Sacred Digital: Chuckk Gerwig

Bethany Schulze: This trip has been totally and completely amazing! One thing that I have learned is how to be flexible, more than I have ever had to be. We had been doing ministry in a Roma village that had been going really well, but today the pastor wanted us to minister somewhere else. I wasn’t very happy with that decision but I just had to go along with the plans. We ended up going to an area where about 50,000 to 80,000 people lived but there was no church at all and only about 500 believers. We didn’t have anything pre set up for us there but we ended up having quite a lot of people come and we had one person pray to receive Christ! God has shown me that he has a plan for everything that we end up doing on this trip, even though we may never see the results for what we do.

Michael Kaufman: Well this trip is starting to wind down, but it has been completely awesome and amazing! I mentioned before that we were able to help out the women at the House for the Handicapped so they wouldn’t need to do it themselves (painting a few rooms and working in the garden). She was so thankful for us being there to do it for her, that on the last day she gave us shirts and a key chain holder to go around your neck. Another thing was that she gave us a large piece of paper and markers to draw pictures for a poster to hang on their wall to remember us. That was a great opportunity for us to let them know about God. We drew some pictures including a heart with a cross inside of it and some bible verses. They were so happy for us to be there and it was so great seeing it on their faces. And I sprained my toe on the last day working at that house, but it was soo worth it!

Chuckk: Highlights today = hangin with a couple of Roma guys and hearing about their faith in Jesus, starting a youth event in a large housing area and having a guy there pray to ask Jesus into his life, jumping rope with the kids at the flats, seeing all the children being face painted, watching the kids do a skit about how Jesus brings wholeness ( a drunk guy came by an was yelling for them to go back to America), sharing on the mic by the lakeside about Jesus’ love to a bunch of people (including a topless lady – “don’t look 2the right guys”), knowing Andrea is now in Hungary!!! - getting to sleep a whole 7 hours last night ( the most I’ve had in one night yet – I average 4 hours on this trip) and seeing Jeff’s new haircut…

Shannon Oliphant: Yesterday, some of our team and members of the Ostrava Church, went to the “flats” of Ostrava and prayed. It was shocking to me how there were 50,000 to 80,000 people packed into rows and rows of apartment buildings in not a large area. Everywhere we looked there were huge buildings, little apartments, and very quite people roaming the area. As our teams walked the sidewalks we got stares from just about every person we passed. We were told as we walked and prayed that only about 400 people out of the people living there were Christian. It was crazy for me to think that so many people were lost and had no clue about God and His love He has to offer us. Being able to walk and pray for all the people who did not know God was a very powerful experience for me. It opened my eyes to visually see how many people were lost and with out Christ and how there needs to many prayers for not only these people but everyone else who is living without God in their life.~Love you all and can’t wait to see you See you soon Ryan ans Christian~!

Chris Haenze
This week so far has been really eventful. I’ve been all over the place. First we all went to the Roma village. It was weird, because I sometimes think that I have a pretty hard life ahead, just like every Polish teen, but the kids are age there were in an even worse situation, being forced to live in a society prejudiced against them, and not being able to get a good job or even a good education. After that we worked at a center for mentally handicapped people. It was weird, because the people there seemed to have blessed and served us just as much as we tried to bless and serve them. They kept bringing us food and drinks while we worked. They may have been happy that someone came and wanted to do all that work for free. Yesterday at the lake me and Jonathan put on a knight demonstration, clobbering at each other with shields and axes and then said a little something on the subject afterwards. People seemed to be listening. Today we went to some flats with over 50000 most likely unsaved people and started making noise, playing music, games, and most importantly, telling people about God and his love for us. We still have some more ministry ahead of us and I hope it goes well. God bless everyone who’s been praying for us and everyone in general.

Chris Johnson
I have had a hard time keeping my journal up to date because we’ve been doing so much! I guess that is a good thing. One of the outreaches that we’ve been doing is at the lake. I have had the privilege of leading worship during this time. It is so cool to be next to the lake, singing praises to God. I looked up at one point and saw the sun behind the clouds. It was amazing. Everything around me spoke of God’s glory. Many people stopped by to see us worship and to hear our stories. The ministry at the lake was totally worth my time and effort. I can see God working through me and my team.
I have so many stories to tell when I get home. I can’t wait to share them all with you! See you in a few days!

Paul Jedlicka (aka pavile yedlicka)
Well there is so much to say where do i even start. Perhaps I will talk about one of the most apparent things to me, people. The bond and genuine fellowship that I feel with all my brothers in Christ here in the Czech Republic, province of Morovia, city of Ostrava is amazing. Every relationship here is so positive with people who live so many countrys away from me. The local church and ourselves are like one unit. From an outside perspective you would think I have grown up with such amazing individuals as Tom, Rosska and Loubosh. Please pray for the unity to continue and for Christ to use us in amazing ways.

Jonathan Mayfield
Time has flown, and so much has happened, that it would be nigh impossible to give mention to it all. Seeing how I am the last in a long line of people that have written today, I will keep my thoughts to a minimum… Today’s ministry at the lake was AMAZING!! We started by singing a few songs, and then Carly, Jeff, Stephani, Jim, and Shannon did their drama showing the saving power of Jesus. As the skit drew to a close, the sun went behind a cloud, and the silhouette of an angel appeared in the sky. The sun formed a halo, and the illuminated cloud formed the body and wings! This instance showed to me the blessing God has given to this ministry! Praise God!!!! -j