Going off the feedback from last month's newsletter, I come to you again with pictures and stories in this new format. Please feel free to pass the link along to others that might be interested and encouraged by what God is doing in the Czech Republic. Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement and support as we do all this for the sake of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'm still not entirely sure why it's called Impuls Week. The name stuck around in-connection with a previous mission focused week. And that's exactly what Impuls Week is. It's a mission week encouraging a specific church to be out in the community, going to the streets and actively seeking out relationships all for the sake of the Gospel. During the last week of August, the Lutheran Church in Albrechtice, a village of 4,000, organized such a week. Working together with local leaders, we set out for a week filled with unique ways to meet the community where it's at.
Preparation
To start off the week, the congregation gathered to pray for the main team serving, to sing and to encourage everyone to be connected to the Impuls Week. Pastor Kaster and his wife Suzanne, LCMS missionaries to Prague, joined us for the evening as well as for Wednesday night's program. Pastor Kaster shared the blessing with everyone as we departed to serve for the week.
Where the people are
The church complex in Albrechtice is located on a small hill, somewhat far (in European terms, meaning a 10-minute walk) from the rest of the village. Most people live in the cluster of apartment buildings closer to the center. The church recognized that if it wanted to be in contact with the people, it would need to go to where the people are. So, a team of volunteers set up a large white tent in the center of the village to house all the programs for the week.
A moms/dads with small kids gathering, activities for children, an afternoon cafe, popcorn, bingo, American night, live music, games and a variety of events took place in and around the tent. All this was done to meet members of the community, to connect with them and to have a place to invite friends and strangers to sit down and chat.
From tent to church
As the sun began to fade behind the trees, everyone received the invitation to join us for dinner up on the hill at the church. We went as a group to spend the evening together. Every night, our physical hunger was fed and so was our spiritual hunger. A different congregation member shared a short thought/devotion as part of the evening program, all focusing on different aspects of God (Creator, Judge, Savior and Friend).
Sunday
The week culminated on Sunday. Breakfast and coffee served in the morning followed by the worship service and lunch. And praise the Lord, five young men from the village showed up at 8:00 am for breakfast and attended church, four of them for the first time in their lives! They heard again the love of Jesus for us all and even went to the front of the church with all the other students for a blessing in the new school year. We thank God for working in their hearts, and we now pray for God to protect these five young men (Daniel, Mates, Max, Richard and Tomáš) and to give them faith.
The chairs and wooden pallets stacked up. The food eaten. The delicious coffee drunk. The tent emptied. The week finished with the entire team exhausted. Yet, we were and are grateful for the relationships formed, the Gospel being heard and new individuals connected to God's church. The exciting thing is that this is just the beginning. Twice a month, the moms/dads with young kids gather at the church complex. Young children gather for a program every Friday. The older youth join for Impuls Club on Friday nights. And we gather with new friends every Sunday to receive God's gifts and to praise the One who gave everything for us. We move from an Impuls Week to an Impuls Life. All glory to God.
We are excited for the year ahead of us. English Talk Group (ETG) continues to grow. God richly blesses this ministry and it now resembles a family, but one with new members all the time. And while we plan for the school year and all that it holds, this past month, we got together, had fun and heard the Gospel as well.
Pizza Night
Gathered in my apartment on a Wednesday night, our ETG family cooked together. After we made 10 pizzas, we sat down to talk about the dough. Everyone likes pizza. Everyone liked the dough (thanks Grandma Helge). And we pointed out that without a good dough, it doesn't matter what you put on top, the pizza won't be very good. So, it is with us. With the right base, we firmly stand. The hymn text "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand" (LSB 575) lends itself nicely. We stand on Christ, the only true foundation. He holds us up.
A Growing Leadership Team
As ETG grows, so does our team. Filip (pictured left) continues to bring insight and a different perspective. Monica (pictured center) returned to CZ after studying for a year in Minnesota at a Bible school. She has been a constant leader and helper since the beginning of ETG. And our newest leader, Samuel (pictured right), joins us with great energy and a desire to share the Gospel with students in Havířov. Pray for this new team as we share God's love and tell the Good News.
