Category: Czech Republic

Every post I wrote while we lived overseas.

The Last Day of April

“Daddy, I have to show you something,” Avery said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me in to the living room. “I made a playground.” Above is a photo of what she made and this was her version of a “playground.” Her little mind continues to create and explore and I think it’s an incredible and wonderful process.

Back at the JV offices today we were hard at work trying to put the finishing touches on a bunch of different projects as we get ready for the spring conference next week. Everything from name tags, conference booklets, conference materials, etc. we were trying to get out to the printer to have by early next week. Tomorrow is some kind of Czech holiday so we lost a day, but we’re hoping it’ll all be done in time for the conference to start on Wednesday. It’ll probably be a busy week for me as I’ll be helping with photography, leading a communications session, and even playing drums/guitar for a few worship sets. It should be a great week and I’m really excited to see some of our friends from around Central and Eastern Europe.

I took the above photo tonight of me with Titus and Avery because they were in an especially good mood as we sat on the couch. It’s been so nice to be healthy for the past month or so and I think it’s the healthiest we’ve been since we arrived in Czech. I honestly thought when the weather turned a little cooler this week that we might get sick, but so far we’re doing well.

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is the first of May. The past ten months have absolutely flown by and Bethany and I were talking about it last night as she’s now 35 weeks along with baby #3. We’ve have about a month left before we get to meet our second daughter and I’m getting excited! God’s timing is perfect and we’re looking forward to another little one in our home. They are all a blessing from Him!

Tags Avery, conference, creativity, health

365 Czech Republic

Early Trains and Backyard Baseball

Post author By Shay
Post date April 29, 2015
No Comments on Early Trains and Backyard Baseball

Sleep was a bit minimal last night as the kids were up a few times and I had that weird feeling you get when you’re supposed to wake up early and feel like you might sleep through your alarm. I needed to get up at 5:30am to help Steve and Judy catch their 6:00 train. But during the night I found myself rolling over and checking the time until I finally just got up before the alarm went off. It was cold and wet this morning as I walked over to where they were staying and helped them get their bags on the train and get them settled. I asked the train attendant if I could get on the train and she said it was fine, but the train almost left with me still on it! I ended up running to a closed to, forcing it open and then jumped off. A guy yelled at me in Czech and the train quickly pulled away. Yeah, I’m a rebel.

I’ve been away from the JV office for a few days with Steve and Judy in town, but I was back today and things were busy as expected with spring conference happening next week. There’s been a lot of printer deadlines to try and meet that our team has been working hard on. I’m excited about the stuff we’ve created and how it’s all turning out. Now we’re just hoping it’ll all be printed in time for everyone to enjoy!

It stayed colder today, but that didn’t keep me and the kids from doing a little backyard baseball tonight while mommy was making dinner. Lately Avery has assumed the role of “Umpire Avery” which I think is a mix of a catcher, umpire, and infielder. I say that because she’ll sit behind the plate like she’s holding a glove (catcher), then when Titus hits the ball she chases him around with another ball (infielder), and when he reaches home plate she always calls him “safe!” (umpire). Yeah, she’s really a utility player which comes in handy when there’s only three of you on the field.

With minimum sleep last night I’m ready for bed, so I’ll keep this post short tonight. Happy Wednesday!

Tags baseball, kids, trains

365 Czech Republic

Steve and Judy

For the past five days we have had the joy and privilege of having our friends Steve and Judy with us here in Czech Republic. As has been true of our sending church for many years, they sent us Steve and Judy this week to be an encouragement and to just spend some face to face time with us. We have know Steve and Judy for a long time, but we’ve never had the kind of time with them that we had this week. It was special, fun, encouraging, and they leave us with our hearts full of thankfulness.

Since today was our last day with them, I really wanted to make sure they get to see where I work and meet more of the Josiah Venture (JV) team. This morning we went in to Frydlant where the JV office is and did just that. In typical Steve and Judy fashion, they were meeting people, asking lots of questions, and I think just trying to be an encouragement. Anyone who knows this wonderful couple knows that they just love to encourage others and I think that happened today. I snapped really candid moments of them talking our office today which you can see below. I love how Steve has his notepad and is taking notes (no doubt so he can pray for things) and Judy is talking with my teammate John. A little later they gathered everyone in the office just to pray for us and for the ministry here. In the best sense possible, I can honestly say that whenever I spend time with Steve and Judy I realize just how much my prayer time is lacking! They are truly an example of a couple who prays.

