What We Miss About the USA

Last week we looked at some things we love about Europe. This week we take a look at some of the things we miss about the good ole US of A:

You Don't Know Until You Know 

Life overseas can be quite the adventure. Trying new foods, creating new routines, and meeting new people can be a lot of fun. But often when the shine wears off and the mundane necessities of the everyday set in, it can remind us of what we miss about home. When this happens even simple things that aren’t even that big a deal sound heavenly and we suddenly become incredibly thankful for the simple things in life. Here are some examples that we’ve experienced from our time in Europe: 

Free Bathrooms: We have literally planned our errands and nights out on the town around the availability of a free bathroom somewhere in the city. A visit to the bathroom around town can set you back anywhere from about 25 cents to a dollar. Most stores here don’t even have public bathrooms unless you are at a large mall. 

One Stop Shopping: You don’t really realize how convenient a Target or Walmart is until you don’t have one. Gone are the days of picking up supplies for a meal, grabbing a t-shirt, and heading to the medicine aisle all in the same store. Pharmacies here are completely separate stores and that’s where you have to go to get anything related to your health, including vitamins. 

Heart Language: It’s strange because you really never have to think much about the language you speak when everyone around you speaks it. The interesting thing is that when things are flipped and you don’t hear your native language very often then it becomes a very special moment when you do. It’s hard to explain but there’s something incredibly special about speaking to someone in his or her native “heart” language that brings such joy. 

Comforters: The popular bed cover here is a duvet. In fact, I haven’t seen a comforter or quilt sold anywhere… maybe I’ve missed that store. For those that don’t know, duvets come in plain white and are then stuffed into some kind of cover. It can be quite the challenge to keep the inside duvet at the same length as the cover. 

Top Sheet: If the lack of comforters wasn’t surprising, the lack of top sheets surely is. Because duvets are common practice there are no top sheets sold anywhere. Instead the bed consists of the duvet and the fitted sheet. I mean, I understand the idea behind it; it’s much easier to only wash a duvet cover than a comforter and eliminate an additional sheet, but you're also eliminating the comfort. 

Wash Cloths: That’s right, washcloths. The only washcloth I’ve ever seen or bought here is kind of like a mitten. Maybe I’m missing something on this one……. 

.Com: Once again something you never consider until you’re outside the U.S. and are trying to search for something on the web. Each country has it’s own “.com” so where we live it’s “.cz”. So if the same store exists in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, it is necessary to put that specific country's online tag in order to find it. Also, certain websites are not accessible (Hulu) through traditional means, and others (Netflix) contain completely different content. 

Free Refills and Water: Now, I will say that the mall here is now offering free refills at certain fast food chains in the food court. For the most part though, if you want a refill, you will have to pay full price for another drink. Also, I have heard that it is possible to get tap water for free at certain restaurants but usually you have to pay for water. It is often one of the more pricy drinks on the menu. 

Dryer: Again, some people have these, but it isn’t common and they can be quite expensive. The common practice here is to line-dry clothes after washing them which means one has to strategically wash clothes a little at a time unless you want clothes hanging all over the apartment. Oh how I miss the warmth and softness of a freshly dried load of laundry. Our towels are quite crisp line drying. 

What We Love About CZ (and Europe)

Living in a foreign country can be challenging at times. You are constantly learning new things and often feel out of place. However, if you are open to new adventures, you get to meet amazing people and obtain invaluable life experiences that might not happen in your country of origin. Here are a few things we love about this area of the world: 

Slower Pace of Life: There are many things that contribute to the slower pace of life, sometimes it’s necessity and sometimes it’s choice. For example, we don’t have a car here so we use public transportation (metro, trams, and buses). This means that we are at the mercy of their schedule. At first, it can be an adjustment but it can also be very freeing to realize that only so many things can be accomplished in one day and therefore over-scheduling is futile. Getting groceries for the week or even a few days can be the accomplishment of the day and that’s just fine. 

When you make plans to meet someone for dinner, coffee, or to simply hang out, the expectation here is much different than is often the case in the states. We don’t do dinner reservations very often here, but when we do they are offered in 3-hour increments. There is no rush to leave the table; servers aren’t circling the table, even when no reservation has been made. 

