Welcome Back
August found The Czech Republic experiencing terrible
floods, and as I prepared to return, I had no idea
what to expect. I was anticipating returning to a wet
apartment, no running water, no food in the markets, a
dead city. I was relieved and surprised to find that
the city was not dead, a little injured yes, but
quickly working to repair itself and return to its
usual tourist-friendly condition. Money has been a
big concern for everyone, more than usual. Many
buildings-homes and businesses-are destroyed, roads
and public transportation is damaged. Morning and
evening rush hours are a nightmare, the subway is only
partly running so there are more cars on the road
resulting in more traffic and more car accidents, also
the buses and trams are much more crowded all of the
time.
How I spend my days
I am an English teacher in a type of school called a
Gymnazium, my students are aged 11 to 19, it is
comparable to a high school although different in many
ways. In one class I teach partly from a text book and
2 classes I must touch on specific topics to prepare
them for the graduation exam which is an oral exam
given in May that causes them all much anxiety. Most
of my classes I have the freedom to decide on what
topics to focus on, two of the more interesting topics
that I've covered so far include war and utopia. In
some classes after we have discussed world events and
vocabulary, I have asked students to imagine
themselves as a country of students fighting a war
against a country of teachers, we discussed what the
reasons for the war would be and I gave them homework
to write a letter trying to end the war
diplomatically. Another topic I'm doing is Utopia and
that has been interesting, asking the students to try
and imagine their utopia, etc.
I teach 16 groups of students and the total number of
students I am supposed to see each week is 250, but of
course there are always a few absent.
My schedule is different each day, twice a week I
begin teaching at 7am and one day I end at 3:30, but I
still spend a few hours after that in my office
grading and preparing for the next day. I am so
grateful for one group of 12 year olds that I see
twice a week, they are so SWEET and obedient and
smart. The class I'm most excited about is a 90 minute
conversation class on Thursday afternoon with only
FOUR girls, I am really excited about the
possibilities for honest conversation, etc. Most of my
weekdays are invested in teaching, planning and
grading. It has been very important for me to pray for
my students every day and especially as I get to know
them more pray for them by name individually. Many of
my students don't know any Christians so it's possible
that there is no one else praying for them, I see this
as my main ministry opportunity at this time until
they feel more comfortable with me to speak and spend
time outside of class.
Why am I here?
I believe that life is not about comfort but becoming
more like Christ, transformation. I think last year I
learned how much I need to abide in God, rest and have
peace despite "stormy weather" in my life. This year
I believe that God wants to continue to change me and
I want to learn how to be patient, in the bible
another word for patience is longsuffering. No one
wants to suffer yet Christians are called to do just
that, Christ is called the suffering servant for
example. I want to learn how to endure, how to enjoy
where I am at this moment without being eager for
"what's next?".
I am single, I am 25 years old. I need patience.
But people can not fill the void that is reserved for
God. There is a certain amount of lonliness that I
think we will continue to experience until we are with
Jesus for eternity.
Free Time
I have been going to a church here called
International Church of Prague, or ICP. Last year
whenever I was visiting Prague from Ostrava this was
the church I attended so it felt very natural for me
to get "plugged in" at this church. I have also
started going to a home group every Thursday night and
this has been a nice time to get to know people better
and discuss various issues. Right now we are in the
middle of a five week bible study based on the movie
"Billy Elliot" and I will be leading it this week so
you can pray for me for sure!! The first week we
discussed masculinity ("boys aren't ballet dancers!"),
this next week we'll talk about identity and financial
status, etc.
I feel very comfortable in my life here, I love
teaching, I enjoy my church, I feel really blessed by
God. Of course there are up and down days. A few
students have complained about my teaching,
so my supervisor, the Head of the English Department,
talked to me about it and the other day he was quite
positive and said I have improved (according to
students' comments). He plans on observing some of my
classes soon. But my life here is also about my
relationship with God, He is always teaching me and
trying to speak to me, very often I just can't hear.
I call this place my home. The summer before my first
year with ESI I was thinking about homesickness and I
felt like God was telling me that I never need feel
that because my home is with Him and He is always with
me. Of course over the last year and two months I
have experienced a kind of homesickness but at the
root of it is a longing for God, a desire to be
relieved of worldly woes.
I may be here for more than this year. And even if
this ends up only being a two year chapter of my life,
it is my life, not a time out or a break. I know that
you have lives too, busy lives, and you may forget
about me unless you get an email (sorry, sometimes a
mass email is the best I can do) but I am here and I
want to hear from you too.
Vacations
This last week there was a school break and I had no
idea what I was going to do but I decided if I could
go anywhere where would I want to go? So I went to
the discount travel agent and asked about Ireland,
Venice, Greece and Paris. Paris had good flight times
available for $200 round trip. I couldn't believe it,
I invited my friend Alyssa and we bought the tickets
the next day, Thursday, and flew Friday night. It was
a strange mix of amazement and dissapointment. I
didn't get to see all that I wanted to see, and Paris
is just another big city, for every beautiful thing
there is a dirty gutter and poor beggars. But French
food is great, mostly we ate cheaply from grocery
stores and street side Crepe-vendors.
Another flight I plan on taking is in December to come
home for Christmas and I am really excited by this.
There are a few business matters I need to try and
take care of (like get my wisdom teeth removed
possibly) but otherwise I want to be able to relax and
visit with people, not have it a hectic time, not have
it be a time of using up all my energy but be
refueled. I still need to find a ticket for the days
of my vacation and at a reasonable price, so you can
pray for this please.
Back to teaching
Its been interesting to see the slight differences in
my experience last year and this year, from a change
in schedule and age group, oh what challenges I would
have missed out on if I hadn't returned. There are
some students that might become issues, a few have
been intent in staring me down, the boy from Greece
who tried to "accidentally" trip me in the hall the
second week of school, the blond boy who wants to be
called "Buh" (God). I think it is unavoidable that
there will be some students who will either not like
me or never warm up to me, I am the teacher, the
authority, the enemy, for some of them. But really
all these students (especially the ones I will
struggle to love) need to know they are loved by One
who cares unconditionally, they all have "issues" and
fears that make them unique, and not so unique. They
all are individual creations by God but they are not
the only person to experience whatever problem or
issue they have. I feel like I'm too messy to be a
good example, to do this whole thing "right". I'm
still trying to believe, accept, feel that God really
loves me, all the time.
But if I'm real and honest, tough and consistent,
maybe His love will show through my love and real
concern for them. Maybe I'll be able to share with
colleagues or students who I am and why.
Until then, I'll assaign homework.
How you can pray:
- For the flood victims in the Czech Republic.
-For my creativity in planning classes and
organization in grading, etc.
-For my interaction with students and colleagues.
-For my learning the Czech language.
-For my increased Patience.
-For my interaction with other believers, at school,
at church and other ESI teachers, may I be a servant
to them.
-For my wonderful teammate Sarah and I. I have been
so blessed by her and the friendship that is growing I
pray that we continue to pray together and be united.
-For my leading of the home group/bible study on
Thursday night of this week.
-For finding a ticket home.
My contact Information:
Priya Plein
Ohradni 55
140 00 Praha 4-Michle
Czech Republic
pplein@yahoo.com
011 42 02 41 48 58 56 (home number, no answering
machine)
011 42 02 737 634 125 (mobile number with voice mail)
...hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for
what he already has?
Romans 8:24
