Christmas parties!

This week at Skalka we had a Christmas party for each of our classes, clubs and activities! It was quite a lot of celebration...(six parties for me this week, in all.) :)

Praise God that many of the students came to celebrate even though this is a busy time of year for everyone.

At each of the parties our church leader, Mark, came to play the guitar and lead carols in Czech and in English. It was a lovely time. The classroom was decorated with a pointsettia theme and we lit candles and an advent wreath for the singing. What a delight to get to sing true songs about the birth of our Lord Jesus together with the students!

Everyone was invited to bring "vanocni susenky" (Christmas sweets) to share. There were sooo many cookies! People take their Christmas cookie baking very seriously here it seems. There were so many varieties. It seemed that each family made at least three or four different kinds of cookies...some made more than seven. Wow.

I enjoyed sharing some of my favorite "traditional American sweets" with the students as well (including Mexican Wedding Cakes/Russian tea cakes)

The best part was that at each of the parties the students who were there got to hear the Christmas story from the Bible! Yay!

Oh, let us pray that the truth of these words that they heard would really touch their hearts. Please pray with me that Christmas would be more than a time to clean house, eat carp fish, make potato salad, see family members and sing carols...those things are nice, but JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! Please pray with me that as the students reflect on the meaning of the songs that they sing and the scripture readings that they heard that their hearts would be opened to see their need to accept the Lord Jesus as their true SAVIOR! Thank you. :)

Christmas markets!

The Christmas markets are open here in Prague!

Oh they are so beautiful!

In many of the squares the Christmas markets have been open since the beginning of December for tourists and locals to enjoy.

There is such a festive atmosphere! Some of the markets have live Christmas music and dance performances and a person can hear carols being played all around.

The stalls are full of wonderful and interesting things to admire.

There are craft stalls with things like traditional Christmas ornaments (made from straw, wood and glass.) There are jewlery stalls and booths selling painings and photography. There are booths with wooden toys for children and other fancy gifts to purchase!

Then there are the food stalls! There is such a variety of traditional festival food that is for sale! Roasted chestnuts, fancily decorated gingerbread cookies (Pernik) which hang on a string that children wear around their necks, mulled wine, langos (a fried dough topped with garlic, ketchup and cheese, mmmm!), trdelnik (a dough that is wrapped around a long pole that turns over a fire until it is baked and then is rolled in cinnamon and sugar), coffee and horka chocolada (which is like really creamy hot cocoa) and many other delicacies! So wonderful and exciting to smell all of the aromas and enjoy the festive spirit!

Let us pray that as the Czech people come together to celebrate that the season will be more than just fun traditions and festive moods. "Lord, as the Czech people hear the carols with the lyrics that tell about your birth, please open the eyes of their hearts to believe that You are more than just a baby in a manger who comes to bring them their Christmas presents. Lord, help them to see that You are the SAVIOR of the world. That you came to earth to live a perfect life and die for us as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Help us adore you for your love for us and for what you did for us. In Your holy name we pray. Amen."

Refugees from Myanmar-Connection with Bethlehem Baptist!

The other day I had the opportunity to go with some friends to a Christmas party/prayer gathering in Brno, Czech Republic. The event was hosted by a group of refugees from Myanmar. They have been here in the Czech Republic for about a year and it seems that they have been having a difficult time here so far.

In the fall I had the opportunity to talk with one of the girls from Myanmar, Hparat. She is studying English here in Prague at Charles University now and is very articulate.

It turns out that there is an incredilbe connection between us! In the 1860's a missionary from Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my church) went to Myanmar to bring the gospel to her people! Her people received the gospel message and have been believers ever since! Neat! In fact, Hparat's father is now one of the main pastors in their area. Plus, when visitors from Bethlehem went to Myanmar to visit, Hparat was the one who gave them the tour of their area! Wow. What a small world. God is so cool to connect us in special ways like this.

The situation in Myanmar is very difficult right now, however. Every 50 years the bamboo trees grow a special kind of flower. Apparently, the rats in the area like to eat this flower and when they do, the rats proliferate profusely. So, currently there is a plague of rats in Hparat's community in Myanmar. Sad! This infestation has caused a famine in the area because the rats eat all of the food supplies...can you imagine it?? I saw pictures of the buckets of dead rats that had been killed. Disgusting...

Praise the Lord that some of the people have been able to escape to other contries. Praise God that other countries like the Czech Republic have been willing to take them in. However, things have not been easy for the people after they arrived here. First, they were in a refugee camp for many months. They began to learn the language and were introduced to the Czech culture, but it is very different from their own culture that they are used to.

The people that we talked to at the prayer event said that they were used to living in a close-knit community. But, here the families are separated into different areas around the region so they are not able to see each other very often.

I was so blessed to get to hear the youth from Myanmar singing worship at the prayer event! It was so precious to hear them singing songs with familiar worship tunes in their native language (and in Czech and English!)

Will you please pray with me that the Lord will continue to provide for the people of Myanmar? Please pray that the Lord will bring peace to the political situation in the country, that the famine will cease, that the plague of rats will end, that the Christians will stop being persecuted, that the drug problem will stop, that the immigrants will be able to adjust to their new cultures and languages well and that the joy of the Lord will continue to be the strength of the people as they live their lives in service to our God?! Thank you.

Worship night and craft gathering

Hello friends!
Thank you for your prayers for the worship night that we hosted at our church a few weeks ago. It was wonderful. Our leader Mark prepared a good program with scripture readings and everything. It was really nice and we had a good turn out. It was so wonderful to get to be able to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit and praise His name!

I think that the Lord heard our prayers that night too, because the next evening we had a craft night at church as an outreach event for the ladies in the community. It was a record turn out! God really blessed us. It was neat to see mothers and kids enjoying themselves and socializing together as they decorated lovely silk scarves and ties.

We hope that events like these will help the people in the community begin to get connected with our church. That they will feel welcome and that they will be interested to learn more about the Lord, our God who gives us hope and who gives us all things! Please pray with us that the ladies who came will have open hearts to listen to the Holy Spirit and that they will want to come again!

Christmas

Today I had a difficult revelation-my "question of the day" for the
beginning of class this week has been "what is your favorite Christmas
tradition."

As I listened to each student describe what they do to
celebrate Christmas, which has taken several hours all together by now,
I was SAD to realize that only two of the students mentioned going to
church at all as part of their Christmas tradition (one just went to light candles)! Oh my!!!

Seriously, you guys. This is a TRAGEDY! Not to know the meaning of Christmas.
These people, my students, don't even TRY to worship their creator and redeemer on the day that we celebrate His birth! The horror of it is still striking me,
I think...I mean, seriously...in America, at least MOST people make
SOME sort of effort to go to church, to be in the presence of the one
who made them!!! But here, the focus was on making potato salad and
eating carp fish. Seriously. They talked on and on about Christmas
traditions that did NOT focus on Jesus or his birth. Indifference to God is awful.

People, please, please, please pray for the Czech people!!! They believe sooo many lies from the pit of hell, you guys. I mean, for example, the parents tell their children that "baby Jesus" brings them their presents under the tree...well this is
probably a step up from Santa Claus, that is what their image of the
most high GOD of HEAVEN remains, you guys! Most people connect "baby
Jesus" with Christianity, which makes him little more than a fictional
storybook character along the lines of Santa Claus!! Sad news, you
guys. The Czech people are being really deceived and they're falling
for it.

Please, please pray that the Lord will open the eyes of their
hearts, that they will WANT to search for the TRUTH from the carols
that they do sing about (some of which mention the Christ child).
Please pray that the Czechs will WONDER what Christmas is really
about, that they will care to think about their need for a Savior!

Please pray with me. I can share the truth over and again, but unless
the Lord removes the veil from their eyes, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO SEE!!

I'm weak, we're weak, but He is strong. Please pray that the Lord
will restore the TRUE meaning of Christmas and that He will receive
glory during this Christmas season here in Prague.

Revelation! Light and truth! :)

I was not happy because I was not praising or thanking God!!! God is GOOD! If I am not thinking about good things, then I am thinking about evil things. The truth becomes cloudy/foggy. I may still believe that the truth is there, but if I am not LOOKING at it with an open and thankful heart then I am BLIND to see it, understand it or appreciate it.

Let us pray for ourselves and for each other that the Lord would continue to remove the barriers of unthankfulness that cause spiritual blindness. "Lord, please help us SEE and be THANKFUL for the gifts that You provide for us EVERY DAY! Oh that we would take the time to repent and offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to GOd our Father in heaven! In Jesus' holy name, Amen."

Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

Please pray that people will claim victory in Christ!

One of my co-workers is taking a compartive religions class here in Prague this year. The class is taught by a Christian professor, but one of the requirements is to go on study trips to learn about other religions.

Last weekend my co-worker's class went on one of these trips. The day began at a "church" in which teachings were taken from the Bible but also from Buddhist documents or any other sources. After lunch the students met with someone who worships the Greek "goddess" Diana...I didn't know that these type of worshippers still existed in the world today, let alone in Prague.

