The Lewis Family In the Czech Republic

Czech .... the International Language

2011-10-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today we had a precious experience that was an incredible way to end our first term here in the Czech Republic....

Every Sunday at noon, the Russian Baptist Church (which consists of people from all Eastern European countries) meets at our building for their worship service. Our Czech Bible study group meets every Sunday evening at 6:00.

Today we combined our services and had a beautiful International service. We sang praises in English, Czech and Russian and also heard great sermons in those languages. Larry spoke in English and Lev (the Russian pastor) spoke in Russian and both were translated to Czech. It is funny to us for Czech to be the common language...we jokingly say it is the "mezinarodni jazyk" (the international language).

At one point my friend Radka leaned over and said, "All my life I heard from Russians that the US is the enemy,... and now today we are hearing the Word of God from an American and a Russian side by side.

There were about 75 to 80 people worshiping! About 1/3 of the people were from our group, 1/3 from the Russian church and 1/3 came from our church in Konstantinovy Lazne.

At the end of the service, the pastor from Konstantinovy Lazne gave a great challenge to the believers here, and then he said the kindest words to us and they prayed for us as we will be away for 6 months.

God blesses us in so many ways, but He has truly blessed us with precious Czech friends, and we will really miss them while we are in the States.

4 Amazing Years

2011-09-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

4 years ago (October 7, 2007) we said goodbye to friends and family, got on a plane in Atlanta, Georgia with our 18 pieces of luggage and began a new adventure in our lives....and what an adventure it has been!

In June 2009, we moved from Prague to Plzen with the goal of telling Czechs about Jesus, discipling new believers and starting a church. Honestly, in any culture it is a daunting task. But how incredible to watch God do something that only He can do...that is...to change the hearts of Czechs and in the process to stretch and grow our family as well.

In the past 4 years, we have seen several people recognize their need for a Savior and invite Christ into their lives, we have watched new believers grow in their faith, we have watched as God has orchestrated little details to make amazing things happen, we have been blessed immensely by mission teams who have come sacrificially to share Christ with Czechs and in the process spoil us.

Okay, the truth is sometimes the differences in cultures can be so aggravating, and learning the language is so difficult and honestly, sometimes we really miss our friends and family in the states, our old house in Pennsylvania, bologna-faced sandwiches from Grandma, our dog Sage, cheetos, tex-mex food....

...but what we have gotten in return has been so worth it.

English Camp Plzen 2011

2011-07-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

Picture 1-the children's class as Statues of Liberty
Picture 2- evening English conversation

This year we again offered an intensive English course to the people of Plzen. We met Monday through Friday 9-3:30 with about 120 people attending ages 5 and up. We had classes for all ages and language levels, and we also offered evening English conversation every evening and the room was packed every night.

27 people from Texas (Florida and Idaho) came to teach English, make relationships with Czechs and to share Christ's love. It was an incredible group and they were a huge blessing because they have such servant hearts, they were so flexible, and most of all they love the Czech people and really built relationships with them that will continue even overseas.

A few people accepted Christ as their Savior, and for us one of the best things was to watch the Czech believers speak out about their faith.

Family Camp in the Krkonose Mountains

2011-07-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

This year we were able to help our friends with a family English camp. We knew many of these families when we lived in Prague, so we were glad to help with this one. It was a great week. The theme was the Fruit of the Spirit so we played some very fruity games :-). Every morning we divided into groups and had English lessons, then in the afternoons we were free to explore the incredibly beautiful Krkonose Mountains. What an amazing Creator we have!! Every evening we came back together for some songs, skits and a testimony about one of the fruits of the Spirit. There were 40+ czechs plus 12 Americans. Corley Padgett and Robert Cooper came from Texas to help and they were awesome. It was a great week to talk about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that comes from a God who loves us!

Using football to share the love of Christ

2011-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

In June, 5 men came from Forney, Texas to spend a week with the Plzen Patriots. A few of them are coaches in Texas and some just like to play football, and they came to share their love of football and most importantly- God with the Plzen Patriots.

It really was an incredible week of building relationships with Zachary and Larry's teammates and also for sharing Christ with them. The Patriots loved it. They were so excited about the Americans who were willing to come teach them how to play football better.

The guys gave each player a bag of gifts (mouth guards, t-shirts, ... and a tract). The week after they left, Larry was on the field with the team and someone asked him some questions about what we believe about. He said, "Because, I've been reading this paper and ...." The second player, piped in and said, "Yeah I have it by my bed and I read it every night." The third player responded, "Yeah, but I keep it with me in my wallet, look here it is..."

So what do you like to do? play football? maybe something different? Whatever you like to do, enjoy it, but at the same time, use it for God wherever you are!

And if God lays it on your heart to come to Plzen for a week to use your talent/passion to reach Czechs... give us a call, we would love to have you!

