Faith Proclaimed
Whenever I'm visiting Elverson during the summer, I enjoy getting onto our family's riding mower and cutting the grass. It might seem strange to some, but for me the process of going back and forth over the grass cutting straight lines is almost therapeutic. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in ministry would agree with me that the amount of effort you put into your service doesn't always yield an equal result, at least that you can see at the time. It can at times feel as though you take one step forward only to take two steps back. Although we know that God treasures our humble service and ultimately uses our efforts to accomplish His work, we often don't get a chance to see the results until much later and in many cases we won't see the results until we see some of these people in heaven. This is why cutting the grass is so enjoyable to me. I get to see the tangible and immediate results of my work.
However, a week and a half ago I was blessed to see some wonderful fruit from the labor I was called to in Christ. Two Sundays ago, I was honored to attend the baptism of Barča as she proclaimed her faith along the edge of a lake, 30 minutes outside of Ostrava. I first met Barča three summers ago when she attended her first English camp. Over the next two years Barča consistently attended Youth Revolution, even though she doesn't live in Ostrava. During that time we had many great conversations as we spoke about things going on in her life, things that I taught about during youth group and some of her struggles and triumphs in her faith. At the beginning of this year she began attending a CB church in her own town on Sundays and began attending their youth group. Although I was saddened not to see her as often as in the past, I was happy to see her more involved with a church body and growing even more, even if it was at a different church. Not only did Barča honor me by inviting me to her baptism, but she also asked if I would be the one who prayed for her during the service. I must admit that I was incredibly surprised to be given this honor, but I was more than happy to pray for her.
During her personal testimony she spoke about how her very first English camp lit a fire in her heart and caused her to really consider some of the things that she had heard about God from her grandmother when she was young. The Lord used the youth group and Bible studies with Míla to soften her heart and grow her understand of and love for Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for opportunity to be a part of her life and help direct her to Christ. Please pray that God would continue to grow Barča in her faith as she seeks to live it out in a culture where faith in anything, let alone in the One True God, is rare. Pray that she would be a light to others in her school and community and that the Lord would guide her in the future.
Youth Revolution End of School Year Celebration
This past Friday was the final day of school for students across the Czech Republic and also the final youth group of the year. In order to celebrate it we had an evening with a message from Robert followed by lots and lots of grilled food. We had 11 youth in attendance and as each plateful of grilled food touched the table a flurry of hands reached in to devour it. People talked, ate, played soccer, jumped on the trampoline and swung on the swings. As it got dark, some people stayed to watch a movie about an arrogant climber coming to Christ after his climbing partner sacrifices his own life to save his. Please pray for these teens as they go into the summer vacation. Many of them will be attending the English camp, but for the majority of the summer they will be involved in other camps and on vacation. Pray that God would use this summer to draw them closer to himself and that next year would see some real growth in their spiritual lives.
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