The most disturbing event was saved for last. The group went to meet with a Satanist. Yes, that is right...a self-proclaimed worshipper of the Devil. That is the deepest form of evil possible! Plus, the regular meetings take place in an elementary school!

Oh pray with me that this evil will be put to an end. That the students who attend that school will be guarded from the evil one. "Dear Lord, please help us fight against the enemy the devil and stand up for your truth!!"

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
-Romans 8:35,37-39

Please pray for hope this Christmas

Can you imagine a person saying "I hate Christmas" and really meaning it?? Sad, right? Well, imagine the thought of a hopeless Christmas-one that is devoid of rejoicing in the truth of the celebration-that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins. Instead Christmas here in the Czech Republic has become a hope-less affair. Oh pray for hope for these people.

Did you know that it has been reported that Christmas is the season when most people commit suicide in this country?! Tragedy! Awful. I have heard that instead of experiencing the joy of giving, some people think of the financial burden of having to buy presents. They can't afford to buy much and so they buy presents that don't mean much to the receiver. Then they receive the same sort of gift in return. Then they proceed to go to a party and get drunk for the rest of the evening! What a sad state of affairs!

"Oh dear Lord Jesus! Please come, Lord. Please change the hearts of the people in this city and in this country. Oh Lord. Let them know the JOY of being in your presence, the joy of worshipping You! Father God. You made these people. You know them. Lord. Please, please don't let them keep dwelling in the darkness of their sin! Oh Holy Spirit, please come down. Please open the eyes of the people here. Help them to see you as glorious. Lord, help them to desire to be with YOU! Lord, You are the most glorious! Look what we are turning to-valuing alcohol and commercialism over TRUTH, over LIFE (new life in YOU!) Father God. Please won't you allow people to see the gift of Your son as precious, beautiful, lovely, holy and worthy of PRAISE!!! Dear Lord God, please fill our hearts with your love this Christmas. Take away the desire for anything else. Come Lord. Help Lord. We are lost without You. We are hopeless and helpless without you. Thank you that You are near Holy Spirit. Please fill us all with Your Holy Presence this Christmas season. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Mercy

You may wonder why I haven't written much since I got here to Prague. I was hiding. I was pretending that everything was okay. It wasn't okay. It was hard!!! I have never felt so lonely. It was an awful feeling to not know who I could trust, not know who to turn to. I tried to turn to other things (pleasures of the world) that seemed familiar to me to satisfy me. I tried to enjoy jogging or eating desserts. But I was still not right with God. Here I was teaching great truths from the Bible...but my students' faces were veiled...How could their eyes be opened if I wasn't even standing on the truths that the Lord had given me myself!? What a sad time. I was scared to tell anyone how scared and helpless, lost and alone I felt. I tried to deal with it on my own. Tried to put on a happy face and just keep living. Hmmm, bad idea. Can't hide from God! He knows ALL.

One night in my lonesomeness I tried to listen to Hillsong worship music on the internet. It was a huge concert and there were hundreds of people there. Unfortunately instead of feeling like I was participating in the worship, I began to see my hardness of heart. I felt that I was outside looking in! Instead of being part of the family of God praising Him, I saw how I had let doubt and fear overwhelm me so much that I was separated from the whole worshiping group! Deep in my heart I wanted to be let back in! I had to admit it...on my own, I didn't really want it. On my own I am rebellious. On my own I had been preferring to doubt everything. Why? Because I cared more about what the people around me thought than about the truth! Sad to say.

The Lord continued to wake me up. An opportunity was presented for me to go on a return trip to Ireland where I studied abroad in 2005 and where I became a Christian for the first time. I wasn't sure if I could afford the trip, but I sensed that I could go, so I stepped out in faith. By His grace the Lord provided for the whole entire trip! What lavish grace He has for us! What abundant awesome LOVE!!!! Here I was-an awful sinner who was convinced in her pride that she could do it alone, that she could make it through alone, that if she just worked harder and was "better" then God would be pleased (such a Pharisee! Trying to live by the law!)

But God had better plans for me...In His love here are some of the things that He taught me in Ireland: He showed me that Ireland had remained a beautiful place. He had held it together there without me!! I didn't have anything to do with that place for almost five years, but God had continued to take care of it, improve it, change it. He holds all things together...Plus, I realized that things that used to scare me when I used to live there for a semester were no longer frightening. God had been teaching me! He had been working in my heart to give me peace and rest in certain circumstances. Additionally, my good friends loved on me! Oh my. What a blessing to be treated with kindness, grace and hospitality when I knew in my heart that I deserved only punishment for the way that I had been living. I am talking lavish grace here people! Not only were my flight tickets paid for in full, but accommodations (including the hostel we stayed at), and lots of the meals we enjoyed were paid for by my very dear and very generous Christian friends! What!? This doesn't make any sense!! Why would the Lord treat me with this undeserved kindness after the way that I had been acting toward Him?! Oh praise Him. Thank God that there is a better way to live!

Let me tell you it is no fun to try to live by the law. My life had become a ritual of "rules" that I had made up for myself. Maybe some habits are healthy, but these had become obsessive. I mean, like I told myself "if I don't do wall-sits every day then that is bad." Kind of ridiculous. Nowhere in the Bible does it talk about needing to have a perfect body in order to love and serve the Lord! I think that because things felt so uncertain and out of control all around me (especially with the added challenge of living amidst people speaking a foreign language) I had tried to organize my life to try to keep myself "safe" and "protected."

But God is our fortress, our Rock and our Deliverer! HE is our ever-present help in time of need! In my pride, I tried to hide my troubles from God. How foolish. I needed HELP!! (Maybe I didn't want to admit that I wasn't a super-missionary because I feared losing "support" from people.) Whatever the reason, my life was spinning out of my control.

I read a passage on the plane ride back to the Czech Republic. It was about trusting the Lord with all of your heart and leaning not on your own understanding. It says in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight! (Proverbs 3:5-6) AMEN! That was a verse that had been given to me in Ireland when I first became a believer...but for some reason I had not been holding it to be true for myself anymore. Why oh why did I think that I was more trustworthy than the God of the Universe who made me!? Foolish, foolish child!

God is so good. He takes me back. He holds me to His chest. He tells me that I am His!

Why don't I seek Him first!? Why do I try to go running off on my own?? What do I have to prove????! I'm nothing without Him. I am really learning this now. I mean, I have said that before. But now I KNOW it is true! It is true for me! When there seems to be no one else in the world who I can turn to or trust, God is there! God is Here! God is here NOW! He is with me all of the time and He loves me and He cares for me and He provides for me and He is good!

We "believers" have a choice...we must be careful now...Ask yourself: "Kate, who are you really trusting TODAY for your salvation??" Is it your "good" works?? or is it the LORD JESUS?

As for me, I don't want to go on pretending!! I am not righteous on my own! I don't want to just put on a "happy face" and say "yes, I'm fine." "NO, I'M NOT FINE!!" I am a dirty, rotten, awful, messed up SINNER!!! That is who I am! AND! I have a God in Heaven, my FATHER! He loves me amazingly. He SEES ALL of my sin (even all of the sins that I was trying so hard to hide) and He loves me. He sees my sin and He forgives me!!!

Now, "how is this possible?" you might ask. Well, I'll tell you. It's a miracle of GOD! He sent His only son JESUS CHRIST to be MY Savior! Praise God! And Jesus died once on the cross 2000+ years ago for ME, for MY SIN!

YES! It is true. It is true. Believe it all you people! Please hear me when I say that God is good! That God loves you ridiculously!

It seems incredible, doesn't it-that while we were YET SINNERS Jesus died for us?!

There was No THING good about Me. I was trying to run. I was trying to hide from God and live apart from Him in the darkness of the sin. Awful.

But God is loving. He is the Good Shepherd. I am His sheep. Stupid, dumb little sheep! Getting lost all of the time, wandering out of the pen, wandering into trouble, getting herself hurt and beat up by bullies who lie to her and scar her heart. Poor little wounded heart. Who can heal it???

JESUS CAN! The blood of Jesus covers all wounds. Nothing is impossible for God.

I tried in my own strength to make myself better, to make myself look "better" and "more pleasing" to God or to the world...I FAILED!!! I COULDN'T.

Oh what a hard truth for me to have to learn. ...Now I pray that the Lord in His goodness will keep me from myself.

Oh how I hate the Devil, the author of the lies that I had been believing. Now this devil is a crafty one. He puts people in one's life who seem harmless and trustable...BE WARNED! Oh, be warned. The devil prowls about like a lion seeking to kill and to destroy! Not only our bodies people, the evil, sinful devil wants our SOULS most of all! He hates us. He hates us because we are made in the image and likeness of God. God is glorious and the devil spurned God and turned away from Him in his wickedness, trying to be more powerful than the Creator of all things who loved him and made him. What a foolish devil. Now the devil knows that he will be suffering his punishment forever in eternity for the evil that he has done and is doing-for the terrible crimes and offenses that he caused and is causing every day against our Loving, Protecting SAVIOR, FATHER and FRIEND! And so the devil, in his bitterness, would like nothing better than to take us all right down to hell with him!

