Category: Czech Republic

Every post I wrote while we lived overseas.

Trees and Testimonies

You do some crazy things when you’re up early because of jet lag. For us, that meant pushing our dead and dry Christmas tree out the window of our apartment at around 6am this morning. We had already eaten breakfast at that point, and we were ready for some excitement, I guess? And I went with my gut which was thinking that if we left it by the trash cans that the trash truck would take it away and I’m happy to report that my gut was right! Later today the trash truck came and hauled it away which was kind of a load of my mind.

Later today I was a part of a meeting which could lead to some incredible fruit for the Kingdom if it plays out. Basically, Josiah Venture was meeting with an organization that helps do Internet evangelism. They are committed to the Gospel and the local church and I believe the Lord is blessing their efforts. Even hearing from one of their leaders today I was just impressed with his heart for the lost and his passion for this generation. These aren’t just smart guys with computers, but genuine evangelists that know we have been given an incredible tool in the Internet to get the gospel to the lost of the entire world.

In fact, one of the big parts of this online site is a place for people to share their testimonies once they have put their trust in Christ. As we looked at the different pages of lots of people I was reminded just how important it is to hear testimonies of the work of Christ in the lives of people. And it’s those stories that this organization is leveraging in order for more people to hear the Gospel. It’s really incredible just how God is using this unique ministry and I’m looking forward to being part of how Josiah Venture can be involved in using their technology to reach young people in Central and Eastern Europe.

Lastly, back at home, we’ve made a tiny bit of progress with jet lag. The kids slept until a little after 1am which is better than the previous two nights. We’re still really off and we even enjoyed breakfast burritos today at 5:00am. It makes me laugh as I think about it, but then again I’m really tired so just about anything right now could probably make me get the tired giggles.

Tags Christmas tree, evangelism, technology

365 Czech Republic

A Short Night’s Sleep

For the most part, I did really good today despite being up since 3:00am. Like yesterday, Bethany took the early shift with the kids which started around midnight and I took the rest of the morning from 3:00 on. Getting up that early does have it’s benefits. First, I get some great time to read my Bible. My energy level is really good because I’m going to bed early, so getting up and reading my Bible in what is normally the middle of the night is nice and pretty quiet. Secondly, I’m getting other reading done, like the book you see below. Around 5:00am I actually finished this book which I started in the States and it was just nice to eat my cereal, drink my coffee, and read. Maybe I should just get up at 3:00am every night? Just kidding.

Technically the photo belwo is from last night, but it’s an example of what has been happening around our house the past few days. Even this afternoon when I came home, I found Avery asleep on the couch and Bethany and Titus in the back bedrooms asleep. It’s just weird, and it leads to Titus leaving the dinner table, getting on the couch and just falling asleep. It happened both last night and tonight. Today made a little more sense because Titus was back in school, so he didn’t nap or anything today until late this afternoon. Poor guy. I feel for him because I feel like I could fall asleep right now while typing this.

I was back at the Josiah Venture office today for the first time since we left for the States last month. It was nice to be back and to be with my team. I really feel like our time in the States gave me a little more clarity on how to lead my team better and in general was just really refreshing. There’s a lot of great things coming in 2015 for my team and I’m excited to lead them and see what God does with our efforts.

We had another hangup with our utilities in Czech, specifically with our power company. They called today telling us they would be shutting our power off tomorrow because we hadn’t paid. The only problem with that was that I had paid. With the help of our Czech friend Martina she was able to call them and explain that we had paid and to kindly ask that they not shut our power off. What’s funny is that they finally did admit we had paid, and they even added that we had a credit on our account! To be honest, this one baffles me, but as I always say, “Welcome to the Czech Republic.”

Tags reading, sleep, Titus

365 Czech Republic

Snowy and Sleepy

I am struggling to understand just exactly why our kids won’t sleep past 11pm. We have done everything to keep them awake for as long as possible, but this jet lag has been brutal. Today marks our 4th full day in Czech and I really don’t think the kids have moved from the West Coast time zone. Bethany played with them from 11pm-2am and I got up around 2:30/3:00 and haven’t slept since. The kids took naps around 9am this morning, but we kept them very short.