Speaking of prayer, that’s exactly what we spent time tonight doing with them after dinner. We put the kids to bed and talked for a while, but then we just prayed. Every Christian knows you can’t pray enough. We are in a constant state of reliance upon our God for everything in life and prayer is one way do just that. I’m reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Steve and Judy are without a doubt an example of a couple who prays without ceasing, but I would add that rejoicing and thankfulness are also very characteristic of them.

Earlier this week Steve asked us, “What are you thankful for?” and I’m still thinking about it. I was able to list off a few things, but I even realized this morning I left out our new daughter that’s due in a month! How could I not think of our baby girl on a list of things to be thankful for?! Steve again reminded us tonight to be thankful. In fact, he challenged me with Proverbs 31:28 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” He was reminding me to vocalize my thankfulness for Bethany and all that she does and to make sure I teach and train our kids to do the same. Such a helpful reminder from God’s Word and from a man of God who is an example of this.

Steve and Judy, we are so thankful for our time with you. Thank you for taking the time to be with us and for sharing your lives with us. Thank you for the parenting help, the reminders to pray and pray often, and most importantly pointing us to Christ through His Word and your example. We are blessed to know you and call you our friends.

Tags blessing, friends, Judy, Steve, thankfulness

365 Czech Republic

Date Night in Poland

Bethany and I had the chance tonight to spend a little time out on the town (square) in Poland. Thanks to Steve and Judy for watching our kids, we got to go to dinner and just enjoy a little people watching in the border town of Cieszyn. We found a little restaurant that we really like and this was our second time there. We sat in a window seat and just had fun people watching. There’s a film festival going on there right now so it was an interesting crowd walking by. It was really relaxing actually, just to sit and enjoy being together and talking. As much as I love our kids, it’s not always fun to take them out to eat (which we don’t do often anyway). Most of the customers at the restaurant sat outside, but we were inside and it was quiet and peaceful. Those moments are few and far between, but when they do come they are special. We took our time eating and even got dessert which was really nice. This was one of those nights where you remember you’re living in Europe…and it’s amazing.

After dinner we walked around town a bit and caught a few photos of the scenery as the sun was setting. The golden sunlight was making everything even more beautiful than it already was, and I don’t think my iPhone photos are going to do it justice, but here are two I got.

We’re getting sad that we’ll be saying goodbye to Steve and Judy tomorrow night. They’ll be taking an early train on Wednesday morning and we’ve had a really good time with them the past few days. Anyone that knows this dear couple knows that they are such an encouragement. Just by hanging out with them your prayer life will increase, you’ll be speaking Truth more, and even talking more about what you’re thankful for–at least that’s been our experience this past week. Those are the kind of people you want around!

Tomorrow we’re going to take them to the Josiah Venture offices and give them a tour and then maybe over to the JV hotel area where our conferences are held. Then I’m hoping to take them to a favorite lunch spot near there. We’ll see how the day goes and look forward to sharing that story with you tomorrow.

Tags date, date night, Poland

365 Czech Republic

Sunday School Speaking

Something amazing happened today: I heard Titus speak Czech. Now, before we get really excited, I will say he was just saying Czech words, not phrases. However, this doesn’t really make it any less amazing in my mind because of what was going on in Titus’ brain. Here’s the story.

During Sunday School this morning I stayed with Titus in his classroom. The kids were doing some kind of activity where the teacher was asking them questions and she was going around in a circle and they were responding. When she got to Titus, I heard him say something and we couldn’t really understand it. I said to him, “what was that, buddy?” He said it again and I was still unclear. Then the teacher said, “Ohh…tři, čtyři, pět” which means “three, four, five” in Czech. Even though Titus couldn’t answer or didn’t understand what was being asked, he had made the switch in his brain to answer in whatever Czech he could–in this case it was numbers. It was literally the first time I had ever heard him attempt Czech numbers or words in response to someone speaking Czech to him. A little later the kids were playing a game where one person thought of an animal and the kids had to guess. I was impressed by Titus because he figured out what they were doing and tried guessing an animal. He said, “krokodýl” nice and loud which means “crocodile.” His guess wasn’t right, but I was amazed at the process in his mind. It’s a fun process to watch him grow and learn.

I didn’t get any photos today, but I did get a little timelapse video from Titus’ Sunday school class. Usually they have a little drawing activity and so I got some footage of all of the kids at their tables. You can watch it below.

Sunday School Timelapse from Shay on Vimeo.

