God's Number is NEVER Busy

Aren't you glad that God's number is never busy? We can dial Him up to chat, plead, praise, confess, and any other reason you can think of praying and He is always there. It's not like the skype call the drops every 5 minutes due to a poor internet connection. It's not like being on the metro and losing your cell phone service mid-SMS or phone call. It's a constant, open connection with our Heavenly Father 24/7.

I've known this for quite some time but like always, reminders are needed. This past week I have had the honor and privilege of being a part of a constant stream of prayers going up to the Father on behalf of a family here in Prague. I work with this family in my volunteering with Young Life. A member of the family has been diagnosed with leukemia. He has a good prognosis but a long 6 weeks of chemotherapy ahead of him. I've seen the body of Christ actively engaging to support, encourage, and intercede on behalf of this family. It's been powerful to witness. As I visit with the family and talk to others connected with them I'm moved to tears at how God is using this valley to change all of us. He's moving and stirring a deeper passion and love for Him and others in this community of faith.

The leader of our Young Life team told us in our meeting earlier this week that, "we pray until the angel comes to tell us that we can stop". Let that sink in...

A few days prior to this news, I read James 5. I'll close this blog with a few verses that struck me on the subject of the prayer of faith:

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;

the Lord will raise him up.

If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a man just like us.

He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain in the land for three and a half years.

Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

You Won't Relent

You won't relent
Until You have it all
My heart is Yours

I'll set You as a seal upon my heart
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are one

 

"You Won't Relent" -Misty Edwards

 

I remember when I was growing up, my mom would put songs on repeat always or we would listen to the same Brooks & Dunn cd in the car for over a month. It drove me insane! Apparently, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because I have been listening to this song on repeat for over a week now. Each day a different section speaks to me. How do I treat Jesus? Is this what I say to God? Come be the fire inside of me, until You and I are one. Do I truly say this? If so, what does it look like?

 

Many people who know me, know that I tend to use the emotional side of my brain more than the intellectual side. I've never had the strong desire to know all the details. "It is the way it is; I feel this way about it; I can't explain it, it's just a feeling I have; God gave you a gut for a reason." These are all catch phrases that I use. I find myself in a culture that wants to know the intellectual side of God and struggle to explain it. The need is to first rationalize God intellectually and then emotions can follow if they want to. It's challenging. How do I show the emotional side and be open to learn from the intellectual side? I am commanded to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Therefore I need the intellectual AND emotional side.

 

I believe I'm going to be learning more about the need for both of these sides. God made us complex. He is complex. And He won't relent until He has all of us. This is a comfort to me and excites me for the life long journey of learning ahead of me.

Retreat = Rest

I spent the past week in Lithuania with other EMM Workers for our annual Missions Retreat. Coming from a frantic, exhausting week, I was ready to put some distance between my schedule and myself for a week.

After a long and hilarious journey, Stacy and I arrived late at night in Klaipeda, Lithuania. We were warmly welcomed in by the Brubakers (missionaries living there). The following day we went to a gorgeous retreat area, filled with wood carvings, cottages, and pumpkins. In a word: tranquility. This required photoshoots throughout the week.

Our time together was wonderful! We were a small group but all got along well and were able to share openly about what we have been experiencing, as well as our hopes and dreams for the next year. I loved when all of us gathered around to pray for one another. I loved having people speak into my life and being given the opportunity to do the same for them. I also had the chance to lead some worship sessions which I had forgotten how much I love doing it! I have to chuckle at myself...I had Czech worship songs in my head most of the week.

God knows how to bless His children. Marsha and I were blessed by a day visit with our friend Sarunas. He was in training with us at HDC. We couldn't visit Lithuania and not see our friend who lives there! We had a blast walking around Nida, seeing the great sand dunes, and looking at videos and pictures from Sarunas' life. He encouraged me a lot just by driving 3 hours to visit us!

Another way God blessed me, was allowing me to see the seaside twice in one week. I love the ocean and beach. It's a place of rest for me. I felt all stress wipe out of my body as I laid eyes on the Baltic Sea. The women who were with me said I was glowing.

Stacy and I finished our week in Lithuania resting after the retreat. It was nice to just be and have no expectations. Our flight was moved up one day, so we spent Saturday relaxing in Prague.

It is time for the schedule to pick up again. But I feel at peace about the upcoming weeks and I am looking forward to how God will work in the days to come.

