Děkuju za.../Prosím za...

I have a lot I can thank God for, really an undeserving amount.

Yesterday was Mother's Day (same here in the Czech Republic) and I am so thankful for mothers, for good mothers! I don't know how I was so lucky to be born to the mother I have, but truly she is a blessing in my life. She has made me who I am and believe it or not, I feel okay when I hear the same things from her mouth coming out of my mouth. One of the many blessings of marriage, is your in-laws and I think I won the in-law lottery because I have a great Mother-in-law.

Please pray for the Bible clubs that Kelsey and I started at two of the children centers. Pray for continuation after we leave and pray for the children in them, that their lives will be positively affected by it.

Word of the Week

Jako- pronounced: YOK (like the beginning of octogon)-OH meaning like. The way you used to or still do get in trouble by your teachers for saying like to much. Like... what? ; I was like... ; I guess like... ; etc..

I was talking to a boy (17 years old) and he said that he was getting in trouble in his English class for saying like too much and I told him I suffered from this same problem when I was in school. He then proceeded to tell me that he gets in trouble from his Czech teacher for saying jako too much. Funny how we have so many little things in common.

Culture

Easter is celebrated here on Monday, the Monday after the USA's Easter Sunday. And I'm not talking about Church and the resurrection because that is pretty standard across the board, Good Friday or in Czech, Velký Pátek (directly translated to big/large Friday) and then Easter Sunday or Velikonoce (directly, big nights); I'm talking about Easter Monday. This is a day that is a bank holiday, meaning no one works- anywhere. Instead they have a day with family and friends (pretty nice, yeah?) and tradition. Tradition is still held firm here, with wheel spinning and superstitions (more to come on this in later weeks), but my favorite-well my second favorite-is the Easter tradition.

From a young age the boys are taught to braid the branches of willow trees together to form a whip. Once they have their whip, they proceed to find their female friends. They whip the girls and receive in return for their whipping (why not, I would love to give gifts to the boys who came to hit me, especially the fifth, sixth, tenth and so on... maybe it's not a good thing to be a popular girl here...) she must give them a decorated egg, she must tie some ribbon on the end of his whip (so he can show how many times he's whipped girls, of course), and give him a shot of alcohol (depending on the age of the boy). This is all done in the morning and as soon as afternoon begins, the girls can get revenge (if the boys aren't too drunk and passed-out by then) by throwing water on them or spraying them with perfume. Apparently, the boys get quite stinky after being sprayed by ten or so different smells.



The whipping isn't extreme at all, it's more like a soft tap for the younger kids and maybe hard if the boy knows the girl really well, but it is all quite civil. Legend has it that getting whipped on Easter will bring you health and help you maintiain your beauty for the coming years so maybe getting hit a little is a good thing...

I must stress that it is done for the sake of fun, tradition, and "my mother said and I had to." No one is really hurt, but because it is something I could never dream of happening in the US due to equality, laws, rights and not having 1,000+ years of tradition, I must say the idea of it seems quite strange to me. This is the beauty of being somewhere different though and I am grateful for the laughs and funny stories I hear from the people.

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*This is my understanding of the tradition.

Photo of the Week

My first traditional Czech meal I've made

Sunday afternoon I was inspired. I've eaten Czech food plenty of times and I really enjoy it, but I have never been able to muster the courage to actually try to make something Czech. If you want a real traditional Czech meal, it includes: dumplings (bread or potatoes), some meaty sauce, maybe some shredded cabbage and then raw vegetables cubed (any combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles or bell peppers).

The sauce I made probably wouldn't be considered traditional (a tomato-creamy-cheese sauce), but it was ridiculously good and I was pleased with the turn out.

[insert name here]

Before I begin, I think I need an intro to this topic...

My hope is that I could write about the people in my life, who directly affect my life. If you happen to find yourself on here and do not want to be, please let me know and I will take the post down.

Jennifer.

My younger sister. I guess I can't call her my little sis any more because she is in fact taller than me, but I am okay with this because I can still beat her up (she will argue this, but she will know deep down it is true).

