Category: Czech Republic

Every post I wrote while we lived overseas.

A Czech Anthem and an English Speaker

Post author By Shay
Post date April 10, 2015
No Comments on A Czech Anthem and an English Speaker

We had our regular Friday Czech lesson with Tamara today and we did something a little different and special. After our normal lesson (which I struggled through today), Tamara showed us a song that from what I understand was an anthem during the Velvet Revolution in Czech. Tamara had actually showed Bethany the song a few weeks ago, but I missed that lesson because I wasn’t feeling well. So today we were at Tamara’s house and she is also a musician so she showed us the song on piano and even allowed me to strum along on her guitar. Bethany got a video and you can hear Tamara playing and signing, although you won’t understand the words (sorry about that).

A Czech Anthem from Shay on Vimeo.

For the past few days Bethany has experienced the most discomfort she has had in this pregnancy. She still has about eight weeks to go, but yesterday and today have been pretty hard on her. Tonight we decided to go for a walk to a local restaurant because she really wasn’t feeling up for cooking and a walk sounded nice. But during the walk she was definitely uncomfortable. Thankfully the place isn’t far from us, so we didn’t have to walk for long. If you think of it, definitely be praying for her as we start to enter the final stretch here before our third child is born.

During our walk Titus and Avery were being pretty cute, and the weather was amazing so here’s a few photos.

We enjoyed a really nice dinner, but it’s still very frustrating to not be able to speak enough Czech to order. Our waitress tonight actually spoke great English, so that was a blessing, but going to eat is a constant (I mean, constant) reminder of how much we don’t know of the language. For me it’s really frustrating and often affects my attitude. I definitely had to get my heart right tonight during dinner because I’m struggling with language and also trying to train our kids to stay seated and not be too loud, etc, etc. Often when all of those things collide at dinner I find my attitude changing and have to remind myself that this is all a process (both parenting and language learning).

As we walked back from dinner tonight we passed a lady who heard us speaking English. The kids were being crazy after dinner so we were focused on them, but the lady turned and said something to me which I just assumed was in Czech. I say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand” in Czech and she said to me in a perfect English accent, “Oh, that’s OK.” We ended up talking with her for a few minutes and she’s from England and teaches English in our town. If I understood her correctly, she has been here 10 years and has met other Josiah Venture missionaries like us. Outside of other missionaries, we rarely meet native English speakers so it was kind of fun. We told her there were other American missionaries like us in our town and she she said she would look out for them.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Poland to do some photos for about 16 different families and individuals. The weather is supposed to be incredible and we’ll going to the Josiah Venture training center in Poland which is a beautiful place. I think the kids are going to enjoy all the places to run and play there and I’m excited to do a little photography for a change. Until then…dobrou noc.

Tags anthem, dinner, kids, song

365 Czech Republic

From Snow to Spring

Earlier this week we woke up to snow, but today was an amazingly sunny and gorgeous day. It’s fascinating how quickly the weather can change and how 50 degrees can feel like 75. I wore a short sleeve shirt today and enjoyed going to lunch without a jacket! It even stayed really nice this evening so we all went outside and played in the yard with the kids. Above is a photo of Avery enjoying a little chalk time, and even though she was wearing a jacket it wasn’t so cold that we couldn’t stay out and play. Titus and I enjoyed a little basketball and baseball as well and it was just kind of nice to spend the evening outside. Fittingly, Avery also drew a sun (below).

On a different topic, there is something strange that happens to the car radio that I’ve never blogged about. We have a little cable in our car that I plug my phone into often to listen to podcasts, sermons, or music while driving. Of course there is also FM and AM stations that we can access, but the Czech DJs are not known for the good taste (in my humble opinion). Sometimes when we’re listening to the radio or playing music from our phones, the radio will just cut off and you will begin to hear someone speaking in Czech like they are giving the latest traffic update. It’s very strange. In fact, today it actually cut off a phone conversation I was having. Our car has one of those bluetooth, hands-free things that connects to the car speakers but the Czech traffic just took over my conversation. I really don’t understand why this happens, but I have lately been attributing it to some kind of communism carry-over.

