National Holidays!

The Prague National Museum, taken during a stunning sunset (which you can just about see in the windows) yesterday.

The 5th and 6th July are national holidays in the Czech Republic.  On Friday I still had class and the 6th was a Saturday so I'm not really sure how they are celebrated, except there were a few more Czech flags around the place.

July 5th is a day when Saints Cyril and Methodius are celebrated.  They were Greek brothers who were sent to this part of Europe in the 9th Century when the people of the region asked to hear the truth of the Gospel in their own language.  So Cyril and Methodius came and invented an alphabet (the Cyrillic alphabet!) and shared the Gospel.  

June 6th is Jan Hus day.  Above is his statue in the centre of Prague, I probably have better photos somewhere on this hard drive but for now this quick snap taken a couple of days ago will have to suffice!

Jan Hus was a Czech priest who is considered the first reformer of the church, being on the scene a century before Luther.  Jan Hus was a great preacher and called for reformation in the Catholic church.  On July 6th 1415 he was burnt at the stake by the Catholic church for being a heretic.  

In my Czech class the teacher was asked what these men were famous for and he couldn't really give an answer, except that Jan Hus also reformed the Czech language, introducing all the little accents above letters.  

This country has such a glorious and rich history of the Gospel, dating back centuries.  Prague is called the City of One Hundred Spires (although the actual count is probably more like five hundred).  They have days to celebrate the great Christians of the past.  And yet there are young people living here, in the most atheistic country in Europe, who have never heard the Gospel.

I'm praying that God would yet again raise up people in this nation who will proclaim the true Gospel, that people would respond to it, and that it would transform this land.

Photo Friday

Saturday - it was crazy good to spend time with the Haskews in England on my two day layover.  And apparently this is the only photo I took!  There's a photo of Jo and I somewhere but these homemade Welsh cakes were pretty amazing!

Sunday - I arrived in Prague!  And took a walk to figure out where my class is held.

This week I'm staying with some fellow JV missionaries, the Chestnuts, and here their dog is helping me study Czech by providing moral support.

Tram lines and blue sky as I waited for the tram home on Tuesday.

Wednesday was a little more rainy - I was amused by my colour co-ordination as I waited for the morning tram.

Thursday - going over just the notes from that day's class!  

Friday - my view of class, taken during the break.

First Wednesday of the Month

The view of the river from where I'm currently staying.

At noon today, the first Wednesday of the month, class was interrupted as words came out of a loudspeaker that must have been close by... because a moment later when a siren started that lasted over two minutes, class was temporarily stopped because we couldn't hear each other.  After the siren there were more Czech words and then we could continue.

I think a lot of the class were rather confused, but then I realised what was happening - something I've heard about before but never heard myself.  On the first Wednesday of each month at noon there is a test of the air raid sirens across the Czech Republic.  I guess that before I've either not been around the first Wednesday of the month or I've been away from towns.  

I don't know how often they are actually used apart from being tested - from a brief google search someone remembers them being used when the floodwaters broke the banks of the river shown above in Prague in 2002.

My teacher commented that he remembered the Cold War and them being used a lot more.

Just something else I'm sure I'll get used to!

Two full days in!

Well, today has been my second full day in Czech, and my second day of my language course.  Things are going really well!

From 9 - 1:15 I have my language course, and sometimes there are afternoon activities.  Yesterday and today though there weren't so I spent time buying stuff I need or studying.  

There are twelve other people from all over the world in my class and we're all there for different reasons.  We've quickly learnt to laugh at ourselves and each other, an important quality as you learn a language and make a million mistakes.

There is so much to learn and go over after class each day, and I'm trying to make the most of this time so dedicated to language learning.  This does mean it's very mentally tiring and, at just 9:25pm I'm writing this blog post but struggling to keep my eyes open and my brain is questioning how I'm spelling each word!  A normal feeling in the language learning process!

I'm so thankful to be here and am loving being in the beautiful city of Prague!  I'm grateful that it feels so normal to be walking around, hopping on trams, buying groceries, making dinner... living life and just being here.

I hope to send out a prayer update soon and please forgive me if I am slower at replying to messages.

Departure Day!

After two days in England with the amazing Haskews this morning I find myself in Heathrow airport departing for Prague.

And I can't quite believe it.  

As I left Northern Ireland on Friday it seemed so surreal.  Back when I was at the start of the support raising process we thought it would be amazing if I could be on the field by September of this year, and it would be insane if I could be out by the summer.  There were definitely times when it didn't feel like it was going to be possible.

And then we found a language course that started on July 1st in Prague and it looked great and we wondered if it would be possible...  and started praying that God would provide for it if that's what His plan way.

Tomorrow morning, I start that course.  

I am so grateful and in awe of God, and how He has worked throughout this process and has been shaping and equipping me for all that lies ahead.  

And I could not be on my way to Prague without all of you.   Without your support, prayers, encouragement I would not be on this flight to Czech.  So thank you.  Thank you for your partnership in this work.  Thank you for being part of this movement of God in central and eastern Europe!

I am so excited to continue to tell the stories of the amazing things God is doing as He transforms Europe and as He transforms me.  

Photo Friday

Saturday - packing up my possessions and getting rid of stuff meant I rapidly got to the point where I just wanted to burn everything I owned rather than make another leave/pack/ship/donate/bin decision.

Sunday - being commissioned in my home church, such an amazing moment.

Monday - the sunset at White Rock beach at the North Coast where I spent time with Rose!

Tuesday - on our way down from the North Coast we stopped at the Dark Hedges.  This was my third time there, I think, and it is always so beautiful.  I don't currently have pictures of us on my laptop so these photos will have to summarise it!

Wednesday - on Tuesday night my dad helped me pack up the stuff I'll ship to Czech in a month or so - winter clothes, books, some household stuff.  It seemed so unreal to see the boxes sitting there with my life inside them.

How I often spend time with the animals: Daisy, my cat, likes to sit on me and Sandy is never far away.

Friday - a lunch time departure to Heathrow so I can be in England with friends for a couple of days.  So weird!

Photo Friday

Saturday - babysitting for the Bowmans!  Love little Selah.

Sunday night - a youth service in the church, this was during the practice before the start.  They all rocked it!  

Monday - I thought I was going out to get Mexican food with a friend and was so surprised by all these beautiful ladies!  I will remember this night for a long time and I am ao thankful that they chose to bless me in this way.

Tuesday - I got my computer back! Hooray!

Wednesday - writing my will!

Sandy checking out whatever I'm eating, surrounded by my packing.

Friday - I used this phone to book one way flights to the Czech Republic!  So exciting!