Category: Czech Republic

Every post I wrote while we lived overseas.

Mother’s Day and the Last Day of Spring Conference

Post author By Shay
Post date May 10, 2015
1 Comment on Mother’s Day and the Last Day of Spring Conference

I’m back writing again from my desk at home as today was the last day of Spring Conference. Above is a photo I got today of Dave Patty teaching the last session on family traditions and I thought it was a fun and helpful session. At one point he passed the mic around to people to hear their different traditions and it was great to hear all the different things that families do in their homes and when they go on vacation. This is an area that Bethany and I feel we could do better in. For instance, family vacation has been harder to think through as everything is still so new and we don’t always know where to go or what it’ll look like. No matter what we want to try something this summer and just see what might work for us here in Europe.

Conference ended with a big performance from all the JV school-aged kids that they had been preparing all week. Our kids are still too young to be involved with it, but they had fun watching it (actually, Avery wasn’t feeling amazing and fell asleep in Bethany’s arms, but Titus sat down in the front of the room and watched). It was full of singing, dancing, and even some skits that the kids did a wonderful job at. Even with just a few days of preparation these young kids had memorized lines, hand motions, and even dances and I was really impressed with how well they did! Apparently this is something that happens every year among the missionary kids and I’m sure it’s something they also look forward to. Well done, kids!

Above is a photo I took of one of the photos that the men gave to all the ladies today at the Spring Conference in honor of moms on Mother’s Day. I have written already about how amazing Bethany has been this week with all the full days we’ve had and my limited time, and that’s just worth repeating. She has been amazing considering she’s only a few weeks away from having our third child and how involved I was with conference this year. I’m sad to say I didn’t have anything for her by way of a gift today not because I didn’t think about a week ago, but I just didn’t make the time to plan for it. It’s something I am not proud of today, especially considering just how much she has helped me and our family this week. Even this morning Avery threw up during breakfast so Bethany stayed with her, thus missing the last session of conference. Wife, I love you and you’re an incredible mom to our kids. Thank you for caring for us this week and always, and for how you are an example of Christ. I am reminded of Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” You are so like Christ in that you give your life for this family and for me. Thank you! I love you and happy Mother’s Day!

Tags event, Mother's Day, Spring Conference

365 Czech Republic

Spring Conference Day 4

It’s weird that Saturday feels like Thursday. I’ve been thrown off with the days all week because the conference started on Wednesday night and the days have been full. Today was probably the fullest day yet, but it was another good one!

Today was just non-stop with two main session in the morning. During the first session this morning our friend Tanya Miller who serves in Poland did this incredible recitation of Scripture called The History of Redemption in which she literally was just quoting a series of Bible verses for at least twenty minutes straight, all set to music and accompanying artwork. It was a very moving and rich time of just listening to God’s Word being recited. The verses are all organized in such a way that it goes from Creation to Revelation and walks through the redemption story. Towards the end when she was reciting from Revelation I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the room including her own. It was an incredible thing to witness and both Bethany and I were in awe of the amount of work that must have taken, but more importantly with the truth of the Scripture.

After lunch today I went from rehearsal to a meeting and then to a larger “Communications” meeting that I spoke at. As the director of the communications team for JV I got the opportunity to speak to a number of different communication areas and get the whole JV family excited about different things we’re working on and serving them in. I had fun with them and hopefully they enjoyed the meeting and left with a few things that are helpful to them in the future.

Tonight we had a special worship night in the big tent that we’re meeting in and I again had the privilege of playing the drums and being part of leading people in song. It was a family-focused event and so all the kids were with us and I got the above photo of them singing and playing in the front of the room near the stage. A little later they all congregated on the actual stage and we sang worship songs that were for kids and then for everyone. It was a sweet time tonight and I had a lot of fun.

Bethany has been having a lot more discomfort today than previous days in this pregnancy. She has been an absolute trooper with taking care of the kids and other things while I have been involved with various things at this conference. I have been so impressed with her this week and she heart has not been one of complaint. She’s a model of sacrificial love to both me and the kids and that couldn’t have been more true than today.

I really haven’t had much sleep this week, but I believe the Lord has really sustained me and given me the energy needed to serve the Josiah Venture family this week. It was one of my joys to serve and support others and I have been blessed this week just to be part of the conference. I go to bed tired tonight but hopefully that’s because I spent my energy on others and not on my self. As I’ve heard said by others, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

Tags Bethany, conference, Josiah Venture, rest, tired

365 Czech Republic

Spring Conference Day 3 and a Trip to the Science Center

Post author By Shay
Post date May 8, 2015
1 Comment on Spring Conference Day 3 and a Trip to the Science Center

Today was the third day of Josiah Venture’s Spring Conference and it was definitely a fun one. I had the privilege again this morning to play drums for the worship team and just really enjoyed that. At one point I looked out from the drums to see people just singing so loudly to the Lord. We ended the set this morning with “In Christ Alone” which is easily my favorite modern hymn and hearing everyone just belt it out was something special.

