EDIT: All the links are added at the bottom of this post now – personally I can’t wait to read what all these wonderful bloggers have to say about Advent. So, grab a cup of tea and join me in checking them all out.

I have to be honest… I’m really struggling with Advent this year.

I want to enter into it and really make my day-to-day life reflect the unique season. I want to have more of a rhythm for our year that includes the rhythm of God’s story. But, I’m not exactly sure how. I have read lots of suggestions. I’ve even tried a lot of them in various past years. But, truth be told, I feel like most of it hasn’t worked well for me. I’m really bad with routines and no matter how hard I try I don’t stick to them… so each Advent I think, oh I’m going to do an advent calendar this year, or I’m going to do an advent wreath or I’m going to do the daily readings from the lectionary for each day of advent, but then I just don’t. Sunday comes and goes without me even realizing it and I forget to light the candles. A week goes by and I realize I’m five days behind on the advent calendar. I start out well with the lectionary, but eventually there’s a day that’s busy full of Christmas prep and party and I forget and then the next day I forget again. This was how it was before I had a kid, I can’t imagine how it would be now, when I can never finish anything and my brain is constantly scattered because of a demanding toddler.

In the past the best way for me to enter into Advent was just to think about, meditation on, pray through and write about the meaning behind the season. I liked the years when I took time to do that. Even though it was informal and I didn’t stick to a schedule or remember to do the advent calendar, I still feel like I entered into Advent during those years.

Lately though, I’m not sure how to do that with a young child. I feel like I don’t have the space or quiet in my life (or mind) to think, meditate or pray more than a quick, jumbled up prayer. Writing has also become a bit of a struggle for me since having a child. I get a little tunnel vision when I write and like to tune everything out and just type, but I can’t do that with a toddler tugging at my leg saying “up, up, maum, up” every few seconds.

Essentially I’m realizing that, as the mother of a toddler the way for me to enter into advent is no longer through the door of the contemplative.

A friend of mine is writing an advent series on her blog with scriptures, prayers, and other resources for reflection and I love what she is doing and definitely recommend you check it out, but as I skimmed her first post I couldn’t help but think, “this is a great tool for experiencing advent for the stage of life that my friend is at, but these tools just don’t fit with the stage in life I find myself in right now.” Case in point, I tried to do the liturgy she posted and was interrupted by my toddler or my husband 4 times before giving up. I later went back and tried to watch one of the videos she recommended while my son was sleeping I got literally 10 seconds into it and he woke up.

On top of realizing that this stage of life is not very condusive to the contemplative I’m also wrestling with wanting to find ways to enter into Advent not as an individual but as a family. I want to experience advent not as something I participate in my own “quiet time” (not sure I have one of those much anymore anyway), but I want to experience advent as a mommy WITH my son. I do not want to separate my spirituality from my mothering, I do not want to practice my spirituality apart from my son, but how do I commune with the divine with a 14 month old? Mother is not something I do it is something I am now. It is not a role that I sometimes play and can sometimes lay aside to pursue spirituality. Mother is what I am. How do I connect with God AS a mother, within my mothering? This is my big question lately, and the smaller aspect of it is how do I connect with Advent, with this small part of God’s big story, within my mothering? How do I engage with Advent with my 14 month old? I have ideas for when my child gets a little bigger, but what about now? Am I supposed to just leave him out of it and try to find moments to myself when I can engage with this season? If that’s the case I’m really not sure I can do that.

How do I experience Advent, or any church season, as the mother of a toddler? How do I experience God as the mother of a toddler? Honestly, I’m not really sure right now. Most of the ways that I have experienced God in the past and connected with his story just don’t work for me now in this stage. So, I find myself really wrestling with this question. Where is God amidst the motherhood? I believe that God is present so how do I find him within my new role as mother.

I don’t have answers, I don’t have it all figured out, I don’t know how to practice Advent as a mother, but I do believe that our spiritual life is a journey and we figure things out one step at a time along the way.

