Posts Tagged ‘Czech Republic’

Back to the USofA for some good old R. and R.

November 13th, 2008

Last night my parents and my husband’s parents graciously bought us tickets to go back to the states for Thanksgiving. We leave on Monday and will spend a week in Seattle and about a week in Arizona and then be back in Prague on the 2nd of December. It’s really last minute and I’m still sort of in shock. My head is swimming with all that I have to do in the 3 days before we leave. But, we are so excited to get to see friends and family and to just be in the states for a little bit.

Today I was meeting with a friend and talking through some stuff that has to get done before we leave and also getting some advice about support raising while we are back in the states and at one point she stopped the conversation and basically shared with me that she saw and heard that this trip needed to be a time of Rest and Receiving for Bryan and I. It suddenly dawned on me how little rest I have felt lately and how difficult it is for me to receive from God and from other people.

The past few weeks in Prague have been really difficult for me in many ways. I have known and experienced for a long time that Prague is a very dark place physically and spiritually and emotionally. But, the past few weeks I have FELT that darkness like never before.

In the past few weeks and months I have also seen more clearly and more tangibly then ever brilliant and radiant rays of Light and Hope. I have experienced God’s spirit at work in his people and have seen him piercing this darkness and speaking his truth.

…but, even with those rays of light, there is still so much darkness, and it has weighed down on me lately.

As my friend spoke truth to me and called me into God’s perfect rest I suddenly felt this growing peace and excitement about this trip back to the states. It really dawned on me and I really felt that for two weeks I won’t be here in Prague and even as I felt sad that I would be missing out on being a part of the rays of light God will bring in those two weeks I also felt relief and freedom that for a few days I won’t be under this same cloud of darkness and I can rest. It felt good to know that rest is coming and that I can trust that God will restore me so that I can come back to Prague energized and rested, with renewed passion and energy for bringing his Light to this dark city.

It also felt good to realize that I would be with family and friends who have known me and loved me for a very long time. And even though receiving and allowing others to support and love me has been a continual struggle for me, in this moment I feel such a deep need of others support and love that I feel like I am ready to receive and to relax into the ways that God wants to build me up through his body. I feel ready to let people in, ready to let them know that I need them desperately, and ready to accept whatever forms of love and grace God may direct them to give to my husband and I.

Lord, bring deep rest and restoration through this trip. And Father, teach me to, with open hands, receive your love and blessing through your people. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Yoga Teacher Certification Program

September 27th, 2008

So, I realized today that I haven’t shared something on the blog that will be a big part of my life over the next 5 months… On Friday I start a yoga teacher certification program through Prague Yoga. It meets all the requirements of the international Yoga Alliance and enables graduates to teach anywhere in the world. It’s a 5 month program and classes are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for about 9 hours each day, one weekend a month. I will also be required to take 30 other yoga classes on top of the weekend classes and read 7 books on yoga. The class will cover a variety of different yoga styles, aspects of anatomy and physiology that relate to yoga, as well such things as ethics, nutrition and yogic history.

I am so excited about this program. I feel like it is such a perfect fit for me. I really feel like it could potentially combine a bunch of different interests I’ve had throughout the last few years (teaching, yoga, dance, nutrition, health, etc). I don’t know where exactly it will take me and if I will end up teaching yoga after this, but this program will at least give me that option and the more I think about it the more appealing that option seems.

Of course, I am also really nervous about this program. I always get nervous about new things and situations and this will definitely be a very new situation for me. I have no idea what to expect from it at all. I think it’s been more than two years since I’ve taken a formal yoga class and even though I have been practicing on my own very regularly over the past year I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to keep up in a class setting like this. But, I feel like I am ready for the challenge and ready to step out of my comfort zone and stretch myself (literally and figuratively).