Children's Day in Konstantinovy Lazne

2011-07-23T09:49:00.001-07:00

In a small spa town in western Czech (about 45 minutes from where we live) there is a baptist church that we attend as often as we can. The people there have been such a blessing to us. Every spring Czechs celebrate children's day and on this day our church sponsors a carnival in the park for the local children. This year, our family was able to go and teach archery. It was a big hit. The children and adults loved it!

One Amazing Day!

2011-07-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Victory in Europe and more importantly

Victoryin the lives of 2 incredible young ladies!

On May 8, we celebrated Larry's birthday, Mother's day and VE day in the best way...with the baptisms of Vera and Bara. Vera accepted Christ during the week of our 2010 English camp in Plzen. Bara,who had also attend our English camp, came to us a few months ago with many questions as she was searching for the Truth. Both have beautiful testimonies and are growing in Christ.

Take Aim!

2011-05-07T15:35:00.001-07:00

This semester Larry offered an archery course as an outreach to the community. Those attending really enjoy learning archery and Larry is able to share Christ with them and each week he teaches truths from God's Word that are related to archery.

Digging up our roots!

2011-05-07T15:23:00.001-07:00

Easter Monday, Larry and his parents went to Moravia (near the Slovakian border), to a village called Zadverice, to see where Larry's ancestors used to live. They were able to meet Ladislav Sebesta who is a distant cousin of Shirley. He took them to the original homestead where Pavel and Rosina Sebesta lived before moving to Texas in 1851.

Our children are the 7th generation from the generation that moved from the Czech lands to America. I guess it was time to come back to the Czech lands!!

Easter in Plzeň

2011-05-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

We began the Easter holiday with a Seder dinner. For most it was an unheard of event and they were very interested to learn more. It is such an awesome way to show that Jesus is our Passover Lamb! Several who attended had many questions and are really wanting to know more about Jesus.

On Sunday evening, we celebrated by first- telling the most amazing story ever-the story of Jesus!... and then we hid over 400 eggs in our yard. This is not a Czech tradition so it is really something special for them to participate in. The children and teens had so much fun looking for the eggs, then they hid some eggs for their parents and I think the parents had more fun looking for the eggs than the children. Larry's parents brought some great American candy to fill the eggs with!

Christmas in Czech

2011-01-04T07:29:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Christmas time in the Czech Republic...

1. Carp on the street corner ready to be taken home for Christmas dinner

2. Czech cukrovi (Christmas cookies) and the Nativity...2 important parts of a Czech Christmas

3. Live nativity at the town square

4. Laini's class play

2011-01-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

Celebrating what God has done in our lives...this year we invited our friends and neighbors to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. About 50 people joined us for turkey and lots of food, music, and some Thanksgiving traditions. Through a skit, we told the story of the first Thanksgiving. (We had great pilgrims and indians).

And we were so thankful for the new building in which to have this event. It would have been a little crowded in our house.

American Football in Plzeň???????

2011-01-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Plzeň has an American football team called the Patriots. Zachary is on the junior team (ages 15 -19). This was only the second year they have had a junior team and they took a year off in between, so their record wasn't so great, 0-6. But they had a lot of fun.

English, Coffee and Uganda = a great evening

2011-01-04T07:05:00.000-08:00

We offered our first "English Coffee House" and the special guest speaker was a local believer and geography professor with a love for Uganda. He just published a book (in English and Czech) about Uganda, "Pearl Rising from the Dust".

Larissa in Turkey

2011-01-04T06:42:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't say Larissa is a turkey, but she was in Turkey :-)

Along with a school from Hungary, Turkey and Germany, Larissa's class went to Torbali,Turkey to work on some European project together. It was a great opportunity for her; she was able to visit Ephesus and meet other students from all over Europe.

Fall Party with Friends

2011-01-04T06:19:00.001-08:00

We invited our friends and neighbors for some Fall fun!

Each child got to "Trick or Treat" at each inside door of our house. Then we had lots of games, food and fun and fellowship!

Christmas in October

2011-01-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

I would say that we had the most memorable Christmas ever! So what if our Christmas tree was a lamp, and the rest of our house was being prepared for a Fall party...Grandma and Aunt Mindy were here and after a great week with them... we enjoyed an awesome Christmas.

...perfume from Egypt, cool knives from Saudi Arabia, and great clothes from America :-) ...

but most of all- a fun time with 2 great people

10-10-10

2010-10-11T02:02:00.001-07:00

What a great day to celebrate! God did more than we could ask or imagine!

10-10-10 was the day of our first Worship Service in Plzen, Czech Republic.

41 local czechs (10 have been attending our weekly Bible study and the others came for the first time)

+14 people from our church in Konstantinovy Lazne came to support us. What a blessing that was!

+15 Americans (our family, 8 from Texas and an awesome couple that we are working with here in Plzen)

Our New Place!

2010-10-11T01:45:00.001-07:00

This month we have a new place to meet...in a great location...somewhere bigger than our living room, ...and made possible by a great God, prompting believers who are excited about what He is doing in Plzen, Czech Republic.

This week 8 people from Forney, Texas were here to help us celebrate what God is doing here.

