American Invasion!!

Hey all!
  I just wanted to share my excitement from the last few hours! This was the first weekend in months that I have had free and I have had an incredibly lazy time! I have caught up on some tv shows, reading, and sleep. I was able to take some time to rest with Him, as well. It was wonderful! I truly needed this weekend. 


Some of you might be like, "But Chels, the weekend has only begun!" While that is true for you back in America, the good, old CZ had a holiday yesterday so I have had a lovely 3 day weekend. To answer your question, Mom, yes, I do finally know what this particular day was celebrating. October 28th, 1918 is the day that the first Czechoslovakian free state was formed following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of WWI, aka Independence Day--the Czech original. They have another in January that celebrates the peaceful separation from Slovakia in 1993. Regardless, it was a beautiful, fall day here and I enjoyed the time off.

Now for the really exciting part, it is often hard to find things from the States here in CZ. While part of Western culture, it is still a nation with its own heritage and special products. For instance, their own personal version of cola, called Kofola, that they developed in the 1950s because they were not allowed to import Pepsi or Coca-Cola. Our culture and the things we find amazing, just aren't as important on a global scale as we sometimes think they might be. That means, no Mountain Dew, no PopTarts, no Reeses, no Swiffer, no brown sugar, and many other things that you have to search high and low to find a substitute. 


For the most part though, they do a pretty good job. For example, a Milka bar can beat almost any American chocolate easy and they get just as excited about their version of football as we do. Sometimes though, you just miss a little bit of the comfort foods and things. Well, today was a milestone moment. When browsing through Albert's (a grocery store) for my dinner tonight, I found a treat that I have missed dearly.

That's right, OREOS have hit the Czech Republic!! I stopped short when I saw that blue and white box. Strange, I know, a box, not a plastic package. (See cheesy picture on the left). I promptly scarfed up two reasonably priced boxes for being in Europe and getting an American product. I paid 64 kc ($3.63) for 8 packs of 4.  Bought a liter of milk and went to share with some American friends my excitement. Hopefully, they will be there the next time I am craving a little bit of home!

My other big news of the day is that I found out one of my friends (that has a tv) has ESPN USA on her network plan. What may you ask is the importance of this? The significance is that tomorrow night I will get to watch my first real time Steelers game vs. the Patriots! Wohoo! I am so excited! Don't worry, I have a Terrible Towel here and ready to go. ;-) 


Anyway, I know these things might seem trivial to you, but I thought I would share some of the small overseas joys that I sometimes have. I feel truly blessed to be living in a place like this that has so many opportunities different than home, but also to get a glimpse of some of the sillier things I sometimes miss. I have appreciated my recent time of rest and am ready to get back to work on Monday. I hope you have had a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."                        ~Hebrews 4:9-11 

Is There a Light at the End of the Tunnel?

    I wish that I had more skills. Not the types of skills that Napoleon Dynamite speaks of, but still most of the time the things I wish I could do are learnable. For example, learning Czech, becoming a "better" photographer, or learning HTML coding, or rock climbing, or baking are just a few things of which I would like to improve my knowledge. 
    Unfortunately, I find I usually cannot be bothered to have the time or put forth the effort it would take to become adept at any of these skills. And let's be honest, in this world today, we cannot accept being a novice for long. Sure, we can accept mediocrity and we--willingly do, often daily, from ourselves and each other. But when a task is new and becomes cumbersome and requires any sort of perseverance, 80% of the time, our culture says to give up. It's ok to quit. In sports, we talk a different game, but how many kids still walk away because it's too hard? And we let them.
    I fall into this category more often than I would like (and not just with learning new skills, with the simple things). I have the best of intentions, but as the saying goes "the road to hell..." and what not. And this all comes down to my lack of perseverance. Well, I have recently been taking note of that word in the Bible--perseverance. God promises so many different blessings and rewards that come to those who persevere in the faith. Well, what is perseverance you may ask? HARD STINKING WORK, that's what. :-) According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, it is, "steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty in achieving success." Steadfast--to be firm and unwavering, no matter what the cost, no matter what troubles, sorrows, or worries come your way. That is an intense definition, if you ask me.
    While I daily fall short and struggle with self-control, an area frequently mentioned with perseverance, the verses that I am focusing on this month are, 