God Celebrates YOU

Zephaniah 3:17 is one of my favorite passages. It's also a song that I sing to people as a blessing and to my little brother, Maclane, as I rocked him to sleep so many months ago. "The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great joy in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing." The NIV version says "He will take great delight in you." God delights in me, in you, in us.

Have you ever stopped to think about this truth? The God of the universe delights in you! I have been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan for the second time. He reminds us throughout the book that God loves us and desires to be in relationship with us. Now I think during this year in the Czech Republic I've missed/will have missed approximately 9 weddings. My friends are getting engaged left and right! When I talk with them the story is always similar, "I can't believe he chose me!" is the feeling most women have. I realized that this is the same feeling that I should have about my Heavenly Father. "I can't believe he chose me! I can't believe He wants to be in a relationship with me!" So ladies and gents, if you have ever been in love or are in love right now, take that emotional feeling and magnify it by 10 and that is the overwhelming joy we should feel by being chosen by God.

Marilyn Meberg says, "Knowing He delights in us allows us to feel secure about who we are and Whose we are." As I wrestle with homesickness, almost constant gray and rainy weather, and balancing the many demands of life, I am re-discovering what it means to be a delight to God. It's an active, constant delight. Just like his unconditional love is constant and active. Everything else around me may be in complete chaos but He delights in me. I'm His and He is in control.

Crunchy Leaves & Deer

A little less than two weeks ago, Stacy and I were graced by the presence of our dear friends Dave, Marsha, and Zane in Prague. We went exploring around the city and they joined me at CISP to help with grading some paperwork for a dear friend of mine. Embarrassing stories were shared, deep and meaningful conversations commenced, and laughter abounded. I'm so thankful for the visit and the opportunity to let others into my life here in Prague.

I have been fairly successful in working from a place of rest. Some weeks seem busier than others but I can always turn back to the Father and say "uh..help please?".

Last Wednesday, September 28th, those of us in the CZ celebrated St. Wencelas Day. Most businesses and all schools were closed. Stacy and I took our time exploring the city since may people vacated it's premises. The leaves are beginning to turn colors and fall here bringing much joy to my life as I love to go out of my way to step on a crunchy leave. This also brings much laughter among my friend who are with me to be conversing as we walk to see me side step to catch a leaf.

The karate club in the school has not worked out. Currently, I'm teaching two missionary boys karate and keeping it open for others to join. We discussed the importance of focusing and balancing. I have very intelligent students who answered my question on what else do we focus on with God, parents, and teachers. I'm looking forward to more classes with them.

We are experiencing a lovely Indian summer right now (which unfortunately will end soon) and I could not resist a prayerwalk through the greenway near my flat. It was a time of asking God all my questions concerning the present, the next 6 months, and beyond. On the way back to my flat I decided to be quiet and let God do some talking. I was startled by a noise to my left. Turning, I saw a deer eight feet away from me. We locked eyes for a while and then she decided I wasn't life threatening. Wow! How often does one see a deer that close up and so close to the city limits? I love God's gifts of creation when in quiet introspection.

It takes a process to get a product

Since I last posted, my visa is now in the process of being renewed, I have started my fall schedule, and my teammate Stacy has arrived.

Stacy arrived 10 days ago and it's been a joy to have her here! You can find us frequenting a kavarna, walking around, being tourist with our cameras out, and laughing at the crazy things that seem to happen to us. Last week, while crossing a busy intersection, my flip flop broke so we did an immediate shoe shopping trip. I ended up purchasing sweet purple shoes! We've also had some meaningful conversations and I am loving how the people in my life are accepting her with open arms. I'm truly blessed with incredible people here in Prague.

God has taken the time before Stacy's arrival to remind me again of his faithfulness. That when I feel alone it's a lie because He's there with me. I've been learning what it means to surrender to what He is doing in my life. I've been studying, in a sense, about what it means to work from a place of rest at Jesus' feet. I've spent the past few weeks allowing God to pour into me. In the beginning of September, I went on a leadership retreat with Young Life and felt God telling me in my quiet time that it's time to work. It's time to take what I've been learning from God about working from a place of rest and apply it. It's been great! There are some days where I'm gone ALL day from home and other days that are slower paced that I can rest and be with God.

There are some changes to what I'm doing for the next 6 months. I'm coordinating with Young Life Praha to start a martial arts club hopefully in October. We've been having some issues with finding a location. I will also be helping them with some weekend events throughout the next 6 months. I am also a service project supervisor for a small group of high schoolers from Christian International School of Prague. We go to Teen Challenge once a week and work with their after school program. Yesterday was our first day there and I'm looking forward to this time during the week.