I feel like taking this class has really been a step of faith for me in many ways. Honestly, I feel like taking this class is actually sort of irresponsible of me right now. I mean it’s not cheap and we don’t exactly have extra funds right now – in fact I really am not sure exactly how I’m going to pay for it all. And I feel like I’m probably not really good enough or advanced enough to jump into a full teacher training like this. But, as I weighed the decision I heard a gentle voice saying, “Come, Bethany, trust me. I want to give you good things; I want to fulfill your wildest dreams and passions. I want you to do this.” And I felt my heart stir and long and get excited in a way that doesn’t often happen. And as I talked to a few other people about it I heard a resounding “Yes, you should do this, this would be good for you. Do it.” So, I took a deep breath and signed up, paid my reservation deposit and ordered my books. Now I start Friday and I still don’t know what I’m doing, I’m still scarred and nervous, and unsure how this is all going to work out, but I do believe that sometimes the paths God leads us down are uncertain and dark and require lots of trust and faith and hope and often a good bit of help to make it down them.

So, please pray for me and this program over the next 5 months. Pray that I have the stamina and ability to keep up with all the poses and physical exercise. Pray that I can soak up and learn as much as I can, sift through all the information and instruction I get and wisely keep and take hold of all that is worth keeping and taking hold of. Pray that I can build good friendships and relationships with the teachers and the other students and that I wouldn’t shut down and pull myself away from people, but would instead be open and available and really create lasting friendships during this time. And pray that God, through His infinite provision, would provide for the financial costs of this program as well as any other needs that may arise through it.

Thank you, friends! I look forward to letting you know how this goes and what God ends up doing in me and through me during it.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Berlin vs. Prague

September 16th, 2008

Ever since my trip to Berlin this weekend I have been thinking and wondering about the difference between cities. It was amazing to me how different Berlin felt from Prague and as I started thinking about it how different Germany and German’s are from Czech’s and the Czech Republic. It really is amazing how very different two neighbors can be.

So, how are the two cities different? In what ways is Berlin different from Prague? Well, it’s hard to explain the difference in words. Really it’s more of a different feel to each city. Berlin (at least the parts of Berlin we were in – mostly Eastern Berlin) felt open, creative, social, and new. The sidewalks on the streets were wide and shops, as well as restaurants, often pulled their goods out onto the sidewalks. It was like each shop and each restaurant had a front porch where people could mingle and take a quick look without committing to go inside. It gave the whole place a very welcoming feel. There were also a lot of parks and trees that served as just one more social space for people to hang out in and be together. And people were out – it was a pretty cold weekend when we were there but we still saw tons of people sitting out at tables on the sidewalks, shopping in the shops, and chatting with one another at the parks. Prague isn’t really like that.

So, what makes two cities that have experienced similar things and are so close in proximity so vastly different from one another? That is the question that many of us women kept asking over the weekend and after it. In the end we realized that even though it feels like Prague and Berlin are close to each other and had similar experiences in actuality their experiences were very different and those differences shaped the differences that can now be seen in these cities.

For example, both cities were under Nazi rule during WWII, but Berlin was bombed numerous times until there was literally not much left while Prague was only bombed once on accident. Because of that Prague lives constantly surrounded and immersed in its varied and colorful history. Few major European cities are so well preserved and it is a blessing that the people of Prague can see so much of their history in their buildings. But, it is also a curse, because where Berlin was able to recreate itself after the war, Prague still seems to carry around a lot of luggage from the past.

Another thing that we noticed was that even though East Berlin was also under communism they probably had a very different experience of communism than Prague did. There are so many things about Prague and about the people of Prague that can still be directly linked back to communism. The chains of communism may have been removed, but in many ways the city still isn’t free of those shackles even though they are making progress. Berlin didn’t feel that way as much. Berlin felt free. Eastern Berlin was so close to the west that when communism fell the west just rushed right in. Prague may be the “gateway between east and west” but in many ways it was very removed from the west during communism and it seems like it’s going to take much longer for it to recover from that oppression.

Then there are just the differences in the people and how that affects the cities themselves. German’s are very different from Czech’s and they approach problems and issues very differently.

The more I travel the more I believe that each city has a personality all its own. It’s fascinating to me how different two cities can be and the personas that different cities take on over time. There are so many things that influence the feel and attitudes of a city and so many things that come together to make a city what it is. And it seems very difficult to change a city – not impossible – but difficult. It takes a long time for a city to shake off an old persona and create a new one. It’s really interesting to me.

