The journey in the land of castles gathered no moss this summer as I experienced a great season full of a variety of adventures. Here in this segment is a highlight reel of the best moments. Take a peek.

Earlier this summer some friends and I stopped at a very famous castle ruins called Beckov. Its situated near a major highway and so Ive driven past it dozens of times. Finally I was able to stop in and see it in all its grandeur up close.

Not long after my visit to Beckov I was thrilled to be able to travel back to the U.S. This was the first time I was back home in the summer months since I moved to Slovakia more than 4 years ago. The purpose was to celebrate the wedding of my niece. Here are some of my nephews and I getting spiffed up for the big event. Im the young guy in the center of the picture. Some of you may think this photo has been doctored but this photo is proof that sometimes even I clean myself up.

This is my niece Amelia with her husband Tyler. The wedding was a sumptuous affair with all the trimmings. There were about 350 at the wedding and about 40 more at the reception.

The best part about being home is that I get to spend quality time with the people i care about the most, my family. Here are my siblings and I together for the first time since Christmas of '08. I feel so privileged to be a member of this wonderful group of people. Its only when we are separated from things most important to us that we realize their great value.

Here are a few of my precious nieces and I enjoying the summer sun and fun at the local putt-putt. Everytime I go home they are an inch taller:( This is a potent reminder to take full advantage of every opportunity to celebrate life with the people God has blessed you with and make sure they know how you feel about them.

Here is my dad on his iron horse. He is a true Harley cowboy. One of his greatest passions in life is flying down the highway, (smiling from ear to ear with bugs smashed on his teeth) in search of beautiful places.

Here is my friend Matt and I attending a Twins baseball game at the new stadium. What a grand coliseum. There in the background is the downtown skyline of Minneapolis.

Immediately upon my return to Slovakia I departed for my first summer camp. We had about 30 seventeen year olds here about an hour from Bratislava. The main purpose of the camp was language building which means we spoke english for all the meetings and activities.

Summer camp is such a unique opportunity to build relationships with young people. They come with all their energy, enthusiasm, insecurities,fears, hopes and questions. As a leader I have the chance to support and encourage them while providing a safe place where they have the opportunity to learn something new about themselves. For Slovaks it seems that its refreshing for them to meet someone who openly shares their life experiences with them. In this culture most people view their lives as a private matter reserved only for family and close friends. These kids quickly learn that I am open to sharing my thoughts and experiences with them. On this day, many of these young people, including Viki and Philip, were quite interested to know more about how God has changed my life. Great discussion.

We had great weather, lots of laughs and a great feeling of togetherness. Most of us were sad to see it end. Fortunately we have the chance to keep our connections alive as we all live in or near Bratislava.

Only 2 weeks after Language Camp it was time again for hockey camp. This was my 3rd year at this camp and again we had a huge group of kids, 90 in all. It was terribly hot outside during camp so being on the ice was a nice bit of relief.

Again this year we had a nice mix of older more experienced coaches(some of which have NHL experience) and younger guys who do a lot of translation during our training sessions as well as demonstarting technique. We started the camp a few coaches short so each of the first 2 days I was on the ice for 6 hours. My legs and my back were reminding me about my age

3 boys asked to have a photo with me as many others were just coming out of the locker room. Before I knew it it was a stampede and by the time the shutter was open and shut it was a fun group photo.

There are many things I like about this camp; the high energy, the variety of activities and the great kids who attend. But the best part for me is the unwavering focus on the greatness and goodness of Jesus. So many of these kids get a totally new insight into the person of Jesus as we pray together on the ice or tell them about the way He has changed our(the coaches) lives. Indeed, as this photo suggests, Jesus saves like no other can.

Every year there are a couple more girls participating in the camp. This year we had 4. Arent they cute?

After the hockey camp I was in need of some relaxation. For me that can mean anything from laying on the couch watching a film or a hiking trip to the great High Tatras in northern Slovakia.

My hiking partner Jan and I had a great time with almost perfect weather. We started friday afternoon, hiked up to a mountain cottage, slept there and then continued our ascent saturday morning.

We hiked for about 5 or 6 hours on saturday past another mountain cottage to the highest one in these mountains. We slept there saturday. These cottages are quite old and the tradition is that many people share a large room, some in beds, some on the floor. There is no running water or electricity so its really a back to nature experience.

Finally on Sunday we did the last leg of the tour, about 6.5 hours of hiking back to the place we started. We got drenched by a rain storm in the afternoon so the last 2.5 hours was not so pleasant as we were hungry, tired, wet and blistered. All in all it was big fun though.

Finally my last camp of the summer. This was a camp for children ages 8 to 13. I was asked to manage the games and sports part of the daily schedule. Here in the photo is our camp theme which means "The Best Weather." This was a bible camp which focused on a few weather stories from the word of God, such as the massive flood or when Jesus calmed the storm. There on the banner is the hand print of everyone in camp.

A daily segment of the camp was focused on english lessons. Here is my group of boys. I definately had the kids with the most energy:) It didnt take me long to realize that if I didnt design each lesson as an active game I would end up duc taped to a chair with the kids outside playing soccer.

This was an amazing camp because the focus was making Father God more known and famous. The kids loved the daily singing (and hand motions) of the worship songs. They learned many powerful passages from God's word and I am certain departed from the camp feeling a peace and contentment theyve never known before.
What an amazing summer. God is good. I hope your summer has been full of the richness of God's creation and the serenity of His presence. May His unmatched peace and other wordly rest be yours today.