Another Week in the Mountains? Seriously? Seriously.

Wow, when I think about how far I’ve come in a year, in two years since I committed to this ministry, I stand in awe of God’s masterful plan. I looked back at my posts from last year, and I found that I didn't write about my experiences during the ski trip I went on last year. Maybe I thought it was too humiliating to put on the website. I went to this ski course for youth 24 years and older, hoping to have some good social time and fun skiing. I can't begin now to express the despair I felt all week long. I didn't understand almost anything. My Czech got a lot better, but it was still really difficult to communicate. Plus I had brought down-hill skis, and most people were going Cross Country skiing, the cheaper, more exciting option. Someone was kind enough to let me borrow a pair for the week, but man was it a nightmare. It was just soooooooo hard, finding a rhythm using muscles I didn't even know I had. I cried every day from the overflow of emotions and the extreme exhaustion mentally and physically.
Only God knows why (as we say), I went back to that ski camp again this year. I think I only remembered the warm glow I felt from the people and the beautiful rolling mountains of Krkonoše. On my way back to the mountains, I reread some of my journal entries which expressed my utter desperation to understand and improve my Czech and my skiing. Maybe you are also asking, “Why would she want to go back?” My mother did. However, if you can imagine the exact opposite experience of what I had last year, that was this year. I borrowed some cross-country skis from a friend of similar height and her skis worked just perfectly. (I also discovered that there is a definite Right and Left and after putting them on wrong once this year, I really think that many times last year, I had my skis backwards. The things you might think would be obvious!) So I finally felt like I was picking up the rhythm of this cross-country skiing thing. Plus a lot more people came who were around my age, sharing the same interests in games and movies, and they were closer to my abilities on the snow. They knew when to stop and take off their skis and I never felt pressured to do something which seemed unsafe to me. I took a lesson from them as they knew the difference from quitting when the going gets tough and being honest about their own abilities. Then we also had such interesting programs each night. The minister with our biblical programs presented a fascinating workshop where we searched for the answer to his question, “Does God Exist?” Making this even better, he spoke English quite well, so anytime I didn’t understand, I could just ask. And yet much of the time, I understood, and this understanding and sharing in discussion with others about God, this was the sweetest gem of all. So here you can see me in all of my glory, well it’s not all glory and the glory shone is not all mine. The joy of the whole week is in the way God has been working in my life over the last 3 and a half years since my hand injury. It’s just like with the skis; the harder the uphill trek, the more exciting the trip down the other side.

Right now is our spring break, so I’m enjoying my last chance to travel in Europe before I go home. This summer will go so quickly that I won’t have another chance to get outside of the Czech Republic. So I’m finally traveling to Spain and then Paris! You’re looking at the view from my hostel window. Isn’t life grand? A week from now we’ll be starting the second session of our English Classes, so I’ll be happy to get started with some new themes and new activities. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.



PS If you have not checked out the website for our classes lately, you should take a look and watch our Campaign videos. We ended up with a tie and made some more. It was a lot of fun.
www.anglictinapolicka.blogspot.com

Choosing a President

As I mentioned in the last post, we made some campaign videos in our English classes to help us choose a President of English Classes. We did different activities to discuss what we value in life and each class choose different values to represent their class and candidate for office. Some of our classes chose to say that Mobile phones, computers, and sports are important in their life, and every class choose to say that they value family and friends. Some classes even saw the importance of Peace for the world as a value. You can watch all of our videos on the kids' website(click here), but here is the video for David, who got the most votes this week.



After the kids watched the videos, it was interesting to watch their decision making process. Some kids voted for the students that they knew, others voted for the funniest video. Some people, however, voted for the underdog, just because they wanted to give them some points. It was very necessary for some students to keep their vote hidden. I made sure to insist on using secret ballots, and I was glad when I saw that many students felt free to vote for someone different from their peers. My High School students had a crazy idea for electing a marker for president. Ironically he looks like a great candidate, the video turned out really well, and many of the kids voted for it, because it was such a funny idea. I was just happy that they wanted to participate.

So, we hope you enjoy the videos. Maybe they can enlighten you as you contemplate the values of our different candidates for office. I'm afraid that during the Super Bowl and the Super Tuesday Primaries I'll be skiing in the mountains for our spring break and without Internet access. Hopefully YouTube and CNN will help me stay connected when I return.