This afternoon was set aside for “Family Day” and everyone at the conference (I think it’s 300 something people?) went to a nearby science center which was a blast. It was an amazing place and our kids loved it. They had an entire hands-on area just for kids six years old and under which is almost hard to describe. They had a water area where you could play with water toys. There was a music area with keyboards, drums, and a recording booth for playing instruments. Everything inside was interactive and the kids just went wild on all of it. Here are a bunch of a photos I got from it.

There were a ton of places in the museum that we didn’t get to see, but we also went to this big steel manufacturing area which was just incredible. The sheer size of some of the equipment in there was overwhelming. But it was also interactive and kid-friendly so our kids played on everything and anything they could. We ended up going to that place twice, the first time by ourselves but then a second time with our friends the Wicks. It was great to catch up with them a bit and we enjoyed seeing our kids play together. Here’s a few more photos from that building.

Tonight after we got back Titus asked if I would be up for throwing him a few pitches so we found a nice spot on the lawn at the hotel to play some baseball. Zach and a new friend, Evan, came too and we had a mini baseball game. Titus sometimes asks if we can “do slow-mo” which means he wants to make a slow video of him hitting the ball. So Zach became the camera man and got the below video of Titus crush a “deep downtown” homer to right-center field.

More Titus Slow-Mo Baseball from Shay on Vimeo.

Tomorrow is my first morning off from leading music, so I might get an extra half hour of sleep which will be nice. We’ve had a full and busy time at conference but it’s been great to catch up with friends. I’ve got a presentation tomorrow for all the JV missionaries which will be fun so we’ll just see how that goes!

365 Czech Republic

Spring Conference Day 2 and USA Hockey in Czech!

Post author By Shay
Post date May 7, 2015
1 Comment on Spring Conference Day 2 and USA Hockey in Czech!

Today was the second day of Spring Conference and again I sit here tonight tired and worn out, but also super blessed. This morning was actually an extra special blessing because I had the privilege of leading music with my friend Zach. Zach and I have known each other since the fourth grade and been friends ever since. It’s an unbelievable blessing that we get to serve the Lord in the same organization and in the same country of Czech Republic today. It’s an even more incredible blessing that I got to serve with Zach this morning by leading music for the Josiah Venture family. In the photo above taken by our mutual friend Landen, you can see Zach and I playing guitar with another missionary, Christy. We did more of a “coffee house” feel for music today and it was a true joy to serve with Zach and to lead others in a time of worship.

But if that wasn’t sweet enough, I had the second joy today of taking Titus to his first ever hockey game here in Czech! Oh, and it just so happened to be Team USA playing against Belarus! I’m still energized by the fun we had this afternoon at the game and I honestly can’t believe that the USA was playing just 30 minutes from us. Above is a photo of us walking at the arena with Titus wearing a paper “helmet” that they were passing out to the kids. You can see how excited he was by the smile on his face.

The USA was playing Belarus today and sadly this was their first loss in this World Championship tournament. Despite the loss, however, we had a really fun time and it was quite the experience to see an international hockey game in Czech. Zach and Kara were the masterminds behind getting the tickets for us and putting the plans together and we had a ton of fun cheering for USA. Below is a little video I caught of the action and you see just how close we were to the ice!

USA vs Belarus in Ostrava, Czech Republic from Shay on Vimeo.

There were a surprising number of fans there supporting the United States, including two guys completely covered head to toe in American flags. I loved this guy sitting behind us that had an American flag draped across himself and the chairs.

Titus and I got up during the first period to get some food thinking we could just come back in and continue enjoying the game. But I guess the rules are different here because after loading up on hot dogs and sausage we weren’t allowed to take our food into the stadium. So we ended up eating and watching the game on the screens near the food area. Here’s a shot of Titus where I perched up on these standing tables.

I think the absolute highlight for us tonight was when we got this photo on the big screen at the arean TWICE! Look at Titus sporting his new USA scarf.

Here’s a couple more photos we got as we were leaving the game.

We made it back this evening to an excited Avery who literally ran down the hall to see us and give me a hug. We had an extra hat from the game that we gave to her and this is the photo I got.

