Encouraging Encounters

Transition comes and goes. Seasons change. Ministry ebbs and flows. But every moment we can be expectant that God is working. He is working in the things we see and the things we might never see. We were recently reminded that God is always at work through an interaction we had which was an encouragement to our hearts.

 As we wrapped up our time in Prague, we had several experiences that really encouraged us. One evening our family decided to take the 10-minute train ride downtown and eat supper there. On the ride into town, despite the masks we were wearing, a young lady sitting near us recognized me (Shannon) from the Language Center where I teach English classes. In a city the size of Prague, we don’t often have these experiences. It was nice to have someone connected with one of our ministry outreach strategies recognize me and want to talk. 

After eating, our family boarded the train for the ride home. We walked through the train car looking for available seating and had to choose to split and sit in two different 4-seat areas as each area had one passenger in it. We chose seats, seemingly randomly, and as I sat with Rebeka, I accidentally brushed the foot of the already-seated passenger. I noticed that the young man was staring at me, something nearly unheard of in Czech culture. I hoped my smiling face, otherwise obscured by my mask, was disarming, though I wondered if there might be some trouble brewing. Moments later from behind the young man’s mask I thought I heard in English, “Is it you?”

I smiled and said, “Yes, it’s me” not yet knowing who I was talking to. A moment later I realized it was Petr, a young man from one of my previous English classes. He was the only one to join me when I invited my class for a social gathering and the only one that semester who studied the Bible with me. He had also joined several other disciples for bowling one evening before moving to Germany to continue his university education. 

Now two times in one round trip we had serendipitously sat proximate to people who recognized me from The Language Center, one who has studied the Bible multiple times with me! Elizabeth and I felt these encounters were a small gift from God who was reminding us of some of the investments we and our partners have made in Czechs to bring them to Jesus. We never know the seeds the Lord is planting and how they might be used, but we can rest in the promise that He is always working!

• Pray for the seeds of the gospel that have been planted in the lives of many in Prague.
• Pray that the Lord would grow His church in this nation that needs the hope and healing of the gospel.