Shay Thomason – Page 32 – everything beautiful in it's time

Scratch That

Scratch that. Never mind. Just kidding. I guess Titus isn’t starting school on Monday.

This morning Bethany called me because she had just gotten of the phone with someone about Titus’ preschool. The school actually had to rescind their offer of a open spot for Titus because of a strange law in the Czech school system. Another boy who needs to go into primary school (aka first grade) had to take the spot that Titus was filling because he needs at least one year of preschool before he can move up. Or at least that’s how I understood it at this point. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of this story was…you know, lost in translation. Honestly though, I don’t know if I was ready quite yet for Titus to start school. I had come to terms with it and we really feel like him starting will be a huge ministry for us with other kids and families, but it all did feel really rushed so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. There’s actually still a chance another spot could open up so we’ll just take it one day at a time.

You may be wondering why there’s a photo of a microphone above. That’s from today at the Josiah Venture offices where our team was working recording a voiceover for a video we’re working on. For me it’s really interesting how God uses all of the things I’ve learned in my life to do the work I’m doing here in Czech. There was a time in my life where I did live sound and have done a little recording and now I’m having to pull some of those skills back out of my mental junk drawer. We got a really good recording today and I look forward to finishing the video with my teammate Daniel. I believe it will bless many and be a testimony to what God is doing over here with Josiah Venture.

Bethany and the kids had a little picnic today in the square since the weather was nicer today. They ended up seeing our friend Kristin and her son Beni too so they played for a bit. Bethany tells me that Avery was picking leaves for me. Here’s a few photos from their afternoon, including one of the church from a different angle than we usually post.

Tonight we had a bunch of friends over for dinner that live in our town. It’s nice to be encouraged by each other and of course let our kids play together. The boys and Avery had fun playing outside and then playing the Wii inside. Bethany made a delicious soup and we had a nice fruit crumble for dessert. God has blessed us greatly with friends and teammates near us to support and encourage each other. I do believe this is an answer to prayer from our faithful supporters and of course a testament to God’s amazing grace in our lives. Psalm 118:28-29 says it this way, “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Tags dinner, friends, picnic, preschool, recording

365 Czech Republic

First Doctor Visit and Saying Goodbye to Jitka

Post author By Shay
Post date August 27, 2014
1 Comment on First Doctor Visit and Saying Goodbye to Jitka

Everyone was up bright and early today (and by “bright”, I really mean “gray and rainy” because that was the reality for most of the day). Bethany, the kids, and our friend Kristin headed to our first ever pediatrician visit in Czech. The preschool requires a doctor check before they can admit Titus and since school starts on Monday we had to get him in as quickly as possible. For some reason the doctor only had openings between 7-9:45am so they all made it there by 8:30. In the photo below you get a glimpse into what the lobby area was like. Bethany shared with me that there’s not really a check-in area, but you just knock on the doctor’s office door (in the right side of the photo) and they will let you in if there’s no one else being seen. Apparently the lobby just works like a “first come, first serve” situation. The visit was short and sweet and the doctor just looked at Titus and gave her “OK” (through Kristin who translated). From the doctor they drove straight for the school where they dropped off all the final paperwork. That looks like the final step before school starts on Monday!

On a sadder note, not only was today our first doctor’s visit, but it was our first goodbye. Our Czech teacher and friend, Jitka, is moving to the other side of Czech tomorrow. She has been a huge part of helping us get acclimated here, getting our visas secured, and of course teaching us her incredible Czech language. I’m pretty sure we saw Jitka every day for a weeks there as she was helping us with some many things after we landed. Today we had a Czech lesson with her and were able to say goodbye. Bethany actually spent the evening with Jitka, helping her pack and load. We are bummed to lose her but excited that she is stepping out in faith and entering another chapter of her life. She really feels like the Lord has been leading her to go back to where her family live. Our hope and prayer is that she will be a light for Christ there and that God would use her in incredible ways. Thank you, Jitka, for all your help and kindness to us!

