Category: 365

A journal of every single day of the first year we lived in Czech Republic (2014-2015)

Time Is (Sort Of) On Our Side

Post author By Shay
Post date October 26, 2014
1 Comment on Time Is (Sort Of) On Our Side

Every year, twice a year, my dad calls me around the day we adjust our clocks forward and backward. We always have a good laugh because I think we’re both a little unsure how this little tradition of him calling me about it started but it’s fun nonetheless. Sadly, I didn’t get that call toady because my dad, I’m sure, is unaware that Europe changes their clocks at a different date on the calendar. Today was that day here in Czech and we “fell back” one hour, giving us a little extra time in bed today. The whole day felt a little weird, almost like an extra long day. America will join the time change fun in a week so we’re actually an hour closer to the States this week which is great for talking to family. So maybe I can expect an earlier phone call from my dad next weekend? C’mon dad, we’ve got time on our side!

This morning at church I stayed in Titus’ room with him again just to make sure he’s adjusting and also to watch his progress. It wasn’t my plan to stay but I really was curious. The language barrier is definitely tough and I think it’s really easy for him to get distracted and I had to really push him to stay with the rest of the class. In the photos above and below, the kids are drawing pictures and I honestly don’t know what exactly they were supposed to draw. All I know is that the other kids drew one person while Titus drew at least six. He told me, “I drew everyone!” He needed help with the ears but he was pretty proud of his rodina (aka: “family” in Czech).

We went to the store after church to get a few groceries and I was a little disappointed that I missed a good language use opportunity. While checking out, the lady said to me “Kolik?” I know the word, I’ve studied the word, but the only thing I could think of in that quick moment was something about time. Is she asking me what time it is? Time just wasn’t on my side, even though it was on my mind, and I stared at her in confusion. Then she started counting my croissants. My brain made switch and I said out loud, “Sedm…eh…Shest!” Which is, “Seven…eh…Six!” I was happy that I figured it out, but a little bummed I couldn’t nail it right away. Such is the life of a foreigner just trying to buy a few croissants. Hey, they’re cheaper than time. See what I did there?

Tags time, time change

365 Czech Republic

Playing Outside and Making Apple Pie

Post author By Shay
Post date October 25, 2014
1 Comment on Playing Outside and Making Apple Pie

The gray skies lifted today and the sun was shining so we went to the park for a few hours this morning/afternoon. It wasn’t only the sun that brought us outside, but I had told our friend Rachael that I would snap a few photos of her so she can send an updated photo to her ministry partners (one photo is below). For at least the last three weeks, I’ve been taking photos for friends so they all can can update their prayer cards and email newsletters. What’s funny is it’s almost identical to what I was doing in the States with family photos right around this time of year. Everyone is sending out family photos for the holidays and I usually would schedule shoots during October/November so it kind of feels like that only in a different part of the world.

Photos didn’t take long today so we just hung out at the park and played with the kids and talked to Rachael. It’s been a pretty full week of ministry things at JV so spending some time focused and outside the kids was really nice. Here’s a little video of us playing on the slide and some more photos I took since I had my camera gear with me.

When we were about to leave I notice Titus’ rain boots (which he uses almost daily right now) have a hole in them. This is bummer because it’s the only pair he has. We may have to go see if we can find another pair tomorrow because they’re important for him to have at school.

After the park we invited Rachael over to enjoy some Swedish pancakes for a late brunch. You would think that a late brunch would actually just be lunch, but things are just different in Europe. OK, I’m kidding about Europe, but I digress. Rachael was an extra blessing today in helping us pick up the house a bit. Bethany was working on the food and Rachael helped unload the dishes while I vacuumed. I had really hope we would get some time to clean today and so that was really nice to have some extra hands to help! Thanks Rachael!

We continue to struggle with sickness as a family. I have a been coughing pretty hard this past week and today was feeling really tired. I laid down with Titus and we took a pretty long nap today which is just rare anymore for me. I’m hoping this sickness doesn’t last too long.

Tonight we made apple pie! I bought a big thing of apples a few days ago and we finally had time today to have a good ol’ American class apple pie. It was a family effort and we served it up with a little vanilla ice cream. It was delicious if I do say so my self and here’s a few photos and a video to end our blog tonight.

