So I had more to say about last weekend. "Not possible!" you say? Oh yes I do. That big long post was just Saturday in Prague. Not even the whole day. It was a big day. 

Well, we all got back to Plzen fairly early in the evening. We were pretty wiped out but it was about time for supper anyway so we ate together because that's what we do. We decided to just eat at Hotel Plzen where the team was staying. Good food there. There was a couple who I'm just going to say were from Germany, they just seemed like Germans to me. One old lady seemed a little alarmed at us being kind of loud. Well you know what? We were a bit loud. That's one stereotype I don't mind perpetuating. What's wrong with people laughing and enjoying each other's company? Nothing that's what. 

So maybe we weren't the most high minded bunch that night. We somehow seemed to get onto the topic of certain Czech phrases and words that could be misconstrued by an English speaker as having scatalogical meanings bear a striking resemblance a certain word of old Saxon origins that has taken on impolite connotations in recent years.  OK so what I'm getting at is sometimes Czechs sound like they're cussing in English when in fact they are really saying perfectly respectful things in Czech. We found this to be very funny. Mostly because it is very funny! 

Anyway it's nice to be able to just relax with folks. I very much appreciate this about the Team. They are very easy to just relax and be yourself with. We didn't only talk about funny words though. We did talk about what we are doing here. I must say I'm pretty psyched about what's going on in Churches these days. I've been running around the world in a way this past year and have been blessed to meet people from all over. We ran into some girls from Kansas when I was in Nicaragua, I got to be good friends almost instantaneously with the TN Team this week, and Deidre is a strong member of the Texas contingent.  So many in America are looking outward and humbly (that's essential) trying to spread the Good Word and just really, truly, and sincerely going out of their way to love their brothers and sisters. 

I know I said no more mushy stuff but I feel like this is kind of important. Pretty much any Christian I've talked to in the last year shares a sincere and humble wish to serve and really live Jesus' commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. There are all kinds of different challenges around the world. There's so much poverty in so many places. And there are Christians in all of those places trying to help. But there is also the challenge of relatively wealthy peoples that just have forgotten (willfully in some cases) the Good News. That's what I've been drawn to do something about. Living in New York really made this impression on me. 

In a lot of ways I feel like someone who did not grow up in the Church. This won't make my Mom happy but it is the truth. I've always gone to Church. But until I was in College it never really made much of an impression on me. Mostly because I am willful and like to do what I want to do and not so much what I ought to do. I've always believed, or wanted to, but I didn't really have the foundation to back it up. That's not my Mom's fault. It is to her credit that I went to Church at all.  

I apologize for rambling so much. I've been trying to sort this all out in my own head for a while now. I have yet to really explain it to anyone with any success although I have tried. 

Most of my friends are not Christians. For the most part they just were never exposed to it. Some are even very hostile to the idea of any kind of God. But just by being open about my faith, not pushing it on them, just living it openly has changed some of their attitudes. I've even had friends ask me, "So what's this Jesus thing really all about?" I know, what a question right?

That's a big one to answer on a 2 minute subway ride home.  

Here's what I'm getting at. These are my people. These are the people I want to reach. I relate to these guys, they are my friends. This is the challenge in a place like Czech Republic I think. This is why I wanted to come here. I've had a running "discussion" with Mom for years. So much feels like preaching to choir to me. I certainly support and have benefited hugely from the fellowship within the Church family. I mean look where I am! That's because of my Church family. But I also feel like I'm one of those people outside the Church. Or maybe that I'm straddling the line between those two. I want to pull my friends, my "people" in that are on the outside.  But one thing we have got right is humble, loving spirit with which "Church Folks" are reaching out to those on the outside.

This is why I put Mathew 5:14-16 up at the top of the blog. That's my goal. The trick is not hiding the light under a basket. "Hide it under a bushel, NO! I'm gonna let it shine!"  Your supposed to sing that last bit by the way. 

OK so this is not at all what I meant to write about. I hope it made sense and is not too much of a self important bore of a rant.  I feel like such a windbag!

pax