The phrase "better late than never" always seemed like a procrastinator's excuse to me, but now that it has been over six weeks since my last post, I am beginning to understand the reality in the words of this iconic phrase. In my defense, I had the post nearly completed before I left for three weeks in America for Christmas and just failed to find the 15 extra minutes to finalize the post. While you may give me the "benefit of the doubt" (another overused excuse) as I was meeting with friends and family as well as guest speaking in various collegiate and middle school classrooms; there were also mornings I slept in and enjoyed eating my breakfast as an appetizer to lunch. I would like to blame "jet lag" for this; however, the facts state that this is not possible for three weeks, and so after a long list of excuses that I have tossed under the rug, I simply have freedom stating I enjoyed my Christmas VACATION! I was never completely absent from the ministry in Czech as I searched for special treats for friends and students, watched video clips of the kids that the youth pastor sent, used social media to chat with friends daily - one night God even woke me up at 2am to have a spiritual conversation with a struggling friend, and shared all God is doing in this country with so many friends and relatives! So finally, I thank you all for waiting so patiently for this post that should have been posted at the end of November. (And for those of you who simply didn't notice my tardiness, ignore the aforementioned paragraph and continue...)
November 13 - December 7
As I reminded the girls at club that I would be leaving for three weeks in America, there were many resilient hugs as the little girls cried, "No! Kendra, what are we going to do for three weeks while you are gone!" At that moment, a male coworker walked by and told the girls, "It will be okay, I can listen to your problems for three weeks." The girls responded by saying, "...but you can't braid our hair..." It seems that with all that may be going on, one of the most important parts of club time for these gals are the moments when they get a little but of individual attention; and I am happy to be there for this purpose.
Girls took over club one day before all the boys arrived late - we were up to 8 girls before the boys started coming!
Some snow flurries encourage the kids to explore more indoor games at club.
Best Friend Necklaces and Matching Tattoos
During the second week of November, we had an Autumn Sleepover Club in Letovice. Over 50 kids came to the sleepover! The night was packed with activities - dancing, jumping castle, ping-pong tournament, and many other games the kids started. The youth pastor also asked me to share a short message with the kids during this time. So we gathered everyone together in the main room and I talked about the importance of "encouragement." I explained that giving encouragement is much more powerful than telling a friend to give up, and I shared that God gives us the same message in the Bible. It was a short message, but I believe God was able to use the words I spoke to effectively connect with many of the kids present that night.
Sleepover Club
Extreme Sleeping Positions at Sleepover
For the past month, the kids in my Kid's English Class have been studying vocabulary words surrounding their neighborhood. We created a large map as a class and each class period, we add new details to our map that connect with the daily lesson topic. The large map started with just some roads, paths, railroads, and rivers; then it grew to include forests, fields, houses, and buildings. As the lessons continued, vehicles, lampposts, and stairs were added. The students enjoyed building upon their map each week and seeing how their neighborhood progressed.
Before leaving for Christmas in America, I gifted each child with a Czech Picture Bible. I had bookmarked the Christmas story beforehand in each child's new Bible. It is my prayer that these children were able to look through the stories and pictures and feel the love of Christ for each of them within the pages of their new gift.
Teen Class students are beginning to talk more in class and are connecting with the lessons. I had thought that my Kid's Class was a big age difference with 7 to 11 year olds in one class, but I am finding that the English language level in this Teen Class is the bigger challenge. Still, the more advanced students are learning the talent of translating as I give them more opportunities to "help their neighbor understand," and the less advanced students are encouraged to continue practicing English. All the students seem to enjoy all the hands-on activities I fill the class time with. A lesson on weather introduces vocabulary also regarding temperature and clothing attire. It is fun watching these students become more comfortable speaking English with each lesson.
Learning directions in a small office, but they had so much fun climbing over chairs and around the other students.
My Adult Class could sit together for another hour after each lesson and simply continue speaking. They have built a friendship with each other and recognize their strengths as a group. I introduced a mystery solving activity that challenges them to work as a team to solve the mystery. I am impressed with how great this group is at communicating their ideas in English - even if the grammar isn't perfect, they are realizing the importance of speaking to convey the main idea. It is enjoyable for me to build friendships with this group also!