The world is, in fact, under the devil's control at this moment. He is the prince of the power of the air. People are believing his lies left and right as you can see from the evidence of the damage inflicted on peoples' lives all across the globe!

This isn't normal!!!! This should not be! We might say that a loving God would not permit this, that this isn't the evidence of love that we want to see. But, indeed it is people. God is loving, but He is also just. He must punish us for our sins. Indeed we are sinners. Apart from Him we don't even WANT to stop sinning!! In fact, the world likes living in sin. They actually ENJOY it! That is why they don't want to turn away, to turn back to God-because the sin that is in front of their eyes has blinded them.

Is there a cure? Yes. God is Sovereign. God is in control of this situation. He knows. He knows all. He knows every pain, hurt and tear. He cares. He cares very much!!

THAT IS WHY HE SENT JESUS TO DIE FOR US!!!

That is the most LOVING thing that He could do, you see!

We people are separated from God at birth by our sin. There is NO WAY that we can earn our "right" to enter His presence again. In fact, there is a GREAT debt against us. A huge debt that we could never, never repay. Just imagine...if God counted up ALL of our sins from the time of our birth. Lying, stealing, lusting, taking His name in vain, just to name a few...how MANY SINS there would be! Innumerable, almost? Well, God knows the number. He knows everything, even the number of hairs on YOUR head are counted!

So, what can be done to remedy this situation? God can NOT just allow all people, all of us sinful people to come freely back into His holy presence! No! No, no, no!! He is HOLY! THE MOST HOLY!!!

God in heaven can not tolerate ANY sin. Not one sin/offense can enter His Holy presence.

Jesus is God.

Jesus is Holy.

God sent Him to earth to become sin for us.

Jesus NEVER sinned!

It is amazing! He was fully man and fully God and yet he NEVER sinned!! Praise the Lord! Seriously, this would be impossible for anyone but GOD. Think of all of the temptations that we face every day...but JESUS NEVER gave in to ANY of them!!!!? Wow. Yes, wow. What power and self-control He has. We can pray that He will give us such self-control as well!

And now, about the problem of sin and evil. Well, Jesus Christ is completely holy. He is completely human and completely God. That makes Him the perfect SACRIFICE to die for our sins.

Remember in the Old Testament where the Jewish people had to bring animal sacrifices to the priest at the temple WHENEVER they sinned?! (Just to think how many animals I would need...a very large number...) Well, Jesus Christ is the NEW COVENANT. HE is the LAMB of God who was slain to take away the sins of the world.

Through Him alone do we have mercy. Now with this New Covenant in his blood, we NO LONGER have to take a ram, sheep or goat to the temple when we sin! Jesus died for us

ONCE AND FOR ALL!!

God DID NOT send more than one Savior!

Jesus IS the SAVIOR!

We don't need to wait any more (JEWS)...Jesus is HERE NOW!

HE is ALIVE and He is living well in me!!

Praise God for the good work that He has done for us.

He did not have to send one Savior to Africa, another to South America, another to Europe.

Jesus Christ's sacrifice was enough for ALL men during ALL time (before and after his lifespan on earth.)

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last the Beginning and the End.

He wants you to BELIEVE in His power over the devil, over sin, over the sin in your life!

He is victorious! The enemy HAS BEEN DEFEATED! Death can't hold you down! Jesus Christ is triumphant! Let us celebrate! Let us start today praising and thanking our GOOD LORD for all that He has done and for all that He has yet to do to draw His people to Himself.

We are His, the sheep of His pasture. If we seek Him with all of our hearts, we will find Him. Start seeking today! You won't be disappointed. God is real and He loves YOU very much. He made YOU and He wants YOU to be with Him and worship Him in this world and in the next! Believe it! This is the Good News of the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Please pray! Worship night!

Hello all!

I hope that you are having a good November so far.

I have a special prayer request this week for you!



Would you please join me in praying for an upcoming event that will
take place at our church here in Prague?

This Friday night (November 20) we will have...

A WORSHIP NIGHT!!
(Večer chval v angličtině!)
Yay!



Worship is so important... That is what we were made to do! :)

"You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and
swear by His name."
Deuteronomy 6:13

"Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor."
1 Chronicles 16:29


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p2yreN9jn8
Chris Tomlin - Made To Worship


Thank God that we have the opportunity to praise the Lord our Creator
every day for who He is and what He has done for us by giving us new
life through Jesus Christ our Lord!



Please pray with us:

-In thanksgiving that we can worship freely in this place. Tomorrow
is a holiday celebrating 20 years of political FREEDOM in the Czech
Republic...now let's pray for SPIRITUAL freedom!!!

-That the Holy Spirit will join us
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
-Mt. 18:20

-That people will come with repentant hearts

-That we will glorify God with our praise and thanksgiving
"Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing."
-Psalm 100:2

-That people would know God's mercy, love and forgiveness.
"...The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin..."
Exodus 34:6-7


-That hearts would be renewed

-For REVIVAL!!!



Thanks so much dear friends.

It's a battle and JESUS has already won! Praise Him that we can join
with Him in the victory. He is victorious! Let us glorify Him!!


"He must increase, but I must decrease." -John 3:30

Autumn in Prague!

Hi friends!

How are you doing? I hope that you have been having a nice autumn so far.

Here is an update from Kate!

I arrived to Prague in the end of June. I'm planning to serve here in the Czech Republic for one year and I'm working at the C.B. church in the Skalka area in Prague.

One of the church’s outreaches is providing English classes in our community. Each class period is 90 minutes long and includes an English lesson and a Bible lesson. Classes started in September. I have enjoyed getting to know my students during the first month that we have been together. Altogether over ninety students have signed up for the English classes already!

In July our church hosted an English Camp outreach in the mountains North of Prague. Over 100 Czech people attended these camps and had an opportunity to hear the Gospel.

In August I received a scholarship to attend a Czech language coursefor one month. It was a
wonderful opportunity. There were over 70 students from five continents. We studied Czech and went onexcursions around the area. I am continuting to study the language now that I am back here in Prague.

In addition to English classes our many other activities have also begun at C.B. Skalka this fall. These include mothers' club, kid's club, teen club, Bible study, young adult group, book club, womens' craft events, baseball club, Alpha course, a tea room and a group for elderly people in the community.

Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to work in the Czech peoples' hearts and that they will hear the truth and come to love Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

Thank you for your support!

In Christ,
Kate

Pictures!

Hello all!

Here are some pictures from the time that I have spent in the Czech Republic so far... including photos from the three English camps and also from the Czech camp that I received a full-scholarship to be able to attend in Dobruska, CZ during the month of August.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=12jxhed1.aapui4h1&x=0&y=-qdgfbp&localeid=en_US

Thank you,
Kate

Dobruska 2009!

Hello dear friends,



I hope that you have been having a good summer. It's almost Labor Day...wow. What have you been up to lately?



Here is an update about how God has been working in my life and what I have been doing since English camp ended.



During the month of August I had the opportunity to go to the town of Dobruska, CZ for a month of intensive Czech language camp. It was a wonderful opportunity, especially because the entire experience (books, food, lodging, excursions and classes) were all paid for through a full-scholarship! Praise the Lord.



The course was for "Czech compatriots" who were mostly people who live in other countries whose parents had emigrated from the Czech Republic. There were about 70 students from 35 countries at the camp!! What a neat experience.



We took classes at the Charles University study center in Dobruska. It was quite a wonderful facility. There were dorm-style bedrooms, classrooms, common areas, a large multi-purpose room for activities and a computer room. We could even rent bikes!



Each morning we had breakfast in the main dining room. The had European-style breakfast options such as meat, cheese and bread as well as pastries, cereal and museli (which I preferred).



At 8:05 am morning classes began. The students were divided into classes at six levels. I got to be in the second level. Some of the advanced students were quite fluent in the language because they had grown up speaking Czech at home with their families and were participating in the course to learn more about grammar, reading and writing.



My classmates were interesting. There were 12 students in our class all together. I sat next to a girl named Gili from Israel. She was 13 years old...the youngest student in our camp! She came with her father and her grandmother who were also studying in other classes. Pani Magda, her grandmother, was 90 years old and was continuing to learn the langauge. Amazing. She had grown up in the Czech Republic but had escaped to Israel after WWII. It was inspirational to see her participating and studying.



The other students in my class were from many other places-USA, Germany, England, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil and Moldova! Wow. What a neat group of people. Some of the students in my class were a little bit more advanced than me-partly because their native languages (like Russian) are much closer to Czech than English is. So, when the teacher would ask a question in Czech, some of the students could respond quite fluently, whereas I spent quite a bit of time looking things up in my dictionary. I learned quite a bit of new vocabulary though! :)



My teacher Milena spoke only Czech in class! This was a challenge for me. I had been studying Czech at the Sokol Hall in St. Paul, MN for the past year, but our classes were taught mostly in English. I struggled at first to be able to follow the teacher's instructions, but gradually I became more comfortable with listening to the language. Milena also spoke Russian and German, which allowed some of the students to ask questions directly...but if I wanted to ask a question, it was more complicated because I would have to look up most of the words in my dictionary, haha!



