Salt and Light: Don't Forget the Mission

Don't forget the mission...

Was I starting Bible studies with Czechs or building meaningful relationships with my neighbors and was I fluent in Czech yet...

The questions caught me off guard and then the conversation finished with "Don't forget the mission." In answer to the questions, no, no (that would require seeing my neighbors and we all seem to keep very different schedules), working on it, and I haven't. I haven't forgotten the mission at all.

I remember why I am here every morning as I walk into my classroom. I'm reminded as we meet for devotions or prayer times as a staff and implore God to send us more students. I'm reminded as I've had students talk about how they know their teachers care because we do a job where we don't get paid.

And every time I see the brokenness around me, I have to fight to remind myself the reason. I see the darkness that engulfs this city, hear the statistics of how the Czech Republic is the 3rd worst slave state in Europe. I walk past people shooting heroin on the way to work and witness the man passed out on the tram, an empty wine box at his feet. And my heart breaks again. And again I have to fight to remind myself why I am here.

Because I'm not here to plant churches. As much as I want to fight human trafficking, that is not my primary reason for being here. I'm not in this country to start Bible studies with Czechs or to mentor my neighbors. Does that mean I don't want to be a part of these things? No, these are good things, noble things, honorable and right. But I am not the one God has called for that. (Not to say I would reject the chance to do any of those things if they come up, but they aren't ministries I seek out.)

Saying I'm a missionary to the Czech Republic is not necessarily the best terminology. Perhaps it is better to say I am a missionary IN the Czech Republic.

Because the people group I work with are not Czech. It is also equally right to say they are not Americans or Canadians or Korean or Italian or Polish. They are a crazy mix of cultures...a people group where conversations are effortlessly carried on in a mixture of languages (when I coached middle school volleyball, half of my practice was in Korean because a majority of my team was Korean and they would get so excited about things that they would start talking away...in Korean). They love peanut butter just as much as they love trdelnik or Kimbop or fresh tortillas. They speak with authority on the best airports and airlines and carry on conversations with topics ranging from "when I lived in ______ country" to "when my family was visiting _______ country". They know their way around jet lag better than most adults. They are adaptable...and always, always facing change.

And I'm in this country for THEM. They are Third Culture Kids (TCKs) or Global Nomads, as some prefer to be called. Kids who have spent significant amounts of time outside their passport countries (which is probably not their "home" even if mom and dad call it home). Some of them are multi-ethnic, with parents from one or more countries. Some have spent most of their life in their passport country. Some have only left their passport countries in the past few years. Some have never even lived there at all.

They are incredible and amazing. And I'm here for them. To be a stable person in a very unstable world.

I'm here to be Jesus to them. By the light switch in our staff bathroom, someone posted "Be salt. Be light." That's what I am. Salt and light. I'm here to be the person who is here for my missionary kids--someone who is called specifically for them. To be Jesus to them, while their parents are doing what God has called them to do. And I love being a partner in ministry with them.

But I'm also here to be salt and light for my kids who do not come from families that know Jesus. And I have fallen in love with this role as well. I have had students walk into my room who knew nothing about how much God loves them, and I've gotten to tell them! For the first time. As much as I love the light that comes on when a student understand an academic concept (I am a teacher after all), I love even more when I see the light come on about a spiritual idea. Remembering when one of my students told me as she was leaving, "Don't be sad, Miss Miller. I know now God will be with me at my new school." And I got to be the first one to tell her that.

Salt and light. I remember why I'm here. Salt and light. I'm their salt and light in a busy world, a dark world. I'm here for them. Salt and light. 

I haven't forgotten the mission after all.

Endings and Memories

It's the beginning and ending of the year that always flies by for me. Meanwhile, the time in between manages to drag by slowly. Then, May comes and leaves almost as quickly. Next thing I know I'm hugging my kids one last time, wishing them all a happy summer and saying goodbyes to those who are leaving (or else trying to remain in denial that they are, indeed, leaving).

I read a blog recently (you can read it here: Why Expats Hate June) that does a wonderful job of explaining the dreaded goodbyes. My students say that so much--to family, to friends, to teachers, to classmates. In just this year, my class had to say it to two fellow classmates. But if I focused on the goodbyes, I would never be able to enjoy the good times, the walks around the city, the movie nights, the lunches and dinners spent laughing. Or the amazing times with students. Or the incredible times of worship together. So, while I do recommend reading that blog if you would like to know what my coworkers, students, and I go through every single June, I instead what to savor the memories of good and wonderful times.

Water Fights

"Candy" Awards Voted on by Classmates

Wonderful Dinner Cruises

Beloved Coworkers (and Former Coworker)

"On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted."

Ecclesiastes 7:14, The Message

Oceans

A song has been running through my mind quite often in past months. And in some ways, it almost seems to be the story that God has been writing in my life over the past three years. Then a friend from college posted another version of it (one I think is now my favorite). There it was again--the idea that this life that I live is not my life, that even on the hardest day (although, to be honest, today was actually quite a wonderful day), there is a reason I am here.

Three Years Ago:

 You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail...

And I will call upon Your name

Through floods, loss, grief, and the hardest of days:

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Trusting His love and provision:

 My soul will rest in Your embrace

13 Different Nationalities in 6 Years of Teaching:

 Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me

 Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

I am Yours and You are mine 

"Oceans" by Hillsong United

Of Darkness and Light

The view during Sunrise Service this morning

When I first began to tell people I was moving to Prague, those who had traveled here before began to tell me of it's incredible beauty. And living here for two and a half years, it continues to amaze me with it. As I was standing in Letna Park overlooking the Vltava at sunrise service today, I was again just struck by the beauty of this city that has won my heart. I love Prague.

