It's All Grace

a journey with the Thomason family

Portraits in Poland

As planned we packed the van up today with toys and tricycles and headed into Poland to take photos of and for missionaries there. Above is a photo of the back of the van after Titus and I loaded it all. Titus wanted to make sure there was a skateboard, baseball, baseball bat, glove, and frisbee. I was actually impressed that he was able to lift my longboard skateboard in to the back but he got it in there all by himself. When I got the car started he squealed and rubbed his hands together with excitement about us going to Poland. He told me, “Dad, when you’re taking photos in Poland you have to take one of me giving thumbs up.” It was literally one of the first photos I took when we got there (below).

I haven’t had time to edit through the photos today, but I took a quick at look at the shots I got of the different families and teams and am excited to share them at some point. Below is one of the group shots I got of the Poland team. Great people!

We were invited to stay for lunch with the team, but apparently Polish lunch starts at 3pm and that’s pretty much right around nap time for our kids. So we packed the van back up and headed out for a quick lunch on our way home. Since the weather so amazing today we decided to get dessert and sit outside where the kids enjoyed their first ice cream cones of 2015. It was actually as we were sitting outside enjoying the sun that we realized I left my camera gear back at the training center! We ended up going back and getting my gear which was thankfully still there where I left it. Whew.

This afternoon we washed and vacuumed the car which was much needed. I was excited to try out my European extension cord which I specifically had purchased on sale a few months back so I could vacuum my own car (it’s the little things in life). Yes, it worked and the car is looking good! Since we were already outside, Titus and I ended up playing a little baseball in the driveway. Avery was our umpire, but I think we need to install an instant-replay system because it seemed that no matter what happened–if I caught the ball or tagged the runner (Titus)–that he was called “safe!” C’mon blue!

Titus and I went to youth group tonight, but we didn’t know that the start time had been moved from 5pm to 6pm. Thankfully there were a few students there on the music team so we weren’t alone. Instead of going home and coming back we just decided to stay there and enjoy hanging with the students. Youth group is still a challenge because of the language barrier. It never feels normal or right, especially when you’re sitting through all the announcements and teaching with not a clue as to what’s going on. Even Titus turned to me tonight and whispered, “Daddy…they are talking funny.” Nope. We are talking funny; they are talking normal. They are speaking Czech. We…well, we’re not.

April 11, 2015
A Czech Anthem and an English Speaker

We had our regular Friday Czech lesson with Tamara today and we did something a little different and special. After our normal lesson (which I struggled through today), Tamara showed us a song that from what I understand was an anthem during the Velvet Revolution in Czech. Tamara had actually showed Bethany the song a few weeks ago, but I missed that lesson because I wasn’t feeling well. So today we were at Tamara’s house and she is also a musician so she showed us the song on piano and even allowed me to strum along on her guitar. Bethany got a video and you can hear Tamara playing and signing, although you won’t understand the words (sorry about that).

A Czech Anthem from Shay on Vimeo.

For the past few days Bethany has experienced the most discomfort she has had in this pregnancy. She still has about eight weeks to go, but yesterday and today have been pretty hard on her. Tonight we decided to go for a walk to a local restaurant because she really wasn’t feeling up for cooking and a walk sounded nice. But during the walk she was definitely uncomfortable. Thankfully the place isn’t far from us, so we didn’t have to walk for long. If you think of it, definitely be praying for her as we start to enter the final stretch here before our third child is born.

During our walk Titus and Avery were being pretty cute, and the weather was amazing so here’s a few photos.

We enjoyed a really nice dinner, but it’s still very frustrating to not be able to speak enough Czech to order. Our waitress tonight actually spoke great English, so that was a blessing, but going to eat is a constant (I mean, constant) reminder of how much we don’t know of the language. For me it’s really frustrating and often affects my attitude. I definitely had to get my heart right tonight during dinner because I’m struggling with language and also trying to train our kids to stay seated and not be too loud, etc, etc. Often when all of those things collide at dinner I find my attitude changing and have to remind myself that this is all a process (both parenting and language learning).

As we walked back from dinner tonight we passed a lady who heard us speaking English. The kids were being crazy after dinner so we were focused on them, but the lady turned and said something to me which I just assumed was in Czech. I say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand” in Czech and she said to me in a perfect English accent, “Oh, that’s OK.” We ended up talking with her for a few minutes and she’s from England and teaches English in our town. If I understood her correctly, she has been here 10 years and has met other Josiah Venture missionaries like us. Outside of other missionaries, we rarely meet native English speakers so it was kind of fun. We told her there were other American missionaries like us in our town and she she said she would look out for them.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Poland to do some photos for about 16 different families and individuals. The weather is supposed to be incredible and we’ll going to the Josiah Venture training center in Poland which is a beautiful place. I think the kids are going to enjoy all the places to run and play there and I’m excited to do a little photography for a change. Until then…dobrou noc.

