I know I know I have not blogged in a very long time but I have been trying to store up and savor all of our last moments here because we leave TOMORROW!! I cannot believe it. so update.

On the 19th we went to a business and ethics forum and heard a man speak on micro credit groups in Bangledesh and the work they are doing there to help the people become sefl-suffficient and proactive in becoming economically stable. It was very good but sweltering in the room where wee were meeting. That seems to be the key here, it is always hot. Apparently its the hottest summer since 1932.

The Davis left on Tuesday so last weekend was so busy, trying to sqeeze in as much time as possible. We had our farewell dinner/ brithday for chris and laura celebration Sunday evening, going to our favorite restaurant Ambiente. Laura and Chris gave us all cute bracelets and Phil and Shanna had made us t-shirts with our nicknames on the back!! They are so cool- I can't wait to rock out my Praha style in the States.

Last night Micheal played in Toby's pub and Lauren made tons of brownies and cookies that we served while he played. It was an amazing penultimate evening in Prague-so much fun! They seriously would not let Micheal stop playing, the kid pulled a marathon set, taking requests until it ended up as one giant sing along. It is now one of my top nights in the city.

What does one do on a last day in a city you love full of people you love? We are meeting Micheal for lunch, walking the city, saying goodbye to the Syvertsons (tear), and staying up all night since our first flight leaves at 6.55 am, so we will be up early.

see you on the flip side.

Today we went paddle boating!! It was so much fun and so cool on the water. As usual, we had quite the adventure, with Lauren steering us into some shallow water where we got stuck on the rocks. Thanks to Becca we were able to shove off again. Highlights included encounters with another paddle boat in shape of a giant swan!

I got a new haircut (shocker!) from Mr. Chan of the Blue Elephant salon. It was super fun and I really like my slick new bob; no more hot hair days for me! Becca went with me for moral support and too make sure that too much was not chopped off the top!





We took a girl's weekend in the spa town of Karlovy Vary this weekend (you know, the town from Queen Latifa's film 'Last Holiday' check it out) It was lots of fun, with bizarre mineral springs, quaint scenery, and lots of shopping and good company. um, also lots off chocolate, check out this shop we found. check out Laura's blog for an in depth description of activities.

i forgot something that happened...this past week we three girls got really really excited about the opening of pirates of the Carribean here in Prague. We talked about it so much and arranged a huge group of poeple to go see it on saturday night...lo and behold, on the dawn of saturday morning we realize that it is not coming out here...until August 3rd!! Oh our grief!! we went to dinner and elvis hamburgers instead (see Becca's blog) but giant tears are welling up in my eyes as I recollect the evening. sigh. i must go, my sorrow is too too great.

While Becca was in bed last week, Lauren, Michael, and I went to the top of the clock tower that is Old Town Square (every tourist gathers on the hour to watch the hands of the astronomical clock strike the hour and certain symbolic things happen, like little people pop out and move around briefly, its actually very anticlimactic and on Stephen’s tour we watched the tourist instead of the clock because it is more entertaining to watch the disappointment and realization of how little this much talked of clock does than to actually watch the clock). The view was great and there was a band in the square playing jazz.







Last night we were at Sir Toby’s, playing cards and hanging out (it was really really hot down there) hoping to strike up a conversation with some guests but it wasn’t really crowded, so we were chillin’ on these long benches and tables that are in the anteroom to the pub. We were on the right and on the far left were a group of Brits and Aussies hanging out. We had been eavesdropping on and off, listening to their opinions of Bush and how to spot an American, when I heard one Aussie say “You remind me of a man” pause “A man with a power.” None of his friends responded so I shouted across the room “the power of Voodoo!” Becca and Lauren look at me quite puzzled, I think, as the Aussie, quips “You know that jingle?” I continue “You remind me of a man, a man with a power, the power of voodoo, who do? you do? I do? You remind me of a man…” (each phrase is supposed to be passed back between two people at rapid speed, continuing on and on). “Yeah, I didn’t know the end,” said the Aussie, and each table went back to their own conversation. Um, I learned it from the movie the Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer, Cary Grant and Shirley Temple. Tiffany Verch, where are you when I need you!! Ok, I know, I am a dork, certified, notarized, signed, sealed, and delivered. Add that to the list of how to spot an American.