Next week, Dave Harnish, his son Zane, and Marsha Kanagy arrive for a cohort visit! I'm looking forward to showing them life here in Prague and seeing God continue to work here. There are so many random encounters that continue to happen here and I'm praying they continue.

Transitions

Saturday ended the marathon of camps this summer. I had the privilege of being the English teacher for the advance class. A group of wonderful young adults who are not afraid to discuss some serious topics and who helped create many inside jokes with me. I also received the blessing of having Happy Birthday sung to me many times even though it wasn't my birthday. Apparently, my name reminded someone of a singing card that would say "EMILY! Happy Birthday to you!". Everyone was quite confused.

The reading material for the camp was The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. In an attempt to keep everyone alive and alert, I suggested to Brian that we do a dramatic reading of the chapters in the evening. I didn't realize until 20 minutes before the reading was to occur that by suggesting this idea I was now the one in charge of it. The evening readings continued to go well with minor confusion that added to the charm of it all. It is such a blessing to be able to come together from all over the world to spend quality time with others.

I find myself in the midst of transition again as I gear up/discover what my fall schedule will look like. There are some really wonderful opportunities ahead of me for this fall but it's going to take some discernment to figure out what to agree to. A wise American pastor living in Switzerland told me that I will need to learn to say no so that I don't burn out. Something that the people pleaser in me finds hard to do at times.

These next couple of weeks are being spent discerning and filing for my visa renewal. All the paperwork is getting in order and I have my appointment with the Ministry of Interior Affairs on Wednesday next week. Prayers for a smooth visit and visa processing are most appreciated.

Camps, Camps, Camps, Retreat, Camps...

I woke up this morning in my flat in Praha and sighed. I didn't have to leave today for a camp! Time to rest before Saturday when I leave for the last English camp of the summer for me.

In mid July, I started this marathon of camps by helping with a City Camp in the Cerny Most area of Prague. I worked with an incredible team from Texas and the REACH Global team, along with some awesome Czechs to reach out to children in this neighborhood. Stumbling over the little Czech words that I know, and learning that games and laughter translate well across cultures, I began to become energized. I love spending time with people and now I was able to start a period of time where I would be surrounded by people. The City Camp was a success and we even had a few children accept Jesus.

The next week, I went off with the RZ Czech Brethren Church to the northern mountains for Family English Camp. Traveling with us were two woman from Iowa and a man from Texas who came to teach the adult English classes. I worked with another missionary to teach the elementary age children for the week. We had a lot of moments that called for adaptability and all of us were able to laugh and move on with life. I also taught some martial arts during the 3 days of rain. Our focus for the week was the story of the Prodigal son and my group of 10-12 year olds went from thinking the father was stupid for forgiving his son to believing that he wasn't stupid for forgiving his son. I loved watching the transformation and watching Christ work in my teammates and students. I was given the privilege to sing on the worship team in the evenings. We sang wholesome songs like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "We Will Rock You".

I then headed back to the Czech mountains for my Czech Church's retreat. Seven days with my church family in an incredible hotel that reminded me of a castle, with 5 awesome women sharing a room with me, and gorgeous weather. The focus of the week was on family and how to show Christ's love to one another. I didn't always have a translator but found ways to be filled through the talks. I even understood one whole sentence all by myself! It was a stretching time for me, having to use more Czech and be patient with communication. I began to get frustrated that I couldn't communicate at the level that I wanted to. Patience. Yet, the chance to connect with the young adults in my church was wonderful! We went on day trips together and had some deeper conversations. They were very supportive of me as I tried to communicate and pick a song to sing. I was asked to sing and play guitar for the group. It was lifegiving for me and to God be the glory! I am looking forward to singing more in the months ahead.

The most recent camp that I attended was a Young Life camp for all of the Czech Republic. I taught the first martial arts workshop. I loved it! I love working with other martial artists and seeing the students confidence grow as they begin to understand what they are doing. I had fantastic martial artists helpers and translator. The biggest challenge we faced was getting the girls in the class to be okay with hitting a person. Well success was found when one girl kicked our helper, Michal, through a slightly opened door causing some bleeding. Michal and I were grinning from ear to ear. There was a group of 30 Americans from all over there to assist with the camp. It was a rough transition from me to come from a place where I was the only American to having 30 of them around me! But I'm thankful for this experience in many ways. One way is having some much needed processing time with long term missionaries in Europe as well as being an American with the group from California. As a staff, we focused on building relationships and interceding for other leaders and the campers. The camp is still going on! Prayers are more than welcomed!

