Getting the Czech Experience

Week One: Journey to and around Policka

More pictures from my travels with friends in the Czech Republic! Streets new and old, friends new and old, my summer of memories continues to remind me of where I've been and those who have accompanied me along the way.

My friends have been helping me practice my Czech language and Czech ways of life, first and foremost walking a "bit further" than I was used to doing in Atlanta. The Bartoš family was kind enough to take me to the Castle Karlstein, which I had planned to go to many times, but ended up canceling because I thought the walking would be a bit far from the train station. Boy was I right.

This is a shot already a "bit" up the hill from the parking lot, and the train station is about another half a mile down the road from there. I didn't count how far the castle was uphill, but it was definitely a "kousek" or as we joke, just a short piece, which always means quite a bit further in the American understanding rather than the Czech understanding. But please do not misunderstand this to be complaining, I'm just explaining how it was been. As you look through the album you will see how the walk is worth the view! This also explains why I dared to ask my friends Magda and Madla to walk with me from Teleci to Kamenec. I remembered it to be merely a "kousek" and it was such, it's just that my Atlanta legs needed to be reminded of the strength needed to walk through the hills of Vysočina(the Czech Highlands).

As I approach these physical challenges, I'm reminded of how many times I met my match here in the Czech Republic, how many times I felt like I couldn't go any further and found myself carrying on to the finish. I felt like I discovered my own boundaries and surpassed them time and time again. I think this part of the trip has been incredibly valuable at this point in my life journey. Suddenly it is the reminder that what we choose to do is not always on the basis of opportunity but also the basis of faith and fear. When we fear we cannot accomplish something we let it go, or when we fear those who pressure us, we abide by their desires rather than our own.

I have been reminded of two difficult lessons I've learned since I first arrived in the Czech Republic. While I was here, I learned to listen to people again. I couldn't speak so clearly, so I mostly listened and through that I learned a lot about life, people, God, and really everything. I found that I listened differently when I sought understanding over information or verification. While I was in seminary, I feel like I learned to listen to myself. I learned to trust the inner connection I feel with God and to trust God to work through the blessings in my life. Over the last several months, I feel like I have been learning again to listen to God. During my last semester of seminary, I feel in love with the Bible again, as each of my classes seemed to draw me into the Living Word where God continues to bring a new message again and again throughout our history. This new openness also heightened my awareness to the presence of God with me while reading and seeking. So even here in special moments with friends and in the woods, I have been listening for God's voice and presence. It seems that as I have been reestablishing my Czech legs, God has also been strengthening my legs of faith, preparing me for the "kousek" ahead. I've been learning to speak and walk and to listen and sit. Even these familiar shoes and dirty feet are a reminder that God has been with me at every step. These new legs of faith will withstand the changing of shoes and the changing of the terrain, but I'll remember again to keep listening for God as I continue in my training.

Propaganda

Terezin

Here's my travels from last week. I'm still compiling pictures from this week, but they will also appear about a week late I think. I've been having a fabulous time reconnecting with friends and beautiful places in the Czech Republic. You will see in the pictures some of my interesting experiences at Terezin, which served as a prison for many different oppressive rulers but most famously as Hitler's "gift" to the Jews.

The Nazis used this town as a sort of propaganda to say that the concentration camps were more of a way of consolidating the Jews in one place. They encouraged musicians and artists to continue their arts and they even allowed them to observe rituals for those who died. One the one hand, this was done to convince the Red Cross that the Nazis had a respect for Jewish culture. On the other hand it served to calm the fears of those in the camp that would report for transfers to other places like Auschwitz. I can't decide if it is more dehumanizing to treat someone like dirt and deny them of their culture and health necessities or to convince them that you have respect for their culture and humanity while also treating them like dirt and forcing them to pay to sleep with the sick and the dead, among other horrifying things.

All I know is that among the art, poems and music that survived, I saw a kind of hope which was profound. It was built on perseverance and faith, as those who were scheduled to die survived, and those who misled were revealed as fools. It was not the most joyful of a start to my trip down memory lane, but my road has widened. I discovered a group in Prague called Živá knihovna, where they share the stories of some special people as if each person is a Living Library. As my library grows, the more space I find for new growth. So, I continue on in my journey, sharing in the knowledge of the people I meet on the way.

Off to Polička!

The day has arrived! Today I am flying to Prague where I will meet with some friends and end up in Policka by Friday night! I'm so excited about all of our preparations for this year's English Camp!

