Conversation Without Conversational Czech

Although I have not yet begun formal classes in the Czech language, it is still possible to have a conversation of sorts with the minimal Czech I have picked up. Here’s an example from a conversation I have regularly at the local Billa (grocery store).

Me: dobrý den (Hello)

Pokladnik (cashier):dobrý den

Pokladnik: máte kartu? (Do you have a card?)

Me: Ne (no)

Me: děkuji (Thank you)

Pokladnik: prosím (You’re Welcome)

Me: Na shledanou (Goodbye)

Pokladnik: Na shledanou

Impressive language skills, eh? I have not tried to converse with my doctor in Czech, though. Who knows what I’d ending getting surgically altered?

Great Adventures

So, the last few days have been an adventure in foreign living. I have spent several days in a couple of different bureaucratic situations. One was expected. That was our trip to the Ministry of the Interior, which has control of immigration and visas. 

As part of our application for a “long-term” visa (two years) we had to go to this government office and file the paperwork in person. The lines were long and we actually waited outside. It was reasonably pleasant as we sat and talked with our visa agent. I could not help but wonder what happens in January, though.

After several hours we were brought to a desk and the processing began. It was efficient and the two young ladies (one trainee) were pleasant. All our paperwork is in and the application is complete pending our filing of our insurance documents. 

We must have Czech Foreigners Comprehensive Insurance. Not a great financial burden - until one turns 65. Then the premiums actually triple! We’ve been working on getting the best plan - and being able to pay for it. You see, we must pay for the entire two years, for both of us, up front and in cash. Also, the policy can include no deductibles. Please pray about provision of the funds to be able to do that.

Entrance to Central Military Hospital, Prague

The other bureaucratic experience was most unexpected. One day after our intern and a guest left us, and we were alone for the first time in 15 weeks, I woke up with double vision! So began several days, so far, of tests and interviews, and paperwork at the Ústřední vojenské nemocnice (Central Military Hospital) not far from us in Prague. One complication, of course, is that I have no effective Czech insurance, yet. 

We have no results of any sort yet. The only thing I know is that I have a partial paralysis of the muscle of my right eye. It will not track. I’ve had blood work done and have a brain- MRI scheduled. We expect that payment for all this will be out of pocket.

That’s not the important part of this saga, however. You see, our (Czech) next door neighbor has been guiding us through this entire process. He drives us over to the hospital, takes us around to various offices and departments and translates. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved and he handles it as though its his every day routine. The last two days, Sandra was not with us. Our conversations ranged from where to get bread crumbs to God’s sovereignty! Please pray for him - and me, too.

So, another few days in the life of an expat in Prague. Each of these episodes takes several hours of the day. They are draining (and its hot!). Believe me, this is no complaint. We still have no doubts about God’s call to us to be in exactly this place at this time. We rejoice at the opportunity for even this old, breaking-down vessel to be of service to the King.

Christmas in July

Sandra and I just returned from ten days in Great Britain. This has been – and will continue to be – a full and exciting time for that great island nation. In April, Prince William, who will one day be King, was married. In June, the nation celebrated 60 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Now, in just a few days, the Olympics will begin in London and environs. We’re glad to be out of the country before the Olympic madness begins, but sorry to have missed the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen.

As we spoke with several people about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the topic of her Christmas Address (2011) was raised. It was referred to by these Christians at the Homeschool Camping Conference as a wonderful, Gospel-oriented speech. So, I had to look it up. Below you will find an excerpt from that speech. I quite agree with my friends in England. This is a wonderful expression of the Gospel.

Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: 'Fear not', they urged, 'we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 'For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.' 

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves - from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love. In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, there's a prayer: O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us we pray.Cast out our sinAnd enter in.Be born in us today. It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord. 

 "A Saviour, with the power to forgive." That's Jesus. Enjoy this Christmas message - and share it with your friends.

Home, Sweet Home

 

First things first. I encourage EVERYBODY to go on over to Sandra’s blog at http://www.viewsfromtheloft.blogspot.com/. There you will find the most wonderful piece of writing - on any topic - that I have seen in a long time (Titled: “Prayer Pause”). It won’t hurt to read the other entries, either.

Now, for my entry.

The last couple of months have been particularly draining for us as we travelled in the US for six weeks, then returned home to prepare for trips to Norway and England in the next few weeks.

Did you notice that when I indicated that we returned home I meant Prague? I did. It caused me to reflect on the question what IS home? We’ve all heard cute little phrases about home. “Home is where you hang your hat.” “Home is where the heart is.” Robert Frost wrote, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” That last one’s not all that comforting to me.

Most of you know that Sandra and I have been transferred. We’ve been called by God to live in a land in which we understand neither the language nor the customs (but, we are working on that). We are in a nation that is not our birthplace. We have made a conscious decision that the Czech Republic will not simply be a place we’re visiting. We will make it our home.

Home must be an important concept, even to God. The word is used 183 times in the Bible. God referred to the Promised Land that He had pledged to give Israel as “the land I am giving you as a home” (Numbers 15:2). It’s one of the places in which we are to impress the Word of God on our children (Deuteronomy 6:7). Deuteronomy 24:5 states that, “If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.”

No, I’m not going to go through all 183 verses. The next one is really important, though. In John 14:23, we read, “Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” There it is! There’s the definition. Home is neither Prague, nor Maine. We may make our temporal home in either place, but the real home is where God is.