Advent itself is a journey – a journey of waiting. And so today I find myself entering into that journey, simply by presenting my questions before God and before all of you and waiting…waiting for him to speak into my mothering. Waiting for him to speak into my questions.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

What some friends of mine around the blogosphere are saying about Advent:

• John C. O’Keefe – The Season of Adventure
• George at The Love Revolution – The Weak Ghosts of Advent
• Peter at Emerging Christian – Expanding Our Experience of the Advent Journey
• Beth at Beth Stedman.com – Experiencing Advent With A Toddler
• Alan at The Assembling Of The Church – Walking Through Advent Today
• Steve at Emergent Kiwi – Am I Traveling Well?
• Wendy at View From The Bridge – Yearning For a Lived Theology
• Annie at Marginal Theology – Limping Along
• Christen at Greener Grass – Advent – Expecting and Un-Expecting
• Jeff at My Adventures – Journeys and Destinations
• kathy at carnival in my head – making room for the unexpected
• Sonja at Calacirian – Road To Nowhere
• Steve at Khanya – Advent Synchroblog
• Beth at The Virtual Teahouse – Clear-Eyed Gaze of a Stranger
• Phil at Square No More – O Antiphon #1 – This is the first of nine antiphones. Please check Phil’s blogSquare No More regularly for additional updates with the additional 8 antiphones.
• Peggy at Abisomeone – Wandering With The Waiting Abbess
• Cathryn at Love Fiercely – An Advent Prayer
• Sonnie at A Piece of My Mind – Christmas WILL Happen
• Liz at Grace Rules – Advent – A Journey of Awakening
• Andrew at Tall Skinny Kiwi – God Came Near

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The Malouf Family and their hope and passion for the body of Christ in America

Love God Love People and their vision to dynamically love people particularly in Arizona and Mexico

Barb Iverson with Young Life here in Prague

The Springer Family with Christian Associates here in Prague

IDEAS and their vision for international development and education

The Stewart Family with World Harvest and their vision for artists in Prague

Nuru International and their vision for Africa

Blankets for Babies and their vision to give warm and comfort to needy children

Kara Maddox with Christian Associates in Prague

The Mudrik Family and their vision for a retreat center in Prague

Jane and Martin Hasik with Young Life here in Prague

I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed bragging on my friends. And I hope you join me in praying for them and sending a little support their way. May God bless each of them and may God bless you!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Jane and Martin (and their beautiful new baby girl, Sofia) are a couple that I truly admire. Jane is becoming one of my closest friends here in Prague and I love her creativity and gentle heart. I don’t know Martin quite as well, but whenever we have hung out with him I always feel very impressed with his insight and his heart for God and the students he ministers to.

Jane and Martin work with Young Life International. Martin leads up the team here and has a wonderful passion for drawing students to Christ in a lasting and authentic manner. I thought it would be fun to do another interview so I had Jane answer a few questions for me:

ME: Ok, to start would you tell us a little bit about yourselves, where are you from and how did you met?

JANE: Martin and I met during a Young Life Internship training time in Germany in 2003. I was doing a two-year internship in Lisbon, Portugal and Martin was working with Young Life here in Prague. All of the interns across Europe came together every 6 weeks or so for training, spiritual development and fellowship. As I learned more about Martin and heard more of his story, his faith and his desire for students to know Jesus…I was more and more attracted to and fell in love with this interesting Czech man! 

We started to date long-distance, got engaged in 2004 and married in 2005 

ME: For a fun question what is each of your favorite movie and why?

JANE: Some of my favorite movies include Love Actually, Royal Tenenbaums, Ocean’s Eleven,…Raising Helen…

And for Martin, he really enjoys seeing movies which are based on a true story, like Band of Brothers or the Miracle. 

ME: How did you each come to follow Christ?

