Category: Czech Republic

Every post I wrote while we lived overseas.

Duck, Duck, Goose (St. Martin’s Day)

Post author By Shay
Post date November 11, 2014
1 Comment on Duck, Duck, Goose (St. Martin’s Day)

Today is St. Martin’s Day in the Czech Republic. Mostly it’s a European holiday, and in Czech it’s celebrated with a goose or duck meal. I was with some teammates today at a restaurant and everything was duck. I even had what I’ll call duck noodle soup. This particular restaurant even offered a family size goose meal if you ordered in advance. You could say today’s specials were duck, duck, or goose (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Today is also the Czech name day for “Martin.” Every day of the year has a name associated with it in Czech and today is Martin. I can only assume that’s on purpose. Below is a photo of the chalk board sign they had at up at the restaurant today.

As I did a little online research on St. Martin’s Day, I found a few interesting things. One thing actually helped explain something from the other night that I didn’t understand. Remember when we were at Titus’ preschool and we walked around town with lanterns? Well, in most Western European countries, they have been doing this for many years in the days leading up to St. Martin’s Day. According to Wikipedia, in Germany “children walk in processions carrying lanterns, which they made in school, and sing Martin songs. Usually, the walk starts at a church and goes to a public square.” This is almost exactly what Titus did the other night which really helps explain at least the origin of the tradition for me.

The second interesting thing I read was that in Czech, St. Martin’s Day signifies the first half of November when it usually starts to snow. Today that couldn’t be further from the truth. Even as I type at 9:00pm, it’s only 55 degrees out and just a few hours ago I was playing tennis outside in the driveway with the kids at it was 60. There was a lady working in our entry way (she works for our landlord who lives upstairs) and she said to me, “teplo noc” which means “warm night.” I said, “Ano! Moc templo” which means “Yes! Very warm.” Now, you might think 60 degrees isn’t that warm for some parts of the world but for here it’s very nice. When you only have to wear a sweatshirt and not a snow jacket outside, you know it’s nice. I’ll take a teplo noc any day in November.

I was really encouraged today by some Czech language CDs that a teammate gave to my team. I started listening to them in the car today and in an hour’s worth of time (round trip to the JV office and back) I learned a bunch of new phrases. It helps that we’ve been engaged in language already, but I was able to talk a little tonight with our landlord. It’s amazing how even just being to say, “I understand” or “I don’t understand” can keep a conversation going. My landlord and I talked about a light being broken in the garage and what I got out of the conversation is that she wants me to email her. As always, I’ll take the win with that one!

Tags duck, goose, holiday, St. Martin's Day, warm, weather

365 Czech Republic

There’s Lice at Titus’ Preschool

Post author By Shay
Post date November 10, 2014
2 Comments on There’s Lice at Titus’ Preschool

I just scratched my head. Does it itch? I really don’t think so, but now I’m paranoid because apparently there’s lice at Titus’ preschool.

Lice is not something that brings any kind of joy. Just the thought of tiny little bugs running around your head is horrible. I’m sure everyone has their own lice horror story. I remember there was a big lice scare at my public school when I was in kindergarten or first grade and just to be safe my mom shaved my head. My older sisters (twins) got it worse. My mom had to comb through their hair for what seemed like an eternity with some special comb and I don’t recall them enjoying it very much. As a reminder to myself about lice, I just spent a few minutes Googling it and it’s so creepy I couldn’t stare at it anymore. Lice just isn’t nice.

Bethany texted me about it this afternoon after she picked up Titus from school. She said she ran in to our friend who’s son is in Titus’ class and she told her there’s lice there. In fact, she said it happens every spring and autumn. The Czechs use Tea Tree oil as a remedy, but who really knows if that works? Just to be safe Bethany put some on Titus head today and did a comb through. At this point, we haven’t found anything or seen any signs of lice on our kids, but I really hope this doesn’t become a preschool epidemic. I guess head checks will be added to the daily routine now.

In happier news, we got some mail today from the States which is always fun! Our friends sent us a little baby announcement, stickers, and some drawings from their kids to our kids. It was really kind of them and we’re thankful for that little envelope of fun (shown above).

Bethany is out tonight at a women’s Bible study. It’s been a few weeks since she’s been able to attend because we’ve all been sick for so long. Avery cried a lot for her tonight when I put the kids to bed which tells me it’s been a while since mommy has been out at night. That’s okay, though. Mommies need a little time away sometimes.

