This was our second Sunday on the trip...the second Lord's Day to share with Christian brothers and sisters in another country. As soon as we finished breakfast, we threw our backpacks over our shoulders and began our walk to the place of worship.
It was lovely in Prague in the early morning, and most of the tourists were not out and about, so we had most of the sites to ourselves. We stopped for an early-morning view of the Charles Bridge and the castle complex in the background, passed the square and the Huss memorial and church once again.
Slowly we wandered through the streets until we reached the YMCA, where the church would meet for worship. They rent the area of the YMCA that is used for daycare, so the "motif" was most colorful. 
The "greenish" building in the center is the YMCA. We arrived and left our large backpacks near the door and began to greet the members. Many spoke both English and Czech.
At the beginning of the Bible class Mike introduced us to the members and described our connection to Eugene. Mike told how long he had known Olen's dad and described his memories of sitting in a pew listening to some of Pap's wonderful lessons from God's word. He told about Pap's stand for truth, and how much he meant to Mike. We were touched.
Since the members consisted of both English-speaking and Czech-speaking people, every statement had to be translated. If the statement was made by and English-speaking person, it had to be translated into the Czech, and vice versa. One of the members, Robert, was fluent in both languages, and he sat in the back and translated whatever was said. He was such a help!
Incidentally, Robert and his wife, Tami, have ties to North Alabama, as Tami has a cousin named Cori who lives in our area. Tami also has family in Decatur. Small world.
Mike was finishing up a study of the book of Romans, and he showed slides with his lesson...and, as you might suspect, the slides were in both English and Czech. Mike used the expression "y'all" liberally in his lesson. (You can take an Alabama boy out of the south, but you can't take the south out of an Alabama boy!)
I think I counted 27 present for the worship service, including the new baby that arrived in her baby buggy. Many of the men took an active part in the worship service, and one of them even delivered the lesson of the hour from Matthew 21. It was good to see so many involved in the work there.
We pray for our country and our rulers in the US, but this morning it was particularly touching when the Christians in Prague prayed for their government and their rulers to have wisdom so they could continue to worship freely. These are people who are less than one generation from living under Communism. You know they meant that prayer in the most sincere manner.
The songs were in Czech, with English translations listed with the Czech words. It was a bit difficult to follow, but we were familiar with a couple of the songs, and they sang "Allelujah" in English. We observed the Lord's Supper with comments and prayers in both languages.
After the service concluded, Mike expressed gratitude to the Christians at the Gooch Lane congregation in Madison where we worship. Our congregation has been sending Mike money for his support for 20 years, and Mike wanted to express his gratitude to us to take back to the brethren in our area. We will be very happy to do that. Since the Christians meet in a daycare room, after the service is over Kristina and Thomas took advantage of the playthings in the room while their parents visited with the other adults.
We were invited to join several of the families for a picnic lunch that afternoon, and we gladly accepted. Just like at home, there were buckets of KFC, and many other good-tasting items. We got to experience several Czech dishes we had not eaten before, along with some familiar comfort foods. The food was good, but the visiting was even better. Olen and Mike and some of the men got to visit, and I visited with several of the ladies.
I especially enjoyed my time with Tami and Tatana, Mike's wife. We shared girl-talk and several good laughs. Tami took much ridicule because she had baked a pan of brownies to bring to the picnic, and had forgotten to bring them with her when they left home this morning. Apparentlly brownies are not common in Prague, and they are considered to be a real treat. To me, brownies are ALWAYS a treat, but Tami promised to make some if I ever get back to Prague. I plan to hold her to that!
Finally it was time to leave our new friends. Mike and Tatana walked with us part of the way to the train station, and then we had to leave them, too. We had enjoyed our visit to Prague and our Sunday with them so very much.
At the train station we bought a sandwich and potato chips to take with us on the six-hour train ride to Munich. Our train left at a little after 5:00, and it will be very late when we arrive in Munich. I am composing the blog as we ride toward Munich. Hopefully, I can get it posted when we arrive tonight...or if we are too tired, first thing tomorrow morning.
Greetings from a train somewhere between Prague and Munich. May your day be full of worship and time spent with special people, like ours was.