Youth Group met on Thursday and about 22 czech teenagers/young adults enjoyed games, Bible study and worship in a great new place.

With no expectations on who would come...Friday we opened up the building for anyone who wanted to come hang out... and 45 people showed up and stayed for hours just talking, eating, and playing on the Wii. It was a great opportunity to continue building relationships here in Plzen.

English Camp Plzen 2010

2010-07-28T00:25:00.000-07:00

100 students - ages 4 to 74 - came this year to English Camp in Plzen. 16 incredible people from Forney, Texas came to teach English, build relationships with the Czechs, and most importantly to share Christ with them. We had 22 teachers total in 6 different classes ranging from beginners to advanced. In all of the classes, we had so many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ. To the advanced class, we offered the option to attend a discussion of what the Bible is all about. 14 people (teenagers and adults) attended this class.

Sharing the Best Story Ever!

2010-07-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Easter with lots of friends (30). We used the Resurrection Eggs to tell the Easter story in Czech and English. Then we enjoyed an incredible Easter egg hunt in our back yard with lots of children and 300 eggs, and a great meal together with friends. It was a great opportunity to share the most amazing story ever, and 2 families that came to the Easter party decided to come to our Bible study on Sunday evenings.

2010-02-09T00:46:00.000-08:00

Zachary and Larry recently had the opportunity to attend training in Michigan to become Centershot Archery instructors. Centershot is a Christian archery organization that is using archery to introduce people to Christ. We are very excited about the possibility of using archery here in the Czech Republic. We are thankful to Centershot Ministries, Mathews Archery, and Jay's Sporting Goods for donating equipment and training. Please pray that God will provide the remaining needed resources as well as a place. If you are interested in using the Centershot program in your church or community you can find more information at www.centershotministries.org

Trick-or-Treating for the 1st time

2009-11-19T12:00:00.001-08:00

This year, we invited our neighbors to "Trick or Treat" at our house for Halloween. It was very exciting to the families since this is not a Czech tradition. We had a fun "Fall party" with lots of activities. Laini dressed up like a Cowgirl. Larissa was a lunch-lady!!!

Success

2009-11-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was the 20th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the fall of communism, in the Czech Republic. To celebrate I went hunting and shot my first deer here. It is a Sika deer. I also got to meet and talk with some of the other hunters. All in all a great day.

Cowboy Poet

2009-11-11T04:14:00.000-08:00

Last week we had the pleasure of spending time with Lanny Joe and Cindy Burnett. Lanny Joe is a cowboy poet. We took him with us to visit the English classes in one of the Czech schools. The students loved it. Here's a video of a song we did.

www.lannyjoe.com

English Club and Bible Study

2009-11-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

In September we started an English Conversation Class in our home on Thursday evenings and a Bible Study on Sunday evenings. We had our "kick-off" while FBC Forney, TX was here.

The English Club has been so much fun with a different topic every week (anything from cowboys to families, to carving pumpkins.) We love the Czechs that come each week!

The Bible Study for now is in both languages (English/Czech) and it has been a true pleasure to hear from God's Word in both languages....to worship in Czech and English and to watch as people really begin to understand Who God is.

2009-11-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Baptism with the Czech church at Konstantinovy Lazne

This was a truly beautiful service.

English Camp in Plzen July, 2009

2009-11-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

65 Czechs attended our first English Camp in Plzen. 10 people came from FBC Forney, TX to teach. They did an awesome job. The team was able to share the gospel during the week, and it was incredible to watch as God was opening the hearts of Czechs to listen to the Good News of Jesus.

Cookies from Mistakes

2009-05-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday Night English Club - This English lesson was on Homophones and the Bible lesson was about how God changed Paul's life. So this trick was great for both... Zachary made cookies from flower (not flour), coke (soda not baking soda), chips (potato not chocolate) and an egg-and somehow got delicious chocolate chip cookies. God can take our mistakes and make something beautiful!!

Larissa's Violin Recital

2009-05-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of going to the Alps in Italy with our Czech friends! (3 other families) It was a wonderful trip. The skiing was great, the time with our friends was wonderful, the time with our family was a blessing, and the Sunshine was perfect!

Laini Zachary

Larissa and Tobias (who loves her)

The trip to Italy

2009-03-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

It is still amazing to us that we can be to the mountains in Italy in less than the time it takes to get from Pennsylvania to Virginia.

Here we are -stuck on the "fast" German Autobahn. The kids were so excited to see snow just an hour outside of Prague. Prague is always cloudy and cold, but we don't get much snow.

We always enjoy seeing the towers and castles built in the mountainside along the way.

Zachary, Larissa and Laini in Switzerland. Switzerland was incredibly beautiful.

Carp for Christmas Eve!

2009-01-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

A few days before Christmas, you can buy carp from one of these vendors all over Prague.

Then they live in your bathtub until it is time to cook Christmas Eve dinner (carp and potato salad). This is William and Mary.

Czech Christmas Traditions

2009-01-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, we enjoyed some fun Czech traditions...

