Our first visit to Prague in the winter of 1993 was a blur. We had just moved to Lviv, Ukraine the previous June, had a major outreach in August, and started the church in September. It was time for a break, so we traveled by train from Ukraine to Holland to visit friends. Prague was just a stopover for a few hours to change trains between east and west, and the journey was surreal as we passed from the black and white of the former USSR to the color of Europe, like Dorothy going from Kansas to Oz.
However, our train last week had its final stop in Prague where we met local leaders as well as a visiting team to scout out the city for church planting and campus ministry opportunities. Ken and Merly Moreno are Filipinos who are working for an international company in Prague. Like most of our Every Nation Filipinos who relocate for work, Ken and Merly started reaching their neighbors and colleagues as soon as they were settled, and we have been in dialogue with them for some time about the possibility of starting a new work in Prague.
We spent our first day training the team in cross-cultural strategies for reaching the city, then went out to connect with people and survey the campus the next few days. Most Czechs are indifferent to religion, but the opportunities to reach this multicultural crossroad between east and west are significant. Ken and Merly have started a growing small group that has even reached people from India, and they just upgraded their venue to incorporate a church service format. Please pray that the local team increases to the point we can move forward with a church plant and campus ministry, and if you know anyone from Prague, please let us know.
Our next stop is Timisoara, Romania in October for ten days of campus outreach with a visiting team, and Myra and I will stay an extra week or so for followup. Please pray that we reach many students and establish an ongoing campus ministry there. Thanks for standing with us, and God bless!
Prayer Requests
- Grace for friends in North Carolina recovering from Hurricane Florence
- Strength and grace for our travels
- New financial partners for our expanded ministry
- Team development for Romanian projects
- Peace for Ukraine
