A New Family

Word of Life team coming in March

(L-R) Jody, Rachael, Grace, Hannah, Greg's wife Debbie, Pastor Greg, Greg's daughter Sarah, Dave and Clarissa, Lori and Jim Sliz

We had the privilege this past Sunday to share what God has put in our hearts with Word of Life Church in Watertown, New York. Pastor Greg Bogart was on the hockey trip to Czech this past February, and God has linked our hearts together in a neat way...using the Czech nation. His church is small in number but mighty in spirit. The feeling amongst the people is one reminiscent of the Early Church; I believe the same Power and Passion that rested on those early followers rests on this group of believers. After our time of sharing they gathered around us in prayer; God spoke through many of them continuing to bring confirmation, peace, and encouragement to us. We look forward to journeying with them to see the Czech people come to Christ.

Pastor Greg will be bringing a team from his church this coming March to Czech. Please pray as they prepare to minister, raise funds and ready themselves for ministry there. Jim and Lori Sliz (the couple on the far right in the photo) will be joining them. We got to meet Jim and Lori this past February also. They have a huge heart for the Ukraine and plan on ministering there full time in about 3 years time. Interestingly enough their journeys to Ukraine have led them through Czech a few times, and their heart for Czech has grown as a result. One time when they were going to Ukraine they had a layover in Prague and Lori picked up a Czech brochure and began to read it. She doesn't speak, read or write Czech but was able to understand it!!! From that moment they knew they would have a special connection to Czech. It will be exciting for us to see their journey unfold as they prepare to move in faith and live in Ukraine.

We also want to say Merry Christmas to all of you. Thank you for reading our blog and following our journey. We feel the prayers of the righteous over us and thank you for being faithful to pray for our family. May you have a blessed Christmas!

The Countdown

Can't believe it that in less than two weeks we will be moving from Wingham. The next 12 days will be full for us. This weekend we are heading to a church in New York to talk about Czech ministry. The pastor there was on the hockey trip this past February and has a tremendous heart for Hlinsko; they will be bringing a team this coming March. So we are looking forward to seeing him again and also meeting the team that will be coming.
After that, we are home for a few days, then it's off to family Christmas get togethers. Then back in Wingham for the final days before our move.

Keep us in your prayers:

• Safe travels to New York and for God's spirit to move strongly in our sharing
• As always, packing, packing, packing
• For our children to feel peace in the midst of the "upheaval"
• For rest and relaxation with family over Christmas

Hlinsko Ministry

Most the Movie

This is a movie made by Czech Christians, and it is moving beyond words! We own the movie, but kind of forgot about it until a friend had it posted on her Facebook page (thanks for the reminder Amanda:)! Enjoy!

Taken from the official website:

Most is a beautiful Oscar nominated movie and winner of many prestigious film festivals.

It tells the story of the close relationship between a bridge operator and his young son and the fateful day when both try to head off an impending rail disaster.

A steam train full of hundreds of passengers are unaware of the danger as they head towards an open drawbridge. When a desperate young woman witnesses an act of virtue beyond her imagination, her life is changed forever.

Wild Goose Chase

Recently, the book Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson practically jumped at me off the shelf at my work. I picked it up and was instantly riveted. Other than telling you that the book has been an incredible inspiration for us lately, I am not going to say anything about it. Check out the official website, and go pick up the book...it is a challenge most people need!

Here is the website, http://www.chasethegoose.com/

Here is a trailer for the book:

http://chasethegoose.com/media/video/an-geadh-glas

I'd love to hear feedback if you have read it!

A Reoccurring Theme

A few scriptures that have been popping up lately for us... I think there is a theme here...

Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Nehemiah 2:20 The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building.

Luke 6:47,48 Jesus said, "I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock."