The Primaries

It's a very special year in the US and the Czech Republic as we both choose a new president. In the Czech system, the Parliment elects the president, and the process is completely different than in the USA. So I thought it would be fun for the kids to learn about our process while they're hearing and reading about it in the news.

This week we had our own round of Primaries where we selected candidates from most of the classes to run for President of English Classes. Next week we will form our campaign and make a video, which will be shown in the classes during the following week when they make their final decisions.

You can follow our progress and even vote in the poll for your favorite on our website: www.anglictinapolicka.blogspot.com

Our Adult classes have been considering different issues at hand, such as "Should a woman be able to serve as President?" and "Should the President be chosen by the popular vote of the people or by a governing body?" I enjoyed discussing these issues with them as I myself have been tossing these thoughts around in my own head. I'm finding it a challenge to understand the candidates from so far away, especially when I live in a different society and culture. I find myself looking for a President who would be the best representative to the world, dealing with social issues and conflicts, instead of trying to match the candidates platforms with my own beliefs. I cannot vote in the Primaries, because I don't have an address in Wisconsin and I'm no longer registered in Oklahoma, but I can't help checking every morning after to see the results as the parties choose their candidates. This is the most interesting race I can remember; whether we end up with a woman, a black man, a Morman, or an ordinary white man, I think the race will be entertaining to say the least.

Note: I hope no one takes the last comment as offensive, because I do feel that a candidate(and every person for that matter) cannot be judged by the labels that society gives them. However, I think the world and history will take notice if we elect anything other than an ordinary white male with protestant beliefs like the forefathers of our country. I wonder where American stands, because I'm not sure I can tell from here.

I love Czech Christmas:)

 

 

It's like living in a winter wonderland; it's been so cold and moist that the snow seems to just form out of thin air and attach to the trees. The top picture was taken in the morning on my way to work on Friday, and the next picture shows the long line of people waiting to buy their carp for the Christmas Dinner. Yesterday we had a full day, the our Christmas pageant in the morning and Live Nativity in the evening. The play was great, if you've ever read "The best Christmas pageant Ever," this was a translation into Czech language and culture. You can see the group of hoodlums in this picture starting some firecrackers, and in the next picture the firemen came to clean it up.

 

 

Our band also played two songs during the worship, a big step. We got many great comments of support and encouragement, plus I feel like the members of the band really felt like they played a special role in the service. We had many visitors and I think they could tell from the service that exciting things are happening in this church.
And of course, the Live Nativity was the perfect ending to the day. We stood outside for an hour, singing in the FREEZING COLD! I had two sets of gloves(thank you MaryAnn and Jacque:), two hats(thanks to one of my students), two layers of pants, and my special coat from a woman in Switzerland(see first snow post from last November). In between the singing, I did somethings with members from our Band, Madla on violin and Honza on guitar. Honza and I put together Jingle Bell Rock as kind of a last minute idea, and it was a great hit. Lots of people know this song; it was quite a surprise though, against the other classical carols. We finished off the evening with Christmas Punch and Goulash:) to bring the feeling back into our fingers and toes. It was an amazing day full of celebrating Christ's birth. I'm excited to get started on another one today!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

The spirit of Christmas has been buzzing around our church all through the month of December. We started off by making some things for our Christmas Bazaar led by the women of the Church and the Sunday School Classes. The profits from our sales will go to help a teenage boy in India. The biggest hit was our Snowman Soup, made with hot chocolate and marshmallows(quite a novelty here).

This month I'm giving presentations on typical Christmas Traditions in the US. My first presentation was in the church, and I was shocked by the variety of people we had attending. Out of 40 people I would say that one third was under twenty, one third was between 25 and 40, and the other third was 50 and over. Quite balanced and interesting, especially since there were several people I had never seen before. A friend of mine was translating for me, and I'm so thankful that I was able to have someone to help me share my thoughts and feelings with everyone. Throughout the rest of the month I've been sharing my presentation with some of the schools. I think it's interesting to meet new kids and tell them about some of our traditions as they get the experience of listening to a presentation in English.
The English classes also learned some Christmas Songs, which we recorded for a CD that they could take home. The CD also has some readings translated by the students, and I think many of us were pleased with the way it turned out. I know I'll listen to it for many Christmases to come:) Here's a sample made especially for you! A little Christmas wish from the students of Policka.

