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365 Czech Republic

Paying Rent and Still Learning How to Shop

I’m proud to say that I didn’t forget to pay the rent this month! Now don’t think that means it’s easy. Bethany and I started putting our plan together about it last night with notes, account numbers, amounts, phrases, what to do if we don’t understand what they’re saying to us, etc. I even got an email from our Czech friend Katka with the phrase “I need to make a cash deposit into someone else’s account” translated in Czech just in case I needed it. And I did! The bank teller could say a few numbers in English but for the most part she spoke a bunch of Czech that I just didn’t understand. I was looking around the room like a baseball pitcher checks the runners on first and third for anyone to help me and even though my American friend John was there we were still struggling. I tried showing her my phone with the amount I was trying to deposit which helped, but I still didn’t feel like we were on the same page. By God’s grace it all worked out in the end and the rent is paid!

Trust me…I realize that my victory at the bank may seem small, but I’m telling you for us this is a big win. It’s bad enough not being able to say anything more than “good day” to our landlord, and me forgetting to pay the rent on time last month just made me feel terrible. So actually getting it all done at the right time was especially encouraging. As it was, I found out today that I overpaid last month’s rent…yikes. Two steps forward, one step back.

Shopping Like Americans (8/8/14)

We’re still learning how to shop here. Bethany usually goes to the store by herself because that just makes things easier. Finding things in an unfamiliar store in an unknown language is not easy. Add to that a few kids and a mom could have a mental breakdown just trying to find the butter in the mildly cold section. Tonight we decided to go to Kaufland as a family. Basically this means I take the cart and the kids and find random things (like a mouse pad, batteries, and windshield washer fluid) and Bethany goes on the hunt for the necessities. There’s a lot of picking things up, trying to read what it is, and then putting things back (at least for me). At one point Bethany said, “I need to get some meat” and we walked by a huge refrigerated section of red colored meat and Bethany just kept walking. Thinking she just missed it I said, “Hey, we just passed a ton of meat!” She said, “You mean a ton of pork.” Oh. The pork section here is like the entire meat section at an American store. That kind of tells you what they like to eat here, I guess? In the end we get what we need, but no doubt it’s still far from feeling natural.

Tomorrow we have a guest coming to stay with us, but I won’t spoil it on tonight’s blog. You’ll just have to wait in suspense. So tune in tomorrow: same bat time; same bat channel.

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365 Czech Republic

A Lack of Understanding

Weird Food and Fun (8/7/14)

There’s a lot of things about Czech I don’t get and often I am confused. For instance, I’ve hit my head five times in the past two days on low ceilings or objects. Today I nailed my head on a tuba that was hanging from a ceiling where I had lunch. We were having a lunch with Jacob (one of our interns) because it was his last day before flying back to the States (photo above; Jacob is on the right). As soon as I stood up… bam! Right on the noggin. Earlier I hit my head on the top of a door post. Yesterday I hit my head on the same low ceiling two times and then on the ceiling in the stairwell. I guess I just don’t fit here?

But there are other things I don’t understand. Another example is John’s lunch from today. He ordered the fish (by accident) and that’s exactly what he got. It might sound funny, but when I think of ordering fish it usually comes battered or flat like a steak, but John’s fish was the whole fish with the head, eyes, tail and bones (photos below). Does all fish in Czech come like this? I have no clue.

Weird Food and Fun (8/7/14)

Weird Food and Fun (8/7/14)

And what’s the deal with mushrooms? According to friends here the word mushroom is actually a verb. You can go “mushrooming” here in Czech. This might explain why there were wild mushrooms from the grass in our sitting in the front entry way when I cam home today (photo below). As I pulled in there was a gardner working in the yard so I assume he was the one that set them aside for our landlord. Will she eat the mushrooms from the yard? I don’t know. I do know that when I saw those in the yard the other day while playing with Titus that I thought I should kick them and throw them away. So glad I didn’t.

All of that to say there are definitely things to learn about Czech. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new. I’m just not sure I’m read to commit to mushrooming yet.

Weird Food and Fun (8/7/14)

Tonight we were invited to a dinner at the Yorman’s house which was really fun. Our kids and their kids love to play together and the Yorman boys showed Titus and Avery a new game on the Wii. They had a ton of fun playing and laughing and we enjoyed a great dinner together with a few other people on the JV staff. It’s fun to get to know every one on a deeper level and even just shooting the breeze about movies or whatever else might come up during the dinner conversation. There was even talk of doing a regular dinner together to give our kids some time to play and us to just hang out which would be a blessing.

