Friends

Some of the guys from the fellowship: Tomas, Jon, Petr and Jason.

Our friends Young and Cindy.

Studying Czech with Gustav and Marchen.

Tomas and Jason with Mike from the Bible School in Hungary.

Fellowship: Prague Style

Prague is a very transient city, with people from all over the world - students and workers as well as tourists - coming and going regularly. We've been blessed that - along with the core group God is building - many have come to our weekly Bible study and other fellowship times.

So far we have had- along with Czechs and Americans - people from the following countries: Brazil, Slovakia, Ukraine, Canada, Korea, Columbia, Poland, Sweden and Germany. (We were trying to decide who should fill in for Jason at football practice if he ever gets hurt!)

Thanksgiving in June..

Thanks-giving came late (early?) to Jason's Czech language class this last Friday. Since the course is ending for the year they have been having meals together after class with different students bringing food from their home country. Cara and Noelle cooked up a feast complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and even pumpkin pie! (Thanks to a few treasured cans of pumpkin pie filling from the states...you can't get it here and pumpkins are hard to come by, too!). Jason even had some Oreos stashed away that he brought...how much more American can you get? Everyone said the meal was great!

Jason has been diligenty chipping away at the Czech language since last fall. Not only has he been able to lay a groundwork of basic understanding of Czech (it's considered one of the toughest languages to learn), but also God has been able to shine through him amongst his classmates that come from so many different countries.

It was in this class that Jason and Young met and that is a friendship that has a blessing to both of them.

Are you ready for some football?

Near to the Brokenhearted...

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18

That was the verse that came to mind to one of our team members today as we set out to try and serve the homeless of Prague. It has been on Jason's heart for some time now to try and reach out to the many homeless that are in Prague. In the parks, at the train station and throughout the city there are those who look to be the very ones that verse is talking about..."brokenhearted" and "crushed in spirit".

We made some sandwiches and put them together in a bag with some cookies, an apple and some tracts that tell of God's love. We went out not really knowing what we would do, painfully aware that what little we had to offer did not come anywhere near meeting all the pressing needs they might have, but wanting to simply in faith take the first step towards trying to help these folks and trusting that God would do for them all that we could not. We were not disappointed. We are learning that we never are disappointed when we simply step out in faith. :)

We handed out over 20 lunch bags and could have easily given out more. We saw a family sleeping on a park bench, drunks, people begging....one on hand nothing unusual in any big city...on the other, precious people that God loves.

We were able to talk to a few people, pray for a few others, and simply have our hearts broken with those things that break God's heart. The needs are so great and we wished we could do so much more. Some of us were able to minister to people using languages we had learned in other countries, some of our interaction was in English, and of course faithful Tomas was there to translate with Czech speakers.

We will be going out again next Friday, God willing, with food for both body and soul for these folks, not all homeless, but all looking for hope and for an answer to life's problems. Would you please pray with us for God to lead and provide for this effort? We want to do whatever we can, but more than that, we want to do whatever God is calling us to do.

Right now as a team we are reading Jim Cymbala's book Fresh Faith. It has been so encouraging to all of us to remember that, like the verse on the sidebar to the right of this post, anything that God will do in Prague (and is already doing!) will be not by our might or strength - physical or even perceived spiritual - but by HIS Spirit.

Cymbala writes that "One thing moves God: faith. Not doctrinal savvy. Not willpower. Trust in God alone stirs him to move miraculously on our behalf".

Pray for us for:

• continued guidance for ministry direction
• protection against discouragement and spiritual warfare
• to have God's eyes to be able to see and value His work in us as much as His work through us
• that in all things we would grow in love to one another and that God would be glorified

Prague in bloom...

Prague's beauty is not only in it's unique and historic architecture, but also in its many parks and flowering gardens.

It's basically already summer here with hot days and thunder showers at night, but this was the look of spring not long ago when some of the gals from the fellowship enjoyed a walk in the gardens at Petrin Park.

"...See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you...?"

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 28 -30