It doesn’t really get light outside until around 8:00am right now, so it wasn’t until about that time today that we saw all the white outside. Apparently it snowed last night. Clearly it wasn’t a blizzard, but it was enough to cover everything and make it look nice. This is actually the first time since we’ve been in Czech that we have seen the snow on the ground. We were gone during some of the snow around the beginning of the year. It’s mostly melted now, but it looked really fun outside today (as you can see in the photo above of our yard).

Since the kids were napping, we didn’t go to church today, so Bethany and I decided to go ahead and take down the Christmas decorations that we left up before we went to the States. We got the Christmas tree ornaments down and most of the other things around the house. A lot of it is still sitting on our living room floor, bust mostly it’s all boxed up and just needs to be put away.

Titus and I did a few errands today, one to the hardware store and then to get some groceries. I had to walk every aisle at the hardware store to find Velcro, but we did eventually figure out where it was. Six months ago that would’ve drove me nuts, but today I planned on it taking forever and knew we would be hunting for a while. I’d say that’s progress.

I’m too sleepy to continue typing so this is where I’ll leave you. Here’s to hoping we can make it past an 11pm wake up time.

Tags jet lag, sleep, snow

365 Czech Republic

Learning New Things

One of the greatest blessings of moving overseas has been the opportunity to learn new things. I honestly don’t know if we would’ve had the motivation to learn certain things had it not been for us moving to Czech Republic. For example, Bethany now makes all of our pancakes from scratch. This week she even tried a different recipe because she felt like if she was making them from scratch they should taste a certain way. I have little doubt that had we stayed in the States we probably never would’ve tried to make our own pancakes. It’s just so easy to buy the big bag of pancake mix at Costco!

Today was another day of experimenting and trying new things. Since I was awake at 4am with the kids (p.s. they were up at 11pm…that’s right, they didn’t even make it until the next day), I decided to start pursuing something I have been thinking about learning: drawing. Because of the work I do, there’s often times that I need to sketch out an idea on paper before we design it on screen. I always feel like I’m behind in my understanding of drawing, so I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to learn. This morning I started an online class on the “Foundations of Drawing” which has been helpful and challenging. One of the tasks was to copy something in sections with the thing you’re copying facing upside down. The point is to train your brain to not think about what the picture is, but just look at the lines (you have to retrain your brain to see lines and not try to constantly figure out what the picture is). Here’s what I ended up with (mine is on the right). Mine isn’t perfect, but go easy on me…I’m a first timer.

Bethany was also learning something new today. She made English muffins! A friend of ours sent us a recipe on Facebook, so Bethany tried it out for the first time today. They tasted awesome and it was her first crack at it. Baking in general I feel like is pretty tough, so I’m super impressed. Again, I really don’t think we would’ve tried making those had it not been for the simple fact that we can’t just go pick them up in the store here. Tomorrow we’re going to make breakfast sandwiches with them and I can’t wait! Here’s some photos from the process (and here’s the link to the recipe!):

Jet lag has continued to be rough, but we’re doing our best. Avery just went to bed and it’s only 5:40pm as I write this. Titus is hanging in there and I’m hoping he’ll stay up at least until 6:30 tonight. We actually went over to our friend’s house, the Yormans, to have play time and chat just so we could stay awake. They were completely understanding because they just got back from California a week ago and are a few days ahead of us in the world of jet lag.

I’ve had some relief from my toothache today and it’s been feeling pretty good. I can’t eat an apple yet, but I’ve been doing my own pain tests and so far, so good. It’s been a slow process, but I am really I got that thing fixed before we left the States. Trying to explain all of that in another language would’ve been tough!

Well, it’s time for bed. Bethany is taking the first shift tonight (e.g. she goes to bed first and gets up when the first kid does due to jet lag) and I’ll be putting Titus to sleep later when he gets tired. We’re hoping to make it to church tomorrow, but we’ll just have to wait and see how we all feel. Thank you for continuing to pray for us!