It was lovely in Prague in the early morning, and most of the tourists were not out and about, so we had most of the sites to ourselves. We stopped for an early-morning view of the Charles Bridge and the castle complex in the background, passed the square and the Huss memorial and church once again.
Slowly we wandered through the streets until we reached the YMCA, where the church would meet for worship. They rent the area of the YMCA that is used for daycare, so the "motif" was most colorful. The "greenish" building in the center is the YMCA. We arrived and left our large backpacks near the door and began to greet the members. Many spoke both English and Czech.
At the beginning of the Bible class Mike introduced us to the members and described our connection to Eugene. Mike told how long he had known Olen's dad and described his memories of sitting in a pew listening to some of Pap's wonderful lessons from God's word. He told about Pap's stand for truth, and how much he meant to Mike. We were touched.
Since the members consisted of both English-speaking and Czech-speaking people, every statement had to be translated. If the statement was made by and English-speaking person, it had to be translated into the Czech, and vice versa. One of the members, Robert, was fluent in both languages, and he sat in the back and translated whatever was said. He was such a help!
Incidentally, Robert and his wife, Tami, have ties to North Alabama, as Tami has a cousin named Cori who lives in our area. Tami also has family in Decatur. Small world.
Mike was finishing up a study of the book of Romans, and he showed slides with his lesson...and, as you might suspect, the slides were in both English and Czech. Mike used the expression "y'all" liberally in his lesson. (You can take an Alabama boy out of the south, but you can't take the south out of an Alabama boy!)
I think I counted 27 present for the worship service, including the new baby that arrived in her baby buggy. Many of the men took an active part in the worship service, and one of them even delivered the lesson of the hour from Matthew 21. It was good to see so many involved in the work there.
We pray for our country and our rulers in the US, but this morning it was particularly touching when the Christians in Prague prayed for their government and their rulers to have wisdom so they could continue to worship freely. These are people who are less than one generation from living under Communism. You know they meant that prayer in the most sincere manner.
The songs were in Czech, with English translations listed with the Czech words. It was a bit difficult to follow, but we were familiar with a couple of the songs, and they sang "Allelujah" in English. We observed the Lord's Supper with comments and prayers in both languages.
After the service concluded, Mike expressed gratitude to the Christians at the Gooch Lane congregation in Madison where we worship. Our congregation has been sending Mike money for his support for 20 years, and Mike wanted to express his gratitude to us to take back to the brethren in our area. We will be very happy to do that. Since the Christians meet in a daycare room, after the service is over Kristina and Thomas took advantage of the playthings in the room while their parents visited with the other adults.
We were invited to join several of the families for a picnic lunch that afternoon, and we gladly accepted. Just like at home, there were buckets of KFC, and many other good-tasting items. We got to experience several Czech dishes we had not eaten before, along with some familiar comfort foods. The food was good, but the visiting was even better. Olen and Mike and some of the men got to visit, and I visited with several of the ladies.
I especially enjoyed my time with Tami and Tatana, Mike's wife. We shared girl-talk and several good laughs. Tami took much ridicule because she had baked a pan of brownies to bring to the picnic, and had forgotten to bring them with her when they left home this morning. Apparentlly brownies are not common in Prague, and they are considered to be a real treat. To me, brownies are ALWAYS a treat, but Tami promised to make some if I ever get back to Prague. I plan to hold her to that!
Finally it was time to leave our new friends. Mike and Tatana walked with us part of the way to the train station, and then we had to leave them, too. We had enjoyed our visit to Prague and our Sunday with them so very much.
At the train station we bought a sandwich and potato chips to take with us on the six-hour train ride to Munich. Our train left at a little after 5:00, and it will be very late when we arrive in Munich. I am composing the blog as we ride toward Munich. Hopefully, I can get it posted when we arrive tonight...or if we are too tired, first thing tomorrow morning.
Greetings from a train somewhere between Prague and Munich. May your day be full of worship and time spent with special people, like ours was.
I always feel like I was a fly on the wall when I read your posts, Jane. Wonderful job! Munich is fun - I like the English gardens. Try the sweet kraut (as opposed to saurkraut) if you can find some.
ReplyDeleteTami lived across the hall from me my Freshman year at FC. She's a real jewel! Glad you got to meet her!
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