Prague Journal—09.06.28

Arrived at the school to help set up for worship a little after 9:00 AM. Mother Vlasta was there and we got things put in order. (Daughter Vlasta and Margareta had both told me the week before they would be away this Sunday.) Jan Pavlik arrived about 9:20 and began to look at some songs for the worship. He brought Jiří with him, a young man he described as “a former colleague,” and Jiří said he was expecting a friend of his, and would go to the bus stop to help him find the way. At 9:30, the announced time for the service to begin, we were three. (Test of faith #090628.)

Soon the Grabmylers arrived with apologies for being late. (Ondrej looked around and joked that if he’d known he was still “early,” he would not have broken so many speed limits on the way to church!) Jitka and Petr came in next. A bit later František showed up, and we began the service about 10:00. Soon Jiří returned with his friend Michael, and a young lady (Katka, a friend of Haviland, I learned after the service) arrived. A little later still Jaroslav come in. So, after all was said and done (O me of little faith!), we had a nice group gathered. I preached the second message in the series about faith and anxiety—this time from Matthew 6:19-24, “Keeping Your Focus.”

After worship people visited for a long time. They are reluctant to speak with me, of course, because of the language barrier, but they were very chatty with one another. I did visit briefly with Katka. During the coffee time, Olga arrived with Farniks' dog Buddy, so I had to make arrangements with her for the hand-over. It was difficult to tear people way to begin Sunday school, but eventually we resumed our study of the covenant for 30 minutes or so.

I pray that the seed sown this morning will take root and bear fruit in several hearts. Katka said she would come back next Sunday—and bring her father. Pray it will be.

After we put everything away at the school, and the people had dispersed, I left with Ondrej and family to take Buddy back to Zbraslav before going on to their place of the afternoon and evening. Buddy seemed happy to be home again—until he discovered the Farniks were not there, and began to understand that he was stuck with me instead.

Eva had prepared a delicious meal, which we enjoyed together. Samuel fell asleep on the way home and (considerately, for Eva’s sake) napped through the meal. Ondrej had been bragging up Eva’s cooking, and his praise was well justified. After dinner we talked at length about some spiritual concerns, and I was glad to be able to minister pastorally to my friends.

Samuel woke up later in the afternoon, and after he ate his dinner, we set out to visit the village of Lidice, just a few kilometers from Grabmylers’ home.

This village was essentially wiped off the map by the occupying Nazis in reprisal for the assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich in June 1942. Czech soldiers were parachuted in from Britain to kill Heydrich. Afterward they were trapped in a church in Prague and killed, but that was not enough. The Czechs must be taught a lesson. On the basis of a flimsy connection to a family from Lidice, the population of the village (about 500) was made an example. All the men were rounded up and shot immediately, the women and older children were deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where they were killed, and the younger children were farmed out to German families—they would be trained to become loyal citizens of the Reich. The town was then burned and bulldozed—including the 14th century church and the graveyard—until virtually no trace of it remained. The arrogant (if shortsighted) Germans even documented the whole affair on film (!!), which became evidence at the post-war Nüremberg trials.

Looking down from the old cemetery and uphill toward the memorial. The village once stood between.

After the war a new village was created adjacent to the old, and the old village has now become a memorial. As is so often the case with battlefields, so with Lidice, a scene of unspeakable horror has now become a place of serene quiet and beauty. Only the grey sky joined the monuments in proclaiming the tragedy.

One memorial is particularly eloquent: a sculpture in bronze by Marie Uchytilová of a group of 82 children, representing not only the children of Lidice who were sent to their death, but all of the children who became victims of World War II.

There has also been planted a beautiful rose garden with many varieties and colors of flowers, as part of the memorial. A place, said Ondrej, to which some couples now come to hold their marriage ceremonies—a reaffirmation of life. A sincere gesture, no doubt, but we agreed that real hope in the face of such murderous hatred can only come from him who has promised to fill the earth with his knowledge, and thus finally, definitively put an end to war (Isaiah 2:2–4; 11:6–9).

We returned to Grabmylers’ for another meal and some more conversation, and then Ondrej drove me back to Zbraslav late. A wonderful and meaningful day. Thanks be to God.

