A Christmas Miracle, Part Two

First, I want to apologize for the rampant spelling errors in my last post. I was in a rush to get my story out of my head and onto the blog. I forgot to edit. I have taken care of that now.

So, where were we? Ah yes, the darkest moment of the day.

I reached into my pocket and found a few coins. It was just a little more than what I needed to buy a ticket to get on the bus. I really did not need a 90 minute ticket, but since I was still in "Blind Panic Mode" I bought one anyway.

I resigned myself to the fact that my wallet was gone forever; that I would have to tell Tonya that all of her stuff was gone, too. I would have to have someone take me to the authorities and get another open card to ride the bus (pricey).

So as I sat on the tram on the way back to school, I did one of the hardest things I have had to do here. I texted my wife that I had lost everything. I was not looking forward to having to look here in the eyes and retell the story of how I had no real idea where my wallet was. It could have been lost anywhere on the way to the apartment, or on the way back to school. I really had no idea. So I texted her this, "I lost my wallet somewhere!!!!!!" I waited for her reply. I expected a WHAT??? or an OH NO!!! or something along those lines. Instead, I got this response: A man called about it. That was probably the greatest text I had ever received.

When I got to school, there was a number on my desk. I called the man and he only spoke Czech. I could not understand anything he was saying. I was so afraid he would simply give up and throw my wallet away or something. To top it all off, I had to teach a class in less than five minutes. As I got upstairs, one of my students, who speaks wonderful English was standing in the hallway. I was breathless as I had just run up the stairs to get to the class on time.  I asked my student to call the man and ask about meeting to get my wallet. He worked out the details (when to meet, where the man lived) and I was on my way to recovering my wallet.

As class ended, I realized that I had to ride the bus/tram back to get my wallet. The only problem was that I had no more money to get a ticket, and the way things were going, there was no way I was going to risk getting on the bus without a ticket. I don't even know what happens if you cannot pay the fine for not having a ticket. I was so worried that with every passing moment I came closer to losing everything. I went into my office and looked in my desk for some change for the bus, but I had none. Then I remembered something. I had purchased a ninety minute ticket to come back to school. I looked at the time and I looked at my ticket. I had twenty minutes left.  I raced to the bus stop to get on the next tram or bus that came by. I got on and made it to my stop with one minute left on my ticket. I got off the bus and ran to the man's apartment.

I got to his place and buzzed in. He met me on the stairs and in his hands he held my wallet. He handed it to me and motioned for me to go through it. Everything was still there, even the money that was in it. I pulled out the money and offered it to him but he refused. He simply smiled and said "Have a nice day"in broken English. I thanked him in Czech and English, letting out a huge sigh of relief and a couple of hallelujahs on the way back to the bus stop.

When I got back to school, the head English teacher told me that I was very lucky and that that sort of thing does not usually happen here.

Now, maybe you are reading this and you are thinking that it was simply luck that brought my things back to me, but I would have to disagree. You see, I dropped my wallet when I ran for the bus. The area I dropped it is not very crowded. Any other stop, and it would have been lost forever. I bought a ninety minute ticket when I originally only needed a fifteen minute one at the time. That helped me get back to recover it.The student in the hallway that could make the call for me. None of that was random, in my opinion.  I think it was God that helped me find my wallet. He showed me through this that even in little things, He is BIG. It gave me an opportunity to share an incredible story with the people around me.

Maybe you ask, "If it was God, why did he even let you drop it in the first place?" That is a good question. I think it is because every now and then we need to be reminded that God is bigger than circumstances, that He is bigger than my problems, and that He is ultimately in control. It is when we are most out of control that we turn to Him. I turned to Him and He came through.

So I give you a small Christmas Miracle, if there is such a thing as a small miracle.

A Christmas Miracle

Do you ever watch those old movies and see all the magic of Christmas and wish that is the way the world is? Me too. Unfortunately, happy ever after doesn't always get to happen. Sometimes the bad guys win, the good guys lose, and we are left wanting an explanation for the outcome.

Well, I am happy to report that this tale I am about to tell has a very happy ending.

Imagine yourself in a foreign place. You don't speak the language, and you can't tell how the people feel about you because they hide their emotions like professional poker players. What do you do when you need help? Well, you tend to panic because you don't know who can help.

Prague is very much like a US city. In fact, it reminds me a lot of New Orleans, LA. The major difference, however, is that if something horrible happens to you, you do not get to simply walk into a police station and explain your circumstances, unless you speak Czech, which I don't.

So, on to what happened.

I forgot something at home the other day so I made my way back to my apartment and picked up what was missing. On the way back to the bus stop, I saw that the bus had already arrived. Since I did not want to wait another seven minutes for the next bus, I decided to sprint to get on the bus. Narrowly making it, I took a moment to catch my breath and revel in the fact that I had the speed still left in my legs to make the occasional mad dash.

Once on the bus, I did my usual check of my pockets to make sure that I had everything. Gloves, check. Phone, check. Wallet....Wallet.....Wallet....NO CHECK. Panic hit me as I realized I was on the bus without my paperwork, or my bus pass. I immediately requested a stop at the next stop, which is about 1 kilometer from my apartment. I ran back up the hill to the last stop, terrified that my wallet had fallen out at the stop. It was not there. I ran to my apartment. It was not there.  My wallet had the following contents at the time of its disappearence: Open Card (bus passes), credit card, bank card, 200 crowns (10 dollars), my US driver's license, Tonya's US license, Tonya's Open Card, and our insurance cards.