God continues to show me small ways that He is working. It's humbling that He choosing to use a broken vessel like me to accomplish His plans.

Bed Rest?! What?!

The past 8 days I have been on "bed rest" due to a sinus and respiratory infection. Loaded with medicines and a now clear schedule I thought to myself "what am I going to do for 7-10 days at home?" I was fortunate to be asked to stay at a missionary family's flat and to look after their cats during most of this time. Oh sure I have tasks that I could be doing, long awaited skype calls to complete, English camp preparations to get started on, etc. Plenty of tasks to complete. Yes I did do some of these things...but I mainly chilled with God. We would have 4 or 5 hour dates just digging into His Word, playing guitar, journaling, praying, reading the book Radical (ahem you should read this book). I would have a mind blowing God moment, then send skype a message to Amber or Marsha and go back to talking with God. During the first few days of this retreat/bed rest time, my friend Amber was in the same boat as me being stuck at home. But God used her yet again in powerful ways to speak into my life, remind me of truths that I should be claiming, and being a companion for me via skype. What an incredible retreat I've been having. Only a few days left but wow! This was definitely needed. I'm sad to say this, but sometimes I need to be hit with some form of sickness before I give God the time He deserves. Don't you hate that? And for those deeply concerned, I am feeling better. I still get tired easily but I am praying that in the next few days to be back to my normal perky self.

During one of these mornings in the middle of journaling my thoughts and questions to God my cell phone rang. After a nice chat with a Young Life leader, I am now going to be teaching a martial arts workshop at a camp the first week of August. This is the idea that God tapped me with when I first heard about EMM's ideas for ministry in the CZ, reaching out to youth via different clubs. It's becoming reality after 3 months! Praise God! I'm so excited and believe that a huge door has been flung wide open for me to continue a martial arts club for the remainder of my time here in Prague. More details to be worked out at a later date.

Next week I start my marathon of English camps, church retreat, and martial arts workshop. Five weeks total of being in and out of Prague. It's what we do here during the summer holiday months. The first English camp will be held in the city. I've never done an English camp before and find myself a bundle of nerves and excitement of what this will look like. I'm anticipating watching God move in the next 5 weeks.

One Door Closes & Another One Opens

The past few weeks since Germany have been incredible! I have enjoyed digging into 1 John at English Bible Study with my Czech brothers and sisters in Christ. We've begun to explore what it means to be a child of God. We discuss each week the ways that we have witnessed or extended Christ's love throughout the week. I love these discussions and the reminders of the little ways God moves in our lives everyday.

I was able to spend a full day at my host mom's flat with her and her friend, Paul because of a public transportation strike. She was still working from home and I was working on things too, but we took 2 hours for lunch and coffee, conversation, fellowship.

I've spent time with Czech friends, investing into each other, getting to know each other, opening up. That is the sweetest part about being here! The people. I have had Chinese food twice in one week with different people. I joined a group of artists from the Czech and America for supper after an art exhibit. I joined an American missionary family and their friend from the states on an exploration of Podebrady, a smaller town outside of Prague known for it's crystal making. I've helped out with coffee and tea time after church. After Mladez on Thursdays we all go to McDonalds and continue fellowshipping, me trying to figure out what is being said in Czech and having conversations in English too.

I also closed one chapter of my time here this weekend. On my 3 month mark of being in Prague I moved out of my host mom's flat and into ETS (Evangelical Theological Seminary). I'm living in a flat for the next 2-3 months until Stacy, the EMM long term missionary, arrives at the end of August. I was blessed with help in moving and even though I have more cleaning to do feel quite settled in my new home. It is another chapter of adjusting to life here in the CZ.

Two times this week at church, God has spoken very clearly. Maty led the program at Mladez on Thursday. He had us go around and share how we see God's creation. There are many things that I could have said and I choose to say the sunrise and sunset. But upon further reflection, I would say I see God's creation through laughter. Laughter is a way of expressing joy. It's a universal language, an ice breaker, a chance for us to bond over something humorous. "a time to laugh" says Ecclesiastes 3:4. I love hearing laughter and...well...laughing myself. Isn't it incredible? God made our languages diverse but still gave us ways to communicate without words?

The second time God spoke clearly this week was on Sunday. A guest pastor spoke from 1 John 1. To be in the light we need to be intimate with the Father. He shared from his on faith journey of finding God. I love the image of pursuing God that he used: "All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him. The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. 'Have you see the one my heart loves?' Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go." -Song of Songs 3:1-4a. Wow...that's an intimate relationship with God. When was the last time you or I searched that passionately for God?