Like just mentioned, it was really hot yesterday, so when we got home at ten-thirty or so, we were still sweating, even our flat was sweating and there was not even a breeze to stir the stagnate air. The only cure for these moments is an ice cold Magnum bar (the perfection of ice cream on a stick), just like the only cure for cultural dissonance is cream and dream. Lauren had bought me an incredible Magnum, Dark Chocolate and Coconut, which I decided to munch up last night. It did the trick, but while I was eating I noticed that the actual name of this magnum was ‘Dark Coconut Sound’ and the package claimed this treat was ‘the best of 5 senses.’ I am just amused by the fact that the marketing team thought if they put the word ‘sound’ into the bar title then that accounts for that sense being satisfied in their claim to be the best of all 5. Really, I can understand taste and sight, even stretch touch if you count how satisfying it is to bite into something cold and smell because it’s chocolate, but sound…um…does the bar sing to me? Does the bar have musical or oratory talents of any kind? Unless their argument is that silence is the best sound (wrong on so many levels), they have some major false advertising going on. I think I need to write a strongly worded letter to the Magnum Corporation, I have been misled and this wrong will only be righted with a life-time supply of chocolate ice cream bars.

Exciting up coming things:
-I am in charge of organizing a distribution of lunches to some of the homeless folks in Prague, I am hoping some hostel guests will come, and some other non-Christians, so that it will be a ministry on many levels. Please pray that I will remember all the details and remember its not about the details.
-Wednesday evening the girls and I are attending a business and ethics forum that meets every so often here in Prague, listening to a speaker and having dinner. It should be really interesting and I am very excited.


I don’t write a lot about what is going on in my heart on my blog, but let me just say I have been really aware of my weaknesses and feeling like I am plagued by old wounds and insecurities a lot this past week. I have learned a lot this summer about community and the need to share your life with people, as imperfect as your life may be, because that allows God to work more in you and allows Him to love and comfort you through other members of the body of Christ, while also allowing Him to use your life, my life, to reveal His glory in our weakness. World Harvest is really good about emphasizing that we minister through our brokenness and I am so glad because I am really bad about putting pressure on myself to perform and understanding God’s grace. Our brokenness enables us to see God more.

I have much blogging to make up for so here comes a doosey of a blog. ahem.

defenestration alert: there has been another victim of the kitchen window- my minced garlic. I had bought some very fresh (and potent) garlic from the corner store and had the brilliant idea to chop it all up so that it would be ready to hop into my pot at a moments notice. The unexpected side affect of this action was that the flat reeked and everytime you opened the fridge our eyes watered. Hmmm. I fought for the garlic but the vote was cast and it was sent flying to its doom in the garden. alas.

I was thrilled to note (on our first week of arrival but i have failed to write about it) that the intersection that we live on is Baranova and Kristanova. That’s right, someone in the clever Praha government knew of my arrival and named a street after me (they are so sweet!) even if they did spell it wrong. Thus I have a little bit of fame in Praha 3.




You know you are in Praha when…..you are riding on the tram and someone starts playing the accordion! We were packed on to tram 30, heading into town (i mean packed, like I was getting to know the people of Praha because I was in their face and there was no personal bubble) and all of the sudden this adolescent girl starts up a tune. It was quite soothing and people obligingly slipped coins into her plastic cup tapped to the side of her instrument. Sadly, she only rode for three or so stops, but I think her profits were good, so perhaps she will return to serenade us again.

Two weeks ago the girls and I did a walking tour with a man (slightly crazy) named Stephen. He was once a professor of History in Germany and apparently is in Prague working on a book or a movie or something. It was one of those unforgettable tours, but due more to the personality of our leader than the amount of information learned. It was wearying, however, for four of the five hours were spent walking. I really don’t know what I could say to give you the full experience of Stephen, its one of those things you just have to see for yourself. Stephen is a big softy, I think, under his gruffness, and today is his birthday. Happy Birthday Stephen!







So we get really excited about American food in Prague, you know, the things that they don’t do quite the same. For example, they don’t have Oreos here, they have to be sent from family or bought at exorbitant prices. We went with the Davis’ to a place called ‘Red, Hot, and Blue’ and they have a little cache of American delicacies, like mac and cheese, hard to find brown sugar, Oreos, Cheerios, and the like. I don’t have to describe the delight of Clark and Lucy at having more mac and cheese, the pics say enough.






Owen, Lucy, and Clark are possible the only people who love ice cream more than we three interns. Owen loves it so much that he has made up his own name for it and everyone is baffled as to its origin. To him, ice cream is ‘Ahmaney’ (I am spelling phonetically, since this word does not exist) He is starting to just say ice cream more, but Ahmaney is still strong in his understanding of a frosty delightful treat. This story is really just an excuse for me to put up cute pictures of all three eating Ahmaney at the pool.

