Eurochurch Conference

I (Phil) participated in a 3-day conference this week for various church leaders around Europe, sponsored by a group called Eurochurch. The focus of the conference was looking at the nature of movements around Europe and assessing current movements happening throughout the continent. The ultimate aim is to see "Europe re-evangelized in the 21st century."

It was extremely diverse, with about 40 people there representing some 15 countries. It was a great time to network and meet other church planters and leaders, and to hear what God is doing in other parts of Europe.

Car Ownership 101

We were feeling pretty good about owning a car here so far - how to drive the bumpy streets, how to get gas, how to read street signs. We were looking for a bigger challenge. So one of us (who shall remain nameless, since this will probably happen to the other one of us someday) parked the car a little too close to a crosswalk and came back an hour later to find that the car was not there.

Some nice shopkeepers assisted us by calling the towing company (or whoever is in charge of these things), locating the car, and then driving us to go get it. $60 later we had our car back - a fairly smooth process, as far as Czech processes go.

The Wooden Hippo

One park has some wooden animals that you can climb on, or through, as Clark is doing with this hippo.

It Don't Mean a Thing, If you Ain't Got a Swing

Lucy and her friends at school have been enjoying the nice weather.

The Bond family

Randy Bond, a new board member for World Harvest Mission, and his family were in Prague last week for a conference that Randy was participating in. They were nice enough to take us out to dinner while they were in town, so we chose one of our favorite Mexican places - Cantina. (Notice we don't really opt for Czech food?)

Our waitress was kind enough to take our picture. I guess I forgot to specify that I wanted to be in the picture too. That's my arm on the left.

The people downstairs are puzzled...

Lucy got a new jump rope last week. So, both Shanna and Phil's mom decided to try it out. Lucy was in awe, or maybe it was shock.

silly faces

We took advantage of the great weather, spring break, and a babysitter for the little ones (Clark and Georgia) and had a special date at the park with Emily and Alex. Lucy and Alex are great friends and everytime they see each other they run and hug and say "I love you!" at the top of their lungs. We are so lucky to have good friends in our life!

Bible Study

Each Thursday night we meet for Bible study at our house. We study, worship, and pray together as a group. We have just added a new component which we are so excited about - personal testimonies. This week Laura shared her story about her relationship with God. She talked about growing up in a Christian home yet really growing in leaps and bounds during college and after. She also shared about how God is working in her life now. It was a great time of encouagement and so neat to hear how God is working in and through her. We love you, Laura!
(She also made delious oatmeal scotties...yummmm)

Morning Swim?

There is a fabulous pool next door and we LOVE to go swim and eat cookies!

YaYa & Mrs. Weatherford

We are so proud of these two travelers they took Europe by storm! Europe will never be the same. We miss you both already!!

Could it be...spring?

We've had the best weather over the past few days - lots of sun, temps in the 60s. The trees are budding again, and some color is coming back into the trees (and our faces). We've gone to the park quite a lot - today we hit "Children's Island," which is literally an island in the Vltava River with all sorts of slides, swings, and rope ladders. A swingset Shangri-la.

There's also a small soccer field and a skateboard park for the bigger kids, plus a restaurant/cafe that sits right over the water. We went on Thursday, and it was crazy-busy, but on Saturday it was very quiet (since all Prague citizens head out of town on the weekends!). We had a blast.

More park pictures

Bringing the Old South to Europe

Yaya and her good friend Mrs. Weatherford have had quite an adventure in the week that they've been here. They took a 3-day trip to Vienna and Salzburg and returned with lots of stories - Austria will never be the same.

Yaya especially has become quite the independent European traveler, using an ATM machine for the first time ever! Phil's dad (Papa) better watch out when she returns - the shopping possibilities are now endless for her. Imagine technology that allows you to get cash out of a machine whenever you need to! What will they think of next? Online shopping?

Yaya also sent text messages to us from Austria, and even though she never found the spacebar, we eventually got the idea of what she was saying. Here are some of my favorite messages she sent (verbatim):

"Weareheresafelyc...Annotgetphonetoworjjknm"
"Walkedlegsofftookacastletourgoingtoconcerttelldadloveall"
"Doingfinestilllove"

Even though we've given her a hard time, we are very proud of her. She has done everything with a smile and, of course, her charm. It has been so fun to have her here with us!

WeloveyouYaya!

Happy Easter

"Vesele Velikonoce," or Happy Easter from all of us here in Prague!

"Hody, hody dopravody"

We had a little brunch for Easter today with some special guests. Yaya, of course, who has been with us for a few days already; Chris, Laura, and Owen; Yaya's friend Mrs. Weatherford who helped out with the brunch preparations (see picture); and Radek, Anna Lee's dad, who is trying to survive while wife Emily and daughter Anna Lee are in the States visiting family.

Radek was a hero when he walked in the door because he brought (a) chocolate, and (b) little bundles of sticks with streamers on the ends, called a pomlazka. This is a very important part of the Czech Easter tradition. On Easter Monday, boys take their pomlazka and tap (PG13 version - "whack") girls on their legs (PG13 version - "backsides"), chanting a little poem "Hody, hody, dopravody..." The girls then are supposed to give the boys a painted egg or candy (PG13 version - "shot of alcohol"), unless it's after noon and then they can pour water on the boys. Got it?

It may seem a little strange (or barbaric) to us, but this is how the Prague Post newspaper explains it: "The Easter traditions of the Czech Republic are born not out of malice or misogyny but simply a desire to have a little fun after winter's thaw. As with most ancient rituals, it is also provides an excuse for boys and girls, charged up with the energy of spring, to run around and flirt."

