112 days and counting…
Greg and I are reporting to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, May 15, 2017. We will be there two weeks training for the Czech - Slovak mission in Central Europe.
As a reminder, we are called to serve eighteen months in Czech - Slovak mission as humanitarian missionaries.
We are excited for the opportunity to serve as the Lord’s hands for the great people of Czech Republic and Slovakia. We have been assigned to live in Slovakia. The whereabouts have not been revealed exactly but most likely Bratislava, the capital. It matters not to us what city we live because we know we are much needed wherever it may be. The need for humanitarian missionaries worldwide is great and we feel honored to be chosen to help relieve the suffering in Czech Republic and Slovakia. We know the church will provide a comfortable house or apartment to live and work. We feel confident we will live in comfort and convenience in our new surroundings.
We have communication with the couple in Czech Republic and they are very helpful in preparing us for what lays ahead as we Skype weekly. They have completed many humanitarian projects helping to relieve the suffering in women's shelters and refugee camps.
The language of Czech Republic is Czech and they speak Slovak in Slovakia. In both countries, many of the youth speak English as it is taught in school. This is a difficult language. We are told Czech and Slovak are similar and there are many differences. We are often asked if we need to speak the language? And is it hard? YES, it is hard! Anything worthwhile is hard and requires work! We are NOT required to learn the language. Translators or interpreters will be available and most Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have at least one English speaking person available.
Greg and I elected to make an attempt at Slovak. We feel it beneficial to acquaint ourselves with the alphabet and basic phrases. The Slovak alphabet follows the Latin script with some variations including four diacritics placed above certain characters. Phonetically it is difficult to speak words that do not follow English standards and the new sounds are foreign to us. The words and phrases are strange to us. We struggle together as our language tutor shows us patience and compassion during our weekly Skype session.