On Sunday evening, I was able to Skype with her; I was surprised and impressed the whole time. The Skyping relationship has been hard to maintain since she is busy with school, six hours behind me in time and I have work during different times of different days. I was sick and I couldn't sleep and I was so excited when I heard the Skype ring and saw my sister's name.

She looked so grown up and beautiful and everything she said was so well thought out. She wasn't being her crazy, spastic self, putting on an entertaining show for everyone, she was being her, and she was being intelligent and I was really shocked. This girl, that I have known her whole life, made me feel old and proud and weird all at once.

Jennifer is one of the people in my life that knows most about me, the experiences I have had-good and bad. I love her so much and I'm glad that not only is she my sister, but also my friend.

Confessions with Jessie

I am scared of the flight home. I leave in four months and going home will be sad, but nothing frightens me more than knowing I have this long journey ahead of me, where all I will think about is who and what I am leaving.

I paint my nails because my friend Dáší always has something to say about them. Usually she thinks I am being aggressive, but it is funny and I like it.

I fall. A lot. Thankfully when no one is looking, but it seems like quite often I find myself on the ground and I know I do not faint, but I also do nott know how I got there.

Děkuju za.../Prosím za...

Today is the year anniversary of the death of a very dear friend of mine, Blake Webb.

I met him the summer of 2007, the same year I met Kelsey. I remember being really curious about Blake, he had these very blond curls and this small, cute nose and he seemed like a giant! It was phileo-love at first sight.

The next three years were filled with weekends of hang-outs and lots of talks, and I still can't put my finger on everything I learned, but I know Blake's teachings and words linger on in the hearts of many and I am fortunate to be have one of those.

So today, I thank God for Blake's life. For what he did for me in those three, short years I knew him; from weekend visits to when he lived with Kelsey and I. For the love and friendship he gave me and for the things he taught Kelsey. I am so thankful for him.

I am also thankful for his family- for my family. To be blessed with another set of adults that I can call mom and dad, for a beautiful red-head that I can call my sister, and for how welcoming they are to me.

I ask God to please, lift up his family, help them to stay strong and to be courageous.

It seems I fail at blogging.

I don't have much time left here in the Czech Republic and it really hurts my feelings. I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying, trying to figure out some goals and one of those goals is to blog more. The point of this blog was/is to let others know about my experience and I haven't really done that. So with that, I have come up with a plan that will motivate me to write more. My plan is to assign a theme to each day:

Monday-"Děkuju za.../Prosím za..." (praise reports/prayer requests)
Tuesday-"Confessions with Jessie"
Wednesday "[insert person's name here]"
Thursday-"Photo of the Week"
Friday-"Culture"
Saturday-"Word of the Day"


Cross your fingers for me and let's hope I can do this.
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PS I will start Monday.

A sunny day at the park.

The sun has been peaking its head through the clouds quite often these days and I am very happy about this.

Last week, at one of the Kid's clubs, we went to the park. Honzik (little Hoziku) was more adorable and affectionate towards me than ever before. I feel this special connection with him, he doesn't speak (he can talk, but doesn't for some reason, his hearing is good and he understands things, but when it comes to speaking he won't. He has been speaking more lately though, I'll try and make him tell me his name or old he is and he'll whisper it to me, not always the correct sounds, but he's trying. Sometimes he'll point to his mouth and then shake his finger like saying I can't do it. But he laughs and he squeals when he's excited all the same.) and I still feel very limited in my speech so I feel like we are a pair.

As we were walking to the park, Honzik grabbed my hand and almost didn't let go of it the whole time; he gave me hugs (a rare thing he gives!), played with my hair, noticed that my fingernails were all different colors and made a thumbs up, he was just so sweet and it really got to me. There is something so special about him, I can't put my finger on it, but he is special.

We leave in four months and I can't tell you how much my heart hurts already. I've made really great friends, got to know some very interesting kids and the more that I think about it all, the more I realize how much I love each one of them.

My biggest goal now, is to make the most out of the time I have left here and not get into a funk from the emotions beginning to develop.

Děti Kluby