Thoughts on a troubled world

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This morning I feel I could rub some of them on my skin and be glad. It is -18 C here today. In Spain it is -24 C this morning and in Bavaria it is -45C. These are the coldest ever temps in some parts of Europe. Portugal set a 64 year record last night. 18 days till Spring but it is the coldest part of the winter for almost all of Europe. I’m glad I love cold weather!

It’s 6:25 in the evening and it just got dark a little bit ago. When we first arrived here, there was total darkness a little before 5 if I remember correctly. Since we are much farther north than our home in Maryland, we will experience much longer days as spring and summer arrive. I don’t know how early the sun is up in the morning but something is awakening me before the 6:30 alarm and it might just be the sun lightening up the sky outside. Since we have the venetian blinds closed, that means the sky is REALLY light. So, already we are having over 12 hours of daylight. The sun is not UP all those hours but the twilight before and after sunrise is very long now.

In the library we have started to think about plants. We have such a lot of lovely plants in the library but some of them have the idea they are living in a jungle. One was starting to head up the wall and it’s not even ivy. So, today we moved a plant or two out of the library office into the reading room. Then I broke off parts of that wild plant and put them in water to start rooting them. Did Bill tell you earlier that we want to put plants in all the windows upstairs so the humidity will be higher? The upstairs humidity is between 20 and 22 percent. That is like a desert. So, the bindings of the books are suffering and definitely the glue on paperback books is drying out. It’s too cold to leave the windows open which is the normal way of getting more internal humidity in that part of the library. So, we figure some plants with lots of water on them would help. Czech’s seem to love in door plants. Last summer we noted the amazing cut flower arrangements in all public buildings. The window sills or ledges are over a foot deep so they can hold very large plants.
Last night we joined a group meeting in the room of one of the women who work here. The group just finished reading and discussing another book and we were there for the first night of the discussion on “Turn mourning into Dancing : Finding hope in hard times” by Henri Nouwen. Nouwen is such a good writer and has so much to teach through his books. We enjoyed reading the first chapter and the beginning discussion was good. The leader is a woman who has lived and worked in Hong Kong and in Thailand. She is involved in a very special ministry to women here in Prague. We were surprised to hear her talk about a time when this title (not this book but these words from the Bible) had been about all she could hold onto for hope. She seems like such a totally ‘together’ lady that it was hard to imagine the hard times she has gone through in the past. It was yet another experience in life that taught us you need to get to know people deeply. If I had written to you about her before, I would have described a physically stunning woman, talented in music and gifted in public speaking, someone who dresses beautifully and could easily pass for a model. (and I still would for all those things are true but there is so much more than you can see.) About a woman with a heart of LOVE for the students here and for women who have difficult circumstances. We would have painted a picture of someone who had the ‘world by the tail’. It’s so easy to look at someone and imagine them always healthy, never losing those who are dear to them, never having to face tough times. We should always try to sit and listen to everyone we meet. What wonderful stories people can tell, how inspiring each human life is. What drama there is in just surviving life. I learned as much from hearing about how she depended on God when she was in hard times, about how other women loved her and helped her, etc. as I learned from reading the book. Reading the ‘book’ of another person’s life is so rewarding. I hope in coming weeks that we will get to know each person in the group as we have begun to know her. We were also able to tell the story of three of our friends, James, Judy and Dixie who have recently showed us how they have ‘turned their mourning into dancing as they have found hope in hard times’. Humans are definitely fascinating! And here we sit with many new people to ‘read’.

I need to go pour the boiling water I can hear over my tea bag and settle down to read the next chapter(s) in the book(s) I am reading.

Bill is out grocery shopping with the group who go each Wed night by van. He wore an undershirt, a Lands End cotton sweater, a cotton shirt, a polartec jacket, gloves, a cap with a face cover. It’s COLD! Our friend Harold who runs around without even a jacket in the snow actually closed his window last night. He said his face was so cold he couldn’t sleep. He was warm under the covers but his face was sticking out!!

I’ll leave you with the reading from our worship service this morning.
O God, we commend to your blessing all who suffer:

We pray for those who feel themselves forsaken or betrayed, and for any who, having worked and struggled, have nothing to show for it except the signs and penalties of failure;
We pray for the victims of injustice, for all who must endure the scorn and mockery of lesser men and women, and for all who suffer alone;
We pay for any who face a martyr’s death.
We remember all who watch and weep, and all who thirst.
May we know that the suffering of Christ has transfigured all suffering, that the death of Christ has transfigured all death, and may the victory of Christ be their victory, through his grace. Amen.

As we see the injustices of the world-Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and far beyond shown on European TV, as we hear of the struggles people face in the homelands of students here, we know many in the world are victims. May each reader of this travelblog attempt to bring justice to those who have no advocate. NJPL

Bill writes --- We hear of troubles in some areas of the world, i.e. Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, etc. but there are areas of the world most of us never hear about ... Nagaland for instance. To be truthful I had never heard of Nagaland before I met Sashi. Today I found a web site about Nagaland. Nagaland is one of those small areas that has been gobbled up by large neighbors, Burma and India. I am not sure how the people living on the Burma side have gotten along. I expect not very well. There has been an independence movement for Nagaland on both sides of the border. The article I read on the Internet was about those living in India. In the past twenty or so years Indian security forces have killed over 200,000 people in Nagaland. I find it somewhat amazing to think that such things can happen and they never make the world news. Nagaland simply is of no interest or importance to the power nations of the world, thus we never hear about events there. The Indian government recently recognized the rights of the Nagalese as an indigenous minority and there is some optimism that peace will come about there. Interestingly, at least to me, the initiative got a big boost at the Nagalese Baptist Convention. Baptist members of every tribe attended and joined together in a united front for peace. Since the convention, they have been working hard to see that the peace effort moves forward. I hope they succeed and that our friend Sashi returns to a country that will enjoy peace throughout his life.

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Photos

Nancy starting up the 47 steps
The 47 steps lead from the lower level of the campus, where the Library is located, to the upper campus level, where our room is located. Good exercise.