Shay Thomason – Page 16 – everything beautiful in it's time

Encouraged

Overall it’s been a really encouraging week. Many people have sent us kind words via email and social media in regards to our baby gender announcement (if you missed that post be sure and go check it out). Bethany and I have been working harder on reviewing our Czech language cards and I’m just encouraged by our daily progress.

Normally we have language lessons on Wednesday mornings, but Avery woke up in the middle of the night and threw up in her bed (my apologies to any weak stomach readers). Our teacher has a young boy who has just gotten over some sickness so we didn’t want to take Avery to her house and now we’re scheduled to have lessons on Friday. Avery has been sick most of the day with a runny nose and cough, but it doesn’t look like any of us have it yet. I assume it’s just a little cold and that Titus won’t be far behind her, but you never really know with kids and sickness.

Speaking of Titus, I walked him to school this morning while it was snowing and it hit me just how different his childhood already is compared to mine. Not once in my life did I ever walk to school in the snow. In fact, I don’t believe I ever even walked to school! And the one time I remember it snowing while I was at school, my mom picked us up early and drove us home because she was worried about driving in it. Titus, however, is walking in the snow and we do our morning ritual of getting him dressed in all of his layers. In the photo above, he’s wearing a snow suit, sweatshirt, jacket, long johns, and that fancy hat with ear covers. It’s such a different life than mine was, but I’m glad he’s getting to experience something I never did. In my mind, it keeps it interesting.

Bethany made banana bread this week and it sounds like we’re going to try banana bread french toast tomorrow. It’s a first for us, but we heard about it the other day and thought it was a fun idea. With that to look forward to, I think I’ll hit the hay. Thank you for reading and being such an encouragement to me and my family. We are so blessed by many of you.

Tags Avery, encouraged, sick, Titus

365 Czech Republic

Our 2 Year Visas Are Approved

Post author By Shay
Post date February 3, 2015
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Today was kind of momentous for us even though it never feels that way when you’re in a government office in the Czech Republic. Our two year visas were approved! Our friend, Katka, got a call last week saying the paperwork went through and that we needed to go back and do photos and fingerprints. Today we went to the Foreign Police and signed a bunch of papers, took photos, and gave them our fingerprints. I didn’t feel as comfortable trying to capture everything on my iPhone today, so I only have the one photo you see above. All in all, the process was smoothe and the kids did good getting their photos taken. We’ll go back on the 19th to retrieve our new “Biometric” cards which serve as our permit for residence!

For doing a good job at the Foreign Police we told the kids they could get hot chocolate at a nearby cafe afterwards. Above is a photo of them waiting together at the cafe.

Around sunset we decided to go for a little mini hike up around the big Josiah Venture hotel/training. Since my class last week, I have wanted to take Bethan and the kids up there to show them the snow and see the view. The sun was shining a lot today which was awesome, so we tried to catch a little of the sunset tonight. There were a few clouds so we couldn’t see it perfectly, but we had a great time together as a family in the freezing cold.

The temps were in the 20s so things were icy, but the kids thought it was hilarious when their feet would give out while we were holding their hands and walking. We didn’t walk a super long time, but we laughed and enjoyed our time together. In fact, the more I think about it the more I feel like it was special. We were just walking up and down a little hill, but the kids were happy, Bethany was happy, and I was happy. We were having a fun time together and it was devoid of distraction or trying to rush to the next thing.

It’s late and we have language lessons in the morning which I’m really excited about. It’s been a few weeks since we have had any formal instruction. Bethany and I have been working harder this week to review our vocabulary and do whatever kind of studying that we can on our own. I even started a new little “Field Notes” notebook of Czech words that I want to know or understand better. It was a tool they taught us to use at language school in the States and I’m excited to engage it more. Some how, some way, I am going to learn Czech! Pray for us.

Tags hike, visas, walk

365 Czech Republic

Boy or Girl?

Instead of our normal written blog post, we thought we would have a little fun with video today. As you should know by now, Bethany is pregnant with baby Thomason #3. The big question on everyone’s mind: boy or girl? I guess you’ll have to watch this video to find out.