Today was Jan Huss Day! Hooray! It was the anniversary of Jan Huss' martyrdom, a man who stood for church reformation, advocate for both the wine and bread elements of communion being given to the congregation and was against the church owning property among other things. We went to his statue and handed out fliers about who he was and his role in history, for the tourists but also the locals, because very few people know the true role of Jan Huss, as his role was manipulated by many a communist regime to represent different aspects of their agenda. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and some interesting conversations resulted from the pamphlets. Clark and Lucy were there, as well as Phil, Shanna, Sunny, Micheal, and Lauren, and these cute kids were quite the dynamic duo in handing out fliers. Who can resist these charmers, really!

After lunch, Lauren, Micheal, and I went to the clock tower and climbed to the top, for a great view of the city. Then we walked around on the other side of the river, enjoying the beautiful day.

Poor Becca has been sick the past three days, so she has be re-couping in the flat, but I think she is on the mend, so soon the three of us will be on the town again!

words in action

As many of you know I am a fan of big words, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered that Prague is the city from which the word defenestration was created. This word has always been one of my favorites because it single-handedly expresses a dramatic action,as it literally means 'to throw out of the window.' Its so great, it allows for smooth articulation of a threat, like "Hey buddy, you better watch yourself or I'll defenestrate you" or can expediently express an emergency situation "Oh No! She has been defenestrated!" Apparently the Czech people have had many incidences within their political history where they felt it was necessary to express their opinions or disagreement by housting those in disaccord out the window. (For another fun random fact, window is one of the few words I know in Czech, it is 'okno'). I believe once the initial defenestration occurred, the results were so satisfactory that whenever an appropriate occasion presents itself, Czechs cannot help but follow the same course of action. These people are brilliant, I think they invented the rubix cube as well, and contacts lenses.

We have had several defenestrations of our own since we have occupied our new flat a couple of stories up from our first flat. I believe I have already mentioned the defenestration of our poor sunflower. And last night Becca and Lauren had another defenestraion, this time the victim a helpless but hefty watermelon rind that had been eaten that afternoon. I do not know all the details since I was in bed when this occurred (though I did hear the whisper 'shh, quickly, before the logical one wakes up') but Lauren heralded the watermelons fall with a loud shout 'Ahoj down there!' and gleefull laughing and screaming as the rind plummeted all four stories. I can only imagine that the Czech's defenestrations were as successful.

Last tuesday we went to this amazing pool (see pictures on the Davis' blog, they go lots) and it has this incredible slide and no lifeguard so we can do whatever we want. All three of us girls would go down together, laughing and screaming. Unfortunately, the liberality of pool rules enables other people to abuse slide privelages as well, so our mini-slide train was constantly being followed by this other czech girl train of 7 to 8 teen girls. I was always the caboose and I can tell you there is no scarier thing than realizing that your train is too slow and there is soon to be a mad collison on the giant slide. Thankfully we always managed to spill into the pool, a mish mash of arms and legs, just before true disaster struck.

The Davis' good friends (you know, the really wonderful friends that you count as your family) Scoot and Cindy were here this week. They are a really great couple who have spent the last year in Rwanda, volunteering with a relief and development organization. I loved hearing their story and thoght it was so cool that here in Prague I have met so many people that have interests similar to mine in what they want to do in the world and how they want to help and impact the world.

I think now is a good time for my list of things I love in Prague:

1. There is no air conditioning so everyone leaves their windows open all the time, so we do too, which always creates a great breeze through our flat. Also, everyone has beautiful lace curtains in their windows, which always leaves beatiful shadows across the floor. But what is my favorite thing is when the breeze is blowing so hard that is pulls the curtain out the window and then brings it back into the house again. Its not a violent breeze, but want to suspends the curtain in the air so that when we are sitting just beneath the curtain it is like we are in our own lace tent. (even if this phenomenon is responsible for pushing our potted sunflower out of the window and onto the pavement four stories below us. ouch)

2. I love getting up early and walking all the way to the other side of the river. I don't know how far it is, but most mornings there is still a cool breeze and it is not very crowded and then I can go to kafico and sit and drink a whole entire pot of tea (usually Assam).

3. I love all of the parks that are tucked away in places you would never suspect, hidden behind walls, so that I can always pretend I am Mary in 'The Secret Garden'

4. I love Cream and Dream. Last night I had mixed berry, coconut, and yougurt. YUM!

5. I like being able to ride the metro without having to hold on, it doesn't always happen, but I like it when I can pull it off.

6. I love when it rains in Prague, whether I am riding a tram or leaning very far outside of our window before an afternoon shower breaks.

7. I like that the sun doesn't fully set until 10 pm and it is up by 5 am.

8. I like how everyone has dogs.

9. I like wearing skirts everyday.

10. I like the smells of fresh baked bread that are everywhere.

Thats all for now- until later...