Fridays are Friendly

Čao! (that's the Czech spelling - see, I'm learning something in class! Go me!) It's Friday, and it's late (for me, that is - ooh, 11 pm!), and I'm blogging. (Caught you off guard with that one, didn't I?)

Not much happened today. I taught three classes, made some šopsky salad, and went to Bible study. Some of our students couldn't be there because they're studying for their dissection exam (eeeeeew), and they're very busy. So it was small numbers, but a good time nonetheless. I'm all about the socializing on the weekends, since I don't get to do a whole lot of it during the work week. Yes, teaching means I'm with people, but it's not always as much as you might hope!

I have a prayer request for y'all. As a few of you know, I'm at a point now where I have to start thinking about how long I'm staying in Prague for. When I left home, I was thinking 8 months to a year. When I got here, I decided to stay til the end of June solely because that's the end of the TEFL school year here. I have since come to realize that this may be a problem. Assuming that I get into grad school for fall 2006, I need to work all summer long. There is no TEFL work in Prague in July/August, so I can't stay here longer. Finding work in Edmonton/Wetaskiwin for July/August will be difficult, since it may only be for 6 weeks, and all of the students (university AND high school) will be in the job market already. For this reason, I'm thinking of using my plane ticket as is, and coming home on April 24. This would give me 4 months to work in Canada before starting classes.

However, I don't love the idea of leaving here before the end of June. I have a lease til then, I've made comments to my work about staying til then, and I feel that I have something of a committment to my students (especially the ones I've bonded with). This is not an easy decision for me! I'm refusing to worry about it, and instead have been really praying about it. As I prayed, I came to realize that 1) the only reason that I would have to go home early is to be able to be certain that I'm employed for July/August, and 2) if I knew I had work for July/August (in Czech or in Canada), I could stay here til the end of June, or later.

As Skrivanek requests 3 months' notice from its staff, I need to tell them by the end of January if I'm leaving at the end of April. This means that I have to make up my mind by January 15 or so. Hence, I'm asking you to pray the following with me:

Lord Jesus, if you want me to stay in the Czech Republic til the end of June or later, then please provide me with a job for July and August by January 15, 2006. If a job is available, then I will stay in the Czech Republic. Amen.

I don't know if I want to stay or not... I really can't make up my mind! But I think that I'm leaning towards wanting to stay longer, just so that I have a real sense of having completed the tasks that I started here. On the other hand, it would be nice to be at home with friends and family before starting grad school, especially if I end up out in Nova Scotia. So I'm in a "wait and see" kind of mode.

Thank you all for supporting me and praying with me!!

I love you,

Elizabeth