July 25, 2023
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for your support and prayers while we served in the Czech Republic this month. The trip
was rewarding, interesting, and eye opening. We left on July 4 and returned on July 17. Our mis-
sion was to hold an English Bible Camp (EBC) in Havirov Sumbark in the eastern part of the Czech
Republic.
Our host organization was a church plant of the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Con-
fession. In addition to holding Sunday church services, the church plant and community center
(called K4 which refers to their former address) offers an English "Talk Group" hosted by Ben
Helge, a career LCMS missionary originally from Albuquerque. Being able to speak English opens
doors to many opportunities in the Czech Republic. K4 attracts people of all ages from the sur-
rounding area. They hope to extend their outreach as they implement plans to open their space as a
neighborhood coffee shop in the near future. Offering an EBC is a way of introducing local resi-
dents to K4 and to the worship services they provide.
We began our service in Hradek where several EBC teams met for orientation. Orientation included
information on the LCMS Eurasia vision, an introduction to the language and culture, and instruction
on how to work with an interpreter, including how it feels to not understand the language. Time for
devotions and prayer reminded us that the mission trip was God’s work. We were there to do His
will.
We had an excursion over the border to nearby Ciezyn, Poland where we visited the "Jesus Church".
The church was originally built in 1709 when the Swedish government interceded on behalf of the
Protestants in Poland. Prior to that, only Catholic churches were allowed. The struggle for religious
freedom has a long history. Although the church can seat 6,000 people, Sunday services are not well
attended. We were encouraged, however, by several young men who were learning to play the
amazing pipe organ. The museum in the church has an impressive collection of valuable, very old
Bibles, documents, and other artifacts. They are doing well to preserve the history so it will not be
lost.
The concept of "Freedom" was a recurring theme throughout our service. Many places we travelled
through had much history related to the lack of freedom, be it religious or political. Religious free-
dom had been suppressed in many ways throughout history. Remnants of German and Soviet occu-
pation were evident in buildings, memorials, and borders. Even now, there are many Ukranian
refugees living in the area. Many were housed at our retreat location. Our EBC theme was appro-
priate: Jesus Frees Us.
Two other excursions made a lasting impression on us. One was to a "Forest" church. In the 17th
century Protestantism was outlawed. Churches were closed down and those who met for worship
would be imprisoned. In some locations people would secretly meet in wooded areas to attend
worship. Often they would walk hours in the dark to meet up with others. There was no church
building, but together, those who met comprised the church. It is not just "ancient" history. One of
our helpers personally knows people at her church (which we attended) who were imprisoned for
sharing their faith during communism. People would meet secretly in homes and risk being turned
in by neighbors. How humbling that we take our religious liberties so lightly.
We also visited the town of Suchdol in the Moravian region. Prior to Luther’s Reformation, there
were movements toward reforming the Catholic church. Jan Hus was one of the earliest reformers in
what is now known as the Czech Republic. He was burned at the stake in 1415—more than a hun-
dred years before Luther’s Protestant Reformation. Nonetheless, the "Bohemian Reformation" con-
tinued. The Moravians put everything at risk as they endeavored to put Christ and the pure gospel at
the head of the church. Despite persecution, they sent missionaries all over the world. From Bo-
hemia to the Antarctic, to the shores of North America and to Africa, they brought Truth and Hope to
the world. They lost family, property, their very lives for the sake of those who need the life-saving
gospel. They continue to share God’s love today…as do we.
It’s a privilege to share Christ’s love and truth to people who need to hear it. Even to little ones in
the Czech Republic and to their families. At English Bible Camp the students learned that Jesus
Frees Us to Forgive as Joseph forgave his brothers; to Praise, as the the Israelites praised God for
freedom after safely crossing the Red Sea; to Be Merciful as Elisha and the army of God were merci-
ful to the Syrian army; to Trust as Daniel trusted God when he was thrown into the lions’ den; and to
Live as God restored life to the widow’s son and has given us eternal life. We continue to pray for
the students and their parents and that they will continue to reflect on the messages the children re-
ceived during EBC and that they will be drawn to K4 to hear more about the freedom found in Jesus’
sacrifice for our sins.
Thank you for being a part of this important mission.
God’s blessings,
Pastor, Lisa, Amanda, Henry, Becky, and Brenda