I moved! The apartment I was living in is large, and because it's just me, I didn't really need that much space. Also, as we prepare for the Cook family joining us (hopefully soon!!), they might need that apartment if they don't find something off campus right away. So I moved into one of the apartments over our office building. It is quite a bit smaller, but it is cozy and I like it! I will be able to leave it mostly the way it is while I'm gone, which is nice. I haven't done all the decorating I want to yet, but it is functional. If you are ever in the area, stop by and see me!!!Current Ministry
This month has been pretty quiet around here. We don't have many big events or anything super urgent to prepare for. We have our Bible clubs weekly and they are going well. I love getting to spend time with the kids in Axis each week. We have touched on lots of different topics in the last month, including fear, hypocrisy, and attitudes. The kids ask lots of questions and God is working in their hearts!The first weekend in October I traveled with Kate and nine other ladies from my church here to a "mlyn" (mill) that has been turned into a restaurant and hotel. We had quite the adventure, from power outages to loud music late at night from another group staying there. But it was a good weekend of rest and spiritual renewal. We also painted with watercolors on Saturday afternoon and that was so fun! While I don't understand everything and can't be part of all the conversations, it was great to get to know Kate more and spend time "in the nature" as the Czechs say. The leaves had just begun to change and the weather was overcast so I got some beautiful pictures! It's also a step towards getting to know the other ladies. Most of them don't speak English, and though they see me at church, they don't know much about me. This weekend opened doors for me to be able to practice my limited Czech and just spend time with them. I have found that once people know my level of Czech, they are more comfortable trying to speak to me, whereas before they only know that I am American, so they are likely to not even try to have a conversation. They don't automatically assume I know Czech, because it is an extremely difficult language. But once they know that I know a little Czech and I am willing to try (and fail - a lot!), they are impressed and will try to chat with me.
We had an English Day on Tuesday (the 22nd) with a couple classes from a school near us. We normally go to the schools for a day of teaching, but they are having electricity work done in the school building, so they came to us! We talked about fall, played games that encourage them to use their vocabulary and learn new things, and even introduced them to MadLibs!
Deaf church started again! It was great to see them again; I haven't seen them since the camp weekend they had in August. I feel like I did not learn and comprehend as much as I have in the past, which may have several causes, but I will be spending some time watching the Scripture videos they have and brushing up on my Bible vocabulary. The journey to fluency is far from over, but they are so patient and helpful. I will be traveling with some of them in a couple weeks for a ladies' getaway in the eastern part of Czech Republic.
Financial Business
As you know from my last newsletter, I will be postponing the full-time approval process until June 2020. This means that technically I will not be employed by Word of Life from February (after CCI graduation) until June. My account will remain open, and money can still be received, but it is up to each individual whether they would like to continue giving during that time or not. I will be contacting each of you separately before then, but I wanted to give a little heads up on what will happen at that time.When I first started this journey, it was a two-year commitment, and that two years will be coming to an end very soon. That means that none of you are obligated to continue past that point. This is an excellent time to reevaluate your goals and the projects or ministries that you want to be a part of. If you choose to continue giving throughout those five months, the money will build in my account and I will have a head start on my start-up fund when I begin support raising again. If you choose not to continue giving, then you can contact Word of Life to stop your donations. (Obviously this mostly applies to supporters who are set up for 'recurring', or automatic withdrawals. If you are sending checks, you can simply not send them in.) Again, I will be contacting everyone individually. But let me say publicly how thankful I am for each and every one of you. Your faithfulness over the past two and half years has been a huge blessing and encouragement to me. Without all of you, I would not have been able to do this. Thank you for letting God use your finances to advance His kingdom.
Scripture Chatter
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth," Psalm 46:10-11. It's really hard for me to be quiet. To be still. To not think about (read "worry about") the next thing, or what is happening tomorrow, or what happened yesterday. My mind goes a mile a minute right up until my eyes are forced shut by sheer exhaustion at night. I am constantly in motion; my hands always have to be doing something. Sometimes that is a good thing (idle hands...) but other times it is very dangerous. When my mind is constantly consumed with what needs to get done, questions about what's happening, doubts about the way things are being done, or just thinking about what I will make for dinner, there is no space for me to dwell on the Lord. God has commanded me to "be still", to stop talking, stop thinking, stop worrying, stop planning, and simply be in His presence. Life is busy. There is always something to do. Life is noisy. There is always a podcast to listen to, a movie to watch, songs to sing along with, a conversation to have. As much as I enjoy and am thankful for technology, I believe that the enemy twists it for his purposes. Because if we are always watching something, listening to something, wasting time on Facebook, we aren't being still. We aren't resting in the knowledge that God is God. And regardless of what we do or don't do, what gets done and what doesn't, what we know and what we don't, He. Will. Be. Exalted. No ifs or buts about it. There are no conditions to Him being exalted. It is a fact set in stone. He will be exalted. And He commands us to be still and dwell on that.
Not a perfect picture but....
I am missing this little guy and his momma. They are in North America right now with Honza, raising support for our ministry. We have sponsored the students in the Bible Institute in Hungary as I have mentioned in previous letters, and we have several projects we would like to do to improve our campus, so this trip is very important. But they are coming back the end of next week and I am so excited!!
Prayer Requests
- the Haliks as they finish up their support raising trip and then travel back here- the Cook family as they continue to raise support to be able to come join us here
- the kids at Axis that they would continue to ask questions and take the next step in their walk with Christ
- I have not yet explained to my Deaf friends my plans for next year, I am not sure I quite have all the vocabulary I need to effectively communicate my heart. Please pray for clarity and that they would understand
- I will be traveling to Hungary
next week to visit the Czech students and others at the Bible Institute. Pray
for safety in travels and that it would be a time of encouragement and refreshment.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers! As always, feel free to email me or message me with questions, thoughts, or just what's happening in your life!
Love,
Adele
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