This week we have a group of Americans serving here in Czech. They are families of servicemen and women serving with NATO in Holland, Belgium and Germany. They have been visiting the English classes in the public schools, doing many work projects at the English school and the conference centre, and also having conversation with our English students at the English school. Being the first team that we have worked with that was not a SOS team; it is interesting for us to see a different team operate. And especially this one because it is a "family" team, ages ranging from one year to 50 years old.
Having gone from the hockey team leaving on Saturday to this team arriving on the same day, you can imagine how exhausted our missionary team here is! Please pray for us that God would rejuvenate us and give us rest! With a busy schedule, and with our family still adjusting to a new life and a new way of doing things, it can be difficult to find time for rest and family time, etc...
Hopefully in the next week and a half we will have a newsletter out again...time permitting!
Thanks for your prayers!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Jahoda, our pet
Our kids have been wanting a pet so badly since we moved here. And we have been telling them that when we get settled and if God gives us a house someday, we can get a pet. But we also told them that they can pray about it and maybe God will say 'yes' to their prayers and give them one sooner.
Today their prayers were answered. I was excited the other day because they had fresh strawberries at the grocery store in Hlinsko, so I bought some. Today I was washing them and cutting them up for Hannah and Grace to snack on, and I was surprised to see a snail snacking on them first! Naturally, Hannah being the all-things-slimy-expert, declared that he should be out pet now and live with us because he didn't have parents anymore.
We had just been practicing some Czech words with the girls and "jahoda" was one they were learning. It is Czech for strawberry. And so for the price of a pack of strawberries, we not only got a great healthy snack, but we also got a pet! Meet Jahoda the snail...
Today their prayers were answered. I was excited the other day because they had fresh strawberries at the grocery store in Hlinsko, so I bought some. Today I was washing them and cutting them up for Hannah and Grace to snack on, and I was surprised to see a snail snacking on them first! Naturally, Hannah being the all-things-slimy-expert, declared that he should be out pet now and live with us because he didn't have parents anymore.
We had just been practicing some Czech words with the girls and "jahoda" was one they were learning. It is Czech for strawberry. And so for the price of a pack of strawberries, we not only got a great healthy snack, but we also got a pet! Meet Jahoda the snail...
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Winter Windows
This might be silly, but I have been looking at this all day and I think it is so beautiful! I'm not a photographer, so I didn't quite capture how it looks exactly, but maybe you'll get the idea...
The icicles have now almost reached the growing pile of snow on the window ledge. We have been getting pummeled with snow so much lately that I feel like I am back in Wingham! It's terrible to drive in here because the roads have little maintenance, but it sure is pretty to look at!
The icicles have now almost reached the growing pile of snow on the window ledge. We have been getting pummeled with snow so much lately that I feel like I am back in Wingham! It's terrible to drive in here because the roads have little maintenance, but it sure is pretty to look at!
Powerful, Powerful Prayer
I have been feeling from the beginning of this trip that I was supposed to share a bit of my testimony. There were a couple of meetings with the team where I thought it was perhaps the time, but it just didn't happen. Then yesterday Faith mentioned that she felt like God was telling her that someone on our team was supposed to share something during the concert we would have with the campers. I knew that was me, and that it was time. Usually when I share my testimony I don't get specific with how my dad died, but I felt like I needed to this time. I just wasn't sure what the point was that I needed to make with it all. Faith and I prayed together before and I just trusted that God would give me the words...
The song before I spoke was "Mighty to Save" and one specific line in the song is very simple, but very powerful, "Everyone needs forgiveness." And I knew that was the point I needed to make. I shared that 21 years ago on the 16th of this month my dad was murdered. Those words are still difficult to say, especially in that setting. I shared how years ago, my heart was turning black because of the unforgiveness that I was holding for the person who did this. And how unforgiveness takes our life away. I shared how seven years ago I was walking around the lake on the very property where everyone is staying, and I knew it was time for me to forgive. I told God that I didn't have the ablility on my own to forgive, but that He needed to give me the forgivness. In His mercy He gave me forgiveness and I heart has healed. For certain there are two people in that room who that message was for, and I invited whoever to talk to me about forgiveness. I pray that God would continue to press on their hearts and that they would come to the place where they can talk, and forgive. And by forgiving, they can be forgiven.