Tags boy, gender, girl, video

365 Czech Republic

I Miss Sundays and Church

Post author By Shay
Post date February 1, 2015
No Comments on I Miss Sundays and Church

We went to church in Czech for the first time in a while. After being sick for weeks on end in November and December, we took our trip to the States and missed a few weeks there. Upon returning we were severely jet lagged and then last week there really wasn’t church, so today we finally made it back.

Like most Sundays here, it was hard (at least for me). Mostly I hate feeling like I’m just going through the motions of “doing church” and not being able to offer much as a member of the body of Christ. The language barrier is no doubt the biggest obstacle and has far reaching effects. We can’t understand the sermon, we can’t talk to most of teachers, and we can’t really offer much in the way of encouragement to other believers (or them to us). Today, the kids didn’t want to stay in their classes alone and we can’t leave them. Bethany ended up staying with Avery in her class and I took Titus with me to the main service. Avery painted the mitten and hat you see the above photo.

Many Sundays someone in our church will provide translation via headsets, but I didn’t see anyone doing that today. Basically I just let Titus play on my iPhone while I read my Bible. From what I saw on the screen at church, I think the pastor was preaching out of 1 John, but I’m not sure. In a sense, it felt like our first Sunday there minus the excitement of the newness. It was just hard and I didn’t respond well to it. It frustrated me and even though I enjoyed my time in God’s Word, I let my heart get angry at our situation.

I love the local church. Outside of the family, I believe it is the most important institution God created for Christians. Many days when I was serving at our church in the States I would literally be giddy on my way to church. Oh, no doubt we had hard days but then there would be someone at church that would say or encourage me, or even just the sermon itself would pierce my soul as the Word of God does. I guess that’s what made it so difficult for me today. I’m having a hard time seeing light at the end of the tunnel of being able to experience that kind of community and grace again.

Pray for me as I lead our family in the days, weeks, and months ahead. I’m sure many missionaries have come to a similar place when they remember what they left behind and long deeply for it. I want to lead my family with wisdom and grace, especially as it relates to learning the language and culture. I want the opportunity to encourage another saint in their native tongue, not to mention share the gospel with someone in Czech in the Czech language! I want to disciple a few young men who can then go and disciple someone else. I want to sing worship and know what I’m saying. I guess I just want it to feel normal again. Maybe we’re years away, but at least that feels like it exists somewhere in the future.

Tags church, difficult, Sunday

365 Czech Republic

Last Day of Teaching and Living in a Winter Wonderland

Post author By Shay
Post date January 31, 2015
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I had a great time the past three days teaching a design class at the Josiah Venture Leadership Academy. Today we finished up our little workshop and I realized how much I enjoy teaching and helping others learn and grow, even when it’s a technical skill. What I enjoyed most is that ten people in our class are all serving the Lord in some capacity in their respective countries and will taking the things they learned this week to do their ministry better. Above is a photo of a few of our students from Slovakia who were working on a design for their upcoming English camps. Thousands of young people will come to Christian camps this summer and hear the gospel for the very first time. Maybe, just maybe, the poster these leaders create is what will invite those young people in Slovakia?

Above is a photo of a group from Estonia. Kuldar (far left) is a leader up there and doing great things through sports ministries, specifically soccer. I actually met with him a few weeks ago and just got to hear about his passion for discipleship in a country where dads are distant and young men need mentors. I love his heart for young people. I just happened to walk outside today while he was trying to get a photo with this group and got to take this photo for them.

It was a surreal world outside today at the training center. The snow covered everything and I believe we got another 4-5 inches last night of fresh powder. After our class, Daniel and I were walking back down the hill from the the main center with our cameras in hand and were just overwhelmed with God’s amazing creation. Here’s some photos of beautiful wintery Czech Republic that I got.

I can only assume that a snowman died here (below). May he rest in peace.

365 Czech Republic

You Just Get Used To It

Instead of trying to get the entire family ready to walk down the street, I usually end up taking Titus to school. That was the case this morning, but while walking towards the school I noticed a few things that seemed out of place. First, there weren’t any other families with kids walking that we usually see. Second, there were very few cars parked outside of the school. And thirdly, when we got closer I looked up towards his class and saw that most of the lights were off. This is not a good sign.