Making apple pie tonight. Yum!

A video posted by Shay Thomason (@shaycam) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:43am PDT

Tags apple pie, outside, park, photos, Rachael, sun

365 Czech Republic

Casing the Grocery Store at 3 Degrees Celsius

Post author By Shay
Post date October 24, 2014
1 Comment on Casing the Grocery Store at 3 Degrees Celsius

Today marks four months of us in Czech. It’s been a wild ride and our lives have dramatically changed in a short amount of time. For instance, I went again tonight to do the shopping at the grocery store. I’m getting pretty good at finding my way around the store and I’m making less phone calls back home to Bethany asking, “What, what does sour cream look like again.” Don’t get me wrong, I still made a few calls tonight, but they are decreasing in number. The one thing that isn’t getting better is remembering to grab a 5 cent or higher coin to get a grocery cart. In order to get a cart you need a coin to release the chain that holds them all together. Usually we keep a coin in the car, but lately I haven’t had one and because of that I’m pretty it looks like I’m casing the joint.

Picture this: a huge tall guy (me) is walking around like a crazy man with his empty shopping bags hoping to find a cart that might not be chained up. So I’m in the parking lot shaking carts to see if one will come loose and repeat the same process inside. Desperation sets in when no cart comes free, so I go to the ATM, pull out cash, go and buy gummy bears, do a self check out, walk back to the car with my purchase, return to the store, get a cart and begin my shopping for a second time. All this while wearing a huge black jacket because it’s freezing outside.

While shopping I found a HUGE jar of Nutella with Santa on it. I didn’t buy it, but I took a photo because I couldn’t believe the size.

Speaking of freezing, it was 3 degrees outside…celsius. I checked the temperature from early this morning and all through out the day and it never changed. On the way to school this morning with Titus (shown below) it was cold and windy. While walking with Titus, he said, “Daddy, it’s too cold. I don’t like it when it’s cold.” He said that while wearing long johns under his clothes, snow gloves, a thick coat, and a warm hat. The walk is not far, but we were cold when we got to the school. I don’t waste too much breath talking about the weather, but the change is definitely dramatic but we’re thankful for big, warm jackets!

Before putting the kids down to bed tonight, Bethany told Titus, “Daddy wants to have a relaxing day tomorrow (Saturday).” Then he put his hands behind his head and said, “I love relaxing” which she took a photo of. There’s a few things on the agenda tomorrow but it’s been a busy week and I am truly hoping for some rest. Only time will tell.

Tags cold, store

365 Czech Republic

The End of the Indian Summer

Post author By Shay
Post date October 23, 2014
1 Comment on The End of the Indian Summer

We have been hearing for the past few weeks that we’re experiencing an “Indian Summer” in Czech. They have another name for it like “Grandmas Summer” or something like that, but it’s the same thing: warm weather in autumn. The weather of late has been very warm and nice, with only a little rain. That was until yesterday and today. Wow, can things change fast around here. A storm blew in and it got cold and wet. Even though it’s not really freezing temps just yet (the low tonight is supposed to be 34), the contrast makes it feel like it is.

Since the weather is a little damp, we have to create things to do in the house. Tonight Bethany decided we should hang the fall decorations we were sent from Nana and Papa. They sent us little sheets of sticky leaves, acorns, and pumpkins that go on the windows and glass surfaces.

The kids had a great time with it and I thought did a really good job. Hats off to my wife for the idea and thanks to Nana and Papa for the gift!

Tomorrow I’m hoping to get some time to get our winter tires put on our car. I have no idea how it’s going to play out and honestly am a little concerned that I won’t be able to communicate what I need to. It’s hard enough getting car repairs done in the States, but I have a feeling it’s going to be ten times more difficult in another country and another language.

Lastly, I took a few photos with a new app on my iPhone tonight of the kids. Here’s a couple portraits of these little rascals.