Before we ate our excellent brunch, Phil led us in a short devotion on Easter - on how the women who found Jesus' empty tomb were both afraid and full of joy. Good news sometimes makes us feel both emotions. It wasn't really a children's sermon, but it sure looked like one.

Easter morning

Lucy and Clark ran down the hall this morning to see what the Easter Bunny had left them - a chocolate smorgasbord!













There were also dozens of eggs hidden throughout the room, and after Lucy and Clark found them, they marveled over their findings. Let the sugar high begin!

Hitting the Links?

Anybody ready for a round?

Show me the Bunny

One of Lucy's favorite things to do with Yaya is make some sort of treat. This time Yaya came prepared and had all the items to make a big bunny cake.













We believe in immediate gratification, so we had to nibble off some of the ears before Sunday's Easter brunch.

Bunny Cake

Lucy and Yaya's Easter Bunny Cake

Easter with Yaya

Yaya (Phil's mom) arrived on Friday to much enthusiasm at our house. Everyone has been getting excited for Yaya and the Easter Bunny (in that order). We all trekked down to Old Town Square on Saturday to see the Easter Market, a bunch of kiosks set up with crafts and local food, and trees with colorful eggs hanging from them. We then hit Bohemia Bagel for some lunch before heading back home.

Lucy took this picture from the raised platform in the square. You can see Shanna, Clark, and Yaya in the middle left.

Clark and Owen's Day together...

Wednesdays is playgroup and it usually is at my house but today we ventured out to an indoor play area in one of the local malls. You pay a small fee (about a dollar an hour) and play until your heart's content. These places are especially great during the long winters when you just need to get out and play, and it is too cold at the park. Clark and Owen had a grand time, riding in the cars, playing in the balls and just running! Then it was of to the golden arches for nuggets. After a fast and furious meal, the boys took naps at our house while Laura and I had girl time together. They finished there day together with goldfish and a video about things that go... life is so fun!

play-doh

We were hard at work one afternoon with play-doh creations! Lucy and Clark love to spend time at the kitchen table making all sorts of fun things.

The real meaning of Easter?

On the way to school, I asked Lucy what's so special about Easter. Without hesitation, she threw her hands up and shouted, "Chocolate!"

I followed that up with "Why do we celebrate Easter?" Her reply: "Because of candy, treats, and cookies!"

You can't escape the Da Vinci Code

Last night Chris and I (Phil) went to a free lecture put on by some American missionaries on the Da Vinci Code. It was in English with Czech translation. We weren't sure what to expect, but we walked into the lecture room to see over 100 people there. We had to stand in the back. It was amazingly diverse, too, although it was about 95% Czech in attendance. From 6-year-old children to 80+ year-old pensioners.

The speaker went through a lot of the incorrect facts that are in the book, from the little inconsistencies to the major theological errors. It was interesting to see the level of interest in this book, even here in Prague. At the end was a fairly intense Q&A session, featuring questions like "So are you saying that The da Vinci Code is fiction like the Bible is fiction?" and "What is the reaction of the religious right in America to this book?" and "What do you believe personally?"

In the Czech culture, where it is simply assumed that you are an atheist (one of our friends here has said to us, "I'm Czech, so I'm atheist."), this book (and upcoming movie) have generated lots of discussion and have made people really think about personal beliefs. I'm hoping that we can do some sort of event in conjunction with the movie's release in May, similar to this one.

Sweet Thing

It is a joy to be the mommy of this sweet girl...Lucy has a heart of gold and loves people well. She embraces life with excitement and anticipation and has the belly laugh that makes you want to come alongside her and see life through her eyes. She is very passionate about dancing (especially to Jesse's Girl and Ice Ice Baby), treats, friends and her brother Clark. She loves to sing worship songs and ask lots of questions about Jesus. She is a pure delight to me and I am so blessed to be her mommy.

How ya doing?

Last week while Lucy was at school, Clark and Anna Lee had a date together... First it was the park for swings and sand and then off to Village Incognito kavarna where Emily and Anna Lee are tight with the owner, so we got special treatment from Mr. John. Clark of course was the perfect gentleman until it was time to leave and he couldn't give Anna Lee enough kisses... He has got it bad!

Thank You!

Because of so many of you we get to serve in this amazing place... Just reminded of how grateful we are to so many of you!

So You Think You Can Watch TV?

One of our recent weekly traditions has been a viewing of the US reality show "So You Think You Can Dance?" We had the finale (weeks after the actual US show ended) this weekend - we especially liked making fun of the judges and providing our own unique commentary for the dancing.

Family fun

Saturday was one of the warmest days we've had in quite a while. To celebrate, we had some fun activities planned to re-introduce us to the warm thing in the sky known as the "sun," and the green stuff on the ground called "grass."

First was a children's story hour at the Prague Christian Library, run by some friends of ours nearby. Yesterday's topic was, appropriately enough, Easter - Lucy had a lot of fun listening to the stories.

After that we went to the park to play, eat lunch, and blow bubbles. Clark was infatuated with all the dogs that he saw, pointing and grunting at each one. Our vitamin D intake shot up about 200% for the year.

Thursday crew

Our Bible study on Thursday featured a special guest - Rob from the States. Rob is married to Juli, our Canadian friend who first witnessed the sparks between Shanna and myself 8 years ago in Russia. We had never met Rob before, but he was in Prague for a conference and came over for dinner and Bible study. He's the second from the left - it was great to finally meet him!
Another highlight was the Ben and Jodi show...