Oh! look at...wait...re-focus...We fix our eyes on Jesus

An enlightening thought...sometimes Jesus just wants me to be alone, with him. I'm in the middle of my short time here in Germany visiting another mission intern who is also a dear friend to me. We went to an international church youth group Friday night. The pastor talked about the passage in Genesis where Jacob wrestles with God and doesn't give up until he receives the blessing. For his identity to be changed into the one that God has deemed for him. "If you wanna get blessed, you gotta fight. And when you fight, you're gonna get wounded." Hard times come but they build our faith, character, and remind us that we have a God who is greater than the troubles of this world. I've realized that even though I am enjoying my time in Prague it has been a very challenging 2 and 1/2 months for me. There have been many times where I felt swamped by the weight of not knowing where to turn to or what ministries to be involved in. There have been events or situations happening with friends & family that make me long to see them. To be there physically to walk with them. As I cry out to God for strength I realized that although I spend time alone, I'm not seeking him as much as I should or thought that I was. I'm not engaging in the fight that God has set out before me. We entered a time of worship. I felt the freedom to dance and sing praises to my Father! I was able to sing out God's name in Czech which was a heartfelt prayer for me. I felt the presence of God walking with me through Old Town Square, Letna Park, Mala Strana. Hand in hand we went.

I know that hard times will continue, that I will have to look back on this many times, that I'll stumble and fall. I'm human. But I also am the daughter of the true King. The King that looks on me with love and picks me up, dusts off my clothes, and says "it's ok. I love you. try again."

Sometimes Jesus just wants to be alone with us, so that we can know His voice...

English...no wait Czech...oh shoot that's Spanish

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind and at the center of it has been an intensive beginner's Czech language course at the Caledonian School. Monday-Friday, 9am-12:15pm I could be found in a room off of Narodni Tria, a few blocks from the National Theatre with 8 other students learning Czech. All of us from different regions of the world and learning Czech for different reasons. For myself there were moments of laughter, frustration and holding back tears when teh words wouldn't come out right, and moments of shear satisfaction and joy when I was able to communicate and understand. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that my Spanish came back very quickly to my brain. If I coulsn't find the word in my heard in Czech the Spanish word came flying in. Luckily, I didn't blurt out any Spanish words during class.

I am discovering that I can comprehend Czech better than I can speak it. And I was thrilled when I had to ask for directions in Czech, received them in Czech and understood the entire exchange. My Mladez (the young adults at the church) friends don't let me quit my Czech language learning. Every Thursday you could find us talking and me attempting to remember what I learned that day, or me trying to figure out what page number the song is on in the songbook. You could also find my workbook being passed around and laughed at. Then the moment comes when I remember what I learned and begin to slowly speak it. Bodies are leaned in to hear the Czech words stubble out of my moth and my face turns redder and redder as I speak until I am glowing red. Gentle voices correct and encourage me. What a blessing!

"The Cupid Shuffle" Can Help You Remember Your Directions!

Dobry den! (Good day!) Time has been flying since Easter two weeks ago. Much has happened but I will try to just hit the highlights.
Marta's son and daughter-in-law came into Prague the last weekend in April. It was wonderful to meet them and I was blessed by their visit. We went to Vsyehrad to see the gardens and cemetery. We then proceeded to Starbucks. This was my first time to Starbucks since arriving in Prague and I learned that Prague is the only place in the Czech Republic who has Starbucks. We continued to visit other gardens in Prague. It is incredible to me (and a blessing) that I can be in the middle of the city yet feel like I'm in the woods. There are gardens near Prague Castle that are definitely worth visiting should you ever find yourself in Prague.
Our church last week celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of a couple! Flowers were presented to the couple and they repeated their wedding vows to each other. It was beautiful! I teared up a little as I sat there thinking about how rare it is to see a couple married for 60 years. I'm glad I was able to witness this occasion.
This week I began my Czech language study this week. It is a 3 week intensive course that meets every morning for 3 hours Monday through Friday. There are 9 of us in the class from all over the globe. Our teacher is very patient with us and dynamic. She normally has me laughing within the first hour of class. I have learned how to ask questions to clarify something, formal and informal ways of asking questions and greeting people, numbers, how to give directions, and what buildings are called (i.e. theatre, store). I was studying my direction words on the metro one morning on the way to class and thought of the song "The Cupid Shuffle". During my time at HDC as a participant, we would have dance parties to this song. The dance has you take 4 steps to the right, 4 steps to the left, 4 kicks to the front, and then you do the twist as you turn around. So I began to sing in my head vpravo (right), vlevo (left), for the kicks I sing nahore (up), dole (down) and repeat and then for the twist I sing uprostred (center). It's quite fun and hey it helps me remember my directions! Overall lanugage study has been fun but exhausting. However, I'm enjoying that I can understand more of what others are saying around me. I'm also enjoying the opportunity to speak to my Czech friends in Czech even if it doesn't last very long. They are also willing to teach me more vocabulary words which is good.
I had the privilege to teach 5th grade at an international school in the afternoons this week. It was wonderful to work with the kids and be able to practice teaching skills because I know that sometime this year I will find myself in a classroom teaching English.
God continues to remind me that I am His. I am learning as my schedule gets busier that it is important to take time to listen to what He has to say to me. In my moments of exhaustion, He tells me that I'm His beloved daughter and I feel an overwhelming sense of peace and gratitude.