A real Thanksgiving in the Czech Republic

Best Thanksgiving Ever click here to view

Who would believe that you could convince a bunch of families, where both parents work, to fix a hot dish and bring it to the church on a Thursday night along with their whole family, not knowing what to expect except this American Thanksgiving Feast, which they've only heard about in movies. I think the final count of people turned out to be over 70 with a perfect mix of families from the church and the English classes! The miracle of enough chairs and tables appeared while we were setting up the kitchen and Sunday School room. Maybe you can't completely admire the beauty of finding seats for so many to eat a meal upstairs in our church without actually experiencing it. I should probably explain that we thought our limit was around 56, and we reached that when our friends from Minnetonka were here just last September. If you were here and you remember how close we were seated, then maybe you can respect the idea of serving so many people.

I think the beauty lies in the age old thanksgiving tradition of "the Kids' Table." I realized while planning, that "in the spirit of Thanksgiving," we needed a Kid's Table. The balcony turned out to be the perfect place where the kids could have their space and at the same time provide seating and space for all of them. We some how turned the pews to face each other and stuck an old table in between them for the older kids. The younger ones sat around the ping pong table. Some of the kids knew each other, but others didn't. When I went out there to check on them I was amazed at the sight of them playing together and laughing together. They looked like a big group of cousins and friends, stuck playing together while their parents talked, having a good time in spite of their differences.

When everyone arrived, we had plenty of food, and all of it was spectacular! After a short program sharing the meaning of thanksgiving, we did head up stairs and share with our neighbors about the good things in our lives. The adults sat around every other table we had, and we somehow ended up with one big table big enough for all of the food. I know that we always say Thanksgiving is about family and saying thanks, but when you're right in the middle of it, it sure feels like it's all about the FOOD! And, by golly, even this came across! There's just something about sharing food you made with others, and enjoying the food that they brought as well. When everyone feels happy and full, it just brings a certain joy into the room. Maybe you can even see it in these pictures that as the night went on, people had more and more fun, and the room seemed to glow with the feeling of love and merriness in the room(despite the absence of wine and eggnog from this feast). I even felt like we almost had to kick people out at 9pm when they came just before 6pm. What an amazing evening! A Thanksgiving I'll always remember!

Thanksgiving Dinner

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is around the corner when everything looks like Christmas. Last week it snowed everyday and the stores started putting up decorations as people started their Christmas shopping. In the Czech Republic, Thanksgiving falls around the same time as Halloween and All Saints day. They celebrate by decorating the graves of their loved ones and both Catholic and Protestant churches have special Sunday worships services. It's recognized by many people, but not all people.

In the spirit of the season, we're having a Thanksgiving Dinner this Thursday in the church for families of the English Classes and the congregation. Like a normal American Thanksgiving celebration, many people who are not necessarily related will come together as one family. I think it has a lot of meaning for our two groups, because the people of the church don’t really know the people of the English classes. I feel like there's a kind of parallel between what has been called "the first Thanksgiving in America" when the Pilgrims came together with the Native Americans and our first big dinner between people from the English classes and the church. Not that we're enemies, but we definitely feel like two separate groups of people who use the same place. This will be a time where we can all come together at the same time and get to know one another.

We'll begin the dinner with a short reflection on Thanksgiving and then head upstairs and sit at the tables in groups. We'll have a round of saying what we're thankful for, enjoy the dinner, and then maybe have some games for the kids while the parents sit and chat. Amazingly enough we already have 65 people signed up to come and that's with a commitment to bring something. Wow! It's going to be big. I have some good reliable women helping me with organization and food, and I'm hoping to have some of the youth entertaining the kids after dinner. Please remember us in your prayers this week. My hope is that despite the inevitable flukes that will come, the night will run smoothly and the people will feel at home in this building and with the people around them. I want them to experience that Thanksgiving is really about being with family, whether they're your relatives or just people you enjoy. I know that this feeling also goes along with Christmas, but I think the difference comes in what we do with this feeling. At Christmastime we focus on sharing that feeling of love and acceptance. On Thanksgiving we say thank you, thank you to our friends and family who love us and thank you to the One who created us and brought us all together. Thank you for following this blog and keeping all of us in Policka, CZ in your thoughts and prayers. Happy Thanksgiving! (Ještě něco)