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.

 

 

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