(1) We loved shopping at the Christmas markets on the squares!

(2) Mikulas comes on the evening of December 5 to bring gifts to good children. Laini enjoyed singing to this Mikulas in exchange for a piece of candy. Last year she sang an American song, but this year she sang in czech -Kocka Leze Diru.

(3) Families float candles (made in walnut shells) in water and determine their next year's luck by whether or not their candle floats or sinks. We just thought they looked beautiful on our Christmas table.

(4) Cukrovi (Christmas cookies) are very important!!!

(5) And of course-you must have a live tree!! It is funny to me to carry a tree through the streets of Prague and then up an elevator.

Christmas in Čechy

2008-12-24T00:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Here's Our Christmas Message to You!!!!!!

Laini's First Czech Christmas Performance

2008-12-22T01:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas play at the Baptist Church in Prague.

(Laini is the one in purple)

Vysoke Myto

2008-12-22T01:23:00.000-08:00

Last week, Team Bohemia went to the Czech church in Vysoke Myto to serve them some authentic American food!!! - tacos

We are sure that the Czech people enjoyed the tacos, but we also were extremely blessed to worship with these wonderful people. (This is the church that runs the English camp we helped with this summer.) They are wonderful people.

The Violinist!!!

2008-12-21T13:59:00.002-08:00

Larissa's Christmas Violin Recital 2008

Fall Fest!!!!

2008-12-21T13:59:00.001-08:00

In November the children at English Club enjoyed a great Fall Fest with lots of games, balloons, face painting.

Zachary making balloon animals.

Lucy and Denisa.

Radek and Vilem eating the apple on a string. (It is more challenging than it looks!)

The Walls Around Us!!!

2008-10-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

We are standing in front of the only section left of the Plzen wall. The rest of the wall was torn down to modernize the city a few hundred years ago. That modernization along with forced Catholization followed by communism and finally western materialism have left new walls. These walls are around the hearts of the people.

Please pray with us as we look towards the future in Plzen, and begin to seek ways to break through the walls.

Ask and you shall receive!

2008-10-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

We had depleted our supply of books in English this summer...until... The awesome team from Montana came to help with English Camp. They asked if we needed anything, and since the kids (especially Larissa) had read everything in English we could find, we asked for some books. Wow! did we ever get books! Tricia Goyer (author and this MT mission team leader) asked if any of her author friends would like to donate some books. Thank you to everyone who sent books for us. What an incredible gift to us. We have been sharing the books with many other M's and enjoying them for ourselves.

Our First Year!!!

2008-10-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

Our first, incredible year in the Czech Republic:

-We've learned another language (Well we are working on it!).

-We made some funny language mistakes and learned that Czech people are pretty gracious.

-We bought food that wasn't what we thought it was.

-We've spent way too much time together in this apartment and we learned what we like and don't like about each other!

-Zachary has been to Greece, Hungary and the USA by himself.

-We went skiing in Austria.
-Larry earned his hunting license and gun permit in Czech.

-We have met some awesome Czech Friends!!

-Melissa teaches English to 1st and 2nd grade Czech kids and loves them.

-We had a very Czech vacation to Croatia (tent in the hot sun included!)

-Laini got a wonderful rabbit named Yeti.

-Larissa and Larry hiked 23 km (14mi) in one day

-We have been able to share the love of God with people from another culture in another language

- We have learned how awesome God is!!!

Sunday in Vysoke Myto

2008-08-26T01:12:00.000-07:00

The Sunday before English Camp, we were able to worship in Vysoke Myto at a small Czech church. This church organizes the English camp that we helped in. It was an incredible experience to get to know these precious people that week. They have incredible testimonies and have been faithful to God even in the midst of some tough situations.

Larry began preaching in Czech and Gabriela interpreted to English and then Larry switched to English and she switched to Czech!

(Larry preaching and Gabi interpreting)

Camping in Paradise!

2008-08-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

In July, we were able to go camping with our team (Team Bohemia). We went to Cesky Raj ("Czech Paradise") in the northern part of the country...and it truly was amazingly beautiful. Everyone enjoyed it so much.

God has blessed us with a super team and we are so thankful for them. The Johnsons serve in Hradec Kralove (in eastern Bohemia) and the Youngs serve in Jihlava (in southern Bohemia) and we will soon be serving in western Bohemia.

Seed Spitting contest -won by Ginger! Wow, she can really spit!!!

A week in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea

2008-07-16T07:16:00.001-07:00

We were invited by some Czech friends to spend the week on the Island Rab, off of the coast of Croatia. It is about a 12 hour drive from Prague. Without a doubt, Croatia is the most beautiful place we have been in the world so far.
We drove out of beautiful mountains and were at the crystal clear Adriatic Sea.

We had an incredible week. We spent our days on the beach or in the water- snorkling, and our evenings talking with our new friends. We stayed in a tent (but it had a small fridge and stovetop).

