Ahoj,
Well I have been in Praha for one week. It has been a very interesting week in many ways. I apologize if I fail at brevity in this update but I will try. :-)
I arrived safe and sound to Praha Ruzyně Airport after an uneventful flight. My buddy, Lucie, was waiting for me as promised and so we headed to the dorm and arrived there no problem despite my heavy bags. :-D She helped me to check in and settle in, and I met my roommate, who also is from CSU in Fort Collins. I was slightly disappointed because I hoped for the challenge of meeting someone from another country right away, but I know He does what He does for a reason. :-) The three of us went almost immediately to Albert, the nearest grocery store (well, they're all over) and got some food. This was all Weds 10 September. :-)
So Thursday, 11 Sept., my buddy took Ashley (my roommate) and I to school to ask some questions, and we were frustrated that we could not register early or anything despite the fact that we saw our ID cards and packets laying completely prepared on a table. We were also again frustrated when we tried to buy a transportation pass (which is MUCH more economical than individual tickets) because they would not accept our US ISIC cards, so we again had to wait until Monday to purchase those. So, without internet at home, and no way of getting internet at school, plus transportation being expensive it was a frustrating morning. We went to Wenceslas Square and looked around some shops and had pizza for lunch, and then the rest of the evening Ashley and I spent mostly relaxing.
Friday 12 Sept, Lucie took me to do some sight seeing. We visited the Castle some and viewed the Cathedral from inside but decided not to go in this day because the line was hugely long. She showed me the beautiful Senate house, and Senate was in session at the time. We had a quick lunch of a 20kč (about 1.20) cheeseburger from McDonalds, saw the 35 second Astronomical clock chime (such a tourist trap...) and I used my limited Czech language to buy a yummy kobliha (donut--very
different from US :-D) at a bakery. Then we both went to our separate homes. Ashley and I had dinner at the pub that is in our dormitory and hung out talking for a while before going to bed.Saturday 13 September I left for VSETÍN! :-D This was rather an unexpected plan that I made just before coming to Praha. The main reason was for the baptism of my friend's fianceé with Maják (Lighthouse) Church, a small church plant in Vsetín (see above blog post). Saturday dawned quite cold compared to my first few very warm days in Praha and it was quite chilly for September... but I had the blessing of having a crazy train adventure (ask me sometime), hanging out with friends, going to the Mládež youth group Saturday night, spending the night with my friends Iva and MaSlo, going to CB church Sunday morning, attending the baptisms on Sunday afternoon, and being shown around the nearby city of Valašské Meziříčí (ValMez) before hopping on yet another train back to Prague. This is the briefest version of the weekend but it was sooo wonderful. :-)
Monday and Tuesday were rather frustrating for me. First, there were many long lines with the school registration Monday morning. That went fine, and Ashley and i got our transport passes, school IDs, and internet info (we were very excited for that). But we found out that evening that we still could not connect to the internet and the directions we were given were very poorly written. Plus I spent the evening sneezing a lot and that wasnt fun... especially when I woke up with a cold on Tuesday morning. Not a fun thing at ALL. I found out that quite a few others from Vsetín also developed a bad cold about the same time. Once again we had internet woes... I managed to connect with my laptop at school, but not at home. There were a few welcome events Tuesday that I also missed due to being sick. I could have gone to one but I missed it, and the party in the evening I chose to avoid because I didnt want to get worse or infect others (this is good...I heard it was very crowded and smokey).
Today has been much better... I worked out my internet problems, which is how I am now updating you. :-) Me and Ashley went on a little "adventure" out to IKEA to get a few things for our room like dishes and an extra pillow and blanket, and had dinner at the canteen and are spending the evening resting because we are both tired and I am still battling a bad cold and need to rest. I can barely talk right now... :-( Not fun!
Still God has proved faithful...
Praises:
- Safe arrival in Praha
- Getting everything set up here, despite the frustrations and delays
- The man God provided on the train who happened to also be going to Vsetín and was able to help me when something went wrong!
- The baptism and profession of faith of 3 new Maják believers! :-D
- How God uses my friends in Vsetín to encourage me when I feel alone out here. :-)
- My buddy, Lucie, and my roommate, Ashley. both not believers, pray I can be a witness in word and action. I have talked some with Ashley about our differences, please pray for boldness to speak the truth in genuine love and without fear...
- for my friend Adéla who is a rather new believer to have a desire to come to mládež and seek the fellowship of other believers, pray I can deepen my relationship with her
- Pray for my cold to go away QUICKLY... it seems maybe Satan is trying to attack, as many of us are sick who are attending Sport Weekend with Mládež this weekend.
- Pray for Sport weekend, there will be spiritual talks in the evening and pray that the Holy Spirit will work through Athletes in Action and move the hearts of unbelievers and encourage the hearts of believers. :-)
- For my future involvement this semester with Mládež... this is where I hope to be involved when I move here, so I am THRILLED that God seems to have opened the door for me to be in Vsetín more this semester. :-) SO excited!!!
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