Categories
365 Czech Republic

From a Bear to a Boom

I shared yesterday that Titus was going to be part of some kind of event tonight that we honestly thought was a play. The directions we were given was that he was to have a mask or costume and have a paper lantern on a stick. Bethany actually ended up making him a lion mask because Titus wanted one and we thought there were two parts or something to the evening. For instance, maybe the kids come in masks and then they change into something else for a formal program. Either way, we weren’t sure.

Bethany commissioned me to go to the store and hunt for a paper lantern and a stick. I don’t know even know where I would find that in the States much less Czech, but we texted some friends here and they pointed us to the store that had it–a paper store in the town square. I found what we needed about thirty minutes before the program was starting, went home, and we all walked over to his school. When we got there everyone from the school was lined up outside and there tons of families still walking there. Below is a photo of a few pumpkins outside the school that were lit up which was a little confusing. Was this a Halloween thing? I also noticed the lights on the school were completely off which the made me seriously wonder if we were ever even going inside. As I looked around I saw kids dressed up as witches, skeletons, and had their faces painted. Are we trick or treating? What is going on? These are the questions that ran through my mind. When I saw Titus’ teacher she was dressed as a witch and had a broom. Oh boy…what have we gotten ourselves in to?!

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

After seeing some of the other kids outside we realized there was a little misunderstanding about having a light inside the lantern so I ended up running (literally) over to the store and getting a stick with a light for Titus’ lantern. I had seen them on my first visit and knew now what we were actually supposed to buy. We just wanted to make sure that Titus had what the other kids had because remember, we still think he’s going to be a bear in a play. While I was at the store everyone ended up walking around the town with their lanterns, including Bethany and the kids. Bethany took a few photos of their walk (below).

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

I met back up with the family as they were completing their walk around the park in the center of town. I put Titus’ lantern together with the light. Here’s a photo of him with it.

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

Mostly we just followed the crowd around which brought us back to the school at the end of the walk. We all walked into the school property and the all teachers were dressed up with bags of candy and wrapped treats. It was dark and very confusing for us so I stayed with Avery by the gate to the school and Bethany took Titus to the teachers with the bags. He got a little wafer bar with chocolate that he shared with all of us. The crowd began to move towards another part of the school yard so we followed behind. Everyone ended up sitting on the picnic tables and benches out in the playground area. Again, it was dark, so we just found a spot towards the back of everyone and just kind of sat there.

After a few minutes the teachers and kids started chanting something that we didn’t understand. This went on for a few minutes. How long will this last? I guess there’s no play tonight? Titus ran over to the slide and was playing because he knew his way around the school yard. He told us he played there all the time. Not 10 seconds after he came back to where we were sitting, we hear BOOM! and suddenly fireworks are going off about 30 feet from us. They were close and loud. The kids quickly covered their ears and Titus started crying and yelling, “I want to go home!” He’s not a huge fan of fireworks. I grabbed Titus and put him in my arms and told him he would be OK and that it would be over soon. Below is a photo of the slide he had just been on before the fireworks started to go off.

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

The fireworks show lasted about 2-3 minutes. Titus kept insisting we leave, but there really was no way for us get back to the gate with everyone standing around so we basically had to grin and bear it. I just started laughing. This is just not something you would ever see happen in the States: a bunch of preschool and elementary kids with their families standing a few feet from huge fireworks that are literally exploding directly above them…in the playground of the school. Welcome to the Czech Republic.

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

Lantern Lights (11/6/14)

The fireworks ending signaled the end of the night and also confirmed that there was definitely no play or bear suits tonight. In the end it all turned out OK. Titus cried a little more on our way home, but we assured him, as we often do, that Jesus is always with him when he’s scared. We walked back to our place with some Czech friends from our church who have a son in the same class as Titus. They are a great family and that was actually the highlight of the night being able to spend a few minute with them.

I guess the moral of the story is we’re learning to trust the Lord in new areas. We have no idea what we’re getting ourselves in to sometimes, but we trust the Lord will lead the way as we walk by faith.

Categories
365 Czech Republic

Home Improvement

Home Improvement (7/13/14)

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday here in Czech. We had the privilege of attending church for the 3rd time since we’ve been here and we even and English translation through in-ear headsets. The pastor was preached through the last part of Ephesians 4 and the first paragraph of Ephesians 5. We were able to participate in communion for the first time and we accidentally drank wine instead of juice because we thought the little cups were juice. I’m still not sure what happened, but we were able to laugh it off.

Home Improvement (7/13/14)

After church and after lunch we began to work on getting our apartment a little more functional. One of the different things we learned when we arrived was that people take their light fixtures with them when they move. So we only have a few lights in the house, and even those are a bulb on a cord with no fixture (shown above). So we shopped for new light fixtures and our friend and fellow teammate Casey came by to help me install them and show us where we can buy them. And off to Poland we went!

It’s sometimes easy to forget we live in a border town and it’s just as easy, if not easier to drive in to Poland (which is just down the road) and shop there for things. Prices are good and Casey showed us the wonderful store “Castorama.” It’s a great home improvement store, much like Lowes or Home Depot in the States and they had everything we needed. We actually went there twice today because there’s always something else you need when you’re working on your house. Casey installed two of our new lights and showed me how to safely install the others. It’s a little scary working with this 220V power over here, but there’s always a safe way to make it happen!

Home Improvement (7/13/14)

The other big project was getting our washer and dryer all hooked up and working. Thankfully Casey was a huge help there too and it really wasn’t too hard. We stacked the machines to save space in our little hallway area and we went to Castorama a second time to get a hose clamp so the water wouldn’t leak coming from the wall to the washing machine. Bethany and I had to search the manual to figure out what each setting is because it’s all written in Czech, but with a little help from Google translate and an English section in the manual we were ready to roll. The best part is that as I write the machines are running, not leaking, and we’ve got clean clothes coming our way!

Home Improvement (7/13/14)

Home Improvement (7/13/14)

Casey was such a huge help today and we’re thankful for his help! Casey and his family serve here in Czech on the “S-Team” and Casey is part of overseeing all English camp ministry in all 14 of the countries we serve in. I know he does even more than that, but you can read his family’s bio on the JV Web site. They live here in Český Těšín so tonight we all enjoyed a dinner together at a local restaurant that they love. Our kids really enjoyed the time with their two boys and it was a blessing to get to know them better. It’s such a blessing to have another family in the same stage of life as us that’s already walked the path we’re on right now. The Yorman’s were a gift from the Lord to us today and we look forward to more time with them in the coming days.