I’m starting with some pictures of my arriving at the flat. The reason I went on the haunt after a long library day is the lack of mail boxes. I found one a 13 minute walk away which took me to a restaurant called the Postal. I entered & asked about mailing postcards and the chef (he had an apron) pointed me down the street. It looked like across and down so I entered the closest mini-market. These markets are everywhere and small businesses thrive. Ne (no) was the result. Next door was locked but had a postal sign and then I spied a mailbox. I think mail is not such a big deal. I had mailed postcards last week but that was two trams away and across the river. Really unpractical to have a city of 1.309 million and five mailboxes? Am I missing something? I can’t figure out how to space these photos but this was my view back. How the day began was on a tram. Got on. Stop one, a young mother with a baby in a carriage parked the buggy and held on. Stop two, another mother with a buggy pulled up parallel to buggy one. Now, where I come from that would have resulted in a short but instant, and possibly meaningful connection. “Your baby is so cute. How old? Do you have other children? Do you live in this Praha? The babies were eyeing each other but the mother’s remained unengaged, staring straight ahead. They were close enough to shake hand. That is a feature of the Republic of Czech that might inhibit the transfer of the gospel, not to mention friendships and community. That tells you what post-communist countries suffer from. There is a suspicion that could be warranted but I doubt it. When I was in Albania it was similar. People look at the ground. There is a slowness to engagement. It makes me sad. Now – I have met warm engaging people but so many are Christians who understand the value of the other. God gives us an awareness of the value of the other, made in His image. Praying for this place and those moms today.