JANE: When I was 14, these really cool college-aged Young Life leaders started showing up in my life. My brother had started being interested in Christ and became good friends with these leaders. They cam over for dinner, and we started being friends. I was so curious how/why they had so much joy and how following Christ influenced their lives. I went to a Young LIfe camp in upper-state New York, where the Gospel of Jesus Christ was presented in a way that I could relate to and understand and accept. Since then, I have continued to ask questions and be intrigued with the person of Jesus Christ. 

Martin has a completely different kind of story…and I would feel like I am cheating you if I tell it!

ME: What is something that God seems to be teaching or showing you or drawing out in you lately?

JANE: God has been carefully taking me into a whole bunch of new things….a season of newness. New role as a mother, a new year, new projects, new areas of ministry….I am learning to embrace change around me and inside of me. After some REALLY big transitions in my life a few years ago, I have been putting a lot of energy in making things more secure/permanent/unchanging. Now God is helping me loosen my grip on many of these things. It is a freeing and a scary feeling. But God’s style and design is so beautiful and it so fun to seen what happens when I let go. 

I am learning that I, myself, am a work in progress that He is carrying out until completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phillipians 1)

ME: Describe Prague and your impressions of the Czech Republic in a few sentences.

JANE: Prague, aside from being a stunningly beautiful historical metropolitan city, has a very personal feel to me. I am connected to a family here. My husband, Martin, and his family have lived in Prague their whole lives, so the more time I spend here and the more I get to know Prague, the more I am getting to know these people whom I love very much. 

This country is beautiful in the lines that aren’t straight and the things that are out of place. There is a sense of playfulness and creativity..in the playground designs, mosaics on plain cement buildings, moving sculptures in the river, which change the mood of even the dreariest neighborhoods. 

ME: Tell us a little bit about the work that you do with Young Life.

JANE: Very basically, we believe that students are worth getting to know and it is through authentic relationships that the message of Christ makes sense. We desire to build life-long relationships with them, love them and communicate Jesus in a way that is relevant to them…and be a part of their lives regardless of what they believe. 

We do this by sharing meals together, going camping, having regular activities, teaching them skills (photography, languages, sports), going into their world (graduation dances, birthday parties). 

So, I hope you enjoyed getting to know Jane and Martin. They are truly a wonderful couple.

And as part of my $12 dollars of Christmas series I encourage you to join me in praying for the Hasik family and I also encourage you to join me in sending $1 (or more) to them to help support them and further the work God is doing through them. To do that please go to the Young Life web site https://giving.younglife.org/starthere.aspx and click on one time gift, then designate the gift to go to “A Young Life Staff Member’s Ministry” and search for Jane Hasik.

Lord, thank you for the Hasik’s and the work that they do in Prague. Thank you for the ways that you’ve touched and changed students lives through them and continue to do so. Lord, I pray for them as they continue to enter a new season of life as a family with a new baby and a new season in ministry as well – I pray that you would use the changes in their life to bring them closer to you and closer to each other. I pray that you would bless them and continue to show your love, grace and forgiveness to many through them.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Elaine and Marek Mudrik and their five kids are seriously one of my favorite families ever. They are bringing God’s kingdom in Prague in many beautiful and unique ways. I wish I could say that I know them well, but honestly I really only feel like I know them from afar (at least at this point). But, even from the brief occasional interactions I’ve had with Elaine, Marek and their children I have learned so much. In fact just this past week God spoke to me so clearly through a conversation I had with Elaine and it was such a moment of healing, repentance and redemption for me that I really feel changed.

The Mudrik’s have been in ministry in Prague for quite a while now and it seems they are involved with a number of different things here, but the thing that I am most excited to tell you about is their farm and the vision they have for it. Marek and Elaine recently bought a farm in Divoka Sarka (a national park on the edge of Prague). The property has 3 buildings that will be turned into homes and an old barn that will be turned into a conference/retreat center. They also hope to have a garden and some animals (goats, chickens, etc) and a prayer garden.