Tags challenges, lice, mail, preschool

365 Czech Republic

Even Sundays Are in Jesus’ Hands

Post author By Shay
Post date November 9, 2014
1 Comment on Even Sundays Are in Jesus’ Hands

As much as I love Sunday, they have quickly become one of the hardest days of the week for our family. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it just seems like everything about the morning routine on Sunday here in Czech is really difficult. I believe I actually said to Bethany this morning, “Sunday is my least favorite day of the week here.” Mostly that was said in frustration with just trying get out of the house, but I also think it’s just a lot of change and adjustment to living here and doing church here.

That’s probably why I was so encouraged by a blog post that I read today that wasn’t even meant for me. Oh, for sure the Lord knew I needed this reminder, but the author of the article actually wrote it for missionary wives. The title of the post is “He’s Got Missionary Wives in His Hands” and I initially read it thinking I would pass it along to Bethany, but the more I read the more helpful I realized it was for my own soul. The entire article is bathed in Scripture, but her list of “…God’s particular, far-reaching, steadfast love, which he shows to us…” is so helpful, especially on Sundays. Here’s the list in it’s entirety:

Isn’t that helpful? Every item she mentions is something Bethany and I have discussed and tried to work through during this process, especially as we have moved and been here for a few months. I’m so thankful that it’s all in Jesus’ hands. Even Sundays are in Jesus’ hands.

That simple reminder became a really big one tonight as my teammate Daniel called me on the phone. Unbelievably, he was robbed a second time in less than a week (photo above of the car with the window smashed in). The only difference is instead of taking cash like they did on Tuesday, tonight they stole about $5,000 in camera equipment which Daniel uses on our team. In fact, the camera still contained all of the footage Daniel took on Friday night when we were at the EXIT tour event. Daniel and his roommate have been working with the police again tonight to see what they can do, and Lord willing, the stuff will be returned. Either way, it’s another reminder that it’s all in Jesus’ hands.

This evening we went to a friend’s house to celebrate Rachael’s birthday. We had the joy of giving her the “gift of words” where we share about her and the things that we appreciate about her. It’s something the Josiah Venture team regularly and I always find it special. Rachael has been a joy to get to know and our family is thankful for her ministry here! Happy birthday, Rachael.

On our way home from the party tonight I literally got us lost. We live like one mile from where our friend’s house is, but it was really foggy tonight. After turning left on a road I couldn’t see, we ended up crossing the river into Poland. It’s the first time in my life I’ve taken a wrong turn that made me end up in another country–all of which happened with two minutes of leaving the party. This tells you two things: 1) I’m still learning where we live 2) We live literally next to Poland…it’s crazy! Well, it’s a good thing getting lost is in Jesus’ hands because found our way back and finally made it home safely.

Titus gives his thumb of approval on the day.

Tags Jesus, lost, Poland, robbery, Sundays

365 Czech Republic

Little Czech Bakers

It’s about 3:30pm as I write this on a cloudy and rainy day in Cesky Tesin and the sky is already getting dark. According to Google, the sun is setting at 4:12pm here right now. I remember getting off work around 4:30pm in California and the sun being close to setting, but I don’t remember it being quite as dark as it is here. The whole family is back in the bedrooms taking afternoon naps, but I’m a little concerned they’ll just end up sleeping through the night with how dark it is outside.

With all the rain, we’ve been playing inside today. Titus made the word “Zoo” on his own and knew what the word was all on his own. This was a first and we were proud (photo below).

Like most Saturdays, we’ve spent the day cleaning up the house. I feel like we’re always playing catch up right now as we adjust to new schedules and our new life over here. You would think after four or so months here we would have a good routine, but I would say we’re still figuring some of that out. I think that will even have to adjust again this next week because we’re starting (Lord willing!) language lessons again with a new Czech teacher here.

Tonight we had fun making more cookies from the leftover dough we made the other day. On a whim I bought the kids these little hats and aprons for $2 at the store the other day. They were wearing them tonight and they’re starting to look like little Czech bakers. Here’s some photos of the them having fun.

Lastly, I shared last night about being part of EXIT Tour here in Czech and Kevin Dickson, the EXIT Tour director here, wrote a comment saying, “48 Bibles were given out last night with over 40 people saying that they want to know more about Jesus.” Those are incredible numbers and we praise the Lord for his work in the lives of young people over here!

Tags baking, cookies, dark, kids

365 Czech Republic

EXIT Tour

Post author By Shay
Post date November 7, 2014
7 Comments on EXIT Tour

UPDATE: Kevin Dickson, the EXIT Tour director in Czech, wrote a comment saying, “48 bibles were given out last night with over 40 people saying that they want to know more about Jesus.” Those are incredible numbers and we praise the Lord for his work in the lives of young people over here!

