Grammar and Parties and Trips - oh my!

Language Courses in Full Swing

I am enrolled in an intensive language course right now, daily for an hour and a half. It’s quite a lot of work in a short amount of time, but it really is the jumpstart that I need to get me going on language learning again. I haven’t taken formal classes since 2018, so I have many grammar rules to review and catch up on! The Czech grammar is complicated, especially for an English speaker, with several cases and lots of changes to the words based on who or what you are speaking about, to whom, etc. Every day, I discover some new word that is irregular and changes differently, but I also frequently find logical connections between words and their derivatives.

Staff Ladies Early Christmas Party

We frequently gather as staff ladies for fellowship, and the most recent one jumped ahead in the calendar a bit! Fernando and Cesia de la Rosa, one of our new missionary couples, returned to Guatemala for support raising and the first Christmas with their families in almost four years. Cesia loves Christmas and was sad that we wouldn’t get to celebrate altogether, so the other ladies and I threw her a Christmas party right before they left. Miri and I decorated our apartment and we made Christmas cookies and listened to Christmas music and everything! Cesia also taught us how to make earrings from Fimo clay and we had a great time designing pieces for ourselves and for gifts.

Deaf Ministry

The third weekend of October I went with a group of Deaf ladies for a retreat. We enjoyed fall weather, good food, and great fellowship, as well as studied the qualities of a godly woman. It was great to spend time with the ladies I knew from before, and get to know some new ones too! I certainly got a lot of Czech Sign Language practice and I even shared part of how I came to be in the Czech Republic in Czech! I’m so glad we were able to gather together.

We have started meeting in person for Deaf church again as well! I have so missed these meetings, where we can discuss a portion of Scripture and pray together. A lady who I haven’t met before has started coming and though she is saved, she doesn’t know and understand all of the Biblical signs being used. I am praying that with time she will understand all of them and grow in her relationship with the Lord.

Fall is the Time to Plan

Many of our ministries continue or start in the fall, but the fall is also where a large chunk of our planning is done. We are already preparing for Winter Camp in February, as well as our annual Christmas event. I love throwing parties, and we have a wonderful program and a great menu in the works! The Christmas party is a special occasion that has two goals. One is to thank those who partner with us during the year, like pastors and other missionaries. The second is to invite our neighbors, teachers, landlords, and unsaved friends to celebrate with us and hear a Gospel presentation.

A Very Special Trip in the Works!

Many of you will remember Miriam, who I introduced in my newsletter several months ago. She just recently completed MIT, the training and approval process to become a full-time missionary with Word of Life!! I am thrilled that she has been called to serve with us long term. As she seeks to build her investment team, she wants to make a trip to the states to make connections there and I offered to try and connect her with some of the churches and people I know. So, we are planning a trip to Western New York in February and March of 2022!! I will let you know when we have more details, but for now, if you would like to meet up or have us speak at your church please let me know!

Prayer and Praises

- pray for the covid situation here in Czech as the cases are rising again. We were hoping to be near the end of the lockdowns, but it appears we may not be.

- pray for the planning of our trip to the states! We are super excited, but it also takes a lot of organization.

- pray for Miri, Athang, Van, and the de la Rosa’s as they all raise support.

- pray for Marcella as she learns the Biblical signs and seeks to grow

- praise for small victories in language learning! 

- praise for a great ladies’ retreat and the restart of Deaf church in person


One more quick note before I close. I will be sending out Christmas cards this year! If you want one and you’re not sure I have your address, please let me know so I can add you to the list! Thank you for your support and prayers. And Happy (early) Thanksgiving!!


Love in Christ,

Adele