Tags autumn, decorations, fall, indian summer, kids

365 Czech Republic

A Slow Jog and Stories That Stick

Post author By Shay
Post date October 22, 2014
1 Comment on A Slow Jog and Stories That Stick

Ding–early this morning I get a text message from an unknown number. It’s all written in Czech. Just then a Czech friend walked in to the office and I said, “Can you help me read this?” “It’s your gas company…you need to pay your bill.” I promise I’m not irresponsible, but I just can’t win at the whole bill payment thing in Czech. A few more minutes online and my friend was able to help me pay the gas bill, but it’s definitely embarrassing and confusing. That company sent us a letter that we showed to another Czech friend who said they would automatically debit those things from our bank account. I guess that wasn’t the case, so tomorrow I’ll setup a regular online payment. Even as I say that, I have a paper sitting next to me to pay for Titus’ preschool which requires an online bank transfer. If I figure this without losing my mind I’ll turn up “We Are the Champions” and slow jog around the house in victory.

Every night we read the kids their Big Picture Story Bible. We just finished our seventh or eighth time through and have restarted again this week. Tonight we were reading about the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As I opened to the chapter the title read, “A really sad day” which I read aloud to the kids. Avery immediately said, “They ate from the tree…” and followed that with “Adam and Eve disobeyed God and He disciplined them.” She remembered the entire story and I hadn’t even started to read! Now I know kids are sponges, but Avery (who’s almost three) surprised me. I guess it’s the beauty of repetition and stories. Both are so powerful. Like a song chorus that gets stuck in your head, repetition provides an easy way to secure something in your mind. Stories have the same effect with their powerful word pictures and emotional connection. It’s so fun to see it all at work in the lives of our children, and better still, that it’s the truths from the Bible that are sticking.

At the end of the chapter tonight there’s a page about God giving Adam and Eve a glimpse in to how He would one day defeat Satan and sin. Titus saw Jesus standing on the snake and said, “Jesus!” and the kissed the book. Then he said, “He killed the snake!” Yes, He did and by His grace Titus will have a full understanding of what exactly that means in his own life some day. Until then we’ll continue to read to him and Avery the big story of God and trust their view of God will grow too. That’s not just a hope and prayer for the kids, but for Bethany and for me.

Tags Bible, gas bill, money, stories

365 Czech Republic

A Stroller for Two Kids and Celebrating Zach

Post author By Shay
Post date October 21, 2014
1 Comment on A Stroller for Two Kids and Celebrating Zach

It was another one of the full days today from start to finish. Bethany got a call yesterday about helping out at the same preschool where she taught English a while back and decided to go ahead and do it again today. I dropped her and the kids off early at the school and headed in to the Josiah Venture office for our weekly international team meeting (shown below). Bethany and the kids actually finished a littler earlier than normal and had to walk home because I had the car. She told me it took them 40 minutes to walk back and that our little umbrella stroller was just, in Avery’s words, “too bumpy.” When trying to console Avery, Bethany told her that we would probably be getting a more heavy duty stroller for the Czech sidewalks and Titus piped up asking, “A stroller for two kids?” We’ll take that into consideration, buddy.

Dave taught again this morning out of the book of Philippians. He brought a few visitors with him all the way from Louisville, Kentucky. I believe they are part of a church there that has had a long history of partnering with Josiah Venture and we were blessed to have them in our Bible study today (Dave’s wife, Connie, has a few photos of them from their time together this past weekend up on her blog). The passage in focus this morning was Philippians 1:12-26, looking at Paul’s time in prison and his perspective during that time. Dave broke the passage down in to two categories: 1) Prison Problems 2) People Problems and we looked at how those things could affect our own ministry today. In the end, it’s Paul’s focus on Christ that is really the point of it all and that’s what radically changes in perspective and ours. Great stuff!

Tonight we had the privilege of celebrating with my good friend, Zach Zegan, on his birthday. His wife Kara secretly invited us over for what a mini surprise party and we just had fun enjoying dinner and spending time together. Zach has been a close friend since the 4th grade and he and his family are very special to me. I think often of the great memories we had growing up and how blessed we are to be serving together in Czech Republic today. God has done incredible things in both of us, given us incredible wives, and given us a passion for the gospel. Happy birthday, friend.