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."    James 1:2-4

   My personal example of struggle with perseverance right now is having the drive to pursue God more consistently. I stated in my last blog that I want to strive for intimacy with Him, that requires more than just getting fed on Sunday mornings and the occasional devotional. It requires devotion and it is something that I am learning even more about. It is setting aside things that I have thought to be important in the past and just being with Him. Sometimes, these things are watching tv, or hanging out with friends, or accomplishing more work, and for me, I often want to give in and just do the easy thing. However, I am really trying this month to strive toward perseverance, because God promises we will not lack anything then (even the fun in life).
 I would ask that you would pray for perseverance in your own lives, but also for me to persevere with the relationships I am trying to build here in the CZ. It can get hard to continue in this when you are far from home or you don't speak a lot of the language still, and you are still somewhat unsure of cultural aspects, and so many other things. Thanks so much for your continued support!

View of the Castle in Cesky Krumlov with the perfect
 example of perseverance in front of it.

Autumnal Musings

   Each year, I am always intrigued that autumn, the harbinger of the cold, often dreary months soon to follow, is usually everyone's favorite season. In America, nearly every town boasts its own harvest festival with some catchy name that tries to encompass the feeling of autumn just by its sound. For many of you back home, I'm sure the words "Autumn Leaf Festival" or "Apple Fest" quickly sprung to mind. As this time draws near each year, we pull out our cozy sweaters and scarves, take to putting pumpkin spice in all our foods, and bring just as many leaves inside as the trees and ground are decorated with outside! 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 
~Galatians 6:9

   This Indian Summer, or as Czechs refer to it babí léto (literally translated women's or grandma's summer), holds many different meanings for different people. But in many respects, autumn is both a beginning and an end. For school aged youngsters and families, it is the end of the summer holiday and the start of a new school year. for some it means the end of the most recent season of America's favorite past-time and others the beginning of the next season of the game only played in America. It is the end of the time for sowing and the beginning of the reaping. It is the beginning of preparations for the long year ahead.
   I firmly believe that as we tuck in with our cups of coffee (or tea) to bask in these last few days of warmth, we become reflective and we make just as many resolutions as we do at New Year's. Whether it is to be more organized, or to stay in shape through the winter, or to get more involved in activities, or whatever it is, I think that this time of year--this season of change--tends to bring out our (as in the collective) reflective side.
   So while I haven't written in a very, very long time (check the last entry if you really care to know), I also have been setting some new goals. One is to actually write on this blog so that you can know what is going on in good old Ostrava! Two, to be more intentional with my relationships this year--not an easy task and very quick to go by the wayside if I'm not careful. And three, to develop a greater intimacy with God. 
   This year, I have many of the same students so I am encouraged that I can keep those relationships going. Also, I am continuing to work with YoungLife and a lot of the youth in the city. I am carrying on with the English Klub I helped with last year at a local art school. I pray that this year I will be able to be a better leader in many of the positions I am in and that my Czech language skills would be greatly improved. However, that last part also requires a bit of studying on my part. ;-)

"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming.See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near."
                                                    ~James 5:7-8


   I have the best of intentions this year with maintaining this blog, so I ask for your patience, and hopefully, I can keep my autumnal resolution going strong! To you, I recommend that you delight in the brisk, fall air and the beautiful creation that is around you as you also experience this season of change! Happy Fall!

First Blog of the Year...Too Bad I Waited Until March.

Now that I have given you all the shock of the week by actually emailing you and saying that I have a new blog, I am going to redirect you to the link below. At this lovely link, yours truly gives commentary on her life, teaching experience, ministry, and other information. 


I know that many of you have missed the rambling episodic melodrama that occurs when conversing with me, so I thought I would treat to such an experience from afar. lol. Really, I just could not adequately put into words what I wanted to say via the pen so I thought a speech may work better. I hope you enjoy! (Just so you know it was very strange to talk to yourself on a camera: you should feel privileged that I did it for you ;-) 


Please ask me some questions, if you want to know anything specific about my life over here or details about the CZ post away or email me! Miss you guys! 