Simple Living: I never really realized how much more stressful it can be to own more stuff until I sold or donated a good deal of stuff the first time we came to Prague. More clothes means more outfits to choose from and more time spent picking “the right” outfit. Let’s be honest, we tend to migrate toward the same pair of jeans or t-shirt anyway so why have eight others that we don’t even use? I don’t consider myself a minimalist exactly, but a more streamlined closet certainly makes an already complicated life that much simpler. 

Fresh bread and cheese: Basically every grocery store here has a fresh bread and cheese section. The selection of breads is amazing, from baguettes to pastries. Not only is the selection great but the prices are too. We’ve gotten a dozen or so breadsticks for about a dollar. The same chocolate pastry sold at Panera Bread for around $3.00 can be found here for less than $1.00, which leads to the next category….

Cheaper Prices: Now, I do want to emphasize that in general we do buy way less here since we use public transport instead of a car and because we only have so much space in our refrigerator. However, even though we buy less in any given trip to the grocery store we don’t really skimp on the things that we do buy, and we find that we often spend far less here than we would in the U.S.  

Architecture and Walk-Friendly Cities: It’s hard to believe that some of these structures were built in the 1300’s. One of my favorite markets has been up and running since 1232! Not to mention the fact that Prague is one of the most beautiful places in the world; seriously check out some pictures. Also, I love that we can walk to various places such as grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and public transit with relative ease. 

Cheap, Varied, and Reliable Public Transportation: We can travel to other countries often for cheaper than we could travel within our own state in the U.S. For example, we once took a train to Hungary for approximately $50 round trip. Another time we flew to Venice and returned from Milan for approximately $150 round trip, for both of us!! Now you know why we’ve had the privilege to travel so much!

We take buses, trams, and the metro daily and they are all exceptionally clean. I haven’t traveled as much via public transit in the U.S. but I can’t imagine it would be nearly as clean. 

Work/Life Balance: People are expected to take vacations here. It’s almost strange if you don’t. In fact, one new company just launched this year without offering vacation days because they are unlimited! People love and value the outdoors so much that students will often ask to have class outside once Spring hits, so it’s not surprising that many families have summer cottages in the countryside. 

You are expected to stay home when you are sick, regardless of the number of days it takes to get better. Sick doesn’t necessarily mean the flu or something life threatening as is often the expectation in the U.S. Students and members of the work force often miss due to a cold. A doctor’s note may be requested, depending on the number of days absent, but that is easily obtained. 

There are certainly things we do not like about living here, but why dwell on negative things? A recent sermon series has encouraged us to count our blessings and to be grateful for what we have, and these things we’ve listed are certainly some of the wonderful things Europe has to offer. 

Next time....what we miss about the U.S. 

Who am I the Most?

It seems that everyone is consumed with making his or her identity/opinion known. From social justice platforms and political stances to movie reviews, people are insisting on being heard. Where are we as Christians supposed to be in all of this? What are people hearing from us? What/Who should we be in response?

 This begs the question that I have been pondering for a while now. Who are we the most? Who should we be the most? Are we mostly about being a certain race, gender, or political party Monday through Saturday? Are we mostly the social justice advocate speaking out for or against a certain issue? Are we more about winning an argument or making a point than being Christ-like? Social media is filled with Christians and non-Christians alike fighting to be heard, but who is listening? More importantly, what’s worth hearing? Do we simply want to be agreed with or liked? What is our motivation? 

Don’t get me wrong, I think having an opinion on these issues is important and there’s nothing wrong with sharing it. But as Christians, when we are more of something, anything than we are a follower of Christ (as revealed through how we spend most of our time, and what we focus on the most) then we really can’t be distinguished from non-Christians. If we can’t be distinguished, then what is the point of calling ourselves Christians?