The kids came to the party too and decided to make “Uncle Zach” birthday cards. Here’s Avery (left) and Titus holding up their creations:

Oh, and here’s another one of Zach being Zach:

Tags birthday, team meeting, Zach Zegan

365 Czech Republic

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…

Post author By Shay
Post date October 20, 2014
1 Comment on It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…

Today was Titus’ third day at preschool. We all got up and walked together to his class this morning which is actually really fun. As we were putting his stuff in his cubby he told me, “I bonked my head over there,” pointing to some area in the bathroom. We’re still not quite sure about that or what exactly happened. Other than a head bonk, Titus is loving school, which makes it much easier to leave him in the morning. When Bethany went back to pick him up this afternoon he said, “Mommy, I didn’t cry for you.” He was talking about the past two days where apparently he was crying. Poor guy, but so glad he was happy to not cry.

For me (Shay), the past hour or so this evening was more eventful than the entire day. I took the car to get gas around 8:30pm tonight. We’ve got an early morning and I was going to do gas and a grocery run and grab a few things for Bethany. When I got to the station I realized I forgot my wallet and had to turn back. Upon returning to the station I pumped the gas and went inside to pay. Swipe…card declined. That’s weird? I know how much money is in our account and I used my card earlier today with no problems. Swipe again…nope. The lady of course said something to me in Czech, but it was clear when she said, “Ne” or “No.” Ok, try another card. Swipe…nothing. Swipe again…still nothing. Card number three comes out and it’s my Czech bank account card with a special chip inside. I swipe it, the lady tells me in Czech that it has a chip and to hold on a moment. I put the card in: “Enter Pin.” Oh no. I don’t know the pin to this card! I call Bethany at home, she scours through a stack of paperwork and finds my pin, I enter it, and…approved! Finally! Can I go home now?

It took some time, but I finally got it squared away with our bank on the phone tonight. They thought there had been fraud but we cleared it up. And I did end up making it to the grocery store which is where I saw the above photo as I was driving in to the parking lot. Just outside of Tesco (one of four different grocery stores we shop at) is a huge Christmas tree, fully decorated. It instantly brought a smile to my face and I took the photo so I could show it to Bethany. I like the big star on top. I like the size in general of the entire tree. It’s funny how weird it was to see one. Maybe they are super normal in Czech, but I genuinely don’t know. Halloween isn’t big here and they don’t really have Thanksgiving (that I know of), so I guess Christmas is the next big holiday? Either way, it was nice and a bit of a bright spot on my night. Even as I write I’m reminded why we celebrate Christmas: the coming of Christ. It’s a sober reminder because we know it meant He would come and eventually die for our sin. But it’s a welcome reminder as to why I’m sitting in the Czech Republic: to tell others about Him.

Tags bank, card, Christmas tree, preschool

365 Czech Republic

Sunday School Isn’t Just For Kids

Post author By Shay
Post date October 19, 2014
1 Comment on Sunday School Isn’t Just For Kids

One of my favorite sayings is “Never stop learning.” I actually have a print of it next to my desk that Bethany got me. It’s one of those life philosophies that I adhere to and kind of drives me to read, study, and continue to grow in all areas of my life. I realized this morning while sitting in Titus and Avery’s school school class that each and every Sunday here we’re learning. I know we have things like “Sunday School,” but for a foreigner like me it’s more like “Sunday University.” At least, that’s what today felt like and the funny part is we never even made it in to the sanctuary. Here’s four lessons we learned today:

1) Being in the right classroom is a good place to start learning – We got to church this morning and found our way to the kids classrooms. Avery was downstairs and Titus’ was upstairs. Bethany stayed with Avery because she was a little sad and I took Titus to his class. When we got there the kids were sitting at the table during what seemed to be a teaching time (photo above). I put a chair at the end for Titus and the teach asked in Czech what his name was (which I understood!) and also if we spoke Czech (which I also understood!). I did my best to keep Titus focused and listening but after about 10 minutes Titus says to me, “Daddy, this isn’t my class.” Uh oh. I waited a little longer. “Daddy, where’s Beni and Caleb?” Titus asked because they are normally in his class too. Oh no. We better go.