The Czech people were great. They were so encouraging of our language efforts. It was a super week for our learning. Because there is so much English spoken in Prague, sometimes it is difficult to finish a sentence in Czech...but in Croatia we were surrounded by hundreds of Czech speaking people. (Ironic)

We are so thankful for such an opportunity. We have come home with super memories and new friendships.

The Robber!

2008-07-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Larissa-the annoying reporter (she played the part well)
Zachary-detective David Green

This year, Zachary and Larissa have been involved in a drama club. The play and club was designed to teach Czech children English, but it was a great way for Zachary and Larissa to meet some Czech kids, hear some Czech ...and the teacher was glad to have native English speakers involved.

The play "The Robber" was set in New York City and was about a banker's wife who hired homeless people to rob her husband's bank, because she was trying to get his attention. It was a cute play and all of the kids did a super job. The Czech kids did a great job in a 2nd language.

When the play was over, I introduced my children to the lady beside us and she said, "wow, their English is super. Who taught them?" :-)

Pinata in Prague

2008-06-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

Melissa has been teaching English in a first grade class at a local school. It has been a great way to meet teachers and parents, and also has been super for language learning because the children have been so sweet and patient!!! Today was her last lesson. For her final class she had a party and a pinata. It was quite a treat because not many people here have seen a pinata before. The kids and parents have been very appreciative and they have asked her to teach again next year.

Violin

2008-06-11T03:53:00.000-07:00

This is a little video of Larissa's Violin Concert. She is taking violin in a Czech music school and they take it very seriously, so it has been quite challenging. But, Larissa played almost perfectly during the concert. We are very proud of her!

Look Who's 40 !!!

2008-05-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Larry Lock is 40!

May 8 1968 Happy Birthday Larry!

The Communists are Behind Us!

2008-05-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

Our carriage ride through Česky Raj ...

Dominika's friend owns horses and a carriage. They took us on a beautiful ride through the Czech forest. At one point the driver sped up and we could hear him saying to the horses, "Yaw, yaw...the communists are behind us, hurry...!!!

A perfect way to turn 40!

2008-05-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Larry's 40th birthday, we were invited to our friend's chalupa (country home). It is about 1 hour from Prague and is surrounded by woods. Robert and Dominika have 4 children: Berenika, Norika, Angelica and Sebastian.

This of course was an incredible birthday gift for Larry (who may just go crazy in the city). We enjoyed a beautiful morning just relaxing... well for Larry that included splitting wood! Then in the afternoon we took a carriage ride through the beautiful Česky Raj (a national forest). We spent the night and Larry enjoyed a long walk in the woods Friday morning. We were so thankful for such a beautiful escape from the city.

Laini's 6th birthday - A Pinata in Prague!

2008-05-16T02:26:00.000-07:00

April 12 was Laini's 6th birthday and she was determined to have a pinata for her birthday. She asked her teacher if she could bring a pinata to school for her birthday. Her teacher had never heard of a pinata before and she said "Sure, why not!" None of her friends had ever heard of a pinata either.

So we made fish pinata! Her teacher and classmates loved it. They gave Laini a super party with games and gifts. She loved her 6th birthday and even got to enjoy it with Gram and Grandad!

Jan Hus

2008-04-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Larry's Parents with Zachary, Laini and Larissa in front of the statue of Jan Hus in Old Town Square in Prague.

Jan Hus was a reformer who was influenced by John Wycliffe. Hus is mainly known for believing that people should have the Bible in their own language and that everyone should get to take the cup and the bread in communion (Catholics only got the bread and the priests took the cup). He also was against the church amassing wealth and property. Hus was invited to the Council of Constance in 1415 to defend his views. He was guaranteed safe passage, but when he got there they burned him at the stake. This set off a huge protestant movement in the Czech lands, which remained predominantly protestant until 1620 when the Catholics finally crushed them at the Battle of White Mountain near Prague. Not long after the defeat 27 protestant nobles were beheaded at Old Town Square and for years their heads hung in baskets on the tower of Charles Bridge.

Easter Monday

2008-04-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

In the states churches fellowship with food! In the Czech Republic they go on a 8km walk! On Easter Monday we went on a trip with the Czech church. We rode the train about 45 minutes out of Prague. Then we walked about 8 km through the woods. On the way we stopped and built a fire and cooked hotdogs (okay they can't avoid the food altogether!) We ended up at Karlstejn Castle. It is an incredibly beautiful castle built in the 1300's. Here are some pictures. If you would like to see more pics here's a link. http://www.vinohradskysbor.estranky.cz/fotoalbum

Hody Hody Doprovody

2008-03-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hody hody doprovody

Dejte Vejce Malovany (Give me a painted egg)

Nedate-li malovany (If you don't give me a painted egg)

Dejte aspon bily (At least give me a white one)

Slepicka vam snese jiny (The hen will lay another)

Now here is a different tradition...On Easter Monday, men and boys set out in search of girls, in order to hit them with their Easter wands (Pomlazka), which are braided from four, six, or eight willow branches and decorated with one or more colored ribbons. Czechs thought that it was good luck and healthy for the girls to be hit with this stick! (Guys, don't get any ideas) During this carolling and whipping, the girls present the boys with eggs - painted, colored, or even just white.
In the homes, men also receive something besides eggs - alcohol. So on that Monday you will see many very drunk men.