Weird Food and Fun (8/7/14)

That’s all from me tonight. I’m tired and honestly my head is still hurting from all those bonks!

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365 Czech Republic Videos

The First Wednesday of Every Month

People told us it would happen. They said the first Wednesday of the month at around noon you would hear a loud alarm. After talking to Bethany neither of us could remember where were on July 2nd which was the first Wednesday that month, but then I checked the blog and we were actually in Poland that day. That makes sense because even the most jet lagged person on the planet wouldn’t be able to sleep through or forget this noise. And thanks to modern technology we can share the wonders of this amazing sound with all of you through video. Consider yourself warned (pun intended).

The speakers for this warning system are literally across the street from us on top of the fire station. It’s the kind of sound that blankets your entire body. There’s no escaping it. Thankfully it only last for about a minute or so. To be honest, even though I’ve asked I still haven’t really gotten a straight answer as to what exactly it is. Some other missionaries from the mid-west are used to that kind of noise because of tornado warnings but us West Coast kids just didn’t grow up with any kind of public warning system. The only warning we got growing up is “Hey! We’re having an earthquake!” Which now that I think about it, why didn’t they just let me sleep through it!

Always Moving (8/6/14)

This morning I had an early, but short meeting with Dave Patty. He was preparing to teach at a reunion event for leaders at Malenovice which is a hotel/camp center/training center that is owned by Josiah Venture. Malenovice (pronounced MA-LEN-O-VEE-SEH) was where Bethany and I came and stayed on our first trip to Czech. I hadn’t been back in 3 years and I think I just forgot how incredible the view is from up there. The hotel sits on the side of a mountain overlooking a few different valleys and it’s just breathtaking. I had a moment before Dave was free to chat so I snuck out on the balcony at grabbed a panoramic shot (above).

Back at the JV office it was “moving day” so to speak as we changed around most of the offices to accommodate our team. It was a lot of manual labor and moving desks, tables, and bookshelves up and down the stairs, but in the end my team has a bigger space and I think everyone else is happy with their new spaces. Below is the room we have been working out of which is now Mel’s office and below that is a photo of our new space on the 2nd floor.

Always Moving (8/6/14)

Always Moving (8/6/14)

On the home front Bethany has been working really hard to continue to empty boxes and clean, clean, clean. We had a language lesson this afternoon and when I got home the place looked amazing and Bethany even had lunch waiting for me. Who deserves such a humble, selfless, and sacrificial wife? I sure don’t, but I’m super thankful to the Lord for who she is and how she serves me and the kids.

Speaking of the kids, they tried on silly glasses today.
Always Moving (8/6/14)

They also enjoyed playing in the drying rack. In their minds it’s only a fort and serves no other purpose.
Always Moving (8/6/14)

Tonight we had our friend and teammate Rachael over from the late afternoon through dinner. Rachael is a joy to be around and you can’t help but enjoy her Northern Irish accent. Bethany and her just spent a lot of time hanging out and chatting but one of things that excites me the most about their time chatting was that Rachael is going to help us get better connected to the youth ministry at our church here. She said there are actually no married couples currently on the youth staff which hopefully means they may have a need there just for some balance to the leadership. The youth meet on Saturday nights at 6pm which isn’t the best for our family, but we’re going to see what we can do to get involved there and what God might have for us. This is really something we have hoped for, prayed for, and our excited about pursuing!

Finally, tonight as Titus and I were playing outside the sun peaked through the gray clouds just before sunset. Our place sits right next to a huge Catholic church and the sunlight shown directly on it making it look incredible. I took the photo below of the reflection off of our window.
Always Moving (8/6/14)

