Thank you for your continued prayers!
Posted by:
Tricia Goyer on
August 4, 2008 at
12:20PM EST
Not I at work, but God...
I can't wait to sit down and blog more when I get back. There is so much to share and so little time. Overall I'm awed by our team.
And I am so impressed with our youth. They have been amazing and we've
received compliments all around. Of course they are crazy, goofy, and
having a ton of fun but they are so in tune to connecting with the
people and touching their hearts. I totally love seeing God exceed my
expectations...and am once again brought face to face with the power of
the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, we've been asked 100 times if we've
been asked once if we'd return next year. The fact that we've seen one
person accept Christ and we've seen thirty others take steps closer to
Him in nothing short of a miracle. We know we are building on what
other teams have done in the past. We also are extremely aware of the
immense prayer support we have behind us. In fact many people have
commented on that fact. "We can feel your whole Christian community
behind you. They sent 20, but we can feel the prayers of 2,000."
The need in the Czech Republic is great. We have been asked to staff the
next English camp again next year. They were so pleased with how we
worked together as a team and the classes we've taught. We've also been
asked to work with new IMB missionaries Larry and Melissa Lewis who
will be in Plzen ... about three hours from where we are now. We've
been working alongside Larry and Melissa and our group have fallen in
love with them and their three children! They have become "our"
missionaries.
We also had the director of a small Baptist Bible college drive three hours just to meet us. He came so we can go back and tell our church about them, their students, and their needs. They are currently training seven Czech men to be pastors and they will also be helping these men with church launching in two years once their education is complete. The young couple who runs the college teach all the classes and build support, because the men are unable to go toschool and work. They are amazing! Their work is amazing!
Overall, we are encouraged by the care of the Czech people and their interest in Christianity. They are more open to spiritual conversations than we
thought and many of the are extremely close to accepting Christ. We are
certain that if we can return and build on these relationships that we
will see many more souls saved. Of course, in this country it's not a
quick process. The communist indoctrination is very evident. Yet we are
encouraged everyday by the conversations we have with people and the
friendships we are building.
We are also been extremely cared for by the small Czech church. They are pouring love and attention on us and they are also "eating up" our fellowship. They have said over and over again how meaningful it us to know that a church in the US has cared for their small church of sixty people. They presented us with gifts to take back to our congregation. We were awed by them.
Our new church friends have been feeding us and offered their homes. I was
mentioning last night to one couple how spoiled we feel. Ivan said,
"That is because we want you to return and bring back others to share
Christ with our countrymen." That's what we've been asked over and
over--to bring back more believers. In fact just this morning from a
medical doctor who attended our camp. This is part of what he said:
"Thank You very much for Your time, You did the very good job in Cenkovice. Please, give our best regards in Your church.
Now I pray, that God could send more others Christians to our country in next summer ..."
Finally, I can't express how EAGER the people are to learn English. It's as if
we've been given a great treasure by knowing this language and they are
eager and grateful for every moment we spend sharing our knowledge with
them. What an opportunity!
Okay, signing off for now. Thank you for your continued prayers!
Tricia