Here’s a photo we took today with Jitka. Titus was holding the iPhone while I used my headphones to actually snap the photo because he just couldn’t hold the phone and snap the photo at the same time.

Below is an outtake of the above and we’re laughing at how hilarious it was to have Titus taking the photo. Avery was also standing next to Titus saying “Peekaboo!” I think she got that from us because we sometimes try to make them laugh from behind the camera to get a better photo. Obviously it works!

Below are few photos I got of Avery today. That little girl is gonna be a heartbreaker.

Tags doctor, goodbye, Jitka

365 Czech Republic

A Haircut and Titus Starting Preschool

Post author By Shay
Post date August 26, 2014
1 Comment on A Haircut and Titus Starting Preschool

As I was getting my first Czech haircut this morning, I got a call from my friend Kristin. She told me that the preschool Titus was on the waiting list for had a spot open up for him (6 days before school starts!) and I needed to go pick up the application at the school and make a doctor appointment for Titus so he could be cleared to attend school. I felt a mixture of both excitement and panic! I finished my haircut, had lunch and called Kristin again to make a game plan for how I was going to ask for the application in Czech. By God’s providence, Kristin’s Czech friend, Miša, was at their house and offered to come right over to go with us to the school to help translate. The Lord’s provision is so specific and timely! It had been raining all morning so as soon as I could get the kids and I our boots, jackets and the umbrella, Kristin and Miša were here and we started walking.

The preschool is just around the corner from us and maybe takes 5 minutes walking with little legs. In the winter, Kristin said she took her boys to this same school on a sled because there are never any snow days. We got to the school and Titus went right to the outdoor play equipment and as we walked inside Titus and Avery headed for the all the toys. Later, his teacher explained to me through Miša that even on cold, rainy days the kids will play outside so she wanted me to make sure and have Titus bring extra clothes and a pair of shoes that will get muddy and wet. When they come inside they change, put on “house shoes” and keep the classrooms nice and toasty. Miša interpreted while Titus’ sweet teacher explained the application process and asked a few questions about Titus like, “Is he very active? A little energy or a lot?” I laughed and said, “Yes and a LOT!”

You can be praying for Titus that he would be putting into practice at school what we’re trying to teach him at home like self control and kindness towards others, even when we’re not around to train these things. We’re starting with maybe 2-3 days per week from morning until after lunch because I want that critical time with him and I at home and hope his being in school will help me see with new eyes areas we need to focus on with him. You can be praying that we would be faithful in our instruction and discipline of Titus and Avery as we’ve already seen areas they (and us!) need to grow in.

This is the view from the second story window of the preschool.

We walked home and Miša offered to come over and help me fill out the application form since it was all in Czech. Kristin made an appointment for us with their pediatrician and will come with us tomorrow morning to help translate as well. We have met so many sweet and helpful people here; we’re so thankful!

Tags haircut, kids, preschool

365 Czech Republic

Driving Around Town With Our Landlord and a Czech Friend Stops By For A Visit

Post author By Shay
Post date August 25, 2014
2 Comments on Driving Around Town With Our Landlord and a Czech Friend Stops By For A Visit

Our landlord, our friend Jitka, and I left early this morning in my car to deal with some of our outstanding utilities. Back in June we had tried to setup our electricity and gas utilities but were unable because we didn’t have our visas yet. Now that we do we rescheduled a time to get together and sort it all out. What’s funny to me is that we all have to go together to the different companies to set it all up. I don’t know if this is just something our landlord wanted or if it’s normal, but off we went today.

Both companies are in the next town over, about 15 minutes or so from us. Jitka was a huge help in translating and making sure I knew what was going on. We hit the electric company first and things went really smoothly. Considering how much paperwork it takes normally I was surprised how quickly things went and how easy it was. Our second stop was at the gas company (photo above with our landlord on the right). That stop wasn’t as simple because I didn’t have our Czech bank account information on me so I had to work the phones with Bethany and have her send it to me. Some of those kinds of things are so new and different especially how often we give out our banking information. I was actually really proud today because Jitka (who is also our language teacher) asked me to read our phone numbers and banking info to the clerks in Czech. I did it! I may not be able to tell people anything important, but if you’re looking for my Czech bank account number I can now oblige. After I finished reading a string of numbers to the lady at the gas company I said, “Whew!” out loud and made everyone laugh. Hey, I can be funny in Czech!