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365 Czech Republic

2 of 4 Visas Approved

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

We were pretty excited to leave this morning for Bratislava, Slovakia because we knew our short-term visas were ready and waiting for us. We left our place about 8am and got to where the Czech embassy is around noon, grabbed some lunch, and got to the embassy for our 1:30pm time slot. I had the insurance paperwork ready, our passports, and the kids were doing pretty great considering the long drive this morning. Once we handed over all the documents we were just waiting around the lobby of the embassy. After about 15 minutes the lady came back to the window and said, “I’m sorry sir, but only 2 of your visas are ready… the kids aren’t done yet and won’t be until another day.” That’s one of those “Alright!” but… “Bummer…” moments. Two of our visas are approved, praise God! This is such an answer to prayer! The only bummer is now we have to wait and see what’s going on with the kids’ visas and then make another trip down to Bratislava (it will be our third) to pick those up when and if they’re ready. So it’s great news and a little disappointing news, but we’re thankful to be halfway done with this process. Here’s a picture of us waiting in the embassy:

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Speaking of embassies, for some reason Avery got really excited today to see the American flag. I saw her running around our apartment the other day with a few small ones we had in a box, so I assume she’s just associating that with the big flag on the American embassy that she saw today. It was funny to watch her get so excited. Here’s a little picture of her during that moment and if you look between the trees you’ll see the American flag and embassy.

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Having to return to Bratislava for anything really isn’t that much of a disappointment. The city is beautiful and the old town square area is a piece of history. Walking around the by the shops and restaurants is super fun and the weather was amazing there today so it was just nice to be outside. Bethany and I were talking this afternoon that we just don’t build downtown areas like they do here in Europe. Bratislava is spacious, lots of walking room, tons of benches to relax on, and numerous trees for shade.

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Except everywhere you look some has an ice cream cone. I guess the only way they get away with all this ice cream intake is because they all walk everywhere. And there’s only so much ice cream watching you can do before you dive in yourself. We hit the little ice cream shop across from the embassy and Avery immediately went for the large cone outside. It was a really fun place and there were a lot of people hanging around so you knew it had to be good. It wasn’t just good, it was delicious and a fun little treat for all of us.

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Our trip home was close to 4 hours. From start to finish it was a 10 hour day, with around 7-8 of that in the car. We actually drove the Slovakian route today which took us by some amazing castles. It was hard to get good photos on our phones, and I forgot my camera, but here’s a few shots for you to try to imagine these castle ruins that sat on top of a few different hills. I seriously want to know how old these places are.

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

Trip #2 to Bratislava (8/5/14)

We praise the Lord for his grace in allowing such a relatively smooth process in getting our visas approved. Lord willing our kids’ will be approved soon and we’ll head back down to Bratislava pick them up. Now that we have these we finally transfer some of our utilities to our name and even feel a little more settled here. Please continue to pray with us for the rest of this process and our continued transition to life in Czech Republic.

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365 Christianity Czech Republic

Jesus and the Kids’ Bible

It rained a lot today so Bethany got creative with the kids in the house. Titus and her played tennis in our living room and Avery lined up her wooden cookies on a box. We have this kind of second living room where our desks are and there’s a lot of open floor space so hey, why not a little game of tennis?

That cat from yesterday came back today right during dinner time. We were again sitting at our table and it popped up only this time our window was close so it glared at us (like cats do) and was gone as quickly as it came.

Rain and Jesus (8/4/14)

Rain and Jesus (8/4/14)

There have been a lot of “firsts” since we arrive and today was no exception. My team at Josiah Venture had our first official, everyone-in-person, meeting! It was fun to be together in Czech, but we didn’t waste any time with the pleasantries. We have a lot of projects right now and we’re really just trying to stay afloat. I stayed up late this evening trying to finish up one of them because tomorrow we’re off to Bratislava to work on items related to our short-term visas. It’s a 4-hour one-way trip so it’s going to be an 8 hour driving day tomorrow. Not something I’m super excited about but it’s necessary for us to continue to live and do ministry here.

Tonight as I was reading the kids their Bible, I was just reminded of the gospel. I don’t know if you can read the story of Christ on the cross without it realigning your heart. It makes no difference to me if it’s in my regular Bible or the kid’s storybook Bible, the cross of Christ is so important to the Christian faith. While reading I tried to tell the kids, “This is a sad and happy part of the Bible.” Our kids have commented on the pages before but when Avery saw the thorns in Jesus’ head she said, “He has ouchies.” Yes, he does. And it was my sin that caused it.

Rain and Jesus (8/4/14)

These pages (shown above and below) are actually very powerful and I could tell our kids got more quiet as I read. This page below is especially interesting and moving to me. The vantage point from above the cross to the people below is new and the page only says, “On a small hill outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus was nailed to a cross and died.” Again, it doesn’t matter if it’s a kids Bible or not…how can you not stop and ponder the cross in that moment?

