Bratislava Here I Come

Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia, about 25 miles east of Vienna and about 90 miles south of our new home town of Zlín.  One part of the complex new rules that govern visas for the European Union countries is that one must apply for a visa at an embassy of the host country and NOT within the country itself.  So, we had to travel to an embassy of the Czech Republic to file our application.  Bratislava happens to be the closest city in which the Czech Republic has an embassy; so, off we went.  A photo nearby shows one of the beautiful squares we had to traverse on our way to the embassy.

Since our appointment was at 9:00 a.m., we left our flat at 4:15 a.m. to catch the bus to the train station.  The trains in the Czech Republic are a mixture of modern and communist era equipment; the train schedules include express trains (usually between major cities) that only stop once or twice, regional trains that only stop a few more times, and Osobní (personal) trains that stop every 15 feet to allow farmers and their small goats on board. 

We were accompanied by Sid Anderson who has worked very diligently on our visas and work permits.  In a nearby photo, Sid is sporting his Czech sack; virtually all Czechs carry some sort of sack/bag/backpack/purse/large wallet when they're in public, men and women alike, so Sid is just "going native" here.

In one photo, you can see the front of the Czech embassy in Bratislava.  God was gracious to us in this encounter.  The lady with whom we had our appointment was kind and spoke good English.  Although she threw us a few curve balls by asking for documents that we did not have, in the end, she stamped our passports to reserve a place for our long term visas!  She told us we would hear from them in about 60 days.  Thanks to all who have prayed for this process!  Please continue to ask the Lord to see us through the final steps.

Worship In Zlín

Sunday morning about 10:00 we walk from our flat through town to the office building where the Církev Reformovaná Zlín gathers. It is our third official Sunday here. Greetings of “Dobry Den” and “Ahoy” meet us as we arrive. We give similar greeting to others as they arrive. Hugs, smiles and questions about the week are exchanged. A fairly normal Sunday morning, except that it is in Czech.

Tables and chairs are arranged, the projector set up, and instruments tuned, the Lord’s Supper set out as preparations are made for Worship. As everyone settles into their seats, we begin with a call to Worship. I must say that other than knowing that it comes from Scripture and recognizing a word here and there, it is mostly unintelligible to my mind. We sing several songs. All lovely, and sweet harmony and praise fills the air. One of the songs we sing in Czech first and then in English. (We are fortunate that so many of the church members speak some English, though not all. I think that otherwise, we would feel shut out and very isolated.) As we sing several of the little girls come up to the front and dance, smiles wreath their faces and many in the congregation smile as they watch.

There are many here that we have met before through summer English camp or at the Sunday services held at camp. Some we have met for the first time. Michal and Eva -- new believers, they are a great encouragement to the church that God is continuing to open eyes and hearts to see the beauty of Christ. Their lives have been and continue to be changed - radically and dramatically - by our glorious Christ. Another young man who has been attending English Plus (the English Language School) has attended church the last two Sundays. We are encouraged by that.

We all come –looking –seeking to see and be filled with the Spirit of Christ. His presence is among us. Attention is given to the Word. (The church has two Sunday school classes for the little ones.) This morning Rene preaches using the text from John 4. When I ask one of the members what he talked about, she said it was about finding our joy not in our circumstances but in our Savior. That is our ever present struggle, finding our joy in God alone and nothing or no one else.

Each Sunday after the preaching, there is a time for the giving of offerings. Sometimes I think that we most clearly display God’s character and grace through giving—giving joyfully. For surely He Himself gave His very own life for the joy set before Him. It was in His giving (or loosing) that He gained—a glory—a crown—a throne—a kingdom and a people. After the offering, the Lord’s Supper is served; the simple passing of the bread and the wine, partaking together as one body of believers, a visible representation of the great, incredible mercy of our Lord. We sing “Králi Můj” (My King) taken from Zalm 42,6. The worship is closed with the Lord’s Prayer or a confession of faith, and a pronounced blessing. Many here hold their hands out as they receive the blessing.

