I am living in a flat right below the school where I teach (although I will be teaching courses in other parts of the city as well) and we have only to walk up a flight of stairs from within our flat to be at work. I live with three other guys who also teach at the school through the same program. They are all veterans at this and have been incredibly helpful!
The next morning, those of us who are new in Prague planned to meet at a central location downtown to tour the city (and also to fight off jet lag by staying awake all day). Of course, my first action as a resident here was to disembark at the wrong tram stop and thereby get hopelessly lost for nearly an hour. Mind you, my aimless wandering during this time would have been quite pleasant under any other circumstances. Rest assured, I have since learned the Czech phrase for "next stop."
As we strolled through cathedrals, past elaborate synagogues and churches, over ancient bridges, down winding cobblestone roads overlooked by a towering castle (the largest in the world), I noticed one unpleasant sight in the midst of all this beauty: construction. Charles Bridge itself is undergoing extensive renovation, which means ugly scaffolding and other eyesores between you and the beauty you came to see. Even the intricately sculpted statue of Christ on the cross is encircled by a rusted chain-link fence.
I've now taught several classes, and I will dedicate my next post to how teaching is going, but for now I will say this: my students are very bright, and they have already challenged me to devote myself completely to this incredible task. As a young foreign teacher I have the unique opportunity to show genuine interest in their lives. I pray for the ability to do so, and to demonstrate my heart for them in a practical way through my teaching and my interactions with them outside of class.
I wanted to keep this short and sweet (too late), but there are simply too many things to share. I could tell you about sitting through hours of meetings in Czech with my new colleagues, some of whom are more patient with me than others; I could tell you about my newfound appreciation for how easy things were back home (for example, being able to read signs or food packages). I could explain how my relationship with God has already been challenged and deepened here through trials and forced reliance on Him, but I have written too much already. Most importantly, I am experiencing how inadequate I am on my own, while learning what power there is in submission to God's will.
There is a sense of detachment from all things spiritual here in the Golden City; a repressed, melancholic despair lingering beneath the surface and beneath all the beauty, masked as self-reliance and enlightenment. It serves as a barrier to the light, like a rusted chain-link fence between the people and the redeeming love of Christ. I feel hopelessly underqualified to shine a light here, but in my heart I know that God is stronger than the fence; that nothing can stand between Him and the people He loves. If I can play some small part in tearing down that fence, then I have a purpose for living that is greater than myself.
Thank you all for making it possible,
Richard