God challenges us throughout Scripture to become more like Christ. Christ certainly addressed social issues such as the woman at the well in John 4. Jews and Samaritans didn’t interact at that time. Jesus caused outrage when he joined tax collectors, who were part of one of the most hated of people groups, in Luke 19 and Matthew 9. Even when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by mincing words regarding authority in Matthew 22, Jesus replied by acknowledging the authority established by both the government and God. I Peter 2:13-25 is particularly interesting because Nero, a cruel man and the one who would eventually kill Peter, was in power during the time it was written, yet Peter specifically talks about submitting to human authority.  

More than anything else, Jesus was all about addressing people’s spiritual condition. Going back to the woman at the well, Jesus wasn’t there simply to break social boundaries or to make some kind of political statement. He was there to speak to the woman about a need greater than water, and a problem far more destructive than a division between people groups. He was there to address her need for a relationship with God. 

So, I’m challenging myself and all Christians, the next time you’re tempted to join a heated argument, take a hard line stance, or respond to a platform presented on social media, before you do, ask yourself…who am I the most? In the words of my pastor this Sunday, choose God’s heart over your head. 

A Change of Perspective

A little boy changed my perspective today. 

We were at church, waiting for the offering plates to be passed around. I looked over my shoulder to see if it was on its way when this little boy, probably three or four years old, caught my attention. I was struck by his excitement at the opportunity to drop his little handful of coins into the plate as it passed. 

He was so excited that he ran to the end of the row and knelt on the pew, his head resting in one hand and his fingers tapping restlessly with the other. As the plate got closer, he could contain himself no longer. He ran to the usher and excitedly dropped his little coins in the plate. 

Now, I know that he probably just felt like a big boy for putting the money in the offering and was not really fully aware of what he was doing, but it certainly had an impact on me. When was the last time I really eagerly ran towards God like the little guy ran toward that plate? 

The offering song was also beautifully poignant to the moment, as the words referenced God calling to us with his arms open wide, beckoning us to run to him. I suddenly wished I was that little boy, eagerly awaiting a chance to worship God with that much excitement. 

This year has been very difficult. But seeing that little guy with all that joy on his face really changed my perspective today. I'm not sure that I have been truly joyful in a while. 

So that is my challenge to myself and anyone else reading this: be joyful. Rejoice. 

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Well I, Tonya, have finally arrived back in Prague….kind of anyway. As most of you know, I wasn’t able to get my visa back before Christmas, which meant an unexpected trip to the U.S. for the holidays. We have learned to “roll with the punches” and the trip home for the holidays was a blessing in disguise. We had a great time catching up with family and friends and I received my visa through the mail in time to return to Prague January 11th. It was just enough time to prepare for my next adventure. 

Melissa and I aboard our propellor plane headed to Latvia.

Exactly a week after arriving in Prague I was off to Latvia to visit Freedom61’s ministry. This amazing organization is dedicated to reaching out to the women of Latvia in various walks of life, but their main focus is exploitation. My friend Melissa and I were able to spend time with various volunteers, ask questions, and check out their café and women’s center. I was amazed at the variety of volunteers hailing from America, Australia, and of course Latvia. They have both Latvian and Russian translators! The ministry began several years ago by offering a café for exploited women to visit as a safe haven for relationship building. It has since expanded to a restoration home and a men’s outreach where they try to address the source of exploitation.

The temperature was in the 20's F so we layered up for touring the city.

A fun ice sculpture outside a cafe gives some perspective on the cold.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is seeing how God is real and at work all over the world. It was surreal in many ways, preparing dinner with a fellow American, on our last night in a foreign land while listening to country music. It's in these moments that the world seems both bigger and smaller at the same time. There are so many places that we have yet to see and so many things left to learn. But at the same time, people all over the world have so much in common and you find that out when you do something as simple as sitting around a dinner table together.

We left feeling greatly encouraged by the work Freedom61 is doing. Here is the website if you are interested in learning more about this incredible outreach https://www.freedom61.org. Needless to say, considering all the traveling, jet-lag continues to be a real thing, but I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world.

                Riga's art nouveau architecture was quite impressive!

St. Mikulas Day and Christmas in Prague

One of the more interesting things they do here in Czech Republic (and other countries) is the celebration of St. Nicholas Day. Here in CZ the name is Mikulas, hence the blog title.

Nicholas greets tourists. 