They wrote about the farm on their web site describing it through this beautiful picture:

“The home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha in Bethany seems to have been one of Jesus’ favorite places to go. We’d like our home to be like Martha’s – a place of service; like Mary’s – a place where one can sit at the feet of Jesus and receive things that will not be taken away from them; and like Lazarus’ – a place of healing, hope and even new life! All of us are like travelers on the journey of life and when we get tired or hurt it is a blessing to find a safe and welcoming place of rest.
At the same time, a place of rest is not a place of hiding. Jesus left Bethany for Jerusalem to fulfill his life’s calling. We seek rest to be healed, changed, and empowered to return to life and face its challenges with clearer purpose and greater confidence. We believe that God has been calling us to help create a place like this here in the Czech Republic – perhaps one of many such places around Europe and the world.”

I love this vision of a “family or a community, which creates a specific spiritual atmosphere, lives out certain values and even has a specific spiritual rhythm of life” (quoted from their web site). It’s beautiful and it’s definitely something that Bryan and I want to pray for and support. And I encourage you to do the same.

Currently the houses at the farm are in need of serious restoration. They are without sewage systems, running water and many of the amenities that we consider necessary in the modern age. The Mudrik’s and our friends the Schwender’s (who will also be living in one of the homes at the farm) have plans in the works for reconstructing the buildings of the farm, but it will be a lot of work and will require the prayers, help and support (both financially and otherwise) of many for the vision to fully come together.

I love that even the buildings themselves and the property as a whole has to be restored and in its own way healed before it can be a place of healing and restoration for many. I feel like the work of restoring the farm is a beautiful picture of the restoration they pray will happen in people’s lives through this place.

If you want to learn more about this beautiful family and their vision for this retreat center and community please visit their web site.

I also ask that you would join Bryan and I in praying for the Mudrik’s and for the farm in Divoka Sarka. Pray that it would be the place of redemption, restoration, rest and healing that they desire. I also invite you to join Bryan and I in giving $1 dollar (or more) to the Mudrik’s and their vision for a haven of hope in the Czech Republic. You can do this by sending cash, spare change or a check (made out to Vineyard Christian Church with Prague Mission on the memo line) to:

Marek and Elaine Mudrik
812 Lynn Lee Drive,
Averdeen, MD 21001

If you live in the Czech Republic you can also donate by depositing money in the Mudrik’s account (acct. number 1420279153/0800).

Lord, you are the giver of dreams and visions and I thank you for the beautiful vision that you have given Marek and Elaine for the Czech Republic and for this much needed retreat in Prague. Lord, I pray for the farm as it is being restored and reconstructed – I pray that you would lead even in that very physical, detail work. I pray that as they draw floor plans and rebuild these buildings that they would do more than just rebuild a building, but that they would build up spaces for healing to happen, spaces for growth to unfold, spaces for your spirit to indwell. Lord, I pray that you would permeate the buildings and grounds of the farm so that all who step foot there now, during the construction, and in the months and years to come would walk away restored and rested, served and loved, healed and having heard from you. Lord, make the farm in Divoka Sarka into a “thin place”, a place where people experience a deep sense of your presence.  Lord, I ask that you would hand pick the community that lives there on a regular, daily biases – as you build up and reconstruct the buildings, build up and reconstruct a community of people who, though unique and called to a unique and individual journey with you, would also be knit together and woven into a true community that would love each other and, through their proximity and your spirit at work within and between them, share life together. I pray that you would be preparing those who would live full time at the farm for lives of service and love for those who would pass through for times of retreat, prayer, and rest. Lord, bless this venture – bless it and use it as a blessing for many here in the Czech Republic and all around the world.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman

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This post is part of the 12 Dollars of Christmas series I’m doing, sharing with you about different charities and people who are making a difference for God’s kingdom and asking you to join me in praying for them and in giving $1 dollar (or more) to each of them.

Kara Maddox came to Prague in February of this past year for a one year internship with our church and Christian Associates International. She quickly fell in love with the city and its people. Kara is originally from Texas, but has spent the last few years before coming to Prague living in California. Before Christian Associates, Kara worked as a professional photographer, showing her work in galleries around the Bay area. 