The gas company is located inside of a mall. It’s hard to explain it because there is a gas company, a grocery store, drug store, a tea house, and a lot of little shops inside the mall. It kind of feels like an airport to me because of all the different types of stores. Both Jitka and Pani Musilova (“Pani” means “Mrs.”) needed a few things so Jitka headed for the drugs store and our and landlord stopped at a newsstand. I guess we weren’t in a rush? I took the above photo because well, I didn’t have anything else to do and I just thought the whole experience was hilarious. Just prior to this photo we had stopped in a tea house where Pani. Musilova was having me smell different teas. “Mmmm…. ginger.” Actually, the more I think about the whole experience the funnier it gets.

Meanwhile back at home, Bethany was spending time with our friend Lída (pronounced like “Lisa” with a “d”). Lída was one of the students at the camp we served at in Czech back in 2012. She speaks English very well and she has followed our journey via Facebook for the past few years. She only lives about 20 minutes by car, but she took the train this morning out to see us and meet Titus. She met Avery back in 2012 when Avery was just seven months old. It was a blessing to see her and her in our home. As all Czechs do she came bearing gifts. She brought 2 Czech kids shows on DVD for Titus and Avery and of course left us a wonderful dessert she made. Don’t be fooled by the photo below which you may think is a pizza. It’s actually a dessert called “Frgal” (no typo) and it’s specific to this region of Czech. Other than having the look of pizza the only similarity is the size which is about the size of a medium pizza. It’s a light pastry with a fruit spread on top. This one kind of tasted like fig (I’m not sure what it was), but apparently they can come in all kinds of seasonal fruits. Mmmmm, I think I’ll go have another slice.

Tags dessert, frgal, friend, landlord, utilities

365 Czech Republic

November in August

It’s August 24, 2014 and I don’t know where I’ve been at the end of every August, but I believe that more than 90% of the time I have been in California. August in SoCal is hot. Just now I checked the weather and it’s 85 degrees in Santa Clarita. But you wouldn’t have had any idea it was August here in Czech today. The high was 60 and right now it’s in the upper 40s. It rained most of the day and at one point it was just coming down hard (photo below). It cleared up tonight and Titus and I went outside to play for a bit and I said to Bethany that had I not known it was August I would’ve thought it was November. I had a sweater and pants on and found myself trying to see my breath. All that to say I’m starting to get a little nervous about the winter here. If August is more like November where I’m from in California, then what must November feel like?

I’m sad we weren’t able to go to church today. Bethany really didn’t feel well today and even though I had gotten up and showered, I knew Bethany wasn’t well enough to go. And the thought of taking both of my kids to a two hour Czech church service by myself was a little daunting so I spent the morning with the kids while Bethany rested. I’ve noticed we have good days and bad days with our health and I wonder if our bodies are just adjusting. Already I can tell my allergies have been a problem and numerous days Bethany and I have had weird headaches. Not sure what that’s all about but I hope it’s not a long term issue.

We are nine hours ahead of California and we read online today the news as it was happening regarding the 6.0 earthquake in Napa. From what I saw there were some serious damages and apparently critical injuries. We will be sure to pray tonight for that area. Often when big events like that happen it’s an open door for churches to give the gospel and share the love of Christ with their neighbors. By God’s grace, He will even use an earthquake to draw more to Himself and that is our prayer.

Tomorrow morning I’m headed out early with a translator and our landlord to finalize some paperwork regarding our electricity and gas. Please pray it goes well because historically anything at an “official” office doesn’t go smoothly. That’s just life in Czech.

