Prague/Moldova Mission Report
“Fruit That Remains”
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:5,11).
John 15 is the foundational passage for the Joy of Abiding ministry and particularly these two verses. By teaching ladies truths from the vineyard, we expect them to experience the joy of abiding in Christ and producing spiritual fruit that remains. This was our topic and mission for our second trip to Moldova and our first to the Czech Republic. God called a team of five women to go on mission to the capitals of these two countries. Both are former Communist countries still struggling to live free after coming out from under the communist regime about 20 years ago.
Donna Campbell, Laura Christy, Claudia Gandy and Rosemary Lambert-Falls joined me on October 6th as we traveled to Prague and Chisinau for 12 days of ministry to women. From the moment we first greeted the ladies across the ocean, we sensed there was a deep hunger for God’s Word and that God’s Spirit was already working in answer to the prayers of many. For our first week of ministry the team stayed in three different flats in the beautiful, historic city of Prague. Using the public transportation system we moved about the city for ministry as well as sightseeing and interacting with the people God brought into our paths. We had numerous opportunities to demonstrate patience and kindness in a busy commercial city where the majority of people are either orthodox Catholics or atheist. Our contact and hostess was our friend Mindy, a missionary with Reach Global and an active member of the International Church of Prague (ICP). She, along with her friend Cheryl who was visiting from Malawi, blessed us in so many ways, making sure we had everything we needed and reminding us of God’s faithfulness and love.
The pockets of Christians in Prague thrilled our hearts as God allowed us to serve and teach some of the ladies including those from ICP who organized the women’s conference. Our first teaching time was with eight women at a morning Bible study at the home of Suzanne. Her home was a beautiful welcoming flat where these women meet on a weekly basis for prayer and Bible study. Most of them were affiliated with the political, educational or business world in Prague. Several in our team shared about aspects of prayer and the importance of intimate personal communion with God each day. We left the ladies with some Joy of Abiding materials which they are already using.
On Friday night we met at the International Church of Prague for a time of praise and prayer. God’s Spirit led us to His throne. The ladies conference was held on Saturday at a lovely chateau outside of Prague. Women from many different countries filled the conference room. God touched ladies’ hearts as Laura led us in music and I taught from John 15. During a time of sharing at the conclusion of the conference in the afternoon one precious young lady from Africa shared how God had reminded her that He is the one who bears the fruit. We are to abide! On Sunday morning we worshiped at ICP and in the evening attended a beautiful concert of classical music at St. George’s Basilica at the Castle of Prague.
With tears and hugs we departed Prague on Tuesday, October 13th, for our flight to Moldova. What a joy it was to re-unite with our Christian sisters who had been diligently preparing for the two-day conference. This time all five of our team stayed in the home of a dear pastor and his wife, Maria. In addition to the blessing of re-uniting with friends was the blessing of seeing the Moldovan women catch the vision for woman-to-woman ministry. I wish you could have seen the beautiful Listening Guide booklet the Moldovan leadership team designed and translated into Russian from the draft I e-mailed to them. The auditorium was decorated with vines and branches from some of their own grapevines. More importantly, the place was almost filled with women from villages in Moldova. The precious ladies were wives of Crossover Communications International (CCI) church planters, members of various CCI church plants and their friends. Joy of Abiding trustees (with their translators) offered workshops entitled:
Examining Your Abiding Time with God
Abiding Provides Peace in Times of Crisis
Daily Abiding by Walking in the Spirit
One of the highlights of the conference was the sharing time at the conclusion on Saturday afternoon when many women told how God had spoken to their hearts and how they would live differently after the conference. One woman said that she has seen vineyards all her life, but never again would she see a grapevine and not think about John 15. She understood in a deeper way that God is the Vinedresser who cares for the vineyard, that Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. The other highlight was receiving an e-mail after returning home of the salvation of a precious woman whom we had met.
Before departing to return home on Sunday, Fyodor Lupanciuc, CCI Moldova President, invited us back next year to have the next Ladies Conference in the new Missionary Training Center presently under construction.
Thank you to all who supported us in prayer and financially as we went on mission. Someone has said everyone falls into one of three categories when it comes to missions: A sender, a go-er or disobedient. Thank you to those who were senders and to those who were go-ers, accompanying me as representatives of Christ.
Praise God with me for bringing forth fruit that remains in the lives of our team and in the precious ladies of Prague and Moldova who participated in the two conferences.
Please pray for future ministry opportunities in the following ways:
- God’s provision regarding the invitation to return to Moldova in 2010.
- God’s timing for a JOA women’s conference in Kazakhstan. (We met in the home of Anara, an influential Christian women from Kazakhstan, who wants us to come as soon as God opens the way.)
- God’s leading for potential conferences in other international churches in Europe.
- God’s direction in preparing for expanding territories for the Joy of Abiding Ministry.
- God’s oversight in every detail for both the March and April Study Tours to Israel and Jordan.
- God’s indwelling Spirit to give us courage not to draw back but to lean into His perfect plan.