Titus and I got inside, got our shoes off, and headed up to his class. There was only one strip of lights on and all the chairs were on top of the tables, presumably the way the cleaning crew left them. Without hesitation I turned to Titus and said, “OK, let’s go.” We went back downstairs, put our shoes on and walked back home. I didn’t even question the confusion. In fact, you just get used to it.

Bethany met us back at the front door and I told her what happened. We assume at this point we got our days mixed up regarding Wednesday’s carnival. His teacher was probably trying to tell Bethany earlier in the week that there would be a fun thing on Wednesday and then no school on Friday. That’s life as a foreigner. You just get used to it.

Shortly after bringing Titus back home I had to leave to head off to the class I’ve been teaching this week at the Josiah Venture Leadership Academy. As I approached the highway I normally take, the police were blocking the entrance. I didn’t even question it and just began driving on a backroad. Was it going to take me an extra 15 minutes or longer? Most likely. Would I be late to my morning pre-class team meeting. Definitely. Above is a photo of me siting behind a huge semi on the now traffic heavy back road. You just get used to it.

When I did make it back to a main road I got stuck behind the smallest car I’ve ever seen two people fit in. It was going approximately 4mph in the passing lane. I have no idea why, but I had time to take my phone out and get a photo (below). You just get used to it.

I spilled my coffee in the car. I slipped and fell on our snowy driveway and on the way down fell into our landlord’s car. I pulled in front of a car that had to firmly apply his brakes and honk at me because apparently my mind was somewhere else! I don’t know…I guess you just get used to it?

Don’t misunderstand me. Even though my side hurts from hitting the concrete hard during my driveway slip, I’m not upset. Maybe the Lord has been working on my heart, but I’m getting used to the crazy, different, unfortunate, confusing, and annoying things that happen. I’m sure you have had your share of days like mine and you might even have other things to add to the list. That’s just life and it’s OK.

I often remind myself that life could be worse. Some people don’t like that argument because it’s negative, but for my heart it’s a reminder that these things (and this world!) are temporal. We live in a broken and fallen world that will disappoint, annoy, frustrate, and sometimes physically hurt us. Despite that, God is on the throne, He is sovereign, and he is working all things together for my good. Those truths help. They realign my heart to think on a loving and faithful God, and not on this temporal world.

None of what I just wrote was what I sat down and planned to write tonight, but I feel like that’s exactly how things have happened to me today. That’s just life. You just get used to it.

Tags God, life, normal, sovereignty

365 Czech Republic

Teaching Fun

I woke up this morning and heard Avery in her room talking. I have no idea how long she had been awake before I got up. When I walked in I found here like this (photo above). She immediately told me, “Daddy, we’re having a party.” For past few days we have noticed Avery doing a lot more playing like this where she sets up a scene or tells you a story about what she’s doing. It’s been fun to see her begin to change and I just wanted to write down this small, but sweet memory.

Today was kind of a special day as I had the opportunity to teach a class with my team at an event called “The Academy” (photo my class is above). Young men and women from around Europe are gathered this week at this event which is led by another team of ours at Josiah Venture. I was asked if my team would teach a workshop on design and I thought it was a great idea. We started today with some basic info, but we had about 10 people in our class, and about half as many countries represented including Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia. These young people mostly serve in their churches and countries and are just looking for practical skills to help them. Other classes included video, music skills, and even productivity classes. All of it was part of a larger event where theme is “team work.” I’ll be teaching tomorrow and Saturday morning and am already having a ton of fun!

One amazing thing about today was the view we had from our classroom. We were meeting in the library of our training center and the view from where I was teaching is shown in the photo below. At one point it was snowing and I was distracted by just the beauty of God’s creation around us. What a blessing!

Lastly, Bethany had the special opportunity to get away from the house tonight and go on a really fun date. Our friend Misa offered to stay with the kids for the evening so we drove to the Ostrava mall (where we often go for dates) and had a great meal, coffee, and hanging out at the mall. These times are not super often just yet (still working on finding regular babysitting), so we cherish them when the do happen.