It was nowhere. I looked and looked and looked. I cried out to God to help me find it. I was humiliated at the thought of having to tell everyone (read: Tonya) about losing all these things. What a disaster. Open Cards are expensive and the thought of having to trouble a colleague or student to help me communicate with the authorities was overwhelming. I did not even have a way to ride the bus, since my open card was missing.

Here is where it was darkest. but then things began to change. I reached into my pocket and found some money.

To Be Continued.

Thankfulness

Many people take the month of November to list all the ways that they are thankful for the good things they have in life. I'll take a moment to do the same here, but not only for the good things.

I am thankful that suffering produces perseverance. I am so grateful to God that He has allowed us to come to the Czech Republic and teach English. I am grateful that He has also allowed us to have hard times here, because it has made us stronger as people, teachers, and ultimately, as Christians.

I can see how a person who is doing work overseas could become overwhelmed at the nearly impossible task that lies ahead of them. Joining into a culture that did not ask for them to come, and then trying to make connections can be very difficult. I am thankful that despite the challenges, we have made some connections with people, and have had some opportunities to share our faith in real and meaningful ways.

Though we have just begun this journey in many ways, I feel like we are already learning life long lessons about God's plan for our lives. And that, is for what I am most thankful.

No Expectations

If there were such a thing as an instruction manual for life overseas, the first rule should be: No Expectations. Not in a negative way, as if nothing will  ever go they way you expect it to go, but in a realistic way, as in don't ever expect a thing to go any one way.

Case in point: When you have a signed contract, stating that you will receive a certain amount of money, you can expect to receive that amount come payday, right? No. Not right. Because when you are dealing with a language barrier, you never really can tell how things will go.

The word "net" has several uses in the English language. It can be the thing that catches fish. Or it can be the thing that goes swish after a made basket in a basketball game. Or it can mean the amount you are to receive AFTER taxes. In our case, it meant none of those.

You see, the powers that be thought that net meant gross. So the look of surprise on my face when I saw a very different amount of cash (which is how we get paid, gangster style) laid out before me made for a very uncomfortable situation in the cashier's room that day.

Don't worry, we got to the bottom of it. We made a compromise. And by compromise, I mean that the headmistress apologized and said that there was nothing she could do about it this year. She thanked us for teaching her a new English word: gross.

So, rule number one: No expectations. They only make for puzzled looks from the lady that pays you.

Tune in next week for the continuing misadventures of two English teachers living in Prague. Same Czech time, Same Czech channel.

So sorry for the delay in blog posts. The school year started and it took us a while to catch up with things. There were so many new names to learn and lessons to plan.

Let me tell you all a little story about train travel here. First though, think of how we board  an airplane in the states. Now, take that model of semi-order and destroy it. You now have a brief introduction to train travel.

When the train pulled up, we were standing in a line and waited to see our car number.  Well, they were not numbered, at least not all of them, so we had to guess. The line behind us became the line in front of us.

We finally figured out what car to get in and waited patiently to board. Then, people started passing us. Then, it seemed like the train was ready to leave while we still stood on the steps. People were speaking loudly in Czech and various other non-English languages. Panic began to rise.

So, with a rush of adrenaline and the ferocity of a linebacker, Tonya bulled her way through to our seats. I followed, with equal ferocity and a bigger piece of luggage. Lord only knows how many bruises we left on those poor people. But, we found our seats and were able to enjoy a comfortable three hour ride to visit some friends.

The fight to get to the restroom on this standing room only train car is a darker tale, one that need not be shared here...

See you soon! Same Czech time, same Czech channel.

Last Friday was our first real taste of being teachers in a new country. The Friday class schedules that we were given were totally different than the schedules that everyone else was given.  We only found out that we were late for class when a student knocked on our office door asking where we were. We both missed more than half of our 8th period classes because according to our schedule they were supposed to be our 9th period classes. We were also late to 9th period because according to David's schedule 9th was 8th period and Tonya's 9th period wasn't supposed to be until Monday. Confused???? So were we :).

How do you get to church on Sunday morning? Maybe you can walk there. Maybe you pick up a neighbor and get some coffee on the way. When you get there, do you say hello to friends, or maybe introduce yourself to a visitor that is there for the first time? 

We went to church in Prague for the first time this past Sunday. It was an adventure to be sure. We took a bus to get there. After the bus reached the end of its route, we took the subway (called the metro). After three metro stops, we then took a tram (think trolly car). After that, we walked upstairs to the service. 

All visitors were asked to introduce themselves. Tonya and I said hello, and then several other visitors gave introductions. It was crazy how many countries were represented under the same roof. Australia, Scotland, Cambodia, and England were all there. It was like the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The Church Olympics. We even had someone twirling flags down front during worship. It was certainly different. 

Well, the next time you go to church, think about how you got there, and be grateful. We are so fortunate to have a great public transportation system here in Prague. There are lots of different options to be sure, but they are all very reliable. We are already getting our bearings, but that is another story for another time.