Kara has done a lot since coming to Prague and I know that the past year has been incredibly shaping for her. She started teaching English at a high school right after arriving in Prague and has developed a number of relationships with her students throughout the year. Kara has also continued to use her love for photography and has started a photography club with her students – teaching them about photography and just giving them opportunities to try new things photographically. Kara has also volunteered with Young Life here in Prague and been a part of the summer English camps that happen all over the Czech Republic.

A few Sundays ago Kara also led our home group church community in a really nice discussion about the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth and the story of John the Baptist’s birth. We had a nice talk and prayer time and then she lead us in a creative expression exercise that was a great end to the evening.

Kara’s internship with Christian Associates ends in February and she will be heading back to the states for a time to raise money so that she can come back to Prague for long term ministry. If you want to learn more about Kara and what she is doing in Prague and will be doing in Prague you can do so by visiting her blog.

And as part of my $12 dollars of Christmas series I encourage you to join me in praying for Kara over the Christmas season and I also encourage you to join me in sending $1 (or more) to her this Christmas to help further the work that God is doing through her. You can do this by going to Christian Associates web site. Click the “give now” button and then designate Kara Maddox in the Missionaries and Projects section. All contributions are tax deductible.

Lord, I thank you for bringing Kara to Prague and for the work that you’ve done in her and through her while she’s been here. Lord, I pray for her as she finishes up this last little bit of her internship with Christian Associates – I pray that she would end well. I pray that you would give her the strength, resources and support to finish the year as a strong influence for your kingdom here in Prague. Lord, I ask that her time of raising support back in the states would be a wonderful time of true preparation and growth for her and that you would bring her back to Prague with strengthened vision, new freedom, and deep hope.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Blankets for Babies is a charity organization started by some family friends of mine in Arizona. This organization has a simple mission to make quality blankets and give them away to as many hurting, cold, and impoverished children as possible around the world. Here’s what the organizations Founder, Lindsay Hughey, writes about it:

“It was their faces. It started with the faces of countless children in snapshots, on television, and those I saw with my own eyes when I would travel to other countries. It was the fear and pain I could see in their eyes. It was the environment around them. Despair and insecurity that no child on Earth should ever have to face, was a routine part of their lives.
It struck a chord deep within me. It touched me, but I wasn’t sure what I could do about it. I tried to comfort my own heart, tried to find a way to understand how fortunate I was to feel the love, safety, and security of friends and family around me. It was then that a distant childhood memory gave me the answer. It perfectly captured that physical expression of hope and love. I realized that I knew a way I could give them that same warmth and provide them a feeling of security. A blanket. We could give each of them a blanket.”

And that’s exactly what this beautiful organization has gone about doing. They make quality blankets make with Chenille fabric and a satin trim in a size that is perfect for newborns to 5 year olds. And then they distribute these blankets to children in need all over the world. Their blankets have gone to South Africa, Australia, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Guatemala, Poland, Tanzania, Romania, and a number of shelters, hospitals and agencies in the Phoenix area. Hopefully soon their blankets will be coming to the Czech Republic J

This is a wonderful organization and I highly encourage you to check out their web site and read through their facts page.

As part of my $12 dollars of Christmas campaign I also encourage you to join me in praying for Blankets for Babies and to join me in sending $1 (or more) to help support them and further the work God is doing through them. You can donate by visiting this page on their web site.

Lord, thank you for the love and comfort that you freely poor out on all of your children. I pray that you would bless Blankets for Babies and that through them you would both physically and spiritually pour out your love, comfort and peace on children all over the world. Lord, I pray that you would expand this organization and the reach that they have around the US and around the world.  I pray that through them you would bring comfort, warm and security in small and big ways to many who are today cold, sick and hurting.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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I first heard about Nuru from my friend Sarah Springer, because she personally knows some of the people involved with this organization.