Above is a photo of the keys to our apartment here. We added the colors to them when we got the keys so we would know which key is for which door. To get out of our property requires all three keys–one for the door to our actual apartment, one for the entry way, and one for the gate. You would think by now that I would have a good grasp on which key goes where, but almost daily I mix them up. I realized this tonight as I was going outside just how often I put the green key where the blue key goes and vice versa. I consider myself to be an intelligent person, but getting the keys right is still annoyingly difficult.

I don’t want to leave this blog in the negative, so I will talk about something happy. On April 18 I will be teaching on the Trinity to youth ministry at our church here in Czech. They are starting a new series on theology and I was asked to speak. In preparation I started reading a book called Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith. So far I have enjoyed this book thoroughly because not only do I believe it to be theologically sound, but it’s a very accessible book with wonderful writing. I just spent a few minutes reading some of my highlights out of the book to Bethany and she was getting excited. She said, “So what are you going to teach on?!” I said, “I don’t know! It’s all good…” Maybe I can just get up front and read them this book? Does anyone know how long it takes to read 135 pages out loud with a Czech translator?

Tags confused, keys, outside, radio, Trinity, weather

365 Czech Republic

One of Those “Normal” Days

Post author By Shay
Post date April 8, 2015
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I have no stories to tell today. In fact, I have sat here for over an hour and filled my time with reading and other things just to try and find something to write about. I checked my phone for any photos I may have taken today but there were just two weird shots of me driving behind a tractor this afternoon. It was just one of those “normal” days, I guess. And since I’m legitimately at a loss of what to write about I am going to cut this blog short tonight.

Tags normal, short

365 Czech Republic

Galatians and Army Men

I’m not a great Bible study leader. I really want to be, but I just haven’t had a ton of experience at it. There are some guys I know who are masters at leading small groups and forming questions from the study and just have a knack for fielding those questions and watching the ebb and flow of the group. I’m not that guy. I usually prepare for Bible studies the way I have prepared for preaching. I realize that they are quite different, but they are very similar in that you still need to study the Bible to understand what is being said and then you have to teach it. All that to say, I had the opportunity to teach the international team Bible study today and I didn’t feel like it went amazing, but not terrible. This team is used to hearing Dave Patty, one of those master small group leaders, and I felt kind of like they called a Minor Leaguer and gave me an at bat. I fouled a couple off and hit a dribbler down the line. Despite my efforts, I do hope the truths of Galatians 2:20 were clear and the staff was encouraged by God’s Word.

There were some great discussions after Bible study amongst my team today and that was a blessing to continue to talk about God’s Word together. Things are going pretty well at the Josiah Venture office and there will be a lot of staff going to Israel at the end of next week. Everyone is gearing up for summer ministry and our Spring Conference coming the first week in May. My team is prepping a lot of different materials for upcoming ministry events so we have had full, but fun days.

When I got him this afternoon Titus was playing with some Army guys that the kids had dug up. Bethany and the kids were cleaning up their room today and they found a bucket of todays they haven’t played with in a while, so the kids were kind of rediscovering them. I hadn’t really ever seen Titus playing with Army dudes so I got down with him and we were having a “battle” together which mostly consisted of his men knocking my guys over. During the “war,” Avery was busy pulling tiny animals in a tiny toy wagon (also toys she found in the bucket). At one point the animals got caught in the cross fire and she wasn’t super happy about it, but we brought in a medic and all was well in the world of tiny animals.

I got some resources tonight on the doctrine of the Trinity which I am excited about working through. My friend Landen asked if I could teach on the Trinity to the youth group at our church on April 18 and we finalized that today. I’ll be speaking through a translator, so that will be different, but I’m excited to get up in front of the students and teach some of these core truths. Please pray as I study and prepare that I would be clear and it would be helpful to the students.

It’s past midnight now so I’m off to bed, but here’s a little video of me jumping over a creek today.

I Believe I Can Fly from Shay on Vimeo.

Tags Army men, Bible study, creek, jumping, video

365 Czech Republic

Easter Monday and Why I Hate Self Checkout

Post author By Shay
Post date April 6, 2015
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Today was Easter Monday here in Czech (and other countries). It’s a normal holiday, so Titus was out of school and the Josiah Venture office was closed today so we were all home together which made it very nice. But check out how Wikipedia describes the traditions,

All countries practice a unique custom on this day. In Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic traditionally, early in the morning boys awake girls by pouring a bucket of water on their head and striking them about the legs with long thin twigs or switches made from willow, birch or decorated tree branches.

