Telling the Story

Today we worshiped at Gilmanton Community Church where we have standing/membership. It was a joy to be with familiar faces and worship in familiar ways, and we brought greetings from Prague.

We had our first snow yesterday, and it changed our world! Everything is more beautiful now: white birches, blue sky, even the swamp is a lovely white.

I have finished reading BLUE LIKE JAZZ by Donald Miller, a Christmas gift from our daughter. It is an interesting book. I wonder how my UNYP students would respond to it. It would be fun for a book group. Part of the reason it was so interesting is because the writer lives in Portland Oregon and almost all geographical references are to Oregon, the State we lived in for 6 months this year.

I also finished reading the Bible through today, slugging through the Old Testament histories at the end of the year. I have written two liturgies on our Global God, one from Psalms and the other from Isaiah.

It is New Year's Eve. What will 2007 bring?

Post Christmas

We watched the sun rise this morning at 7:45 A.M., and it is dark by 4:30 P.M. (16:30). I thought about the important people in our lives -- those on the West Coast still asleep, those in Europe where it is already afternoon. A special prayer for the VonDohlens who are flying back from Prague to Hickory today, Dick will be teaching at Lenoir-Ryne starting next week.

One of my UNYP students has e-mailed me that she is coming to Stamford Connecticut on February 1. She is going to be a nanny while she looks into forensic psychology in New York City. I am so excited to see her!

Students are beginning to send their assignments via e-mail.

I am still unpacking, a little every day. There is a huge stack of papers to put back in the proper folders for next semester when I will be teaching Human Development at St. Anselm's College.

I continue to work on my "Proverbs" book, started with the Middle School students at CISP.

Comforts of Home

This expression has new meaning as we reach for diet gingerale (not found anywhere else!), non-fat sweetened creamer for coffee, and unpack clothes put in storage. What comforts did Jesus leave behind when he came to earth?

Yesterday my side of the family met at the home where we grew up, for a Christmas breakfast. Some were not there -- in San Diego, Albuquerque, Israel, etc. but 23 of us, including 11 young adults in college or working, had a delicious catered breakfast, courtesy of my brother, Earl.

Our nephew Doug works at Price, Waterhouse, and Cooper in Boston, so we recruited him for the Prague office near our apartment. Others said they would like to come visit if we were going to be there longer.

We missed Mom, but are so blessed to still have Dad with us.

Lloyd did a two-hour stint of bell ringing for the Salvation Army at the Bedford Mall yesterday evening. Lance and I took turns standing with him, wishing people a cheery Merry Christmas, ringing the bell, and thanking them for their gifts. There was a steady stream of people giving, and we had to keep pushing the money down, using a ruler in the slot. We wondered what Czechs would think of these greetings between strangers, and the obvious good will of everyone as we talked and collected the money.

I received a very nice e-mail from one of my students. I miss them.

I went to a living Nativity here in Bedford. "Mary" and "Joseph" walked with a donkey down the street, stopped at an "inn" and then went to a barn. There were probably a thousand people walking along behind them, including many children.

Christmas in New Hampshire

On Friday evening Lloyd's family came to our house. We had brought them presents in Prague, and it was fun to explain each one. We are blessed with two new members of the family since two of Lloyd's nephews got married this year. One bride is Roman Catholic and the other Jewish, so we began our festivities with their lighting the Advent and Hanukkah candles, complete with Jewish prayer. That was really special. We gave Sarah a miniature Golem and told her about the Prague Golem stories. We had an Infant Jesus for Amy, and pictures to show her of the many Catholic churches.

The highlight of the evening was caused by our daughter's spurt of domesticity. She was making an artichoke dip that called for chilli peppers, and accidentally bought VERY HOT jalapeno peppers instead. While chopping them her hands began to sting, and continued to do so for the next 12 hours! Each guest had a different remedy, so she tried milk, butter, cortisone cream, witch hazel, water, ice cubes, oil, aleve, and probably a few more. She even called Dial-a-Nurse, and nothing seemed to stop the stinging. We will remember this Christmas as the one when Loralee's hands were on fire.