It’s late so I’m going to keep it short tonight. I had the privilege of being part of a ministry event tonight that is put on by the local churches called “EXIT Tour.” The Josiah Venture team helps put the event on and it’s an evangelistic outreach event that happens all week in public high schools and culminates on Friday or Saturday night. Throughout the week the EXIT team takes over schools doing music, teaching, ethics training, and just spends time with students. There are after school activities where they continue to build relationships with the students and the churches are involved. At the concerts at the end of the week the students hear the gospel, many of them for the very first time.

That’s exactly what happened tonight and I was there capturing photos and video alongside my teammate Daniel. We’re hoping to tell some of the story of what God has been doing at these events where over 60,000 young people have been able to hear the gospel since the tour began a few years ago. It’s amazing how music is such a universal language that can bring many people together.

Here’s a few photos from tonight, most of them of the band and the concert. A lot of great conversations happen after the concert, including passing out Bibles. If you think of it, please pray for this team and the churches here who will welcome many young people to church this Sunday.

Tags concert, evangelism, EXIT tour, music

365 Czech Republic

From a Bear to a Boom

I shared yesterday that Titus was going to be part of some kind of event tonight that we honestly thought was a play. The directions we were given was that he was to have a mask or costume and have a paper lantern on a stick. Bethany actually ended up making him a lion mask because Titus wanted one and we thought there were two parts or something to the evening. For instance, maybe the kids come in masks and then they change into something else for a formal program. Either way, we weren’t sure.

Bethany commissioned me to go to the store and hunt for a paper lantern and a stick. I don’t know even know where I would find that in the States much less Czech, but we texted some friends here and they pointed us to the store that had it–a paper store in the town square. I found what we needed about thirty minutes before the program was starting, went home, and we all walked over to his school. When we got there everyone from the school was lined up outside and there tons of families still walking there. Below is a photo of a few pumpkins outside the school that were lit up which was a little confusing. Was this a Halloween thing? I also noticed the lights on the school were completely off which the made me seriously wonder if we were ever even going inside. As I looked around I saw kids dressed up as witches, skeletons, and had their faces painted. Are we trick or treating? What is going on? These are the questions that ran through my mind. When I saw Titus’ teacher she was dressed as a witch and had a broom. Oh boy…what have we gotten ourselves in to?!

After seeing some of the other kids outside we realized there was a little misunderstanding about having a light inside the lantern so I ended up running (literally) over to the store and getting a stick with a light for Titus’ lantern. I had seen them on my first visit and knew now what we were actually supposed to buy. We just wanted to make sure that Titus had what the other kids had because remember, we still think he’s going to be a bear in a play. While I was at the store everyone ended up walking around the town with their lanterns, including Bethany and the kids. Bethany took a few photos of their walk (below).

I met back up with the family as they were completing their walk around the park in the center of town. I put Titus’ lantern together with the light. Here’s a photo of him with it.

Mostly we just followed the crowd around which brought us back to the school at the end of the walk. We all walked into the school property and the all teachers were dressed up with bags of candy and wrapped treats. It was dark and very confusing for us so I stayed with Avery by the gate to the school and Bethany took Titus to the teachers with the bags. He got a little wafer bar with chocolate that he shared with all of us. The crowd began to move towards another part of the school yard so we followed behind. Everyone ended up sitting on the picnic tables and benches out in the playground area. Again, it was dark, so we just found a spot towards the back of everyone and just kind of sat there.

After a few minutes the teachers and kids started chanting something that we didn’t understand. This went on for a few minutes. How long will this last? I guess there’s no play tonight? Titus ran over to the slide and was playing because he knew his way around the school yard. He told us he played there all the time. Not 10 seconds after he came back to where we were sitting, we hear BOOM! and suddenly fireworks are going off about 30 feet from us. They were close and loud. The kids quickly covered their ears and Titus started crying and yelling, “I want to go home!” He’s not a huge fan of fireworks. I grabbed Titus and put him in my arms and told him he would be OK and that it would be over soon. Below is a photo of the slide he had just been on before the fireworks started to go off.

The fireworks show lasted about 2-3 minutes. Titus kept insisting we leave, but there really was no way for us get back to the gate with everyone standing around so we basically had to grin and bear it. I just started laughing. This is just not something you would ever see happen in the States: a bunch of preschool and elementary kids with their families standing a few feet from huge fireworks that are literally exploding directly above them…in the playground of the school. Welcome to the Czech Republic.

The fireworks ending signaled the end of the night and also confirmed that there was definitely no play or bear suits tonight. In the end it all turned out OK. Titus cried a little more on our way home, but we assured him, as we often do, that Jesus is always with him when he’s scared. We walked back to our place with some Czech friends from our church who have a son in the same class as Titus. They are a great family and that was actually the highlight of the night being able to spend a few minute with them.