I’ve heard mixed reviews from Czechs here about these traditions so I can’t comment with any kind of authority on what they really think about it. However, for us, this meant that Avery and Bethany didn’t leave the house because getting hit by a branch or group of branches just doesn’t sound like fun. I think for most Czech women, the weather worked in their favor because it snowed on and off all day today so there weren’t many people walking about the town.

Even though I was home, I spent most of the day studying the book of Galatians as I’ll be teaching the international team Bible study tomorrow morning. I pretty much studied straight through from 8:00-3:30pm today, with the exception of the half hour the power went out this afternoon. Normally Dave Patty (the president of Josiah Venture) teaches, but he’s already got a lot of teaching commitments through the next month or so. I joked with another friend that they decided to call in a minor leaguer for the day so we’ll see how it goes. Speaking of baseball, I’m excited that today is opening day at Dodger Stadium! We’ll be rooting for the home team from 6,000 miles away and hoping they’ll beat the San Diego Padres. Go Dodgers!

Despite the snow and rain, the sun did manage to peak through the clouds again this evening and I took the kids outside to play with the bubbles they got in their Easter baskets. Above is a video I got of Titus doing a good job making bubbles. It was still in the low thirties, so we weren’t out there long, but they had fun pretty much emptying their little bottles.

It’s been a longer weekend, so I decided to hit the store for Bethany tonight because we were low on food. Since it was a holiday, I actually called the store before I went to see if they were even open to my surprise they were. Titus and I left the house and Bethany texted me her list. When I pulled in to the parking lot it looked like a ghost town. In fact, I had a hard time believing they were even open. Again, to my surprise they were. Titus grabbed a cart (you know, the one with the little car on the front for kids) and off we went. I was so excited how few people were there because it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.

I loaded the cart up, got everything on the list except for two things they were out of (strawberries and pear water) and headed towards the front where I was sure to find a lonely cashier waiting for me. Upon arrival I looked down the aisles and saw no such cashier. Then I looked further. Oh no. The only lanes that are open are those things they call “self check out.” You know the ones. They have beady eyes and a digital voice with a mocking tone. I rolled our completely full car-cart to the lane. The helper lady just smiled at me and I began the long process of unloading and scanning each item, one by one. About half way through things got worse. It didn’t like my bags, it didn’t like the weight of the items, it didn’t like that I chose an orange pepper and not a red one, it didn’t like that I was male, it didn’t like the clothes I was wearing, it didn’t like that that I’m a foreigner living in Czech and trying to buy groceries on a holiday for my wife! AHHHHHHHH!!!

After a few sessions of counseling I will be fine, but I hate those self check outs. They are of Satan. The work of the Devil is in them to deceive us in to thinking that machines are more efficient than humans. This is a life from hell itself. But I digress.

On a happier note, when we got home Bethany had things ready for the kids to do a little egg coloring. They did. It was a really fun. Here’s some photos to finish off the night and this blog.

Tags bubbles, eggs, groceries, self check out, store, study

365 Czech Republic

Our First Easter in Czech

Post author By Shay
Post date April 5, 2015
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“Mom…Dad…” whispered a little voice from Bethany’s side of the bed as we were asleep early this morning. The voice continued, “…it’s Easter!” And with that proclamation we were awake. The voice was that of Titus and he was pretty excited because he knew today meant a “party” at our friends house after church. We got out of bed and made our way to the living room. I looked out the window when, “what to my wondering eyes should appear,” but freshly fallen snow (minus the sleigh and reindeer). Yes…snow on Easter Sunday. Such was the start of a really fun and joy filled day.

Bethany had put together the kids Easter baskets last night and set them out for the kids to discover them this morning (shown in the photo above). Inside each were a few eggs with some candy and just a few small presents that Bethany had picked up, including new placemats for the table, shoes, socks, and some stickers. Other than the candy and stickers, I think the other things were mainly just those things you know you need so you turn it in to a present and everyone wins. The kids really loved opening everything and discovering what was inside the eggs (gummy bears and chocolate).

