speaking – Shay Thomason

Something amazing happened today: I heard Titus speak Czech. Now, before we get really excited, I will say he was just saying Czech words, not phrases. However, this doesn’t really make it any less amazing in my mind because of what was going on in Titus’ brain. Here’s the story.

During Sunday School this morning I stayed with Titus in his classroom. The kids were doing some kind of activity where the teacher was asking them questions and she was going around in a circle and they were responding. When she got to Titus, I heard him say something and we couldn’t really understand it. I said to him, “what was that, buddy?” He said it again and I was still unclear. Then the teacher said, “Ohh…tři, čtyři, pět” which means “three, four, five” in Czech. Even though Titus couldn’t answer or didn’t understand what was being asked, he had made the switch in his brain to answer in whatever Czech he could–in this case it was numbers. It was literally the first time I had ever heard him attempt Czech numbers or words in response to someone speaking Czech to him. A little later the kids were playing a game where one person thought of an animal and the kids had to guess. I was impressed by Titus because he figured out what they were doing and tried guessing an animal. He said, “krokodýl” nice and loud which means “crocodile.” His guess wasn’t right, but I was amazed at the process in his mind. It’s a fun process to watch him grow and learn.

I didn’t get any photos today, but I did get a little timelapse video from Titus’ Sunday school class. Usually they have a little drawing activity and so I got some footage of all of the kids at their tables. You can watch it below.

Sunday School Timelapse from Shay on Vimeo.

As for the rest of the day we had a great lunch at home with some fresh croissants we got at the store. Steve and Judy spent a lot of time just hanging with us today which was a lot of fun. I just love the questions they ask and they have been a huge encouragement to us. We’ve talked of books, ministry, life, parenting, missions, and anything in between. It truly has been such a joy to be with our “family,” that is our extended church family from the States.

Tonight we decided to have a quick dinner with Steve and Judy at McDonald’s in Poland. We ended up going to Poland because there’s a new McDonald’s just inside the border, about 7 minutes from us. But when we got there it was actually not even open–that is, it’s so new it’s still under construction. So instead of going back in to Czech we drove a little further into Poland toward another set of Golden Arches. I’m so glad we did because our drive home was right around sunset and it was stunning. Rain had been falling this afternoon, but the sunset peeked through the clouds while we drove and we were in awe of God’s amazing creation. A photo wouldn’t have done it justice!

There are some plans tomorrow do a little shopping with Steve and Judy in the morning after we take Titus to school. Right now I’m planning on staying home for the morning to get a little work done, but hopefully we’ll find something fun to do in the afternoon. They are only here two more days so we’ve gotta pack our time in and see what else we can show them! There’s also a rumor that Bethany and I will be taking a date night which just sounds really fun. Until then…goodnight!

One of my teammates, Daniel, celebrated his birthday yesterday and a few of the missionaries here wanted to do something for him and celebrate. We decided that this morning would be a good time to take him out to breakfast and enjoy some fun together. After taking Titus to school, Bethany, Avery, and I drove out to a little cafe in Ostrava to join the fun. Breakfast places are actually kind of rare in Czech and this little cafe made some great food. I believe I had my first omelet in Czech and the only one I’ve eaten since leaving the States. I trust Daniel was blessed and I’m glad we were able to celebrate him while he’s so far from family and other friends. I hope it made a memory.

The snow was falling all morning and this made Bethany’s drive back home a little challenging. I had actually caught a ride with Daniel to go back to the Josiah Venture office which is a different direction then our home, so I wasn’t with her. She ended up being about 30 minutes late picking up Titus from school but they were very understanding. It has been snowing all day since this morning and we’ve got at least four inches on the ground, even though it might be even more now.

Bethany was nervous about putting the car in the garage because she thought she would have to come pick me up due to all the snow that was coming down. I ended up getting a ride home, but here’s a photo of our car in the driveway as it sat when I got home. It took Bethany and I a few minutes to wipe it all off and put it back in the garage, but we were laughing and having a good time. It made a memory.

Another really fun moment today was going to the post office. I can’t believe it, but I was able to send a letter to America and buy stamps all in the Czech language! Granted, I wrote everything down and had notes I was using, but it really doesn’t change the feeling of being able to actually do something in another language. As I walked out of the building I took the photo below of the outside just to remember the moment and I said out loud, “YES! I did it!” I have a renewed passion to do as much Czech speaking and learning as I can possibly do and today was a win in my book. It made a memory.

I also got a quick video of my excitement.

A video posted by Shay Thomason (@shaycam) on Feb 9, 2015 at 8:28am PST

Lastly, tonight we opened our February envelope! Each month we open an envelope from our small group back in the States. This was a really fun envelope from some great friends of ours. It’s bittersweet to see the notes and kind words from them and remember the sweet times we enjoyed with them. Thank you, friends, for caring for us and sending us these wonderful gifts. Here are a few pictures of the kids opening it up and some of what was inside.

A sampling of things inside were new toothbrushes for the kids, Burt’s Bess lip balm, new books (see below), coloring books, a puzzle, bead key chains (a craft for the kids), a drawing from our friend’s kids and a nice card for us.

It looks like someone was scanning our Amazon.com wish list. Thanks for these awesome books!

I tried to get them to smile for this last one, but it didn’t happen. Smile or not, they were happy to get these new fun things and so are we. Thank you!