2) Employ family to help in the learning process – Titus and I kindly left the class and went back downstairs to Avery and Bethany. I told Bethany that wasn’t the right class and we decided to switch so I could stay with Avery and she could go with Titus to try and find the right one. As I sat with Avery, they kids were painting little leaves (shown above). As I sat just observing I was picking up Czech phrases like “pro maminku” (“for mommy”) as the kids were finishing their artwork. I figured out was “mám rád” (which I’ve heard a lot) means “I like.” Listening to the teachers speak SIMPLE Czech was so helpful for me to just try and pick up what they are saying. Then I got a text from Bethany: “I found it. Beni’s here.” She means she found the right class and Titus’ friend was there. Whew. That’s like 2 lessons: a) language lesson b) church building geography lesson. Sweet! This must be a 4-credit class. Oh, and those little leaves the kids were painting were put on a piece of paper that read: “The Lord creates colorful leaves.” Yes, He does.

3) You’re never too old for the tiny chairs. – When it comes to learning, you sit in whatever chair is available and in both Titus and Avery’s rooms this morning we were hanging out in tiny chairs. You’ll even see the teacher in the photo above in the small chair. Learning is more important than comfort, I guess. Also, and this is really a bonus, you can be pretty funny from the tiny chairs. Today I had the kids cracking up by making silly faces. Here’s a photo I got of them laughing at me (side note: I also dig the kid in the background feeding another kid a cracker).

4) Have fun after class.- This evening I had plans to take photos for our good friends Zach and Kara. At the castle yesterday I was thinking I’ve gotta go back and do photos there so Zach and Kara were my models today. We had a lot of fun and I was excited that Bethany could come too and see it all for the first time. The weather was incredible today and perfect for enjoying some family time and photos of friends. Here’s a couple photos (captions below each):

Zach and Kara having fun watching Titus try to make them laugh. It worked!

This is Bethany and Avery overlooking our city from the Poland side. It was a little windy, but what a great view today.

Avery’s legs because she’s still so little and cute.

Titus in his natural state…”hanging” out.

A quick shot of the streets of Poland, just inside the border.

That’s all, folks!

Tags church, friends, kids, learning, photos, Poland, Sunday

365 Czech Republic

An Unexpected Walk in Poland

Post author By Shay
Post date October 18, 2014
1 Comment on An Unexpected Walk in Poland

This morning Bethany had plans to be at a baby shower for our friends John and Erin. Their son, Shade, was born about three months ago and some of the missionary women around here decided to through Erin a little shower and bless her. Bethany made a couple breakfast quiche dishes and off she went around 10:30am. I didn’t have any serious plans with the kids until I got a text from Casey who’s house the shower was at, “Hey, what are you doing today? I have to leave my house for 3 hours…do you want to go to the park?” Casey has two boys who are friends with our kids (all of them shown above) so I said, “Sure, let’s meet at 11.”

The park was a bit soggy from rain last night but the kids were having fun. Casey and I were just talking and hanging until he said, “Hey, have you been over to the castle?” “Nope,” I replied, “How far is it?” Casey said we could practically throw a rock to it and said we would really like it. As soon as I told the kids we were going to a castle Avery got really excited and said, “A castle?! Princesses live in castles!” With that kind of excitement we had to go so off we went.

We’ve said before we live on a border town of Czech and Poland–literally on the border. When we left the park we crossed the river and went right into Poland where the castle is. I guess it’s like a castle ruins of sorts with lots of cool structures in a beautiful park-like environment. It was built in the 13th century! It’s all free to walk around in and explore, and apparently you can go to the top of one of the castle towers but it costs so we didn’t do it today. Everything was majestic because of all the leaves on the ground and the kids were having fun dropping leaves in to this huge, I mean huge, dungeon like whole thing. I don’t how to describe it and I don’t have a photo, but when I read the plaque they said it was for prisoners. Let me just tell you…you would not want to be a prisoner in that thing.

Here’s a few photos of the leaves and the one remaining castle tower (of the original 4):

After the castle we decided to walk further into the town square. Our town is a lot like Kansas City in the states, a city that spans two states. In our case it’s two countries. On the Polish side it really feels like Europe. Small streets, little sidewalks, cobblestone, and just a little more charm. Don’t get me wrong, the Czech side is great, but it feels a lot different on the other side of the river. Casey knew of a little place to get food that was kid-friendly so we grabbed lunch right on the town square. Everyone was pretty hungry from all the fun. Here are the kids chomping away.