As we were leaving the mall we realized we didn’t know where we had parked our car. Unless you are really paying attention when you walk in, it is easy to forget! We must have looked really confused because a really nice Czech man said to us in English, “Do you need some help?” We told him we forget where we parked our car and he said, “Oh, this happens even to me!” He recognized us as Americans and we began to chat with him and found out he has been to the States a few times on business and that his house in Czech is not far from where we live. We told him we were missionaries and he told us about his businesses and family. It was actually a sweet exchange, and he was really, really nice. I’m constantly blown away by Czech because this is so strange that he would even approach us this way. If you think of it, pray for him. His name is Marek and he has three kids. Our exchange was short, but it would be really neat to run into him again and talk more with him. Honestly, I feel like we missed a rare opportunity to share the gospel in English with him and I’m really sad about it. Mostly, I think I was surprised by the exchange and caught off guard. Lord willing, we will see Marek another time and get another opportunity!

Tags academy, class, fun, teaching

365 Czech Republic

The Carnival We Didn’t Know About

Post author By Shay
Post date January 28, 2015
1 Comment on The Carnival We Didn’t Know About

As soon as Titus, Avery, and I walked in to the door, I knew we were in trouble. The only thing that can explain all of these shoes in the entry way (shown below) is that the parents are at the school too. And if the parents are at the school, that means there’s a good chance that some kind of event is going on. While taking my own shoes off, I saw Pluto walk by (that is, I saw a kid dressed as Pluto–Mickey Mouse’s trusty dog). The kids said, “Daddy, we saw Pluto!” Uh oh. What is going on?

While making our way upstairs it became clear that there were lots of festivities going on. Parents were rushing up and down the stairs with their kids who were dressed up as princesses, pirates, fireman, and I even saw a little Darth Vader running around. Where were they taking these kids, I thought. Arriving at Titus’ classroom, we found the place completely filled with more dressed up kids, parents, and dressed up teachers. That’s when I called Bethany. “Uh…so this place is nuts and I have no idea what’s going on. But you better come and bring Titus’ Buzz Lightyear costume…and bring your camera!” The kids and I made our way through the camera wielding parents and I dropped Titus clothes off in their changing area. There were other families in there too so I snapped a photo of some boys and one of the dads.

In our defense, Bethany was aware of a carnival but she honestly thought it was going to be on Friday and that would only be in the afternoon. She actually had called me on Monday and asked if I would be available to come, but since I’m teaching a workshop at a conference this week I wouldn’t be available. Titus’ teacher did her best to make us aware of it, but again, the date just got lost in translation.

Bethany arrived a few minutes after I called her and she brought Titus’s costume. We quickly changed him so he could join the other kids. The teachers had congregated the kids in another room where they were doing what I believe was a fashion show. They were literally walking down a wooden plank on the ground and the teachers were taking pictures and video along with all the parents on the sidelines.

Here’s me getting Titus ready.

Here are the kids walking down the runway.

Meanwhile, Avery was enjoying all the toys in the classroom.

We were scheduled to have language lessons this morning, but with all the commotion we didn’t feel like we could leave. That, and Titus got really sad when we tried to leave and started crying and saying he wanted to go home. To be honest, it was hard. I felt caught between getting to our language lesson and taking care of Titus, and we just didn’t know what to do. It was decision paralysis. We tried to console Titus, who I think was just overwhelmed. Finally, we cancelled our lessons and stuck around with Titus. Eventually he calmed down and even starting participating with the class in their dance. Here’s a little video I got and you’ll see Titus dancing with his teacher.

Remember those parents rushing up and down the stairs when we first arrived? We found out where they were going. There was a professional photographer in another classroom who was taking individual portraits of all the kids. Titus’ teacher asked one of the little kids to show us where he was so he could take Titus’ picture. We made our way down and had a few shots taken. I seriously can not wait to see how those turned out. Later, that same photographer took a group shot of the entire class. Here they are in the main hall of the school getting ready for their class photo. You can see Titus in the upper left.

After some time, Titus was doing much better and we left. He did well for the remainder of the school day and Bethany said he came home really happy and excited about his experience. Apparently they had a clown who juggled and they blew bubbles and even passed out balloons to the kids. At the end of the day I can look back and laugh, but in the middle of it it was really difficult. I’m bummed we missed our once a week Czech lesson because that’s so vital for us long term. On the other hand, I’m glad I got to experience something fun with Titus and our family, even thought I had no clue it was going to happen.