Fellowship after Church

As the service concludes people begin to talk. Some greet the visitors who slipped in toward the end of Rene’s sermon to sit on the sofa. The tables and chairs are re-arranged, this time for a light snack or meal. Each week one volunteer brings some sort of spread or pomazanka for bread and another some sort of sweet. It is not unusual for the visiting to last for two or more hours. It is good to see this desire for fellowship with one another. Because of schedules and distance of travel, this is the only time that the church gathers during the week. When it is time to go, tables are put up, chairs lined up for the next week, all the dishes washed in the kitchen area. (There is no sink, only dishpans of hot water that are carried to the kitchen.) One is used to wash and another two are used to rinse the plates, cups and silverware.) Everyone pitches in to help. At last, with everything in order, goodbyes are said; hugs and handshakes are given as the church leaves the small rooms that serve as the place of worship in downtown Zlín to go to the greater, wider field of communities in Moriava.

Exploring Zlín

We ventured out to the street market this week.  It is only about 2 blocks from the flat.  We have found several local post offices at which we can mail letters, met with our new Czech language teacher Janá (class starts Monday at 9:00), experienced several trips to the grocery store, shopped for a pračha and sušička (that’s a washer and a dryer) and we have been to the Lékárna (pharmacy to buy sunscreen) and the Nábytek (to look for wardrobes, there are no closets in any apartment here for holding and hiding stuff.)

After a visit with our landlords, we have decided that our mailing address is Březnická 5565/ 41, 76001 Zlin CR. We are now the Johnsonoví. Johnny is still Johnny Johnson (actually they call him Johnnyho), and I am now Annette Johnsonová.

Today we are going back to the market for more fresh veggies, to the bank to open a Czech checking account, and to the Obchodní Dům later this afternoon to purchase the pračha and sušička, with the help of Šarka and Honsa.

A Moving Update- Our First Days

The last two weeks have been wonderful, intense, full of grace and the love of the saints. We have experienced many sweet times of prayer and words of grace. Truly you have loved us well. I pray that Christ will strengthen us and enable us to love our Czech friends even as you have loved us.

Tuesday morning found us stuffing pillows and pajamas into the suitcases as we prepared to leave the house we have lived in for over 33 years. We loaded 5 full sized suitcases, 2 carry-ons, a backpack and a large “purse” into the car. We headed over to Process-Barron to pick up Joel and meet Alan and Sally. With the cars full we drove to the airport, checked in and said quick good-byes. We definitely needed help with all of the suitcases! The flight was about 16 hours from Birmingham to Vienna and totally uneventful. That’s a good thing. We did have to go through customs in Munich, but did not have to gather all of our bags and recheck them. (Yeah!) We had an hour or two in Munich and enjoyed sitting in a café with a nice cup of coffee to help us wake up. I’m not sure that it was really effective because as soon as we were seated on the plane to Vienna we both promptly went to sleep.

Looking weary after our long trip

After our arrival in Vienna, we gathered all of our bags on a cart—they all were together on the baggage carousel! We walked through the “nothing to declare” door to meet our team members. Sid and Louise Anderson, Hans and Gretchen Deutschmman and Rene Drapala all met us and after many hugs and a few pictures, we headed to the cars and the road trip to Zlin. We arrived in the apartment around 6:30 p.m. tired and excited. The landlord has left all of the furniture in the apartment so we are not sleeping on air mattresses as we thought we would be.

With the team in our new apartment

We have spent the last few days getting settled in. The first order of business was to report to the foreign police, so Thursday morning Sid took us there and we were able to register. The gentleman was very gracious to us—they were actually closed but allowed us to enter and registered us anyway. Sid said that the man seemed very impressed with our papers and what we had done to prepare. We think that when we go to Bratislava to the Czech Embassy to apply for the visas that the papers will be sent back to the very office we have already visited.

The other events are not as exciting. We went to the OBI (kind of like a Lowes) to purchase a toilet paper holder. I’m not sure if it is customary here to have to buy your own for an apartment or not. We have ventured out to buy some groceries, gotten our internet connected, and walked through the local “farmers market” that is only two blocks from the apartment.

fresh produce from the market

The more exciting things of the past days (besides simply being here at last) have been in connection with the Zlin International children’s film festival. The first morning we looked out our window, we saw lots of animals walking across the street to board a bus. Well, actually they were people dressed as animals and other characters. We ran to grab cameras to take pictures. The next morning people in front of the auditorium were filling up a hot air balloon. We enjoyed watching them launch and sail into the sky. Then, Saturday night we were greeted by fireworks.

All the Animal Characters

Watching the balloon lift off

Thank you all for praying for our trip. We are truly grateful.