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365 Czech Republic

The Big Trip Home

Looking out the window of our airplane I see clouds, snow, and the orange glow of the sunset on the wing. According to the flight map on the screen in front of me we’re somewhere over Canada. That explains the snow, I guess.

The Big Trip Home (1/13/15)

The morning was a little rough for me. Not only was I in a lot of physical pain from my tooth, but we also had to say goodbye to family which is never easy. It’s been a wonderful three weeks in the States and as Bethany’s dad said on the drive to the airport, “We’ve made a lot of wonderful memories.”

We packed a lot of stuff. When we finally arrive in Prague, I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to get all of it from the bus to the train, and I’m hoping that God will provide some help for us. As it was, it barely fit in the car to get it to the airport! Lord willing, I will be reporting in the next blog that it all worked. If it doesn’t it’ll definitely make for good blog material. This may sound strange, but I’ve genuinely ha the hope that that airline loses our luggage just so I don’t have to lug it around Prague.

There’s about seven hours left in this leg of our flight, and when we arrive in Paris we’ll be making a quick connection to get us on to Czech. It’ll be morning there, but it’ll feel like the middle of the night to our now adjusted, West Coast body clocks. I’m praying for grace as we make the connection from the Prague airport to four hour train ride home.

Here’s a few more photos from the trip thus far:

The Big Trip Home (1/13/15)

The Big Trip Home (1/13/15)

The Big Trip Home (1/13/15)

The Big Trip Home (1/13/15)

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365 Christianity

Thy Perfect Light

Driving home this evening I saw a lot more houses and trees with Christmas lights. From what I have been told, Czechs usually don’t decorate until Christmas Eve or a few days before Christmas. Based on what I saw tonight, that’s definitely true because even our own landlord had Christmas lights hanging from her balcony and a little wreath on our shared front door (shown below).

The Door (12/22/14)

I made a stop at the grocery store when I got town and the place was crazy. There were a ton more cars than normal and people were in super shopping mode. Christmas Eve is the day they open presents here, so I guess I was just caught in the middle of the last minute gift shopping. Everything was on sale, so I honestly don’t blame them. I actually made a stop at a second store for some other items and it too was full of people, and both stores had vendors outside selling live carp (that’s fish), which is a tradition here.

But as I was out, I was listening to the carol “We Three Kings” as sung and arranged by Steven Curtis Chapman. I’m sure I’ve heard the song a thousand times, but the words just really sank in tonight. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m aware of just how spiritually dark Czech is, but the song ministered to me as I saw the flickering lights and Christmas shoppers.

The carol walks through the life of Christ from His birth, death, and resurrection. The refrain ends with a line that just stuck with me today that says, “Guide us to thy perfect light.” I think I’m interpreting this correctly, but the light here is Christ. The imperfect star the kings are following is just leading them to a perfect light, the source of light, the Light of the World.

As I listened, my heart was heavy for the Czech people. So many will hang lights and celebrate this year without any knowledge of the True Light, Jesus Christ. My heart was filled with compassion for the many around the globe who will exchange gifts and travel to see family, again, without an understanding of the gospel of Jesus. My prayer tonight is that God would guide the lost to the Perfect Light this Christmas. I hope He uses me to do it, and I hope He uses many others around the world as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

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365 Czech Republic

Small Fridge, Small Post

I walked with a few teammates to lunch today and while we were on the path there were some older Czechs pushing a small refrigerator down the street. Often we’ll see these little carts being pushed around of even tiny trailers hitched to the back of little two door cars. I snuck the photo below as we walked by, but I’m realizing more and more that I see this stuff a lot and am starting not to think about it much. Maybe what used to be new and different is starting to become normal? I think that’s bittersweet.

Czech Things (12/11/14)

There’s a lot of different projects coming to a head at Josiah Venture as we get close to the end of the year. Our team has been working hard on a lot of different things, one of them being a book that I am personally taking the reigns on. It’s a 20th anniversary photo book that celebrates the many things God has done and continues to do in the lives of young people across Central and Eastern Europe. Even though I have seen the book many times as I have been working on it, I continue to be struck by the quotes and photos inside from young people who have heard the Gospel because of the ministry of Josiah Venture and our missionaries. It caused me to worship the Lord today and reminded me of where I once stood before Him until I heard the truth of Christ. Praise the Lord for His kindness!

