The Longs

What is VOLANT Klub

VOLANT Klub is the name of the high school student ministry of Sumperk's Baptist church.

Tuesdays 3:30-6:00: VOLANT Girls' Bible Study - Cassie leads an English girls Bible study every week at our apartment.  Currently the girls are working their way through "how do you know God's your father" by Kay Arthur.  5-7 girls regularly attend this study.

Wednesdays 3:30-5:30: English VOLANT- On the first and third weeks of the month we meet with 6-10 advanced English students in our apartment.  On the second and fourth weeks we meet with 8-12 beginner English students.  In these groups we play games, act, and converse to help the students practice and use the English they learn in school.

Fridays 3:00-5:00 every other week: VOLANT team - VOLANT Klub is led by a servant team of 5-7 students.  The team meets at church to catch vision, pray, organize activities, and discuss how to best shepherd the VOLANT flock.  Radek Jersak leads these meetings and leads the whole VOLANT Klub.

Saturdays 5:00-7:00: On the first and third weeks of the month we meet at church for Exit VOLANT.  We invite friends, play games, watch a Czech Christian television show called Exit 316, and have discussions about the content of the show in small groups.  About 20-25 students attend this Exit VOLANT.  On the second and fourth weeks of the month we meet at church for Multak which is a time of digging into the Word, prayer and fellowship for the core group of believers and anyone else who wants to join.  About 15 students regularly attend Multak.

Sundays 4:00-6:00: Sport VOLANT-We rent a gym at a local school every week and play indoor soccer with 10-15 students.

All together 40-45 students are regularly involved with VOLANT during the school year.

1/3 of those are believers and 2/3 of those are not yet.

In the past 5 years 19 young people have put their faith in Christ!

More than half of the students that attend Multak are new believers!

 

Isn't it Ironic?

When I was growing up, I (Cassie) never had much interest in learning to cook or bake.  Let me re-phrase that.  I had NO interest in learning such things.  Eating was a pleasure, but I was extremely lazy in the kitchen.  In fact, I remember right before getting married, trying to stir up a batch of brownies (from a box) for the first time and getting frustrated with that!  (I am pretty sure my Mom was concerned about me when she saw this).  So needless to say, when I entered into the land of everything-by-scratch (Czech), I was in for a rude awakening.

The first year or two was terrible.  I couldn't even cook eggs!  But slowly, thanks to my reading skills and a very patient husband, I got better.  I still don't love cooking by any means, but it's manageable now, most of the time.  And I actually have grown to like baking.  Probably it helps that I'm such a choc-o-holic and have a major sweet tooth!  But I do like the oh-so-detailed, step-by-step, exactness of baking.  And the oh-so-yummy scent coming out of the oven.  Mmmm.  But to make it even better...

I have found that God has a sense of humor.  One example is my "baking ministry," as Trevor calls it.  Almost every week I bake something for a group of students that come over to our house.  Well, it turns out that Czech girls are far more "sikovna" (Czech word that's hard to translate--similar to "talented") in the kitchen than I was at their age.  So naturally, they taste some oh-so-exotic American recipes (i.e. chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and the likes of these!) and want to learn how to make them.  So quite regularly I have girls over to bake.  What fun!  And how I NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER would have imagined this being such an ongoing part of my ministry.  (That's why I said God has a sense of humor).  Also I'm sure that my family thinks this is pretty funny! As do I :)

Below is a picture of the lovely Sharkie and Babu, with our delicious cupcakes (thank you Erica, for the wonderful for the recipe!)