Velikonoce!

I spent Easter (Velikonoce) in Husinec. It's a small town or large village in Southern Bohemia and is the birthplace of Jan Hus. Jan Hus is a Czech national hero who started the Protestant reformation about 100 years before Martin Luther. At one point during the 5 days there were approximately 30 young adults at the gym that we were staying at! That's a lot of names to try to remember! But fortunately there is grace and our group is patient with me.

A small group of us left around 8am via bus. This is a unique experience because you never know if you are going to get a bathroom stop or if there will be more people on the bus than there are seats. We set things up and began to relax. The weather the entire weekend was incredible! Temperatures were in the 70s and the sun was shining. Krasna! (beautiful). We spent the weekend playing games involving charades, participating in our sports day- basketball, volleyball, soccer for 4 hours, and eating yummy food. I'm certain that all the weight I had lost is now back.

On Good Friday we fasted and interviewed the community on what easter means to them. I was saddened to discover that most people don't know the true meaning of Easter. For most it is just a day off of work (Monday). We attended a service at the Czech Brethren church. The pastor had us write down out sins and he then nailed them to the cross at the altar. I felt a new found freedom that I had been missing since coming to Prague. I feel like I did when I was living at HDC, which is healthy and good. We then had a worship service just us youth and I was released to worship like I had before coming to Prague as well. Which lead to many people asking me to sing the rest of the weekend. We then wrote down what we were thankful for and headed to the river to set our paper boats adrift. Some of the guys and I danced to the BeeGee's "Staying Alive". I feel free to be me, Emily, with this group.

Easter Sunday we went to church and we were all feeling the joy of Christ's resurrection. We went up on the hill to take a group photo. The day was spent being lazy, playing games, I played guitar for about 2 hours, and that night we watched the movie Fireproof. It was good. A reminder that love is a choice. We also prepared for Monday...

The Monday after Easter is an interesting experience in the Czech Republic. The boys chase the girls with sticks that they braided the day before to keep the girls looking beautiful. I was sweeping the gym when all of a sudden I heard my name being yelled and us girls took off out of the bathroom window, scaled fences, and ran from the boys. They caught up with us and hit us on our rears with these sticks. Everyone laughed when I yelled, "It's so hard to not hit them back!" The boys recited a poem to us about being beautiful and we then presented them with deocrated eggs to keep them from hitting us anymore. I will always remember this Easter. Quite the adventure! I'm very glad I went!

Fines, Success, and Conversations

"You speak English very well but you need to read it on the back of the ticket," says the police man who fined me for not having a proper boarding pass for the metro. I paid my fine and asked him nicely if he knew where I could activiate my open card (year long pass for transphortation). He very kindly told me where to go. Yes the next day I went and activiated the card. Now I feel like I have a new found freedom since I can just hop on a metro, bus or tram without purchasing a new ticket every time. The lesson: always purchase a new ticket for the metro and read the back of it if you are confused as to how it works. Thanks to Peki and Danielle I have successuflly found the Lennon Wall! I've gotten to do some more sightseeing this week (most of it today actually). I will either go on my own or I'm starting to go explore with some new friends from church. This week I went to Petrin Hill and climbed the Little Tower on a cold, windy, rainy afternoon. I was also shown a wall/gate that has tons of locks on it. The story is that couples will put their initials and the date on the lock and they will stay together. If they do break up one of them comes and takes the lock down off the gate. The romantic in me loves the idea. I visited the Bertramka, Mozart's home in Prague. It is very beautiful and a must see if you ever go to Prague. I will confess though that only 3 rooms were open for me to go through and they are doing a lot of reconstruction so his instruments were not in the house. I'll have to go later this year to see more of the house. I have 3 people that I am getting together with to pracitce English. It's been fun conversing and learning about each other. The ages of the 3 people vary and I'm learning that I'm not in the "know" about a lot of American pop culture. As I will continue to meet with these 3 I look forward to the other encounters I will have with people who want to practice English. Of course I do have people who want to practice Czech with me too. This Thursday I will be leaving with the youth group (young adults) for Southern Bohemia for a retreat. We will be sleeping in a gym at another Czech Brethren Chruch. We'll spend the weekend there, relaxing, enjoying the country side, and focusing on Jesus' death and resurrection. We'll return on Monday. I'm looking forward to this time to bond with my youth group and focus on the amazing gift God has given us.

