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Baby Names

Lisa and I were discussing baby names when we stoped to do our daily Bible reading. Remember we are working along with Iva May on the NIV chronological daily plan. So, join us. Have a look at today's reading and see if you have any suggestions.

1 Chronicles 23-24

We both chuckled at Happizzez and Mushi but why not?

Congratulations to John Bennett who not only will have a baby with his wife Rachel but it's a boy. They also think they have a name selected. "We are just plain slow", said Lisa.

Thanks

A huge box of new clothes arrived from America and all I had was my cell phone to record the thrill.

All was quiet.....

Lisa said the house was quiet for one hour with only the sound of paper rustling occasionally. Grace and I were at school and Ella sat down to play with some craft supplies. Maybe she found the instructions for some winter wonderland. You are looking at 1 kg of flour. Ha.

Don't forget the daily Bible reading

Lisa and I are still on track with the NIV read through the Bible but it took a few days of focused effort to catch up this last week. Even with all the blog posts I still managed to finish during nap time! To God be the Glory! Really, HE did that.

Iva May
Questions on the reading for yesterday:
What evidences reveal that your view of God is too small?
Anxiety, prayerlessness, and scheming are all symptoms of a small view of God.

The prayer today is that you will hold me and the family to a Great Big view of God. Ella has put a stop to my uninterrupted time of study and correspondence. More to come.

First Saturday by Bike

The weather was incooperative on the first biweekly Saturday mountain bike trip but there were three participants. I am hoping to get to know students better as we have a chance to ride together. My friend Martin is helping organize the rides. Read more at the Young Life website.
Even if I was a fast rider, we still have pit-stops for flats like where there is time to talk. Pray for Marek to come to know Christ and more to be involved.

Race Results

It has apparently taken a month to recover from the race. That just means there have been no blog posts. Today, I am aiming to catch things up a bit. 1st. Total time was 1:49 for the half. That is a PR. It has to be. It was the first attempt.
It served as an outreach to one new friend living here. We had mile after mile to chat and become better friends. Lift up Hans and his family please.

Coffee Distribution

The sign asks why not have something to drink for free. Well, many walked on by refusing to participate but many stopped to say hello and ask what we are doing on the street giving away free coffee. You can see that at least one was enthusiastically grateful. Outreach like this can always be on your prayer list as we are continually striving to find a way to meet needs and introduce the love of Christ to Czechs. This even took place on the 29th of March. What can we give away in the heat of summer?

1/2 Marathon in just a few days

The girls are a big help. They had been asleep for one hour when we arrived at the overlook. It was too cold to get out and play but they enjoyed the day.

from Lisa

Lisa was working hard to get out some info when I sat down and quickly loaded some photo and video. Read on from her:

We had been doing so much better at blogging regularly and then totally fell off the wagon! Ah, I love when I can use idioms like this and people automatically understand me :)

The past month (or so) has included more language lessons, ministry opportunities, reconnecting with people we met last year, a wonderful 3-day vacation in western Germany, and another visit to the doctor to check on baby boy. We have adjusted our schedule in an effort to be more consistent and, therefore, more sane! Monday through Thursday, Philip has the mornings for language study and I have the afternoons. At least, this is the general idea! Sometimes, we each need to use some of this time to take care of other things, but even then, we are able to practice our Czech.

We have resumed a conversational English club that was started last fall by our colleagues and their national partner. Philip is currently working with this man, David, on the English club and other outreach opportunities. Just last week, they did a coffee distribution as a way to raise awareness of a culture night that is planned for the 25th of this month. This partner has also put the neighborhood he works in on a list of cities/areas in the Czech Republic in which the entire New Testament will be read in Czech the day before Easter. We are planning to spend at least some of that Saturday with him, hoping to talk with people who are interested to know what is going on and why. I believe that last year was the first time this happened and the N.T. was read in over 140 cities/towns/villages in the CZ! We are thrilled with this opportunity and pray that we will meet many people who want to know more about Jesus!

Last fall, I met a woman named Veronika and her family at Starbucks. We were there with our girls for the final English club meeting of 2009 where David's brother played a beautiful concert on the keyboard for us. Before we left, Veronika and I exchanged phone numbers with the idea that we would contact one another the next time we were planning to go to Starbucks as a family. The holidays came, then the snow, and we never went as a family until a few weeks ago when we decided that all 4 of us would go for the English club. (The girls and I didn't go at all last year). I sent Veronika a text message that day and was surprised to see her later that night! We have gone to see a movie together and she brought her family to the next English club. She seems glad to have another mom to do things with and we are looking forward to getting to know them better. They have 3 small children, the youngest 2 of which are about Grace's & Ella's age.

Kids Club

Pictures are from the March kids club where the Easter story was told. It has been a privilege to provide some music and English lessons to the kids. This Thursday is the last official meeting for the school year. Pray that some may follow up for summer camp and others will continue to attend the Baptist Church in Prague.