I am reading Deuteronomy and Joshua to complete my Bible-in-a-year. These two books are excellent for missionaries. Maybe I'll write a study guide for IICS.

No snow in New England, but lots of rain. Temperatures in the 40s.

December 21 33rd Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary. We have been apart 3.5 months this year, 6 weeks at a time. Remembering when we were first married and did everything together, even grocery shopping, shared one car, and didn't want to be separated for as little as one night, its hard to believe I survived this year.

I remember when we went to Boise for a church plant, and I was homesick. I thought I would never go back home to live, that it was a forever move. Now Lloyd is the "home boy," although he has said he is willing to sell our house and move wherever I am called as permanent pastor, and he would have been happy to settle in Oregon or Washington. But I am not ready to give up our home here in New Hampshire, and right now there are no church openings here.

We are in agreement that we would like to do one-month mission trips, and I am in the process of writing a proposal for UNYP for these types of courses. Hopefully this year will keep us in the same place at the same time. Thank you for praying about where and how we should be ministering.

Home in the USA

We flew from Ruzyne Airport in Prague at 6:45 A.M. on Monday December 18. We got up at 4:00 to meet a 5:00 van arranged by our landlord. It took half an hour to get all our luggage from the 5th floor apartment to the front entrance, 3 elevator loads. Our ride to the airport took half an hour, and we maintained the Czech silence. It was hard, since we Americans tend to chat, especially when excited.

We got to the airport -- no lines for tickets!!!, and all our luggage was fine except one piece, a double carry-on suitcase and bag. Some of the other pieces were overweight a little, and they let them through. So we stood there trying to figure out what to do. This extra piece of luggage would cost $150. If anyone sees luggage scales, please buy them and I will re-imburse you. These on-the-spot decisions about overweight luggage are stressful. Lloyd decided to split the one piece of problem luggage, so he gave the top piece to me, and kept the bottom piece. He would have 3 hours before his flight, and could think about options during that time. What was in this overweight piece? Lance's computer and mine, as well as books I used for teaching. I didn't realize computers are so heavy. He ended up paying over a hundred dollars for that piece.

Our flight to Frankfurt was only an hour, it was a little foggy but otherwise a good flight. Then we had to go through security again, as well as passport checks. It took a full hour. We can't figure out why I got two passport stamps and Lance got none (he went a different way than I did), and what the criteria is for passport stamps.

Our flight from Frankfurt to Boston was sunny and smooth. I read a whole novel, Lance read, and the last couple of hours we played LifeChoices, a card game where you tell stories from your family's past. Of course Lance loved it, dredging up all the stories of my brothers' and sisters' and my misdeeds. He wants to put all those stories in his movies, so watch out!

We breezed through customs and had no security check whatsoever in Boston -- isn't that amazing!!! Then we went to Concord Trailways Bus stop and thought we would have to wait two hours. But this friendly Concord Trailways bus driver came to us and offered to take us to South Station or Concord NH. He was so friendly, helpful, and jovial, we probably would have gone with him to New York!! What a contrast from our dour, non-communicative bus/tram drivers in the Czech Republic! We ended up staying on his bus, and Loralee and Aaron were willing to pick us up in Concord. Then Lloyd called and we had figured out how he could get to Manchester (his plane was 3 hours later than hours), so they picked him up as well.

Gayle, Lloyd's sister, had cleaned our house. Lloyd arranged it before he came to Prague. So we walked into an immaculate home. It was still daylight and everything looked beautiful! My eyes had to adjust to all the color, even the wood floors are colorful compared to our apartment in Prague.

While we waited for Lloyd I started unpacking the first set of luggage, and Lloyd has done the rest this morning. I went to bed at 8:00 (20:00) and Lloyd at 9:00. We were up at 6:00 this morning and watched the sunlight make our yard visible. Its good to be home, even if we had 48 answering machine messages to go through and two bushels of mail. My sister Lorraine had put cream in the refrigerator so we could enjoy our morning cup of coffee, and think about each of you, your prayers, and support of our overseas adventure. Thank you.

