czech chat

No, your eyes did not deceive you, a few 2-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper were found in a convenience store in Olomouc’s main train station. I repeat, Dr. Pepper has been found in Olomouc!

The bottles were purchased with glee, cleaning out the convenience store’s supply, and consumed in a matter of days.

Fluke, or forecast of things to come? Time will tell. Members of Team Olomouc wait in eager anticipation for a new shipment of the beverage-world’s sweet physician. Team scout, Christie Shockley (ironically a Dr. Pepper hater), will be surveying the train station early Monday morning for any signs of syrupy goodness.

Check back here for the latest.

Yesterday our team (minus the Bealls, who stayed at home battling a sickness) returned from an Easter retreat in Slovakia, an annual event held by the church which meets in the capital city, Bratislava. For most of us, this was to be our first time to meet the Christians that worshiped there, and we didn’t know exactly what to expect. Unlike our experiences with the churches in Prague, Brno, and Wroclaw, we hadn’t yet met any of the Christians from our neighboring country. I guess we all had preconceived notions and mental pictures about what the group in Slovakia would be like, but not much more. So, we left Olomouc last Thursday afternoon and enjoyed a short three-hour train ride to Bratislava. After arriving, we jumped on a bus which carried us, the Prague folks, and some of the Slovak Christians up to the camp about an hour away, where we were to ‘retreat.’ Over the course of the next 3 days, we enjoyed songs and lectures in English and Slovak (which is very much like Czech, but a little softer-sounding), excellent Slovak meals (usually a light soup followed by a main course of pork or chicken with a gravy sauce and rice or potatoes…mmm), afternoons full of soccer (a.k.a. ‘fotbal’), baseball, and Frisbee (complete with plenty of minor injuries and sore muscles), and most of all- precious opportunities to just sit, laugh, and learn about one another.

By the time the retreat was all said and done, I think it’s safe to say that we and the rest of the team were deeply encouraged and excited about the new members of our family in Slovakia. And when I say these folks are ‘family,’ I don’t say that lightly or at all in jest. When you live in a part of the world like Eastern Europe where committed Christians with whom to worship are scarce at best, you don’t take those you meet lightly. You need one another and you appreciate their faith, because you know it has been tested over and again. It’s all the more exciting when you realize that you genuinely enjoy being with them. And we did genuinely enjoy them. The churches in Slovakia are made up of young leaders (about our age or a few years older) who are the type of folks you just want to be around. They are sincere, full of energy, and on fire for God. We are so thankful to be yoked together with them and to call them family.

When we arrived back to Olomouc Sunday evening, Josh & Sarah were there at the train station to welcome us home. I’ve always loved and appreciated my teammates, but I learned a little more about that when we saw them that night. Each member on our team provides so much, in beautifully different and unique ways. We each have our role and our purpose here. Without Josh or Sarah or any of the others here, we would not only grieve the loss but also feel the hole of their absence. They become more and more each day like your closest blood relatives- those you would not want to live without.

Finally, last night, Corey and I both called our families to wish them a Happy Easter. Neither of us knew what their plans would be, but we hoped they weren’t missing us too much since it was the holidays. I guess we were both a little surprised, but more than that, really encouraged to hear the hustle and bustle in the backgrounds. They were glad to hear our voices and wished us happy Easter, but they were extremely occupied with meal preparations, as well as with a house full of family members who had come over to enjoy the holiday with them. After short conversations with both of our parents, we hung up and realized yet again just how much God provides for us. Remember the passage in Mark, in which Jesus says, “No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields…) and in the age to come, eternal life. I think the blessings of God flow not only to us, but also to those like our moms and dads and sisters and brothers, who have selflessly sent us on our way to follow God’s calling. As the Psalmist says, “The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes!”

