Culture Shock

“I’m going to lose my goggles so I can find them!” We were taking a three day family vacation at an indoor pool complex in Slovenia when my oldest son Enoh unknowingly contextualized one of Jesus’ sayings. I thought about following up his remark with a conversation about Jesus but as soon as I saw him throw his goggles in the air and turn around with his eyes closed, I realized I was the one receiving the lesson.  Usually we talk about the act of losing something as a mistake. When we lose our keys, phone, or glasses it’s always a matter of misplacing something or forgetting where we put them. But here Enoh was making a conscious effort to lose his goggles. And not only that, he was trying to lose the one thing that would normally be most helpful in finding something lost at the bottom of a pool.  Did my seven year old just help me understand the Bible?  Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 16 are about making an effort to lose something - namely one’s l...

Since we've lived in Croatia, my awareness of how interwoven my life is with those around me has increased. That awareness turned into deep gratitude as I went through pictures and videos from 2015. This project is certainly a way for us to remember special occasions and milestones from the past year. But it's also a symbol of how we are surrounded by wonderful, generous people. Our lives could not and would not be what they are without so many friends and family with whom the Lord has blessed us. Merry Christmas! Photo by Kristina Ocelić

There's something special about your first kid starting school. It's nature's way of telling us that it's time to get serious about parenting while giving us a few more moments of peace to do so. For Enoh it was pure excitement. I'll be honest, I don't remember my first day of first grade. Maybe in Iowa it was a big deal. But here in Croatia it's a BIG DEAL. At the end of school last year they invited all the kids anticipating entering first grade to a presentation put on by 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders welcoming them to the school. It was at that time that Enoh was designated a First Grader. Over the summer books were ordered, supplies were bought and many, many, many questions were answered.  On Monday all the first graders and their parents stood outside the school in anticipation of which teacher they would get and how many of their friends would be in their class. When we finally entered, one of the teachers informed us she was just as nervous a...

From the Slavonian farmlands. . . to sunny Zagreb. . . to the bustling hub of Munich. . . to fireworks on the Fourth over NYC. . . to a ghost-town in Buffalo, I had journeyed 24 hours. In Croatia, my wife made last-minute arrangements for our four kids to be taken care of while she worked full-time and I traveled for a week.  Flying over Germany The primary purpose  of all of this was so I could be with my grandparents for their 70th anniversary celebration.  Robert and Delphine Bohall July 5, 2015 Seventy years!  Perfection? Perhaps as close as it gets on this earth. Seventy years of marriage represents a combination of God’s grace and human commitment; gifts of life, health and patience intertwined with hard work. It symbolizes the sort of unity many of us strive for.  Seventy years speaks to the past. It shows that a decision made at a time of innocence and  naivety  can be honored long after  both have worn off. A...

Saw this one at a gas station in the Czech Republic. Any guesses?

“One of the goals of Royal Rangers is to push you to your limit” our regional leader explained to us during a preparatory training session. “You never know how you’re going to react in extreme circumstances unless you’ve been pushed to your extreme ahead of time.”  This would be my third National Training Camp (NTC). My first was in Serbia as a participant. Last year I hosted and shadowed the leader so I would be prepared to lead in the future. This year the responsibility fell on me. Although I felt inadequate to lead, especially knowing my greatest weakness - public speaking in Croatian - would be exposed, I didn’t expect to be pushed to any particular extreme.  Throughout the camp I felt even more sure that this training would pass without any major challenge. In comparison with the flood-like conditions and my lack of experience last year, this year’s added experience plus perfect weather and the number of leaders supporting our effort, convinced me that this w...

It's been a long time since I blogged about the cultural differences between Croatia and America. Most likely, I won't start up again with any regularity. But when I watched this video of a certain Bostonian response to all the snow this year, I was shocked. Simply put, Croats, for many reasons, would not jump out of their windows into the snow with just their swimwear on. What causes so many Bostonians to do so? And Croats, why would this never be a thing in Croatia?