Last Weekend in Prague

Saturday was very busy. We have made a new friendship with a couple who live on the first floor of our apartment building. The wife went to Plymouth State, can you believe it! Her mother is here to help her with their baby who has had life threatening illnesses, and her father is coming this week, as well as the husband's mother from England. So they are all going to stay in our apartment on the 5th floor. They came up on Saturday to be given a tour, and shown how everything works. Everything I wish someone had shown me!!!

Then the Christian International School of Prague put on the play, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at a theatre up the street, so we went and met the parents of our students. They all did a great job in the pageant. It was funny and poignant.

Then back home because the 6 couples who serve under IICS came to our apartment for dinner and a meeting. We ordered sandwiches so didn't have to cook. We had a really nice time together, and will miss each other. Three of the six couples are going home to the USA this month.

Today I graded student papers and workbooks for 3 hours, and them began packing, fitting in a meeting with a student as well (she brought me a bottle of wine and chocolates). The initial packing is done, but we will have to redistribute based on weight. We are all a little tense, but doing well.

Lloyd and Lance went to PCFE film school and Lance gave Lloyd a tour, saying good bye to students and professors.

We leave our apartment at 5:00 A.M. (11:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time) by van. Lloyd has a 3-hour wait in the airport for his flight, but Lance and I will head to Frankfurt and then on to Boston, catching a bus from Boston to Manchester where Loralee and Aaron will pick us up, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We couldn't do it without you.

Friday Last Day at PCFE Film School

Today there was a Film Viewing, and each student had one film shown. The Viewing began at 10:00 and with a half hour break, ended at 1:15. Jose's film was based on a story his grandfather told him about serving in World War II and was dedicated to Charles K Sandford. That was really special. Jose acted in the last film shown, and it was hilariously funny. We very much enjoyed the show, and wish there had been time to discuss each film with its student director. Tonight they have a PCFE Film Party, and will receive their certificates of completion. We were happy to meet the faculty, and to say hello to other students we have met this semester.

The Last Week

Our last week is bitter sweet. We know nothing will be the same, even if we come back, so everything is for the last time. On the other hand, there are arrangements to be made to get home, and we look forward to that. "Travel is the school of humans" said Anwari in the 12th century.

On Monday our middle school students at CISP finished reading and studying Proverbs. That was a major undertaking. On Wednesday we finished discussing Madeleine Takes Command, the book they read together after Tom Sawyer. Madeleine is a French-Canadian in the 1600s. So I have taught my last class at CISP, and today I taught my last class at UNYP. It was hard to say good bye, because I truly love these students. I thanked them for all they taught me, and suggested they all get their tuition money back, because I should pay them for teaching me more than I taught them. I also asked their forgiveness for all the cultural mistakes I made, for the taboos I unwittingly broke, and thanked them for their graciousness and kindness. I wish I could take them all back with me to my home!!! Each student shook my hand and thanked me for coming, hoping I will come back to teach another course.

So now I am grading papers, getting supplies back to the appropriate school, and doing last minute school work.

There were only 3 of us at Book Group because of holiday activities, but we had a good time together. Its amazing how friendship can grow so quickly when a few people meet for a couple of hours once a week, even though it was only seven weeks.

Yesterday evening we attended our last Faith and Learning Get-together. One professor presented his work in the area of ethics, and we all gave our two-cents worth. It was a fun discussion about whether religion belongs in the public square, if so, when and how?

Yesterday I also met with the Human Resource officer at UNYP and we went over my salary. Twenty per cent of my meager wage was taken out for income tax, but I can't get it back. The good side is that I don't have to declare it or fill out paper work. The down side is that I have donated about $400 to the Czech government, when I could have used it to cover expenses. Oh well, Render to Caesar what is Caesar's...

Renting a Car in Prague

My father was here in the Czech Republic in 1945, and I wanted to go to the places where he was stationed. I have had this paper with the names of five cities on it since I got here. He had showed me a map the route taken by the Fourth Armored Division during World War II. On Friday after Thanksgiving we went to the airport to scope out the car rental situation, found 10 companies, but only one that would rent a car for a few hours. Alimex. They have another office in Prague where the prices are half as much as at the airport. So I made a reservation for today, and went to the office yesterday to make sure I could find it, and we had everything organized.