With Samuel and Ondrej at Lidice memorial.

Prague Journal—09.06.27

Saturday. Last Thursday Jitka Vaclavikova invited me to come to their flat for lunch (dinner) at noon today. They live in Modřany in one of the tall residential buildings not too far from where the church meets. I took the bus over and Petr met me at the stop and escorted me to their home. It was nice to see Jitka’s husband Arnost again as well. He and Petr had attended the English camp in 2007 (Arnost was wearing the T-shirt!). Jitka had prepared a nice meal for us, and afterward we headed for Prague to look around.

This weekend there is some kind of city-wide celebration, and many special events are schedule here and there. Among other things, several of the museums will be free of charge today. We decided to go the the City of Prague Museum (I have not been there before), which boasts a scale model (1:500) of central Prague—constructed of paper and wood over a 10+ year period (finished in 1834) by Antonin Langweil. What a remarkable model. It covers an area of about 25 sq. yds. The detail was astonishing—not only the craftsmanship, but the attention to detail throughout. Well worth seeing. There were several other interesting exhibits about the history and life of the city of Prague. There was also a special exhibit about Bohemian coinage. I am not a real fan of coin collecting, but it was interesting to read a little about the history of coinage and minting in the region over several centuries.

I was interested to see displays of several “hoards” of medieval coins that had been discovered (as recently as 2008) by archeological excavations or other work at various places around the city. Somebody hid their treasure for safe-keeping, but never got back to it, and their coins outlived them. This is the flip-side of the impermanence of “treasure on earth”—sometimes you money may last, but you won’t! (Sermon illustration here for tomorrow’s message.)

After we left the Prague City Museum we headed toward Old Town Square. We passed Petrské Tower and Petrské Square (where Jitka grew up), and then stopped in at the Brethren Church on Soukeniká St. where the Vaclavik family worships, and where Arnost serves as an elder. The building had the date 1907 on the outside, and the text of Romans 1:16 was printed on the front. The headquarters for the Brethren Church is located in the same building complex.

Petr and his sister Jitka live in a rented flat near Old Town Square, and as we were passing by, we dropped in for an impromptu coffee. It looks to be a 19th century building—big rooms and high ceilings.

As part of the city celebration, they had a sort of “medieval village” assembled in Old Town Square—blacksmiths, jugglers, food booths, etc.—along with a large performance stage, I presume for concert later in the evening. We walked over to watch the Old Town Clock do it’s thing, and then headed for the St. Agnes of Bohemia Convent, founded in 1234 by the sister of King Wenceslas I.

It now houses part of the National Gallery of Prague collection (mostly medieval religious art from Bohemia and Central Europe). It was only an hour before closing, so we had to hurry through the gallery—which was really no problem for me, as the medieval crucifixion altarpieces and madonna-and-child paintings all run together pretty quickly in one’s mind (unless you’re a trained art historian and can appreciate the technical differences from one artist/place/school to another). If you need an argument for the strictest application of the second commandment, this gallery will give it to you.

I really would have liked to have a look inside the gothic chapel, but they were setting up for another event later in the evening, so we were refused entry. Another time…

I bid farewell to Jitka and Petr who wanted to have a look at one more gallery, if possible, and Arnost and I headed for the metro—each to return home. It was a very pleasant afternoon in their generous and kind company.

Prague Journal—09.06.26 (Part 2)

After stopping in at Starbuck’s about midday to reconnect with the outside world, and discovering (among other things that American icons Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were dead), I decided to go exploring again. I caught the 112 tram outside Starbuck’s to see where it would take me. We traveled northwest past the Malastranská metro station and continued following the eastward curve of the river (on the north bank), passing under the giant metronome in Letná Park (across the river from the Josefov district).