Yet, this magnificent jewel has so much darkness. It's seen during in the eyes of its people, with looks of hopelessness, loneliness, and despair. It's seen in the sex stores on the corner. It's seen in the nudity and marketing of the human body everywhere. It's seen in the empty cathedrals, functioning now as museums rather than places of worship. It's seen throughout the Czech Republic, in places like Lidice and Terezin, where the evilness of men is so evident.

The other night, the presence of this darkness hit me as I walked through Wenceslas Square. The clubs had opened their doors for the night. Around every ATM there were men crowded, pulling out wads of our smallest bill, 100 kc. I walked past several women propositioning men. And while hearing the mixture of languages I could see clearly that this is not just a Prague problem. This is a world problem. The English, spoken with both American and British accents, the Spanish, German, Italian, and multitude of other languages. The nationalities--European, African, Asian, North and South American. All of this pointed to the darkness not just being here in the Czech Republic, but somewhere much deeper--in the hearts of men.

Again this morning, as my roommates and I walked through the square again, passing people staggering to the metro and down the street, people throwing up on the steps of buildings, people obviously only then going to bed, we could see it. Not the darkness itself. But the symptoms of it. Signs that something is not right, that something is broken and needs fixing.

We kept walking, through Old Town, through the Jewish Quarter, past the oldest synagogue in the city. We crossed the bridge and climbed the many steps up to Letna Park. And at an overlook, we watched as the mostly-risen sun shed its light over this dark, yet beautiful city. And we knew that light had come.

That over 2,000 years ago the world was at its darkest. All hope had seemed lost. Death seemed to have won.

But then something marvelous and glorious happened. The stone rolled away. The tomb was empty. A dead man had been brought back to life. This was no ordinary man, but Immanuel. The Lamb who was slain for our sins rose again.

And as we worshiped with my church this morning, looking out over the city below us, I was reminded once more of why I am here. It may be a city full of darkness. But light has come. I'm here to share that light. Because He is risen. He is risen indeed.

Life Lately

Some months it seems like not much is happening. Other months is seems as if life is rushing by, barely giving me a chance to breath. February always seems like one of those months. So, here is a little glimpse of life in Prague recently:

Lovely Elementary Teachers at Winter Banquet

Although we can sometimes be goofy

4th and 5th Grade with my cousin's Flat Stanley Project

Showing her Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge

100th Day Physical Activities--stretching for 100 seconds

100th Day physical activities--Jumping 100 times

 Hanging out Prague's Olympic Park

       Prague Castle in the Background

Cheering for the Czech Republic

Veselé Vánoce

I love Prague at Christmas. All the decorations and the lights and the Christmas markets. Not to mention the roasted almonds covered in sugar.

But what I hate about Prague at Christmas is the darkness. The shortest day of the year falls in December. The days leading up to it are quite depressing. There's nothing quite like getting up for work while it's dark, making your way to school while it's dark, and watching the street lights finally turn off from inside your classroom as you prepare for the day. Only, to then watch the sun set as your get ready for the next day and walk home from school in the dark. Only to realize that it's only 5 pm, and you have a whole night of darkness ahead of you. And when there is daylight, that doesn't necessarily mean there will be sun. Often, the skies are cloudy and gray. No vitamin D here. It's dark, gray, and depressing.

This year for our Christmas concert, my fourth graders memorized several of the verses prophesying about the birth of Christ. Every morning for about a month before hand, we would practice the verses. Every morning for that month leading up to the shortest days of the year, I heard my children proclaiming:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

(Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 NIV)

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." No matter how dark it gets here, the light of the world has come. Even though the days may be short and the dark of night be long, the Light has dawned. That baby in a manger. Who is no longer a baby in a manger. That man on a cross, dead in a grave, is dead no more. The Light has dawned and He lives still. And that once more reminds me why I'm here, to show the Light to those around me who are still walking in darkness. So while I hate the darkness, I have also grown in a small way fond of it, as it serves as a reminder to me of the spiritual darkness of the country in which I live.

So, Merry Christmas. Veselé Vánoce. And remember that the Light has come.

The Things You See on a Walk

This weekend, we had our first snow of the winter. It looked so pretty out, that I was inspired to go for a walk. During my walk I came across two different (peaceful) protests (one was blocking the sidewalk with no way around it, so I had to maneuver my way through it), a man standing on an invisible box, and men dressed as Native Americans playing South American style music. It brought to mind some of the other things I have come across on my walks through Prague that have made me smile. So, without further ado, here is a compilation of pictures I have taken over the past couple years while walking through Prague.

Pretending to Be Belle

     My favorite Disney princess is Belle. I fell in love with "Beauty and the Beast" when I was eight and ever since then I have coveted the library the Beast gave to Belle. (I really, really want that library.) So, when I was told that there was a library in Prague that was as pretty as Belle's library (I was originally told that it WAS Belle's library--but a library in Paris and one in Vienna also claim this), I knew that one day I would have to go. That day was today. Even though it was cool and rainy, I ventured up to the Strahov Monastery to see their pretty libraries. And they are BEAUTIFUL! In fact, they're so pretty that I really just want to move in the monastery so they can be mine....somehow, I don't think they'd let me.

Beautiful Prague

I want this library!

Do you think they'd notice if I moved in?

      On my way back home, I decided to wander down the hill toward Charles Bridge. As I was crossing the bridge I mad a spur of the moment decision to climb the bridge tower. What I like about Prague is that many tourist places give a discount if you have an Open Card--the public transportation pass we can get so we don't have to keep buying tickets. By the time I climbed the tower, the sun had come out and it was turning into a beautiful afternoon. And I'm sure, Belle would have approved my adventure. :)

I love this band!