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365 Czech Republic

Saint Nicholas Day (Mikuláš) and Making Hard Parenting Decisions

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)

“Parenting requires a lot of discernment…and wisdom.” That was what Bethany said over breakfast this morning. No doubt, she’s absolutely right.

We were discussing whether or not to take Titus to school today. He’s not sick or anything, it’s just today in Czech they are celebrating Saint Nicholas Day (Mikuláš). The best description I have found of the holiday is on a Czech tourism site that describes it this way,

The charming tradition of St. Nicholas falls on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 5th. If you find yourself walking the streets on that evening, you may run into a group of strange characters: St. Nicholas (Mikuláš), the Angel (anděl) who represents the Good, and the Devil (čert) representing the Evil. All wear costumes. Mikuláš looks a bit like Santa Claus whose origin was supposedly inspired by St. Nicholas. All three characters walk the streets, stopping children and asking them if they were good in the past year. Most kids say yes and sing a song or recite a short poem. They are then rewarded with sweets, candy or other treats, which are handed out by the Angel. Bad kids would be put in the Devil’s sack and taken to hell, or would only get a sack of potatoes or coal instead of candy – of course it does not really happen!

Bethany tried speaking with other missionary families and just get their insight to the holiday, especially in regards to letting Titus go to school where they were going to have Mikuláš, the angel, and devil in class today. It’s not easy, to be quite honest. We’re trying to think about your Christian witness. We’re trying to think through Titus’ emotions and age. We’re trying to think through the cultural aspect and things we need to adjust to versus things we need to refrain from. I don’t know if there’s a specific right or wrong answer, but mostly it’s just discernment and what’s best for our family, for Titus, and what we believe honors Christ the most.

In the end we decided not to send Titus to school today. We both felt like Titus’ age was a big factor and he’s already scared of other things. This would be like through him into the fire of fear and that didn’t seem best for him right now. However, we did make it out to a festival this evening in our town which was a helpful intro to our first St. Mikuláš holiday in Czech. I took some photos of the goings-on, so here’s a little taste of what we saw (captions below each).

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
We walked to the town square where the festival is and we have to cross the road that goes into Poland. They have new lights up across the street and on the lamp posts. It looks great. Basically, as you look down that street you can see Poland.

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
They had a huge stage and an even bigger Christmas tree setup in the town square. On stage you can see Mikuláš, the devil, and the angel giving out treats to kids. They were calling kids up on the stage, but I don’t know how you get your kid on the list?

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
There were a lot of people out tonight. It was just above freezing outside and they had coal fires burning around the square. The smell was not pleasant and the air quality was worse.

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Above is a photo of what I’ll translate as the “Jesus Post Office.” Traditionally, in Czech culture, Jesus brings the presents on Christmas even and St. Mikuláš brings presents December 5. At the place above you could write letters to the baby Jesus in the same way you would write letters to Santa Clause in the States. I wonder where they mail them?

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
I got closer to the stage to get photos of Mikuláš and what was going on. Here you see him and the angel talking to some kids. The devil was off to the side taunting kids (not pictured).

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Almost like Main St. at Disneyland kids had glowing hats, swords, and even light up devil horns. They were being sold in the town square. I got this photo of one such kid on their parents shoulders as they watched the stage.

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Another little kid with light up devil horns. Funny, I don’t remember seeing any kids with light up angel halos?

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
We actually got in on the light up toy fun, but only because I thought they looked like light sabers. Here’s Avery and Titus checking out their little light saber things I got for them. They were literally $2 and our kids thought they were great.

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Interestingly enough, they did have a pretty large nativity scene to the right of the stage. Our Czech friend Jenny (who is actually a full fledge American citizen now) pointed out that no one is offended her by the origins of Christmas. Even though it’s so atheistic here, they still know the origin but many just believe it to be a fairytale.