Tags baking, drawing, growth, learning, recipe

365 Czech Republic

It’s Good to be Home

We made it to 2:00am today. I went to bed last night at around 7:30pm, so that’s actually a pretty good night’s sleep. And I’m learning to live with jet lag. In fact, I was really productive between 3:00 – 7:00 this morning. Went through emails, wrote people back, worked on my to-do list, got things in order for next week, did puzzles with Avery, and even had time to get a shower in there! By 8:00 I was out the door and doing a little shopping for Bethany.

I feel like Bethany and I are tag teaming the whole jet lag with little kids thing. When I’m awake she rests, and when she’s awake I usually take a break too. Unfortunately, today all three of them fell asleep in the afternoon while I was working so we had to get everyone up around 2:00pm. Now we’re hoping they’ll still sleep tonight.

Besides jet lag, I was thinking today that it’s really nice to back in Czech. Being away for a bit was nice, but it’s been nice to be home. The weather here was amazing today and even yesterday when we went to Bethany’s doctor visit our drive was incredible. The sun was shining and the air was clear so you could see for miles (or kilometers!). I feel more comfortable here than I’ve ever felt and I hope that continues. I mean, I was even excited to go grocery shopping today and I don’t know why. I guess I’m just not as nervous about it like I used to be (don’t get me wrong; I still had an issue with my debit card while checking out, but that’s pretty much normal). Again, it’s good to be home.

It’s barely 5:00pm as I finish this blog and I could fall asleep at my desk I’m so tired. I’m hoping to make it until 8pm, but we’ll just have to wait and see. If you’ve been praying for us, thank you! Transitions are always hard, even if they’re just from one time zone to another. Here’s to hoping we can sleep in until 4:00am tomorrow!

Tags happy, home, jet lag, sleep

365 Czech Republic

Captain’s Log: Jet Lag Edition

Post author By Shay
Post date January 15, 2015
No Comments on Captain’s Log: Jet Lag Edition

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Thursday, January 15 2014

Tags jet lag, log, sleep

365 Czech Republic

Back in Czech

We made it to the train that is taking us home. Other than the Lord’s grace, I have no idea how we have come this far. We are exhausted, the Paris airport was ridiculous, and the sparkling grape juice I just opened exploded on me and my computer as I was typing this.

It’s been a long and challenging day. To be balanced, our flight from Seattle to Paris was pretty nice. It wasn’t a full flight so we had room to lay the kids down in our seats and the kids actually did really great. But after landing in Paris, it just seemed liked things got a lot harder.

I originally started this paragraph by explaining about what happened to us in the Paris airport and how hard it was, but I stopped writing. Complaining is a sin. I’m writing that for my own benefit and as a way of reminder as I look back on today. My flesh really wants to complain right now, but I guess that’s to be expected when 1) I’m a sinner (saved by grace, but still battling that flesh!) and 2) I’ve been awake for almost 24 hours. No matter how tired I am or how difficult a situation, the reality is that God is still in control and He is good.

Yesterday as we were leaving Seattle, Bethany’s dad prayed for us before we got in line at security. He knew our situation and our anxious hearts and prayed specifically for our flights, my tooth pain to subside, handling of our luggage, connecting flights, and for a ride from Prague to the train station. God was kind enough to answer all of those with a “Yes.” Bethany’s dad didn’t ask the Lord to make it all easy for us, he just asked God for solutions and God provided. And that’s why I can’t complain!

At the end of the day I can praise the God of the universe for His kindness to us. We don’t deserve any of it. That’s just it…it’s all grace.

Tags complaining, heart, Paris

365 Czech Republic

The Big Trip Home

Post author By Shay
Post date January 13, 2015

Looking out the window of our airplane I see clouds, snow, and the orange glow of the sunset on the wing. According to the flight map on the screen in front of me we’re somewhere over Canada. That explains the snow, I guess.

The morning was a little rough for me. Not only was I in a lot of physical pain from my tooth, but we also had to say goodbye to family which is never easy. It’s been a wonderful three weeks in the States and as Bethany’s dad said on the drive to the airport, “We’ve made a lot of wonderful memories.”

