A Community Celebrates the End of Summer
For several generations, a small village outside of Ostrava has held an end of summer celebration with music, food, drinks, and the focal point, a bonfire. I was invited to this celebration by several friends who live in this village and were tasked to help run the event. From the picture above, although grainy, you can see that this was quite a big bonfire. Over the course of the evening I was given the opportunity to speak with several new people that I was introduced to. One of these people I was encouraged to write about by my friend, Matouš, because of the conversation that I had with him. I don't like to write much on blog posts but I hope that you will take the time to read it through.
As the evening progressed, the crowd which was once many, had dwindled to a group of about 20 people, largely comprised of teens that had stayed to enjoy some drinks that most of them were too young to consume. I was sitting around a smaller fire speaking with a young man about NBA basketball when several other teens came and sat down around us. One in particular, by the name of Petr, sat beside me and began talking to me and asking me about the reason for my time in the Czech Republic. I guess I stick out like a sore thumb among the Czechs. I explained that I came to work with a church in Ostrava. From that point on, my Christianity became the focal point of everything that I did. He introduced me to another young man who he said was also a Christian but could not speak English well. He also, as people who have had too much to drink will often do, began asking me the same question over and over. "Would you like something to drink?" That something, he explained was a mixture of vodka and some fruit juice. I politely declined the offer and continued speaking with him about where I was from and what it is like in the United States. As time went on the requests to have a drink were coupled with the question of, "Do you not want to drink because you are a Christian?" I explained to him that it was not my Christianity which governed my decision not to have a drink but that at 12:30 AM, I didn't feel like drinking any alcohol. He then asked me an interesting question, one that I was not expecting at that time of the night or in his condition. Why did I believe in Jesus?
I was a bit surprised by the question because many of the young people in the Czech Republic have little to no knowledge about Jesus. I responded to him with, "Why do you ask?" He explained to me that as a boy he had "believed" in Jesus but because of some difficult things that had happened in his life, he had "lost his faith." I then explained about how God had been faithful to me over the course of my life both in good times and bad. I even explained how God had given me the ability in several situations to be able to look back and see at least a little bit about what He was doing in situations that seemed as though they were bad and how He has been working those situation for my good and His plan. Petr and his girlfriend Ann explained to me that many teens in the Czech Republic really don't believe in anything. I expressed that I would love to keep in contact with him and that he could find me on Facebook. Although there are many other things that I wish that I had said in this situation I am confident that the Lord can use this meeting for His glory. Pray for Petr and Ann that the Lord would be working in their hearts to show them that He is real and that He loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross for their sins so that they might not only have SOMETHING to believe in but SOMEONE to believe in. Pray also for me, that I might better express what Jesus has done in my life and that others might see through me, the joy and life that He brings.
This is a video of the lighting of the bonfire above. The other voice that you will hear in the video is that of Matouš, we get along quite well. Haha
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