That’s where I desire to be - with God, here, there, anywhere. So, it makes no difference where my earthly home is. I should be seeking to serve God there. I should be inviting Him to reside with me. I should look to the time when I will be eternally home.

The closing stanza of that great hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” reads this way.

O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our guard while troubles last,

And our eternal home.

 May God be our eternal home.

Coming to America

Sandra and I are currently in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We are here specifically to present the ministry of Lifework Forum and our new book, Children in Church: Nurturing Hearts of Worship, at the CHAP Homeschool Convention.

Did I mention the book? We received the first copies today when we arrived at our hotel. These are the Pre-Publication, advanced reader copies. It was thrilling to open the first box. There’s work to be done yet, but the book is a reality - after only 30 years in the making. If you’re interested in a copy, contact our publisher, Great Waters Press.

We will be in the USA for a total of six weeks. This includes time in Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. For Sandra it also includes speaking in the Cayman Islands.

I have, of course been keeping up on the news back home in Prague. Headlines for today include:

• Archaeologists find early Stone Age houses in Prague
• Respekt: Czech group promoting terrorism does not go to prison
• Five police officers charged with abuse of power
• Whole ski lift stolen in Desná
• President Klaus promotes generals on Victory Day

Life goes on. Please pray for us - and for the sale of our book. We think it is an important topic which ALL Christians need to think about, not just parents.

Transitions, Transitions

We’ve now been living in the Czech Republic for six months. It has been quite a trip! Within two weeks, and with place of our own in Prague yet, we shuffled off to Bulgaria for 10 days of ministry. Then in January (by this time we did have an apartment) it was off to Kenya for three weeks of ministry.

We’ve also been to Slovakia and had our first house guests. We’ve done all the things needed after moving - setting up banks accounts, learning where (and how) to shop for groceries, furnishing the apartment (a whole story in itself!), and figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. We also got our first resident visas, good until August, when we apply for a lengthier term (two years).

Now, it’s back to the USA. There are many things that need to be done there. We have physicians appointments, financial arrangements to be made, and the tax accountant to be seen. We need to make some sense of our property issues (anyone care to buy a nice lakefront home in Maine?).

We will travel to several states and speak in churches and at conferences. We will go to grandkids’ baseball games and a ballet recital as well as celebrating the birthdays of all three (although they won’t all occur while we are there). 

Preparing for this trip is tough. We need to ready talks, bring gifts, and arrange for bills to be paid while we are away (there are no checking accounts here, which complicates things). We have to coordinate with people regarding materials for our booth in the vendor hall at the CHAP Homeschool Conference in Pennsylvania. By the way, stop by and visit if you’re in the area. It’s May 11 and 12 in Harrisburg.

On the return trip we will be bringing back to Prague the daughter of an old friend. She will be interning with us for the summer. What do we bring back to our new home in Prague?

It’s confusing at times. It’s also invigorating, infuriating, amusing, and faith-testing. Ah, but there’s the bottom line, you see. We can’t, at times, see how we will get done all the things that we think we need to do. But, our faith in God - that He won’t abandon us or forsake us - grows stronger with each test. We KNOW that God is on our side.

Please pray for us. Thank God for the continuing ministry He has given us.

And remember that we have spare bedrooms. Y’all come.

Sin? Yeah, We've Got That

In recent months, as well as providing a travelogue on our trip to Kenya, I have written several pieces about life as an expat in Prague, Czech Republic. Most of these reports have been glowing. That's as it should be. We've been well-received and there are a lot of wonderful things going on here.p>
All is not grace and beauty, however. Here, as in all places inhabited by mankind, there is sin and ugliness. I would be remiss not to point this out and ask that you, my readers, pray for the Czech Republic. This is, by all reports, one of the most atheistic nations in history! It is needful of our prayers.
Just three stories from this week's newspapers will illustrate my point.
The trial of a government minister  is the talk of the town. We were in a small cafe the other day and this corruption trial was all that the waiter wanted to talk about. It's all over the TV news (evidently, we don't have a television, but we've been told) and every newspaper. Corruption, greed, these are ancient sins which mankind manages to freshen up regularly.
The other big stories recently (and there have been several of them) have to do with hate, prejudice, and race. Sound familiar? No, I am not talking about the US. This is home-grown hatred.
The biggest target of the right-wing extremists (also known as neo-nazis) is usually the Roma, gypsies. Reviled through much of Europe, the Roma population here in the Czech Republic is often the scapegoat and the target of violence. A recent article in Czech-Position.com warns that some of these groups may turn to terrorism. It also states that, "While the ethnic Romany [Roma] population will continue to be the target of violence, the report says far-right groups are increasingly focusing their attention to resistance to multiculturalism and immigration to the Czech Republic."
The Roma, however, are not the only targets of ethnic hatred here in Czech. A recent report told of the attack on the lead singer of a Czech musical group who is black. Spitting at her, pulling her hair while hurling racial epithets at her these punks terrorized the young lady. When they came upon the woman, by the way, these enlightened individuals were on their way from an "anti-Romany" rally. So, this country is no different, in a lot of respects, from an other. It is a mostly-pleasant nation. It has much to offer. It also needs Jesus Christ.
Please pray for this nation. It needs God's touch.