This year we are receiving back the ripples of the relationships we have been enjoying in Policka. When there was no longer an American available to write the curriculum for the English Camp, several of our strongest volunteers stepped forward to say they would plan it(our 8th Camp!), if we would come and help. I was concerned in the beginning, that they were just trying to get us to come visit and not so interested in the camp. We always knew there would come a day when we would have to let go of the English Camp and let new programs develop. So, I asked Jarda to ask the group, “Why do you want to do this? Is it just to spend time with the Americans or is it about spending time with the children?” Without a thought, he replied to me, “both.” They love to see us, but the volunteers now have the ultimate desire to share the camp with more and more kids.

Why? Because it has made a difference in their lives and effected the way that they see the world. Many of those on the curriculum planning team, made up of only half church members, have visited the United States through the help of people in in Cimarron Presbytery. Premek, Jarda, Petra and Jitka, were all greatly affected by their experiences here with the congregations in Ponca City and Stillwater Presbyterian Churches, as well as other friends throughout the Presbytery. As they have written the curriculum, they have designed spaces for them to share their experiences about American culture. Even the non-church members want to share what a difference has been made in their lives and the way that they see the world thought their interactions with the Camp and their relationships with those of us who have befriended them here and abroad.

When we began these English camps and English classes, we were helping the church reach out to the community and now we are witnessing them reaching back. Instead of building the bridge in one direction from the church to the community, many non-church members have extended their help to meet our bridge somewhere in the middle.

If you're interested in learning more about the camp there are many ways you can keep up with us. First off you can continue to keep "czech"-ing my blog, but you can also check the Blog of the English Camp during the camp July 18-22. I will post that link when it is closer to time. You can also watch my sermon from yesterday at First Presbyterian Church where I gave a larger explanation of how far we have come with the English Classes. Also, you can invite me to come preach and/or share about our trip when I return to the US in August. I will be back in Oklahoma while I continue my search for a call as a pastor in the PCUSA.

Sermon


More Energizers!

Meet part of our team!


Have fun with the youth of First Presbyterian Church, Ponca City, OK

Istanbul;)

Energizers

We are bustling with plans for the camp! Yes, if you haven't heard at this point, we are doing our 8th English Camp in Policka this year! Can you believe it? Even more amazing is that some of our Czech volunteers have volunteered to plan the curriculum for the camp and they are doing a marvelous job! They have developed a Movie Star Theme where we will talk about some misconceptions of the American culture displayed in films. Each team of students will prepare their own short film and at the end of the week we will share them and give a few awards. The city of Policka has offered to provide a showing of the films for the whole community during the week following the camp. What a wonderful cooperation between the community and the church!

Part of my preparations will be developing the skits and activities for the opening programs of each day. We will begin with a few energizers, have a welcome and announcements, and then lead into the skit. You will hear more about the skits soon enough, but until then you can learn a few energizers! This posting is mainly for the Czech and American leaders, but anyone is welcome to enjoy these videos! Just remember, we had fun making them, so feel free to laugh at us and with us as you take our tutorials.

Full video of shortened tutorials in order to guard against copyright


New: Paparazzi--Find the Superstar!


Rock Star/All-Star (Summer Fun)


Run, Run, Away/Cow, Cow, Lasso (With new added action!)

Full Circle

 

For the last week I've been reconnecting with my friends in Madison, WI. I walked down familiar streets and sat in familiar places. I talked and laughed with many of those who were a strong support for me while I was living here and abroad, and I also made a lot of new friends in the process. I got to preach last Sunday at Christ Presbyterian Church (my Madison church family) and today I got to sing with them in the contemporary worship team. What a wonderful week I have had!

I shared with my friends about the difficult journey I've been on in these last five years since I started this blog. There have been low points and high points, but I feel like during this trip I felt everything come full circle. While I was here in Madison, I heard the call to ministry, but I was frustrated and lost, not knowing what or where that was meant to be. When I had an injury in my hand, my "Flute" ministry seemed to be at an end. Part of me wondered, what if I had tried harder or what if I hadn't tried so hard(causing my overuse injury)? When I went to the Czech Republic, I was partly testing my call to church ministry. Was I called to serve as Music Director, a Christian Ed Director or as a Pastor, and if a pastor, what would that even look like?

