Updates

It has been about two weeks since Jamie and I have really posted some updates; A lot has happened and there has been much on our minds.

On December 5th the Czechs celebrate a holiday known as St. Nicholas Day. Now, I know that many Americans have "heard" of the celebration before, but very few of us actually celebrate it. The Czechs have a very unique, and at times, very frightening way of immortalizing the good, ole' Mr. Nicholas.
To begin, people in groups of three dress up as either St. Nicholas, an angel or a devil. As you could imagine, a majority of kids and adults WANT to be the devil (cert). Many times the costumes themselves can be quite elaborate with the devil taking the prize for the most creative.

With the Angels, you normally have the stock wings, white gowns and gold, glittery halos. Maybe a face painted white is a good touch, but all in all, the angel looks pretty typical. Oh, the angles are normally the women.

St. Nicholas has the outfit of an old catholic bishop: they have the pointed hat, the robes and numerous crosses affixed to their outfit. Additionally, a good beard is always necessary__preferably white. St. Nicholas has a few "accessories" that make his costume special: he carries a staff, which signifies importance and prestige and in the other hand he totes a gargantuan book. Now, the book itself supposedly has notes on all the children, whether they have been good or bad. If a child is bad, St. Nicholas will leave either coal or potatoes; sometimes, if the little one is a real terror, they get both. And, if a child is well-behaved Nicholas will bestow upon them sweets, fruits and nuts. But, more on that part a little bit later.

Now comes the devil. A good devil always has a chain, bell and a sack, which they constantly shake and make a racket with. The bell signifies the ominous, lurking presence of evil and the chain, well I don't know about the chain, maybe it is the physical manifestation of the bondage that the devil will put a bad child in?! The Sack is used to scoop up the naughty kids and bind them up, so they can be taken to hell. Yeah, a little bit scary for children, huh? Sure enough, in my adult classes, I asked them to give me some memories they have of this holiday and all of their recollections were similar: terror, intimidating devils, snow. It also doesn't help the situation, when the devils themselves are very showy in their costuming: animal furs, very black faces, horns, masks, burly voices, shaking bells, weird wagons with little ponies (seriously), and piercing eyes.

Parents of the children usually ask their friends to dress up and come to their house to give their children a good fright. Often times the parents tell St. Nicholas, beforehand, the bad things and good things that their kids have done, which again, makes this holiday seem all the more real, as St. Nicholas can recite TRUE events and actions that the child has made throughout the year. The devil is there too, shaking his bell, rattling his chain and threatening to take the kid to a fiery death. And, the loving Angel is encouraging the boy and yelling at the devil. It all makes for an interesting scene. You can hear the devils going around town, as the bells are clanged and the chains are shaken throughout early evening. The children all seem to have a look of alertness and terror on their faces.

Jamie and I were really excited to see this holiday, but sadly, we only saw the very beginning and the tail end. We saw some devils, but mainly our experience was the sound of the devils' bells. It seemed that many people came out to see those who dressed up, but did not actually dress up themselves. I guess that, in my mind, I had Halloween pictured, where everyone is out and in a costume, but here, it was not the case. It was a little bit disappointing, but I know that next year I will stay outside for the whole holiday. Maybe I will even dress up!?


The band had their second pokec of the year and it was by far their finest act. In fact, Jan gave them great encouragement when he told them that it was the best one he has ever seen! I was very happy for the band; they have been working hard and they needed a great showing. They sounded great and Honza and Madla played a couple of songs on their own, which were the highlights of the show. Our guest was Stepan Plecharchik, who works at the local Charity organisation that specializes in caring for and educating people with mental and physical handicaps. He gave and excellent talk and answered many questions. The only downside to the night, was that our crowd was really small. We have been advertising all over town and in the schools and we still only managed to attract 13 people and most of them were family. Jamie and I need to figure out how to get people into this building and to make our ideas more creative; it is frustrating.

The Christmas season is approaching and we have a lot going on in the church. In fact, Jamie and I will be acting in the Christmas play, where we have to sing and speak in Czech in front of the whole congregation. Yeah, it might be a little bit challenging. We will also sing carols on the steps of the church and have a "live" nativity scene. It should be a lot of fun.

These past few weeks have been quite difficult for both Jamie and I. Personally, I need some time away from Policka and the church. I need to energize. We have been thinking about the winter and spring and we have many great/exciting ideas; however, we just need to figure out how to get the word out in the community. In the end, I don't want our events and our program to be relegated to just the church members; we need to get it out and invite people of all backgrounds. I think these two weeks off will be a great time for relaxation and self-evaluation.

In case you are wondering, here are some ideas that we have been tossing around:

Mardi Gras Party
Presentation on American culture (race)
"pollywood" party
80's fitness/dance party
5k Fun run in Policka
Dodge ball tournament
1st Policka Disc golf classic
Movie nights
Spring cleaning (community cleaning event)

-so we have ideas and we both think that they are creative. Now, we just need guidance and prayer to get them out beyond the church walls and have people come. If you would love to help us prepare for these events, please comment on this post and leave your email. We will need supplies.

Jamie and I are thinking about our vacation during Christmas and we have three choices: a cottage in the mountains, Prague or Vienna. I think that we would like to do all three, but we will have to decide soon. Just thought you might like to know....