27 Jun After We Leave
Today was my team?s last official day of ministry on the campus of CVUT. We leave for our debrief in Vienna tomorrow, and have every reason to be stoked to finally get some rest.
But it?s not that simple. Not because we aren?t excited to get away to reflect on all the Lord has done this summer, but because even after five weeks, our time in Prague feels cut short. We all wonder what work the Lord could do if we only had a couple more weeks, or even a few more days with our contacts. If only we could meet more students on campus, maybe another would be receptive to the gospel.
We are all weighed with the thought that there will be eleven less people sharing the gospel in a city that desperately needs it after we leave. In our human nature, we tend to think that the Spirit coasts to a stop once we?re gone. After all, there certainly isn?t an abundance of evangelicals in Prague.
Last year, the Summer LINK Prague team met just a couple of believers for the whole summer. This summer, we were incredibly encouraged by how we saw the Lord moving through others.
Through a Czech believer who quickly became a sister to us and is starting to proclaim the gospel to her friends. Through the other mission teams who also stayed in our hostel. Through the CVUT professor who makes the most of his position to share Christ with both his students and coworkers. Through the student who approached us in the Menza (mid-gospel conversation) to encourage us and share his testimony. Through the elderly Czech man who told an unbeliever that Jesus is the only way before we had the chance to tell him ourselves. Through the evangelical church we have attended that fully understands and upholds their responsibility to take the gospel to the community. Through the international students who bring their faith to classroom. And many more.
Just as Jesus sent out his disciples in Luke 10, he still sends out laborers, just as he has in Prague. Although the soil is rocky, seeds have been planted deep in the hearts of hundreds who heard the gospel this summer. People from all backgrounds?atheist, Muslim, and even those from Christian cults?asked us deep questions about who Christ is and what he has done.
We praise the Lord for bringing a Czech high school student to himself this summer. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, she accepted the gospel and was discipled by Laura and Kayla from our team. Even if she was the only person out of hundreds to respond to the gospel on this trip, then it was still completely worth it. On top of that, we believe the Lord will continue to grow all of the seeds planted this summer.
We know that we are not responsible for any of this. The Holy Spirit could have easily used other laborers. Regardless of his methods, we know the Lord will accomplish what he intends, and there is peace in that.
With this understanding, my team knows that the Lord will keep moving in Prague long after we leave. Just as Revelation 7:9 promises that those from every nation will praise the Father in heaven, we know that Christ will continue to bring Czechs to himself.
Even after we depart the Czech Republic, please join us in prayer that:
- The Lord will send more laborers to Prague
- The Holy Spirit will move in those who heard the gospel this summer and that some might be saved
- The believers here will be empowered to share Christ with all of those around them
- The missionaries on the ground will be equipped and encouraged in their ministry