If you speak Czech, it looks like any other announcement for a live nativity that might be found in a church this Christmas season, right?
How about this photo...look familiar?
It's a Czech hymn book, found in many churches in this country.
And the next picture? It's Mikulaš and the angels, handing out treats at a Czech church. Mikulaš is the Czech version of St. Nicholas, and comes on December 5th with treats for children.
All of this is fairly normal except...
This happened in Chicago a few weeks ago!!
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At the beginning of the semester at Moody, Caleb was given a PCM assignment (Practical Christian Ministry). This is a weekly ministry opportunity that Moody students have every semester they're in school.
When his class schedule solidified the first week of school, he had to request a change as the first PCM assignment didn't fit with his schedule.
As God would have it, he was reassigned to an after school program, where parents who want their children to get spiritual input send them to a community center staffed by believers. A group of Moody students are there waiting each week to love on, play with and spend time in God's word with the kids.
Caleb was assigned two little guys - the ones in the picture above.
How does all of this fit together, including this sweet lady in the photo above??
They are all Czechs living in Chicago!! What are the odds of that happening?
Unbeknownst to the leaders of the ministry, Caleb was assigned to these two little boys whose mom is from Czech, and goes to a Czech church in the Chicago area. Isn't that crazy?!
He's had a lot of fun this semester getting to know the boys, listening to them enthusiastically come each week with a few new Czech words (they don't really speak Czech), speaking Czech with their mom when she comes to pick them up and...going with the family to the Mikulaš service at their church a few weeks ago!
He said it felt so familiar to be there that Sunday, speaking Czech, singing Czech songs, celebrating Mikulaš, eating Czech food, and being with people who are just like so many he knows here!
Caleb gets on a plane today in Chicago, and will land in Prague tomorrow afternoon where we'll be waiting to pick him up.
He'll be back to the "real deal", his beloved Czech, soon!
This is so funny. Of course he'd be at that service. Chicago has a huge Czech community. We had supporters who always took us to the authentic Czech restaurant when we visited them in Chicago, You had to order in Czech because the waiters didn't speak English. We never had the heart to tell that that we ate Czech food all the time and would prefer Chicago pizza when we visited! Gotta love ethnic Chicago
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