We made it to church this morning and were dressed for the occasion. Bethany had the kids all dressed up with Avery in a dress and Titus in a suit. I had actually ironed different clothes but when I saw Titus in his suit I decided to do the same and made a wardrobe change. At church there was a lot of special music, a lot of which was done by this women’s singing group. They were actually really talented and sang a bunch of different songs, including an old Stephen Curtis Chapman tune that had been translated in to Czech. Someone actually brought us a translation headset so we got to listen to the message in English, which was a great blessing because the message was really good and focused on Christ. There wasn’t any Sunday school for the kids, but we enjoyed having them with us. Here’s a photo of Avery and Bethany–Avery’s face is classic.

Church actually ended early to our surprise which was the Lord’s blessing because we needed to get back to get the food prep done for our lunch with friends this afternoon (which was at the Yorman’s house). Mostly, the party and lunch consisted of a bunch of Josiah Venture families getting together. Bethany made a green bean dish, deviled eggs, and fresh salsa! They were all delicious. Everyone brought different appetizers and parts of the meal so it was one big potluck. Here’s a couple photos of some of the meal. We ate like kings!

We enjoyed sweet fellowship this afternoon together with the other missionaries and even had time to talk about Jesus with all our kids, as well as enjoyed a time of singing worship songs. Casey and Kristin asked if I would be able to bring my guitar and sing some songs which turned out to be a really fun time. Our friend John actually brought a small hand drum and his accordion, so we had a small band. While we were singing it started to snow pretty good outside, so we ended up singing two Christmas songs. Why not celebrate Christ’s birth and resurrection in the same day?!

The women had planned to do a egg hunt for the kids, so everyone pitched in to put eggs together and hide them. This was probably the highlight for the kids so we I got a ton of photos of it. They are below and I’ve put captions beneath ones that need more explanation.

This is Titus deep in thought over where his eggs might be. All the eggs were divided up by kid and Titus’ were “sports” themed while Avery’s were all pink in color.

Some of these hiding spots were pretty tricky.

There’s a pink one under there for Avery!

And another one!

When it was all said and done every kid had ten eggs. There’s was a little confusion for a bit because everyone thought they had hidden eleven eggs, but we think it was just a miscount. Each egg had either a sticker or a little toy inside. In the photo above Avery is enjoying discovering each little toy and you can even see on the ground that she lined them up as she opened them. Great times! What a fun day celebrating the risen Lord, Jesus Christ (even though the snow made it feel we were celebrating His birth)! It stayed pretty cold all day, but we definitely felt the warmth of friends and fellowship all day.

Finally, here are a few shots I got of the kids in their Sunday best. He is risen!

Tags church, Easter, first things first, friends, party

365 Czech Republic

Opening the April Envelope

Post author By Shay
Post date April 4, 2015
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It has been on our agenda this week to open up the April envelope which is the second to last envelope we get to open. This one was signed by our friends the Millets and it was full of lots of fun things. As you can see in the photo above, the wrapping itself was something special and the kids loved trying to figure out how to get in to it. I took a lot of photos of the process today, so here’s the story in pictures (with captions beneath some photos).

It took the kids a bit to unravel the string and the large white plastic table cloth that the envelope was wrapped in.

Alongside the envelope was a big frame celebrating both Titus’ birthday and our resurrected Savior (Titus’ birthday is on the 24th). It was really fun to open this on Easter weekend!

Avery was pretty excited to find some colorful Tic-Tacs at first grab in the bag.

Titus found a present with his name on it and immediately got to work opening it. We were proud of him because he opened the card first and tried to read it, as well as asked if it was OK for him to open it even though it’s not his birthday. Since we were having so much fun, we though an early birthday present would be alright.

While Titus was opening his present, Avery was finding all kinds of things in the envelope.

Insides Titus’ gift were special markers with Bible story books! We love these kinds of books because the markers are special for this kind of paper and usually don’t cause a big mess. Titus was definitely excited about this one.

Titus got right to work coloring. I had been distracted by the other books that Avery had pulled out of the envelope and Bethany nudged me to take a photo of him coloring all by himself. He was very focused and as usual he picked the color red (his favorite color) to start with.

There were a ton of books and stickers inside, along with a sticker pack for the Passion week and Easter. The kids spent a lot of time working with their stickers and we had fun talking about Jesus and the tomb. We are so blessed to have friends from the States who were willing to sacrifice their time and resources to bless us like this. As always, thank you!