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Around the outside of the square were vendors selling all kinds of things. Many had trinkets and decorations, especially Christmas decorations. We didn’t buy anything, but it’s always fun to see handmade stuff in another country.

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)

Mikuláš Day (12/5/14)
Other shops included the two you see above which were selling various meats. Both vendors had their own vans which open up to sell from and it’s not uncommon to see these guys parked outside of the grocery store.

Afterwards we had a pizza dinner near the town square with our friend Rachael who had accompanied us during the evening. It was a very interesting thing to see and experience. I’m not sure what I think just yet, but it’s good to continue to be a student of the culture here and get more inside the minds of how Czechs think and what they value. As I prayed for our meal tonight, I prayed for the country of Czech. I was reminded by the things we saw tonight that this place needs Jesus. Pray with us that we would continue to learn the language, the culture, and the people and be a witness for Christ!

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365 Czech Republic

Our First Thanksgiving in Czech

Our First Thanksgiving in Czech (11/27/14)

Above is the view we woke up to this morning. We’re staying at what is called Hotel Malenovice. This building has a story of it’s own, but it’s basically the Josiah Venture training center where all of our major training events are held here in Czech. As I type the sun has gone down, and this view has turned in to sparkling lights over the city. We just finished our big Josiah Venture family Thanksgiving meal downstairs and it was a wonderful time. Dave Patty, president of JV, led us in a little devotional out of the Psalms and we spent a few minutes sharing with each other how God has been faithful this year to each of us. Before we started eating, Dave also led us in prayer and the singing of the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Here’s a little video I took of us singing.

The food today was incredible to say the least. It is a rare moment where you can gather so many people from so many different places and enjoy home made food from each family. Most of the people here this week are American missionaries so they all brought their own family’s traditional dishes and let’s just say I did a little sampling. Oh, and the turkey…amazing. There’s a local guy here in Czech that cooks the turkeys every year for JV and they are delectable. I don’t know how many turkeys it takes to feed 100+ people, but here’s one of them in it’s glory.

Our First Thanksgiving in Czech (11/27/14)

I also got this photo of Bethany and the kids as we were finishing up our meals. Clearly, Avery is not finished yet.

Our First Thanksgiving in Czech (11/27/14)

Here’s a couple photos of the kids playing outside today. Avery loved the swingset, and you can see Titus with his toy light saber while playing with the other boys (who were hiding from him).

Thanksgiving in Czech (11/27/14)

Thanksgiving in Czech (11/27/14)

What you’re seeing in the photos and video above are about as much as I was involved in today’s events (actually less because Bethany took the photos of the kids playing outside). Pretty much every other moment I was laying on the bed in our room. Even though I went down for breakfast in the morning, I came right back up and slept. I remained in bed right up until we went down for the Thanksgiving meal at 1:30. Today was just the worst of my sickness. I’ve got antibiotics working their magic, but the sinus pressure and overall energy sap really did me in. It really bummed me out and I was sad to miss the football game they had outside and just spending time with my family and other people. In some ways, I feel like I missed Thanksgiving and that’s definitely not fun.

The night ended with a talent show put on by all the third culture kids (TCKs), where they performed and sang in front of everyone. Think of it like a recital, but not as serious. The kids were great and there was a lot of amazing talent up there and definitely a lot of laughing going on. Our kids were pretty tired afterwards so we rushed them upstairs to bed where I’m finishing this post while they are fast asleep.

Besides being tucked away in bed most of today, I’m thankful to have been here. It really is a special time where a lot of families can just be together while they are so far away from their own families. That’s really just a testament to God’s grace for bringing so many like minded people together, in a land far away from their own, to share the Good News of Christ to such a dark place like Central and Eastern Europe. God has a big vision for bringing more people in to his family which involves all of the families here today. Now that’s something to be thankful for.

