All That and Oreos Too!

Thank you to Matt and Sara, our new short-term colleagues, for bringing the kids long johns to keep them from turning into blocks of ice, Clem's new computer to replace the one that didn't survive the long haul in the crate, and most importantly....for bringing us OREOS!!! Hunter tore into his this afternoon and proclaimed "ahhhh, I forgot how good Oreos are!"

What an exciting and challenging month January has been! We've had opportunities to see God at work around us, to see Satan wage warfare against us, and to see God protect and soothe us against Satan's attacks. How's that for a whole lot of excitement! As always, there's never a dull moment in the Hoelscher household!

This month Clem began going out with a friend/colleague to attempt some good old fashioned street evangelism. Prague is not known as being very receptive of this type of evangelism, but Clem and his friend felt as though God was asking them to take this approach, and through their obedience God brought favorable results. Their first outing they were able to share the Gospel with a man on their Envangel Cube. The man new no English, and the conversation couldn't go very far, but it was exciting for a first attempt. Their second outing they met Jana working in a men's clothing store at an area mall. They were able to share the full Gospel with Jana, have her read scripture out of the Bible, and upon their asking for prayer requests she asked them to pray for her son, Martin. Jana believes there is a god, but not the God of the Bible. Their third outing they met Nikola and Jarmila at a nearby travel agency. They carried on a lengthy "spiritual" conversation with them. However, Nikola and Jarmila expressed that religion is a private matter, not to be talked about openly (this is a very common belief here). However, they did express their belief that Jesus is something for the past, not for today...He is simply a part of history. This last week, on their fourth outing, they met Borek at our FAVORITE burger joint. Borek expressed his belief that Christ is nothing more than a fairy tale. The conversation was cut short due to customers coming in the door, but it was left off in a good place to go back and continue conversing with Borek more in the future. Please pray for each of these individuals and more opportunities to go back and visit with them in more detail and hopefully build trusting relationships with them.

This month we began full time language (as opposed to the part-time schedule this last fall). we are meeting 4 days a week with Dagmar and Jana...wow, they work us hard! But is so exciting to see that we're learning so much quicker now. They give our brains and tongues a workout that's for sure! They have been in our home for all but one of our lessons so far. Please pray that they see a difference in us and desire to know more about why this is. Jana commented to me on Friday that she thinks our children are so good and thinks they act differently than most children. Now, for those of you that know our VERY ACTIVE children, you know this observation is nothing short of an act of God! : ) Hunter and Allie are good children, don't get me wrong, but the fact that they stayed quiet and out of each other's hair for the 4 hours of tutoring on Friday shows us all that God is at work through us! : )

Through Hunter's fencing lessons twice a week, Clem and I have met Anita. A coffee shop owner close to where Hunter fences at. Whichever one of us takes Hunter, we spend that hour and a half in her coffee shop visiting with her when she's available. She speaks excellent English and has agreed to help us with out Czech when we come in. She and her husband are in their early 30's with a young son that spends a lot of time in the shop with them. Please pray that this opportunity will lead to us being able to share the Gospel with Anita and her husband.

Do you remember Andi from the grocery downstairs that quit and began working in a bar? Well, we've still not seen her since she quit working there, but her replacement has been a joy to get to know. She still hasn't shared her name with us, but she enjoys seeing the kids come in and has begun to visit in more detail with me about why we're here and she loves hearing about how the kids are and what they're up to. Each time I see her she asks a more personal question of me than the time before. Please pray for her and that God uses these short conversations to soften her heart for what He desires her to hear and see through us.

This month at the kids' school we have begun forming a friendship with a Russian father who's son is in Allie's class. He likes to practice the little bit of English he knows with us. Fortunately Russian is just enough similar to Czech that for the English words he's doesn't know we're able to communicate some in Czech/Russian. He has mentioned the benefit for he and his wife to learn English and German. After 3 weeks of conversing some before school I was able to offer for Clem and I to help he and his wife with their English. He responded favorably, but nothing has come of it yet. Please pray that this door remain open and that he and his wife decide to take us up on our offer. We can use this time to share Christ with them. He told me they are only here for 1 year, please pray that God work quickly and swiftly in their lives.