What a fun day! So glad we got to make a memory like that today and enjoy rooting for our home country. Thanks to my friends Zach and Kara for inviting us with you today and for being awesome. It’s a joy to serve with you (and watch hockey games)!

Tags Belarus, fun, hockey, ice hockey, USA, worship

365 Czech Republic

Spring Conference – Day 1

Today was the start of the Josiah Venture Spring Conference, an annual event for all the missionaries to come and be together. The theme this year is “Family on Mission” and Dave Patty (the president of the organization) will be the main speaker. But as I sit here in my bed at the hotel with my family asleep around me, I’m just flat out tired.

We got an early start on the day because we needed to be out the door in order to make it here in time for music rehearsal (we live about 40 minutes from where we’re staying this week). Amazingly, we did leave on time and made it here but rehearsals didn’t go as planned today. I’m playing the drums and all in all it went just fine, but our music leader’s family all got the stomach flu so we had to improvise a lot of different things today to make music practice go well. I think we ended up rehearsing for a totally of five hours throughout today, plus we played the music during tonight’s session which as about another thirty minutes of playing. I haven’t played the drums in over a year, so my hands are hurting a bit and my legs are tired. However, despite my physical state I really didn’t enjoy playing worship music with a bunch of other missionaries. There are so many talented people serving in so many different countries. It’s pretty awesome.

It rained a ton today, so that put a bit of a damper (literally?) on things. If not a damper, it just made things a little more challenging. But tonight’s session was good and I felt like overall the conference is off to a great start. Above you can see a photo of Dave teaching and he mostly did an intro to his messages for the rest of the week.

After the main session and a long day, I ended up playing another hour or so of music with Zach and another missionary named Christy. We’ll actually be leading music tomorrow morning (yes, really) and I’ll be playing guitar. We’ll be there bright an early at 7:30am for rehearsal. I honestly hope I make it. My body is so tired at this moment that I’m not even sure I’ll have the energy to change out of my clothes!

I really don’t want my tired tone to affect how I felt about today. Playing music was a ton of fun and I’m so blessed to be able to serve that way this week. However, this has added some extra work to Bethany today which is double hard with her in the last weeks of pregnancy. The kids are excited to be here and for them a new place and new kids around is really exciting (I regret that I don’t have time to tell the story about how Titus got out of child care tonight and was running around the hotel crying).

So with heavy eyes I leave you in hopes that the next six hours of sleep will feel like ten!

365 Czech Republic

Getting Ready for Conference

Post author By Shay
Post date May 5, 2015
1 Comment on Getting Ready for Conference

We have been on the go today and it really started this morning with Bethany’s doctor appointment. I decided to stay home and watch the kids because her appointment was a longer one which required her to lay back and relax while they monitor the baby’s heart beat for fifteen minutes. She ended up taking a book and headphones to stay relaxed because laying on her back this late in the pregnancy is never comfortable for her. The doctor said everything is looking great and she said Bethany is “really close” and that things are progressing. We’re still a few weeks out, but I have a feeling we’re going to meet this baby this month!

As soon as Bethany got back I was out the door headed for the Josiah Venture spring conference where we were setting things up and getting it prepped for tomorrow night’s first session as well as the rest of the week’s activities. There is a ton of work that goes in to getting things ready for the conferences and I’m so impressed by the team of JV missionaries that work and serve to get it prepared. Below are a few photos I got during setup today.

This evening we enjoyed an easy spaghetti meal at home with some IKEA Swedish meatballs mixed in! They are pretty tasty and this week was the first time we had tried them. For dessert we had little ice creams that we enjoyed in the back yard. I got the below photo of the kids and even took some video of them. They were just kind of cracking me up as they were eating and talking. They were like an old couple just hanging in the back yard. I love it.

Backyard Ice Cream from Shay on Vimeo.

I’m playing drums this week for a few session during the worship music sets for conference and even playing guitar for another set. I just got off the phone because the main worship leader who was supposed to lead tomorrow is sick with the stomach (actually, his whole family is!). So right now the team is trying to rearrange the sets a bit and make sure everything is good to go. It’s great to see the team pulling together and trying to make it work. That’s just one of those things you learn often in ministry: be flexible. We’ll be ready tomorrow night, even if it isn’t all as polished as we would like. I’m looking forward to it!

Tags conference, ice cream, kids, video

365 Czech Republic

Late Night, Short Post

It’s 1:09am. If that doesn’t tell you what kind of day it’s been, well, I’ll just say it’s been full! From start to finish this day has been non-stop, but we’re doing good. Above is a photo of our kids literally climbing the walls of our apartment. I feel like this photo just kind of embodies today. Our friends Jenny and Landen had come over tonight and the kids found their way out of bed and ended up doing this (thanks Landen for the photo). This is the first time we know of that the kids did something like this and don’t think it’ll be the last.