Working on the Mystery Challenge
The Littles always have so much energy, and I absolutely love being able to share new experiences with them and with their mothers. Recently, we have had lessons around the themes of "hopping," "airplanes," and "Christmas tree lights." Their understanding of English is certainly evident even if they are not yet speaking. One parent of a Little student told me that his daughter heard an American song on the radio while they were driving in the car and exclaimed "Auntie Kendra is singing, daddy!" I am amazed at how brilliant these little children are - that God can create their minds to differentiate languages!
The kids sang "I can hop, hop, hop! Jump to the top, top, top! And then I STOP!", and the favorite part was surprisingly not the hopping, but the freezing on STOP!
The day after I taught this lesson, one of the Littles students came with her mom to my home. When the Little student saw me she said in English "Hello!" and then spread her arms out and declared "airplane!"
In Czech culture, it is a celebration to light the Christmas tree on the town square. The Littles were all looking forward to the lighting of the tree, so we had a mini-tree lighting while practicing colors!
We have a Bible Study that meets about twice a month with the youth pastor and a group of our half-leaders from club. These friends really enjoy getting together for the Bible Study time each week to ask questions and discuss different concepts and ideas. It happened to be that the night we were planning to meet last month was on Thanksgiving Day! So I asked to host the Bible Study and made a Thanksgiving meal for some of my closest friends. I shared some of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving and even got a little teary-eyed when everyone went around the circle and shared what they were thankful for. It wasn't a one word answer, but each person answered with great thought and heartfelt answer that it was truly a form of worship as we shared our thanksgivings with each other and with God.
With all the sleepovers happening for the club kids, our youth group team thought it would be a good idea to simply take youth group on a 24-hour trip we called "TOGETHER". During this time, we focused on our friendship and relationship with each other as a youth group. There were 18 of us total, so we played many team building games, had lots of snacks, went on an adventure walk, and discussed what youth group means to us. We first drew pictures of what youth group means to us, and my heart was reminded of God's work here as some of the youth said that our group is like family to them. Many of the youth kids don't come from Christian families, so for them, youth group is church - and God continues to show me how church is more than a time of meeting, but is focused rather on the people. Thankfully, these youth kids understand just that.
Before leaving for three weeks in Minnesota, I was asked by two Elementary schools to come and teach a lecture on American Christmas traditions. While many children have experienced some of the American Christmas traditions through TV series and American films, they seemed to enjoy having a hands-on lesson to immerse themselves in American Christmas - carol singing, gingerbread cookie coloring, writing a letter to Santa, and looking for the hidden Elf on the Shelf! I enjoyed the time getting to know the students again and invited them to come to our youth clubs. I was excited to receive some messages from the kids saying "hello" from club while I was in Minnesota! Evangelism extends beyond the walls of the church, and I am glad to be a light in the school districts as well.
Making a plate of gingerbread cookies to leave for Santa!
One class that I have taught in the school asked their teacher if I would join them on a class field trip to the palace in Boskovice. I was honored to be invited! It was a little cold in the old palace structure, yet my hand remained quite warm as various children would slip their hands into mine as we followed the tour guide. We ended the tour in the ballroom which displayed a grand piano. The teacher sat at the piano and the students all gathered around her to sing a classic Czech Christmas carol. The soft piano tune and the voices of the children filled the ballroom with a beautiful sound of anticipation for Christmas day.
I arrived back in Minnesota on Thursday, Dec. 7th to spend Christmas with my family, but on the way to the airport, I had to stop by the Prague Castle and see my friends at the Christmas Markets! The city was completely decked out for the holiday season!
While the time in Minnesota was good, I am always excited to be back in Letovice. God has definitely called my heart to this place! I hope the next post comes at a more accurate time in comparison to this one, but if I am late again, I will simply have so much more to share with you all.
Watch a short Autumn Recap Video here!