Here I sit at 12:30am in the home of a Scottish family here in the Czech Republic. The Clarke’s are one of the many blessings we have experienced this month. It is the night before we head to Vienna for our last week on the field. Next week at this time I will be on a plane in route to JFK, which seems surreal. I have fallen in love yet again with another European city. Prague is gorgeous…the art, the culture, the history, the parks, the cathedrals, the people…everywhere I look I see beauty. I think I was made to live in Europe. I can assure you I will be revisiting books and movies on the Holocaust and Communism upon my return. My heart is breaking for this continent and I believe I will return here one day. For now let me tell you a little bit about the people I have met this week and what God is doing here in Prague. (Forgive me, we’ve met A LOT of people).
First, meet Phil Davis. Phil is the Pastor of Faith Community Church and he lives here with his wife Shanna and their 3 children, Lucy, Clark & Piper. Phil was our original contact here through friends of mine back in Charlotte. Though we had never met till a week ago, we know a lot of the same people and in my book that makes us friends. Phil is a man of God and a natural networker. He connected us with tons of ministries here in Prague to meet with and found us a place to stay for free. Click here to read more about his church.
Next, meet David & Daniel. They are currently managers of the Czech Inn Hostel/Hotel here in Prague and they are set to open their own hostel, Mosaic House in Spring 2010. There story of how this all came to fruition is pretty amazing. Their dream and how they have sought after it and God has blessed them gave me a lot of hope personally to follow my own dreams. Sometimes I am so quick to give up on dreams. These guys inspired me and I love their heart to minister through this place. They don’t want to do it in a way that shoves the gospel down people’s throats, but they are about the gospel and people coming to know Christ. Their life is their ministry and they intend to live it out with their staff and guests of Mosaic House. Click here to check out Czech Inn and click here for Mosaic House. These are definitely the places to stay if you come and visit Prague!
After that we met with Scott Koch. Scott is an independent missionary here in Prague. He formerly resided in Nashville, TN and managed Audio Adrenaline. The past few years he has been in Prague reaching out to the solicitors and prostitutes. Scott is in this world and pursuing people. He shared his heart for leadership development and making people believe in their worth and value. Scott was intentional and I believe that is an attribute God uses. It is a unique call to do ministry in brothels. I have a lot of respect for this man and believe God is going to do big things through him.
Next their is Laurie Barnes and I believe this woman knows every missionary in Prague. Her husband and her moved here a few years ago and started a Christian Library. They have over 5,500 resources in Czech and English. It’s a pretty sweet place. She is a networker and knows EVERYTHING and EVERYONE here in Prague. She is a great resource and connecting point and has a HUGE heart for the Lord. Click here to learn about their ministry.
At this point in our week the reunions began as I met people who knew friends from back home. Again I am amazed at the body of Christ and how we are all interconnected in different ways. We got to sit down and talk with Tim Lyle who is professional basketball player here in the Czech. His wife and him have been here for about four years. She teaches at Riverside Christian School and he works with Athletes in Action. Tim looks A LOT like Keith Dickerson from Charlotte. It was weird…feel free to comment if you agree.
Our last meeting was with Martin & Jane Hasik who serve with Young Life 
International here. This was one of my favorite meetings because Martin is Czech so I not only learned about their ministry, but I learned more about the culture, the people and communism. They are doing life with people and that is ministry. They have a big heart for the families and HS kids living right in their building. I have definitely learned about living your life as a ministry this year. Young Life might look different here from the states, but it is about relationships and Christ bottom line. How it is done doesn’t really matter in my mind. God is using this couple immensely here in Prague. We heard about them all over the place before finally getting to sit down with them. It was a privilege. Click here to read about their ministry.
International here. This was one of my favorite meetings because Martin is Czech so I not only learned about their ministry, but I learned more about the culture, the people and communism. They are doing life with people and that is ministry. They have a big heart for the families and HS kids living right in their building. I have definitely learned about living your life as a ministry this year. Young Life might look different here from the states, but it is about relationships and Christ bottom line. How it is done doesn’t really matter in my mind. God is using this couple immensely here in Prague. We heard about them all over the place before finally getting to sit down with them. It was a privilege. Click here to read about their ministry.
It has been yet another AMAZING week! I have been humbled, encou
raged, broken, challenged and met some pretty quality people. There are too many to list honestly. We were able to get involved with some hands on ministry with Teen Challenge, as well as prayer walking the famous Wencsias Square. This square is covered with Caberet’s and solicitor’s. It was heartbreaking and eye opening. My teammate Blair wrote an incredible poem from that night that I think everyone should read. Please click here to go to her blog and read it. We were able to share at International Church of Prague and their Pastor was very excited about the World Race. And finally we were able to reunite with our teammates who had spent the month in Berlin and that was great! Tomorrow morning we head to Vienna. It will be an amazing, yet emotional week. Please keep us in your prayers as we celebrate and rejoice in all the Lord has done and at the same time say goodbye to the family we have traveled the world with this year!! I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL IN ONE WEEK!!!!!
raged, broken, challenged and met some pretty quality people. There are too many to list honestly. We were able to get involved with some hands on ministry with Teen Challenge, as well as prayer walking the famous Wencsias Square. This square is covered with Caberet’s and solicitor’s. It was heartbreaking and eye opening. My teammate Blair wrote an incredible poem from that night that I think everyone should read. Please click here to go to her blog and read it. We were able to share at International Church of Prague and their Pastor was very excited about the World Race. And finally we were able to reunite with our teammates who had spent the month in Berlin and that was great! Tomorrow morning we head to Vienna. It will be an amazing, yet emotional week. Please keep us in your prayers as we celebrate and rejoice in all the Lord has done and at the same time say goodbye to the family we have traveled the world with this year!! I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL IN ONE WEEK!!!!!
(apparently touching this gold means we’re coming back!!!)
(this is Jen Nolan (Riverside School) who we stayed with some)
