Blogs from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 201

We talked with a very interesting pastor from Maldova at breakfast this morning. He attended the conference of the European Baptist Union and also the EBU dedication service last night. Maldova is an agricultural country of rolling hills and valleys about the size of Maryland. He said there are no mountains in his home country. The Baptists in Maldova have a sister relationship with one of the states in the deep south in the U.S. but formerly they were partnered with our home state of Maryland. He had visited Maryland in the past and had fond memories of the cooperation with churches there. We were joined by two other men, both from Russia. They said that under Communism Baptists were always suspected of being American spies. He did not say so, but I expect man yAmericans ... read more

If you haven’t noticed, Nancy is clever. We both were approaching the shaggy dog stage again. Nancy had noticed that Cheryl’s hair is very nicely cut. So she asked her, “Where do you get your haircut?” Cheryl told her and gave her the business card for Hair Studio Divine. “Ask for Gabriela, she speaks English and I like her.” Yesterday Mirka called Gabriela from the library and made an appointment for both of us to get our haircut today. We caught the 7:58 bus from Jeneralka to Dejvicka. Cheryl’s directions were, “Walk to the KFC and take a right up the hill. The salon is a short walk from there.” KFC is a great landmark, after all we recognize Colonel Sanders and the letters KFC. I can’t see us ever eating there, but it is great ... read more

Doreen, a very friendly young Arab Christian woman from Israel, asked Nancy to edit her with her paper on Christians and divorce. Doreen came to our room about seven and working together they finished about two hours later. Doreen had written a very good paper. Our long time working together wasn’t a long time in correcting errors. It was a good long time of my learning more from her about marriage and divorce as it is seen in the eyes of people from the Middle East. It was also a painful time of seeing how our casual attitude toward divorce in the Western nations looks to an outsider. I talked to her about how divorce impacts families, churches and society in general in the USA. The impact is very different from what happens in a Middle ... read more

Kasha said “Yes, you can ride with me to Krakow.” We will ride with her from Prague to Krakow on Thursday March 24th and return on Tuesday March 29th. She said she will have a friend look into reserving us a room in a hotel. I believe this will be a very interesting trip. I have sworn off brussel sprouts. There is an untrue belief that brussel sprouts are a member of the cabbage family, a vegetable. They are not!!! Brussel sprouts are small green leafy spheres of highly compressed gas disguised as a vegetable. I am not going to eat them again! That suits me fine. At least I will be able to sleep through the night without hearing loud explosions and smelling sulfur bombs! I don’t like to eat Brussels Sprouts at home where ... read more

The morning dawned bright and sunny. For the first time in a about six weeks or so the temperature actually rose above freezing today and there was some melting of the snow. Today was a good day for taking a long walk and in the afternoon that is exactly what we did. The ice no longer covers the small stream that runs through the Sarka Valley. We noticed that, with the melting snow, much more water is flowing in the creek. We sincerely hope there is not a quick melt of snow across the Czech Republic this spring. Several years ago a quick melt resulted in the worst flooding in several centuries. Many of Prague’s older sections received damage from the flooding. Also those portions of the subway nearest and under the Vltana River were filled ... read more