As you read in all the guidebooks, there used to be a huge stone statue of Stalin leading the people on that spot—allegedly the largest in Europe. (Apparently, locals jokingly referred to the statue as “the bread line” as it resembled the long waiting lines that were common under communism.) When Stalin fell from favor during the Khruchev “thaw” the statue was dismantled and removed. The idea was to do this in secret, at night, but everybody knew it was happening and came out to watch. And the statue proved to be stubborn and would only yield to multiple dynamite charges. Then 1991 (for reasons I’m still not clear on) someone got the bright idea of putting a giant metronome in the same place. I guess it may have its symbolic usefulness (marking time of the city), but it’s not very attractive. People do notice, however.

The tram turned north along Dukelských hrdinů and then east again to the Holešovice railway station. A few changes of direction later, we crossed the river (which was now running N/S again) eastward to Palmovka. There I changed to the 10 tram (it seemed like everyone was getting off the one I was on, and I thought I was at “the end of the line” again!). This tram wended its way southward toward the huge Olsanské cemeteries in Žižkov. I had wanted to look in at the “new” Jewish cemetery there to see Kafka’s grave. I was going to wait for a sunny day, but since I was close… But it was about 4:00 PM, and it being Friday, the sabbath was approaching so the cemetery was closed. I’ll have to come back another time.

Jumped the metro down to Námětí Míru, a square in the Vinohrady quarter. The square is dominated by the large neo-gothic Church of St. Ludmila, dating from the 1890s. It was designed by Joseph Mocker, the architect of the west end of St. Vitus’ Cathedral. The church can be seen from all the way down the hill at the head of a long avenue (Ječna and Jugoslávská). I remembered that some of us walked up here to get a closer look at this church during our first visit to Prague in 2004. Pavel and Lenka, a very friendly couple we had met at the first English camp, had invited a group of us to meet them again for lunch in Prague after the camp. They took us to the Pivovarský Dům (a microbrewery on Ječna). After eating we walked up to St. Ludmila’s at Námětí Míru. None of this really matters all that much. Just a random recollection. But it did lead me to walk down to Pivovarský Dům for a bite to eat and a pint of their excellent beer.

My grand plan for the day was to end up at 6:30 at the Church of St. Ignatius on Charles’ Square for a free concert by the Chancel Choir of St. Luke’s Methodist Church of Indianapolis, Indiana, that I read about on a sign outside the church when I’d walked by a few days ago.

I arrived early, and stepped into the building as it started raining hard again. I watched the end of the 5:30 mass. There were more people in attendance that I would have expected. The methodists were waiting outside near where their tour bus was parked at the curb. The choir was probably already inside getting ready for the concert that would begin right after the service.

When the congregation was dismissed I went in and took a seat near the front. There seemed to be a few locals in attendance, but I suspect most of those in the audience were part of the group traveling with the choir. The concert was billed as “20th Century American Church Music,” and almost all of it was unfamiliar to me. There was no printed program, and the director didn’t make any comments at all about any of the pieces, so I don’t know who the composers/arrangers were (too bad). (Perhaps no one was prepared to translate for him anyway, so what would have been the use.) They did sing a couple of contemporary arrangements of “spirituals” and familiar hymns (e.g., “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”). One piece, for organ, oboe, and choir was very striking. Needless to say, the choral sound echoing through that large baroque church was beautiful.

After the concert, I headed back to Zbraslav.

Prague Journal—09.06.26

Not much going on today. This morning I worked on my lesson for Sunday school on the covenant. Then I came down to Starbuck's to check email and the internet. Now I think I'll get on a tram and see where it goes.

I walked by a church near Charles' Square the other day that had a sign saying that tonight at 6:30 they were presenting a concert by a visiting Methodist choir from Indianapolis. I may mosy over there later and have a listen.

Sherry and Laura should be flying back to San Diego soon (if they're not already en route). God speed them.

Below is novelist Franz Kafka's birthplace near Old Town Square.

Prague Journal—Hradčany (the Castle hill) in Black and White

Prague Journal—09.06.25

Spent the last hour doing office work at Starbuck's in Malá Strana. (One of the nice things about "stinking liberals" is they'll let you sit and use up their internet for hours and never give you the "move along" look of a running-dog capitalist. They probably wouldn't even notice, or care, whether or not you bought a cup of coffee—but I did, because the workman is worthy of his hire!)

Tonight is the second English class this week. I pray that people will come, and that God will open a door for his Word. Thanks to the many who are praying to that end.

