Prayer Does Make a Difference

Have you ever wondered if your prayers really make a difference? If you prayed for our mission trip to the Czech Republic, your prayers most definitely made an enormous difference!

This was the fifth straight year that New Covenant has staffed the Business English Camp. This has allowed us to see the changes and growth in many of the student’s lives. But we have never seen the level of response that we saw this year. Some students who had never even read the Bible 4 or 5 years ago are now telling us that they are believers. Others have moved significantly closer to putting their trust in Christ. A few disagreed with the message of the Gospel, but because we presented the truth in love and were not there to simply “convert” anyone, they remained actively involved in the camp and said they would come again.

Perhaps the clearest place I saw God at work was during our conversation class discussion of Most. The film allegorically illustrates the sacrifice God made to provide our salvation. It left almost everyone stunned and overwhelmed. My class had been somewhat reluctant to talk about other topics on previous days, and that night they didn’t want to discuss the film. I silently prayed that if God wanted to use this time that He needed to work because nothing was happening. I guess I should not have been so surprised when 15 minutes later we were not discussing the film itself but instead were having an in depth discussion of the Gospel and what it means to become a Christian.

This level of response was not a result of our skill or anything we necessarily did different this year. It was God at work. Even before we left, we could see his provision, especially with us learning about and being able to show Most. It definitely helps that some have now known us for many years, but many this year were completely new to the camp. It is clear to me that God was at work in a special way this year, and all of the glory is His.

Safely Home

Dear Friends,

The last day of camp was not quite what we pictured.
We were told at breakfast that they needed to clean
most of the rooms we had been using as classrooms. We
had 6 classes that needed to meet, and only one room
available. We flexed and met where we could, and God
was at work. We had planned to use the English
Reading time to read scriptures that explained how
God's plan for our salvation. In spite of the change
in venue, we were able to clearly present the gospel
to the students. After lunch, we said our good-byes.

Thank you for your faithful prayers. Eight of us made
it safely home on Monday night, and the two who
remained to sight-see for a day should be home by
Tuesday night. Although we did face some challenges,
we know that your prayers did have an impact. Bronek
and Lorisa, who live in the Czech Republic and have
organized camps for over 7 years, agree that they saw
many more move closer to Christ than in previous
years. Some indicated they made a decision, and many
more said they would be interested in being part of a
small group Bible study. Bronek and Lorisa, along
with Cindy, will be helping to make arrangements for
the various groups.

Please continue to pray for Cindy. She has already
"run into" one of our students who was out shopping in
her village. Because of the camp, she has made many
contacts in the Trinec area. Pray for wisdom as she
works on building on these relationships.

Pray, too, for the rest of us as we transition back
into our lives here in the states. We look forward to
telling you all about our trip in the weeks ahead.

James

End of the Week

Dear Friends,

The end of the week and the end of the camp is near.
We will have a lot to talk about when we get back
home. We will have a lot of stories of how we saw God
at work in our own lives and in the lives of our
students.

Last night we showed the short film, ¨Most.¨ It is an
allegorical story of how God was willing to allow his
only son to die for our sins. It was very powerful.
Many of the students are still talking about it. For
some, it was disturbing. One of my students said it
was ¨cruel.¨ Others said it made them think. Please
pray for wisdom for us as we continue to discuss this
film with our students. Pray, too, as we explain the
Gospel in our Bible Reading classes tomorrow morning.
I have had many good questions in my class. Some are
believers, but others do not believe the Bible is
true. Please pray that we will finish well and take
advantage of every opportunity.

Pray, too, for our health. One member of our team is
fighting an infection. Fortunately, God had another
member of the team who had just the medicine that was
needed. Otherwise, we have not had any health
problems this week.

Pastor Marek of the Church in Trinec told me yesterday
that they have made arrangements to rent space at the
Cultural Center for the next few months. So they now
have a place to meet. This will be a trial period,
and hopefully they will be able to extend the
agreement. They are also meeting this week with the
owner of a building they would like to buy. Pray for
favor that the owner will be interested in selling to
them and that he will give them the time they need to
raise the 3,000,000 Krowns it will cost.