Nuru is a Kiswahili word that means light and that’s what this organization is doing – bringing light and hope. As an organization Nuru defines themselves as “A grassroots movement of thousands who have grown tired of waiting for someone else to end extreme poverty in Africa.” They are currently launching their Pilot Seed Project in Kuria, Kenya. This project in Kenya is doing a lot to improve the lives of many in Kuria and as I thought about writing about what they are doing it felt like it would be better for you to hear it directly from them, so if you are passionate about ending poverty or have any interest at all in the current state of life in Africa please visit their web site to find out more.

A few of the team members in Kuria have blogs, so you can read about the health classes they taught there and about the clean water project they are working on by going to Jake’s Blog, Nicole’s Blog, or Janine’s Blog. Or you can visit the official Nuru Blog page for even more information.

As part of my $12 dollars of Christmas campaign I also encourage you to join me in praying for NURU today and to join me in sending $1 (or more) to help further the work they are doing in Africa. To find out how to donate visit their donation page on their web site.

Lord, I pray that you would bless the work that Nuru is doing and that you would use it to improve the lives of many in Africa.

Rejoicing in the journey –
Bethany Stedman

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Over the past few months Bryan and I have spent a good deal of time getting to know Mark and Joanna Stewart and their little boy Sasha. They are one of the most creative families I have ever known and I am continually amazed by them. So, I’d like to tell you just a quick little bit about each of them individually:

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Mark is that he is a man of prayer. I feel like Bryan and I are learning to pray through the times we spend praying with Mark. Mark is also a skilled photographer. He has a great way of putting people at ease and capturing them in a natural and authentic way. Mark’s heart is for the artists of Prague and his vision for this segment of the Czech population has been an encouragement and inspiration to me over the past few months.

Joanna is seriously one of the most holistically creative people I’ve ever known. She is constantly making something, or more accurately she is constantly making a lot of things. She is creative and industrious in the kitchen, making her own marshmallows, cheese, Bailey’s Irish Cream and many other things from scratch. She’s an avid knitter and always has a number of knitting projects on hand. She also sews and makes stunning purses from recycled material. She has been an incredible creative inspiration to me over the past few months. Joanna is also a truly beautiful mother. I love the way that she handles, teaches and disciples their son Sasha. They are also expecting their second child soon and I am excited to see how she mothers this unique new life.

I love their son, Sasha. He has the best vocabulary of any kid I know his age and as a word person myself I really appreciate this. He’s got a lot of energy, but he’s a really bright child and very fun to be with.

The Stewart’s spent 3 years as missionaries in Uganda, but felt God calling them to Europe. They followed that calling to Prague and came to help start Faith Community Church here in Prague through World Harvest. Mark and Joanna particularly have a heart for the artistic community of Prague and a heart for social justice. Here’s how they describe their work here on their web site:

“We want to enter into the arts community in this city. To encourage artists, performers, musicians, creatives and to build them up, to facilitate their growth. We want to invite them to seek,  and to grasp, hope. To offer them a strong draught, so that they might drink deeply of the true satisfaction that is in Christ. To challenge them, and to facilitate them, to make a difference in the world around us.
And not just to the artists, and not only to the beautiful people, must we pour out our lives. So we seek to incarnationally, sacrificially, love those who can offer us nothing in return. The poor and the hungry, the sick and the abandoned, the orphan and the widow. And not to do this alone, but to invite others along with us in that journey.”

If you want to learn more about this talented and passionate family that God is using in Prague please check out their web site.

And prayerfully consider joining Bryan and I in giving $1 dollar (or more) to the work that they are doing here in Prague as part of our 12 Dollars of Christmas experiment. To donate please visit this link.