2010-03-18

Gift from Libby

I mentioned it in the newsletter that Libby Baptist Church provided for a new stroller for Ella and the new baby to come. Here is a shot from just over the border in Germany where we went to pick it up. Spring Break was a great weekend to get away.

Our first boy video

The doctor was impressed with the mobility and his attempts to climb shown here. Height 16cm - 6in. Weight 132g - 8oz.

Closing the book on January

There have been so many chances for us to brag on God this month. Look for a newsletter tomorrow!

Better and Better

Thanks to fellow blogger Alicia in the Bahamas for straightening out our text!
See what God is doing there at foxfamilylife.com.

God is good to keep the old group working well together! Greetings Turners, Passons, Petersons, and Sells. Are you listening?

1 Year in CZ Today!

That's right! One year ago today we arrived in the Czech Republic. After the long plane ride (plus 2 shorter ones), we arrived at the Prague airport where we spent the next 4 hours before making the 3 hour drive (ride for us!) to Olomouc! In honor of our arrival a year ago, Philip had the idea that we all visit the airport and talk about that day. Now, we only live about 20 minutes away. However, after getting up & leaving early to get Grace to school on time, a great time talking with one of the dad's from Grace's school on the metro (in Czech), meeting with our team for worship & strategy, then enjoying a terrific lunch as a family (communicating with the server in Czech), we ALL took a nap! From Philip, "How does a family with 2 small children celebrate being here 1 year? Take a nap!" Needless to say, the nap was necessary and enjoyed :) Being able to communicate is one of the greatest cultural changes for us from this time last year! Praise the Lord!!

Philip and Grace also had a great time playing & sledding after dinner in all the fresh, new snow that has fallen today. The snow continues to fall quickly and looks the same as when we arrived. We were told by a neighbor that there is never snow on Christmas (which was true), but that it always starts in early January. Also true!

The Lord has proven faithful over the past year. He has seen us through difficult adjustments, language barriers, various disappointments, health issues, homesickness, and other hard times. But, our gracious, loving God has also allowed us to see victories, be encouraged through better communication, the power of prayer, overwhelming love & support, growth as a family and a closer relationship with Him as He has been the only One in whom we could fully rely on. We are so grateful for all who have continually prayed for us this year. We simply could not be here without your prayers and support!

We are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for this year and are constantly praying about ways to reach Czechs with the Gospel, opportunities to share and to meet people, openness of hearts, and exactly where we should be involved as ideas and opportunities are presented. There are several exciting places to be involved as we begin this new year and we will be able to talk about them more fully soon! Also, we ask that you continue to pray for our ability to learn this language and now for Grace to learn as well!

Best night yet

I had four Czech Students ride home on the Metro with me. We discussed my Czech language learning and had a laugh at what is a very elementary book for nationals. The encouragement came from being able to communicate and knowing that they live close.

I have seen several people I recognize in the city this week on various occasions. It feels more and more like home.

Say thanks to Lisa if you like the new layout. She wanted to get with it and try to keep up with all you other amazing bloggers who have such nice art filled borders and banners. I like the Love life. We will soon need three picture frames. We love living life here in the Czech Republic.

Neighbors

Mirek greeted me in the basement Monday as he was going to the storage room. I told him to say congratulations to Lisa when he saw her next. He agreed and said I know. The look on my face was priceless I'm sure. I asked, "You know she is expecting?" and he said "I know everything." Nevertheless, I thought. This is the first time we have had such thin walls apparently.

So, he stoped by yesterday with flowers and told Lisa happy birthday. We were speaking in English and I barely caught it but I asked what he said. He repeated happy new year and happy birthday. I quickly presented our first ultrasound picture and shared that we are excited about an upcoming birth! He does know everything after all but at least we were able to facilitate a timing that leaves less in question about the privacy of our flat. Once again, never-mind, if you saw the video of our announcement I do scream that we are having a baby.

We are glad to get to know the neighbors better and better.

Visitor

It was great to have Daniel in town from Germany. He was able to stay in the flat that you have helped finance while we were away over new years eve. Today we sat down and discussed the group meeting in Olomouc where we were working together. Daniel brought a great update on the status of the group.

He was very encouraging of our location in Prague as a good point for outreach. The girls and I were glad to have the change to see that God has impacted him both in this country and now at home. Daniel committed to be in prayer with us as you have.

Please lift up the college students in Daniel's ministry that are seeking to show the love of Christ on campus. His train should be back home by now.

Encouragement

Thank you to those who sent a special word of congratulations and encouragement. Our excitement level is high as we share the news of our latest member. We are also excited to begin a new year.

Lisa and I are working to read through the bible together using the One Year Chronological Bible. Even better are some questions for thought Lisa pointed me to on the web at ivamaystories.blogspot.com. We were stumped on one so I want to open up for discussion. The questions follow:

How had God described the reproduction process in Genesis one?
What does this tell you about Seth? about post-Fall mankind?

Reproduction involved the woman being made from man. Man was made in the image of God. Seth, however, was made in the image of His father. What more does this tell about Seth and post-Fall mankind?

Thanks in advance