Beyond the envelope, the only other thing we did today was take the kids to the play place at the mall. This has become more of regular thing, but it made a lot of sense today because the weather was cold and mixed rain and snow. We talked about going to the zoo, but I’m glad we didn’t because it was just miserable outside most of the day. The kids had a fun time at the mall and we were able to do a little grocery shopping while we were out. Tomorrow we’ll have the Easter service at church and a bunch of missionaries are getting together for a pot-luck style meal in our town. Bethany is cutting veggies and prepping food as a type and I’m looking forward to celebrating the risen Lord tomorrow!

Tags April, birthday, envelope, gifts, presents

365 Czech Republic

A Good Friday On a Snowy Day

Post author By Shay
Post date April 3, 2015
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We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland and the sound of Titus saying, “Mom! Dad! It snowed!” Getting out of bed I wiped my eyes, blinked a few times, and couldn’t believe all the snow that had fallen last night. Knowing this would slow down the morning, I hurried to get dressed and try to get out the door to get Titus to school. Instead of walking, I decided to dig the snow around the garage doors and get the car and drive Titus. Bethany needed it for Avery’s doctor appointment today, so I figured it would be best to get it out for her. As we drove Titus was giddy about the falling snow all around and said, “It’s Christmastime!” Not quite, pal.

After shuffling through the snow with Titus we made into the school where we got our shoes off and then it hit me–I don’t think there’s school today. Looking around I didn’t see very many jackets hanging in the little cubbies and there were only a handful of shoes. I took Titus upstairs to his class and sure enough the doors were locked. I think this is the third time Titus and I have experienced this. What’s really strange is we thought Titus was going to be “tested” today to see if he can move up to Kindergarten next year. In fact, we had prepared Titus for his teacher to question him and were trying to tell him to be ready and make sure and listen and obey. Come to find out tonight after retranslating the email we got from his teacher, she was actually trying to ask us to “consider whether we should send him to school today.” It’s hard being lost in translation. I told Titus there wasn’t school today and said “let’s go,” and he stopped and said, “Daddy, I want to stay.” He has never done that, but we think he was just excited about something different and what we had prepared him for. We found out later that there’s no school on Good Friday and there’s no school on Easter Monday (the day after Sunday). Oh, the life of a foreigner.

The day wasn’t a complete lost as Bethany was able to take Avery for her check-up which is required for her entering preschool next year. I had a few big meetings at the Josiah Venture office and carpooled with another missionary which allowed Bethany to have the car. The Lord was definitely working behind the scenes on that one because we didn’t know it was going to snow like it did and it was great that Bethany had the car instead of trying to walk.

Tonight we attended our church’s Good Friday service. I don’t think there was anyone doing English translation, so that was tough, but it was a really full service and we struggled to find a place to sit at first. Above you can see a photo I took and we were way up high in the balcony. They didn’t have any kids program tonight, so we had Titus and Avery with us which was a challenge. The service was long and since it started at 6:00pm it pushed into their normal bedtime. We actually ended up leaving a little early because the kids were restless, but I was glad to be there even though we couldn’t follow what was going on. We were blessed as well tonight by the music of Keith and Kristyn Getty which we listened to before and after the service.

I think I was especially blessed by listening to the song “The Power of the Cross.” It’s a wonderful song with amazing truths, and a perfect song for Good Friday. Here’s a recording of it I found on YouTube and I’m putting the lyrics below the video for you to read. I will echo what many Christians will likely say today, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.”

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Tags church, Good Friday, music, snow, The Power of the Cross, weather

365 Czech Republic

A Baby Checkup and Snow in April

Post author By Shay
Post date April 2, 2015
No Comments on A Baby Checkup and Snow in April

Today Bethany had a baby checkup and since there was going to be an ultrasound we decided to take the whole family. We got everyone out the door and to the doctor’s office on time, but when we arrived there were more people in the office than we really had ever seen before. Normally we get right in and out, but today it took about an hour before we got in to see the OBGYN. Once in, the doctor had lots of questions for us which were really good. I appreciate how thorough she is, even if it means things take a little longer.

Since the kids didn’t have much to play with at the office, and we had been there a while, they were getting a little restless so I was really glad when we all moved in to the ultrasound room. We had been telling the kids we would be seeing their baby sister today and they were excited to watch the screen as the doctor showed us the baby. At first, the baby had her hands in front of her face, but I think she moved and we got one really good photo of her. The technology of a 3D ultrasound never ceases to amaze me. Look at this face.