Czech is a complicated language. There are three tenses. But, the complicated part is that there are seven cases within the tenses. This means that there can be up to seven different different endings for a word depending on how it is being used in the sentence (as well as different endings for number and gender of the word.)



I was glad that our couse also included cultural information about the Czech Republic. We had lessons in history, music, art and geography during the course of the month. Our morning classes went from 8:05-12:15 every day.



For lunch we were able to go to the local school cafeteria. Each of us was given a card to use to choose one of three menu options. The choices usually included chicken or pork and a starch such as potatoes, pasta, dumplings or rice. There were different types of sauces for the meals. One of my favorites was the dill sauce. After a few days I determined that the salad option would be a better choice for me. :) Bread, soup and some type of dessert were also available at each meal.



One thing that I had to get used to was the fact that restaurants do not offer normal tap water to thier customers. A person either has to bring their own beverage or pay for water. The typical type of water is "perliva" which is carbonated water. I definitely preferred the "neperliva" (non-carbonated) option. An interesting fact is that water often costs more than a bottle of beer here...



In the afternoons after lunch we had class from 2-3:30 pm. However, sometimes there were other activities to participate in instead such as tours of the local museum, nearby castles or other sights in the region.

Also in the afternoons when we didn't have other programs I had the chance to go running with a friend in the nearby woods. What a lovely time to get away, pray and experience the Lord's peace in the nature that He created! :)

Sometimes we got to go on all-day excursions to see interesting sights. Some of these included hiking to a WWII bunker, a trip to Prague to go to the Senate, and a trip to Hradec Kralove (a major city in the region).

In the evenings there were often other events such as ethnic dancing lessons! I was so glad to get to do Czech folk dancing since I grew up participating in a Czech dance group for 15 years when I was younger. :) Some of the teachers played the music for the dances. Some of it was the same music that I danced to when I was younger, but the dances were a bit different. We also played dancing games...my partner and I were the victors in one of the games- "polka musical chairs". :)

Another funny dancing game that was played was done with partners and apples...It was hilarious! If I ever get married I think that I would like to play it at my wedding, haha! In the game each couple was given an apple. They had to dance the polka while balancing the apple between their foreheads. Whichever couple kept their apple balanced the longest was the winner!



One of the highlights of the camp for me was the opportunity to get to listen to the other students' presentations of their countries in the Czech language during the "Evenings of the Nations." Students put together nice slideshows with pictures of their home countries. They showed major attractions, scenery and other parts of their local cultures. Some students even brought typical food to share (like spicy Mexican food, baklava from Syria and dulce de leche candies from Argentina), brought souveniers from their countries, wore typical folk dress, performed traditional songs in their native languages.



I was so interested to see the pictures of the Czech groups in many different places around the world. For example, some of the students from Argentina, Russia and Paraguay showed pictures of their local Czech groups...and the costumes, foods, and events looked quite familiar because our group at Sokol in Minnesota has similar local traditions! Sweet! How neat to be able to share a culture with people in so many places.



The schedule at the University was very full and there was not very much free time. In fact, the course director even scheduled classes and other activities on Sunday mornings. Thankfully they were flexible enough to allow me to go to church on Sundays anyway.



I was able to meet with local believers from the same church that I will be working with in Prague (Cirkev Braterska). It was neat. The first weekend that I met with them they were having a big service in the local cinema ("Kino") with believers from many of the churches around the region, which is something that they do once a month. It was neat to get to worship in Czech. Some of the music that we sang has the same tune as worship songs that I know in English, but the words are in Czech. It's cool!



On two other Sundays I was able to meet with the Dobruska C.B. church. It is a neat church-the pasor and his wife host the congregation in the first floor of their home and then they live in an apartment on the second floor with their new baby. It is a small group of worshippers, but they are faithful to meet together regularly and it sounds like their youth group is growing, which is a blessing. The pastor's sister was kind enough to translate the sermons from Czech into English for me during the services, which was such a blessing! I was happy to get to be able to participate in the singing, prayers and hear the testimonies.



Oh how lovely it is to be able to meet with fellowship with other believers. I was invited to go to the house of one of the families from the church after the service for lunch on two occasions. It was so great! The family lived outside of the town of Dobruska in a tiny little village. It was so picturesque and peaceful there. The family had a lovely garden and thier neighbors even had goats. :) It was so good to be able to spend time with a family and get to know them a little bit and just talk about wholesome things...



On the other hand, students at the language camp were not necessarily into such wholesomeness...many of them made lifestyle choices that involved going out to the bar and staying out until all hours of the night...it reminded me of unfortunate decisions that I had made earlier in my life...Praise God for His grace and mercy. The students would invite me to come along with them to the bar and thankfully, by the grace of God, I was able to say "no, thank you." It was hard for me though. I wanted to get to know the other students. But, I didn't want to live a worldly life that would take away from my witness for the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

I was saddened that it seemed that people were not interested in hearing about the Lord. What a contrast from English camp where people would listen with interest when talking about spiritual things. At camp in Dobruska when I tried to talk about spiritual things it seemed like there was a brick wall, that people were not interested, that they preferred living a life separate from the God who created them. :( ...it surely brought me to my knees... When I relized that I couldn't change hearts, I was reminded about the power of prayer...because that is the work of the Holy Spirit-to prepare the soil, to make people seek God, to make hearts turn from sin, to make people desire a relationship with the Lord. ..."Oh Lord, please prepare the way! Please prepare the soil, please allow them to desire a relationship with you...!"

I was also reminded that prayer and intercession are powerful ways to share Christ's love. I wanted to talk with people about the Lord, but I didn't want to go out partying with them because I didn't want to fall into sin, because I know that I am weak and because I wanted to spend time with the Lord instead of risking falling into temptation. If people are living lives apart from the Lord and making choices for their lives that would lead a believer into temptation, a believer can spend time praying for the person and trusting that the Lord will work in their heart and thus be guarded from temptation while still making a difference in the unbeliever's life through prayer!

How it must grieve our Lord to see the children that He has created turn to other things for their identity and enjoy things like drinking and partying more than fellowship with Him...It was sad for me to see the other students trying to get approval, attention and praise from their peers...I suppose that I do the same thing...oh let us pray that we will turn to God to know our identity. That we would fear God more than we fear man. That we would want God's approval more than the approval or attention from the people around us!!!



Praise God that when we are brokenhearted He is close to us. (Ps. 34:8) Praise God that God is our Father who comforts us in our troubles. (2 Cor. 1:3-4)



I had some time in the evenings to pray and talk with the Lord about these things...many questions were brought up for me about how to witness in such an environment. ...I felt alone at times. It was hard. But, thankfully, God is good and He draws near to us when we draw near to Him. I was able to meet with God in His word and feel His presence in new ways.


It is interesting...when a person feels attacked and isolated, they realize that the spiritual battle is real. It was a time for me to realize how much I need the Lord. How much I need Him to conquer my fears of man and protect me from the evil that is around in the world. God is faithful. We can rest in Him!



I was encouraged to see how the Lord answered my prayers too...I was feeling a bit discouraged because it seemed like I had not had that many opportunities to share the gospel during the time in Dobruska. So, I prayed and asked the Lord if He would provide an opportunity to share with three people before the camp ended and that He would allow a bigger work to begin in someone's heart-that there would be one lasting relationship that would come out of the time there. ...The next day the Lord answered that prayer! I was able to have a conversation with three people about faith...and I was able to invite two friends who were looking for a place to say to come and visit me in Prague for a few days after camp! Sweet!! God is good. :)



During the experience of feeling lonely at Dobruska, I was reminded how important fellowship is. What a blessing it is to be around like-minded believers...people who know that they have been forgiven, people who are wiling to be honest with each other, people who love God and want to please Him and live for Him, people who are fighting against Satan and the desires of the flesh!



Now that I am back in Prague I have one more week before I will start teaching classes. Every week I will teach five classes. Each class will be two hours long. The class will begin with one and a half hours of English and end with half an hour of Bible study. I am grateful to have this opportunity to share with people.



Would you please pray with me? I have been reminded about the evil that exists in the world, that there is a real battle going on-that Satan has his plans for people and that people are giving in to evil.

But the Lord our God has a better plan for each of us!! He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future!! (Jeremiah 29:11-13) Let us pray together that the people in my classes would come to know and love the Lord. That they will call out to Him. That they will desire to live in God's presence. That we will find our identity in Him alone. That we will seek His perfect and holy will for our lives. That in faith we will accept the grace that God offers to us through his son Jesus Christ!

Let us thank God for the good things that He gives us that remind us of His love for us. Praise God for the opportunity that I had to go to the Czech language camp, for the relationships that I was able to gain while I was there and the amazing things in the Czech Republic that God created that I was able to see!

Please pray for strength for me. For wisdom as I teach. For endurance and that I will lean on the Lord in the difficult times. Please pray for fellowship here-that the relationships with my teammmates and other believers would be holy and blessed and that we could encourage each other in faith.

