It is 11:00pm as I am writing this blog. I am seated on a coach in the clubhouse room (“klubovna”) on the second floor of the hotel. Outside the closed door, I hear loud laughter and talking as students interact with each other during a time of unscheduled activity. From where I sit, it is impossible to distinguish the language that is being spoken. Only the tone and emotions. The room that I sit in also, could be in any number of American locations. Wood paneled cupboards and shelves line parts of two walls and a large screen television on a mobile stand sit in the corner. The darkened windows give no hint to our location. A round wall clock that must be a close sister of the one in room 7 at church adds to the feeling of home. Only the shape of the wall outlets hints that am far from Arizona.
Tonight I had the opportunity to give the nightly gospel presentation on Jesus saying I am “the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIGHT”. The students, who are getting more used to discussion groups afterward are having deep questions in most of the classes, and the team is serving God well together.
Today I had the opportunity to interact with my class by answering Bible questions on lots of different topics: six day creation, biblical marriage, and how to follow Jesus well. If it was not for the pauses here and there to translate between Czech and English, this too felt very much like Arizona. What God is showing me with more and more clarity this trip is that yes, we live in different countries and different cultural backgrounds, but our concerns, questions, hopes and dreams are very much the same. When it comes to what really matters, we are not that different at all.