Prague Stories: Lives Changed

One of the things you always wonder about when you go on a trip like this is, what, honestly, are the long term outcomes from all the time (and money) invested in this trip?  Sure, it's really great to be able to travel, to see other people, to expand our understanding (intellectually and spiritually) of the world outside of our country.  It's great to see how often the people who go on missions trips come back changed in their understanding of themselves, of God, of the needs of people around the world.

But, are we having a long term impact on the people we are going to minister to?

As we were preparing for the trip this year, one thing I was looking forward to was the opportunity to back and actually see the church and people again, to talk with them, renew friendships, see what they had learned, or perhaps things they were now doing differently because of their experiences from last year.

Was the church going to be different than it was when we last saw them?

One thing which we had not heard much about after our previous time there was if there were any actual people who had come to put their trust in Christ because of contact with the team (both the artists and the church) during the 2012 OM Arts outreach.  What we discovered was that there were several new individuals and families who had started coming to the church.  One couple in particular was a testimony to the transforming work of Christ.  The wife had been coming to the church, but the husband was definitely not interested.  He was bound to substance abuse, drugs, alcohol, and was selling drugs from their house.

However, he was intrigued by the idea of a bunch of artists coming from America to meet people in the Czech Republic, and agreed to come.  After several conversations with the artists and church team, the Holy Spirit began to work in his heart, and a short time after the outreach, he gave his heart to Jesus.  Since then, he has been freed from his bondage to substances, and has become an active and enthusiastic member of the church there.  Both of them were actively involved in the outreach this year, talking with people and sharing their own story of redemption.

So, not exactly thousands rushing to come forward, but in hard ground like this, it's real, long term fruit.

Prague Stories: On the Metro

Sketching

One of the things we spent lots of time doing every day was traveling back and forth between our hotel and either the outreach location or the church.  Prague, as do many other European cities, has an excellent system of subways, trams and buses.  We were able to purchase 30-day unlimited passes, which meant we could hop on any public transit at any time of day, and travel pretty much anywhere in the city.

Still, it was a couple of hours of travel time each day!  In order to not waste time, one of my favorite things to do was to pull out the sketch book and draw, usually picking different people on the subway.  Of course, it was a little tricky trying to look at people—trying to not look like I was looking at them­—and sketch them before they moved!

Oh, and I had to make sure I paid just enough attention to where we were to not miss the station where we had to get off!

Prague (October 4) - Wrap up

October 4

Friends...

No surprise -- saying goodbye is always hard.  It was interesting to see how each member on the team did their goodbyes in their own unique way.  Most of the members are home by now (we stayed a couple of extra days to spend with Sue's family here), and a couple of them were still struggling with illness on the trip home, but they've made it safely, and are beginning the task of re-integrating.

I was sick again and missed the last day of the outreach (Saturday) which turned out to be sunny and relatively warm.  There were more conversations, and several on the team were able to finish up pieces they were working on.  Throughout the week, we had been collecting names in a big jar for a give-away on the last day, so on Saturday, the church team was able to pick out names to give away various pieces that we had worked on over the last two weeks.  Unfortunately, my pottery pieces hadn't been fired yet, so we couldn't give away any of those.  However, there were a lot of people who received artwork, and they were all very happy!  For some of the pieces, the artist was able to give a description of what the piece meant, and have a photo with the winner.

Then, off to Japan, Korea, Atlanta and South Carolina... and Poděbrady.  We were picked up by Sue's cousin Frank at the hotel to spend a few more days with them before returning.  Last year, we spent a LOT of time driving all over the Czech Republic, visiting castles, museums, art galleries, ruins and natural sites.  This year, we did a little driving around, but we wanted to spend more time with family and less time on the road.  We were able to visit with one of Frank's daughters and her two teenagers.  Their town has been in existence for 700 years, and I'm not sure how old the house itself is.  They live in a valley surrounded by limestone cliffs.  Some of the cliffs are directly behind their house, and they have caves carved directly into the stone.

We also met with two local pastors here in Poděbrady.  It is great to be able to visit with local pastors, since it gives us a chance to begin to build bridges with the local church here, which opens doors to more cooperation in the future.

We are now packing up to head home again.  Pray that we can keep our luggage under the weight limit.  Pray especially for our time through JFK airport.  I've heard that making your way through the lines in customs can take more than two hours!!

  Blessings!

Prague (September 28) - Last Day in the Tents

September 26

Sunshine!

Well, woke up to cold, but sunny weather today.  High around 56°F, with the low supposed to drop to around 39° tonight.  Yesterday (Friday) was partly cloudy during the day, and we had lots of good interactions with people. However, we have found that, as soon as the sun starts dipping toward the horizon, the temperatures drop very quickly!

Well, good news is that Sue, after missing one day due to the nasty stomach flu she had, is feeling well enough to go in today.  Bad news is that I seem to have caught the bug from her.  Last night was rough -- I don't even remember the last time I was so sick with a stomach bug -- and today I'm the one staying home to rest.  It's really hard missing the last day of the outreach and the time with the team, especially since the sky is finally clearing up, but I guess my job today is primarily to pray for the rest of the team as they are standing up, giving the Good News!  It's a little after 2:00PM (14:00) here, and at least I'm finally feeling strong enough to sit up for a while and gingerly try to eat a little bit.

Another Story: I spoke with one young man yesterday.  He is one of the security guards from the Tesco store we are in front of, and his curiosity finally got the better of him so he wandered over to see what was going on.  He was fascinated with the sculptures, and especially the images of "Hope" and "Faith".  He is a student of photography, and he was telling me of a film project which he and some of his classmates had created, centered around the theme of "Hope".  Like many others we have met there, he has a vague belief in "God" and trying to follow God in being good, and a feeling of hope which that belief brings, but no specific foundation for that hope.  I was able to use the images which the team had created earlier in the week to tell him WHY it is we have hope in Christ, that it is through Christ's blood that we have a reason for hope.  He was a bit frustrated struggling with his English, but I think we were still able to have a basic understanding.  In times like this, you rarely have a clear "breakthrough", but I'm just thankful for the opportunity to sow some more seeds into people's lives

Blessings!