The adventure begins

A couple of years ago, Michelle and I were having coffee at the Oasis on State of Franklin. At the time, she was pastor of Cherokee United Methodist Church in Johnson City.  She mentioned she'd like to work overseas and asked about locating international projects. Wanted to know how I get picked for so many. Said she envied me.

I mentioned some websites, but advised her the best way is asking around.  Once they realize what is involved, most people don't want to work overseas.  Besides, our lives don't always permit it. "Trust me, Michelle. If people know you're up for working abroad, the opportunities find you."

 I doubt she really believed me.  But she talked to Randy Frye, our District Superintendent and in less than two weeks, Michelle was picked for a long-term gig in Prague. She and her husband Gary work with Czechs and English speaking ex-pats. They've been in the Czech Republic about a year.

Prague! Now, it was my turn to be envious. I've done projects in China, Turkey, and Mexico, but never in Europe. For the past several summers, I've worked in China, but this year, I'm free to do something else. Could I be useful to Michelle and her husband Gary, a fellow English teacher and church musician?

We discussed it on SKYPE.  Michelle asked how my husband and I would  feel about doing a series of English camps.  Joe is a United Methodist pastor, experienced at teaching conversational English. Our students would be pastors, youth, church workers, and locals in Prague.

So we're going.  We've purchased our air tickets,  and now that the ETSU semester is over, we're getting ready.

I'd blogged about our Chinese travels (www.rozchina.blogspot.com).  It seems to me this adventure calls for a blog of its own.  These days, some people live on Facebook,  I'm not one of them, but in deference to the times, I am posting some of this blog material on a public Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/czeching

Trust me, this blog will be better than the Facebook page.


Above: Michelle McKinnon-Young
Below: Map of the Czech Republic