Lessons from Wellie Boots

I bought these wellie boots one rainy afternoon in Cardiff and I remember trudging to lectures in snow in them and, last winter, wearing them as I flew down hills on plastic bin liners…

It seemed like a good idea to bring them here with me but I didn’t clean them before I shoved them in a box for shipping. And then I wore them a lot at the rainy Fall Conference.

So now, as they sit in my entryway, they have both Northern Irish mud and Czech mud on them.

And maybe I should clean them and restore them to their original purple but for now they seem like a good analogy of my life – bits of Northern Ireland (and Cardiff) and bits of Czech all mixed together. Memories and experiences from various places all making me who I am.

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today I posted this photo. I was all packed up and getting on a plane (and spending many hours on those planes) to go to JV Orientation in Illinois as I'd been accepted as a missionary with Josiah Venture a few weeks before.

Orientation felt like the official start of the support raising and training journey and it was such a joy to meet people who are now friends and co-labourers, who are on the field or completing their support raising and training before moving onto the field.

Tonight I've been spending time studying Czech and doing my homework before my lesson in the morning. And next Thursday marks four months of living in this beautiful country.

I am in awe of God's faithfulness on this journey - He who called me to the Czech Republic has faithfully provided each step of the way . 

And He has provided through so many of you as you partner with me in this movement of God through your prayers, financial support, encouragement and friendship. Thank you so much for your partnership! 

I am so excited to continue to tell stories of God's faithfulness in my life and as He works in this part of the world!

Paperwork Prayers

I've had to complete a lot of paperwork in moving to another country. At one point I needed to go to Prague to pick up a piece of paper saying that I didn't have a criminal record. I got the piece of paper and it was accepted and everything was great! That meant I could start paying rent so it was a good thing!

Then, a week later, I got a call saying the piece of paper wasn't enough. That meant I'd probably have to start a process in NI for the "I don't have a criminal record" paperwork, and possibly have to go back to NI! 

I was definitely ok that she made the "mistake" as it meant I could start paying rent etc! And as it was their mistake they weren't going to revoke the paperwork, I just had to get more "evidence". I told the woman I'd go into the office to talk to her.

When I did, two days later, she had received a letter that day saying that under new legislation European Union citizens could now get their criminal record checks done in Czech!

So, because they accepted the "wrong" paperwork and because I went in two days after the lady called me I didn't have to go back to NI but I went two doors down the corridor! And instead of paying a lot of money (and a flight!) it was £3.

Before I went to the lady I had written it down as a prayer request to include in my next update, that all the paperwork would go smoothly, and God had answered it before I even hit send! So grateful!

Making Pancakes out of Buttermilk

One of the fun things about living in my town is that I am just a five minute walk from Poland. My favourite shop to buy groceries in, if only because it's my favourite walk-to-a-shop route, is in Poland.

I am learning Czech, but I am not learning Polish. Half the songs sung in church on a Sunday morning are in Polish and I don't even understand how the alphabet works! This hadn't been a problem up until this point.

Anyway, I needed to buy some things and bought some milk too. I went home and poured some milk in my cereal and.. the milk looked a little thick but I didn't think of anything of it.

Until I tasted it.

It wasn't milk.

It was buttermilk.

And it was gross.

So, I laughed about it and posted it on facebook so many others could laugh too and share their own variants of buying buttermilk stories.

You've heard the expression "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade" - while, taking my inspiration from that I made some pancakes out of my buttermilk, some very good pancakes!

(We'll completely overlook the fact I bought the wrong kind of sugar in a Czech shop for the pancakes, they still tasted good.)

Learning a new language and living in new countries are definitely humbling experiences but I'm grateful for a sense of humour and good pancakes and both of those definitely help!

A Year Ago!

A year ago yesterday I was at Brejlov at third term training before my last camp of the summer.  And over breakfast I was formally invited to apply to join the Josiah Venture family!  You can read a bit more about the process of me joining JV here.  

Today marks five weeks of me living in Czech!

And tomorrow I sign the official contract for my flat!

As I think about some of these milestones I am reminded that God is so good, and oh so faithful.  

A Pair of Ducks, Yays and Yucks

The sunset at Malenovice, Josiah Venture's training facility that is near where I'll be living and working.  It is such a beautiful part of the world!

Kori Strock is serving in the Czech Republic and she went to Missionary Training on the course before the one I was on.  She has written a wonderful piece of the paradox of heading overseas as a cross-cultural missionary that can be found here.  

Although some of the specifics are different, I'll be missing rainy Northern Ireland instead of Alaska, I found myself agreeing with so much of her post!  Please check it out if you have the time.

I am so excited about what God has called me to in Central and Eastern Europe!  But I'd be foolish to think there won't also be hard things - being so far from family and friends, learning a new language and other different things.  These hard things will make the joys greater and I know that God has called me to the hard things as much as the easy things.

I will strive to use this place to be authentic, to share with you the joys and the struggles of living and serving in Czech.  Thank you all so much for being a part of this journey and for your support and encouragement as I serve!