Tags earthquake, health, weather

365 Czech Republic Videos

Czech Swing

It was beautiful day in Czech. The weather was amazing, not too hot and not too cold, and the sun was out. Bethany went to Poland this morning with a friend to do some shopping there so I took the kids for a walk to the park. There were a lot of people out jut walking and I could see many of them carrying shopping bags, including one couple that was carrying a little table and chair they had just purchased. Although, I’m not exactly sure where everyone was doing all of this shopping? Above is a photo of a building next to the park. I think I take photos of the buildings to remind myself how amazing some of this old architecture is.

Do you see anything familiar in the photo above? You ever heard of “TK Maxx?” Now I’m sure you’ve seen “TJ Maxx,” but in Poland they call it “TK” and it’s the exact same store we have in the States but with a different name. Apparently there’s another brand in Poland with the name “TJ” so they didn’t want to be confused so they changed the “J” to a “K.” That’s where Bethany went this morning and did a little shopping. She got some great deals on winter clothes for the kids and a nice, small purse for herself. A lot of women wear smaller long strap purses as opposed to a hand bag. Some of that is for security, I guess, and a lot of ladies have recommended she get one too. I’m glad she was able to take the morning off and just enjoy some shopping.

Below is a video I took of Titus at the park. I had never seen him do this until today but he’s figured out how to pitch to himself. This is both amazing and depressing to me. Amazing because I didn’t know a 4-year-old could do that and depressing because I don’t know if he’ll still need me to pitch to him anymore!

Unfortunately for me we tried the same video again later this evening and I forgot how close I was (below). For the record he got me square in the chest as I was squatting and it stung for about 10 minutes. Had it been any lower I think we would’ve been making our first Czech hospital run and you would be seeing us on Czech’s Funniest Videos. Hey, “If you get it on cam, you could get it in crowns.”

A few weeks back we had seen that there were a few tree stumps left in the ground and that they had removed a couple larger trees. I was definitely confused by this until today when I realized what became of those stumps (photos above). Now standing beside the park is a wood carved jester, a squirrel, and what I believe to be a large snail (not pictured because it creeped me out a little). I don’t know if they are permanent installations or for something else, but they are pretty good size and I guess a mystery solved regarding those trees.

As I write Bethany is baking fresh bread in the kitchen. I joked that we’ve “gone full on Czech” with Bethany baking bread because they love fresh bread here. She’s making white bread I think mostly because she misses it. They have lots of different kinds of bread here, but I feel like everything we’ve tried has a distinct sourdough type taste to it. We probably haven’t exhausted our options but Bethany had yeast and dough so she’s giving it a try. It looked really yummy as it was rising in the bowl (photo below) and I hope it turns out great.

Early to bed, early to rise (bread pun intended) is how the old saying goes. Tomorrow is Sunday and we’ll be back in the pews at church doing our best to listen through a translator and hear God’s Word taught in a place that doesn’t have a lot of it. Sunday is always a reminder of the great needs for the gospel here. Even though we go to a great church, it’s the exception, and we will continue to pray for God to do a mighty work in the lives of millions in this country

Tags baseball, bread, fun, Saturday, shopping, TK Maxx

365 Czech Republic

The Post Office Experience and Why Getting Packages Sent Here is Awesome

Post author By Shay
Post date August 22, 2014
1 Comment on The Post Office Experience and Why Getting Packages Sent Here is Awesome

You would think going to the post office would be uneventful. At least that’s what I thought. I was dead wrong.

I should’ve walked, but I only had a few minutes before Czech lessons were about to begin so I decided to drive the short distance in town to the post office today. As I pulled into the only parking spot I could find I was greeted by the site of a person standing up with no pants on (they were wearing underwear but were not facing me). By the time I got the car turned off they were fully clothed and laid back down on the sidewalk. Clearly it was a homeless person who I think had just used the street as a bathroom.

Walking from the car to the entrance is usually not a problem but as I strolled on the sidewalk a medium sized post office delivery truck pulled on to the sidewalk right in front of me (missing me by a foot or so) and parked. To be honest I didn’t even really pause. I’ve gotten used to cars being closer and making quick moves around me as I walk–it’s just more normal here. Finally I made inside and there was only one person in line ahead of me (photo above). Score! Last time I was here it was busy.