"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14


Click here to watch the video. :-)

Flame ON!!

Metaphorically speaking, there are three kinds of flames in this world…one is a spark, another is the flame that is kept burning by some type of super heated fuel, and the third is a flame which creates embers that smolder for a long time. Each has a purpose and to me each can show a different spiritual state.

The first, the spark, it the kind that jolts you into action. Saturday, I felt one of those flames. I was unplugging my computer when all of a sudden, I felt a shock so strong that I jumped about ten feet! It hurt too. I’m not gonna lie, it scared me (and my roommates, since I screamed bloody murder. Lol. No need to fear though, I am fine). I have realized that that is what those types of flames are supposed to do, they immediately jump start you into action. When we feel those sparks in our lives, it forces action in us. We no longer want a stagnant life, we have had a “shock” of some type and we want to change something. Often times, our first encounters with Christ are like that, especially for people who have never heard of Him. They experience this incredible moment in life and they want everything to drastically change right now when they become a Christian and that is fantastic! However, the problem with the spark is that as quickly as it comes, it leaves, both the literal and the spiritual spark. It is easy to allow lives to only be changed for a moment by the spark. Just like today, after the jolt of electricity, I checked to make sure I was okay and then continued on with my day as usual. Nothing had truly changed.

The second is a flame that is kept alive by some sort of super heated fuel, such as a gas, aerosol, etc. These flames burn quickly and brightly. They are incredibly hot. When I think of these flames, I think of blow torches and the like. I also think of a story I’m sure many of you know from the book of Daniel that included a fiery furnace so hot that when the guards ordered to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the flame went up to it—they burned to death! In this case, the Lord saved His servants, but they were willing to do die if that was what was needed because bowing before an idol was not right.  The thing about these flames is that they are great fire starters. They will ignite the fire and will even burn for a short time. However, like the spark, the flames are short-lived. See these flames have nothing to live on. They quickly burn off the fuel they have been given and need more, so unless they are fed a fuel with more substance they will die out. A relationship with Christ can be like this as well. While the spark is the initial change, the flame is growing desire to become more like Christ and to know Him. At first, it can seem easy, but like any relationship, it takes work and can be anything but. However, Christ will always be worth it.

The final type of flame is a flame that seems to burn eternally. It may start quickly or slowly, but it finds a source of fuel that allows it to create embers that will smolder and keep the fire going. It will inhale all the oxygen in the area. It is the type of fire that burns buildings, makes-up bonfires, and makes excellent mountain pies. ;-) This flame has heat and power. This flame is all-consuming. This is the kind of flame that even has strong effects on those around it, because it gives of large amounts of smoke. You can tell that this flame is there and see the lasting effects of what it has done after it is gone. You can smell this fire; it will permeate clothing and wood. You can even see the scorch marks; nothing will look the same when this fire is done. Anything that it touches will be forever altered: land, building, or person. This type of fire is the most contagious of all flames, because it is the strongest of all. This is the type of flame that we should be spiritually. We should ignite those around us by being a smoldering fire ourselves. Only by keeping our relationship with Christ growing daily can we become contagious Christians.

Outside my window is a large factory. Since we arrived here, my teammates and I have been hearing about a large flame that burns from the factory. Previous ESI teachers and those from Ostrava have many different nicknames for it even. For example, the eternal flame the Olympic torch, and a few others. We even saw pictures of it on facebook and such. However, in the first few weeks, we did not once see this flame. When we asked about it, we were told that if this flame no longer burns, it will mean bad things for Ostrava. (While they meant economically, I think that there can be a much deeper meaning to this statement). For months now, I have been living in the Czech Republic and this flame has been dormant, until this week. On Tuesday morning, I awoke looked out my window. There, coming out of one of the smoke stacks was one of the biggest fires I have ever seen! It burned for about five minutes, giving off lots of smoke and pollution into the air and then stopped entirely. Now many times a day, the flame goes off and each time I am amazed. I watch in wonder as this 30-some foot flame burns brightly in the sky in the middle of the city. And I can’t help but do two things, one turn into Johnny Storm and yell “Flame on!” And two, compare this flame to spiritual status of this beautiful country that I have moved to. The Czech Republic has an incredibly rich spiritual history in which they even have the first Protestant movement that came over a hundred years before Martin Luther’s. Their flame of spirituality in Christ burned bright and strong, but they stopped cultivating it. They came to a time period where Christ was no longer needed; and like the flame outside my window, they stopped burning at all. They became dormant. Sparks might have been lit, but they were few and didn’t seem to last. But now, just like the “Olympic flame” that I look at everyday, some of the people of the Czech Republic have been lit with a fuel that is highly flammable and they are contagious. But unless, they are held up in prayer and their flame is fed by a fuel that will last, the fire will not grow.