Please continue to pray. I know that there are so many of you praying for us, and I hope that this encourages you that God's ear is open and his Hand is moving. Prayer is powerful and right now I have this picture of prayers for this little town being offered up like incense and they are sweet to our Lord.
May His work here continue!
The song before I spoke was "Mighty to Save" and one specific line in the song is very simple, but very powerful, "Everyone needs forgiveness." And I knew that was the point I needed to make. I shared that 21 years ago on the 16th of this month my dad was murdered. Those words are still difficult to say, especially in that setting. I shared how years ago, my heart was turning black because of the unforgiveness that I was holding for the person who did this. And how unforgiveness takes our life away. I shared how seven years ago I was walking around the lake on the very property where everyone is staying, and I knew it was time for me to forgive. I told God that I didn't have the ablility on my own to forgive, but that He needed to give me the forgivness. In His mercy He gave me forgiveness and I heart has healed. For certain there are two people in that room who that message was for, and I invited whoever to talk to me about forgiveness. I pray that God would continue to press on their hearts and that they would come to the place where they can talk, and forgive. And by forgiving, they can be forgiven.
Please continue to pray. I know that there are so many of you praying for us, and I hope that this encourages you that God's ear is open and his Hand is moving. Prayer is powerful and right now I have this picture of prayers for this little town being offered up like incense and they are sweet to our Lord.
May His work here continue!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Oh yeah...
Oh yeah, maybe I should also post a photo of me teaching in one of my classes! I know the visuals help you picture our life...and even when you are praying it can help!
L-R: Klara, Ivana, Lucka and Jarda. Lucka and Klara are two students that I feel a deeper connection with. Lucka will be at the English camp this week, and I have no idea where she is spiritually. Please pray that I (or anyone on the team) will have the opportunity to get to know her better!
SOS Hockey Team
We are really excited about this week! Only the first two days have come and gone, but we see God moving and stirring not only in the hearts of the team, but we feel in our spirits that He is going to do some great things here this week.
This blog is a reminder and a request for your extra prayers during the next six days. We are praying to see a real harvest over the next few days. Many of the people we will minister to this week know Who we are about, however we are praying that this will be the time that they want Who we are about in their lives!
The next three days we will be doing a camp at the Conference Centre for orphan kids, English students and the youth group from our church. The week will also include work projects at the church/Engligh school, and of course hockey games! Please, keep these areas in prayer, prayer, prayer!
Pray for relationships among the team members.
Pray for the team's hearts to be soft to the Holy Spirit's leading and prompting.
Pray for the hearts of the campers to be soft to the Holy Spirit's calling.
Pray for the hockey team's relationships with the Czech teams to be deepened.
Pray that as a result of those relationships, some of the Czech's who have been "hanging around the cross" would lay down at the foot of the cross.
Pray for energy and strength for the team.
Pray for good communication and teamwork among the missionary team.
And pray as the Lord leads you!
Blessings!
This blog is a reminder and a request for your extra prayers during the next six days. We are praying to see a real harvest over the next few days. Many of the people we will minister to this week know Who we are about, however we are praying that this will be the time that they want Who we are about in their lives!
The next three days we will be doing a camp at the Conference Centre for orphan kids, English students and the youth group from our church. The week will also include work projects at the church/Engligh school, and of course hockey games! Please, keep these areas in prayer, prayer, prayer!
Pray for relationships among the team members.
Pray for the team's hearts to be soft to the Holy Spirit's leading and prompting.
Pray for the hearts of the campers to be soft to the Holy Spirit's calling.
Pray for the hockey team's relationships with the Czech teams to be deepened.
Pray that as a result of those relationships, some of the Czech's who have been "hanging around the cross" would lay down at the foot of the cross.
Pray for energy and strength for the team.
Pray for good communication and teamwork among the missionary team.
And pray as the Lord leads you!