Please pray that I would fear God more than man, that I would seek God's will. That I will listen to Him, trust Him and obey Him!



Thank you. I am so blessed to have supporters like you.



I hope that through the transitions that are happening in your lives you will find that the Lord is faithful, that He cares for you and that you will grow in the knowledge of His love each day as you draw closer to Him!

Please let me know how I can be praying for you too.

Take care,
With love in Christ,
Kate

English Camp!!

Dear friends,
For the past two weeks I had the opportunity to teach at two different English camps in the spa town of Janske Lasne in the mountians outside of Prague. I was really blessed to get to be part of the team to lead the camps. English camp is one of the biggest outreach opportunities that the church has during the year. It is a great time to get to meet a lot of people, form friendships, develop trust and share the gospel!

At each camp there were around 100 campers who ranged in age from babies to grandparents. Some people had been attending English camp for the past 10 years and some were new campers this year. Each week there was a different team of volunteer missionaries who came from Canada and America to help teach and lead the camps. They were joined by missionaries serving in Prague and Czech believers.

The camp schedule was quite detailed. Each morning the leadership team met for prayer before breakfast. We shared about how our discussions were going with our students, had a brief devotional time and prayed for our students and for the day.

After prayers it was time for breakfast. Each student and staff member selects thier seat in the dining room on the first day of camp and then stays at that table spot for the duration of the week to assist the wait staff in preparation of the food. I learned that typical Czech breakfasts usually include rolls (rohliky) and some sort of spread (butter, jam, laughing cow cheese, liver paste) or ham. I did try this option some days, but I was glad to see that they also offered cereal. :)

After breakfast we had English classes! During the first week I was working with a group of "lower Intermediate" adults. Their English was really quite good and we had interesting lesson topics including: smiles, the Olympics, shopping, emails, and other things. The students were quite good at grammar and writing but needed practice listening to a "native speaker" so we spent time having good conversations about the different topics and other things that were of interest to the students. I learned quickly that if a person is interested in the subject, they are much more willing to talk about it!

During the second week of camp I was originally supposed to work with children ages 6-9 but then I was assigned to work with teenagers! My students were delightful and we had some interesting conversations-especailly about Japan! One of the girls takes karate, studies Japanese and was very interested to learn that I had lived in Japan...we even plan to have a sushi party together sometime this fall, hopefully :)

Halfway through the lessons each morning the students had a coffee break. This was much appreciated by both students and teachers because dealing with second languages can be quite taxing to one's mental capacities.

On certain special days at coffee break time the owner of the hotel shared a special creation with us-it was "houby"/mushroom stew (Served on brown rye bread)! "Houby" hunting is the Czech national pasttime-Czech people enjoy going out into thier lovely forests to search for mushrooms. I hear that they have over thirty varieties...some are poisonous, so there is a saying: "you can eat any mushroom, but some you can only eat once." Haha. :) The hotel owner was an expert hunter-on two separate occasions she came into the dining room with huge collections of mushrooms of all shapes, sizes and colors-some were even green! Hehe. She told us that she usually dries them and then the cooks include them in the soups that we got to enjoy for lunch.

The second morning class period usually continued with the same theme as the first part of the session. It was interesting to learn about the students because often their interests connected with the topics of the lesson. For example, one of the students works as a police officer in Prague and is interested in studying law and potentially wants to become a teacher of the law...how convenient that one out lesson topics was "rules"! What a great connection.

Throughout the week we worked through the student packets which had been prepared by one of the teachers. I was able to help with the preparations before the first camp started-what a lot of effort! Each of the five or more English learning levels had to have six separate themed lessons (a different lesson for each day of camp). So each of the students received thier own student packet with activities, exercises, readings and grammar exercises about the six themes at their level. Wow. But, all of the preparation paid off because it seemed like the students really learned a lot and found the themes interesting! Yay!

After morning classes it was lunch time. Lunch always began with a variety of soup served in a large pot with a ladle. It was delicious. I think that mushroom soup was my favorite because it was so tasty and creamy. Each evening the cooks put out the menu for lunch and dinner for the following day. There were three choices for lunch and three choices for dinner. All were written in Czech, so I was very glad that my friends at my table were willing to translate for me. :) I got to try many Czech specailties. I learned that most Czechs eat thier main, hot meal at lunch time and then have a smaller, usually cold meal for dinner (unlike most people from the US)...

Czech food is tasty. It seems that the meals usually include a starch like dumplings, rice or noodles and then have some kind of meat (pork is most preferred it seems) in some type of sauce. Lentils were another option. I liked the goulash quite a bit (although none of the food was as spicy as I was used to, so I found myself adding a lot of salt and pepper and even asking for ketchup on certian occasions). I also really enjoyed the blueberry dumplings, mmm!

In the afternoons there were many options for campers! Children could participate in group games and crafts. We made a lovely picture frame one day out of plastic canvas that was quite colorful and turned out well.

It was blueberry season in Janske Lasne! "Beruvkovy kolac" was the local specialty-blueberry cake, yum! So, many afternoons included a taste-test search for the best Beruvkovy kolac in town.

Janske Lasne is a spa town that is home to a large rehab facility for people with leg and joint difficulties so throughout the week we saw many people moving about town with their crutches, which was admirable because the village is on the side of a mountian! There were also tourists who came to enjoy the healing waters.

On certian afternoons we were able to hike! Yay! The mountain that we were closest to was called "Cerna Hora" or Black Mountain. There were many ways to go up and down. In the wintertime the village is a ski resort, but in the summer the cable car is still in use. A person can ride up the cable car and ride down on a two wheel scooter!

Some members of our camp preferred to walk up the mountain, however. I chose this option and tried both the "extreme" route which followed one of the chairlifts and the other route, which was longer but less extreme. :)

At the top there were views of the tallest mountain in Czech-Snezka (Snow Mountain) and the Polish boarder! During the second week I was able to join two Czech guides for a trip to the mountain...we arrived earlier than planned so Pastor John and I were able to climb the mountain, hooray! I was very excited to reach the summit because that meant that we could step across the road to enter Poland, wow. I'd never been there before and I got to walk into the country, teehee!

On the way down we were able to stop for a tour of the mine that is inside of the mountain. It was quite cold in there and I was glad that they provided us with a poncho and a hard hat. The tour guide gave the tour in Czech, but fortunately pastor John and I were able to read the English translation on a card. :) Everyone from our group even had a chance to try mining with the old-school pick-axes. Wow. What a tough job. I got a tiny piece, but it was soo much effort...that would certainly not be my job of choice!

In the evenings there was worship team practice before dinner. I was priveleged to be able to join the worship team as a singer for the second week of camp! Wow. How cool. We opened the evening programs with some oldies that many people enjoyed and also included some childrens songs. "Baby shark" was a favorite. The worship was wonderful too. I was glad to see some campers singing along-we hope that each of the people who participated was able to take one step closer to the Lord during the week of camp.

After dinner and singing, the visiting team members were able to share a testimony each evening. Each story was personal and amazing, but one of particular interest was one team member named Andy from America. He had a large tumor in place of one of his lungs when he was a baby. Andy's parents went around to over 10 differnt doctors to decide what could be done for him. Most of the doctors said that there was very little hope for him and that his condition only occurred in 1/one million births. One doctor even advised his parents that they should abort him. But, one doctor had a different option-he told Andy's parents that there was a procedure that would give Andy a slim chance of surviving. So, his parents went with that doctor. Andy was born and even though he wasn't expected to live through the surgery, he survived! The doctors said that there was a very slim chance that he would live to be five years old, but....he did! Now, Andy is healthy and is going into his final year of high school. He said that he sees his scar every day and that it brings him hope because it shows that God is still at work in the world-God spared his life, which was predicted to be one in a million chance of survival! After teaching at English camp, Andy decided that he hopes that he can come back to serve as a missionary for one year sometime in the future! Wow. God is still at work in his heart! :)

Both camps had a theme for the evening sharing time. The theme for the first week's messages was "More" and the theme song was by Matthew West http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8G3MsdQxuU The visiting Pastor preached one sermon each evening relating to this theme and how we can be more like Jesus. One higlight was his sermon on the prodigal son on Thursday night which seemed to touch many of the campers.

The second week's theme was "Home" which was very interesting for me because it really made me consider what makes up a home. The sermons were given by various speakers and all were thought-provoking. One theme was "rebuilding your home" which focused on the changes that a person needs to make in their lives and in their hearts to be in right relationship to God the Father.

After each sermon, sets of questions relating to the theme were posted and all of the students joined their respective teachers for discussion time. These times were very fruitful and interesting! Because of the language barrier, interpreters often helped us communicate between Czech and English in our small groups, but it seemed like some heart issues were certainly addressed. Difficult issues such as tensions between Christianity and Communism, the Catholic Church and Creationism were addressed. Some students had very strong, long-held points of view, but our team was glad that people were willing to stay for the messages after the singing and that everyone was willing to discuss together. I was glad to be able to share about the gospel message of the love of Jesus Christ and how he forgives our sins and gives us the gift of eternal life! :)

After the discussion times (for those who had extra energy) there were table games available on certain evenings and special movies were shown on other occasions. Catch Phrase was a very popular mixer game for the group during the first week and The Settlers of Catan was the preferred option for the second week's campers.