I mentioned yesterday that I'd spent a couple of hours in the National Art Gallery up near the Prague Castle.

It was wonderful to see again the impact of the Reformation upon the art of the 17th century—especially those Dutchmen (Brueghel, van Goyen, Lutichuys, and others whose names I didn't note down). I remember Francis Schaeffer drawing attention to the way those artists began to celebrate ordinary daily life as something created by God and worthy of artistic attention (in preference, for example, to all the gods and goddesses of classical mythology).

As I walked through the galleries yesterday, there was one beautiful painting after another of regular people doing regular things in regular ways—fishmongers, and skaters, and tavern-keepers and drinkers, and village markets with shoppers, and wooing, and something that looked like lawn bowling and croquet, and hunting, and…

…and then—amid all that ordinariness—an angel announces to Mary that she will become the mother of Him who will save his people from their sins; or a man who looks like every other man—well, almost—gives sight to a man born blind.

"The Word became flesh, and we beheld his glory…" Glory in the midst of ordinary things.

One set of four little paintings was amusing in its ordinariness. They depicted "the four senses" (I guess the fifth, sight, was left implied as you were viewing the paintings). "Hearing" was a man banging on a little metal gong of some sort, and "taste" was a man draining a tankard (of beer?) outside a tavern. OK. But "touch" was (the same) man feeling in his pocket for some change (for one more round?). And "smell" was the man watching a nearby dog pooping on the sidewalk (gods and goddesses don't poop, in case you hadn't noticed, and if they did, their poop wouldn't stink). It takes a certain kind of worldview to paint a painting like that!

There were also many beautiful "still lifes" (I don't think the plural is "lives"). One in particular caught my eye. It was called "Still Life with Golden Goblet and Roses." It was exquisite—beyond my ability to describe in words—but what delighted me was not the golden goblet or the roses, but the way the artist had depicted the play of light on the objects in the painting—a reflection off the edge of a pewter tray, what must have been a reflection from a window-shaped light source playing on the surface of a vase of Chinese design, a fluted glass that would have been barely visible against the dark background but for the light that gave substance to the wine it held. It was magnificent… and yet so very ordinary.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him all creatures here below (like pocket change and earthy smells and the play of light on glass); praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

Prague Journal—Photos

Here is my other "office" on Wenceslas Square—very exclusive neighborhood, but I'm in for a low rent.

Views around Old Town Square under a threatening sky.

Týn Church

Tower of the City Hall

Prague Journal—09.06.24

This morning I think I’ll go back up to Andél and have a bit of a look around. It seems a busy business district, and from there it’s not a long walk north into Malá Strana or across the river into Nové Město.

The weather turned really icky when I got off the bus at the station, so I ducked into what turned out to be a nice indoor mall. The Farniks told us there was one in Andél years ago, but we never went looking for it. (As it turns out there is a big Tesco in that mall too, so I won’t have to go so far next time.) Lot’s of familiar names—Levis and Wrangler, Sapora, as well as what I’m now recognizing as the usual Czech chain stores, even a Swarovski store. But no internet connection. Bummer. Guess I’ll have to press on. Maybe the weather has moderated a little outside.

Visited St. Nicholas Church in the Lesser Town, below the Castle. Hadn’t been inside before. According to the pamphlet, it’s supposed to be the finest example of Barque architecture in the Czech Republic. It was built between 1673-1752.

Then I went to the National Art Gallery of Prague in the Sternberg Palace just west of the Castle. Hadn’t been there before either. A wonderful collection—lots of 17th century Flemish paintings. Spent a couple of hours until I was tired of standing. It was nearly deserted and thus very quiet. Some really beautiful pieces. Too much to absorb all at once.

Was heading toward McDonalds across the river, and stopped by Starbucks to see what they had to offer besides coffee—found they have a strong internet connection, so I can take care of my office work here.

The rain let up, but the skies are still grey.

Prague Journal—09.06.23

Did some more work during the morning for tonight’s English class. Think I’ll use a Czech story in English translation called “The Sword of St Wenceslas” for the reading. Will allow work on pronunciation and it has some good vocabulary words. Hope it will not be too advanced for “intermediates.” We can always “just talk.” Don’t want to scare anyone off.