I would love to expound on this glorious Monday, but my bed is calling me. Tomorrow is a big day with a doctor appointment for Bethany and then setting up for the Josiah Venture spring conference. We’ll be staying at the hotel that JV owns from Wednesday through Sunday so that should be a fun time! I apologize for the short post, but’s now 1:25am (yes, it took me that long to complete this post!). Bed time!

Tags crazy, fun, kids

365 Czech Republic

Playing in Fields of Yellow

Post author By Shay
Post date May 3, 2015
1 Comment on Playing in Fields of Yellow

To my knowledge, I don’t remember a time in my life where someone has tried to wake me up but couldn’t–that is until today. Bethany said I slept through my alarm four times and even tried touching me and talking to me to get me to wake up. I don’t remember any of it. She even told me that she had the kids run into the room to turn my alarm off because it was going off endlessly at some points. When I didn’t get up she assumed I had either stayed up late or wasn’t feeling well. When I did finally get up church had already begun! I had a headache and I asked Bethany what happened and she told me be the above tale. I’m still confused by it. My headache lasted most of the day and it wasn’t until I finally realized I should take some Tylenol around 3pm that I got some relief. Why I waited so long to take medicine is beyond me, but I digress.

One of the great joys in my life is being able to be able to bless people with photography. I had that chance this evening with our teammates and friends, John and Erin (and baby Shade!). We scheduled a dinner with them tonight along with a plan to take some photos of their family. Dinner was delicious and afterward we literally walked out their back door through a field of beautiful yellow flowers. The flowers you see in the photo above are what we get canola oil out of and right now the Czech countryside is completely covered in a blanket of yellow. I would love to show off a bunch of photos of John, Erin, and Shade, but they haven’t seen them yet so I’m holding off for now. Above is just one I got of them walking through the fields, but the yellow seems to go on forever. Below are a few I got of our family. Again, we have more of these too, but I have to same some for our family too!

We actually took a ton of photos and even ended up doing a few down by a lake near John and Erin’s house. As we drove back from the lake we saw a young deer in the field which we stopped to stare at. He was only a few yards from our car and had just some little antlers. I rolled the windows down so the kids could stare out and see him. He was staring back at us and finally bounded away. I regret not getting a photo, but it was fun to just enjoy the moment. But the yellow flowers and deer weren’t the only thing we got to enjoy of God’s amazing creation tonight. Out the other window of our car was an amazing rising moon! When we got back to John’s house, he convinced me to pull my camera out again and get a shot of it which you can see below.

In other news, we set up the baby’s bassinet today. Bethany is in her last month of pregnancy so the clock is ticking as we wait for the arrival of our daughter! This coming week is a busy with spring conference and then a few weeks after that Bethany’s parents will arrive in here in Czech to help with the new baby. God is good!

365 Czech Republic

Seeing Friends and Enjoying Saturday at Home

Post author By Shay
Post date May 2, 2015
No Comments on Seeing Friends and Enjoying Saturday at Home

You might say the day got off to an early start because at 4:30am we were up and at em’. No, weren’t catching a plane or train or going on a trip, but we were “meeting up” with with friends via video chat this morning. Since California is nine hours behind us, we had to get up early to try and meet them before they go to bed. Above is a photo I quickly took with my iPhone of us all “gathered” together, but we enjoyed a sweet time talking with close friends from our church in the States. It was actually the firs time we had done something like this with them and we’re hoping to do it more often in the future. They asked a lot of great questions and were just an encouragement and we ended with a time of prayer which was really nice. As always, we’re super thankful for the technology God has provided for us to connect in this way. It was great to see you, friends!

We ended up having time to go back to bed for a bit this morning, but the kids were awake not long after we fell asleep–such is life. Bethany made pancakes, bacon, and eggs this morning and we ended up having more of a brunch than a breakfast which was kind of fun. The kids were playing in the living room and were “camping” so I joined in on the phone while Bethany was doing laundry this afternoon. She also took a few photos, one of which is above as we were “sleeping” under the stars. The kids’ imaginations continue to grow and grow and I just love joining in on the process.

Titus got a letter today! He was pretty stoked when he opened our front door and found it sitting on the steps. I think it got a little rain on it, but there was no damage. We let him open it and inside he found $5 bucks (above are two photos of him opening it)! His aunt, uncle, and cousins are so nice to send this to him for his 5th birthday and he was excited to “buy a toy” with his new wealth. Obviously, American money isn’t accepted here in Czech, but I was able to exchange it for him at a very reasonable rate at the Parental Exchange (e.g. my wallet). Since I needed to go to the store anyways, this afternoon I took him along and allowed him to buy something from the toy aisle with his money. He ended up getting a new, small Star Wars lego set and I even let him buy it himself at the check-out line.