Finally, pray for our time tomorrow. We will go meet
at a restaurant and bowling alley with some people who
came to camp in previous years but could not come this
year. We hope to build on the relationships that have
already begun. Pray that we can discuss things that
matter for eternity.

James

Wednesday Report

Dear Friends,

We are about half way through the camp, and things are
going well. We have had good food, good weather, and
great opportunities to build relationships with the
students.

Today a group of us left to go up to Lysa Hora, a
nearby mountaintop. After our group wandered lost for
an hour, I finally came back to the camp, but many
others kept going (they did finally find the way). I
could not help thinking of the fact that many are also
being led astray spiritually. Please pray that we
would have more opportunities to share the good news
of God's love with the students in the days that
remain.

James

Camp Has Begun

Dear Friends,

Camp has now officially started. We had our own
worship service this morning here at the camp
facility. Then the students began arriving. We have
processed around 40 or more students already this
morning. There are some familiar faces, along with
many new ones. We now begin the process of starting
or renewing relationships with each one.

As you pray for the camp, pray too for our sister
church in Trinec. They just found out a few weeks ago
that the school they have been renting has been sold
and is being remodeled for the new owners. They must
find a new place to meet by the first Sunday in July.
It is not as easy to find a place here as it is in
America. There is not much available, and the little
that is available is quite expensive.

Pray, too, for wisdom for the church. There is an old
school building that they would like to buy. It is in
an ideal location, and there is very few options
available to them for purchase in the city itself.
They would need to raise or borrow about 3,000,000
Krowns, which is about 150,000 dollars. They have
about a month to do this.

Thanks for your prayers. Things so far have run very
smoothly. Pray that God would be glorified in all
that we say and do.

James

We Have Arrived

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to let you know that we have all arrived
safely in the Czech Republic. We had smooth flights
and relatively smooth transitions between planes, and
all of our luggage arrived when we did! We are tired
after going almost 24 hours with little sleep, but we
are excited to finally be here.

We met up with Cindy Howard at our hotel, and will
connect tonight with George and Beth Justice who came
a few days early. We will leave early tomrrow to take
the 9 am train to Csesky Tesin. Bronek will pick us
up from there and take us directly to the camp at
Malenovice.

Please pray that the next few days would give us even
greater unity as a team, and pray for us as we begin
to meet our students on Sunday.

I will email from the camp if I am able. Thanks for
your prayers.

James

Open Their Eyes, Lord

²⁴“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else... ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17, NIV)

Whether it is here in America or in a distant country, there is one thing that we can depend upon: “[God] gives all men life and breath and everything else.” Though some may attempt to ignore or deny this fact, God’s love and grace permeates the very fabric of our existence. It is not his desire that any should perish, so he is doing everything he can to bring each person to a place where they put their trust in Christ alone as their Savior.

It was this truth that gave Paul confidence as he preached in Athens, and it should give us confidence today. We live in a culture that wants to make “god” in his or her own image. We live in a society that questions the authority and integrity of the Bible. It can seem like an impossible task to change the very foundational beliefs of those we encounter as we seek to make disciples of all people groups. The reality is we do not need to win an argument. We just need to, through the power of the Holy Spirit, open the eyes of those who have been blinded by sin and Satan to the God who is already there.

Over the next two weeks, we have two teams whose goal is to tell people in Kenya and the Czech Republic that God exists and that he wants to have a relationship with each and every one of them. Please remember to pray for the Watershed team to Kenya, June 11-26 (Steve & Heather Adolphs ,Linda Anderson, Kelly Erickson, Zac Harlan, Aaron Menken, Eric & Kim Prevo, Pam Stavlund, Christina Stephenson, and Brad Tucker), as they work with Homeless Children International. Pray, too, for the Business / English Camp in the Czech Republic, June 15-27 (Sean & Lisa Barkley, Doug & Amy Forret, Sara Hungerford, George & Beth Justice, Paul & Cathryn Rustebakke, and James Wartian).