As for the rest of the day we had a great lunch at home with some fresh croissants we got at the store. Steve and Judy spent a lot of time just hanging with us today which was a lot of fun. I just love the questions they ask and they have been a huge encouragement to us. We’ve talked of books, ministry, life, parenting, missions, and anything in between. It truly has been such a joy to be with our “family,” that is our extended church family from the States.

Tonight we decided to have a quick dinner with Steve and Judy at McDonald’s in Poland. We ended up going to Poland because there’s a new McDonald’s just inside the border, about 7 minutes from us. But when we got there it was actually not even open–that is, it’s so new it’s still under construction. So instead of going back in to Czech we drove a little further into Poland toward another set of Golden Arches. I’m so glad we did because our drive home was right around sunset and it was stunning. Rain had been falling this afternoon, but the sunset peeked through the clouds while we drove and we were in awe of God’s amazing creation. A photo wouldn’t have done it justice!

There are some plans tomorrow do a little shopping with Steve and Judy in the morning after we take Titus to school. Right now I’m planning on staying home for the morning to get a little work done, but hopefully we’ll find something fun to do in the afternoon. They are only here two more days so we’ve gotta pack our time in and see what else we can show them! There’s also a rumor that Bethany and I will be taking a date night which just sounds really fun. Until then…goodnight!

Tags Czech, language, speaking, speech, Titus

365 Czech Republic

Party at the Zoo

We enjoyed an incredible day today at the zoo with our friends, celebrating both Titus’s 5th birthday along with Gabe and Alex (twins) who turned 4. The weather couldn’t have been better and I’ve even got a little redness on my arms and neck to prove the sun was out. The day started at 10:00 at the zoo and we stayed until a little after 2:00. We brought cupcakes and met a bunch of other families “near the goats” inside the zoo. Everyone joined in singing happy birthday to Titus and then we did another round of singing for Gabe and Alex. After cupcakes and singing everyone headed in to the park and we mostly lost the other groups because we grabbed lunch with our kids, but we still had a great time with Steve and Judy and just walking around enjoying the animals. I got a ton of photos, so here they are!

Let’s pause here a moment for a little story. Above is a photo of Titus eating a hot dog during lunch. Shortly after he was playing on the playground behind him. He had brought a toy car with him that he got for his birthday and was taking it up and down the slide. But then he started crying and came over to use saying he lost his car. I asked him what happened and he said, “That big boy took it.” I asked him which kid and he pointed, so I walked up to the kid and said, “Kde je auto?” or “Where is the car?” He immediately said, “Nevim! Nevim” or “I don’t know. I don’t know.” We walked around and looked for a while, but were unable to find the car. I consider it a lost cause and even if the boy had it, I wasn’t going to dig through his pockets to get it. But that didn’t sit well with Bethany so she walked over and asked the same questions, except she found another little girl to help her talk to the boy. Finally, after a few minutes the boy went to his backpack and gave back the car. I joked that Bethany was in “mom mode” there for a minute and no language barrier was going to get in the way of her getting that car back!

Ok… back to the photos

Titus’ friends Beni and Caleb got him gifts that we opened in the parking lot just before we left. Beni had been talking about it all day and was so excited to give Titus a present. It was really sweet and both Caleb and Beni were asking Titus, “Is this the best day ever?!” It was fun to see them all so excited about Legos and Spiderman and Titus was really blessed. Thanks everyone for making it such a special time for Titus and our family!

Tags birthday, friends, fun, kids, party, Titus, zoo

365 Czech Republic

Titus’ 5th Birthday

We celebrated Titus’ 5th birthday today, although it the real party isn’t until tomorrow. This was the first time that Titus had school on his birthday so I felt like it was just a little weird that we kind of had to wait until he was out today before we could celebrate. We were all up this morning and we got to tell him happy birthday, but then we were quickly out the door to get him to school. Afterward we enjoyed opening up some of the many presents that were sent to our family from our friends in California and delivered by our friends, Steve and Judy. So, in a sense, it was like a party for all of us! Boxes of Kraft Mac-N-Cheese, brown sugar, yellow mustard, books, toys, chocolate almonds, etc. were all inside this jam packed suitcase! Thank you to our friends who blessed us in this way. You are awesome! Some families even sent individual packages which Titus loved opening. Here’s a few photos from that.

