Camp Is Over

The camp is officially done. I am sure the team is ready for a rest after a very long week! They had a good time at the church and debriefing at Lida & Jarek's house. Here is what Bronek wrote to me:

"The camp was very positive and very successful. We appreciate all the ministry that your team did. I can say that it was the best AWANA camp we have ever had, both our AWANA team, the kids and even the kids´ parents were very excited and I am sure they will remeber this week for very long time."

Here are more pictures. I will post another set later when I get some from the team themselves.


Czech Kids Awana Camp 2006!


JoDee (on left) and Laura (on right) with their students


Emily playing Boggle with students


Bronek (on left) and Pastor Mick teaching the students


Extreme makeover, Czech style!


An alien made a guest appearance at the camp!!

Thursday's Pictures from the Camp

The camp is almost done! I will post any other pictures I receive, so check back here often.

Continue to pray for the team. JoDee is feeling better but still has a bad cough. Pray for the team as they share with the kids on Friday that Jesus is the King of Kings! And pray for their safe return!



2006 Czech Kids Awana "Snow" Camp!



JoDee


Games


More games!


Do you trust me?


Do you trust them??


What is Mick up to? Will Cindy and the group let him by?

Pictures from Prague

Here are some pictures that were taken of the team last weekend when they first arrived in Prague.



The Team, fresh off the plane and newly in Prague!


Having fun with the guard at the Palace


The Team with Prague in the background


Pastor Mick, setting the example for the team


Dinner anyone?

More Czech Kids Camp Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from the Czech Kids Camp:


Pastor Mick & David interpretting



Nate and Emily playing with the kids


Kids singing


Lesson Time


Learning Games

Czech Kids Camp Update

Posted below are 3 pictures I received today from the Czech Kids Awana Camp. Of course, the important one is Melody, my wife! It is such a special treat to get this email on Valentines Day. I look forward to seeing her when she returns next Tuesday, February 21.

Bronek reports that the camp is going well. JoDee, another person on the team, has a cough, so she could use our prayers. Pray for strength and wisdom as they have 3 more days of activities with the kids!

I will post any other pictures that I receive.

James



Melody



Ron



Emily

End of the Spear

I love to fly. When I was in sixth grade, my Sunday School teacher took me up in a single engine Cessna to fly from Long Beach to Catalina Island. It was probably a 30 or 40 minute trip each way, and I was both terrified and yet loving every minute of it. That day a dream was born: I wanted to be a pilot. Over the years that followed, I read books on planes and the rules for flying. Because of my interest in missions, I also began reading about missionary pilots, which led me to the story of Nate Saint.

January 7, 2006, marked the 50th anniversary of five missionaries who were killed as they attempted to reach out to the Huaorani with the Gospel. Nate Saint was one of those five. He was an incredibly gifted man. He and his fellow missionaries devised ingenious ways to solve the unique problems of jungle flying. More importantly, they were dedicated to bringing the Gospel to tribes who had never heard about Jesus.

While Nate and his friends did everything they could to prepare for their encounter with the Huaorani (formerly called the Auca), they knew it was dangerous. They went forward with the plan because they considered the salvation of those who had not heard more important than even their own lives. Steve Saint, Nate’s son, writes the following: “I remember telling my dad ‘Please dad, if the Huaorani attack you, you will defend yourself! You will shoot them?' My dad said, ‘Son, we can’t shoot the Huaorani, they are not ready for heaven but we are.’”

That was not the end of the story. God used the death of Nate and his coworkers to open the door to reaching the Huaorani people. It is estimated today that 80% of the Huaorani have heard the Gospel, and over 25% of them are believers. Steve himself has developed a deep friendship with Mincaye, one of the men who murdered his father.

This month the movie End of the Spear is out in theaters. It tells the story of Nate Saint and how God turned a seeming tragedy into a testimony of forgiveness and redemption that has literally impacted the world. Learn more about it by visiting these websites:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/001/30.38.html

http://www.assistnews.net/stories/s06010062.htm

God's Will

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. ²⁰Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. ²²News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. (Acts 11:19-22, NIV)

Have you ever wondered what God’s will was for your life? How do you know what job you should take, who you should marry, or whether you should join a mission trip? How do you know what God wants you to do?

Even if I could write a book on the topic, I am not sure I could give an adequate answer. But I want to share two things that I have found to be biblical and that have helped me over the years. I make it my goal to be obedient to what God has told me to do in the Bible, and I look for where God is at work and then join in the fun!

This is what happened in Acts. Following the death of Stephen, the believers suffered persecution and were forced to move. As they went, they were obedient to Christ’s command to preach the Gospel. At first, they only told the Jews, but then they included others as well. As a result, many people believed and turned to the Lord. What did the church do? They saw that God was at work and they chose to join in the fun! They sent Barnabas to Antioch to teach and disciple the new believers.

What is God’s will for us as a church? It is the same! This year the Missions Committee will continue the process of prayerfully considering both God’s commands and where He is at work. There are many new missionaries and missions projects we could support, but we are not called to do everything. Please pray that God will give us wisdom to know what he is uniquely calling us to do.

Pray for Our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters

Our country was founded on the concept of religious freedom. So it can be easy to forget that this freedom is the exception, not the rule. Even in countries that offer political freedom, there can be religious oppression. Many more countries make life difficult for or actually persecute those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

November 13 is an International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church. But my hope is that we remember this need not just on one Sunday, but throughout the year. I find it helpful to have specific things for which I can pray, so here is one situation you can bring before the throne of the true King of the Universe:

Tajikistan (MNN) – The Bible League's Tajikistan director is asking for prayer about a shipment of New Testaments being held in customs.

Officials dispute the need for Scriptures, they are also imposing a huge import fee and they're charging storage fees while the shipment is detained.

In many Central Asian countries like Tajikistan, Christianity is viewed as a western import. Often, family members and others treat it as a cult, and make strenuous efforts to rid the new believer of his faith and make him “come to his senses.”

In many cases, the more outspoken the Christian, the more vigorous the attempts to either stop him from speaking of his faith, or to re-convert him to Islam.

Because of that, high profile attention can exacerbate an already dangerous situation. That's true for the Bible League's director in Tajikistan. With each delay, he grows more concerned that he may become subject to many unpleasant meetings with government officials.

Please pray that God would make a way to get the Scriptures to Christians in Tajikistan. There are also concerns that the situation could extend to harassment of the director's family, and his associates.

(Article distributed by Mission Network News, www.mnnonline.org .)

A Kingdom Perspective

But he answered, "You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish.” (Mark 6:37-38, NIV)

It is easy to judge the 12 disciples when we read this story because we know how it will end. But imagine that you are in New Orleans the day after the hurricane. You are sheltering 5,000 people in your church and all you have is one loaf of Wonder Bread and an Oscar Meyer package with 12 slices of turkey. I come to you and tell you to feed everyone. I dare say you would call me a lunatic.

I am very hesitant to ever say that God has told me to do something. But when I returned from the Czech Republic in June, I believed God was asking our church to help the Trinec Church with the purchase of a building they could use for services and outreach. I knew if this was from God, then he would reveal his desire to others. I presented the need to the Project CR Team, the Missions Committee, and finally to the Elders. While there were reasonable concerns and questions, there was almost unanimous agreement that God was leading us to assist the Trinec Church.

It was a step of faith to ask you as a church to donate $30,000 towards this project. And as a church, you have overwhelmingly responded. We have received more than $30,000 towards our goal. No more donations are needed. We have “12 baskets full” left over, a testimony of your generosity and God’s faithfulness.

The point of the miracle is simple. The question is not “How much do we have to give?” The question is “What is God asking us to do?”