Hello everyone! We just finished our first Monday and it was a day with a lot of good news and some news for which we want you pray. First the good news: We have now been in the Czech Republic for six days. Today some of our team went to a school across the street and taught English, others went a few blocks away and taught high school English. My group went to a town called Dolni Krupe and taught English to elementary students. At Dolni Krupe, Amy, Amy, Ben and myself played Pictionary (which is a big hit) and also introduced ourselves by giving the students a map of the U.S. and having them mark where we are from.
At my table were two nine year olds and two ten year olds named Andre, Alice, Barbara, and a little boy who was very shy and kept giving his first name and last name in a soft murmur. I asked them questions in English using complete sentences from a sheet that had English and Czech so I could point to the question to give them a hint of how to reply in English. I was very impressed to see these kids light up with joy when they said something correctly or when one of us messed up a Czech pronunciation. Apparently Czech is one of the hardest languages to learn. We are starting to pick up some phrases which is pretty cool as we connect with the kids. We often resort back to neum czesky, which is “I don't understand.” I know the Lord is using our language attempts even if we are laughed at by children. Here are a few phrases that the I've learned:
Kolik je li let (pronounced Coal-lick yeah key let) which asks, "How old are you?"
Dva-set-dva (is 22 and is my age)
Jak se mas? (Yak se ma-sh) like mama in the ma asks how are you in the informal and is usually only said to friends.
It is really cool to gradually pick up on bits and pieces of Czech.
Later in the afternoon some of us went sledding with some Gypsies while others taught high school English. I went sledding and it was so cold that only a few came. When Joanie (our incredibly humble and hospitable host who is a full-time missionary here and has been for the last 14 years!) showed up a little boy named Oliver ran to her and jumped into her arms and gave her a kiss—it was powerful and all of us who were there witnessed Christ at work. It has been incredible, as Brittany mentioned tonight at our team meeting, to witness Christ already at work and the power of his love that is breaking through barriers.
Here is something everyone can be praying for: Three of our team members were sick today and Czeched out of the activities due to their illness. Please pray for our energy and especially for those who are sick. Yet know they are in good hands.
We miss you all, but please know that the Lord is working here and it is great to play a small part in it, and to grow in our walks with Jesus Christ!
Nashledanou (n-aaa-sh-lay-don-ue, Czech for goodbye), Brandon
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