Blessings!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Free Heat
I think this is great. We live on the third floor of our apartment building. As I am sure you are aware, heat rises! As a result, we have turned on our heat maybe one time in the past two and a half weeks! It really is incredible how warm it is...especially on a day like today. It is pretty snowy and cold out and we are toasty and warm in our little home, without having to even turn on any heat!
Another thought, I think I like not having a clothes dryer! This really surprised me because I was kind of dreading not having one. Even though the clothes rack takes up space in the living room and doesn't match the decor, and even though my jeans feel like sandpaper when I put them on, it actually feels great to hang dry all our clothes!
Teaching is WAY more exhausting than I imagined it would be! At the end of the four hours, I feel like my head is just swimming! I didn't know that teaching something that you use everyday without even thinking about it would take so much thought! I do enjoy my classes though. There are a few students that I feel a deeper connection with, and I hope that I will be able to connect with them outside of the classroom and begin a friendship with. Just as an interesting fyi, two of my students (they are married to each other) are bee-keepers! I don't think I have personally met a bee keeper before so I thought that was neat. They have about 40 bee colonies and they get stung all the time.
I continue to be amazed at how Jody is picking up Czech. He seems to understand and speak way more each day.
Our trip to Austria went well. It was a beautiful drive and a nice time to spend together! It wasn't a sight seeing trip though: we went to the embassy, filed our paperwork, and came home. Still, it was fun to just have been to the country now. We are praying that our long term visa paperwork will be approved by the end of April when our short term visas expire.
Only four more days until the hockey team from Canada arrives!
Another thought, I think I like not having a clothes dryer! This really surprised me because I was kind of dreading not having one. Even though the clothes rack takes up space in the living room and doesn't match the decor, and even though my jeans feel like sandpaper when I put them on, it actually feels great to hang dry all our clothes!
Teaching is WAY more exhausting than I imagined it would be! At the end of the four hours, I feel like my head is just swimming! I didn't know that teaching something that you use everyday without even thinking about it would take so much thought! I do enjoy my classes though. There are a few students that I feel a deeper connection with, and I hope that I will be able to connect with them outside of the classroom and begin a friendship with. Just as an interesting fyi, two of my students (they are married to each other) are bee-keepers! I don't think I have personally met a bee keeper before so I thought that was neat. They have about 40 bee colonies and they get stung all the time.
I continue to be amazed at how Jody is picking up Czech. He seems to understand and speak way more each day.
Our trip to Austria went well. It was a beautiful drive and a nice time to spend together! It wasn't a sight seeing trip though: we went to the embassy, filed our paperwork, and came home. Still, it was fun to just have been to the country now. We are praying that our long term visa paperwork will be approved by the end of April when our short term visas expire.
Only four more days until the hockey team from Canada arrives!
Friday, February 6, 2009
A million updates
It feels like a long time since I have been able to sit down and write an update on here...great news though: we have internet at home! So, now I will be able to keep you updated regularly. As you can imagine, so many things have happened. I'll try to give you as much info as possible, but it might be a little scattered!
We arrived almost two weeks ago to Hlinsko. It was a relief to walk into our apartment and our friends had made our beds and had food in the refrigerator! It wasn't an "early to bed" kind of night however; we had people stopping by welcoming us here until almost midnight! Even though we were so tired, it was an instant confirmation of why we are here. Seeing Czech friends and our missionary friends right away was a wonderful thing!
Honestly, for me (Rachael) the first few days were very difficult. Hannah was very sick and I was recovering from being sick as well, so initially it was hard to adjust. It was very different to see Czech through "I live here now" eyes as opposed to, "I'm here for a week" eyes. I think being sick though was the biggest reason that it was so difficult. I really just wanted Lipton Chicken soup and my Canadian bed:)There were other difficulties too. For example, when I realized that although I had been in Czech grocery stores, I had never shopped for things like vanilla, shortening, vinegar, baking soda, etc... Try standing in a grocery store in the spice section with a Czech/English dictionary looking for all the different spices you use: it is not easy! Another thing is that most stores here close at 5 pm. When you are used to having some store open at almost any time, it is difficult to adjust your mind set! And of course, not being able to speak the language yet is always difficult.
