About
We are Jonny and Lisa Lobel, American missionaries and teachers in Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Czech Republic. We have lived here together since January 2008, when we got married. We are very excited about giving Czech students a chance to connect with Jesus Christ. To that end, Jonny has been teaching at Beskydy Mountain Academy since September 2006. Lisa teaches at primary school in a neighboring town. We both actively participate in our local Czech church.
We met in sixth grade at Christian Heritage Academy in the north suburbs of Chicago and definitely had a crush on each other. Jonny moved with his family to Albany, NY the near year, but kept in touch with our sixth grade teacher, Paul Till. Years later, Jonny visited Mr. Till and his family in the Czech Republic and got interested in the new school project Beskydy Mountain Academy. Ironically, he got it touch with Lisa again a while later through Facebook and we started writing emails. Now we are married and work with Mr. Till at BMA.
Jonny completed an M.Sc. in Information Technology in Education at Trinity College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland in 2007, as well as an M.S. and a B.S. in Information Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 2004. At BMA, he now directs the technology curriculum, contributes to English teaching, functions as a class guidance counselor, organizes SAT and TOEFL preparation courses, and assists students with overseas university applications. He also organizes many of the extracurricular events at BMA, including an English language Bible study, excursions, baseball and soccer games, and cheese parties.
Lisa completed a B.A. at Bethel University in Marketing in 2006. A coffee enthusiast, she worked at Starbucks Coffee in Glenview, IL before joining Jonny in Frýdlant. She now teaches at Galileo, a private primary school in the next large town, Frýdek-Místek.
We live in the middle of Frýdlant, not far from the town square. We own a communist era 1974 Škoda 110, but mostly walk and take the train to get around. We are delighted with the growth of our local Czech church, which is the only evangelical church in town! When we get the chance, we love to go exploring in our new country and surroundings. On the weekends, you might find us lounging at a café, trying new recipes, watching good movies, hurling snowballs at unsuspecting students, playing musical instruments, hiking, and skyping with family and friends. Jonny loves RPI hockey, Irish rugby, and the Boston Red Sox. Lisa cheers for the Chicago Cubs.