Phil's Place: May 2006

Friends...

Yesterday, as I was spending time with God, I was praying for my friends in Czech. Some of the ones I prayed for are already Christians, but many weren't. I felt God's power in such a strong way during that time of prayer. As I prayed, it felt as though God was reconfirming again in my life and in my heart the purpose and passion He has given me for Czech. I can't wait to get back to Czech and reconnect with these friends I've already made and make some new friends there. I can't wait to share with them about the most important thing in my life...my relationship with Christ. But, the exciting thing is that I don't have to be there for God to work in their lives. In fact, He already is.

It's been awhile...

It has been awhile since my last post. The last one is from my California trip and it's already been a month since then! I've been busy just about every weekend sharing with churches about Czech. The first picture here is from my visit to Milan Wesleyan. I stayed with the Pastor Brown and his wife and I found out that they are former missionaries to Peru, which was a fun connection.

The next picture is of the Pastor Bye and his family from Corydon Wesleyan. I had such an awesome time with them and I met so many great people there. I'm excited about these new people joining my team!

The California Trip!

You can see pictures below of some of the sights I was able to see in California. The trip was a lot more than that though! To me, here in the midwest, California is sort of a whole different planet! It was really cool to see what God is doing there and even what is happening in the Wesleyan Church, in northern California, at least. I shared at Antioch Wesleyan (in the outskirts of San Francisco), Riverside Wesleyan (Sacramento), a young adult group from Arcade Wesleyan (also, Sacramento) and Wesleyan Evangelical Church in Stockton, CA (south of Sacramento. I was also able to visit with some other pastors in the area and share with them about what is happening in Czech! Throughout the week, I was able to get a few new prayer and financial partners and I am looking forward to continuing these relatio

nships.

A really, really exciting part of the trip, though, for me was seeing many people get excited about GOING to Czech! In so many instances, I feel like God brought me there to specifically share with certain people! The group of young adults I shared with had been looking for a place to minister overseas, but couldn't decide on one. After hearing about Czech, they were so excited to be part of the ministry there on short-term teams. Then, I was able to reconnect with Tomas, the guy who was actually my first connection to California churches. His picture is to the right. He is the youth pastor at Riverside Wesleyan and is also Czech. He was born and grew up in the Czech Republic and then moved to the states. It was so amazing and exciting to talk with him about ministry opportunities in Czech! (It was also nice to eat an authentic Czech meal with him and others from the church in Sacramento before I left!) I can't wait to see how God uses this relationship to bring more Czechs to a saving knowledge of Christ.

It was so clear, so often to me in California, that I was there for a reason. And, as is true each time I go to a new place, I was humbled again by the love and hospitality of people who would normally be strangers, but instead, we are family. The family of God. It's nice to know we've got family everywhere.

More California!

I never realized how beautiful Sacramento, California is until I was there! There is so much to see and it is a great place to visit!

Sacramento River and Old Sacramento

Old Sacramento

The gardens surrounding the Capitol Building in Sacramento

California's Capitol Building in Sacramento. Of all the U.S. State Capitol Buildings, this one is supposed to look the most like the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Also, this is where Arnold Schwarzenegger's office is!

California Trip...

I am having an excellent time in California! I shared at Antioch Wesleyan on Sunday and have met a lot of great people. In fact, a man from that church and the pastor were my tour guides for San Francisco on Tuesday. I didn't know I could see so much in just one little day. The pictures on the blog are just a fraction of all that we saw! I was worn out after that, but it was worth it! I'll be sharing with a few more churches toward the end of the week, so please keep praying that it will be a fruitful time! Thanks!