After greeting the postal clerk in Czech I basically told her, “I don’t speak Czech” and handed her my slip. She just kind of laughed and quickly pulled up the information she needed and then walked away. The line behind me grew much longer as we we waited for about five minutes while the lady retrieved the package from the back. When she finally came back I saw her walk into another office, talk to someone, and then came back to me with a box and about ten pages of paperwork. She took the stack of papers, flipped a few pages, and then would point for me to sign. This happened three times and it felt more like signing mortgage documents than a package. “Identification?” she asked. I handed her my passport, she checked it and then pointed to another clerk window and said “2.” I walked over, she met me there as well, opened the glass window with a key and finally gave me the box. What was inside the box that took two weeks to get here, multiple signatures, a pants-less person, and a near death experience with a delivery truck? Let’s open it up!

The final inventory:

Streamers for Avery’s tricycle
Swedish Fish
Hello Kitty toy for Avery
Cars toy for Titus
M&Ms for the kids
Glow-in-the-dark stars for Avery
Soft baseball for Titus
New shorts for me! (Shay)
Flying toys for Titus and Avery
1lb of whole bean Starbucks Pike’s Place coffee! (that’s for Bethany and me)
Wii Sports (because ours got scratched)
And one of the best presents of the bunch: dish scrubber with soap handle (and refills)! There is a bigger story about why that’s so important, but maybe that’ll have to be for another blog.

Thank you, Papa and Nana for the wonderful box o’ goodness! I’ll brave the post office experience anytime for a box like this!

I’m tempted to end this post, but tonight we had our first Czech family over to our place for dinner. They are a young couple from our church and are so nice. Both of them speak great English and are a treat to be around. Romi baked this Estonian pastry dessert that was incredible (photo above). It looks like something you would see in a magazine and all your friends would pin on Pinterest. I had two helpings. It’s tradition to bring some kind of gift or dessert in Czech! So good…so awesome.

Great day. It’s great to be alive.

Tags package, pastry, post office

365 Czech Republic

Mail and More

Two things came in the mail today: 1) Our very first letter from one of our friends and 2) A slip to pick up what we think may be our very first package! The letter above is from a good friend of ours and was really encouraging. As much as I love the digital age we live in, a hand written letter can be special when it travels over 6,000 miles to get to you! We weren’t able to make it to the post office to get the other mail because I had the car and didn’t make it back before it closed. Hopefully tomorrow we can head over and pick it up.

As I left our place today it was raining. It wasn’t a hard rain but it wasn’t a soft rain either. Rain had been falling for a while because the roads were pretty wet. As you can see in the photo below it was a very wet and gray day. For the most of the day it stayed this way but late in the afternoon it cleared up and became a beautiful day. Check out the scene below in the second photo. You wouldn’t even think it was the same day.

Later, with the sun shining brightly in the background, I got this photo of an amazing spider web hanging on the JV office.

Tonight we had a little dinner at a friend’s house and Titus got all dressed up along with their sons. Good thing he had his Superman shirt on because with the mask and cape (and sword?) he was looking good.

Tags letter, weather

365 Czech Republic

Visa Registration and Potty Training

Post author By Shay
Post date August 20, 2014
1 Comment on Visa Registration and Potty Training

As early as we could get everyone out of the house today we loaded our van and headed to Ostrava to try a second time to register our short-term visas. I shared yesterday that we tried and failed because the office was closed, but today we made it to the “foreign police” office during business hours. Going to any kind of government office is difficult, but add to the that the newness and a language barrier and you’ll feel your heart rate go up just driving there. Admittedly, I was a bit anxious this morning. Yes, I know what Philippians 4:6 says and Bethany did a good job reminding me of that in the car on the way over. I have no excuse for my sin but I’ll admit that I was a bit on edge.