Rain and Jesus (8/4/14)

The chapter actually ends right there in the book, and normally I would only read them one chapter a night, but tonight we kept reading. We went on to see the tomb, the then empty tomb, and then Christ revealing himself to the disciples. Avery and Titus’ faces lit up and Titus actually started jumping up and down on the couch in excitement because Christ came back from the dead. I know he’s just a little kid, but I want that excitement. Shouldn’t I be the one jumping up and down? Shouldn’t all Christians be so blown away by Christ’s work on the cross that we’re just ecstatic about it? Oh, I realize that’s not realistic in many ways, but in other ways it absolutely should be. We should be so thankful that Jesus rises from the dead! Because if Christ isn’t raised, then what does Paul tell the church at Corinth:

[17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

(1 Corinthians 15:17-19 ESV)

But he does rise! He does overcome sin and death! He declares victory over sin and wipes my slate clean! That’s why I should be jumping up and down on the couch like Titus. And that’s the thing I want to be thinking about as I go to bed tonight. I’m thankful for the work of Christ!

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365 Czech Republic

How Much is That Kitty in the Window?

A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

Both Bethany and I woke up today just not feeling that great. I think we’ve been pushing ourselves every night and we’ve been staying up late to get stuff done, but this morning I had a pretty bad headache and Bethany had the same and also felt achey and sore. So for the first time since we’ve arrived we didn’t make it to church. I made an effort to get up and get going but my head was just pounding so I took a few Advil and laid back down. Finally in the late morning we got going but it took a while for the Advil to kick in so we just rested at home.

I wrote about this in early July, but our Bible study in the States put together an annual project for us where we open a new envelope full of goodies at the beginning of each month. This afternoon we decided to open up August (photo above). Inside we found earrings and a scarf for Bethany, real fruit snacks for the kids, an iTunes gift card, and hand written notes from our friends’ kids! It was a treat to read the little notes and see the crayon drawings. Thank you to our Bible study for your kindness and for blessing us in this way!

A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

Even though we weren’t feeling great we had to make a run to IKEA today. It’s pretty difficult to make it there during the week because IKEA is about 40-45 minutes from our place so it’s not like we can just run down the street to pick up a few things. If we go we have a list and we try to be efficient while we’re there (especially with our kids). Thankfully, it wasn’t super busy today which made it easier to navigate and helped us get in, get what we needed, and get out. Now we have a shoe rack, a new light in our living room, a chair for Bethany’s desk, and some new storage containers for our recyclables. I’m hoping that we might be nearing the end of our “big” trips to IKEA. Here’s a couple photos from our IKEA run today:

A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

There is a mall next door to IKEA which we found out has a Starbucks! This kind blew our minds so we treated ourselves to our first Starbucks since moving here.

A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

It was sunny and stormy today. The weather can change so rapidly here so here’s an example in photos of what a day may hold in terms of weather. First this:
A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

And then this:
A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

From perfect sunny weather to deluge in no time. We are definitely still getting used to that!

A Little Under the Weather (8/3/14)

As were eating dinner at home tonight a cat jumped into our window in our dining area. I had been reading to the kids at the dinner table and the “Contentment” page had a picture of a cat so that’s the best photo I could use. The window the kitty came in is behind the book. Screens on windows are pretty rare here and our place doesn’t have any at all, but once the cat realized we were right there it scampered off. Later we were in another room as a family and then I came back into the dining area and found the cat on our table licking the plates! Again, as soon as it saw me it was gone. We may just have to keep that window closed or we might end up adopting a little Czech kitty.

Like that little kitty, I’m scampering off to bed. There’s a lot going on this week but I’ll save that for another day and another blog.

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365 Czech Republic

A Day of Water

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Below our apartment we have a basement where our landlord has given us some space for storage. As I was carrying some boxes down the narrow stairwell I stepped off the final step and my foot was suddenly submerged in water. Since I had boxes in my arms I kept walking towards where our space is down the hallway. After turning the light on and opening our storage room door I saw water all over.

Some places were deeper than other but there was water anywhere between a half inch and two inches deep. By God’s grace we had only stored a single cardboard box down there and a few suitcases, but the box was saturated halfway up. It was kind of a mess to clean up because that box was packed full of baby stuff so we had to clean it out, put things in the washer, scrub things in the tub, and get rid of all the wet cardboard. I decided that if a little rain can flood it down there that it’s probably not the place we should store stuff. For now we’re going to ignore that space and figure something else out, but that was just an added project today that you can’t anticipate.

