Serving the MOST High

What is the source of your light?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:57:50 -0500

What is the source of your light?

A Month of Thanksgivings

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:11:00 -0400

It’s almost November, and I live in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Whether I have the turkey with all of the trimmings with the whole family gathered around or not, here in the Czech Republic I am still determined to have a heart of thanksgiving. I’m making a list of the things that I have experienced recently that I am glad for and praise God.

1) Silly little emails from my brother Thomas. To anyone else they wouldn’t make any sense, but they always make me feel better.

2) Hugs. My 4th grade students hug me every class.

3) Hot tea. On cold Czech days, it is such a comfort.

4) Magic Jack. With it I can call my family back home for free! Invest in one if you’re ever moving overseas.

5) Cody. In a region where very few people speak my language, God has provided me with a roommate who has become a very dear friend. The time I spend with her is priceless.

6) Holidays. The Czechs have so many more days off in a school year than we do back in the states. I’m sick at the moment, but at least I don’t have to be sick and teach too :)

7) Dreaming about home. Even though I might not be there, I can still have a piece of Nevada in my sleep.

8) Living in a land full of such beauty, and so close to the city of Dresden! (View the picture above to get a taste).

9) Humility. Teaching has given me ample opportunity to lose a large chunk of my pride.

10) Not being able to understand people and people not being able to understand me. It makes the moments with people that I can connect with that much more meaningful.

11) Difficult students. They remind me to give grace as God has given me grace.

12) Homemade apple strudel made from a new friend’s mother.

13) Prayer-time with my roommate.

So thank you, God, for the little things in life that remind us of your love.

Remembering to Love

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 08:15:00 -0400

I feel a bit like a fool. What am I really doing here? I could teach English anywhere. I could teach History in the United States. How does me being here in Western Bohemia make any difference? Well the truth is, it doesn’t. The one resounding fact that I have began to learn, which has been humbling, is that I don’t matter; many of my students, particularly at the middle school level, have gotten over the romance of having an American teacher. I’m just any other teacher that makes them complete worksheets and do homework. Lame. I’ve been focusing on creating good classroom management and keeping the “trouble-makers” in line; I’d forgotten why I had even come.

Teenagers can be infuriating. For every parent and secondary educator out there, you know exactly how I feel. They purposefully push your buttons just to see how far you will go before you boil over; they take pleasure in going to painstaking lengths to upset you, but somehow they are also so endearing, so real. Teaching is nothing. At the end of my life when I reflect at what I have done, I will never utter to myself about how proud I am that my students speak English well, that I successfully helped them improve in their language abilities. No, I want to look back and see that I left a legacy of love - not my love that is flawed and insufficient. I want all of these students to see the love that shines through me and have it inspire them to look beyond me - beyond this earth.

Many of these students have never known a Christian, have never talked about Jesus as a Savior (not the baby who gives them presents on December 24th - yes Santa Claus and Christmas are different here), and many come from broken homes and broken lives. I had a conversation with a dear friend the other day about my mission here. As she described it, sometimes tilling the soil in a place like this is similar to taking a pick-axe to concrete. It can be depressing to look at where we are and see a whole church in a town larger than mine with a congregation the size of my Thursday night Bible studies back in America. It can be upsetting to see students get drunk and then berate me on how I could be foolish enough to believe in God. But most of all it is killing me to think that I have not taken every moment with these students in my classroom and loved on them. I’m here to teach English, yes, but that’s secondary. I am here to share Christ not only in time spent outside of class with my students by building friendships, but in ever moment in the classroom. My mission here is no different than any other Christian’s mission at home or abroad. We are called to spread Christ’s joyous gospel and His love. People will know that we are His chosen people by our love. It is with this realization that I have heard a million times that I choose to accept it and live by it. The moments in class where I would like nothing more than to smack someone and pull my hair out are the moments that God can so readily show His mercy and patience through me. I, Amy, canot make a difference in the Czech Republic, or anywhere for that matter, but God can. So with recognition that things will be tough, I ask for God to work His most through me in Most.

Please pray that I would be different here; in a country so unfamiliar with God, pray that I would be a testimony to Him, especially in the little things that become mundane in life. Teaching is a unique way to get to know students, a unique way for people to feel a special connection. Pray that God would use me - my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength - to show the people in this culture how rich life can be without beer, sex, or even wealth.

