Convo's & Cookies

I'm in between trays of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies right now. My bff, Rachel, was kind enough to send an awesome care package with some cookie mixes; so they're being put to good use for our English Conversation Christmas party tonight. We're planning on reviewing Christmas/winter words and use them to play a few games. Everyone was asked to bring their favorite Christmas treat to share, so I hope we get some interesting contributions!

I have an English conversation with a girl just before the party as well; we're watching TED talks [that have Czech subtitles] as our source of conversations.

Maybe you saw our Facebook posting the other day that I had an amazing conversation with some people about Jesus. We talked about a wide range of things - differences between Jesus' teachings and others' teachings/the exclusivity of Jesus; the authenticity, validity, and historicity of the Scriptures; the idea of a conceptual God vs a relational God; absolute truth vs absolutely nothing; context being essential for interpretation... and so much more. Please pray for these people that I spoke with. They are not Christians but do have Christian influence in their life. I tried to be respectful of their views, but I never know with cultural and language differences if that translates well.

I also had a surprising bit of a conversation with a friend who is a new Christian. She didn't know what we celebrate at Christmas, so I was able to explain that this is the time of year to remember Christ's birth. Christmas is my favorite, so I was a little shocked that someone wouldn't know what Christmas is about. But that's a huge difference between here and the States - being surrounded by churches galore and part of a culture that has somewhat "Christian" values as an undertone. As much as I think I "remember" Christ's birth and observe the real meaning of Christmas, this conversation with my friend was incredibly humbling to remember His Grace that I am even aware of His birth at all.

Big, exciting news: Our neighbor, Pavla, has accepted our invitation to go to Kostel Jinak with us for a special service on Christmas Eve! She has never been to church apart from an Advent concert. This is a huge deal!!!

These last few days of this week are quite busy for students right now; they're cramming in last-minute work and tests before their 2-week Christmas vacation. They will probably also be doing homework during their break since their semester doesn't actually end until mid-January. So when they return to school, they'll be facing finals for the semester.

A batch of cookies needs my attention now, but I thought I'd get a quick post accomplished! :D

Hope you're all enjoying your Christmas preparations!

How You Can Be Praying:

- health; Vašek is on the mend, but quite a few people have the sore throat, fever, and congestion going on

- English Conversations to go well, be helpful and fruitful for people

- the family I spoke with about Jesus

- Pavla, our neighbor

- students' studies, exams and R&R during their breaks

- the new Christians; fullness of understanding and joy this Christmas season

- safe travels for those visiting family and friends for the holidays

- pray again Satan's desire to steal glory and attention away from God this Christmas