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

I’m really glad we had plans to hang with Kevin and Daniela Dickson this afternoon at their house. The Dicksons serve with JV helping direct the EXIT tour ministry here in Czech which uses music to reach young people (that’s a very short summary!). They live about 20 minutes from us kind of tucked away in a valley by a mountain. It was just nice to get outside today in their backyard and enjoy the beautiful weather we had. Swimming was on the agenda so we brought our swimsuits and we and the kids had a great time in the pool together. We also enjoyed some BBQ sausages, hotdogs, and pork outside and the food was fantastic. Here’s a bunch of a photos of our time at their house today and the beautiful Czech countryside.

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)
Above is a photo of the Dickson’s daughter Anna, just in case you were wondering.

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

Hanging With Friends (8/2/14)

We have been so welcomed by the Josiah Venture family. Bethany and I were talking on the way home just how great that has been for us and how connected the JV missionaries are to each other. They have all been so hospitable to our family and we are blessed to be part of such a caring and loving group of people. Thank you Daniela and Kevin for reaching out to us and for making us feel welcome here. It means a lot to us and we praise God for you, your family, and the ministry the Lord has called you to.

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365 Czech Republic

Friday Fog Day

A Normal Day (8/1/14)

The day got off to an early start..at least for Bethany. Around 5:30am she walked Lindsey and Kailey over to the train station just down the street from our place so they could catch their 6:00m train to Prague. It was a very foggy morning and overall a day of gray. It rained on and off, but it was nice to have more cooler air. As I drove to the JV offices this morning I was surprised by just how much fog we had and just how thick it was. The sun never came out once today and as I type I can see the streetlights still reflecting off the low clouds.

A Normal Day (8/1/14)

Right now we have language lessons on Wednesdays and Fridays and today we were working on possessive pronouns. For the most part we are understanding what to do, but I just feel like Czechs speak so fast it’s hard to believe I’ll ever understand them. Just to answer a simple question in Czech right now is difficult and slow. Jitka (our teacher) instructed us to work hard on our vocabulary so we’ve been putting together flash cards today to start to run through on a regular basis. I think it’s going to give a jolt to our understanding of Czech and hopefully we’ll be able to catch more and more words as we’re engaged in conversation.

Since our language lessons are in our house I usually end up working from home when we’re done which is what I did today. Right now I’m working on a leadership training book that we’re hoping to have done within the next month. It’s like a high level leader training curriculum called “Walk 2:6” which is based on the passage 1 John 2:6 and written by Dave Patty. Mostly I’m working on making the book look and feel right but Lord willing it will be a great resource for our teams on the ground who are training young leaders.

A Normal Day (8/1/14)

Tonight we enjoyed a relaxing night at home but poor Titus kept asking if we could go outside and play baseball. I guess he doesn’t understand the rain delay quite yet. Bethany and Avery made brownies which we imported from the States via our container and they were delicious. Avery wanted to help so we got the step stool out and she enjoyed mixing and “painting” butter to grease the pan. As they were making the mix Avery had a little taste and said, “These are best brownies ever!” I agree!

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365 Czech Republic

A Refreshing Day

Today was unexpectedly refreshing. Even though it was a pretty foggy, rainy, and physically darker day, the Lord reminded me of why we’re here.

It’s been a pretty full week at the JV office as we have a lot of new projects rolling and the new created team that I’m part of is just really starting to understand how to work in a new place with new people. I’ve been helping organize different projects, working on some graphic design for the training center/hotel and now I have my hand in a few other things as well. After leaving a meeting this afternoon I returned to the Creative Communications (cTeam) office where our video guys and Dave Patty were sitting, watching interviews of young people from this summer’s camp ministry. Although I had other things I was working on it was impossible to continue to work as I could hear the amazing stories of changed lives in the background. Finally, I stood up and began to watch them myself over the shoulders of the others guys.

The Last Day of July (7/31/14)

My eyes began to tear up as I listened. “All I want to do is tell everyone about Jesus” said one young man. “Jesus changed my life. Now I have a Bible and I’m going to read it” said another student. One after another, story after story, of young people at camps who have come to grips with their sin, repented, and are seeing the Savior for the first time. Then I got a phone call.