So You are Famous in the States...

A visit is an all-day affair. Marta and I will visit for hours at home or out exploring. I had lunch with a family from church and was there from 12pm until 7pm and didn’t feel the rush to leave at all! An Elder from a branch of the church told me that a Czech visit is a minimum of 3 hours and that a Czech likes to go deep on one subject. When you ask a question you need to be prepared for a long answer and the patience to wait for it….I love it! And it is definitely worth the wait. This week I made connections with the international community. I attended a women’s Bible study on Tuesday that I will be attending regularly from now on. We are doing a manuscript study of Micah. The time of fellowship and the chance to converse in my native tongue is great. A lot of the women are teachers at an international school that I may be working with at some point during my time here. If not directly, they are willing to help me with teaching material and forming connections for conversational English in the public school systems. It’s nice to have the options and support. On Monday I got caught in a downpour of rain on my way to the international school. I therefore developed a head cold that is still trying to hang on. The pollen is high here and the temperatures are fluctuating (much like PA and VA weather) so my allergies are out in full swing. Health has been a struggle for me the past two weeks as my body is adjusting to all the changes. Therefore I wasn’t able to get out and explore as much this week. The times I did go out however were precious. Some of the most random acts of kindness I have ever experienced. I was short on change for a metro ticket and a young man purchased a ticket for me. I met a woman in Wenceslas Square who speaks English and offered to go sightseeing with me on weekends anytime during this year. One of the women who work at the church office gave me an apple. Marta invited me to her friend’s home last night and even though I was really late in getting there they were nothing but kind to me. I met another woman there who is interested in conversational English and we will start meeting very soon. God is so faithful and on my days where the doubts plague me, He provides many ways of proving that there is no need for doubts. It’s come to the attention of some church members that I play guitar and sing. One of the youth came early to youth group, therefore hearing me. He asked if I was famous in America. I laughed and said, “No I’m hoping to make it big here.” I’m sure that God is going to use my musical gifting somehow here although I don’t know how that will look. It makes me grateful for the chance to grow into this gifting while at HDC. Continue to pray that I can look upon this season of bonding as a chance to rest, adjust, and nurture forming relationships. I appreciate the email updates, words of encouragement, and prayers. They always arrive when I need them the most.

You belong to us now...