Easter, just like Christmas, is a "religious" holiday that continued to be celebrated even in socialist Czechoslovakia. It simply acquired a slightly different interpretation from the years 1948 to 1989 - it was celebrated officially as a holiday of spring.

Sir Larry, lord of the forest

2008-03-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

For several months, Larry has been attending the Myslivost class so that he can get his Czech hunting license. The class has been (of course) taught entirely in Czech, so Larry has been working very diligently to translate and to understand the curriculum. (The textbook was several inches thick-full of information he had to know.) Saturday, March 8 was the day of the exam. All of the students went from one teacher to the next in order to answer questions orally.

After the testing was finished, there was a ceremony. They actually knighted (with a sword) the new "graduates". So now you must address Larry as "Sir Larry, lord of the Forest" The leader gave a speech saying that Larry was the first American to take and pass the test.

Červinka

2008-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Here is an article for all of you cow lovers. I thought it was interesting.

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/101597

English Club to McDonalds

2008-03-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

This last month at English Club we taught the children how to order food in English. The last week of the series, we took them to McDonalds so they could practice ordering in English. The children loved it. (Fortunately we went to a McDonalds where someone actually understood English!!)

This month (March) we are teaching them about Easter! Most of these children have never heard about Jesus (except at English Club). There are about 30+ children and it is such a sweet group of children (ages 5 to 16).

Classes for the adults: While the children are downstairs, having lots of fun, learning lots of English, and hearing about God, many adults are upstairs in English classes. Many of the adults really appreciate this because knowing English is helpful in their jobs. The classes have grown so much this year that they have split into 3 different groups: beginner, intermediate and conversation. Larry has recently begun to help teach the intermediate adult class. He is enjoying this and it is a great way to learn some new Czech words at the same time.

Grandma in Prague!

2008-03-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

We just had a wonderful week with Melissa's mom (from PA) and her great friend, Cheryl (from VA).

We walked miles everyday, but thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We, of course, took them to Prague Castle, Old Town and Charles Bridge. We walked up 299 steps of a tower to see an absolutely amazing view of this city. The beautiful and amazing architecture never seemed to end.

We (the girls) rode the train (along with some other Americans) to a small Czech town to a factory crystal shop. While we were there, I (Melissa) got brave enough to ask in Czech for a tour of the factory. The tour guide was so kind. She patiently waited while I tried to translate what she was saying.

On Sunday, my mom and Cheryl went with us to English Club. It was McDonald's night when we took all of the children to McDonalds and they had to order in English. Mom and Cheryl jumped right in to help out.

Myslivost? What's that?

2008-02-23T23:12:00.000-08:00

Myslivost is the Czech word for game-keeping or game management. I have been taking the myslivost class to get my hunting license. For the most part I like the way they do things here. You have to take a serious course. It starts in October, takes a break for December and January and then starts up again in February. In March there is an oral test. Hunters are viewed not just as hunters but as game managers.

It has been interesting since everything is in Czech, but it is very good for my language. You can pray for me March 9th as I take my test. I'll have someone there to translate for me, but it could still get interesting.

Here is a picture of the new Czech record red deer. Thought some of you might enjoy it.

Skiing in the Alps!

2008-01-19T06:03:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas, we had to go out of the country for

Visa/Passport purposes. So we drove to Austria and had an amazing Skiing Weekend in the Alps.

The mountains were absolutely beautiful. Larissa kept saying (and we were all thinking) "Can you believe we are skiing in the Alps!!!"

We enjoyed a great sled-riding hill that was right outside of our apartment, and a ski trail that came right to our back door. It was such a blessing to us to be able to enjoy this beautiful part of our world.

The Nazi Concentration Camp at Dachau, Germany

2008-01-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

On our way home from Austria, we drove through Germany. When we got off of the highway to look for a place to eat, we saw a sign for Dachau. Larry's grandfather came to Dachau with the U.S. Army in WWII and liberated the prisoners of the concentration camp.

We were only 10 miles from Dachau, so of course we had to see what was there! The entire concentration camp is still standing and is now a memorial site. It was pretty amazing to read about what happened and also pretty amazing to think that Papa rolled through that very country side in his tank.

More than anything, we enjoyed calling Papa to tell him where we had been and hearing his amazing stories about that historical event.

What an exciting History lesson!

Carp for Christmas!

2007-12-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

The Czech tradition for Christmas---A few days before Christmas-all over Prague there are tanks of live carp. You buy your carp, take it home and put it in your bathtub!!! -No kidding!- Then Christmas eve dinner, everyone eats fried carp and potato salad.

We named our fish "Reba". "Ryba" (in Czech) means "fish".

Mikulas Day!