The Czech Republic and Ostrava in particular has an incredible group of Christian leaders that are rising up, but they need your prayers and mine. They are flames that are starting to burn brightly. Remember though, being a Christian in this nation varies vastly from being a Christian in the US. They face many different challenges and those trials are not easy. I ask that each time you see a flame over the next few weeks, as I am sure many of you will be lighting candles during the holiday season, you would think of it as a symbol of the triumph of God’s victories here in the Czech Republic and pray for the things that He has yet to do through His people here.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” ~Hebrews 12:28-29


Check out this video I made of the flame from my flat window...me talking about the flame. :-)

Turkey Day!

Although Thanksgiving was not technically until this week and in fact it is not celebrated in the Czech Republic at all, we O-town girls have had a week of Thanksgiving and it has been wonderful! Each year, Fishnet invites all of their students to come away for part of the weekend. What’s the attraction you might ask? English practice, learning about the American holiday, good food, a weekend in the mountains, and fun! Our ulterior motive—that Thanksgiving can be celebrated as a Christian holiday in which we praise and thank God for the things He has given to us. The whole weekend was a ton of fun! We did a photo scavenger hunt, played some English name games, and played some backyard American football! We also got to see the students act out a dramatization of our holiday’s history. It was hilarious! Boy, can they act! We also watched Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving—you think the poor guy would have learned, Lucy is always up to her same old tricks, dude! I was excited to spend time with some of my students. I had three come and two brought members of their family with them. They are all adults and it was nice to get to know them a little out of the classroom. They are fun and seemed to enjoy playing of the Thanksgiving games as much as I did (and we all know how much competitive Chelsea likes to play games). So it was fun!

The second half of our Thanksgiving consisted of another retreat. It was the annual ESI Thanksgiving Retreat, where all the Central Europe teachers that work for the organization that I am here with get together to spend the holiday, do some training, and relax some before heading back for the rest of the year. These four days were fantastic! We went to a secluded area about 2 ½ hours away from Ostrava, near Prague. When we got there, we were met by all of the great people we had spent the summer with, our friends that are now scattered all over the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was a very joyful reunion. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner—gorged ourselves all weekend really on some delectable food that the conference center provided. (Traditional turkey dinner included). We spent time in praise and worship, fellowshipping together, we did several TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) sessions, and in our spare time goofed off! We played football, ping pong, cards, dice, bananagrams, read, watched Glee, and just had a good time together! After spending an entire summer of living together and then not seeing each other and barely having contact with each other for months, it was really nice to get to bond for a few days and celebrate the holiday. It was the closest thing that we could substitute for home. It was a wonderful weekend, full of friends and fun! I had a great time!

                                       Central Europe Team

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that you got to eat lots of turkey and watch tons of football yourselves! (I hope you all watched the parade too, because that’s my favorite part and I couldn’t!) Talk to you soon!

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” ~ I Chronicles 16:8-10

MIA from the Middle of Moravia

Almost two months without a word and then a crazy email about how you can make money…Reminds me of that old commercial, you know the one with the woman saying, “Do you want to make more money? Of course! We all do!” In the same way that that woman had no bearing on your personal life, for the last few months I have not either. With this blog, I aim to rectify that. I have made a Thanksgiving Resolution to be better about updating, in other words to do it once in a while…so this is going to be a newsy type of blog where I catch you up on my life. Don’t expect my usual attempts at wit, sarcasm, or sage advice, because I have a lot of catching up to do. However, anticipate a new blog in the near future in which I will foist upon you all the many facets of my perky personality. That being said, you may wonder, other than being hacked and having many other technical difficulties that make me much to angry to mention to polite society (have I stated yet that technology hates me?), what have I been up to?

