Learning about the river

According to a legend dating back to the 1800s, a rabbi created the Golem–a mythical monster–out of mud from the Vltava River banks in Czech Republic to protect Prague’s Jewish community when anti-Semitism was at a peak. The emperor of the time begged for the Golem to be decommissioned, so the rabbi had it sent to the attic of the Old New Synagogue (yes, that’s really its name) in Prague’s Jewish Quarter. To this day the attic remains closed to the public.

Czechs love fairy tales. And I love learning about Czechs.

I admit it, I’m a research junkie. I’m the person who runs to Google when someone asks a question that no one within earshot seems to be able to answer. I get excited knowing a wealth of information–sometimes plainly useless yet intriguing facts–is only seconds away via my laptop and Internet browser.

While my quirky passion for learning may seem odd, it comes in hand when trying to engage other cultures. For instance, I’ve recently come to realize learning about a river—even stories about or including it—can help me share Christ with Czechs.

It’s called contextualization; learning about something–or someone–while considering its surroundings. Applied to missions, it’s obtaining an understanding of the people around you so you can effectively share the Gospel.

But what does that look like? Dr. Thom Wolf, who has educated countless individuals on how to understand their encircling culture and people group through his worldwide experiences with cross-cultural interaction, shares ideas of how to get to the heart of people through learning about their history and surroundings. One suggestion Wolf gives is looking at five crucial S’s of geography–streams, sands, seas, slopes and straits.

Wolf says every stream has a history about which you should learn. Sands are dry seas, while seas are wet sands–both are separators. Seek to discover what they are separating. Slopes are usually found in saddleback cities or populated areas on the sides of mountains, while straits are both stress and strategic points.

Applying the five geography S’s to a specific location, let’s look at Prague, Czech Republic (since I recently lived there and am admittedly partial). Like much of Europe, the city is rich in history and culture. Geographically, Czech Republic is a land-locked country, with Prague sitting in a valley a couple hours from the mountains. The country’s hills and open fields are lush and green in the spring and summer months, with one prominent stream running through it all.

The Vltava River flows north through the middle of Prague from its origin in southwest Czech Republic, and is known as the country’s national river. It drains the southern half of the country, and has played a factor in shaping the national capital.

Prague’s origin stretches back to 200 B.C. when Celts settled in the area. The city is said to have grown from the establishment of the Prague Castle, which looks down on the Vltava from above its western bank. Prague slowly grew around the river into its current form, receiving its name in part from the waters—praga, a Slavic root, means “ford” and refers to the city’s location at a place where people crossed the Vltava.

The river undoubtedly aided in the city becoming a hub for merchants to settle from all over Europe as early as 965. The Judith Bridge, built across the Vltava in 1172, was the first stone bridge to cross the river and the second of its kind in Central Europe. It collapsed in a 1342 flood, but Charles IV—known as the most beloved Czech king—began construction of the more popular and still-standing Charles Bridge in 1357. This aided in making Prague the main trade route between eastern and western Europe.

Today Prague remains the political, cultural and economic center of Czech Republic. The past meets the present as historic buildings and theaters dating back from the 1800s line the Vltava, which divides Prague’s Old Town from the Little or Lesser Quarter that surrounds the city’s castle.

According to Prague.net, the river “has inspired many world artists to glorious production” as it is just one of countless aspects of nature Czechs love (and worship). Bedřich Smetana, a Czech composer, created a 12-minute piece about the river in the 1870s.

While inspiring creativity, the Vltava has brought devastation—it regularly floods, forcing locals to regroup and sometimes start over with each disaster. In 2002 the river killed people and destroyed homes, businesses, the city zoo and the metro system.

Yet the river continues to draw large crowds from countless nations to the Charles Bridge to gaze at boats running tourists up and down its banks. On a sunny Sunday afternoon one can find both locals and internationals strolling along the river’s edges, playing in its islands’ parks or participating in water sports.

The Vltava is undoubtedly a central point in Prague and western Czech Republic, which means it’s central to the people I wish to engage. As random as it may seem, learning about this river helps me learn how to better share Christ with Czechs. Looking at these facts, I can see barriers to the Gospel through Prague citizens’ pride in being the center of their world—they’ve been doing fine without a God; through a worship of nature; and through a love of legends and not caring to search for real truth or possibly wanting to see the Truth as only another legend.

I didn’t touch on so much of Czech history that drastically affects the culture as it is today—for one, the impacts of World War II and communism on the country were tremendous. Some might even say the river, which affected the location of the city, impacted what the country endured during the war.

Yet even more than getting a kick out of discovering facts from articles or Web sites, I love interacting with people and getting their take on things. When considering cultural contextualization, your research isn’t complete until you take what you’ve learned from behind a computer or in a library and bring it into a conversation with a national—in my case, it would be sitting down with Czechs who live/have lived in Prague and asking their takes on how the river influences their culture. Doing this multiple times with people from different age groups will help give you more accurate information on the people you wish to engage.

While I’ve explored how contextualization applies to my international cultural experience, I’m curious to see how it looks when considering my current surroundings. How does it apply to you? What cultures are you trying to engage, whether they be so very different from or similar to your own? How do Wolf’s five S’s look when applied to your own situation?

Written by Natalie Kaspar. Natalie is a freelance writer for The Upstream Collective and lives in Texas. She served as a missionary writer based out of Prague, Czech Republic, from 2007-2009, and plans to return to full-time international mission work in a few years.