Praise the Lord! Your prayers are producing fruit! We asked you to pray for national partners and friendships to rise up within our church, and that has begun to happen. We are SO excited! About two weeks ago Clem met a man from our church at a Men's conference. Tomas helps with the music and upon Clem's asking, offered to give Clem guitar lessons. They have met for their first lesson and hit it off. He has since been in contact with Clem via e-mail and talked to him at church this morning. He has also offered to help us learn some of the Czech songs that they sing and give us translations so we know what we're singing about! : ) We have invited he and his wife over for dinner next weekend, we're waiting to hear back from them. Also, God has brought me a new friend as well. I believe I mentioned Dada to you in our last post. She and I have continued to communicate at church, it has grown to e-mail communication and today she greeted me with a kiss and an offer to meet on Friday for coffee and help me with my conversational Czech. THANK YOU GOD!!! And thank you to all of our prayer warriors! This is a HUGE encouragement to us!

We took our first ski excursion this month as a family. Each of us describe the experience very differently...I asked everyone to give me one word to describe their experience, and here they are...Allie "sore feet", Hunter "easy as the blink of an eye", Clem "eventful", Carrie "ouch". OK, well, we didn't all get it down to just one word, but close enough. Can you tell which two were naturals and which two were NOT?! However, we have all 4 agreed to give it another shot.

To close, I would like to ask you all to be in prayer with us. As we've shared in previous posts, national schools have been more difficult for Hunter than we had hoped. After much prayer and guidance from our mentors and supervisor we have felt led to pull Hunter out of the school and begin home schooling him for the remainder of the school year. School here goes through June, so this gives us 5 months to prepare him for whatever God has in store for his schooling next year. He is very relieved to have a daily stress removed and we feel at peace that God is going to use his time at the school and his coming time in home schooling to turn him into the man that God intends him to be. Please pray for both of the kids' continuing adjustment to our new life here, for their language learning, for special friendships for each of them, and for wisdom and ability to teach Hunter in a way that is pleasing to God and helpful to Hunter. Allie isn't thrilled that she won't be home schooled as well, so please pray for an extra dose of tolerance and patience for her as we continue through this school year.

What Can YOU be Praying for?

In addition to the requests I've already listed above, please be in prayer for:

* The lost people of Prague, that the veil will be removed from their eyes, they will since a deep longing for their Creator and they will all be given the opportunity to hear of the Good News of their Savior and Lord.

* Praise the Lord! We are continuing to form relationships with Honza and Milada. Milada and I are planning to get together in the near future for coffee, once we get our schedules to agree, and although we were unable to go today (due to church plans) we are planning a ski outing before winter is up. Continue to pray for growth and trust in this relationship.

*Pray that I can find a turkey here this time of year! : ) Lobas, a new friend from church that I mentioned in our last update, has asked that I make a turkey for him when he comes for dinner. I don't mind making it, but turkeys aren't easy to come by here and he is hoping for one!

* The spiritual strength of our family as we feel Satan trying to attack us from all sides.

* Our marriage and family dynamics. Please pray that this time in our lives be a time of great growth, love and maturity for all of us and towards each other. We cannot be used fully by God if there are cracks in our marriage and family. Please pray that we remain strong and continue to grow closer, avoiding all cracks that Satan attempts to put in our family.

* Please keep the more than 5000 missionaries that are spread around the world in your prayers, the more than 20 units here in Prague that we work with, and the 200+ units that have hit the field since our arrival back in September.

We are so blessed to have each of you staying in touch through this blog and through your prayers. Please let us know how we can be praying for you!

Love,

Clem, Carrie, Hunter and Allie