Jesenik

The road wound its way up out of the farm land north of Olomouc. Haniysek (or Honza or Jon)one of our hosts and guide for the day warned us of forecasted rain and cooler weather. Someone taught him that there is 'no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear', so we packed our rain jackets and some extra layers. The road climbed through beautiful mountain country into some low clouds and mist that eventually turned into the promised rain.

Jesenik is a resort village of warm and cold spring wellness spas, skiing in the winter and biking/hiking in the summer. Hanisek's mother in law lives here. Later that night we would be singing in the old stone church where Hanisek married Debi last summer. The church sits in the lower part of town with a short path leading to its front door. 

After a short tour of town and a lunch featuring a 100 year old recipe for rabbit, we met a few local people at the church and began to set up for the concert. The old stones keep the inside cold and as we warmed up our voices and instruments, we had to wear our good gear to stay warm ourselves. 

The rain was now steady and we wondered whether the weather would keep people from walking the path to the church. By 6:00 there was a steady trickle of people with there jackets and umbrellas. Young and old, about 90 people came to hear God's Word in song.

As we sang to a crowd of smiles, and some who were even singing along, the cold in the old stones was replaced by the warmth of the Jesenik people's heart.