Monthly Archives: October 2013

On Tuesday Lucy and I met with a young Christian who happens to be an MD and his brother who is suffering from brain cancer.  He wanted to discuss human suffering an the the love of God and how to try to to teach his brother.  The brother was there but suffering from cognitive issues as a result of the surgery.  I was so touched and humbled by all of this.  Lucy, who has some real challenges in her life worked diligently to arrange the study with these people who have such personal challenging questions.  I was ashamed of what we so often superficially perceive to be problems and the simplistic answers that come what is passed off as leadership.  May God have mercy on us.  

I traveled to Bratislava Sunday night following the worship in Brno.  It is normally a complicated trip on a Sunday night, but a local friend helped arrange a driver who drove me for just a few dollars more than the train.  On Monday I met with Lucy in the evening to visit and catch up with what going on in her life.  She is doing well, though she wasn’t excited about having a picture taken.  Circumstances with the church are still difficult, but she is doing the best she can with it.

The entire group, except for Jozef who was at home taking care of Tomas, met on Sunday afternoon at the mall to visit and enjoy some ice cream and cake. It was crowded, noisy, and fun. With Jozef gone, that meant that of the 8 people there only Jan and I could take leading roles. I led a prayer at the beginning, served the Lord’s Supper, and preached. Jan led singing and made a talk before the Lord’s Supper. His words were moving and inspiring. I will probably turn them into a sermon I preach soon. It was a wonderful day.

After getting back to Brno, I had a chance to meet with several old friends. Two of them are atheists with whom I have had a number of discussions. I am grateful for the friendship and happy that the door for discussion is still open. In the case of one of them, I am genuinely optimistic that the talks will bear fruit.

The attendance was not great, but we did have several visitors. All but one had been to previous lectures. It encouraged me that some who had been to several of my previous lectures came for this one. The man who came for the first time was very active during the question and answer period and afterwards agreed to set up a study with Mike. Any lecture that produces a serious student is time well spent.

After the lecture, mike and I had our traditional post- lecture meal. It was great to be with him and catch up on some things.

Tuesday was a long travel day. The layover in Vienna was longer than the two flights combined. The weather is phenomenal for this time of year. I spent some time walking around and enjoying the sights and sounds before settling in to work on the lecture for tomorrow.

Monday was my last full day in Sofia. It was capped by a great meal in the home of Kristo and Vanya. Kristo preaches for the other group in Sofia. They were full of questions about my experiences in preaching in Eastern Europe and how I approach a variety of issues. Biss was there as well. It is clear that they are very fond of him and also deeply respect him. It was a good evening.

Sunday Morning

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we decided to spend out time together in one of Sofia’s largest parks.   There is something very special about discussing God and his word in a park under the shadow of a mountain.  Savella is doing as well as I have seen her in a long time.

On Friday I headed to the old neighborhood to see a friend who was also our family dentist when we lived here.   Through the years he has shown an increasing interest in spiritual things.  Our talk went well.  After that, I hurried back into the city center to meet with Biss and Savella.  Savella caught me up on her health issues, and we discussed some challenges facing the church here.