Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Rescued by the Sovereign God


We have been blessed – a bless-your-socks-off kind of blessed – to be part of a home group in Karolinka for the last year and a half.  This group started 5 or 6 years ago when Roman Martyščák returned from the U.S. as a new believer and wanted his family to hear about Jesus.  He and his wife Martina gathered with his parents, Zdeňek and Marie, and his sister Eva for a Bible study on Saturdays.  Eva gave her heart to Christ and invited her boyfriend Michal to join the group; soon afterwards Michal, too, began to follow Jesus.  A few years later, Roman, Martina, Eva and Michal began to attend the Zlín reformed church.  They invited the Deutschmanns, and later Annette and me, to join with them in their studies.

Just a few weeks ago we wrote about the arrival of twins in the Erbanovi family.  About the time these little ones were born, their grandmother, Marie, was lying at death’s door, in a coma, on a respirator, due to complications from surgery.  Many of you prayed for Marie.  The Lord heard your prayers and did abundantly more than any of us expected.  When she regained consciousness, Marie began to tell those around her that the sovereign God had rescued her (her words, not mine).  She is now saying she has a new relationship with Jesus.  The picture on the left shows Marie holding one of her twin grandchildren.  It is a picture of two kinds of new life in one frame.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his lovingkindness and for his wonders to the sons of men! (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31)   
 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

A Good Retreat in Bojnice


We recently spent a few days in Bojnice, Slovakia with the leaders of our church and their wives.  This was our second planning retreat and God really blessed our times of prayer and discussion.  Through God’s providence and under his guidance, we took an idea that one of the leaders had been thinking about and developed it into a simple plan for growing community and evangelism in our church.  Thank you Lord!

The weather was mostly rainy and cloudy, so we didn’t get but one opportunity to go outside during our time in Bojnice.  We visited the local castle, which looks like something out of a fairy tale.

Thank you for praying for us and our work!