Lord, thank you for the Stewarts and for bringing them to Prague. I pray that you would bless them and keep them and make your face to shine upon them. Lord, make them into a light that shines in darkness. Use their unique creative gifts to bring beauty and LIFE to the city of Prague. Lord, I pray that you would give them hearts of thankfulness and praise and that you would be glorified in all that they do. I pray that when people see Mark and Joanna and their children they would see you – they would see your love, your generosity, your grace, and your freedom. I pray that through them you would bring a new wave of creative freedom and life to your church and to the city of Prague as a whole.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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I’ve known Vern and Shelley since I was about 7 years old. They have been dear family friends and I have learned so much from them throughout the years. They are now working with an organization called IDEAS and I’d like to tell you a little bit more about this wonderful non-profit and what they are doing to improve the lives of many around the world.

IDEAS stands for International Development and Educational Associates and their goal is to meet the needs of the helpless and hopeless around the world through holistic project development. They take time to meet with and discover needs in partnership with the local community and then develop projects with a focus on educational needs, medical needs, community development, agriculture and social entrepreneurship. Together with their partners they have managed “34 sustainable projects across 14 countries in North Africa and Asia.” They have educated over 12,000 students, trained over 300 teachers, established 6 medical clinics, developed 8 vocational training centers, opened 12 schools, built 21 new village homes, created 2 village water systems and planted 30,000 trees. These are no minor accomplishments. But, IDEAS doesn’t stand out to me just because of how much I believe in holistic projects or just because of these numbers, IDEAS stands out to me because I know, trust and love Vern and Shelley and they are behind this movement and if they are behind it then I trust that it is a work worth getting behind.

I recently got to read a little bit in Vern and Shelley’s Christmas letter about their most recent trip to India and the work they did there. They went with six other friends and spent time traveling to schools, villages and medical clinics bringing what help and hope they could to people who are sick, hurting and impoverished. It was incredible moving to hear about this work they and others are doing to help the “least of these”.

If you’d like to learn more about IDEAS please check out their web site, www.ideasworld.org.

As part of my $12 dollars of Christmas campaign I also encourage you to join me in sending $1 (or more) to help support them and further the work they are doing. You can do this by going to the donate page on their web site.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Craig and Sarah Springer are the team leaders for our church plant here in Prague. They are both originally from Chicago and became Christians at Willow Creek during High School. They came to Prague for the first time in 2003 and felt called to reach this newly emerging Eastern European capitol.

Craig and Sarah have a true heart for the Czech Republic and reaching Czech’s for the kingdom of God. “They are targeting the emerging generation within the Czech Republic to energize the church of the future… Their mission is to catalyze a church planting movement within Prague led by Czechs.” (taken from their web site).

Craig and Sarah are wonderfully passionate people, each with very unique gifts which they are using to expand God’s kingdom in Prague. They are both very different, but they make a great team, both desiring to see a movement of God’s spirit in the Czech Republic. I encourage you to visit their web site to learn more about each of them, our church, and their vision for the Czech Republic.

Sarah Springer has quickly become one of my closest friends here in Prague and I have written about her here as well. She is a truly amazing woman and today is her 30^th birthday! So, as you join me in praying for this family send an extra little prayer up for Sarah’s birthday that it would be  day filled with joy for her! J

And as part of my $12 dollars of Christmas series I encourage you to join me in praying for the Springer’s over the Christmas season and I also encourage you to join me in sending $1 (or more) to the Springer’s this Christmas to help support them and further the work God is doing through them. You can do this by visiting the support page on their web site, where you will find complete instructions. All contributions are tax deductible.

Lord, I pray that your spirit would work in and through Craig and Sarah Springer and their son Isaiah. I pray that you would bring Czech’s into their lives who they could build up and disciple into organic leaders. Lord, I pray that you would give them a holistic vision for Prague and the patience to see it through. I pray that Craig and Sarah would be a catalyst for change in the Czech Republic and that through them you would bring light and hope to many who are discouraged and living in darkness. Lord, build up a team of support around them, people who could join them in their vision and who could also, as friends, support and hold them up as they pursue this vision. Fulfill your purposes for them and through them, Lord Jesus.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman

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