What full days we had! Sometimes I was just ready for a nap in the afternoon, even though the activities were wonderful options too. I pray that the Lord will use the seeds of truth from His Word that were planted during the week to lead many of the campers into a personal and saving relationship with Him! I also pray that many of the campers will remember the good times that they had and the friendships that they made at camp and feel led to join us at for worship, English classes and other activities at our ministry centers in Prague in the fall!

...and tomorrow week three of camp begins, woohoo! It will be interesting to see how the third week of camp will be similar and different to the first two. The team that I'll be working with this time is more international-there are English speaking believers from Canada, America and Britain! Wow! Please join me in praying for another blessed and heart-changing time in Janske Lasne. Thank you!

Week 1

Hello friends,

Hope you are all well. Thanks for the encouragement, prayers and emails during my first week here. It's good to hear from you. I hope that you're enjoying lovely summer days.

I like it here in Prague so far! I've been staying with a family from Bethlehem, the Potma's, and it has been nice to be a part of their everyday routines because what is typical for them is all new for me! I have been blessed to have been able to join the family for meals, pray with them and join in their daily devotions. It has been wonderful to be living in a Czech neighborhood and to get to do things with "locals" like going to the grocery store and experience "public" (the transportation around Prague by bus and metro).

...One of my first experiences riding the bus alone turned into an adventure when the bus broke down! Hehe! It started making strange noises and then all of the passengers were rushing to get off and were dashing onto another bus. I followed them, but it turned out that the new bus was an express route! Thankfully a helpful lady advised me to get off at a certain stop where I could get on the metro for one more stop to where I needed to be. Thank God for helpful Czech people! :)

All of the people doing ministry here are preparing for the English camps that will be happening starting this weekend. There will be 130 students at the first week of camp including children and adults. The camps are held in the mountains and students will have English lessons, learn about the Bible and do other camp activities. There will be 30 instructors (including me) who will be helping to teach the campers. Tomorrow the majority of the volunteers from Canada and America will arrive and then we will have training on Friday and other activities before we head for camp on Sunday!

I have been able to help out with preparing some of the lesson materials this past week, which is a huge job because there are so many age groups and levels. I was able to help with the creation of the packets of English activities that each camper will receive to complete during the week and the accompanying instructions for the teachers for the lessons.

Please pray for safe travel for these short-term missionaries and that our weeks at camp will be glorifying to our heavenly Father...that each camper will have an encounter with the truth about who Jesus is, who they are individually in God's eyes and that each of the camper's lives will be changed as they grow deeper or develop a relationship with Christ our Savior!

Besides preparing for English camps during the past week I was able to go to the foreigners' police to register as a "legal alien" in the country. The requirement is that a foreigner should register withing three days of arriving in the country. Hmmm, we didn't realize this until after more than three days had already passed... So, when I got to go to the office to register I was concerned because I was at risk of having to pay a fine (or get deported!) But, with the help of one of the other missionaries I was able to fill out the paper work. We didn't even have to wait in line for eight hours! The process went quite smoothly in the end, praise the Lord. I am now officially registered to be in the country and I didn't even have to pay a fine! Hooray! :)

Also, I was able to meet the teacher who has been teaching the English classes that I'll be teaching in the fall. She is going on her home assignment for a year and I'll be house sitting in her lovely apartment while she is away. What a blessing! Housing accomodations are hard to come by here in Prague and the quality of the apartments is quite variable too. Most of the people in the city live in "panelak" apartments built during the Communist era. Some have been re-done on the inside and others have not and are covered with graffitti and have become quite run-down. It just so happens that the Lord has provided Pat (and therefore me and my new Czech roommate Tereza) with a lovely re-finished apartment! Hoorah! I'm so grateful. And Pat is being so generous to allow us to use her furniture and everything while she is away. Incredible. Plus it is located within about five minutes of the Skalka ministry center where I'll be teaching in the fall. :) Praise the Lord!

Additionally, I was able to attend my first Czech worship services on Sunday! Hooray! Although I wasn't able to understand much of the first sermon, which was in Czech, I did get an English translation from the preacher who came out to lunch with the group of young adults after the service. Hooray for answered prayers for fellowship! It sounds like there is quite an active young adult group at the church I'll be going to here, which is a wonderful blessing. I'm looking forward to getting to know them more this year and inviting other new Czech friends to join us as well. Praise God for the body of believers.

Thank you all!
Take care,
Love,
Kate

I'm in Prague! :)

I'm here!!! Hooray!

Early this morning I caught the tram to the Amsterdam Centraal Station which brought me to the Amsterdam airport for my flight to Prague. Thankfully I made it there with all of my heavy luggage and found the SkyEurope desk. :) Checked in and received no extra charges for my bags, wow, wow! Excellent. (It is a good thing that I was flying with that company today because Mr. Potma informed me that they have just gone bankrupt!) I was able to board the place at 9:10am from an outdoor entrance staircase. Announcements were in English, Dutch and Czech, hooray!! The long-awaited day of going to the Czech-speaking land has arrived! (...How wonderful it will be when I will be able to understand the fast-speaking announcements in the Czech language.) The flight was smooth and I was able to go over my copy of "the Four Spiritual Laws" in Czech. There were many tourists from a variety of backgrounds on the flight, including a family from Brasil...

In Prague!! My bags came through just fine, I changed money to Czech Crowns and Mr. Potma was there to meet me (even though the plane arrived early.) I was thankful that he came with his van because the neighborhood that we are living in is on the opposite side of Prague from the airport-over half an hour away. We drove past a lot of residences built during the communist era. Mr. Potma said that the majority of the population of the country lives in that type of apartment building now and each distrit is like it's own community with all types of services including grocery stores, pharmacies and all other necessities...except churches. The Skalka neighborhood is one of the very least evangelized districts in the country. With over 15,000 people that means that at least 15 more churches would be needed to meet the ratio of 1/1000 at which an area of a country is considered "reached" with the gospel message that God made us, that we sinned against God, that God loves us and sent His son to die for us and that those who believe in Jesus will not perish but will have eternal life! ...So it is a good thing that we are blessed with the opportunity to do ministry here.

The Potma home is on a nice residential street in a quieter part of the city. But, Mr. Potma showed me that across the highway bridge there is a very modern mall, wow! I was not expecting to have such a nearby location to purchase items such as groceries, medicine and cell-phone products.

I met each of the members of the Potma family as they arrived home from school. (This week is the last week of school for the kids for the year.) We had a plesant lunch of soup, homemade Czech potato salad and tasty bread with cheese and meat, mmm. The family is so very welcoming and I received a nice tour of the Potma home (including their backyard with fruit trees, tree-swings and a tree fort) and then was able to play some games with Elise. Also went over the TEAM handbook/procedures/guidelines with Mark and Gretchen and learned about the schedule for the summer and fall. Yay! It is good to know what the tentative plan might be. :)

I am looking forward to a wonderful adventure this year!

On the way!!

What adventures on the way to Prague!!

My friend David (who works for an airline company) and I flew out of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport on Thursday. I got to use his "buddy pass" for an exremely reduced ticket price which allowed us to have a stopover in Amsterdam-one of the cities to which his airline flies.

The only downside of the buddy pass sysytem was that we were flying standby-which ended up meaning that we didn't get on the same flight! There was only one open seat on the earliest flight out of MSP to Amsterdam on Thursday so David kindly let me go ahead of him.

So, I got to Amsterdam at about 6am on Friday morning, quite early. Because we didn't know which flight we would be able to get on and because the prices were good I booked my ticket to fly out of Amsterdam to Prague for Monday. But we were able to get on the Thursday flight, so when I arrived in Amsterdam I had to try to find the hostel because we would have a few days until my flight to Prague...

I was feeling pretty confident when I found the right train to the Amsterdam Centraal Station from the airport. Then I was just supposed to transfer to tram 5 and go for 10 stops to the hostel. I asked a man behind the info desk where the tram was and he pointed me to track 5, so I went upstairs (all the while carrying my 50lb. bag, pulling my 50lb suitcase and carrying my carryon backpack in front, hehe!). I got on the number five train and was enjoying looking at the scenery including the many apartment buildings and the Dutch architecture-especially the fancy roofs. It seemed like the train stops were kind of far apart-then I started seeing cows in fields, sheep and windmills...oh no!!! I certainly wasn't in Amsterdam anymore! Hehe! I asked a man (who had brought his folding bicycle onto the train) where the stop that I was looking for was located. He gave me a funny look and said, "that is in the city center, we're going to Utrecht." Haha! We were on our way to a city halfway across the small country. Oops. So, the man kindly agreed to help me buy a new ticket back to Amsterdam when we finally arrived in Utrecht. He certianly went out of his way-he even came up to the ticket counter with me and made sure that I got on the correct train that time. Wow. I was grateful for the directions and guidance and I decided that Dutch people are very nice (even if they don't bother you if you don't try to talk with them, if you do ask them a question they will give you a very friendly and helpful answer, yay.)

