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.

Blog 2 from Kenya - Preaching

While we were in Kenya in January, I had the opportunity to preach twice. The two congregations and their situations were quite different.

In the first situation, we were way up in Samburu country. This is a pretty remote place, reached by nasty, and sometimes non-existent, roads. But there is a church there. The building itself is a concrete block structure with holes for windows, but no glass. There is only one room.I wore a kikoi (which I mentioned in my previous Kenya post), because it is what the men wear in that place.  During the service the congregation was attacked by a swarm of wasps. Interestingly, the ladies who were at that time singing never flinched. They just kept singing.

The building was full, including young people, some of whom were sitting in the windows. I preached, through an interpreter, on Micah 6:6-8. For me it was a pretty brief message. The congregation was attentive throughout and gave verbal affirmations at times.

The second congregation in which I preached was entirely different. It was in the city of Nairobi and meeting in a private school. The pastor, a native Kenyan, graduated from the same seminary (Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis) at which I received my M.Div. degree.  

The congregation here was diverse. There were Kenyans and Europeans (I include Americans in this category) and Asians. There were young and old folks. In fact, the congregation was in its second week of having families worship together. It was a grand sight to see.

As the pastor had just begun a series in Galatians, I was able to fit right in as I preached from Galatians, chapter 2. The theme was “Practicing What We Preach.” Again, the congregation was attentive and appreciative.

Christianity is not new in Kenya. It was introduced by missionaries in the 19th century. It is claimed that more than two-thirds of all Kenyans are Christians.

Blog 1 from Kenya

So, there I was in a manyatta in the middle of the Northern Frontier District of Kenya. A manyatta is a small village made up of huts of stick covered with whatever is available.  

I had preached at a small concrete block building that morning and we were invited to the manyatta later that evening for roast goat. The church was filled to overflowing, by the way.  The picture below is of the ladies group after the church service!

Well, we showed up later, after an exciting ride from the compound where we were staying to the manyatta. There we watched the goat get chosen and killed for the meal. The Samburu people who were our hosts do not slit the throats to kill the goats. They grasp the jugular vein firmly and hold it until the goat is dead. Then they touch an eyeball to check morbidity. Then they slit the throat and drink the blood before butchering. Here’s a picture (below) of the man who was cooking our goat. Dressing in traditional garb is not a tourist thing (tourists are few and far between in this region), it is everyday wear.

So, as I was writing, there we were, the goat’s getting cooked, we’re looking around trying to absorb everything that’s going on around us. Then, wait for it.....

The cook’s cellphone rings!

That’s right. Hanging from the fabric belt of his kikoi (a sarong-like garment worn by men), was a cellphone. Two things to notice here. First, the seeming anachronism. It just seemed out of place. Second, he had coverage! Out, almost literally, in the middle of nowhere, the guy was making and receiving calls every few minutes while he cooked the goat.

So this is just one of many amazing and wonderful happenings during our recent three-week trip to Kenya. I’m sure I will be writing about more of them. 

And, oh yes, the goat was most tasty.

On the Deaths of Heroes

I'm reminded of an old song from my days in the Cayman Islands. "Where Are Your Heroes, Caribbean?" is a song that laments the lack of statues and other memories of genuine heroic men and women of that region. 


Other nations and regions have little problem with erecting monuments to military and political figures. I have written, on my old blog, of the appropriateness of memorials (that essay found here). 


Why am I pondering these things, one might ask. Well, three immense personalities have died in the past few weeks. Vaclav Havel, first President of a free Czechoslovakia; Christopher Hitchens, noted atheist and philosopher; and Kim Jong Il, despotic ruler of North Korea each died within three days of one another.
Kim already has monuments in the form both statutes and schools named after him. Hitchens probably will not have any statues, but he has left behind a legacy in his books, including a bestseller from 2007 titled God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

Havel will, no doubt, have many memorials erected in his name. There is already a proposal to re-name the international airport in Prague in his honor. Havel is certainly worthy of such honors. As an anti-Soviet dissident, he helped to bring about the demise of the Communist hegemony over his entire region. He was loved by the people, elected President of the emerging nation of Czechoslovakia, then of the Czech Republic after the departure of Slovakia to independency. 


Thousands upon thousands of people poured into Wenceslas Square, the scene of many historical events, to pay homage to the great political and moral leader.
Alas, we have to ask, what's up now with these three late, great men? Kim and Hitchens often declared themselves to be atheists. They've now found out the truth about the God they denied.

Vaclav, Thank you.

Vaclav Havel, however, did have a belief in God. It was, however, not the God of the Bible. He saw God as a transcendance of some sort. While he saw Christianity as an antidote to Communism, he never fully grasped it himself. His concept of "self-transcendence" can be compared to the "spirituality" sought after by many Hollywood types. It's popular, it's trendy, it's Godless.


I hope that as he faced his last days Vaclav Havel fully comprehended and embraced the need for repentance and forgiveness. He was a great human leader. Czechs and citizens of the world are right to remember the sacrifices and the leadership of Vaclav Havel. Human greatness, however, does not buy a ticket to heaven. For that, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is necessary.