I guess the moral of the story is we’re learning to trust the Lord in new areas. We have no idea what we’re getting ourselves in to sometimes, but we trust the Lord will lead the way as we walk by faith.

Tags fireworks, lights, preschool, Titus

365 Czech Republic

A Bear Named Titus

Bethany took the photo below of an announcement on the door at the preschool which we think has to do with school photos. It looks like you can sign up for a time and bring you kid in for some Christmas portrait? We’re not exactly sure.

You could say there is an ongoing dialogue with Titus about just what exactly is going on at his school. His teacher does a great job of trying to give us some explanation of what is happening, but Titus usually tells us the full story. Today the teacher said the kids are doing some kind of play tomorrow in the late afternoon. Titus, however, said that he’s dressing up like a bear. He told us his teacher helped get into this so-called bear suit and put a nose on him. I guess we’ll just show up tomorrow and find out if our kid is going to be a bear. Ironically, Titus is supposed to play a bear in the Christmas play at our church here in December. They even gave him a line to memorize (all in Czech). He must just have those bear like qualities?

I finished up my retreat with the Creative Communications team today. Mostly today we spent meeting on a lot of different projects and how we can improve our processes across Josiah Venture. We had some great conversations and I think the team left with a lot of clarity about what the future holds and how we can be good stewards of the time God has given us. I’m really thankful for this team and their hearts to see God glorified in their work and the quality of what we produce and care for us as a team.

Tonight I have had to fight fatigue and tiredness. I realized on the drive home this evening that I needed to try and push hard to be “all there” for Bethany and the kids as I was returning from being gone for two days. It’s so easy to want to come home and just relax because I’ve been busy for two days, but Bethany has had her own hands full with the kids and she too needs a break. She’ll have to evaluate how I did, but it’s amazing how much you have to fight to serve and care for your family when you’re just plain old worn out.

Tags bear, preschool, retreat, Titus

365 Czech Republic

Retreating

It’s been a full day and I’m pretty tired. I’m going to try and summarize the best I can.

First, had a great meeting with the international team this morning at the Josiah Venture office. We really just spent a lot of time sharing recent stories and happenings and weaved in prayer throughout our hour together. There’s always a lot going on in the lives of the team here and I was encouraged by how God is working in each of them.

After the meeting my team left for a retreat. All five of us had lunch together and headed to Josiah Venture’s retreat cabin called “Selah” (which stands for a place of peace and rest). It was designed for all of our missionaries to have a place to come and just rest. It’s a beautiful cabin in the mountains here in Czech. Our team is meeting here today and tomorrow to just regroup and think through projects for the upcoming year. This evening we spent some time working on getting a few things for our office to make it professional and hopefully a great place to work. I’m excited about what God is doing with this team and for our time today and tomorrow to just focus and plan for the months ahead. Below is the incredible view from Selah.

Tonight was kind of crazy because one of my teammates, Daniel, got a phone call while we were at the store from his roommate. His apartment was robbed tonight. Thankfully nothing major was stolen, except for some cash in one of his roommates drawers. We left the store and went to his place and I helped him pack up some of the important things he owns and of course he felt like he had lost a little trust in where he lives. The police came and fingerprinted everything and took photos so we’ll see what happens.

It’s already a late night and I’m off to bed. Only the Lord knows what tomorrow holds.

Tags retreat, Selah

365 Czech Republic

The Field Trip We Didn’t Know About

Post author By Shay
Post date November 3, 2014
2 Comments on The Field Trip We Didn’t Know About

Bethany: “So, I think Titus went on a field trip today.”
Me: “Really?”
Bethany: “Yeah, he was telling me all about it.”
Me: “That’s hilarious.”

Why is that funny to me? Well, it’s because we had no idea this was going on today at Titus’ preschool. Other missionaries have told us repeated stories of this happening to them and today it happened to us. Our four year old went on a field trip some place without our knowledge.

Bethany got to the school this afternoon to pick him up and no one was there. She texted me and wrote, “So I’m here and nobody’s in his class? His coat is here so they’re inside somewhere?” She said she saw pumpkins sitting in their classroom but really didn’t think much of it. The kids were actually at lunch when she and Avery arrived so after about 10 or 15 minutes they all came out, she got Titus, and they walked home. On the walk back Bethany was asking Titus about his day and the conversation went something like this:

Titus: “We went to the pumpkin patch!”
Bethany: “Oh, really? Did you walk there?”
Titus: “No.”
Bethany: “How did you get there?”
Titus: “We took the bus!”
Bethany: “You took the big bus? You walked to the bus station and took the bus?!”
Titus: “Yeah.”