2007-12-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

December 6th is Mikulas Day! The Czechs celebrate on "Mikulas Eve"- December 5th. All over Prague you can see Mikulas, the devil and an angel walking together and stopping to talk to children.

Mikulas (St. Nicholas), they say, comes to all of the children and brings them small gifts on December 5. Mikulas will come to your house (along with the devil and an angel) and if you have been bad, the devil will give you a hard potato and a piece of coal; but if you have been very bad, the devil will put you in his bag and take you to hell. (Needless to say, we witnessed some very scared children that night!!!) However, if you sing a little song to them, you will get a piece of candy.

We decided to go to Old Town to see the festivities. Laini had been hearing about Mikulas all week at school, and she was determined to get some candy from him. We found a set of "3" that was not swamped with children and she boldly went up to the angel and asked if she could sing her song in English. She then sang "Are you sleeping, brother John", and was very proud to receive her gift of candy!!!

Exploring Prague

2007-12-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

We are having fun exploring Prague while we learn our way around the city. Here are some pictures from Old Town, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge and a view from Prague Castle.

English Club

2007-12-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday night, Melissa and the kids have been going to "English Club." This has been a fun activity for us to be involved in. Zachary, Larissa and Laini have had fun hanging out with the Czech children and Melissa has been able to work with the older children. About 25-30 children attend each week and there are also adult classes at the same time.

This program has been a great way to share the gospel with those who attend. Each month there is a new theme. In October, the theme was cooking so the Czech children learned how to cook some American foods and they learned many English words and phrases that go with cooking. November was all about shopping. It was fun to hear the Czechs say "How much does it cost?" and "I would like to buy..." with their cute accents. In December we had a store for them to use their newly learned English words to purchase toys, etc. Each week the teachers do a fantastic job of being creative and also teaching from the Bible.

A few of the children from Zachary and Larissa's school also attend English Club. Each week they walk home with us and the kids play "Mashi" (tag) on the streets of Prague. Radek and Pepa have been so patient to help us with our Czech on the way home. I think we just need to hang out with children long enough in order to learn this language! They are much more patient.

God understands Czech when we do not!

2007-11-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked what we have been doing for church...

Most Sundays we attend the Czech Baptist Church in Prague. It is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. At first this was a great adventure...listening to a sermon and singing all in Czech and trying to learn new words as we listened!

6 weeks later, it is not such an adventure :).

Sunday, the service was 2 1/2 hours long. It seemed like they were having a nice time. (Some day we will actually know what they are saying.) There is just enough room in the pews to squeeze in , so once you are in, you don't move.

***Actually we have been enjoying the singing. This Sunday, we were even able to know what song number we were on without peaking at our neighbor's hymnbook. And it is very nice to experience this...to hear people worshipping in another language and knowing God completely understands!!!

Some weeks, the children go to a children's class, and Larissa and Laini have attended. I'm sure that is as challenging for the Czech teacher as it is for them.

Playing on the Same String!

2007-11-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

The blessing of a violin teacher -

Recently our Czech friend, Dominika, was trying to be helpful...She knew that Larissa played the violin, so she set up an appointment for us with the music school. Larissa is just a little stressed from the difficulty of communication and wasn't ready for such an undertaking yet... However, since the appointment was made, we showed up on Tuesday, with violin in hand...(thinking that Larissa was just to play a few songs so the teacher could know how far along she is). After some difficult communication, we entered a room. However, there was not just one teacher to listen; it was many. This was not what we thought it was! It was an audition to see if they would even accept her. Personally I was very nervous for her. I think at 11, I may have run out the door. But Larissa played very well and never batted an eye. (Thank you Marlyn!)

After the performance, they asked us to leave the room. We waited forever while they discussed their decision. (Well it may have only been 5 minutes, but it seemed like forever!)
Finally, the director came out, and in broken English said, "I call you to tell if it is possible."

What did that mean???? Just tell us Yes or No!! (Those may have been some of our nicer thoughts). So we left thinking that was the end of that school and we decided we would look for a teacher that could speak a little English.

Thursday the director called to set up an appoinment for Friday (to tell us if it is possible). The way he kept saying it made it sound like it was not possible. But we weren't sure why he couldn't just say no.

On Friday, he took down all of our information (I thought maybe he was appeasing us, because he still didn't tell us Yes or No). Then he led us to the room of a teacher we had not met. She spoke close to perfect English, and we liked her right away. Her name is Hana černa. After we discussed the violin, she asked us why we were in Prague. When we told her why, she said "I knew the moment you walked in that you must be a Christian. I am one also."

We discussed several other things, and then as we were leaving, she said, "It appears we are playing on the same string for many things."

For all of you who have been specifically praying for Larissa, we just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. God was so obviously in this and Larissa, who has been anxious about many things here, was put at ease right away with this teacher.

Florbal?????