We have been taking turns planning worship every week. Last Sunday, Corey planned a very uplifting and encouraging worship service for all of us. Because Corey planned it, of course, it took place outside. We were blessed to worship on the top of a hill overlooking Olomouc. We were also equally blessed to have Honza, from the Brno church, come to worship with us. We spent time discussing how God blessed each of us the past week and then we thanked God for His blessings. We also discussed our struggles of the past week. Then we prayed for each other and the struggles that we had discussed. It was great to be able to celebrate God in nature and recognize the He is with us in His blessings, and also in our struggles. After worship, we hiked out of the woods while the sun was setting. Being out in nature and seeing all the trees and birds and knowing that God created them all, reminded me of how powerful and creative God is and how awesome it is that He takes care of me. We serve a truly amazing God. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We really appreciate them.

‘Vesele Vanoce’ (Merry Christmas) everyone!

As the days grow shorter and the temperatures plunge lower, I want to take the opportunity to hope blessings and warmth for each of you during these last few days before Christmas. The Christmas atmosphere is in full swing here in Olomouc, and every Czech city we have seen so far has boasted huge Christmas villages selling all kinds of gift-type things and an array of refreshments, all centering around an ENORMOUS Christmas tree in the middle December 5th is a national Czech holiday which also marks the night when they celebrate the tree lighting, followed by 15 minutes of fireworks and orchestral music. It’s really cool to see so many of your neighbors all jam packed in together to watch something so special. But the occasion the 5th commemorates is a different kind of Czech Christmas tradition. Instead of the hype Santa typically receives, here St. Mikulas gets the attention, and on this day he goes around with none other than the devil to see just how ‘pious’ the kids are. So this oddly matched pair will go from door to door (traditionally speaking - nowadays it’s really something like 2 family friends who go to certain houses and play the role) and solicit the traditional verses, which are some poems the kids would have memorized. So if the kids have been good and can recite their verses well they will receive treats, but if not, they’ll get scolded by the devil. It’s kind of a more surreal version of Halloween mingled with the Christmas timing. But it works, and it’s amusing to see people walking around these days before Christmas sporting divine or demonic paraphernalia.

Last weekend we took a train to Prague to visit the church there and reconnect with our friends. We arrived on Saturady and spent the rest of the day hanging out in town, seeing all the sights and basking in the festovoties. Then on Sunday we attended services and savored a Czech-style potluck dinner right after. Lots of cabbage dishes and Chinese foods (from those who waited too long to prepare), but it was fun to have that fellowship and then regale each other with Christmas carols when we were finished eating.

And just tonight we took a short train ride to one of the outlying towns around Olomouc to see a Christmas concert directed by one of our language school teachers. It was darn cold but we enjoyed the singing and the free chai that went along with it.

Which brings up language school. We have now been in classes for 3 weeks, but our hopes for immediate proficiency have been soundly dashed. This language is incredibly complex (like Greek squared) and incredibly humbling, so we feel that any confidence in any area is a victory to be celebrated. And to make things a little more interesting, we have not one or two but 4 different teachers, each with their own distinct teaching style. This makes for a lot of overlaps when it comes to review and material to be covered, but going over things multiple times will evntually drill it into our cerebral cortexes, so I say bring on the reptition.

We have now begun our Christmas break and we couldn’t be more ready for it. This will give us a little time to catch up on doing those things we’ve been neglecting for the past month and allow us some time to relax. To actually celebrate Christmas we are cooking up a veritable feast on Sunday night and having a kind of slumber party at the Keens’ apartment. We will wake up Monday morning similarly to the family-style we’ve been used to and race to the tree to shake and ooh and ahhh all our gifts. (We have been forced to put a time-restrainer on Christie, whose idea of Christmas morning is sprinting out of bed at 6am - a no-go for the rest of us). We are doing a Secret Santa gift exchange, each person having selected one of our names out of a hat, so this should make for some good times. Then we’re going to wallow in lazy indulgence for the rest of the day, plowing through a movie marathon and treating ourselves to the prized American edibles we have scored during our time here.

Well, I want to wish you all the best for Christmas, and I hope that you can surround yourselves with those who mean the most to you. May you find peace and rest over the next couple of weeks.

Love,

Graham