That’s about all we know right now. I asked Titus more about it tonight and he said something about playing on a playground there, but I’m not sure what that was all about. Bethany made a good point too, regarding pumpkin patches here. We’re not aware of any that are close and they’re not super common from what we can tell, so there’s a good chance that bus ride was out of town and to someone’s farm, but we’re just speculating. All we really know is that we paid a stipend at some point for trips like this so that’s probably what they used to buy his bus ticket (they use the city bus and not a school bus system). And apparently signing up your kid for school is all the permission slip you need for them to go on a field trip. That’s good to know!

In other news, we made cookies tonight as a family. IKEA had a little set of cookie cutters that we bought yesterday for a few bucks and we thought it would be a fun activity to do with the kids. Everyone got involved and the kids were excited to put on aprons and help put the ingredients together. Here’s some photos of the process and final result.

The cookie cutters are setup to make standing cookies. Below is the final result of Titus’ little tree he made.

Every day is a new adventure around here and tomorrow will probably be another. I am leaving for two days to go on a retreat with the Josiah Venture Creative Communications team. I’ll be gone for just one night, but I never enjoy leaving my family for any extended time. If you think of us, pray for Bethany and the kids. Hopefully Titus won’t go on any field trips without our knowledge, but if he does, I’m sure it’ll be on this blog!

Tags cookies, field trip, preschool, pumpkin patch, Titus

365 Czech Republic

The November Envelope and All Souls’ Day

Post author By Shay
Post date November 2, 2014
3 Comments on The November Envelope and All Souls’ Day

Sundays are not easy. At first they were really fun and the experience was so new and exciting, but I feel honestly that today was harder. Nothing big happened and we didn’t have any issues, but as we were making the short drive to church I realized I wasn’t excited about going. Please, don’t misunderstand me. I love the local church. But sitting through a 90+ minute service in another language week in and week out is getting tough. Always feeling like you’re behind and not knowing what’s going on is just simply hard, and it’s not just me. Bethany struggles too, and so do our kids. Today I stayed with Titus again in his Sunday school class (photo below) and I wasn’t encouraged. He’s struggling with paying attention and he’s almost aloof because I think the language barrier keeps him from focusing on what the class is doing. Again, it’s just hard. Every week we are encouraged by our Czech brothers and sisters, but we just wish we could do a little encouraging of our own. Pray for us and for our kids if you think about it.

After church this morning we made another trip out to IKEA for a few organizational things. We’re continuing to try to improve where we store things and get our kids stuff more organized. We bought a few shelves and some plastic bins that I think will help a ton. We spent most of the afternoon/evening cleaning up and organizing the kids room. It needs more time but we’re excited about the progress we made today.

Tonight we opened our November envelope from our Bible study at our home church in the States. Each month for our first year here they have blessed us with these large envelopes that we get to open with fun presents inside. Pack inside we found coloring books, birthday cards, customizable gift tags, make-your-own card supplies, and taco seasoning! Here’s a few photos of the kids diving in. Thank you, friends, for blessing us each and every month!

Check out this taco seasoning! They got us two pouches and we are STOKED!

Avery’s birthday is at the end of the month, but we let her open this little birthday card that was included in this month’s envelope. This was her reaction.

Tonight I took a quick trip to a local cemetery around 9pm. I’m not usually one for visiting graveyards at night, but today is kind of a special day in Czech. They call it “All Souls’ Day” and even though it’s close to Halloween, it’s not really the same. From what I’ve read, it’s a time where people visit the grave sites of their loved ones and place flowers and candles on the graves. For the past few weeks we have been seeing a ton of candles at the stores and people have been buying them up. Out of curiosity I went out to a cemetery tonight and got a few photos. It was actually quite beautiful to see, even though it’s also pretty odd considering how nonreligious Czech is. There might be more meaning to it, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. I only spent a few minutes with my camera in hand and below are two photos I got. If you’re curious about All Soul’s Day, I found this article to be really helpful.

As the Czechs remember their dead family and friends today, I’m reminded of how many of those same people are spiritually dead. They are the walking dead. This is exactly what Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-2 when he writes,
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…” He’s talking about the spiritual walking dead. That was me before Christ saved me and that is the state of everyone before Christ, the light of thew world, opens their hearts to the gospel. While the graves tonight flicker with candle light, my prayer is that the True Light, Jesus Christ, would shine bright in this dark place. When His light shines it’s so much more than a flicker and it doesn’t represent death, but life!

John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Tags All Souls' Day, envelope, holiday, IKEA, November 2