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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

Bananas and Gummy Bears

On my way out the door this morning Bethany handed me two things: a banana and a package of gummy bears. Why? I’m pretty sure she was just anticipating my needs. I had to get a little bit of work done today at the JV office so she knows I’ll probably need something to snack on when I get hungry (banana) and then something sweet when I get tired (gummy bears). Only the best wives can anticipate those kinds of needs. She’s a great wife.

Frydlant (7/22/14)

There’s a little restaurant near the JV offices which offers very affordable lunch specials so I went there today with a Czech named Dushan. He’s a quieter guy, but really nice. He works doing IT for Josiah Venture and he speaks pretty good English so we had a good time together this afternoon. He told me he was “alone” this week because his wife and kids were away for a few days with family while he’s working, but that he was going to see them again soon. I was glad to join him so he could have a little company at least for one meal.

We did one of those American style trips to the grocery store tonight. By that I mean we tried shopping for multiple days worth of meals. It seems that culturally they shop daily or every other day, but I guess we’re just used to shopping for more at once and since we have a larger refrigerator we can basically make it work. The only problem is you have to bag your own groceries and people don’t like waiting for you, so Bethany and I begin the mad hustle of trying to bag everything and keep it going in the cart while the kids are playing with everything and talking louder than the other kids…it feels crazy. And maybe it is? Maybe we’re trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and we just need to adjust. Definitely something for us to think about.

Outside (7/22/14)

Outside (7/22/14)

Bethany and the kids enjoyed a little picnic outside today. The weather was very nice and comfortable. Not too hot, but not cold. We had the windows open tonight and a nice breeze was blowing through our place. I thought it was supposed to rain today, but I didn’t feel a drop. Rain or not, it was nice to have a little break from the recent heat.

That’s it for me tonight. Time for bed and we’ll do this again tomorrow!

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365 Christianity Czech Republic Family

This Is The First

We’re here. It’s ten minutes to 1 AM local time here in Czech Republic, our plane landed around 10:30pm and…we’re here. We have spent the last 16 hours traveling from Los Angeles, dragged about 12 pieces of luggage from the Prague airport to the hotel across the street…we’re here. We just had a literal midnight snack, and the kids are awake watching a movie on Bethany’s laptop, but we’re here.

Maybe it’s the jet lag, but in many ways it doesn’t feel real. I know I am sitting here many miles from all I’ve known as home, but we’re here. God has moved and used many incredible Christians to come alongside us to pray for us and to financially support us and now everything we’ve been praying for begins. I know every day won’t be like the first day, but there many new things to experience and to engage in. There are still a lot of “firsts” left to experience–that’s why I plan to write it all down.

This is the first. This is the first of what I hope to be an ongoing journal of what transitioning life to a new country and culture looks like. Lord willing, it will be daily. My hope is that for a year I can maintain some thought, long or short, from our days in Czech Republic. I hope it will be a testament to the Lord’s grace in our lives, what He is doing, how He is working, and just how our lives are being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

So to start things off I want to simply show you a few photos from today. Here’s how our first day traveling to Czech played out, in just a few photos (captions below each):

Driving to LAX

Here we are on our way to LAX. Our friend John was kind enough to drive. Thanks John!

At LAX with the family

Here we are outside of the international terminal at LAX. I truly rejoice that both of my kids are looking and attempting to smile for this!

Titus stared a huge wall

Titus stared at a huge digital wall of awesomeness.

We flew to Heathrow

We flew to London!
Our plane to Czech

And this plane flew us to Czech!

The kids slept a lot

These kids slept a lot…thank you for praying!

All our stuff arrived!

Every single bag arrived. I accidentally carried the wrong car seat from the airplane all the way to baggage claim, but I was happy to hand it off to another young family. Unfortunately for them, two of their bags were still missing…

Praha

Finally a photo of the Prague (Praha) airport from our hotel. Ok, now time for bed!

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Personal Shaycam.com Video

Astronomical

I shot a short video of the Astronomical Clock in Prague when we visited a few weeks ago. This thing turned 600 years old (yes, I just said 600 years old) last year. Here’s a little bit about it:

The [Astronomical Clock] is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; “The Walk of the Apostles”, a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. [via Wikipedia]