A Big Week for Susanna Jane

Our little girl is now six months old! She's a busy little girl, who is always on the move, even in her sleep. We had a good six-month check-up this week, and we're now starting solid foods. Below are a few pictures of the big event.

Sitting up like a big girl - we like the chair!

First bite of solid foods...

Mom! What is this?!? Are you trying to poison me?

 Fortunately her disgust was short-lived, and she now enjoys a variety of pumpkin, squash, carrot & pear.

We're so thankful for this precious little girl!

Susanna Jane Brande - 6 months old

One Day I'll Know What to Say

It's never ceased to amaze me how frequently I'll be stopped and asked questions here. I'm not sure if I seem knowledgeable, or non-threatening, or if it's because I stand out as a foreigner and people are curious to hear how I'll reply. (It happened all the time in Moscow too, so it's not just because I'm now walking around with a baby in a stroller.)

This picture was floating around Facebook the other day, and I couldn't help but laugh. Some days, this is exactly how I feel:

I wish I had the same ability to communicate in Czech as I could in Russian.

Our Very Own "Biometric" Cards

We are now "card-carrying" residents of the Czech Republic! We received our Biometric cards (sort of like a driver's license, but about 10 times more expensive) this afternoon, which means we're good until July of 2015.

One small hiccup - while we were given our long term residency permits, Susanna Jane's application hasn't even gone through yet. We're not sure why there seems to be this delay, since we applied as a family, but we'd appreciate your ongoing prayers for this situation.

Job Description

     We know that you all have been praying for us and for the ministry at CISP, so I thought I would use this update to tell you more details about my specific classes, and how those classes are going. 

When we first arrived in Prague, I was told that my class would be 7^th-9^th grade English and 7^th grade Bible.  That changed very quickly to 8^th grade Bible as the decision was made to let another teacher take the 7^th grade class.  After about a week or so, I decided to swap the 8^th grade Bible class for 8^th grade Ancient Civilizations.  The four classes keep me quite busy as much of the material I am teaching is new.  I often feel like a first year teacher all over again with the planning and preparing of my classes.  But overall I am enjoying the subject matter and the students.

7^th Grade – There are 6 students in this class, which is probably the smallest class I have ever taught, but the students are lots of fun and they seem to enjoy learning.  In this class, there are 4 Americans, 1 Italian/Spanish, and 1 Greek/French.  The class is made up of 5 boys and 1 girl.  I spend a lot of time trying to vary the subject matter to include grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and poetry.  Please pray for these students as 3 of them do not come from Christian homes.  Pray that God would be working in their lives to change them and bring them to Himself.  Also, there are 2 students who struggle with strong learning difficulties.  Pray that I (and the other teachers at CISP) would know how to best meet their specific needs.

8^th Grade – This class has 11 students – 4 girls and 7 boys – and is also quite international.  There are 6 Americans, 1 Ukrainian, 1 Czech, 1 Nigerian, 1 Italian/Spanish, and 1 Greek.  Much of the English class - like the 7^th grade – covers reading, vocabulary, writing, and grammar.  The Ancient Civilizations class has already gone through the beginnings of civilization, and Egypt.  This next semester the students will study Greece and Rome.  Pray for me as I spend a lot of time with these students that I will be able to model Christ to them, and that I will have a lot of patience with them, as they are a very high energy/high maintenance class.  Pray also for Christiana and me as we will be taking 6 of these students to Rome in April and there is still much planning to do for that.  Lastly pray for some of the boys in this class who have very little motivation and desire to study that God will change their hearts as well.

 

9^th Grade – This is the largest class at CISP.  There are 14 students – 5 girls and 8 boys – and their nationalities include 10 Americans, 1 Ukrainian, 1 Czech, and 1 Indian.  This class is also high energy, but also a lot of fun to interact with and to teach.  Most of them are well motivated and seem to enjoy learning.  Please pray for God to raise up Godly student leaders from this class that will lead others to Christ.  

 

Before We Even Ask

Our sweet baby girl - who is TWO months old! - is suffering from reflux. While it's not considered severe enough for medication, it's troublesome enough to have caused us a few sleepless nights, and several uncomfortable afternoons.

Susanna Jane Brande - two months old

When we packed our container with baby gear, we thought we had all the infant essentials we could need. But with the onset of reflux, I was kicking myself for not having included a recliner or bouncy seat - any sort of place where I might secure her in a more upright position. I can't remember if I ever voiced these longings aloud, but I certainly thought about it.

Just before we classes resumed this week, one of our colleagues called Phil to say he was bringing over some old baby toys for us to use. The domafon rang, and Phil went down to collect our gifts. When he walked in the door, my eyes filled with tears - in his hands was a bouncy seat!

Another reminder that God is providing not only for our needs, but also for the needs of our baby girl, even before we ask.

Susanna Jane enjoying her new bouncy seat.

Relief from reflux at last.

