Welcome to the Czech Republic.
That’s all I have to say.
We arrived here in Sluknov after a travel day of over 30 hours and 11
various modes of transportation through 4 different countries. We had to hustle to catch our bus in
Budapest, Hungary, and wandered around for a little while in Prague, the Czech
Republic, trying to find our subway station….
However, other than those minor issues it was a smooth travel day. Our ministry here in Sluknov is with a
program called Teen Challenge, a rehabilitation center for men who struggle
with achohol and drug addictions. Teen
Challenge is actually a misnomer, due to the fact that the ages range from 21
to 45, with the average age being 27. We
are also gonna be involved in programs for the gypsy children in the area as
well as drug prevention/conversational english programs in the schools, so we
are super excited for what God has in store for us!
However, we knew this month was gonna be an interesting month within 5
minutes of our contact sitting us down for a meeting on culture and ministry in
the Czech. “There is something you
guys should know, a phrase that we want to warn you about,” were the first
words out of Peter’s mouth. “There
is a common phrase, which translated means something like ‘really?’ that people
use to clarify or agree with someone else in conversation. We say ‘Fakt jo’ (just so you know, the
pronunciation is: ‘F**k you’).”
Needless to say, I had a feeling this was gonna be one heck of a month.
But that was just the beginning of our adventures within the first 24 hours
of our being in the Czech Republic.
Because the Teen Challenge Center is for men only, us Hinds’ Feet
females are staying in a tiny, and I mean TINY, flat in downtown Sluknov. The flat consists of one bedroom/living
room/kitchen and one bathroom for 5 girls and their pack-packs…. Woot
woot! Talk about girl time!
When we had settled into our cozy new home for the day, Christy and I
decided to hang up our tents to dry, (Ireland had decided to go ahead and rain
on us the very night before we left… yay for packing wet tents). While I precariously leaned out our
second-story window hanging my tent to dry, Christy proceeded to drape her
rain-soaked shelter in the stairway of our building. We had not had the door shut for 10 minutes
when we hear a solid knock, only to check through the peep-hole to see a giant
Czech man looming on the other side. We
nervously ran through our options… and decided we had to open the door. We then discovered our little old neighbor
lady had complained and the landlord didn’t want tents hanging in the
stairwell. We quickly removed the
offending articles and they led us to a basement room with clotheslines
(following which there was a fun series of charades on what to do with the key
to the room when we were done… I’m still not quite sure what the final
decision was on that). The lady then
motioned for Christy and I to help her move some cardboard boxes, which we did
gladly, after which we all headed back up to our flats with some very energetic
hugs from our new friend. When the
landlord headed back down the stairs, Christy and I thought our adventure was
over. Boy, were we wrong.
I was just about to close the door when neighbor lady, (let’s call her
Yanna, I don’t remember her name but it was something like that) puts a
“shhhh” finger to her lips and motions for us to come into her
flat. I wasn’t about to go into a
stranger’s apartment by myself, no matter how innocent an old lady she looked,
so I grab Christy and we head into Yanna’s room. Yanna continued to hug us vigorously while
she sat us at her tiny dining room table and motioned to her mouth with her
fingers. Apparently Christy thought we
were gonna get some chocolate, but at this point Yanna’s movements had me a
little worried, worries that were further multiplied when she reached into her
cabinet and pulled out a tall container of clear liquid and 2 shot glasses.
Yes, SHOT GLASSES. Christy and I
stared at each other in shock as she poured us each a generous shot of vodka,
sat them down in front of us and motioned for us to drink. We tried to tell her we didn’t want to drink,
but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She left the room for a moment to get her husband, during which time we
attempted to empty our glasses into a flower pot, but she just filled them all
the more upon her return. I tried to
mime that we were just babies, we couldn’t drink, and Christy tried to convince
them that we were both pregnant… they didn’t buy either excuse for a
second. At this point, my mind was going
through the options and wondering what to do.
She had invited us into her home as a thank you, giving us a drink as a
sign of hospitality and welcome. We saw
that if we refused, she would be very offended, taking our refusal of her drink
not as a sign of honor or character but as a snub at her generousity. At even the suggestion of us not wanting to
drink, her insistance was animated and vocal.
For some, drinking alchohol might be a temptation…. for Christy and I,
it was a sacrifice!
“Are you as nervous as I am?” Christy giggled uncomfortably
across the table at me. “I can’t
believe we are doing this!” I whispered as Yanna and her husband waited
expectantly for us to drink. Christy
then prayed that Jesus turn the alchohol into water, and on the count of 3, we
each took our very first shot of vodka.
I’m sure that our response was fairly typical of those that don’t drink;
our faces puckered, our tongues shot out and our throats and stomach
burned. But that really wasn’t the
point. I know that some might not
support what we did, I mean, what role does a missionary have drinking a shot
of vodka? But it’s not the drink that
mattered, it was the heart behind it.
“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all,
that I might win more of them. To the
Jews I became a Jew, in order to win the Jews.
To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being
myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one
outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ)
that I might win those outside the law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that
by all means I might save some. I do it
all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its
blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
I would not eat or drink anything that would cause my brother or sister to
sin or would tarnish the name of Jesus.
I would not drink around someone who struggles with alchoholism or
anything like that. I choose in wisdom
and discernment and under the discretion of those older and wiser than myself
when applicable. This time, I had to
sacrifice my will and drink a shot of vodka to show my crazy neighbor lady
God’s love and grace….. Oh the things that happen on the World Race!