God graciously provided a nice clerk who helped us and the process went pretty smooth. The man behind the glass spoke a little English, I spoke Czech-lish, my translation app on my iPhone spoke Czech and together all three of us made it work. In the end we got the head nod of approval but honestly I don’t really know what exactly we did there. All we were told was that we needed go to the foreign police to “register our visas” and I guess that’s what we did? Only the Lord really knows that’s fine with me.

Check out this photo below. The clerk at the foreign police had a “Don’t mess with Texas” sticker on his coffee thermos. I laughed out loud (quietly, of course… you don’t want to make a scene in a government office). Even in the middle of Europe you can’t escape Texas pride.

I shared earlier this week that we have begun potty training Avery. Well tonight we had a bit of a celebration because Avery was able to make it all the way to the potty for the first time without having an accident (translation: she went “pee pee” on the potty)! I was on my computer working in another room when I heard Bethany screaming and clapping and then I heard Avery say, “I did it!” in her tiny little voice. We’re super encouraged by her progress and hope that life beyond the diaper is on the horizon.

Besides that we had another successful language lesson and we’re learning how to tell time. You feel like you’re in the first grade when our teacher has a clock out, shows you a time and you’re supposed to repeat it back in Czech. It’s so funny to listen to us butcher the language and try to say “9:00 o’clock” in our slow, broken Czech. Maybe I’ll just never tell anyone what time it is?

Tags Avery, potty training, Texas, visas

365 Czech Republic

Making Assumptions and Going on Our Second Date

Post author By Shay
Post date August 19, 2014
1 Comment on Making Assumptions and Going on Our Second Date

We broke our own rule today. Rule #1 in the Thomason Czech house is “don’t assume.” I believe I’ve written about it before, but basically it works like this: don’t assume you know how something in Czech works. Don’t assume you know how the microwave works, or how to drive a car, or that the store will have eggs in stock, and especially don’t assume government agencies work like they do in the States. This might sound easy, but in practice it’s very hard. You rely on what you know and what’s familiar and you start to make assumptions based on previous experiences. But that’s not always the right way to go and today and I did just that. I assumed. I assumed the “Foreign Police” office would be open until 5pm, but they closed at 2pm which was the time we had scheduled to leave our apartment for the office. Because of that we missed our day to register our visas and now we have to try tomorrow and pray they give us a little grace on missing our “three working day” window to get registered. I can’t believe I forgot my own rule.

On the bright side, we got to go on our second date tonight here in Czech. Our friend Claire graciously offered to babysit for us a while back and it just happened to line up with us trying to go to the foreign police. So we had her come over this afternoon and our plan was to go to the foreign police and then have dinner, but since missed the foreign police we went to IKEA and did some shopping and then headed out for dinner in Ostrava (a town about 40 or so minutes from where we live).

Date night didn’t start so great, honestly. We spent more time at IKEA than I thought we would and Claire had given us the name of a restaurant she likes but when I tried to GPS it we got lost and I didn’t take it so well. It’s not easy being a man and trying to take your wife on a date and then get lost…especially in Czech. We don’t know the language, we cant just find another place to go, and you have limited time as it is. After a 30 or more minute detour we made it to a really nice place and had burgers, pizza, and ended with coffee (photos below). The last photo is of a coal cart that was actually inside the Starbucks. I’m assuming coal mining is a big part of Ostrava’s history, but then again that would be breaking rule #1.

Claire was a champ with our kids and I could tell when we got home that they had a great time with her. She played Wii with Titus, read them books that she brought, took them outside to play, and after she left we realized she had even done our dishes! So nice. It’s too bad she’s heading back to the States this Friday to return to college because I think we would just hire her. Be sure to follow along with Claire on her blog.

We’re so thankful to have had another night out even though it didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped. I know now that I will have to do a lot more planning in the future. These are some of the growing pains of living in a new country and just like physical growing pains they can hurt a little. By God’s grace we’ll continue to grow in our understanding of Czech and how to live and adapt here.

Tags assumptions, date night, growing pains