Czech Republic
3 February 2008
IBTS
Nad Habrovkou 3
Jeneralka, CZ – 16400 Prague 6
Dear Friends and Family,
What a wonderful week! All 45 of the PhD students are here having their colloquium together – sharing their research and their intentions for their papers. Each one is given 30 minutes, and, after each tells his or her story, the others critique, offer suggestions, give encouragement, and help in general. There are tutors and professors in the circle as well who guide the process and help with the thinking. I think it’s a great idea to give one another this time in the absence of other classes or seminars. The research is all very independent, but it must be reassuring to get so much helpful feedback.
We were pleased to see our old Liberian friend Olu Menjay among the group. Olu is in the last phase of his work, having been involved in the degree research for four years now. As the principal of Ricks Institute, a Baptist high school in Liberia, he has little time to spend on the thesis, so he highly values these two weeks twice a year. All of these students were here together back in September (before we came), so they’re checking up now on one another’s progress since then.
Roger and I have sat in on some of the sessions – actually Roger much more than I – and it is challenging to hear these people from so many different backgrounds share their tasks with one another. I am still privately tutoring the Russian girl who wants to study as a CAT while her husband is involved in the Master’s program next year. She has to get her English up to snuff for that. And I’m helping a Polish girl prepare for the Cambridge First Certificate Exam that she’ll take in March at the British Council. She has already made the sizable payment to sit the exam, and we’d both feel pretty bad if she doesn’t make it.
The Thursday evening Bible Study that meets in our apartment was very good this week. A young English-speaking Czech man joined. He shared a wonderful testimony, and seemed to appreciate the time of study. His name is Peter, and he uses a crutch because of his broken leg. The leg is healing well; the plaster cast has been removed; but, of course, he is not one hundred percent yet.
Our Bulgarian friend, Kami, has returned to her family. During her ten days here, she increased her English vocabulary by over two hundred words, and together we ploughed through several articles and a couple of chapters of some books. My Bulgarian is too rusty to help translate very much, but she had an English/Bulgarian dictionary on her computer that came in very handy. Actually, some of the theological terminology is basically the same in both languages as they are often Latin or Greek based.
Our weekend was quiet. We took a very long walk in the national park nearby and came home to listen to about seven messages from the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta. The North American leadership of the Baptist World Alliance was a part of that, and the three major African-American Baptist Conventions participated along with American Baptists and CBF representatives. This convocation was the dream of Jimmy Carter and the president of Mercer University, Dr. Bill Underwood; but there was huge participation in the three-day meeting. As many as 20,000 black, white and Hispanic people were present for the event. There must have been some fabulous music, but we only got the messages on the Internet. One of the most emotional and moving messages I have ever heard was from the pastor of the Baptist Church of Gaza. His was a poignant story of great sacrifice. Of course the African-Americans are master preachers. Others included Joel Gregory, Jimmy Carter, John Grisham, a Republican senator named Charles Grassley, and the well-known South Carolinian, Marian Wright Edelmann, an advocate for children in poverty.
The Sharka Valley Community Church celebrated the Agape meal today. The community meal is always on the first Sunday of the month. This time we had a huge crowd to feed including the doctoral students and their extra professors and tutors. So the dining room was full, and those of us who cooked had to put out a bit extra. The day was clear but very cold, and when we went out to baby-sit for Kevin and Erin, we had to wrap up very well. Maybe winter isn’t over after all.
May God bless you all with His Peace.
With love,
Janice and Roger