So, thankfully I made it back to Amsterdam Centraal (after that humbling experience), but the handle on my large suitcase broke off making it quite hard to manuver out of the tram. Finally I made it to the hostel after having to slide the suitcase down the stairs to get it off of the tram. Wow. What an adventure. At the hostel the room we were assigned was up two flights of very narrow, very steep stairs, wow. But, the kind middle eastern man working at the desk carried my bag up the whole way. Praise the Lord for his help! I didn't know if I could have done that at that point...I'd only slept for 6 hours total in the past two days...So when I got into the room met our Brasilian roommates and then I was very very thankful to take a refreshing shower and then have a nap! ...Unfortunately that meant that I missed David's knock on the door when he arrived at the hostel a few hours later, leaving him to have to go and sit on a bench in the park for a few hours until I woke up, oops, "Sorry David!"

Later that day we went for dinner after a brief walk to explore the city. I was surprised to discover that Amsterdam is sooo diverse! There were restaurants with Indian, Chinese, Greek, Malaysian, and a very wide variety of other ethnic foods, yum!

In the morning on Saturday we ate breakfast of granola/bread with nutella and peanut butter and then went to the awesome Rijksmuseum. Wow. Such a collection of wonderful art in tradition of the Dutch painters. Awesome. We saw "the Night Watch" and other creations by Rembrandt. Quite spectacular. The detail was incredible and the renderings were so realistic and lifelike.

David and I discussed how a painter captures a scene. The painter's rendition focuses on some aspects of the scene and leaves out other aspects according to their own interpretation. The viewer may or may not like their interpretation. The paintings are images of things in life. Are the actual things, which are created by God, really more lovely than the artist's work? It would seem like they would be...but sometimes we don't even notice the beauty in nature that God has placed around us. Art is helpful to help us see events and images from different time periods, places and cultures that we might not otherwise get to see. That is why visiting a museum can feel so overwhelming-because it is like having a worldwide tour of ideas, historical experiences, feelings and emotions all withing a very short span of time!! But, the experience is valuable because it is exciting to be exposed to diverse perspectives and ways of seeing the world.

We also talked about how painting is like teaching in that way-a teacher passes along their interpretation and understanding of the subject matter that they are trying to relay to their students. But, is it possible to share this information without a bias? Probably not, although in the case of teaching the Bible, which is God's pure word of truth, that would probably be preferable. Hmmm, so then, just like different people prefer the styles of different artist, different students may prefer the style of different teachers. The teaching that is the most interesting is the most seasoned with the right "flavor" that the student prefers and can digest. It is not good for the teaching to be too bland, and it should be carefully seasoned with salt to add just the right amount of interest to the subject material. :)

After the Rijksmuseum we stopped in the park for lunch. I had a sandwich with small fried sausages, lettuce and ranch (seems to be a preferred Amsterdam condiment) on a roll and David had a waffle (a Dutch delicacy).

Later we walked to the flower market where there were many vendors selling a wide variety of tulip bulbs in a plethora of colors (as well as cactuses?!).

Stopped in an extremely colorful and extravagantly decorated Catholic church...David wonders-are all of these statues really glorifying to God? Would He be pleased if He was here? (Or are they idols like in Buddhist or other faiths that are distracting the worshipper's attention away from the one true God?) Yes...God does give us gifts such as artistic and creative abilities...isn't it better for a person to use these gifts to decorate a church building than to create rubbish of other sorts that certainly would not glorify God at all? Is beauty in a church building distracting or helpful to worship???

We went on a lovely bicycle tour of Amsterdam with our guide from Mike's Bike Tours. Wow. Very educational. Biking seems to be the preferred mode of transportation in the city and there are even bicycle lanes on the sides of each street. Bikes have the right of way, so pedestrians must watch out so as not to be hit by oncoming bike traffic (or trams or busses!!)

We heard a history of the founding of the city of Amsterdam (which began before the 1600's by fishermen and then expanded outward.) The Amstel river was dammed to moderate the flow of the water and people were hired to dig the canals so that there would be more land available for building and living on. Because the canals are manmade they were able to lay them out in a very organized U-shaped pattern.

The bike tour went around to many of the different quarters of the city including the Jewish quarter, the part by the sea, the Red light district, the Jordaan neighborhood and other areas. We were able to view many lovely canals, churches and have the full-flavor of traveling in true Amsterdam style. Definately worth it! Yay!

Heard a choir group from the Phillipenes performing A-Cappella music in Dam Square to raise money for orphan children. A beautiful and wonderful surprise! They were so passionate, joyful and skilled. Praise God for their zeal and caring for others. ;)

Stopped at an excellent Indian Restaurant for dinner. The waiter served us patiently and seemed interested in our discussion revolving around Christian topics...

In the morning David left for the airport to catch his return flight to MN and I got up at the same time to switch to "The Shelter Jordan Christian Hostel." It was interesting to be travelling on the tram at around 7am...certainly fewer people out to become irritated by my large suitcases on the tram, teeheehee! :)

The check in for the hostel was not until 1:30pm, but I was able to put my bags into storage until then. In addition, two girls who were volunteering there for the summer allowed me to tag along to go to church with them. What a wonderful experience! The church was located about half an hour from the hostel by bus. It was called "Crossroads" and was very welcoming-they seemed to have a family/community focus. The message was about Fathers (for Father's Day)-how God the Father loves us soo much!!! The preacher was from South Africa. He spoke about how he sometimes has conversations with people who are atheiest. Once a man he met at a party found out that he was a preacher and kept insisting that he didn't want to talk about God...but after the third time, the preacher sensed that the man really needed to talk about God, so he said "well, why don't you tell me about the God that you don't believe in?" and the man said "well the God that I don't believe in is distant and angry and is waiting to punish anyone who sins against Him because of His wrathful anger." The preacher replied "Well, I don't believe in that God either! The God that I know is loving. In fact he loves us so much that He sent his only son to DIE for us so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life!"

The message was about how God loves us like a father...if a Father and a son are in a rainstorm, the Father would pick up the son and hold him close to his body. He would whisper "I've got you buddy, it's going to be okay. Daddy knows the way." Oh that we would trust the Lord that much!!! The worship time at the service was also very blessed...how awesome it is that people in The Netherlands enjoy singing the same songs to the same God that we do thousands of miles away in America!!! We serve a BIG God. :)

After sampling caramel vla, a Dutch dessert (kind of like pudding) I went for a walk when we got back to the city center-found a Dutch pastry and sat by the canal to eat it. How interesting to observe the passers-by! The people were from diverse ethnic backgrounds-African, Indian, Asian, other Europeans...Many were on bikes, some were walking dogs, familes were strolling down the street (I suppose that those are typical ways to enjoy a Sunday afternoon in any city, but there was a certain Amsterdam feel too-maybe because of the way the people dress, their shoes, the architecture of the buildings along the canals or the fact that there were houseboats floating nearby and canal boat cruises going by every few minutes, cool!!)

I took a more extensive tour of the city later in the day after checking into the hostel and meeting my British roommates there. The neighborhoods each have a certain feeling to them. Oh my though, such a very sinful people the human race is in many regards...neighborhoods bearing the gay rights flag, prostitutes standing in the windows of buildings, the smell of marijuana in certian "Coffee shops" ..."Oh Lord! Change our sinful ways to adoration of You!! Reform us O Lord. How we need You. Remind us that You alone are the one who truly satisfies. You are the one who meets our needs. Help us be filled with Your pure and Holy love and not turn to idols to try to be satisfied! God! You are God! You are the most satisfying. When we know that we are satisfied with You then we will be full. Then we will not need to worry what others think of us. We will stop seeking satisfaction elsewhere and we will be free to LOVE as You love us-with a pure and holy love that is never-failing and is unconditional...Please help us know You more and be in love with You Lord Jesus. Then we will be free to pour out that love and hope-even to our enemies and those who defile your name...then we will be purified and one with you... please create more worshippers of You in Amsterdam dear Lord! Turn us away from sin and toward Your Holiness, In Jesus' name!! Amen..."

Praises!! Answered prayers!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!
Yay!! I just got accepted to attend the Dobruska language camp to study Czech in the month of August. Wow. God is so good, so very good to us. Praise the Lord for how he answers our prayers in His timing to bring the most glory to His holy name! Wow. He is our provider and He meets all of our needs. :)

Also, thank you, thank you to all who were able to attend the going away event yesterday. I praise God for all of you-your friendship, generosity and caring. It is such a blessing to be held up by the body of believers. Thank God for friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. I look forward to being in touch with you over the next year.

Our God is an awesome God!

You're Invited!

Please come celebrate with Kate!

She will be leaving on June 19th to teach English and Bible study in the Czech Republic for one year.

Please join us!

1) Open house

When: June 14th from 1-3:30 pm

Where: The Aubrecht's

2) Commissioning Service

When: June 13th from 5:30-7:00 pm

Where:

Bethlehem Baptist Church

Minneapolis, MN 55415

Can you make it? I hope so!