2007-11-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

by Zachary

On Sunday night I found out that I could play in this floorball tournament for school. The teacher had tried to tell me about it, but I didn't really understand what she was saying. But, I saw a kid from my school on Sunday night and he told me about it (through an interpreter) and he asked me if I was going to play. He said I had to be at the school at 7:00 a.m. and I had to have white-soled tennis shoes. So, I went home and looked on the internet for floorball rules, and at 5 o'clock Monday morning, I got up and went with my Dad to get shoes at a 24-hour Tesco store, cause you need a certain type of shoes. Then we went to school at 7 o'clock. Then I walked to the bus stop with the other boys that were going; we got on a public bus and rode it a couple of stops to this place where there was a gym and we had a floorball tournament with other school teams. I think my team lost the whole thing. We only won one match and that was only by one point. But I had fun and didn't have to go to school.

Three ways To Know Your Not In The USA!!!

2007-11-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

#1 Your the only ones trick-or treating and you never leave your house. (The kids found whatever they could to make costumes and we gave them candy at home. Zachary is a secret agent, Laini is a rabbit, and Larissa is a mouse.)

#2 You can ride a train anywhere you need to go. (This weekend we rode the train to Hradec Kralove with some friends. The trip down was great. The kids were in one compartment and the adults were in another. We saw a ton of deer and other stuff. On the way back there were people standing. Fortunatley we all had seats, but not together.)

#3 You buy something that has to be assembled and the directions are in 8 different languages and none of them is English.

Our Apartment

2007-11-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

Some of you have been asking about our apartment, so here is a short tour. The video quality is not great. It is from our digital still camera, but hopefully it gives you and idea.

Our Trek to Prague!!!

2007-10-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Laini on our mountain of luggage. All 18 pieces made to Prague undamaged and at the same time we did. Our trip went smoohtly and we arrived a little tired, but ready to go.

We stayed in a hotel for three days until we could get enough furniture to be able to stayn in our apartment. Our aprtment is pretty nice. We are on the fifth floor (there is an elevator), we have a balcony on one side and sky lights on the other side. Below are some picutres of the views we have. The TV Tower is a landmark that can be seen from all over Prague so we cna always find our way home.

Our first Saturday we spent all day in IKEA buying furniture. After standing in line for over an hour to pay we went to the transport desk to arrange delivery. To our surprise they asked if we wanted it delivered that night. They almost beat us home. It has taken us a week to get it all put together. Here's Zachary putting his bed together.

Over all we're doing well. We've had three days of language and we're realizing it is going to be a lot of work. Czech is a completely different language from english. Enjoy the pictures. We'll post some of the inside of our aprtment next time.

My Country 'Tis Of Thee

2007-09-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to D.C. Here's Laini in front of the capitol building. We had a good time. It is amazing how many different languages you hear as you walk around D.C. The world is getting smaller all the time.

We met a very nice couple who are Portuguese. We had a great converstion about Portugal and the Czech Republic. Portugal sounds like a great place to vacation. We talked about religion and shared with them God's plan for their lives. It was a great day.

The thought that struck me was that we will soon be the foriegners in someone elses capital.

...and to the ends of the earth.

2007-09-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Look at the nations and watch-

and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told.

Habakuk 1:5

Here is a picture of us putting our picture on a map with all the other missionaries who are here with us. We were near the begining. At the end the map was covered pretty well. It is awesome to see and hear what God is doing, has been doing and look forward to what He will do.

Every Sunday night we have worhsip in a different worship style from around the world. Last Sunday night was Hispanic worship. One of the missionaries gave a testimony. His great grandfather was lead to Christ by an IMB missionary in Argentina over 100 years ago. His great grandfather became a pastor there. His grandfather and father were also pastors in Argentina and Texas. He is now going to serve in Central Europe. Because of that missionaries obedience 4 generations have served on 3 continents to bring the gospel to the lost.
If that is not enough, a man who was visiting his daughter who is going to Western Europe stood up and said that he came to Christ through the ministry of the grandfather in Texas. He has served as a missionary and now his daughter is going as well.
It is no small thing to share Christ with someone we may never know the results, but God has a way of doing amazing things that we could not even dream of.

We're Still In The States

2007-09-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

No we're not in the Czech Rpeublic yet. We are still doing some training here in the States. We are learining alot and the kids are having a great time.
Laini has started kindergarten here and is doing great. Thank you to everyone who prayed for her. She was only stressed for the first couple of days.
Zachary and Larissa are in the same class in school. There are about 18 kids from 6th grade up. Most of them are middle school age. They have all really bonded. One of the missionaries here is going to use dance classes overseas to reach people. He has been teaching the kids Salsa dancing two nights a week. The first class the girls had to bribe the boys with cookies to get them to come, but last time there weer more boys than girls.
Melissa and I are in classes for about seven hours a day Monday through Friday. We have been thoroughly impressed with the quality of our training. If you support the IMB through the Cooperative Program or the Lottie Moon Offering, rest assured that your moeny is being well spent. We are getting the best training possible at the least expense possible. I will try to give some of the insights that we have gained here without boring anyone later.
Thanks for your prayers.

-Larry