Settling Into the Groove

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:47:00 -0400

Here’s my life:

I don’t understand the vast majority of what people say. I try to control middle school boys that learn words such as big onions and use the phrase when describing women’s breasts in class, who don’t speak my language. I am eternally labeled as “Američanka” by all people that see me on a regular basis in the stores, our building, and the schools. I do have to say, though, that life is good here. I love this place and these people. No, it’s not Nevada, and it will never replace America in my heart, but the Czech Republic and the land of Western Bohemia has certainly captured a part of me. God definitely knew what He was doing when he put me here. Although I feel like I have moved through many stages of culture shock, from the honeymoon phase to dislike and discontentness with the land to acceptance of this place. One thing I will never accept about Czech culture, however, is sádlo: slices of bread with a good old shmearing of bacon grease (chunks and all) with salt. MMMMM, what a delightful way to KILL YOURSELF! Seriously? I managed to smile and thank the individual that gave it to me, but inside I was trying my hardest not to gag.

I experienced my first moment of reverse culture shock this weekend as well… Cody and I went to Prague (Praha to the locals) to celebrate birthdays of friends that live all throughout Central Europe. Hearing people speaking in English casually in restaurants and on the tram was insane to me. I automatically would start speaking in Czech, like when I would order my food, only to find out that the waiter was a fluent English speaker. Then we decided to take a nightly stroll through the city, which I have decided is truly the most beautiful city in all of the world. People aren’t joking when they say that. There is such a charm that no other city can brag. A friend of mine that lives in Bratislava, Meredith, and I decided to walk ahead of the group on Charles Bridge (the world renowned bridge that connects the city and has statues of saints on either side the whole way down). It was there that I saw a large crowd of American men very much enjoying large quantities of Czech beer. They were loud and drunk, being as pathetically American as possible. I was probably standing about five feet away from them, talking about how shameful they are. I live here and have to deal with the stereotype of the “stupid American” because of people like them. It was then that I realized that one of the men in this group was very intently listening to my rant. They speak English, right? They’re American. They understood every word I said! Ah! After being in a city where no one speaks my language, I have gotten into the habit of saying things about people that I would never say if they could hear me and understand. I naturally slipped into that assumption while I was in Prague, only a large percentage of people DO speak my language! Whooooooooops. Ha. Insert awkward laughter.

My cutsie students that came for our kick-off the school year...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:38:19 -0400

My cutsie students that came for our kick-off the school year party! Supe presh, no?

Učitelka Anglicky: Week One

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:33:07 -0400

Just a few hours ago, I finished my first week of teaching English. Despite countless hours of meetings in Czech with few translations and many many students that speak relatively no English, I managed to survive my first week as a licensed teacher in the Czech Republic. Boom! I have found out through the courses that I teach in a local high school that I am a massively intimidating individual. For anyone that might have once doubted my severely serious ways, apparently I came off as so intense that some of the students are trying to drop my class for fear of failure! Yikes. Overall the students tend to feel ill-at-ease with speaking English and shy… except for the middle school boys. They aren’t shy at all. I put on more of a “teacher-face” than I knew I was capable of and, despite the language barrier, have had the pleasure of chastising some boys after class. Forcing any student that knows he is in trouble to look you in the eye as you speak to them is difficult anywhere in the world. Ha. Even though I have had to pull the big, mean and ugly teacher card a few times, I absolutely love the students here. I don’t know who has laughed more: me or them. I laugh at any given ridiculous moment due to cultural differences, and they just plain old laugh at me and my awkward pantomimes, as I try to explain various ideas and terms to them. I am sincerely looking forward to the meaningful relationships that I hope we will build this year!

I still have $2500 to raise before December 31, 2011, so if God has put on your heart to contribute to this mission, you may do so by going to teachoverseas.org/contribute.php. If you have given, then please know that you are an enormous blessing. With each dollar that I receive I want to shout for joy not that you are helping me, but that your heart is in a place of financial surrender to God. I know that He has profound plans for the people here in Western Bohemia. He is the God of this nation. I pray that there will be a revival here that these people have never experienced. I pray that Jan Hus himself would stand amazed at the number of people that stand with hearts enraptured by Christ’s glory, with even more taking up their cross than during his Protestant Revolution. After looking at the architecture here that has been developed to appeal to God in the form of numerous Gothic and Baroque churches, I ache to see them once again filled with Czechs who yearn to serve God with their whole beings. If you cannot contribute, that is perfectly alright as well. Prayers mean more than money ever could. Please pray that Cody and I are able to hearts abandoned. Pray that we lose sight of our material and worldly needs and focus on spiritual growth for ourselves and those around us. Thank you so much for your love and support.

"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strenth of my heart; He is mine..."

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:33:00 -0400

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strenth of my heart; He is mine forever.”

- Psalm 73:26

I ordered this using only Czech! No more pointing and grunting...