So, those are just some of my random thoughts on Berlin vs. Prague.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman

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“Bethany Was Here” – Desiring to be Known

September 11th, 2008

On Tuesday I went with my friend, Kara, to photography the Lennon Wall. I had walked briefly by the wall in the past but had never really stopped to look at it. I really enjoyed reading the things people wrote on the wall and the pictures people drew. It really was beautiful in its own unique way.

I was thinking as I took my pictures about what makes people write on a wall like that. Many people who write on the wall do nothing more than sign their name and that’s it – “John was here”. I think there is something in the human psyche that desires to be known, to leave a mark on the world and the people around them – something in us that wants people to know “Bethany was here.” And so even though we long for our mark to be bigger than just a name on a wall, and we desire to be known by people in a more intimate way then just our name, when faced with a chance to do something even as little as writing our name on a wall we’ll do it.

I think that’s why blogging has taken off so much. I think that desire is a lot of why I blog – it’s a way of leaving my mark. It’s a way of being known and saying “I was here.” It gives a little fuller picture of me then if I just wrote my name on the Lennon wall, but in a lot of ways it’s still pretty shallow. Blogging is still just a mark on a wall. It paints a picture of who I was at a certain time in my life and who I am now, but it’s not a full picture. “It’s true but not complete” as my friend, Tara, says. It might be a fuller picture then just my name on a wall, but it still doesn’t satisfy that deep need inside to be known and remembered – to belong and matter.

Today I met for coffee with some friends. They are probably my closest friends in Prague and currently my closest friends in the world (besides my husband). But, there are days, like today, when I still feel very unknown by them. There are times when I withdraw and don’t fully reveal myself, there are times when I show only a half true, manicured picture of myself and my heart. Why is that? Why is it that we have this deep longing to belong, to be known, to leave our mark, to matter and be accepted and reveal ourselves to other human beings, but that we often run from that desire? Why is it that especially in those moments when I so deeply want to be known I pull away? Is it fear? Is it that I don’t feel valuable enough to share with another? Or is it something else entirely? Does anyone else do this or feel this way? Or is it just me?

Maybe part of why we leave marks on walls and write blogs is because we long to be known and remembered, but maybe part of it is that it’s safe. It’s easier to leave a mark on a wall and feel like you made a mark on the world, than it is to actually go out there and make a mark on the world. It’s easier to write a blog and reveal a little part of yourself through the privacy of your own home and the small window that is cyberspace than it is to actually reveal yourself when face-to-face with another human being.

So, there’s my mark, for today, this is where I was at on September 11, 2008.

“Bethany was here”

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

Photographs by Beth Stedman

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Wednesday Review: The Beach in Prague

August 6th, 2008

Last week we went to O2 zlate lazne, also known as “the beach”. There’s a beach in Prague!?!?! That’s right! Well, actually it’s more like a park on the river with some sand (which was shipped in of course). It was different then I had expected and definitely VERY different from the Southern California beaches that I’m used to, but it was still a really fun place.

When you walk into the park/beach at the far end you will see Czech Barbeque stands on your left selling kabobs and sausages and beer with tables out in front. On your right there is a patio type area with more tables and chairs where there was a wedding going on the night that we were there. As you walk farther along the path you will see a bar on your left and then some sand volleyball courts and a little sand beach on your right. Farther down there will be more Czech Barbeque stands on your left and a big grassy area with a fun fountain on your right. At the opposite end of the park/beach there is a big children’s play park, which you have to pay to get in, but it looks like so much fun.

The atmosphere at the beach is chill and relaxed. People are out sun bathing, kids are running in the grass, some are playing in the sand and tons of people are talking and drinking beer. It is all very clean and really nicely done. There are little statues and fountains and a giant chess board with playing pieces. The food was good, nothing special, just BBQ but great for a hot summer day and the perfect match for the yummy beer. The view of the Vltava river is beautiful. Over all I would highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already. It’s a good place to make the best of the summer heat and enjoy a nice beer and good chat with some friends.   

Enjoy!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

Photographs by Tamara Stedman and Beth Stedman

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