Then we went outside to play some baseball and bubbles in the yard, as well as take a little tour of our landlord’s garden which is blooming a lot right now. I was too busy playing with the kids and hanging with Steve and Judy to capture any photos, but I think it was worth it. We all ended up napping in the afternoon and walked to dinner at a local place we really like. Titus wanted to have pizza on his birthday so he was able to get a big pepperoni pizza at the restaurant which he enjoyed. Afterwards we came home and had birthday cake dessert and opened a few more presents. I did manage to get some photos of that. Here you go!

Along with some imported whiffle balls, Titus scored a ton of Legos! I spent a lot of time this afternoon helping him build the little cars and trucks he got and I’m considering building another set he got while he’s asleep because hey, who doesn’t love Legos!? During the day we just enjoyed spending time together and talking with Steve and Judy who are here until Wednesday. They are such a blessing to us and I just appreciate their heart to come here and be an encouragement. We’ve really enjoyed their company and look forward to a few more days together. They’ll be joining us tomorrow at the zoo and hoping it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

Tags 5, 5th birthday, birthday, Titus

365 Czech Republic

School Photos and Friends From Afar

Post author By Shay
Post date April 23, 2015
No Comments on School Photos and Friends From Afar

What a day! It’s just before 10pm here and I’m sitting her with a smile on my face. I’m looking over some of the photos I got from today and am just thankful for God’s grace and excited about the next few days. Here’s a little summary of the day:

First, we had to divide and conquer this morning because we found out yesterday that it was picture day at Titus’ preschool. Bethany had a doctor’s appointment (baby check-up) this morning at the same time that picture stuff was going on at the Titus’ school, so I stayed home with Titus and Avery while she went to the doctor. I got the kids all dressed and we walked to Titus’ school around 10 to get ready for pictures. I didn’t know if they were doing just a class photo or individuals, but we were ready for anything! It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, and they ended up doing just a class photo outside under a beautiful blooming tree. Here’s a few photos:

I spent some time watching the other boys interact with Titus and also watched Titus’ reaction, but I can confirm that language is still a battle. The other kids are trying to talk to him and he’s still confused about what they are saying. I also noticed that they were kind of copying him, but I don’t know if they were being mean or just playing? It’s so hard to tell. At one point Titus hand his arms out like an airplane and was spinning around. The other kids joined him and were saying, “Ja jsem Ty Ty! Ja jsem Ty Ty!” which I understood as “I am Ty Ty! I am Ty Ty!” (the kids call him Ty Ty, not Titus). I just assume they were being silly? Speaking of silly, here’s Avery walking home today staring at her own shadow.

This afternoon we finished cleaning up the house in preparation for our friends, the Severances, arrival! Steve and Judy are from our sending church in California and Steve is one of the pastors. They actually flew to us from being in Israel the past week or so. They had a flight from Israel this morning, a cab ride from the Prague airport to the train, a 3.5 hour train ride to us, then a short car ride back to our town. Needless to say, they are troopers! We picked them up from the train station around 5:30pm tonight and it was such a joy to see them. We ended up taking them to a nearby mall for dinner and coffee and just had a sweet time catching up with them. It’s seriously such a joy to see them and we’re so thankful to Placerita for sending them to us for the next few days. Here’s a few photos from tonight. The first is of Avery and Bethany playing a little clapping game while we were waiting for the train to arrive, the second is one that Titus took of us with Steve and Judy at the mall, and finally there’s one of the kids playing at the mall’s play place.

Tomorrow is Titus’ 5th birthday! The smell of a baking cake is wafting through the house as I type and we’re excited to a do small celebration with him tomorrow. On Saturday we’re headed to the zoo for a more formal party, so we’re all looking forward to that. I’m excited about what the next few days hold!

Tags friends, pastor, photos, preschool, school, Steve and Judy

365 Czech Republic

Speaking of Titus

While saying goodbye to Titus at his school this morning he said something interesting. I had glanced in to the room to see what the other kids were doing and I saw a few boys had lined every green army guy they could find in formation. I said to Titus, “Look, dude! Army guys!” He’s been playing with army guys a lot at home so I thought for sure he would be excited too. But instead he glanced over at them, turned back towards me, and calmly said, “Dad, those are for the Czech boys.”

I didn’t quite understand it until Bethany and I talked this afternoon after she had picked him up. In a broken Czech/English conversation, Bethany had discussed both our kids with Titus’ teacher today. First, they had to talk about some paperwork needed for Avery when she starts preschool in the fall, and then just some quick things about Titus. Bethany understood a really simple Czech sentence from his teacher when she said, “Titus is better.” The context of that conversation was regarding his understanding Czech and we assume she’s just really saying, “Titus is getting better at understanding Czech.” W’re thankful, but that’s just language. A little later at home Bethany was asking Titus about his day and said, “What did you do at school?” He said, “I did nothing” in kind of a down tone. “Did you play outside?” “Yeah” he said, and added “but that big boy wanted to push me.” Hhmmm… I wonder if Titus’ comment in the morning is related to the one in the afternoon?