Our apartment in Hlinsko

A picture of Poděbradovo náměstí (Square) in Hlinsko. The apartment we are renting is in the building on the left.
This is a view of our kitchen, thankfully, appliances will be included!
Here is a shot of the living room area.And our bedrooms, the bunk beds are the girls and behind the curtain is our room :)

You can view a live webcam of Poděbrady sqare at http://www.hlinsko.cz/mesto/webkamery/1

You can also browse the city's official website at http://www.hlinsko.cz/. There is an English version available.

Frequently Asked Questions

A question that we have been hearing more and more lately is, "So, how long do you plan on doing this Czech thing?" Typically our answer is something along the lines of, "Undetermined." or, "We will have to see what God has in store."


I got up this morning with that question bumping around the corners of my brain, and trust me I think it will continue to bump around for awhile...but I wanted to share a few of the answers it may have bumped into.


I wonder if it is right for us as Christ followers to set a time limit on any of God's plans. It seems contrary to what James told us about how to view the future:


4:13 How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth: 14 When you are not certain what will take place tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist, which is seen for a little time and then is gone. 15 But the right thing to say would be, If it is the Lord's pleasure and if we are still living, we will do this and that. 16 But now you go on glorying in your pride: and all such glorying is evil. 17 The man who has knowledge of how to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

I think this is something we really want to try and live by...allowing God to set the schedule, and not put specific time limits on things. I wonder what it would have sounded like for someone to ask Jesus, "So, how long are you going to do this 'nomadic-travel-around-with-a-group-of-guys-having-no-home-preaching-and-healing-thing'?" Seems like He might have answered..."Till it's finished." (John 19:30) Since in our obedience, we are to continue His ministry, we cannot put a time frame on any ministry we embark on. After all, following in His example, until we no longer have breath left in our body, I don't think He will be finished with us.

More Goodbyes

This past Monday night I had dinner with a lovely group of ladies that I (Rachael) have had the privilege of knowing these past 18 months. It is probably the last time that all of us will be together before I leave. I have loved every minute that I have worked at the Gift Chest, and been thankful for the relationships I have built there. In addition to all the books that I got to read for free, my time there was a blessing. Thinking over the many people that I have interacted with, I see that although you are selling books, gifts, music, etc...the Gift Chest exists as a place to minister to people. So, thank you Sandy and Eleanor for the wonderful opportunity to get to know all of you, and thank you for the opportunity to minister Christ's love to people in a way I had not experienced before. I'll miss you all...and the free books!

www.giftchest.ca

Packing

I've made some progress! Thankfully, today I was given three hours of kid-free packing time, and I was able to almost completely pack up the girl's rooms! It feels so great to have gotten even that much done. Thanks for your prayers.

It has been neat to hear some of the things Jody has been studying lately. God really seems to be teaching him some amazing things. I'll have to get him on here to post some stuff. In any case, thanks for all your prayers, God has been blessing us with peace in the midst of a trying and stretching time.

Nova Bible Kralicka

Great video full of info on ministry in Czech...took some facts from here for our newsletter.
You can also check out their website... www.bible21.org


Enjoy!

Blessings

We have just arrived home from a weekend in Pennsylvania and were blessed with a great visit with Rachael's family. Here is a shot of us at Cracker Barrel...a "must" for us every time we are in the States...or I should say, a "must" for Jody.

We enjoyed seeing my brother and sister perform in the Nutcracker (great job guys!). While there, we ran into a guy who is a missionary in Czech with his family but is home on furlough for about a year. It's always an encouragement to talk with people who have a heart for Czech, but more specifically, to talk with someone who lives there and ministers there. It is a great reminder that we will not be alone, but will be joining a force of people who share a passion to see that nation turn their hearts to Christ.

Another blessing this weekend was being able to join Rachael's family in worship at their home church. We had never visited their church before, but instantly it felt like family. Very warm and inviting. The pastor, who is a new pastor for them and certainly doesn't know us, began sharing at the end of his sermon the need to send out missionaries, and support missionaries. He was speaking of how God can use difficult circumstances to get us to move out of our comfort zone and send us where He wants us. We really felt God speaking to us and so did Rachael's parents...we were all sitting there with tears in our eyes. The pastor then opened the time for prayer and my mom told him we were leaving for Czech in January. He invited us up and prayed over us thanking God for providing a real life example of what he had just preached on. It was another amazing blessing and confirmation of His leading in this area.