Please feel free to contact Kate for more details: kaubrecht@gmail.com

Czech Visa Granted!

Praise the Lord! My Czech Visa has been granted. I can now officially be in the Czech Republic for one year. I hope to leave June 19th, 2009. Thank you for your prayers!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

Who do Czechs trust?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
-Proverbs 3:5-6

Who do Czechs trust?

People I know 87%
President 71%
Radio 67%
Television 64%
Army 61%
Surveys 58%
Press 56%
Czech people 52%
Police 47%
Prime Minister 46%
Courts 42%
Businesses 38%
Trade unions 37%
Churches 27%
Political parties 22%

Source: Centre for the Study of Public Opinion, Czech Republic (2006)


I wonder what the results for this survey would be if if was offered in America?
Or if the survey was offered to each of us?

I pray that each of us will come to know and trust the Lord above all in our lives.

God has many promises for those who put their trust in Him.

It is written that:

"The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted." Prov. 29:25

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him." Psalm 28:7

"In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 56:11

The Lord wants what is best for us, that He cares for us and that He will never leave us or forsake us! He is trustworthy.

According to a missionary who is currently serving in Prague, Czech Republic, "trust in the church has been declining for the past several years. Neighboring European countries rate their trust of the church at 50-70% compared with only 27% of Czechs who trust the church."

The missionary said "at first glance this may seem like bad news for us as church planting missionaries. However, because of the relational aspect of our ministry, we are able to gain the trust of the vast majority of people that get to know us! According to the survey, 87% of Czechs trust people that they know more than they trust any other group or individual. Again and again we have seen Czech people come to faith in Christ through trusting relationships they have developed with Christians who cared enough to be their friends and get to know them...people generally trust us not because we are from a church; they trust us because we have taken the time to get to know them and to become their friends."

I pray that we will stand firm in our relationship with the Lord. Then when we become friends with the people God has placed around us by His grace they will come to know the goodness of the Lord as well!

Please see this wonderful article for more promises about trusting the Lord in every aspect of our lives:
http://hatchcreek.com/2009/03/03/can-we-trust-god/

Prayer

In a recent Reader's Digest poll, it was reported that citizens of the Czech Republic prayed the least out of 19 countries included in a worldwide survey.

Only 8% of Czechs said that they pray daily. This is quite a contrast to the 78% of Malaysians who pray daily and the 55% of Americans who pray every day. Of the Czech respondents, 65% said that they never pray at all.

(Please follow this link for the full results of this survey.)
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/how-often-do-you-pray-around-the-world-with-one-question/article121601.html

Oh that the Czech people would know the power of prayer!

God's will for us is that we would "pray continually."

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Why do we need to pray?

Prayer is talking with God. If a person never talks to a friend or relative, their relationship with that person does not grow. God wants us to communicate with Him so that we know Him and become closely connected with Him.

God has offered people who pray to Him many precious promises.

God promises that He will answer our prayers:

"I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure, just as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' " -Zechariah 13:9

God promises that He hears us and answers requests that are made in accordance with His will:

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" -1 John 5:14-15

God promises that He will forgive our sins:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9

The Lord also wants us to pray so that we will remain obedient to Him.

"Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak." Matthew 26:41

Through Christ we have been given a wonderful blessing - we can talk with our Creator who is the Maker of the universe!

Let us pray in faith that the Lord would open many Czech people's hearts to receive this blessing!

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." -Luke 17:6

Let us pray that for his glory the Lord will be pleased to increase the number of Czech people who know Him, love Him and come to Him each day in prayer.

New modern version of the Bible in Czech!

Praise God for a more readable version of the Bible in the Czech language!

Here is an explanation about the reasons for the need for a modern translation of the Bible in Czech:

“We belong to a generation of people who were not raised in the Christian faith, and we are not very familiar with the language of the existing Bible translations that were quite archaic. The only available translations were the beautiful Bible Kralická, or the Bible of Kralice, from 1613, which is very much like the English King James Version – beautiful, very lusty language, very precise translation, but its language was of course very incomprehensible, as it was 400 years old. The only other alternative was the Czech ecumenical translation which came into existence in the 1970s. This translation is more understandable but for today’s people, it’s still difficult to understand, especially now, 20 years later, when for example my children had a very difficult time reading the children’s bible based on this translation. So this is why we started to work on a new translation 17 years ago.”

Let us pray that many modern Czech people will read this accessible version of the Word and come to know Jesus personally as their Lord and Savior.

Retrieved 4/20/09 from: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/114839

Jesus is not known by Czech children

"At one junior school, an evangelical vicar asked the children who they thought Christ was. Most of the children knew that the expressions “Christ” or “Jesus and Mary” were used when something annoys or surprises us. Several of the children genuinely thought that Jesus was an extraterrestrial who visited Planet Earth some time ago. One girl thought that it was the make of a mobile telephone (she had heard the commercial saying “Go Jesus go”). One pupil in year one wrote on his questionnaire that Jesus is another name for a Christmas tree."

Retrieved 4/11/09 from: http://czechkid.eu/si1100.html

This is a tragedy! The Lord is NOT a Christmas tree.

Let us pray that Czechs of all ages will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Acts 16:30-31
He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

History of Christianity in the Czech Republic

The origins of Christianity in our country are linked with the appearance of two missionaries from Southeast Europe, Cyril and Methodius (who were posted to the Greater Moravian Empire in AD 863). Christianity gradually found a home in the Czech lands, firstly because of the conversion of princely circles, and secondly by means of the strenuous work of missionaries, catechists and priests. Czech Christianity bloomed most under the government of Charles IV.

However, even by the end of the latter’s reign the Czech church had begun to take on the ideas of the Reform movement, which at that time had an influence on European Christianity. The rector of Charles University stood at the head of the reform preachers. After he was found guilty of heresy and burned in Kostnice (in 1415), his followers refused to accept the church verdict and withdrew their vow of obedience. After a series of unsuccessful religious crusades against the “Czech heretics” and the subsequent reconciliation, Czech society remained divided into the heretical (Hussite) majority and the Catholic minority. Later on, the Czech heretics, inspired by Martin Luther and John Calvin of the 16th century, joined the worldwide Reformation.

In the first half of the 17th century, there was a ferocious internecine war (lasting thirty years) between the Protestant and Catholic parts of Europe. The result was the majority non-Catholic nation fell under the government of the strongly Catholic Habsburgs within the framework of the peacetime redistribution of Europe. After the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), there began a period of strict re-Catholicisation, when the majority of Czechs either had to emigrate (this affected mainly the aristocrats) or change their religious affiliation. Understandably, this led to a considerable decline in religion. Later, during the period of the growing national consciousness of the Czechs, there was a conflict between religious and national identity. The emancipation of the country (at that time already re-Catholicised) from the Austrian, German-speaking authorities meant a weakening of the links to the Catholic faith associated with the governing Hapsburg family. The decisive symbols of the Czech national revival were for this reason naturally taken from the period prior to the Habsburg re-Catholicisation. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I (1918), there was strong anti-clerical feeling in Czech society. Indeed, the return to the Hussite inheritance typical of the First Republic related more to national emancipation than the Christian faith. The trauma of World War II and forty years of Communist “scientific atheism” also had a deleterious effect on the Czech church, and contributed to the Czech Republic being these days one of the most atheistic countries in Europe, and perhaps in the whole world.

Retrieved 4/11/09 from: http://czechkid.eu/si1100.html

Serving God in Prague in 2009

“He said to them,
"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
- Mark 16:15

Dear friends and family,

Happy Spring time! Around the world the Lord is at work changing people's hearts and bringing them into a loving relationship with Him. Would you please consider joining with me as a partner in the Lord's work to support missions in Prague, Czech Republic?

Last November I became a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church (BBC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Through my church I have been offered an opportunity to teach English in Prague beginning in July, 2009. I will work with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) and a family from my church that has been in the Czech Republic for 13 years and has helped start three churches there.

I will serve at a church in Prague’s Skalka neighborhood that has a large English language outreach program. Right now there are 105 students in 11 classes. Each class includes one and a half hours of English instruction and half an hour of Bible study.

As a teacher I hope to help spread the Gospel of the new life that comes from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. This joyful news will be especially sweet to the Czech people whose religious freedom was suppressed under communism until 1989. The C.B. Skalka Church is the only church available to the 22,000 residents of the Skalka neighborhood.

Would you please consider being a partner with me in this mission? I need support in prayer and finances. I have been working part time to save money for this journey and taking Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Masters classes to prepare. But, in order to go to Prague I need to raise $14,000 by the end of June, 2009. This amount includes living expenses at $30.00 per day for one year, orientation, and health insurance. I would really appreciate any gift that you feel led to offer. Right now I especially need supporters who are willing to contribute on a monthly basis.

Thank you for considering being part of this ministry!

I hope that things are going well for you. Please let me know how I can be in prayer for you. Also, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

In His grace,

Kate Aubrecht