Closing Circles ...

As I prepared for the P28 Challenge on Sunday, January 31, 2010, the Lord told me to pray for "the Czech trip".  Although I didn't know what that meant and had a lot of questions, I obediently prayed for it every day for 28 days.

Long story short - by March 5, 2010 (33 days later!), the Lord had gift-wrapped a trip to Czech Republic and laid it in our laps!  It was complete with an itinerary, meetings planned, connections made, accommodations established, the cost completely covered (!) ... and all I'd done was pray in obedience.

Two months later we boarded a plane for Prague and started the journey of a lifetime!  We learned a lot about Czech Republic on that trip: history, culture, values ... and the extremity of the lostness.

It was the beginning of something for me - something from God, something he wouldn't come back to for 3 years, something he continues to do in me (in us).  He is faithful and promises "... he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:6)

One of the "markers" from that trip was meeting a missionary couple from Seattle.  They opened their home to us one night for a simple fee: sign their guest book.  We did so on May 7, 2010.

Little did we know that three years later (May 6, 2013) we would be visiting them again, staying in their home and paying that same simple fee!

Update: Although few and far between, we continue to meet pastors and their congregations (shepherds and their sheep) in CZ and believe we're beginning to see God's call for us here - to encourage his shepherds as they feed His sheep.  Please pray with us as we serve the Body of Christ in CZ ...

Our Travel in April!

What an amazing month we've had!  With little to no planning, we continue to discover more and more things in CZ - things ministry-related, culture-related and even location-related.  I'd love to share a few things location-related ...

Venturing out further and further in and around Pardubice, the city, as well as Pardubice, the region, we're in awe of stuff all around us.  Yesterday we took an 'unplanned' bike tour (we're becoming so European!) of some villages outside of town and discovered some awesome countryside!

For example, Kunetice is a small, quiet farming village about 6 km outside the city ... which also happens to be home to the Kunetice Mountain Castle!!

According to Wikipedia, "the castle played an important role during the Hussite Wars of the early 15th century, during which it was a fortress of Divis Borek of Miletinek"!

(The picture to the left is our 'bike tour' pic of the castle!)

(Below is an aerial view from Wikipedia.)

Being located in the heart of Europe gives us opportunity to venture out even farther and Vienna, Austria was our first European destination!

Initial long-term visa applications must be submitted from outside CZ ... and Vienna is outside CZ!  It's such a beautiful city (and we didn't even have our cameras for some of the best pictures!).

Returning from Vienna, we were able to connect with an American friend whom the Lord has used in big ways to help get us to CZ.  We met him and a new Czech friend in Brno which began another amazing weekend of fellowship and meeting new people!

With all this traveling around, I thought it would be a good idea to develop a map to keep better track of where the Lord has taken us:

Praise God for His provision and direction!
"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.  And his commandments are not burdensome."
(1 John 5:2-3)

Gift-wrapped blessing!

Over the last 7 years the Lord has gift-wrapped the most amazing ministry opportunities and just laid them in our lap: decision counseling, marriage mentoring, discipleship, short-term missions and now full-time ministry.           It's been amazing!

And now that we're here, it looks like He plans to continue providing these gift-wrapped opportunities! Here's the story of the latest blessing from God:

With no planning of our own, we spent this past weekend helping put on an    English Camp for 27 kids from three different children's homes in CZ!

Now when you hear "children's home", don't think 'orphanage'.  These kids aren't orphans - they have parents, but their parents either can't or won't care for them.  So they are temporarily surrendered to the state, then taken back from time to time (maybe) only to be sent back again!  It seems to me that these kids have less stability than orphans!

So we were blessed this weekend to meet these guys and girls (ages 8-20) and quickly get to know them through fun classes and games intended to help them hone their English skills, no matter what level they may be.  It was a real honor and privilege to be a part of their lives ... even if it was only for a weekend.  But, Lord willing, there may be more opportunities for us (... and there could be for you, too)!

The best part?  The gospel was carefully but authentically presented to these guys throughout the weekend!  And although the homes are secular, they didn't seem to have a problem with the Truth being shared.  In fact, they each expressed a desire to bring the kids back this summer!!

Praise God for His gift-wrapped opportunity to live out James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction ..."

We Have Arrived!

It seems crazy to me that I'm sitting in a furnished house in Pardubice, Czech Republic, with a rolling fire, a refrigerator full of food and servant-hearted people just a phone call away if needed ... and snow!! How in the world did I get here?

Last month's post mentioned a 2006 "stirring" for missions. Let me share just a few details about that:

• God initially told Sheri about this call to missions.
• He told her we would "live out our faith" in the Czech Republic.
• He told her we would live in a city starting with "P"!  (no kidding!)
• And, He told her that I wouldn't retire from my job ...

Now I don't know about you, but I wasn't all that receptive when she came to me, 15 years into my expected 25-year career with the State of Mississippi, to tell me the Lord is going to call us into full-time missions ... in 5 years!

Well, the next 7 years are God-ordained history now, and as a result, here I sit ... amazed!  The absolute bottom line?  God is faithful to His Word!

Four days into living out God's call in CZ and everything is going well so far.  We even made our way to Hradec Kralove for Easter service at Sion Church last Sunday!  Check out the video of praise in the Czech language below!

We're so excited to be here for many reasons, but mainly because this is exactly where God wants us! He's been preparing us for this for years now ...

The Countdown Is On!

It's been a great 8 months back in the states and the Lord has been opening doors of opportunity for us to  share our faith, be a part of one-on-one discipleship with people and marriage mentor some sweet couples since arriving last June.

... and the whole time He's also been moving us toward the "next chapter" of our lives: living out our faith in the Czech Republic!

Czech Republic will be the culmination of work the Lord started almost 7 years ago:

• beginning with a planted "stirring" for missions in 2006.
• taking root through short-term trips to Kenya, Czech Republic and Dubai from 2008-2010.
• growing through full-time mission work in Dubai in 2011-2012.
• maturing for harvest over the past 8 months in the USA.

Lord willing, we leave on March 29, 2013!!

About Czech Republic:

Located in the heart of Europe, it's among the most beautiful places we've ever been!  The capitol city of Prague has some of the most amazing historical architecture in the world dating back hundreds of years.

It's a small country (only about 2/3 the size of Mississippi) with a population of over 10 million people.

Czech people are a unique group of folks, having been through a lot over the past century.  Going from a time of great prosperity in the early 1900's, they were subject to Nazi occupation in the 40's and then forced into Communism from the late-40's until 1989.

As a result, they can be a little leery of foreigners.  But the biggest consequence?  99% of the population is atheist or agnostic.  99%!

Our Vision:

• With a passion for God's glory in marriages, we want to be a model of biblical principles that mirror our relationship with Jesus Christ as a witness to the people of Czech Republic.
• English is a valued commodity among the Czech people and we want to offer conversational English classes as a means to share the gospel.
• We will be joining a group that currently teaches English as a Second Language to reach people with the Truth.
• We hope to build current relationship with Moravian Church friends to strengthen and encourage the Body of Christ in Czech Republic!

Please pray with us!