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:23:57 -0400

I ordered this using only Czech! No more pointing and grunting necessary :)

It's For Real Now!

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:10:00 -0400

We did it. We’ve finally made it to the Czech Republic! After a month of AWESOME training in Pasadena, CA (where we met the BEST people in the world - literally), Cody and I have settled into our flat in Most. While the city isn’t the…well…prettiest, our flat is pretty much incredible. I watch the stars come out over a castle from my balcony or the window seat in my kitchen every night. I’m definitely in the honeymoon stage of overseas life. I love this country and the people, and, for now, the language barrier has been somewhat amusing. I have the absolute bare basics of Czech, as in I can order food, count, and say “Sorry, I don’t speak Czech.” My favorite moment of experiencing confusion was when a little boy came up to Cody and me in the mall. He started talking to us, and I automatically said “Nemluvim cesky.” He ran off, and from around the corner we saw a gaggle of kids peering at us. He talked to them for a minute and then returned saying “Please, can I have penny?” We laughed and were saying “ne” (no). When he wouldn’t leave, Cody said “NO,” whereupon he got very excited and held out his hand, ready to receive the payment. It was then that we remembered that “no” translates to “yes” in Czech! Oi! How much more backwards could this be?

School starts this coming Thursday. Already. Summer is gone. *Sigh.* I’m officially teaching in two different towns from the ones that I teach in, with seven different classes ranging from grades 5 to 12ish. Both of the school are state schools, so they are academically more rigorous than others. Please keep our students up in prayer. They are the main focus of our ministry, so pray that we teach in a manner honoring to God. I miss you all and love you dearly. Ahoj!

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in..."

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:20:21 -0400

““Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.””

- Matthew 5:16

The Beginnings

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:15:39 -0400

Dear Friends and Family,

TeachOverseas.org has led me to a beautiful future of being able to serve my Savior by utilizing my abilities to teach. While I still do not know all of the facts about my position yet, I will be teaching in a zakladni skola and a gymnasium (middle and high school) in Most, Czech Republic, located in Western Bohemia close to the German border. The town is known for its softly rolling hills, long spring days, outgoing inhabitants and the endearing children that play in the fields of flowers that grow uninhibited across the land. Okay, that’s not true. At all. Well, maybe the hills thing. Actually, the city of Most (pronounced as it looks in standard English) is known for its rough appearance with the landscape raped by mining throughout the years. The Czech people, as precious as they are in my heart, share very few personality traits with me. They are not very social with new people, they NEVER smile at people that they do not know, and they are known for their bribery and cheating. Cody, my amazing teammate who DOES have the EXACT same personality as me (ask Meyers-Briggs!), will be also teaching and working with me in a Dutch mission called the Atlantic Bridge. We will be establishing youth groups in the region, working to encourage our students to get involved in them.

The people in the Czech Republic have a history inundated with strong religious ideologies from the early Catholic Church (which includes the Moravian Brotherhood that has not ceased in its continual prayer for the past 100 years), but, after communism flooded the recently formed Czechoslovakia in 1945, they experienced a government that greatly suppressed their religious freedoms. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989 that overthrew the communist regime and the separation of the nation into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, they did not see a revival of faith. They have the highest number of atheists per capita in Europe, with a record 59 percent of the country having little to no consciousness of God, let alone Jesus Christ. By teaching and working with the youth of this nation, I hope to plant the seeds of God’s love and inspire a curiosity in them to further a personal relationship with Jesus.

What I am going to ask of you is actually very difficult for me, but in order to make this work I need a strong support group. Could you please step out in faith and financially support me for this mission trip? I am raising $12,000 to serve God overseas for the next year, and possibly even additional years that I may serve. I have $3000 still to raise. Please pray about joining my support team this week. Please encourage others to help as well. The mission is flexible with payment optiond; gifts of $30 a month are highly encouraged throughout the year, but any gift would be a blessing. If you are unable to assist the ministry fiscally, will you at least please pray for me regularly? This year will not be easy. This year is going to be difficult in ways that I do not yet know. There will be frustrations, irritations, homesickness, and general culture shock to endure. Despite this, I will work with all my mind, with all my heart, with all my strength and with all my strength. To donate, you can go to TeachOverseas.org/contribute.php and write my name in the ”Teacher or Staff” section and pay securely online, or you can mail it in to TeachOverseas.org 639 E. Soldano Avenue, Azusa, CA 91072, and write my name in the memo. Thank you for the consideration and prayers. If you happen to have any ideas for me to raise money, I’d love to hear those as well!

Thank you all for all of your support throughout these past months. I love you all!