Then there is the issue of our paperwork, we have had two weeks of going to the foreign police to make sure that we have all our paperwork, then going back to Prague to get some paperwork "super legalized", then going to a notary and having our paperwork notarized. Now on Monday we have to go to the Embassy in Austria to "officially file" our long term visa paperwork. We are very thankful for our friends here who know so much about the process and are able to help us complete it. Please pray for our trip to Austria on Monday that we would have safe trip and that we would have favour with the officials.
Jody is enjoying playing hockey with the Hlinsko Skulls. They had a "contract signing" where they made him sign a contract saying that he will play with them until he is 100 years old:) It seems that they are very happy to have him, not only because he is a "Canadian hockey player", but also because they are genuinely interested in friendship with him. He has had many opportunities outside of the rink to continue to build relationships with his teammates.
Friday was Jody's third game with the team and although he had gotten some assists with the team before, he scored his first goal as a Skull. After he scored, the team captain Filip (in the photo bellow) picked up the puck and presented it to him. It is our prayer that God would continue to connect and build relationships between him and the team.
Last week, I taught my first English classes. I teach two classes on Tuesday and two classes on Thursday. Each class is two hours long. Before my first class I was so nervous that if someone had an airplane in front of me with a free ticket back to Canada I would have taken it! But within minutes of beginning, my nerves were settled and I really enjoyed it. Thankfully, both of my classes are the same level, which means that I prepare one lesson and use it for both classes. Between the two classes I have 23 students, and I pray that every one of them will see Jesus in me and be open to knowing Him too. Although I am there to share Jesus, the classroom is not an open forum for sharing about Him. Please pray that I will be able to build relationships with the students outside of the classroom so that I will be able to share more about the Hope that is living within me. I will be able to post a photo of me in the classroom later, so check back for that!
We have found a car and bought it! We are thankful for Christer who helped us through all the details of that. In Czech, you cannot always trust what the odometer says, so finding a car that is true to the kilometres listed can be difficult. Without being able to know for sure, you have to rely on how God leads you. There was another car that we were on our way to buy that the guy sold about 20 minutes before we got there. Although we were disappointed, we figured maybe that wasn't the one God had for us. Two days later, we found a 2000 Ford Focus wagon with 113,000 Kms. Even though that is low mileage for its age, the body and interior's use is consistent with that mileage. We pray that God would bless the life of this car and that it would be a blessing to us and in our ministry here!
We have almost been here for two weeks and it is really starting to feel like home. Our girls are beginning to really enjoy it here and settle in nicely. They look forward to starting preschool and learning more Czech. We are also excited because it looks like we will have a really good Czech tutor for us. Jody is picking up the language very quickly, but I am having more difficulty with it. I hope that this will change, however with a tutor!
The SOS Canada hockey team will be arriving in Czech on Saturday! We are looking forward to seeing people from home and ministering with them! We are praying for travel blessings and a spiritual harvest here in Hlinsko!
One pastor who has an incredible heart for Czech is praying for Hlinsko to be a place that God inhabits. Right now, this is our number one prayer for our hearts, our home, and our town. "Lord prepare me, to be a Sanctuary!" is the song of our hearts. If you pray one thing for us right now, please pray that God would inhabit, with the fullness of Him, our hearts, our efforts and in turn He would inhabit this town!
Thanks, as always for your support and prayers! We are blessed to have some wonderful people supporting us and praying for us. We love you and miss you all!
We arrived almost two weeks ago to Hlinsko. It was a relief to walk into our apartment and our friends had made our beds and had food in the refrigerator! It wasn't an "early to bed" kind of night however; we had people stopping by welcoming us here until almost midnight! Even though we were so tired, it was an instant confirmation of why we are here. Seeing Czech friends and our missionary friends right away was a wonderful thing!
