To shine light into a dark place

Well, here I am, blogging again. I blogged in high school on xanga.com, but fell out of that when all my friends stopped blogging there too.

One of the reasons I want to resurrect blogging in my life is to update friends and family on things I am experiencing and learning while I am a history and music teacher at the Christian International School of Prague (CISP), Czech Republic. I am excited and blessed that God has led me to take this step.

Prague is a beautiful city. Because it was spared much of the bombing that took place all across Europe during World War II, many of it's medieval structures are still intact for residents, tourists, students, and scholars to enjoy.

The irony is that Prague, the beauty of which is a testimony to God's glory, is the capital of one of the most atheistic countries in Europe. In the western section of the Czech Republic where Prague is located, Bohemia, 80% -90% of the population is atheist or agnostic. In the East, Moravia, these levels are at 60%. From 1945 to1993, brutal control and secularization from the Communist Soviet Union inflicted deep damage on the religious morale and culture of the Czech people.

The Christian International School of Prague has a unique mission in this city. As one of the most affordable international schools in Prague where English is taught and spoken, it attracts not only missionary families, but also non-Christian Czech nationals or the families of businesspersons or diplomats from other countries.

So CISP is advancing the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ in multiple ways: it is providing education for missionary families so they may stay "on the field" in this spiritually dark place (lack of schooling for kids is one of the biggest reasons why missionaries return home). It is putting teachers in the lives of missionary kids to minister to their hearts. And it is reaching non-Christian students in its Christian classrooms, praying that these students meet Christ there and bring His "marvelous light" back to their communities and home countries.

Please join me in prayer for CISP and for the spiritual battles that are being fought in that place, and please pray for me as I prepare to go teach there. Please pray that as students are educated, that they would encounter God glory in what he has created for us to study. And please pray that the Lord would bring in the financial support I need to be there as a missionary.

Psalm 96:3,10

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. . .Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.