Monthly Archives: November 2011

I arrived home at about 9:00 PM Saturday after a long, uneventful trip. Thanks for the prayers, emails, comments, and etc. for this trip. Several of the folks I worked with asked me to express their gratitude as well. I did my posts on a device that does not have a regular keyboard, so I’m sure there have been plenty of typos. Thanks for your patience.

On Friday I went for the regular weekly study the Novak family has. Both Honza and Pavla had some serious questions that wanted us to work on together. They continue to growth in faith. Pavla also cooked a typical Czech meal that we enjoyed together. It was a great visit.

I spent Thanksgiving with the Hondanko’s. We enjoyed a great meal in their new home. As is often the case, it was a pleasant combination of visiting, discussing practical issues of family and child-rearing, and talking about the scriptures. I have included a couple of pictures of this delightful family.

Note to self- bring a heavier coat if you are here again this late in the year.. Today I met with the young man who does most of the preaching for the group Lucy attends. He is both talented and knowledgable. I want to think we are making some progress, but only time will tell. After the afternoon with him, I met Lucy at the mall for an hour to discuss a couple of issues and say our farewells. She remains an example of faith and kindness in a difficult situation. I assured her I would do my best to be back in the Spring.

The class on Monday was a challenging one. Fortunately, I had the day to prepare. Ferco and Jarka had come to discuss the issues with dating the Exodus. He is especialy well- read and they brought good attitudes. I think it went well, and they urged me to return.

Sunday began in Brno with a meeting for lunch with the Christians. After a pleasant visit and a good meal of smazenzi kureci rizek, we went together to the meeting place. The pictures show us around the table for the meal, Joseph going on- line to find Jan, and us preparing for our service.. Kamila was there and lamented the fact we did not have more time to talk. I was pleasantly surprised.

Lucy had driven from Bratislava for the worship and to insure that I got to Bratislava in time for the study there. We got there about 30 minutes before the study began. I did a lesson on understanding the word. The response from the five gathered for the class was really encouraging. I have included a couple of pictures from this class.

The trip to Prague was a long one. Weather played havoc with the schedules. I did manage to spend some time with Mike before calling it a day. We worked on some publishing plans. On thursday I spent some time with Veny before meeting with Mike and Tatana again to discuss the work. Being with the Morrow’s is always great. I keep hoping Veny will do what he need to do in his life spiritually. He is a wonderful man.

Except for spending a couple of hours with Biss, Monday was a quiet day used for doing some reading and preparation. On Tuesday, I spent a couple of hours with Savella discussing her health issues and challenges she is fcing caring for her father. (I will be pestering some of you medical types when I get home for information for her.) That evening I met with Biss furor a study and discussion of how we can best help some the others. The parting is always difficult, but it was made easier by a sense of having spent the time profitably.

Sunday began with a brisk mile walk to meet the driver who would take us to a village about 70 miles from Sofia. We were meeting with a group in the home of a Bulgarian Christian for their 10 AM worship. This small group has a couple of doctrinal issues they are still sorting out, but were extremely receptive to the teaching and urged me to return when possible. This situation was one of the main opportunities I was excited about for this trip and it exceeded expectations. The hurried trip back to Sofia got us here just in time for the assembly. Everyone was present and it was an edifying service. An English lady who regularly visits family three hours from Sofia had made the trip to worship. She is quite an encouragement to the group. After the worship, we met with Dinyu for an update on his situation.. This was followed by a long discussion with our visitor about a difficult family situation. It was a great day.