It’s another grey, rainy day—hope people will come out for the class in the bad weather. Rain doesn’t keep them inside like it does SoCals.

About 11:00 AM I set out in search of a Tesco “Hypermarket” I saw a sign for over in Modřany the other day. It’s supposed to be “smer [toward] Lhotka”—so I found Lhotka on the map (it adjoins Modřany on the NE), and a couple of buses that go toward what seems to be the intersection of two main grags in Lhotka. That’s where I’d put a Tesco. We’ll see…

3:00 PM—Well, it worked (sorta!). Took the 165 bus to Modřanska station, then walked a way to a stop where could catch the 139 bus that seemed to go the way I wanted (discovered later that the 205 would probably have done the same job—trial and error). Picked up a billboard that said Tesco dead-ahead a couple of km. Got off the bus at the big intersection, and there it was about 700 m down the road.

Took a while looking around the “hypermarket.” Main object of trip was to get some cookies for tonight (which I could have bought in Zbraslav) and a soap-dish with suction cups that will stick it to the tile wall of the shower—a small, but important added convenience (less stooping in a confined space). Scored on both counts. Picked up a baguette sandwich for lunch, too, which was quite tasty for (especially for a pre-made).

Retraced my route on bus 139 and caught bus 165 heading back to Z. Feeling pretty saucy about my “land nav” skills—even though I can only read the tiny bus route numbers on the map if the light is very good, which it is frequently not on these grey days (should have packed my little magnifier). Then, suddenly, the bus driver is looking at me and speaking. I surmise (because everyone else has gotten off the bus) that he is saying, “End of the line gringo, get off the bus, I’m going on my break” (or something like). We are nowhere near Zbraslav, and I’m wondering what’s up, but I get get anywhere with him by listening or questioning, so I get off.

I found out later that some of the 165 buses don’t go all the way through. It’s probably all spelled-out in the several footnotes on the bottom of the bus timetable, but of course, they’re all in Czech. (Once you get below 36pt typeface around here, you’re flat outta English! Guess I should be more thankful for all the helpful translations there are—I am.)

So… What to do? I walk back to the previous bus stop and wait for the next 165 bus and hope the driver isn’t due for a smoke and there are no other shenanigans. This time it works and I’m back in Zbraslav.

Picked some of Jerry’s strawberries in between rainfall (Vlasta Sr. was very insistent about this on Sunday), made some coffee, and have now caught up the journal. Time for a 20 min power nap before I get things set out for tonight’s class.

Vlasta & Vlasta came by about 6:00 to collect the mail. They couldn’t stay as they have a long ride home on public transportation all the way to the other side of metropolitan Prague (Černy Most). Younger Vlasta reminded me that both she and Margareta are going to be missing on Sunday, so Vlasta Sr. and I will be on our own for setup, etc. Jan Pavlik is supposed to be arranging songs for the service.

9:00 PM—Three people showed for the class, all from the same family (Jitka Vaclavikova and her adult daughter, also Jitka, and son, Petr). The others who said they were coming didn’t show up. Jitka was a worship on Sunday and had previously emailed me before I came to express her eagerness to participate in the class. I remember having a couple of brief conversations with Petr at one of the previous English camps. He was at camp once with his father, who, if memory serves (??), is (or was) an officer in a CB church. Petr works in a company that develops computer software for telecommunications. Younger Jitka is a physical therapist, but is taking courses at Charles’ University in deaf education. We had a great time talking about this and that for a couple of hours, working on pronunciation and points of grammar. We tried the story, was it was a bit much for their level of English. I’ll work on something more elementary for next time. But they seemed to enjoy it. Jitka actually asked about going over some of the vocabulary from Sunday’s sermon, but I didn’t have the outline printed out. Note for next time.

Prague Journal—09.06.22

Spent the day prepping for tomorrow evening’s intermediate English class. Don’t know quite what to expect. I’ve never taught intermediates at previous English camps so I’m sort of spoiled. Hopefully it won’t be too intimidating for the students, and if not, we should have a good time. There are four students lined up so far—maybe more will come (or less?). Pray that God will give good opportunities to speak meaningfully of the things of God with the Czechs.