We got up early this morning and got to the office. The paperwork took about ten minutes, and the young man gave us a map with directions for getting out of Prague. Of course neither his directions nor the map matched the actual roads, so we spent half an hour of high stress flying by the seat of our pants (actually Lloyd's sense of direction won the day) and we were on our way.

It was interesting to see the Czech landscape -- almost identical to New Hampshire, white birches, rolling hills, fields, and little hamlets. Geographically we wouldn't know the difference between New Hampshire and the Czech Republic.

The houses are different: they don't use wood, instead it looks like some kind of cement or stucco, in many beautiful pastel colors. We found Susice, which Dad remembers, then followed the 4th armored route to the other towns. It was a gray day, but visibility was good and we enjoyed it. We took pictures of things Dad might have seen.

Then we headed home around 3:00. It began to rain more steadily than it has since we got here in September, it got dark and by 4:00 when we got back to Prague it was dark. We got terribly lost and spent two hours trying to find our way around Prague. We passed our apartment twice, and the second time stopped to use the facilities and study our maps, then out again, and we got to the Alimex car rental office with 3 minutes to spare -- their office closes at 6:00. We had to fill up the gas tank, the girl at the counter spoke no English, and we couldn't figure out how to work the pump. Stress! Stress!!

We are home safe and sound. As Mark Twain says in Innocense Abroad, the discomforts will slowly disappear from our memories and we will be talking about our wonderful trip driving around the Czech Republic!

Christmas

Yesterday we had our weekly dinner with other IICS professors, and then walked to Old Town Square to see the Christmas lights. They were incredibly beautiful, the two huge churches, the square filled with a Christmas bizarre, a beautiful lit tree, a viewing stand, and so forth. It was so beautiful, I felt like crying!!

Lloyd continued to paint our aparment, two rooms left.

One more class with my college students. I pray they will get their assignments in and there won't be any snags.

My Middle school students are finishing the book of Proverbs, a great project for me. Ten days left for this trip.

Dresden Germany

On Saturday Teri from Karlovary came into Prague and we got together. She was an international student in Ione Oregon when I was pastor there, and had gone through Confirmation classes with me. We had a great time together. Of course there is so much she knows that I don't! We went grocery shopping together and she showed me which butter, water, eggs, milk, cream, etc. to get. It went so smoothly! I keep quoting her because she taught me so much!

On Sunday we took the train to Dresden Germany. Because I am here for 93 days, I have to leave the country and come back, because a tourist visa is only for 90 days. The train ride was beautiful, following the Vltava River, and then the Elbe. When we got to Dresden, a beautiful German city, it was bitter cold with high winds. We enjoyed the Christmas bazarres and the beautiful architecture, but it was too cold to stay outside. We came back on the 4:00 train.

We have two weeks left here, and realize that we will not get to everything. Its hard to think about leaving, will we fit everything in our suitcases, how will we get home from the airport, is the house still standing, etc.

Christian Year Begins with Advent

Lloyd sleeps later in the morning than I do, so I have been getting dressed in the dark. I discovered, half way through my college class yesterday, that an earing was attached to my glasses. Was this humiliation or humility?!!!

Today I went to Bethlehem Chapel where John Hus was Rector in the early 1400s. John Hus was a Czech professor at Charles University who followed John Wycliff in bringing the Reformation to Europe a hundred years before Martin Luther. ("Wyclif struck the spark, Hus lit up the candle, and Luther wielded the torch" of the Reformation) Hus was burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Council in Constance. There is a picture depicting it in Bethlehem Chapel, which is now owned and maintained by the Czech Technical University. I had a chance to pray for the Czech Republic, that there will be another revival like that at the time of Hus, especially among college students here in Prague.

On my way home I picked up a St. Nicholas figure, and realized that Santa Claus is a saint, and we have been remiss in thinking he is the emblem of secularism at Christmas. He is a Christian saint, and belongs to Christianity.

We lit our first Advent candle today in class at CISP, and discussed the Christian year: 24 days of Advent, 12 days of Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, etc.

Please pray for Lloyd. We were going to make a trip this weekend, but he is not feeling well and spent the day in bed. Thank you.