The Prayer-Intelligencer: June 2024

 Dear Praying Friends, 

"Wow! Wow! Wow!" Right above my head, the heavens were busy declaring the glory of God, in dazzling greens and yellows and blues and purples. I felt like a shepherd in Bethlehem...was I about to be surrounded by a chorus of angels? Knowing that this spectacle was caused by solar particles ionizing the gases of our upper atmosphere did not detract from the call to wonder and worship. The miraculous is woven into the fabric of Creation. What a God we have! Breathtaking in beauty, awesome in power, faithful in love.

"Never Say Never!" 

Shortly before leaving for Europe last summer, a friend asked what I thought God might want to accomplish in me there. I shrugged. "I don't know. Shake things up a little, get me out of this rut." Then I added with a laugh, "but don't worry, I'm not moving to the Czech Republic or anything." That was the most absurd thing I could think of at the time. My friend laughed. "Never say never!"

Well, I never would have expected to fall in love with that little country. I never would have foreseen that God would awaken in me such a burden to see Jesus known and worshiped among these people, in this strange and beautiful and dark and thirsty land. And I never could have predicted that He would invite me to be a part of the work He is doing there already. I guess I should know by now to never say never!

"Your cat is chasing my bear to the restaurant on Vodičková Street." 

Dipping my toes into the Czech language has been a fascinating exercise, but honestly, the ridiculous examples that some of these language apps use make me wonder what they think life will be like in Prague. Do I really need to worry about bears in Old Town Prague? 

I always thought I had a facility with languages, but I think I have met my match with Czech! A breathtakingly complex grammar (seven noun cases, and three and a half genders!), consonant blends that literally make my tongue ache, and a dizzying syntax that would exasperate Master Yoda himself.

Nevertheless, I came across a curious Czech proverb that intrigued me: "You are as many times human as the number of languages you speak." Learning a language is not a mere functional convenience, but a window into a culture, and a means to engaging with a community. It is an important part of representing Jesus well to the Czech-speaking people.

Summer Travels & Next Steps 

In July & August, Lord willing, and if all goes according to plan, I will be making trip No. 3 to the Czech Republic. I'll spend two weeks at the Scripture Union English Camp that the West Side mission team visited last year. We will be a small team from Richland this year--just four of us for the first week, and two of us for the 2nd week. But I hope to reconnect with a few of the people I met there last year.

After the camps, I will travel to Brno (about 3 hours from Prague) to attend the Alongside Gathering, a mission-wide conference held every two years. This will give me an opportunity to meet the other Alongside missionaries and partners of the ministry. After the Gathering, I travel to Estonia for a few days at the invitation of one of the Alongside missionaries who lives and works there.

I also hope to meet up with future colleagues with the Czech Evangelical Alliance, the national organization I will be serving with. The CEA's mission is to connect people, share strategies, and channel resources among churches and ministries in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe, equipping leaders and building the church to shine the light of the gospel of Jesus in this spiritually challenging culture. I look forward to assisting in developing multimedia and communication strategies to this end, once I spend some time in language study.

Partners in Making Jesus Known in the Czech Republic: You! 

Earlier this month I attended a four-day conference via Zoom on the subject of Ministry Partnership Development. It is a topic that many of us missionaries wrestle with--establishing a team of partners, people who will faithfully pray for and financially sustain the work. I came away encouraged, with a renewed excitement for what God is doing in the Czech Republic, and a confidence that He is calling others to participate in this work--maybe that includes you, too! 

Many of you have already been faithful partners in both prayer and financial support throughout many years of my missionary service--from Costa Rica to Miami to Utah and back here in Richland. I am mightily blessed, and beyond grateful. 

A couple months ago, I lost one powerful member of my prayer team, who suddenly and unexpectedly passed on to the great cloud of witnesses. Some of you knew Willy Van Krieken from Walla Walla--a little Dutch-Indonesian woman with a huge prayer-warrior's heart. She had served many years as a missionary, and while her later years were fraught with health problems, she took me under her "prayer wings" and was an enormous encouragement to me. She was largely homebound, but "traveled" with me in prayer. She not only prayed for me, but she shared how she believed God led her to pray. It was a privilege to have been a part of her "team," and her a part of mine. Her prayers and encouragement were truly gifts of God to me. 

Now I pray, "Lord, teach me to pray like Willy!" I want to be that faithful and diligent in lifting others up! And I am also asking the Lord for others who will pray for me like Willy did, in addition to those who will commit to give financially to enable this work to go forward. It is our work, because it is ultimately what God is doing, reconciling the Czech Republic--and all the world that He loves--to Himself. It is a privilege and joy for me to share in this...and you are invited!

If you are not already, would you prayerfully consider being a conduit of God's supply--with your prayers and/or your financial giving? If this is something that stirs you at all, I would love the opportunity to talk to you one-on-one about it, if you would like to learn more. Please contact me and let me know! We can meet in person, by Zoom, or any other way that old and new tech allows us!

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FOR YOUR PRAYERS…

• Praise God for the opportunity to return to the Czech Republic this summer. Please pray for the various activities--especially my participation at the English camp, that I may forge meaningful connections with people there, and be a conduit of the love of Christ.
  
  
• Please pray for me as I sort through sixty years' of accumulated belongings in my family home. Each day I'm learning more and more how a huge task this is. Pray also for wisdom and guidance in what to do with the house itself.
  
  
• Please pray for wisdom and provision as I transition out of a more active role with Main Street Church's ministry in the next year (though I may continue to assist remotely for a while, on a limited basis), as well as with Flourish Mid-Columbia. Please pray that the Lord provides a means for these ministries to continue unhindered. But for the time being, I remain involved as I always have been.
  
  
• Praise God with me for the generous provision and support He has given me through many of you! Before I can relocate, however, I need to substantially increase my financial support, both for start-up expenses and ongoing monthy income. Please pray for the means and the people God may be calling to participate in this...and I'd ask you to pray about whether you might be (or continue to be) one of them!

Blessings in Christ,