This evening Titus and I went to the youth group at church, but we arrived a little late because we didn’t know they had changed the start time again. The main church pastors were there sharing their testimonies and the whole topic tonight was on the Spirit of God. Our friend Martina helped translate a majority of their messages and Titus did a pretty good job of being self-controlled and sitting next to us. It seemed like the night went a little long and I had to take Titus home during their small group time at the end of the night. The youth group was going to be watching a hockey game after that, but I wasn’t able to go back tonight to join them. However, it was nice to be there, but the language barrier is still so hard and that’s often discouraging.

As the days continue to get longer and longer, the sunsets here are just incredible. When we pulled in to the driveway tonight, the church next door was so beautiful and golden. With a few puffy clouds above it in the blue sky, it just glistened so I had to take a photo (above). This is just an incredible time of year in Czech and if you’re ever coming to this part of the world try to come at this time of year. The weather is mild (not too cold, but not too hot) and even though there was a little rain this morning it cleared up beautifully this afternoon and evening. As much as I love California, I’ve enjoyed the new experience of weather here in Czech and am definitely thankful to the Lord for the beautiful sunset we saw tonight!

Tags chat, friends, Saturday, video

365 Czech Republic

The Last on the First

Today is kind of a special day. Almost twelve months ago our church family in the States brought us a box full of envelopes and each envelope was marked with a month and was packed full. Actually, I remember the night they brought them to us because it was a day or two before we loaded our shipping container that was headed for Czech and they wanted to make sure we were able to ship them to our new home here. We were instructed that we weren’t allowed to open them until we moved to Czech and that we should open one a month for the first year. So for the past year that’s exactly what we’ve done. Sadly, though, that all comes to an end today. We opened the May envelope tonight which is our last one and it feels like it’s the end of an era.

What made today’s envelope double special was it was marked as coming from Steve and Judy who were just here visiting us! I don’t think they knew when they packed this envelope that they would be visiting us just a week prior to us opening it, but it was so fun to see the gifts they sent, read the letter they wrote, and know that we are loved by them. I also don’t think they thought this would be our last envelope because well, it wasn’t supposed to be. Inside were many fun things and it was really fun to tell Titus and Avery that this was all from our friends who were just here visiting us. So without further adieu, here’s some photos of us opening our last envelope (captions beneath each).

Avery was especially excited for this envelope because it was colorful and “really heavy.” She was literally jumping up and down before we went and got it in our storage room down the hall. Both her and Titus assumed their normal positions on the couch and gave a big “cheeeeeeese” smile.

After helping them get the envelope open, the kids found alphabet stickers, construction paper, and new crayons! Bethany was especially excited that the pack of construction paper had the color brown because she was saying she didn’t have any during Thanksgiving when her and Titus were trying to make a little paper turkey.

Titus was thrilled for his new Lightning McQueen toothbrush. Here you can see him smiling and oozing with joy. He made sure we let him use it to brush his teeth tonight and he asked he if he could use it every night. When I told him, “Sure, bud,” he yelled, “Mom, I can use it every night!”

The one thing I love about Steve and Judy is their love for good books. We had a great time this past week talking books with them and swapping titles of what we have read and they have read. It came as no surprise that inside our envelope tonight were three books that they wanted us to have. There was one for the kids, one for dad (me), and one for both Bethany and me. The books are (from left to right in the photo above): God’s Wisdom by Sally Michael, Being A Dad Who Leads by John MacArthur, and one we discussed this past week which is Name Above All Names by Alistair Begg and Sinclair B. Ferguson. Fewer things bring me more joy than the gift of new books. Thank you, Steve and Judy!

Outside the envelope, there were other gifts that Steve and Judy hand delivered us this past week that we are just spending time looking at tonight. These are physical gifts as much as they are the gift of words. We have a pile of cards and letters that we’re reading tonight above is just one photo of many which are handwritten notes of encouragement. Even as I type Bethany just opened a card that was from the senior’s Bible study, again with words and short notes of much encouragement. These are a special joy to us and we’re so very thankful for a sending church that deeply cares about their missionaries. This past week we have been overwhelmed by their kindness in sending Steve and Judy, the year-long envelopes, and even these kind words. To our friends and church family at Placerita, we love you and think of you often. There are no better words that describe how we feel than what Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:3-6).

Tags envelope, friends, gifts, presents, words