Our first year is coming to a close

As our first year comes to an end, and our departure date comes closer, I feel that Jeremy and I have a desire to go home and visit family and friends, but also one to come back to Policka and see what will be in store for our next year. So much has happened in the last few weeks, with English classes ending, preparing for the confirmation retreat, and working on the camp, that it is almost shocking that there are only 15 days before we leave.

Our final week of class was fantastic. We were able to have fun with our students; having small parties and playing games. They told us they are happy that we will have another year with them, and that they enjoyed the classes. This was encouraging, because throughout the year we didn't get much feedback about our classes. My 4th and 5th grade class brought me flowers and wanted me to know that they are looking forward to the English camp and also my class next year. Jeremy took his adult classes out to a pub for a relaxing evening and time to chat and his high schoolers went to the bowling ally.

The Saturday after our last class the church participated in "Čas pro neobyčejné zažitky", which was more of less an "open town" type event. People could go to 10 or 12 different places in Policka, including the museum, school, library and art studios and have a special program. Our program consisted of a puppet show by two of the younger kids, a slide show video of the things that happened in the church the last year, games (pastor bowling and paper airplane game) and a craft.

The night was a complete success and everyone who came left with a smile. The two boys preformed their puppet show 12 times and were a favorite for almost everyone. The games upstairs where also rather popular, even though they were rather dumb at first glance. The pastor bowling was amusing and also a way for the community to see that the church can poke fun at themselves and enjoyed a good laugh. I think people got a kick our of Jeremy when he would tell them to roll the ball faster so they would knock more pastors down because he would say "Faří jsou durstní!" or pastors are tough! The paper airplane games was by far the most popular, and it was the most simple of all! You made your own plane and you wanted to fly it from the Czech Republic to different countries by landing it in designated areas. The further away the country was from the Czech Republic the more of a challenge it was. And if you were successful you got to sign your name under the country you flew to. There were families that played this game for an hour!

It was really a great night to end our English classes and community programs with.

A few weeks ago Jeremy and I were reflecting on our first year, and there have been so many things that have happened. People have invited us into their homes and lives and it seemed like memories and funny stories were pouring out of our brains, so much that I decided I would try to capture our first year in a painting. So much has changed since we first came to Policka, with our language improving and learning about the culture, and I hope that next year our relationships will grow stronger and our adventures will continue.