The Last Day of July (7/31/14)

Our Czech friend Katka called me because she is helping us with some details regarding our visas and when she was finished asking me a few questions she said, “Do you have a minute? I have to tell you about this guy who got saved at camp last night.” “Sure!” I replied. Katka began to share how she had been praying for this young man for three years but admitted that she thought he was pretty hard hearted and hung out with the wrong crowd. But last night, during the “gospel night” this young man bowed his knee to the Savior. Katka shared that he even woke up this morning and told his cabin leader that “I feel like a new man. I read the Bible you gave me and it talked about the Jesus that saved me!” Wow. “That’s amazing, Katka!” I said, trying to keep my emotions in check on the phone. If that doesn’t refresh your soul, I don’t know what will!

It’s stories like that young man that our team gets to communicate. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to share on the blog some of the amazing video our team captured and for you to see first hand how God is radically moving in this part of the world. Not everything about graphic design, videography, and media work is easy or even fun. But today in the office I think we all had a wonderful reminder of why we’re here and how God is using the ministry of JV alongside local churches to see young people come to Christ!

Saying Good (7/31/14)

Tonight we had plans to hang out at a friend’s house but our plans changed late in the day and we ended up throwing together a dinner at home. I believe this was Divine because it gave us the opportunity to spend one more night with Lindsey and Kailey who have been staying with us the past few days. Tomorrow morning they leave on an early train for Prague and then on to Frankfurt to visit their family. They have blessed us greatly the past few days and have been such an encouragement to us. Our kids love “the girls” as we took the above photo tonight before the kids went to bed.

Lindsey has plans to return to Slovakia next year and continue ministry there. Kailey is definitely leaning that direction, but needs to finish college and see what the Lord would have. Please pray for them as they travel the next few days and definitely pray for their future. Our hope and prayer is that God would continue to use them and maybe one day they’ll both be back in this part of the world serving full-time!

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365 Czech Republic

Our First Date Night

First Date Night (7/30/14)

Thanks to the help and kindness of Lindsey and Kailey (our house guests!), we were able to have our first date night here in Czech!

As we walked away from our apartment tonight to head to the restaurant Bethany said something to the effect of, “walking to the restaurant on date night is a first.” Yes, it is. But there’s a great place here in town called “Da Capo” that our friends introduced us to that we just love. No one that works there really speaks English, and even though we’re working on it we don’t speak Czech, but we somehow used what little we know to order our meals, get some water, and even have a little zmrzlina (ice cream) for dessert. You’d be surprise how stressful it can be just to try and order a meal when you don’t speak the language. We always feel bad when they are talking and we have no clue what’s being said, but our waitress tonight was very gracious, spoke slowly for us, and for the most part it was a huge success.

Da Capo serves Italian food and Bethany ordered bruschetta for an appetizer and I ordered the cream of broccoli soup. Here’s a few pics. Check out that sour cream (I think that’s what it is) on my soup!

First Date Night (7/30/14)

First Date Night (7/30/14)

First Date Night (7/30/14)

For the main course we both ordered pizza with meat on top and we topped it all off with some vanilka (vanilla) ice cream. At first we said, “dva vanilka zmrzlina” which is a rough way of saying “2 vanilla ice cream” and when our waitress repeated it back she pointed to each of us and said “dva… dva” as if to say, “two for you and two for you?” Being the good language students we are we quickly figured out that she was going to give us two scoops each but we were able to clear that up and only have one scoop each. Score “one” for language lessons (see what I did there?)!

First Date Night (7/30/14)

After dinner we tried to find a coffee place that was open but it looks like the whole town basically closes up around 6pm and we were too late. So we did a casual walk around the town square (photo above) and I’m still amazed and what we get to see. The old buildings and the European feel here are still new enough to amaze me. Finally we took a casual stroll home and walked off a little of that zmrzlina.

It was nice to get away for a bit and we’re so thankful to Lindsey and Kailey for watching our kids. At one point during dinner Bethany said, “Does date night include a nap?” I laughed in agreement. We have been going, going, going for over a month now and even still we have boxes we’re unpacking. It’s a lot of work right now and we definitely need time to rest and just enjoy each other. Lord willing we’ll be able to get some consistency with date night so we both don’t feel like we need a nap!