And yet another blessing...my (Rachael) parents were able to purchase our desktop computer so we were able to purchase a laptop computer to take to Czech! Thank you God for your provision!

Please keep us in your prayers as we head into a busy season of packing and holidays!

SOS Canada news

We are really excited to see God's provision unfold during this whole transition and journey to live in Czech. A couple updates...

When we began to see how God was leading us to move to Czech, one concern was the yearly hockey trips that we have led to Hlinsko, and our inability to organize and lead them if we were not living in Canada. From the beginning, God had prepared someone to take over the trips. Dan and Faith Grace have taken over the role of Director of SOS Canada! This is exciting for us because the Graces' have a big heart for ministry in Hlinsko and we know that we are leaving things in better hands than before! We look forward to seeing how God uses them in SOS Canada and also look forward to ministering with them in Czech every February!

Another concern has been the length of time that SOS Canada has waited to receive tax-exemption status. Obviously this affects us being able to offer tax receipts to our supporters. Please continue to pray as we have reason to believe that our status may be approved in the next three weeks! This is nothing short of miraculous timing on God's part...and has been quite the faith journey for us as well. It is interesting because many times we felt as though we were supposed to wait, just wait and not really begin support raising. Just a couple weeks ago we felt God prompt us to begin...and soon after we received this news! We will continue to pray, and ask that you do as well. But after three years of trying to get this status, and being denied many times, we, Lord willing, will finally be able to offer tax receipts to supporters!


We are heading to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving weekend with my (Rachael) family. This will most likely be the last time we are able to get to PA before our move to Czech. Well, I better get packing!

Cabbits, Squnks and Goodbyes

I (Rachael) just came back from an evening with a wonderful group of ladies from my church/town. It was a surprise-goodbye party for me, and at this moment I still feel a warm glow from the blessing of friendship...and also the wine. I can say, that tomorrow at church I may still be laughing as I mull over various conversation pieces...cabbits and squnks...very surprising.

Part of this journey to Czech is saying goodbye and looking back on what was; I understand that and am prepared for it. But what surprises me is nostalgically trying to look forward at what might have been, and mourning the loss of it. As I interact with friends made in Wingham over the last 18 months I find myself thinking... "Our kids would have gone to school together." Or, "They will keep shopping at the Gift Chest, and I won't be here to help them pick their next book!"... "Who will live in this house next?...I hope they enjoy my Japanese Bon Bon shrub!" ..."Will they have kids who play with the Pittocks?" Or even upcoming events in the church bulletin that I won't be here for... I am surprised at how God can sew your heart together with others in such a short amount of time...surprised, but thankful.

I am thankful tonight. Thankful for the opportunity to love and be loved.

I am sad tonight. Sad that the circumstances by which to love and be loved by these people will change.

I am thankful tonight. Thankful that although Czech is far away, it is not too far to continue to love.

I supposed that as we continue this journey there will be surprises aplenty. Blessings, trials, sadness and gladness...to name a few.

Tonight was one of those nights that I will look back on and still feel the warm glow...and it won't be from the wine.

First Official Newsletter

Well, here it is...our newsletter in jpeg form...thank you Steve! You will have to click on it to read it. Enjoy!

Was packing today...two boxes only...well, Rome wasn't built in a day...

An Exciting First

So, this is neat. Our first post on our first blog. Wow...now we have arrived in the 21st century.
Anyways...we created this as a way for people interested in our ministry to stay involved on a more day to day basis (or however often we manage to post blogs). I am going to try to figure out how to post a pdf on here (if that is possible) so that our newsletter will be accessible.
As is it too late for me to be up I am not going to try to say anything eloquent and save that for another day.