These last five years have been a discovery of my call to pastoral ministry, working with all varieties of God's beloved people. As I look back on it, even if I had not had my injury, I know the position in the Czech Republic would still have drawn me to Polička, and I still would have answered the call to seminary and pastoral ministry. It's always life shattering to loose such a precious gift, but I am seeing now more than ever, that God places gifts in our lives for the time we need and always continues to bring us more gifts, even when others no longer serve their purpose. I always saw my life purpose to bring joy to others and empower them to use their gifts in empower ways for them and those around them. Now, that calling is the same, I'm just playing a different instrument and singing the same song. Stay posted to hear about my upcoming trip to the Czech Republic to reconnect with those friends, sharing with them in the joys of our continued expedition in life.

 

On the Way

I'm writing on the way towards new things. Last Saturday I graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary, and Monday we set off towards Oklahoma for a summer of reconnecting with old friends and continuing in the process of connecting with churches in the search for God's calling in the Presbyterian Church USA. Friends, you will be glad to know that I've had several interviews, and as some options fall away and others rise to the surface, I feel God revealing new things and opening my heart in new ways. I am still actively seeking a call, and I rest in the knowledge that God is preparing both me and that particular congregation for an extraordinary time of ministry together.

Isaiah 43: 19 "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

Being Human Beings

This week I had the pleasure of enjoying my last spring break in Washington DC and Philadelphia visiting some college friends. Traveling always makes me think about being in Europe and it was fun to compare DC with a European city--centuries of history on the streets and in the buildings. Not only was I wearing my Czech Backpack and Czech Shoes, but I also had to find my Czech legs as we walked, and walked, and walked some more. I think I will need to practice more before heading to CZ this summer;) I'll write more about that as my July trip gets closer!!!!!

Besides connecting with old friends, eating lots of chocolate and making faces at a two year old, the highlight of my trip was visiting the Holocaust museum. I won't go through it all, because I feel like it would spoil the experience if you are expecting certain things. One experience that I felt compelled to write about, though, was a reflection on how we treat other humans. The Nazi's singled out the Arian race as particularly superior to all others and saw those "inferior races" as lesser humans and they treated them that way, in denying them rights, declaring them as deficient, treating them as slaves and then killing them in the most inhumane ways possible. The exhibit showed piles of left over shoes and hair as "witnesses" to how the Nazis took these and other things(including dignity) from those they forced into the "showers" which turned out to be gas chambers.

There was a walkway between buildings which revealed the names of communities where the entire presence of Jews was wiped out in the final movements of genocide. I was saddened to find the names of Czech towns I know very well: Svitavy, Litomyšl, and Polička. I sort of expected the names to be there, but I think that made it all the more heartbreaking. The displays also told how at one point in Warsaw there was one group of Jews who attempted to fight back. I was shocked to read that one of their slogans was "Let us fight and die like humans." They were speaking for men, women and children who were being boarded onto the trains heading for the "reform camps", where they would be treated and killed as anything but human. That's what got me to thinking about what it means to treat someone as a human, so much so that even in dying they feel like a human.

Towards the end, I saw a video of testimonies from the liberations of the concentration camps. In one of the stories, an American male soldier and a German Jewish woman from the camp were giving their experiences of their first meeting. The man was observing different people in the camp, watching some men drinking from a fountain, when he saw her leaning against a building. He asked if she spoke English or German, and she replied in German, "We're Jews, you know," as if making sure he knew he should know better than to help them. After a few seconds, he said, "Me too." She was shocked at this and yet he continued to say strange things, like "Where are all the other ladies?" She couldn't believe her ears since this was an address they had not received in quite some time. She replied that they were inside and when he asked her to join him, she didn't know what he meant. Then he opened the door and invited her to go first and she said, "It restored all sense of humanity and dignity in the world." I started to think about what it means to treat someone else as human in the sense that we are all in this together and made of the same stuff.

Could it possibly be this simple? Greeting one another with respect and inviting others to join us or go before us? It's something more than just saying, "Hello, howareya?", it's acknowledging the precious presence of the other person in the world, seeing someone as important and valued in life. It's been interesting for me, as I pass hundreds of people on the buses, trains and planes over the last several days, and reflected on what this looks like. I had no problem looking at little Luke as a gift of joy, but it was a little different with the security officers or busy businessmen and women speeding by. With a little kindness, I did get a few smiles and happy greetings. It was a fun little project. Try it yourself. I think it's different in different contexts, so it's kind of interesting to experiment and give thanks for the people we meet. Feel free to comment if you have a response or if you try it yourself. Let us know what happened to you:)