Week Two!

The past week proved to be busy again. We were able to get out with the girls and explore more of the city as well as do a little shopping on our own! We even toured the Archdiocesan Museum, a branch of the Olomouc Museum of Art located next to the St. Wenceslas cathedral. Grace enjoyed her first day at skolka (Czech preschool), which she will be attending one day a week when our team member is there teaching English. We are hoping that she will start to pick up some of the Czech language as she is around children who are speaking it. Our second full week here included two days of language lessons. Thankfully, we are starting out with many words that sound similar to English words as well as words that are useful at the grocery :)

Our Internet connection has now been ordered after jumping through some hoops. It will be possible to keep better up to date within a couple weeks if all goes according to plan.

Welcome

Grace loves The Jungle Book. Welcome!
Welcome Smile at Ukraine if I haven't already told you.
Jon and Katie. Welcome and Congratulations.
JLawson it is a pleasure.

Language Learning

The title of the post is also the main prayer request. We have two lessons this week as we work to get the apartment more prepared for our living here. Praise the Lord! We now have beds to sleep on. This will make for some better rest.

Grace did fantastic on her first day of school. She enjoyed time out of the house. She is growing up fast. We now have one less size diapers to work with around the house.

Ella is also doing great. I am happy there are no jet lag tragedies to report.

Some families were not so fortunate.

Grace feels at home

From Ella 6 months and Grace movie

Snow in Olomouc

It has snowed a little every day since our arrival but today was non stop. People carry umbrellas in the snow! The girls enjoyed getting out for a walk in the stroller. Lisa and I were taking in the sights.

Language learning with the tutor began today. This will be an awesome challenge without a double. Lisa and I have practiced tonight until we can each tell the other is not Czech.

Thank you everyone for your comments and emails responding to our safe trip.What an adventure. Many things were different than expected. Nothing beats getting from Prague to Olomouc. There was a van scheduled to haul Bennettoni (family) and luggage away from the airport but we packed that thing out like a sardine can. It took many phone calls and some shrewd business skills to finally cancel the driver (He was thrilled!) and get a company vehicle. Meanwhile, the team moved all the luggage onto the van, off the van, onto the street (whoops!), off the street, into the airport ( destination America?), out of the airport, onto the.....street, off the street, into the van and away we went.

We were seven hours getting to Olomouc from Prague. Check your prayer card. That is silly;) All in all, everyone traveled well for a total of 25 hours. It's a small world after all. We can be thankful for short layovers.

Lisa says she never knew you can put so many layers of clothes on one child:) Na Shledanou

We made it!

Praise God! We are in Olomouc.Email and web access are strictly limited at this time but I wanted to let the group know all is well. Pray for part of the group traveling.

Packing Up

What would it take to get everything into 12 suitcases? About a month to start. We are comming to the end of this process and feeling like it will go on forever. You may not be ready for this step. Just do the easy part and get a passport.

BreneBlog makes me want to keep the video recorder handy to watch Grace dance. That's the next post to the best of my ability....

WPBC and The Vine

Today was the last visit at our former home church for awhile. We welcome the new elders and were encouraged by the sermon from Mathew. Thanks David. I hope to look at the end of each day and recognize that my actions resemble those of the three boys in the fire.

Words can't express my gratitude for The Vine Fellowship. Today was a day to enjoy this family face to face and look ahead at 2009. Thanks for the questions to review with Lisa. We will get into it on the plane. Everyone needs to plug in for the lessons in January on Shepherding a Child's Heart. Lisa and I have felt greatly prepared for the task of parenting thanks to this book. Congratulations to all those about to give birth!

I will post a link to the resource list published on the Vine blog as soon as it's available.

All you others publishing your safe arrival, let the journey commence! God bless you!

Leslie we got the post. Thanks.

Day 2

I am going for a record number of posts in 2009. Day 2: We are making plans for travel as expected. God has provided for additional luggage allowance and all the bags we need to make this happen. Thank you Jason!

I was convicted after running some errands that I missed opportunities for outreach. The post office was closed so one person after another left in disgust because it seemed odd that no one was working on the second day of the year. Were you off?

I was armed with the knowledge that a closed post office or an unsuccessful trip is the new normal for those of us living abroad. Stories go on for days from folks who have left the post office with nothing but a tale to share of frustration. My attitude stayed positive but I wish I had encouraged others with the gospel. Lesson learned.

My conviction for missed opportunities led me to an outreach that many before me have used. Mammaw may be the best at sending an encouraging word through the post. So, I followed in her footsteps and let my light shine through some notes to friends and acquaintances. Let me know if you were blessed.

The strategy behind sharing our faith needs to be in place before too many more days go by in the new year! Pray that God will be glorified through opportunities taken advantage of.

Happy New Year

Ella is just as excited as I am! Happy New Year!
Chattanooga has been a tremendous blessing thus far. We are staying well in Hixson,TN for the start of the new year. The celebration of our family has continued for a week past Christmas. Great to see our great Uncle Tom and the Great Grandparents here.
Expect the best year of Mountainside-Grace to date. We will be following a number of blogs from other folks worldwide that you can checkout. Thank you for those who have signed up to follow us.
Thanks to the Vine Fellowship and our host for the New Year's Celebration. We rang it in with style.