A Glimpse of Real-Life Mission Work

“I really appreciated the opportunity to catch a glimpse of real-life mission work. I learned the importance of developing and investing in relationships and saw it carried out by the Farniks. It was through relationships and connections that they were able to invite people to the activities they hosted and connect with them on a personal level.”

Michael Weld, member of Bonita OPC in Bonita, CA, joined Team Praha 2023 in an effort to encourage our missionaries and share the gospel with children through evangelism opportunities, friendships, and Vacation Bible Schools.

Weld continues, “The trip involved three phases for the three weeks. The first phase for our team was to run a VBS as a childcare program for parents and older siblings who were attending a Christian conference. This year, the missionaries were able to reserve an entire hotel in a beautiful mountain town for the conference. The missionaries served as translators for us and a Biblical counseling professor from the U.S. taught the adults and older siblings. I was very grateful to be a part of this since Christian conferences are very rare in the Czech Republic. It was also a great opportunity to build relationships with Christians who you would otherwise have never met.

The second phase was a hiking trip for seven Czech youth. We were in another set of mountains in a private lodge, and we did daily hikes that provided an occasion to evangelize and develop more relationships with the peers. There were a few who said they regularly attended church but they did not seem to have a true affection for God. Please pray for them!

The third week involved another VBS for kids from non-Christian families at a school in a suburb of Prague. There were about 22 that came for the full week. It was very interesting to observe how, at the beginning of the week, almost all the kids said they were generally good and therefore going to heaven. But by the end of the week, it was amazing to see how many understood they were sinners and were going to hell unless they believed and repented on Christ! I was very much encouraged by how God worked among the kids that week.”

Finally, Weld sums up his experience, saying, “Overall, I was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a dedicated team of Christians and to be able to teach the wonderful news of the Gospel to kids and a few others who needed to hear it!”