,
Colleen