Honestly, for me (Rachael) the first few days were very difficult. Hannah was very sick and I was recovering from being sick as well, so initially it was hard to adjust. It was very different to see Czech through "I live here now" eyes as opposed to, "I'm here for a week" eyes. I think being sick though was the biggest reason that it was so difficult. I really just wanted Lipton Chicken soup and my Canadian bed:)There were other difficulties too. For example, when I realized that although I had been in Czech grocery stores, I had never shopped for things like vanilla, shortening, vinegar, baking soda, etc... Try standing in a grocery store in the spice section with a Czech/English dictionary looking for all the different spices you use: it is not easy! Another thing is that most stores here close at 5 pm. When you are used to having some store open at almost any time, it is difficult to adjust your mind set! And of course, not being able to speak the language yet is always difficult.
Then there is the issue of our paperwork, we have had two weeks of going to the foreign police to make sure that we have all our paperwork, then going back to Prague to get some paperwork "super legalized", then going to a notary and having our paperwork notarized. Now on Monday we have to go to the Embassy in Austria to "officially file" our long term visa paperwork. We are very thankful for our friends here who know so much about the process and are able to help us complete it. Please pray for our trip to Austria on Monday that we would have safe trip and that we would have favour with the officials.
Jody is enjoying playing hockey with the Hlinsko Skulls. They had a "contract signing" where they made him sign a contract saying that he will play with them until he is 100 years old:) It seems that they are very happy to have him, not only because he is a "Canadian hockey player", but also because they are genuinely interested in friendship with him. He has had many opportunities outside of the rink to continue to build relationships with his teammates.
Friday was Jody's third game with the team and although he had gotten some assists with the team before, he scored his first goal as a Skull. After he scored, the team captain Filip (in the photo bellow) picked up the puck and presented it to him. It is our prayer that God would continue to connect and build relationships between him and the team.
Last week, I taught my first English classes. I teach two classes on Tuesday and two classes on Thursday. Each class is two hours long. Before my first class I was so nervous that if someone had an airplane in front of me with a free ticket back to Canada I would have taken it! But within minutes of beginning, my nerves were settled and I really enjoyed it. Thankfully, both of my classes are the same level, which means that I prepare one lesson and use it for both classes. Between the two classes I have 23 students, and I pray that every one of them will see Jesus in me and be open to knowing Him too. Although I am there to share Jesus, the classroom is not an open forum for sharing about Him. Please pray that I will be able to build relationships with the students outside of the classroom so that I will be able to share more about the Hope that is living within me. I will be able to post a photo of me in the classroom later, so check back for that!
We have found a car and bought it! We are thankful for Christer who helped us through all the details of that. In Czech, you cannot always trust what the odometer says, so finding a car that is true to the kilometres listed can be difficult. Without being able to know for sure, you have to rely on how God leads you. There was another car that we were on our way to buy that the guy sold about 20 minutes before we got there. Although we were disappointed, we figured maybe that wasn't the one God had for us. Two days later, we found a 2000 Ford Focus wagon with 113,000 Kms. Even though that is low mileage for its age, the body and interior's use is consistent with that mileage. We pray that God would bless the life of this car and that it would be a blessing to us and in our ministry here!
We have almost been here for two weeks and it is really starting to feel like home. Our girls are beginning to really enjoy it here and settle in nicely. They look forward to starting preschool and learning more Czech. We are also excited because it looks like we will have a really good Czech tutor for us. Jody is picking up the language very quickly, but I am having more difficulty with it. I hope that this will change, however with a tutor!
The SOS Canada hockey team will be arriving in Czech on Saturday! We are looking forward to seeing people from home and ministering with them! We are praying for travel blessings and a spiritual harvest here in Hlinsko!
Here is a view from our apartment window, just so you see what we look at everyday!
And here is another view. If you click on the photo and look closely between the two buildings, you can see the hockey arena (the green and white building). Very appropriate I think that an important place of ministry for Jody is not only so close, but visual for us to pray over every day!
One pastor who has an incredible heart for Czech is praying for Hlinsko to be a place that God inhabits. Right now, this is our number one prayer for our hearts, our home, and our town. "Lord prepare me, to be a Sanctuary!" is the song of our hearts. If you pray one thing for us right now, please pray that God would inhabit, with the fullness of Him, our hearts, our efforts and in turn He would inhabit this town!
Thanks, as always for your support and prayers! We are blessed to have some wonderful people supporting us and praying for us. We love you and miss you all!
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