First, I have been learning that I officially have a brain drain on my own English skills. While we are constantly told that our greatest skill that we provide to our new community is our ability to speak English as a native speaker, it is amazing how quickly you begin to lose parts of that skill. To explain, when speaking with non-native speakers the most important part of the conversation is comprehension. So when you are speaking, you constantly use synonyms and longer phrases instead of more difficult vocabulary in order to get your students and others to understand what you are saying. It sometimes takes a lot longer to explain, but it is extremely necessary. (It is also important to remember that speaking louder and repeating the same words over and over again will not help someone that is confused by what you are saying, *as seen on TV. Lol). While it is very useful for non-native speakers, we native speakers have realized that it is actually causing our vocabulary to dwindle. Frequently, as we put it, our English dies where we literally can’t think of the appropriate word to use in a sentence. It can be quite embarrassing when a student wants help thinking of a word or you are in the middle of talking and you actually can’t remember what an object is called. And while you may think that I am exaggerating, it happens to us more often than you might believe. Once while on Skype, I couldn’t think of what a light switch was called and had to take the computer camera to the switch so I could explain what I meant. Embarrassing!!

Enough about that though! One of the other things I have been doing and it has definitely been one of the most rewarding parts of being here is that I spend a great amount of time with the youth in the area. In Ostrava, Young Life International (YL) is a pretty big and thriving organization for kids to get involved with. One of the nice things about YL is that many of the kids involved are also in some way involved with Fishnet English classes (my school). It is a great way to do ministry. Both organizations use English to build relationships with the kids and it allows for natural conversations to flow. Since all of the leaders are Christians, the kids are often exposed for the first time to the Gospel and to Christians. It can be a way to dispel many of the thoughts that they have created about Christianity. YL and Fishnet are also great networking tools for those youth that are Christians. Unlike in the States, these kids don’t have countless events to invite friends to in order to help them share their faith with friends.

Many of you know that possibly my favorite weekend of the year is a specific weekend in May in which a group of fabulous teens get together, hang out in the woods and have a blast every year. Of all the things that I am going to miss this year, having to miss my girls’ senior year of the youth retreat is pretty high on the list. However, a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join in on a retreat here with some great Czech kids. It was through YL and we went to Filmy Vikend!  For those of you that truly know me, you know it was a weekend after my own heart. We watched movies, discussed them, played cards and dice, and spent time outside in the mountains. It was beautiful! And I must say that God must have known what He was doing when He chose Ostrava as my Czech home, because you’ll never guess what game we played so I’ll tell you—MATTRESS RACES!! That’s right! We did a mattress race all the way over here in the CZ! It warmed my heart, Grace Youth! (Click here if you would like to view the Czech edition of this wonderful event, especially considering my team won!!) This weekend couldn’t have come at a better time for me, because while I truly love Ostrava, I am a country girl at heart. The area we went to looked exactly like I was looking at the views from my dorm room at college—minus the creepy graveyard. Lol. (I have also learned to remember, Czechs have a much different idea of an easy hike than I do, especially when I’m still carrying all my junk. J) 

We spent the weekend with kids who may or may not have been Christians watching movies and then talking with them about some off the serious issues that arose in the films and how a Christian might think about it. The youth were free to speak their minds and we had some really great discussions. It was a really cool experience and an awesome idea for a different, more out-of-the-box type of ministry that we don’t usually see done in the States.

In order to not completely overwhelm you, I am going to stop my update here. But know that another one is coming in just a day (it is almost finished)! But I just want to add that through these experiences, I have been able to begin building relationships with people. I ask that you would pray for some of these relationships as they continue to grow that they would be a time of fellowship and discipleship.

Bye for now! More tomorrow…

 "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

Film Weekend Fun!!