Tags carnival, confusion, party, preschool, school

365 Czech Republic

Let It Snow

We’re a little enamored with the snow right now. As you can see in the photo above, Avery was sitting in our kitchen window this morning just staring at the falling snow. It is unbelievably beautiful to watch. Bethany even mentioned today that the snow actually makes Czech brighter which is just interesting. Everything doesn’t feel so gray and dreary, but nice and clean, and soft. Even some of the other Josiah Venture missionaries were talking about this today. One friend commented about the color of the buildings in Czech. Often they are bright orange, green, and even pink and he was observing that they look so much better against the clean white backdrop of snow. He’s right.

My team is preparing to teach at a big event this week here in Czech called the Josiah Venture Leadership Academy. There will be 220 attendees (if they trudge their way through the snow!). The communications team (which I lead) will be doing some training in the area of design and design software. Our class has 10 participants and people are coming from all over Europe to be together for a five day conference. Mostly these are people who are lay leaders in their churches and are just looking for some practical skills and training. I’m excited to teach a 3-day class with my team and hopefully share our combined love for design and Jesus! Pray for us as we prepare for that and for the time with our class.

Tonight Bethany had some fun baking with the kids. We have been talking about making cookies for a couple of days now and it just feels right to enjoy some warm cookies on these cold days. Titus some how convinced me to let him eat three cookies. Little stinker. They enjoyed using their Czech chef hats and aprons so we got a few photos of them. These are fun days.

Tags bakers, cookies, snow

365 Czech Republic

Red Cheeks and the German Occupation

Post author By Shay
Post date January 26, 2015
No Comments on Red Cheeks and the German Occupation

It continues to be a winter wonderland here in Czech even though it really didn’t snow too much today. The snow was piled high on the sides of the roads and sidewalks and while walking Titus to school today I saw multiple moms pulling their children on sleds. After I got Titus in to his class, I realized I forgot his bag so I ended up making the walk back home and then back to his school. When I returned I saw Titus sitting at a table alone, really focused on whatever he was coloring. I approached him and said something to him and he jumped. I saw a tear in his eye, like maybe he had cried after I left? It was a weird moment and I was reminded how hard this must be for him to be in school and not really understanding much of the language.

When Bethany picked Titus up in the afternoon, his teacher asked another mom who spoke English to translate. She wanted to tell us that Titus had been doing much better in class. This was good news to our ears as we have been really working with Titus on different things at home, especially listening and first time obedience. We tell him daily to listen and obey even if he’s not exactly sure what’s going on (which I’m sure is often). As a bonus, Bethany was excited that she met another mom who spoke English. She told me that she sees that mom often, so now she knows she can talk with her and maybe build a relationship.

Bethany let the kids play in the snow this afternoon after Titus got out of school. Our Czech friend Misa came over and was spending time with Bethany and the kids. She brought some presents for the kids and a few things for us which was really nice. While they were playing Pani Musilova (our landlord) saw them playing and knew that Misa could translate for us, so she talked with them for a while. One thing Pani Musilova mentioned was that it was good for Avery to get “red cheeks.” After some really basic research (I asked 3 Czech friends), this may have 2 different meanings:

1) It could be a reference to an old Russian fairytale. I am quoting our friend who said, “An old Russian fairytale when the ugly step sister put tone of red blush on her cheeks to get the queen to look.”

2) It could be a reference to good health. From our understanding, and we could be wrong, Czechs will often let little babies take naps outside in the cold. Sometimes you will even see a stroller outside with a baby bundled up, but their little face exposed. It’s possible they think the cold air is good for the babies and small children?

Or maybe we’re just really confused? That’s very possible.

Another interesting anecdote from that conversation which Bethany shared with me was about our landlord’s name. They were talking about Bethany’s pregnancy and baby names and Pani Musilova (Mrs. Musilova) explained that her first name “Helena” is actually the German version of the Czech name “Helenka.” She explained that she was born under the German occupation of Czech and they were only allowed German versions of the names. I’ve shared before that Czechs have their Czech Name Day where every day on the calendar is someone’s name day. All that to say, it was just crazy to think that she was born during the German occupation of Czech! I think Pani Musilova is really pulling for us to name this next baby with a Czech name, but I guess we’ll just have to wait on that.

Tags culture, Czech, German occupation, red cheeks