What’s interesting is this is the first time Titus has really expressed any kind relational issue at school (that I’m aware of). As in any kind of community environment there are going to be little things like this, but our biggest desire in it is to shepherd Titus through it. First we want to make sure he’s acting in an appropriate way towards his classmates and secondly we want to help him understand how he should respond to those who might sin against him. In the case of the army men, I wonder if it’s something related to him not being able to speak Czech? Maybe the kids feel that distance and separation from Titus (and likewise Titus towards them) as they can’t always communicate. I know I feel that tension every day as I go the gas station or get groceries! And in the case of the boy pushing him, this sounds like a classic schoolyard moment. I’m not saying the other kid is a bully or anything, but I know I had my share of mean moments at recess (in fact, one time I deliberately kicked a soccer ball at another kid I didn’t like and we both were sent to the principal’s office). Nevertheless, even in these “little” things I want to be able to help my son think, and think rightly about situations. As his fifth birthday approaches in just two days it’s a reminder that he’s only getting older. I would do well to remember Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Tags kids, parenting, Titus, training

365 Czech Republic

Getting Things Done and the Glory of God

Post author By Shay
Post date April 21, 2015
No Comments on Getting Things Done and the Glory of God

Our world is kind of obsessed with “getting things done” (or “GTD” for the cool kids). Maybe you’ve read the book Getting Things Done by productivity guru, David Allen, and now you have a perfect paper-only inbox and you’re keeping the good people at Post-It® in business (just think how unproductive we were before sticky notes and David Allen!). For those in the business world there’s an unspoken award that is given out to the few who are “zero inbox” (that is, they have no emails in their inbox) and can maintain this for longer than one business day. Oh, you know the people I’m talking about. Before you can hit send on your email to them they’ve already replied back to you with everything you needed, perfect punctuation, and one of those never ending email signatures. They’re professional emailers (because, yes, that’s a thing). Who doesn’t love to “get things done?” It feels so good. You feel free, clean, and you don’t have that feeling of David Allen staring down from your bookshelf judging you because you let that “two minute” task slide!

The Thomason home today was a GTD factory! Even as I write this evening, the washer and dryer are our pumping out the clean and dry clothes while Bethany folds more on the couch. Speaking of Bethany, I am crowning her GTD queen because she was in control today! She is in her eight month of pregnancy and today she cleaned every bed sheet, made those beds, washed the dishes, cooked three meals, and has done it all with a smile! I too got in on the GTD fun and got more done today than I have in a while. Working from home on occasion can help me focus, especially with the amount digital communication I do. I did that today and was able to really burn through a lot of those “pending” items that tend to linger in the back of the mind. With my notebook, list, and my keyboard working at 90WPM I was able to really get ahead which felt amazing. During lunch I walked to get a hair cut (c’mon exercise!) and even walked to the bank (double exercise!) to take care of a few things. I paid bills, had two good meetings over video chat, setup some meetings for tomorrow, and even got to chase the kids around the house. Man, we are feeling good!

I have to admit that there are probably a few motivating factors as we check things off our to-do list. One is that in two days we’ll be having our friends Steve and Judy in our home for about five days, visiting us from the U.S. and our home church. Of course we want our home to be clean, inviting, and ready for visiting friends. Secondly, in two weeks from tomorrow we’ve got the Josiah Venture spring conference which requires a lot of last minute details for me as we prepare everything and get it ready for the 300+ missionaries who will be together. Thirdly, and I think this is honest, we truly do want to honor the Lord in the work we do, whether in the home or elsewhere. As much as deadlines and friends visiting can be helpful motivations, I do hope that we’re constantly motivated by a desire to worship God through our work.

I’ve actually read David Allen’s book on productivity (that’s my copy of it at the top of the page) and I thought it was helpful. However, what drives the book is a secular worldview that believes that merely relieving stress and worry are what lead to a happy life. As insightful as the book was in getting your mind focused on the right tasks, thinking through how to file things, and how to write things down, what it obviously is missing is the Christian worldview that believes that in whatever we do, we must do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Not every day may be as productive as today, but hopefully every day is full of work that is focused on God’s glory.

Tags getting things done, GTD