This is a shot of the town square (below). The kids enjoyed chasing the pigeons around and making noises at them. I’m never sure how we look to the nationals, but I guarantee our kids are the loudest ones around.

Even though we had a great time, there was a lot of walking so by the time we started to head home the kid’s energy was starting to fade. Below is a photo of us heading back towards our house on the Polish side. Shortly after this photo we were walking down some stairs and Avery stepped in doggy doo-doo…and it wasn’t a small amount. I was helping her get it off but she was wearing her Crocs which just spread the mess inside her shoe. A nice Polish lady saw my trying to scrape it all off and offered me her little bag of tissues–it as really kind of her. After a few minutes I got it figured out but Avery was not happy about her foot having doo-doo on it and was sad about it most of the walk home. I was proud of her though because despite all the walking she didn’t really want me to hold her and did it all on her own. When we got home I gave her a bath just to make sure we got her all clean!

Start to finish we were gone for about two and a half hours. We got home around the same time Bethany was getting back from the baby shower. Our kids took a nice long nap this afternoon, but I’m glad we got them outside and the weather was nice enough to walk around. I’m super thankful for Casey showing us around Poland and I’m excited to take Bethany over there at some point. I really don’t have any excuse when we can just walk there!

Tags castle, Europe, kids, Poland, walk

365 Czech Republic

It’s All in a Day’s Work

One of the great pleasures of being part of Josiah Venture is serving with a team that not only loves Jesus a whole, but are a pleasure to work with and are great at what they do. Two of those teammates, John and Daniel, are who I spent the day with today. I spend a lot of days with these guys, but today was just different. Instead of meeting at the Josiah Venture office, we decided to hang out at another house where Daniel is house sitting (Mel and Amy’s house) and we had a lot of fun just being together and being creative. We had a fire going in the house, fresh coffee, and Daniel brought in some fresh croissants for us to munch on.

Our plan today was to really work through some final design work for next year’s camps. The camp design is something that will be seen and used by literally thousands of people, especially young people on flyers, t-shirts, and banners. Camps are such a big part of what Josiah Venture does and every year many young people hear the gospel for the first time and begin to follow Christ. Local churches in 14 countries will use the material that we create to go and invite students to camp where they learn music, English, sports, and always hear the Good News. It’s a joy for our team to create materials that will bless our staff and be used as a tool to eventually bring young people to a place where they hear the gospel.

Back on the home front Titus attended his second day of preschool. It was fun dropping him off again and feeling more comfortable. Like Wednesday, we had no issues and Titus didn’t cry or get upset when we left. However, Bethany was just a few minutes late picking him up today and he was pretty sad. He told me, “Mommy didn’t come so I cried and cried.” I just laughed. She wasn’t THAT late, pal. He also told me the class went for a walk, but outside of that I don’t know what else happened. I’m glad he’s doing good and hopefully starting to adjust. We’ll continue to have him go three days a week for now and reevaluate it at some point.

I did the grocery shopping tonight by myself. Shopping is still a hilarious experience because there’s so much I don’t know. I end up calling Bethany on the phone five or six times asking, “Wait, what does half and half look like? What kind of package does it come in?” “I have no idea where to find cottage cheese.” “How do I know if the grapes are seedless?” Tonight was an ever bigger challenge because when I got to the check out counter the water I was buying broke open on the conveyer belt. The lady said something to me in Czech that I didn’t understand but wasn’t about to continue checking out my groceries so I ran those bottles back and grabbed another set of water and we continued. Then when we were all done there was some issue with the computer and my bank card so the line began to back up and people were not looking at my very happy. In the end we did get it to work, but it took a good five minutes of a lot of card swiping and re-swiping, a lot of Czech I didn’t understand, and multiple employees. My only concern is that I was now charged for the same amount twenty times over. Only time will tell, but until then…goodnight.

Tags Daniel, John, team, Titus