Original Gradients (weeks 3 + 4 in Czechia)
"The sky is the original gradient. There aren't any pixels in that bad boy!"
Jacob yelled as we drove back from CrossFit to a pair of familiar golden arches that, to some, taste a little like home (yes, I am talking about McDonalds). The only hint of a routine these past two weeks have been dying at crossfit every Monday night and working at the JV office from 9-5. From writing blog posts to traveling to the next town over to shoot some stock photos, I've been doing a wide range of work in / near the small town of Frýdlant.
Two days ago, we moved back to Malenovice (where intern training was during my first week in Czech) for Media Academy. This whole week, the C-team will be teaching several electives and workshops on design, photography, writing, and videography to 56 nationals from 9 different countries. These countries have their own individual organizations that align with Josiah Venture's vision and core values, but operate based on their country's needs.
Side tangent: The cool thing about JV is that one of their core values is indigenous empowerment. This means nationals are the ones leading these camps within their local churches. While Americans come to the camps for a week or a summer or however long their visa says they can stay for, the nationals run ministries year round locally for the youth who attend these various camps.
Yesterday was the official first day of Media Academy, which also happened to be my 21st birthday. I spent a portion of the day teaching a photo elective and driving to / from the JV office in hopes of finding the flowers my boyfriend ordered from a local florist. My annual FaceTime with my immediate family happened earlier in the afternoon and I spent the rest of the day hanging out with a bunch of crazy creatives. To top it all off, my C-team surprised me by going bowling at our favorite restaurant called Imrvere.
I am convinced that while every year I grow older, I also get a whole lot smaller. While two decades is a decent chunk of time, there is still so much living to do, so much love to be shared and so many moments to be captured / experienced. I just learned this past week about California surf culture and what time of year is best to pick Poziomki (European wild strawberries). I've been learning stories about hearts that are broken for hurting humans. I've been hearing a desire for relationships over religion and a need for transparency that comes with trust. If I'm being honest, I don't really know what I'm doing and I certainly don't have my life together. I'm just as indecisive as any other 20-some-year-old person. But it's these meaningful moments, beautiful people and an awesome Creator that bring me to hope for one crazy kickass life.
I'm bummed that I don't have time to tell you the story behind how I found this creekside spot I've been obsessing over, but the important thing is that I didn't even realize how badly I needed it. I cannot stress enough how important it is to rest and gaze at everyday original gradients.
