Hi! Only two blogs from the USA are left for me to write. Summer is already gone and I am preparing for my way back home.

Monday was a US National holiday – Labor Day, so I stayed at home. I talked a lot with Glen and Lisa and also relaxed and played guitar. In the afternoon I wrote my last week’s blog and I went back over to Randy and Peggy to do so because at Glen´s house, there is no WiFi. After I finished writing I sat down with Randy and Peggy and talked for a bit.

Tuesday was as always designated for sermon preparation. We went to Duck Rabbit as usual to get a coffee and talk about lessons for the upcoming Sunday. In the afternoon we visited Ruth again. She was moved to a nursing home where she will now live for a while. It was a nice visit.

On Wednesday we went shopping for hygiene kits that we were able to provide for the homeless shelter. We bought everything needed and it was ready for people from the church to put the hygiene kits together after the Sunday service. We also bought some other things for the church picnic such as a jar that we filled with candy so people could guess the amount of candy in the jar. Who is the closest is the winner. In the afternoon I went again to Grlicky´s pool. It might be the last pool day of this year. I enjoyed that very much again with Dave, Sue, Vlad, and Cindy. For dinner, Dave made BLT which is a very popular sandwich here. BLT stands for bacon, lettuce, tomato.

On Thursday morning we visited Bekky in the hospital. She had a heart incident this week. We came in the morning and talked with her for some time. My favorite part was when a doctor (or a nurse, I don’t know what he was :D) came to check something and asked pastor Eric a question… Let me tell you this conversation.

Doctor: Can I ask, what parish are you with?

Pastor Eric: Dr. Martin Luther church in Brooklyn.

Doctor: Oh, I didn’t know he had his own parish!

So that conversation really made my day. Sounds so American doesn’t it? 😀

After the visit pastor and I went to a meeting for Lutheran pastors in Cleveland. It was very nice meeting also other pastors. We talked about some things and then went on lunch together to a Thai restaurant. The food was very good and the conversations were nice too. After lunch, we visited Ruth again. In the afternoon I went for a run since I wanted to train at least a little bit before my Saturday run with Dan. It was so hot outside so after the run I was very tired.

On Friday Ray came to the church and even though I wasn’t scheduled to go anywhere with him, we went for a little drive for something that Ray wanted to buy. We talked in the car and had fun! For lunch, there was something special. Pastor and I finally went to a restaurant that was on my list of things to visit in the US – Chick-fil-A! And it was exactly what I expected! Very good chicken, great waffle fries, and amazing lemonade! After lunch, we visited Marge since that was the reason why we went to Chick-fil-A, her nursing home is right around the corner from the restaurant. For the past several visits, when we commune people, I was always doing the confession and forgiveness of sins, and also sharing a little bit from my Sunday sermons. Pastor then always does the communion. In the evening Vlad picked me up and I went with him and his friend Mike, who was an English teacher in Prague for many years, to Oktoberfest. Yeah, I know it sounds weird – Oktoberfest in September. 😀 But we had a very nice time. Have some very good food and a good beer. We also met a few other people from our church who also went to the Oktoberfest! It was a very nice evening.

Saturday morning started with Dan picking me up at the house. We went together to one park where the Parkrun initiative have their run. It was a 5k run which I have never done before. So it was something new to me. I was never a long-distance runner, I always preferred doing sprints. I think I finished in pretty okay time for my first-ever run like that but there is still so much to work on. The main thing is that I enjoyed it. The rest of the day I just spent relaxing. I also watched the women’s tennis US Open final.

There was a church service on Sunday as usual. This time I did a song before the service, liturgy, and prayers. After the service, there was a church picnic happening which was a very nice occasion to talk with people. We also had some delicious food and played some games. Whoever beat me in a game of cornhole won a half a strudel. I must say, people that played me in the beginning had a big advantage since the last time I played cornhole was like 5 years ago. When I got into the rhythm it became harder for people to beat me. 😀 When I got home I think everybody in Cleveland was watching American football. Sunday was the beginning of a new NFL season. So I watched the Cleveland Browns game with Glen and Lisa. After the football game, I also watched the men’s tennis US Open final with Novak Djoković winning his 24th Grand Slam of his career. What an achievement it is!

In the end, I just want to say that in the life of a Christian one of the most important things are people around you. It is so important to have around you people who believe in God the same as you do. It is very important to share our faith with one another, to strengthen one another in hard times. We had several very nice events past few weeks where we could be together as a church. Either serving together the community of Brooklyn through carnival or just being together and sharing our faith through church picnic or WELCA picnic. Think about that!

Have a blessed week and I guess you will hear from me next week for the last time!