April 10, 2015
From Snow to Spring

Earlier this week we woke up to snow, but today was an amazingly sunny and gorgeous day. It’s fascinating how quickly the weather can change and how 50 degrees can feel like 75. I wore a short sleeve shirt today and enjoyed going to lunch without a jacket! It even stayed really nice this evening so we all went outside and played in the yard with the kids. Above is a photo of Avery enjoying a little chalk time, and even though she was wearing a jacket it wasn’t so cold that we couldn’t stay out and play. Titus and I enjoyed a little basketball and baseball as well and it was just kind of nice to spend the evening outside. Fittingly, Avery also drew a sun (below).

On a different topic, there is something strange that happens to the car radio that I’ve never blogged about. We have a little cable in our car that I plug my phone into often to listen to podcasts, sermons, or music while driving. Of course there is also FM and AM stations that we can access, but the Czech DJs are not known for the good taste (in my humble opinion). Sometimes when we’re listening to the radio or playing music from our phones, the radio will just cut off and you will begin to hear someone speaking in Czech like they are giving the latest traffic update. It’s very strange. In fact, today it actually cut off a phone conversation I was having. Our car has one of those bluetooth, hands-free things that connects to the car speakers but the Czech traffic just took over my conversation. I really don’t understand why this happens, but I have lately been attributing it to some kind of communism carry-over.

Above is a photo of the keys to our apartment here. We added the colors to them when we got the keys so we would know which key is for which door. To get out of our property requires all three keys–one for the door to our actual apartment, one for the entry way, and one for the gate. You would think by now that I would have a good grasp on which key goes where, but almost daily I mix them up. I realized this tonight as I was going outside just how often I put the green key where the blue key goes and vice versa. I consider myself to be an intelligent person, but getting the keys right is still annoyingly difficult.

I don’t want to leave this blog in the negative, so I will talk about something happy. On April 18 I will be teaching on the Trinity to youth ministry at our church here in Czech. They are starting a new series on theology and I was asked to speak. In preparation I started reading a book called Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith. So far I have enjoyed this book thoroughly because not only do I believe it to be theologically sound, but it’s a very accessible book with wonderful writing. I just spent a few minutes reading some of my highlights out of the book to Bethany and she was getting excited. She said, “So what are you going to teach on?!” I said, “I don’t know! It’s all good…” Maybe I can just get up front and read them this book? Does anyone know how long it takes to read 135 pages out loud with a Czech translator?

April 9, 2015
One of Those “Normal” Days

I have no stories to tell today. In fact, I have sat here for over an hour and filled my time with reading and other things just to try and find something to write about. I checked my phone for any photos I may have taken today but there were just two weird shots of me driving behind a tractor this afternoon. It was just one of those “normal” days, I guess. And since I’m legitimately at a loss of what to write about I am going to cut this blog short tonight.

April 8, 2015
Galatians and Army Men

I’m not a great Bible study leader. I really want to be, but I just haven’t had a ton of experience at it. There are some guys I know who are masters at leading small groups and forming questions from the study and just have a knack for fielding those questions and watching the ebb and flow of the group. I’m not that guy. I usually prepare for Bible studies the way I have prepared for preaching. I realize that they are quite different, but they are very similar in that you still need to study the Bible to understand what is being said and then you have to teach it. All that to say, I had the opportunity to teach the international team Bible study today and I didn’t feel like it went amazing, but not terrible. This team is used to hearing Dave Patty, one of those master small group leaders, and I felt kind of like they called a Minor Leaguer and gave me an at bat. I fouled a couple off and hit a dribbler down the line. Despite my efforts, I do hope the truths of Galatians 2:20 were clear and the staff was encouraged by God’s Word.

There were some great discussions after Bible study amongst my team today and that was a blessing to continue to talk about God’s Word together. Things are going pretty well at the Josiah Venture office and there will be a lot of staff going to Israel at the end of next week. Everyone is gearing up for summer ministry and our Spring Conference coming the first week in May. My team is prepping a lot of different materials for upcoming ministry events so we have had full, but fun days.

When I got him this afternoon Titus was playing with some Army guys that the kids had dug up. Bethany and the kids were cleaning up their room today and they found a bucket of todays they haven’t played with in a while, so the kids were kind of rediscovering them. I hadn’t really ever seen Titus playing with Army dudes so I got down with him and we were having a “battle” together which mostly consisted of his men knocking my guys over. During the “war,” Avery was busy pulling tiny animals in a tiny toy wagon (also toys she found in the bucket). At one point the animals got caught in the cross fire and she wasn’t super happy about it, but we brought in a medic and all was well in the world of tiny animals.

I got some resources tonight on the doctrine of the Trinity which I am excited about working through. My friend Landen asked if I could teach on the Trinity to the youth group at our church on April 18 and we finalized that today. I’ll be speaking through a translator, so that will be different, but I’m excited to get up in front of the students and teach some of these core truths. Please pray as I study and prepare that I would be clear and it would be helpful to the students.

It’s past midnight now so I’m off to bed, but here’s a little video of me jumping over a creek today.

I Believe I Can Fly from Shay on Vimeo.

April 7, 2015