Sundays are not easy. At first they were really fun and the experience was so new and exciting, but I feel honestly that today was harder. Nothing big happened and we didn’t have any issues, but as we were making the short drive to church I realized I wasn’t excited about going. Please, don’t misunderstand me. I love the local church. But sitting through a 90+ minute service in another language week in and week out is getting tough. Always feeling like you’re behind and not knowing what’s going on is just simply hard, and it’s not just me. Bethany struggles too, and so do our kids. Today I stayed with Titus again in his Sunday school class (photo below) and I wasn’t encouraged. He’s struggling with paying attention and he’s almost aloof because I think the language barrier keeps him from focusing on what the class is doing. Again, it’s just hard. Every week we are encouraged by our Czech brothers and sisters, but we just wish we could do a little encouraging of our own. Pray for us and for our kids if you think about it.
After church this morning we made another trip out to IKEA for a few organizational things. We’re continuing to try to improve where we store things and get our kids stuff more organized. We bought a few shelves and some plastic bins that I think will help a ton. We spent most of the afternoon/evening cleaning up and organizing the kids room. It needs more time but we’re excited about the progress we made today.
Tonight we opened our November envelope from our Bible study at our home church in the States. Each month for our first year here they have blessed us with these large envelopes that we get to open with fun presents inside. Pack inside we found coloring books, birthday cards, customizable gift tags, make-your-own card supplies, and taco seasoning! Here’s a few photos of the kids diving in. Thank you, friends, for blessing us each and every month!
Check out this taco seasoning! They got us two pouches and we are STOKED!
Avery’s birthday is at the end of the month, but we let her open this little birthday card that was included in this month’s envelope. This was her reaction.
Tonight I took a quick trip to a local cemetery around 9pm. I’m not usually one for visiting graveyards at night, but today is kind of a special day in Czech. They call it “All Souls’ Day” and even though it’s close to Halloween, it’s not really the same. From what I’ve read, it’s a time where people visit the grave sites of their loved ones and place flowers and candles on the graves. For the past few weeks we have been seeing a ton of candles at the stores and people have been buying them up. Out of curiosity I went out to a cemetery tonight and got a few photos. It was actually quite beautiful to see, even though it’s also pretty odd considering how nonreligious Czech is. There might be more meaning to it, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. I only spent a few minutes with my camera in hand and below are two photos I got. If you’re curious about All Soul’s Day, I found this article to be really helpful.
As the Czechs remember their dead family and friends today, I’m reminded of how many of those same people are spiritually dead. They are the walking dead. This is exactly what Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-2 when he writes,
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…” He’s talking about the spiritual walking dead. That was me before Christ saved me and that is the state of everyone before Christ, the light of thew world, opens their hearts to the gospel. While the graves tonight flicker with candle light, my prayer is that the True Light, Jesus Christ, would shine bright in this dark place. When His light shines it’s so much more than a flicker and it doesn’t represent death, but life!
John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