St. Nicholas goes around with an angel and a devil escorting him. They find little children in the small towns and the kids have to sing Christmas songs. If they sing the carols, they get candy from the angel. If they don't, well that is what the devil is for.

As I was downtown walking around this day, there were many people downtown participating in this and enjoying the Christmas markets. Several people went all out and had incredibly detailed and even frightening costumes. Prague has been a hot spot in the film industry for making movies, so occasionally Barrandov Studios will send out some people in costume. 

Creepy Krampus takes the time to pose with a fan.

Several of my coworkers were not fans of the monstrous representations. The traditional devil is more of a cutesie little baby imp type creature. Popular movies such as Krampus have influenced the representation I believe. Plus, Krampus himself is very popular in Germany, just one country away.



Everything about Christmas downtown is beautiful. All the streets are beautifully decorated and there is truly a magical feeling about walking around down there. Pair that will the amazing architechture and you get a wonderful experience. It's almost hard to believe that the percentage of atheists is so high here.

Our prayer for Prague is that they would see the real meaning of the season. Please join us in praying that for them. 

Old Town Square Christmas Markets

We are going to be taking the next couple of weeks off. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

When It Rains, It Pours (Through the Ceiling)

Someone once said, "The accumulation of little things is no little thing." I can tell you for certain that this is true. The past month has been hard. There have been a lot of little things that have gone wrong. I know that we are not supposed to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but what if all the moles got together and made one giant mole hill? What if there was a Mole King, and he lorded his Moleness with ruthless indifference? You get the idea.

We decided before we left for Europe this time that if we wrote a blog we would post the good and the bad. Well that has been hard to stick with, as it is often difficult to share our struggles, especially in an age when most people are only showing the highlights of ther lives on social media.

About a week or so ago, the ceiling in our kitchen decided that it would leak. I was in the other room and I thought I heard rain outside. Tonya was not home at the time and I remember hoping that she had taken her umbrella with her. The rain intensified, so I decied to get up and look out the window at the storm. That's when I stepped in the small lake that had formed on the kitchen floor. I looked up at the ceiling and the water was pouring as if there was an artifical rain machine installed. What happened next could have been an episode of "I Love Lucy" or some other ridiculous sitcom. I emptied the trash can and as many pots and pans as I could find to catch the leaking water. Thankfully, it finally stopped. I also frantically messaged a colleague who helped me devise a plan to communicate with the neighbor upstairs. Thanks Alena.

My next task was to contact the school administrator to see what could be done about it. He told me to talk to the man upstairs (not God, although I also did that) to see what the leak was. I walked upstairs and realized my dilemma. I spoke no Czech. He spoke no English. This was going to be wonderful. Through Google translate and the use of my exceptionally limited Czech vocabulary, we established that he had no idea what I was talking about. Fortunately, my administrator came and talked with him later. The only problem is that he said nothing was leaking in his apartment, so nothing got resolved. The leak stopped though, so that was at least something.

The next couple of areas of frustration come from our ministry attempts here. I really should not speak publicly about those, but please be in prayer for us. Things simply are not working out in the way we anticipated they would.

Next, we have basketball. The begining of November brings the beginning of basketball season. As I have written about previously, not getting to be around basketball is like missing a member of our family, so for that to be up and running again makes us very homesick. They're in good hands though, so that brings us quite a bit of comfort. Thanks Greenie.

Speaking of homesick, last week was Thanksgiving! Or, as they call it here in the Czech Republic, Thursday. It is not an observed holiday here (why would it be?) so that left us feeling all the more lonely still. Thankfully Tonya, being the Wonder of a Woman that she is, (see what I did there?) was able to locate some pumpkin pie mix at an American speciality shop here in the city. She also found most of the ingredients for a pretty nice Thanksgiving meal, so that turned out to be pretty nice.


I am glad November is over. There were so many small things that went wrong this month, so many mole hills trying to become mountains. Nothing this month was very consistent. That is why I am glad we have our faith. That is the only constant in this constantly changing life we're building here. Thank God for that.


NEXT WEEK: We'll have a look at the Christmas markets here in Prague and the St. Mikulas (St. Nicholas).