3/3 - Goodbye to Prague

We will miss Prague. Here is sunset from our "neighborhood." We could walk anywhere and navigate back by those church spires. Also literally had a metro stop right outside our door.

This building belongs to the Catholic church across the street.  Used to be a dorm for novices.  Also used to have a restaurant on the bottom floor, which is where we met with children.  We stayed on the fourth floor.  

Front door - reason for "KDM" name

2/3: The Prague Team

I have had such a wonderful time with these ladies. We knew coming in that our assignments were going to be sort of unpredictable, and these gals could flex with the best of them. Everyone came to serve and just do whatever the task required. This even included two of our crew (a nurse and a vet) stepping up to help as “medics” at the train station til midnight - literally cleaning and bandaging the blistered and infected feet of the Syrian men and boys.

And we also had a little fun!

1/3: Last updates from Pragu

We came here to spend time with refugees (particularly children) who are living in several accommodations provided by Dignity - a ministry here in Prague that our church (CSPC in Knoxville) supports. Basically we played games almost every morning and afternoon. All these refugees are Ukrainian (not Syrian). They are required to be in school here, but some have not found a spot in school here yet, and some are too young. Homeschooling is not allowed!

We had such a fun time with the children. So much laughter, which is great to see after all they have been through. The kids are surprisingly well-behaved. When I played with the Syrian and Afghan children in Greece, it was just controlled chaos as those cultures have different philosophies on child discipline, and it really shows!

We chose games that could be communicated without language for the most part. I’m partly putting the photos here so that I will remember the names and faces of these kids. For all of our team, this experience has really put a face to the Ukrainian situation that we hear about on the news.

Our other “job” was serving tea and coffee to Syrian refugees at the train station. Even though it’s the train station, many arrive on foot, having walked most of the way from Turkey. They come to the train station to find the smugglers who will take them close to the German border where they can find a way to get in. They are free to walk in, but they just can’t go by train or through a border check point. Once they get in, German law says they must be taken care of. So there is a lot of incentive to get there. It’s not a good situation for the Germans. I don’t know the political solutions (except Putin, go home!), but the love of Jesus compels me to care.

Picturesque Prague

Picturesque Prague! I had heard this was a pretty city, but wow! The architecture is stunning. And the food is really terrific. The second type of food (besides Czech) that there is a lot of here is Vietnamese. Who knew? Apparently when this was still a communist country, Vietnamese immigration was really encouraged.

Here are just a few of the photos taken. The weather has been an unexpected blessing. It was forecast to be rainy and chilly the whole time we were here, but we saw lots of blue skies and had plenty of opportunity to take off our jackets!

And yes, we are here to help out with the refugee situation. I will share more about that in my next post!

Statue of Jan Hus - burned at the stake by the Catholics, but now revered as a hero of the Bohemian reformation

Charles Bridge

Wenceslas Square

This clock has worked for over 500 years

View from the tower near the castle

St. Ludmilla church - our front yard

Jewish quarter

The dancing building

The river at night

Refugees in Prague

What happens if you’re a refugee and you arrive in Prague? First it depends on what kind of refugee you are. The Czech Republic is still open to Ukrainian refugees, but as of August the city of Prague is closed. While Poland has the most Ukrainian refugees, the Czech Republic has taken the most per capita of any European country. Many Czechs are now protesting against the refugees.

If a Ukrainian arrives in Prague, he/she may stay in the city for 3 days while they figure out somewhere else to register (there must be room for your kids in school). You will most likely spend those three days at KDM (Krestansky Domov Mladeze, if you most know). This is actually where my team is staying as well. It’s a nunnery that was slated to be renovated and has been rented to Dignity (the refugee ministry we are working for) at a nominal charge.

There are actually a few exceptions to the “can’t stay in Prague” rule, and one showed up yesterday. A young mother and her baby will be allowed to stay in Prague and I helped transport her to a safe house. And I got to hold a very cute baby!

Other families are at various locations around Prague, and we are spending our days playing with the children at those spots. If you can imagine what is was like to have your lives disrupted. by Covid and then a war, you can imagine that these kids need something to do other than stare at screens. Most were very eager to play and were well-behaved. We had a great time!

The Czech Republic has NEVER been open to Syrian refugees. They pay a yearly fine to the EU rather than accept any. If Syrians arrive, they are put in detention facilities where they are not allowed to leave. Those detention facilities are now full, so the police are simply turning a blind eye and hoping Syrians will move on through to other countries. Any that do arrive here on the train have paid traffickers to get them here only to find out that their journey is not over and they are NOT welcome. In the evenings, our team is serving hot tea and coffee to the Syrian refugees at the train station.

the view from our "dorm room" at KDM

Glad this little fella will not have to spend another night sleeping at the train station

Jill and Laura were both whizzes at yarn finger puzzles

This kid was sooo good at the limbo!

We called this "the pug of Prague"

Getting ready to serve chai and cafe

Morning in Paris

Our missions team had an unexpected blessing when they asked for volunteers to check their carry-ons for no extra charge (our other bags were $75 each, and we were heavily loaded down with teaching and craft supplies). Being light on our feet enabled us to take advantage of our six hour layover to go see the sites in Paris including a delicious brunch at a sidewalk cafe. Got back and through security with 30 min to spare. Praise God for a beautiful morning!

The iconic Eiffel Tower.  

The Arch de Triumphe.  Obviously. 

The Seine

Strolling through Luxembourg Gardens

Loved watching the kids sail their boats

A great little breakfast spot.  

Breakfast in Paris - oui!