We packed a lot of stuff. When we finally arrive in Prague, I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to get all of it from the bus to the train, and I’m hoping that God will provide some help for us. As it was, it barely fit in the car to get it to the airport! Lord willing, I will be reporting in the next blog that it all worked. If it doesn’t it’ll definitely make for good blog material. This may sound strange, but I’ve genuinely ha the hope that that airline loses our luggage just so I don’t have to lug it around Prague.

There’s about seven hours left in this leg of our flight, and when we arrive in Paris we’ll be making a quick connection to get us on to Czech. It’ll be morning there, but it’ll feel like the middle of the night to our now adjusted, West Coast body clocks. I’m praying for grace as we make the connection from the Prague airport to four hour train ride home.

Here’s a few more photos from the trip thus far:

Tags airplane, Czech, flights, trip

365 Czech Republic

Unexpected Toothache

I’m sitting here in a good amount of pain so I’m going to keep this as short as I can.

When I was nine years old I got hit in the face with a baseball. At that time it broke three of my teeth, including one on the bottom which needed a root canal and then emergency surgery for an infection about a week later. That was 21 years ago. I have had zero problems with that tooth until Saturday night when it began to give me a lot of pain. I got into a dental clinic this morning only to find out that everything looks good, but I would need to see an endodontist (a dentist who only does root canals).

The earliest appointment I could get was at 4:30pm this evening and I didn’t see a doctor until about 5:30. After a thorough examination it was decided I would need another root canal on that tooth because it was badly infected. I left at around 6:30pm after all the work had been completed, and still in a lot of pain.

All of this would be alright for me, except we have to fly to Czech tomorrow. We have been packing almost all day, constantly weighing our suitcases to make sure we’re under 50lbs each. It’s already going to be a long, hard trip, and I’ll probably still be in pain and tired from the meds. Even as I type, I’m not sure we have everything packed. I got a couple photos today so here they are to finish off this post. Pray for us as we travel and for me during the trip.

365 Czech Republic

Church, Snow, and Goodbyes

Post author By Shay
Post date January 11, 2015
No Comments on Church, Snow, and Goodbyes

With the busy day yesterday it was hard to wake up this morning to get ready for church. But we were scheduled to share at West Side Church (one of our supporting churches) during both services, so I hit snooze a few times and finally pulled myself out of bed. We had also planned to say a quick goodbye to our friends Blaine and Kelsey from California who had flown in for the wedding. They were at the house around 7:45am and that’s when they told us it had started to snow. We spent a few minutes hanging out with them and said our goodbyes. It’ll most likely be at least another year and a half before we see them again.

The snow didn’t last long (it was too warm to stick), but it was coming down pretty good this morning. By the time we got to church it had subsided. During the second service I took the kids out to get them a snack and it starting snowing again. We walked outside and they were getting really excited so I took a little video (below).

We had another large meal for lunch today with Bethany’s family and the Harpels. It was kind of a time to say goodbye because Bethany’s sister is headed back today towards Seattle and we won’t see them again. There were a couple good football playoff games on so we all enjoyed watching those and even took some photos of Bonnie (Bethany’s sister) and of all our kids. Bonnie is due with their second child in a few weeks so her mother-in-law was hoping for a few shots of her baby bump. I think we got some nice ones of her, but the kids were a much bigger challenge. After a few tries, the moms ended up joining the kids for the photo since we couldn’t get everyone to behave. In the end we got something that will work (I can’t show the photo on the blog because the family hasn’t seen it…sorry!).

For some reason, last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a really bad toothache. Unfortunately, it’s a tooth that was actually damaged when I was a little kid (hit in the face with a baseball), but I haven’t had any issues with it for many years now. Tomorrow we’re going to try and have it checked out at a local dentist in Yakima and hopefully get it resolved, but it’s been painful most of the day and not something I’m excited about dealing with the day before we leave. Lord willing, we can resolve and hopefully it won’t be a huge problem. Please pray for me if you think of it.

There’s other things that happened tonight, but nothing I really feel like writing about tonight. It’s going to be a busy day packing tomorrow and dental work, so I’ll just end this one here. But at dinner tonight I added a little bonus to the chalk walk at the restaurant. Maybe it’s just shameless self promotion (see below)?

Tags church, snow