Ahoj! I have been in Prague for one week now and overall it has been…pretty good. The main struggle I’ve been experiencing is making connections with people (Czech and American). I was not mentally prepared for the loneliness that leapt out at me nor the anxiety that crept back in full force. I am happy to announce that connections are being made! I have met an American missionary who was most helpful and there is another missionary family who seems willing to “take me in” as I adjust to life here. The church that I attend/work at is in downtown Prague. It’s about a 20-30 minute metro ride away from my host mother’s flat which is located on the outskirts of Prague. However, it is also an 8 minute walk to Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge. I can’t complain about that part at all! The church has approximately 300 members and is one of the largest Brethren churches in Prague. The church service reminds me of Weaver’s Mennonite church. The youth group that I am a part of now has about 30 young adults in it. We sing, study the Word, pray, and then socialize at a McDonalds afterwards. They are going on a retreat for Easter in southern Bohemia and I have been asked at least three times if I am coming along. “Tell your organization that you belong to us now and you need to come with us,” one woman said to me. My supervisor is away this week but after he returns I will discuss it with him. It does my heart good to be told that I belong. Oh! And one woman in the youth group lived in Mt. Joy, PA several years ago as an exchange student in high school. She even flew into the Harrisburg Airport. It is a small world after all! My host mother, Marta, is so sweet and nice! She gave me a hug on the first day. I probably seem like a crazy American but I give her at least one hug a day. She is an economist and has been studying English for a while. We can talk but sometimes we need to use the dictionary for translation. She is also willing to teach me some Czech and is very patient with me. Today we are going to go sightseeing downtown and tomorrow we are going on a bike ride after church. Actually, right now we are laughing at me because I am typing this blog on my laptop and I’m then going to transfer it to her laptop which is connected to the internet. So I look silly with two computers open in front of me. I’ve done some sightseeing since being here. I’ve mainly wandered the streets of downtown Prague focusing on Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, and Mala Strana. I have no clue what I’m looking at sometimes but I just take pictures and make a mental note of places I want to go back to or be very “touristy” at (i.e. taking a boat ride on the river). My favorite thing to do is sit on the Charles Bridge and listen to the Bridge Band play. It’s a group of 5 or 6 older men who play jazz/bluegrass music. I’ll most likely end up buying their cd before I leave here. The biggest adjustment has been not greeting everyone that I see. It’s a hard adjustment but one I’m picking up on very quickly. I’ve noticed that on the days that I try to dress more like a Czech and walk around like I know what I’m doing I’m less likely to be bothered by the people trying to sell you things. I’ve been amazed at how quickly I picked this up and adapted this cultural aspect. Some mornings I wake up and say, “Today I’m going to be American and be a tourist!” I put on my tennis shoes (which no one wears here) and I grab my camera and water bottle and head out. I figure if I don’t have a set schedule yet I should take the opportunities to go exploring. I’m told time and time again that Czechs are not very open or that you have to earn their trust before you can go deep. I’m learning that overall this can be true (not a bad thing, just a fact) and yet I will have a moment where someone will go deep with me on the first meeting and I’m awestruck and deeply grateful. Please pray that connections will continue and that I will become more comfortable here.

HERE I COME!

After many prayers, laughter, tears, struggles, comfort, emails, and phone conversations I just found out that my visa has been granted and I will be flying to Prague Thursday evening! I'm so awestruck by God's faithfulness! So...the next blog post should be coming from Prague. :) Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Keep them coming and remember to praise Him too.

Answers

How's the visa coming? When are you leaving for the Czech? Both are very valid questions and deserve an honest answer. I don't know. My visa is currently being processed. I am waiting for more paperwork to come through the mail. Once this paperwork is filled out then the visa will be moving forward again. So as of right now my flight date is still March 24th. If this changes I will try to post the information as soon as possible.
I am happy to announce that my MST and I have reached 91% of the funds needed for outreach. Thank you so much for all your support! It's truly a blessing!

Unity-A Thread in the Carpet

GO training has come and gone and the winter YES training is here. This week has been full of adjustments and transitions as we get used to having participants in the house and settle in for 8 weeks of digging deeper. I had the privilege of leading a discussion on humility this week and was dumbstruck through the discussion and session we had attended prior to it. I am a prideful person. Sounds silly to say "Hello my name is Emily and I struggle with pride" but in essence that's what God wants us to do so that we can embark on a journey towards humility. It starts with vulnerability and if I'm not willing to be vulnerable then I can't embark on this journey. I realized that my unwillingness to be vulnerable at the right times causes discourse in my unity with the Father. We are co-workers and my inability to say out loud what I am struggling with hinders this unity.
It's like we are all a piece of thread in a carpet. If we are by ourselves then we don't make a carpet at all. We are just a piece of fuzz. But as we realize the need for God and others or as we realize the importance of our journey in it's entirety the little pieces of thread come together to make a beautiful carpet.

"Now we hope..."

After many forms were filled out and sent to numerous addresses, I ventured southeast to Washington, DC yesterday to file for my long term visa at the Czech Republic Embassy. Nervousness and excitement the night before kept me from sleeping and 6 hours of driving to and from DC made for a non-coherent Emily last evening. As I sat in the waiting room, vigourously chewing a piece of gum and moving my leg, a bundle of nerves, a Czech couple came in the door to meet with the consulate. Listening to them speak Czech slowed down my gum chewing and made my leg stop moving, it was so calming. The night before while I was dosing in and out of sleep I had a dream that the embassy staff person who would be helping me file for the visa was a very nice woman. This proved to be entirely true. We stood on either side of a window with a moveable tray between us passing documents and figuring out which address goes where. We laughed, sorted everything out, and finished the hour long conversation with her stating: now we hope. But I'm choosing to add "and pray" to the end of that statement.