40 Somethings

I read an article today entitled "40 things I can do at 40 that I couldn't do at 20."  It piqued my interest because I am turning 40 next week.  Some of the things on the list I could relate to and some I couldn't (since it was written by a woman.) So I decided to come up with my own list of 40 somethings.  I thought about using that title; I thought about "40 things God has taught me" or "40 ways I have been blessed" or "40 most influential people in my life." I even thought about a list of 40 lists that I could write.  In the end I decided on this: "40 things I know now that I didn't know or understand when I was 20." These may also be the first of many pieces of wisdom that I leave for my daughter. These are in no particular order, just listed as they came to mind.
So here we go:
1. It really is "a small world after all" and getting smaller.
2. The world is not completely black and white.  There are a lot more grays than I want to admit.
3. The Christian community/culture is far more unforgiving than it claims to be.
4. Coffee is amazing!
5. As much as I may plan, life never goes the way I expect.
6. Teaching is not merely about the content; it is as much about the contacts and the connections.
7. Middle-schoolers are not as scary as they appear.
8. 2nd graders are scarier because they are cuter.
9. Just because someone is a Christian doesn't mean they believe everything exactly as I do.
10. In light of eternity, "Denomination" is irrelevant.
11. Marriage is not as scary as people make it out to be.
12. Fear is never a reason not to do something (except maybe bungee jumping or snake wrangling).
13. Friendships are worth more than any amount of money in the world. Don't let them fall by the wayside.
14. The world we live in is a messed up, screwed up, evil place; and far too often good people get caught in the wake of that evil.
15. We cannot know true love without risk and vulnerability.
16. Trust must be an everyday choice.
17. Beauty doesn't always look the way I expect it to.
18. People won't always understand your humor, but it's still ok to be weird sometimes.
19. There are some dragons worth fighting and some that are not ours to slay.
20. Life is much better when you have someone to laugh with.
21. My body can and will adjust to temperatures below freezing.
22. You know it's cold when your nose hairs freeze.
23. Sometimes it's necessary to curse.
24. Drinking alcohol won't send you to hell.
25. America is not the greatest country in the world.
26. You can never have too many pillows.
27. The ministry that God gives us to do should never become more important than the ministry to our spouse and our children.
28. People are stupid. Love them anyway.
29. It's ok to cry at movies.
30. It's ok to ask for help.
31. Control is an illusion.
32. After the written word, music is the most powerful medium on the planet.
33. There is always something to be thankful for.
34. Grace must be fully accepted to be truly impacting.
35. There is nothing more valuable (and priceless) to God than we are.
36. Our parents made many mistakes, but they did the best job they could with what they were given.
37. The American church is not THE church that the rest of the world should be patterned after.
38. If your life has no adventure, you aren't really living.
39. Changing diapers really isn't that bad.
40. I write because it is the best way to express what is in me, not just because I want to tell a story.

And... 1 to grow on... Life really does imitate art.

Christmas...from a new father's perspective

     Christmas is definitely nothing new for me.  I've been celebrating it for 39 years now.  But this year everything seems new.  I guess having a baby will do that.  Mostly I've been thinking about the incarnation for the past couple weeks.  John tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and Paul tells us in Philippians tells us that Jesus gave up everything to take the form of man.  Again these are not new Scriptures to me.  I've always known that Jesus was born as a baby and had to grow up in the normal human fashion. But now I am seeing this with new eyes...the eyes of a father.
     As I watch my daughter, I am so enthralled by everything she does (ok, maybe not the screaming). I can sit and stare at her for hours, watching every facial movement and hand movement.  And even when she isn't moving, I still marvel at the fact that she has been given to us to raise.  She is completely helpless. She can only sleep, poop, and cry on her own.  For everything else she is dependent on us.
     Now, I think about the fact that God -- the omniscient, all-powerful Creator of the universe -- came to us, not as a mighty king or a battle-ready warrior, but as a utterly helpless baby.  Jesus (the Word of God) couldn't even communicate with his parents other than crying and smiling.  He couldn't do anything but sleep, cry and poop on his own.  The Savior of the world was utterly dependent on his human parents to eat and live.  And being born as a baby meant that he had to learn everything, like walking and talking and reading and writing.  Mind. Blown!  Maybe I should just stop there and let you think about that for a while.  I should, but I won't because I have a few more thoughts.
    W
atching my daughter also brings lots of questions: Was Jesus really "the perfect child" that we sing about in our Christmas songs? Did he ever fight sleep? Did he get upset when Mary and Joseph left him in the donkey stroller too long? Did he ever get sick? Did he keep his parents up at all hours of the night? We feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of our human daughter. What must the pressure have been like for Mary and Joseph knowing they were raising the Son of God? I don't have the answers but I suspect that everything that we consider "normal" for babies, Jesus experienced.  If that doesn't amaze you, nothing will.  Especially those of you who are parents.

Merry Christmas from a new father.... And from all of the Brande family