It was really cold this morning as we were walking in to the doctor. I think all four of us were surprised how cold it was and with the cloud over I thought, “What? Is it going to snow today?!” Titus even said to me as we walked across the parking lot, “Daddy, it’s really cold.” But nothing transpired…well, at least not until about 4pm today. I was in a meeting at the Josiah Venture office and got a picture sent to me from Bethany of snow falling hard at our house (shown below). I looked at the windows of my office and there wasn’t anything happening, but I could see the wind was blowing. About ten minutes later it began to snow and another missionary walked in to my office and we stared out the window in shock. I had to remind myself it was April 2!

A photo posted by Bethany (@wifeyness) on Apr 2, 2015 at 7:54am PDT

And here’s some video Bethany got.

Snow in April from Shay on Vimeo.

I finished up my meeting (which was over video chat), packed up my computer and headed outside. When I got to the car it already had at least a half inch of snow or more piling up on it. Here’s a photo of the car and then me clearing off the window shield in the second one.

Driving away, I couldn’t believe how much was coming down and that it was sticking so well. I called Bethany from the car and we were just laughing about it. She wanted to make sure I would be safe and as I got on to the highway things looked good, but it was pretty slushy. I made it home safe and the snow let up a little as I came into our town. As I pulled in to the drive way the kids met me from the kitchen window and were really excited. I couldn’t help but a get a photo of their little faces too.

The kids and I ended up playing out in the snow for a bit while Bethany made dinner. It was just crazy to see the new planted flowers in our landlord’s garden covered in snow. As well, the church next door has trees lining the property that we can see over our wall. It was as if we had jumped back to Christmas with all the snow. Here’s a few more photos of the flowers and trees.

No, it’s not Christmas, it’s just Czech Republic. I checked the weather and it’s supposed to snow late tonight and in to tomorrow morning. I have a meeting at Josiah Venture early so I’m hoping things won’t be too bad. Our jaws are still on the ground. April in California is when you hit the beach and work on your sun tan, but in Czech you get out your snow gloves and make sure there’s enough fire wood!

Tags April, baby, snow, ultrasound

365 Czech Republic

A Chocolate Lamb

Rain/Snow/Sleet/Hail Today from Shay on Vimeo.

I don’t want to spend too much energy describing the weather, but it has been pretty wild the past few days. Today was no different with rain, hail, sleet, and snow all falling at different times. Again, the sun only shown through the clouds for a few minutes this evening, but mostly it’s been overcast and dreary. Bethany took the video above today of the snow and rain falling, but even tonight we had a lot of hail coming down. What’s weird is that at the Josiah Venture offices today it was mostly dry and I may saw a snowflake or two, but the weather didn’t do much. It’s amazing how much different the weather was at home versus there and they’re really not that far from each other geographically.

Tonight we enjoyed eating our “lamb cake.” I put that in quotes because I don’t know what else to call it. It’s a lamb shaped cake covered in chocolate (which you can see above). It even had two little icing dots for eyes. I did a quick Google on the subject and here’s an excerpt from one site about this Easter tradition,

Even before the days of Christianity the symbol of the lamb was widespread in Mediterranean culture, with its long pastoral tradition. For Christian churches the lamb came to symbolize the Lamb of God – Jesus Christ. In the southern Czech Sumava Mountains there used to be a tradition that blessing a lamb would help wayfarers to find their way through the forests. These days lamb is rarely eaten in the Czech Republic, but this does not mean that lamb has disappeared completely from Czech Easter celebrations. It still appears in the form of a cake.

Above is a photo of us sacrificing our lamb. It seemed appropriate during the Passion Week.

Finally, today Bethany and Avery were counting plastic eggs. This weekend we were invited to spend Easter with some other missionaries and their kids, and we’re going to combine our eggs for a little fun. Bethany said she separated the eggs by color and then Avery lined them up. I’m especially proud of our baseball eggs which you can see in the bottom of the photo.

But more than plastic eggs, Easter is coming Sunday and I’m excited to think on the cross and our resurrected Lord. I know it will be hard to not hear the sermon this week in English, but to join the saints in worship here and around the world to proclaim the gospel will be a great joy. I can’t wait!

Tags Easter, hail, lamb, rain, sleet, snow, tradition, weather