I’ve traveled up to central Prague to meet Ondrej for dinner near Wenceslas Square, so I check into McD’s to see what the connectivity is like. My usual connection is not showing up so I’ll have to try a few others.

In the exploring category, I decided to take the tram from Smíckovska Station instead of the metro so I could see some more of the city. It was a nice 10 minute ride through Andél and across the Vltava River and I landed right where I needed to be on Wenceslas Square. I’ve decided that riding around town on the tram is cheap entertainment, and very educational too.

Prague Journal—09.06.21

Day four in Prague. I've gotten settled into the Farniks' place and worked out some of the mild glitches. Still having problems with getting connected to the internet there, but McD's is getting used to seeing me there (though the connectivity there is kind of iffy too). But one of the people at the church gave English lessons to the cellphone this morning, so now I can navigate that much easier if I need to.

The worship service this morning went well. Some of the folks from the church set everything up. There were about 11 of us in worship. It was great to see some friends from previous years again. I preached on Matthew 6:25-34 regarding the problem of anxiety and God's cure in "keeping first things first." Ondrej Grabmyler translated for me, and the message seemed to be a blessing to several who made a point of mentioning it. We had a Sunday school class afterward and I began a quick overview of the biblical teaching on the covenant. I hope that will help better orient some of the people to the structure of the Bible, and to their own personal relationship with God.

It was a beautiful sunny morning, but now the clouds are moving in again. Don't know what's forecast.

I arrived at the place of worship about an hour earlier than necessary, and that gave me some time to mediate on John 3 and pray for the people and the service. Jesus said unless we are "born again" we can neither "see" nor "enter" the Kingdom of God. How basic; how true. You can travel halfway around the world, prepare and deliver sermons, but unless the Holy Spirit sovereignly opens hearts, it will be of no effect. "The flesh profits nothing; the Spirit alone gives life." How we need that Spirit—in both the preaching and the hearing of God's Word. Continue to pray that the Lord who is the Spirit will open hearts during these weeks of ministry.

Prague Journal—09.06.19

I will try to keep you posted here on the blog on developments during my month-long stay in Prague ministering to the people of our church-plant in Modrany (a southern district of greater Prague) while Bayview's missionaries, Jerry and Marilyn Farnik, are in the U.S. on furlough.

I left San Diego on Wednesday (6.17) at about 8:00 AM and traveled via Newark, NJ, Manchester, UK, and Dusseldorf, Germany, arriving in Prague about 4:00 PM on the 18th. It was a very long trip (had a 6 hour layover in Newark waiting for the overnight flight to Manchester) but through God's kindness I made all the necessary connections without a hitch, and I and my luggage (!) arrived in good shape.

I took a couple of hours getting settled in at the Farniks' house in Zbraslav, and then hit the rack for a good nine-hour sleep. Since I couldn't make the internet connection at the Farniks' work, nor could I decipher the cellphone they left for me (which speaks only Czech!), I set off this morning in the rain to find a place where I could get online. When in doubt, go to MacDonald's!

I knew of one on Wenceslas Square in downtown Prague from previous trips—we've gone there frequently on past trips to get iced sodas (still a rarity among the natives in this part of the world). I was able to tap into someone's wireless network and was able to make some contacts by email and update my status on Facebook. Everybody in the USA is asleep, so I'll have to wait till later in the day to see if my notes got through to people. I also contacted some of my local helpers and should talk to them later today.

So now, I think I'll go have a walk around and renew myself with the sights and sounds of Prague's "Old Town" before I head back to the Farniks' to make some preparations for the Sunday service. I'll be preaching and teaching Sunday school classes for four Sundays while I'm here. Ondrej Grabmyler—who has provided such able assistance at English camps in the past—is going to serve as my translator again. It will be good to minister with him again.

Thanks to all of you who are praying that God will open hearts and bless the ministry of his word here—not only this month while I am here, but onward as the Farniks continue their labors to establish Reformed congregations in Prague.