(Psalms 19:1)

March 2000

Dearest friends and prayer partners,

Just a few days ago we returned home after a one-month home ministry assignment in Arizona. We want to share first hand with all of you the many blessings we experienced. The flight back was light as a feather. We know that several ladies in Tucson prayed. The prayers were so effective that we did not experienced any jet lag. Thanks. The High Country Harmonica recording by Hank Phillips is perfect background music to begin our March report.

Once again we were welcomed with open arms in Phoenix and Tucson by our now dear and special friends. When we called to talk about our arrival, the first sentence was, "Your room is ready." It was like homecoming. Fluffy, the "elected" dog that was found as a puppy in a desert ditch, did not even bark when we arrived after midnight.

The notebook on the chair was the media instrument for Pavel and Vladimir in El Camino church presentation

Vladimir, a young man who is the designer of our Web pages, traveled with us for three weeks. It was his first trip to America, and Pavel was happy to show him as much as possible. Vladimir was loved and appreciated by everyone we met.

An evening presentation on a big screen in the El Camino church in Tucson was a highlight event. Many people remembered the vision we presented last year to create a Czech Web page to enhance our ministry. The connection was perfect. We could show different ministry media columns, the magazine, weekly Christian news, Creation moments, pictures, audio preaching and teaching and share more ideas we have. Many people were touched and came to us overjoyed.

This year's home ministry focus was to present our Czech ministry to the new churches. We attended several meetings with churches and the mission boards.

The time spent in Arizona was full of events. Our hostess Marie from Tucson was undergoing radiation therapy during our stay. Together we were praising the Lord for comfortable feelings since Marie could keep her regular busy schedule including Bible study, choir practices, counseling in a pregnancy crisis center and much more. We enjoyed an abundance of fresh lemons, oranges and grapefruit. Daily we had fresh juice for breakfast. Strawberry season added a special touch. The sunshine and bright sky healed all our winter maladies almost instantly. In less than two weeks after we came back Pavel has again horse voice and cough.

Pavel and Vladimir flew to Colorado to attend the Rocky Mountain Presbytery meeting. Vladimir visited the HCJB World Radio headquarters in Colorado Springs for the first time. Over the weekend they stayed with our sons in Denver and, together with some church friends, they enjoyed the Super Bowl.

Pavel and Vladimir also visited the Flagstaff Christian Fellowship church. We mentioned Pastor Cole and his wife in our last prayer letter. They were our guests in Prague as they came to minister to Czech students at a retreat in eastern Moravia during the Christmas holidays.

The day before the Sunday at Flagstaff Christian Fellowship, Pavel and Vladimir visited the Grand Canyon since, as Pavel said, to be in Arizona and not to see the Grand Canyon is a sin. The whole visit at FCF was an experience. Two excellent God-glorifying services led by Pastor Cole in the morning, Pavel's evening presentation of the HCJB World Radio Czech ministry, and the regular Sunday ministry and dinner to over 200 college students made the visit an unforgettable fellowship.

During the week Klara stayed in Tucson with Marie and was extremely happy to attend several Bible study meetings. The ministry of Pastor Dee Duke from Oregon, who held week long lectures on prayer, blessed her. As we progressed, several topics just fit right in for preparation for youth summer camp ministry in Tosanovice where we are invited to minister.

While Pavel and Vladimir were in Colorado, Klara traveled as a guide for several days with Pavel's brother Ivan and his wife, Eva, who came to visit Arizona for the first time. Together they visited the natural wonders of Arizona, Utah and drove back to Arizona through Nevada. In Las Vegas Klara met three dear friends. One couple we had not seen for about 15 years. Everywhere we traveled Klara was amazed by the growth. Some places changed so much that she did not recognize them. Ivan and Eva met some of our Christian friends and saw our close fellowship with them. It was a meaningful experience and a very special witness to them. Please pray for their salvation.

This Sunday they came to hear Pavel's preaching in Baptist church in Prague. The Lord provided very powerful testimony about hardship of believing son and unbelieving parents. Now, the mother and son gave testimony about God's victory.

Our home ministry time was rather short but we made many telephone calls (missed those with unlisted numbers), contacted some of our supporting churches, individuals and visited those we missed last time. During our brief stop in West High Baptist church in Phoenix, we appeared on church video to share the ministry with congregation. At that time we were presented with High Country Harmonica recording and met with Hank Phillips in person. He was the one who recorded beautiful music and did video recording for the church.

Pavel & Klara Steiger - Shelby & Margaret Carl - Ivan & Eva Steiger

The last day before our departure was extraordinary. Before it was over we could hardly move. We had to cram together several special events like a men's prayer breakfast, a ladies' meeting, lunch with McCardels (our prayer partners and supporters), coffee time with the Noths (another faithful couple of friends), and dinner with Barbara and Ray Rash. Barbara and Ray are involved in summer language camps in Czech Republic. They have been coming regularly with teams for several years. This ministry builds bridges and brings fruit. We are looking forward to prepare some evangelistic materials for all that will attend this camp. Some families are attending repeatedly and the team meets each time number of unsaved people.

Once again we realized how much is state of Arizona involved in Czech Republic ministry. A new exciting ministry is being planned to teach computer literacy to those who would like to improve their English, as well as an additional number of programs that include church planting, training of leaders and supporting ministries of US and indigenous missionaries. To say only THANKS is not enough.

New toys and tools: Pavel and Vladimir purchased a digital camera. Now we can see pictures instantly. After we learn how, we can connect it with our PCs and send pictures of current events. To use fully the latest technology we had to add a color printer. Pavel is preparing a list of all of you who are connected to e-mail and we will try to make our communication more colorful. We also added two boxes of CDs with Christian music donated to HCJB World Radio by listeners and a series of videotapes of R.C. Sproul's teaching.

Perfect face and good memory: On our way back as we were ready to board our Amsterdam-bound plane in Minneapolis, a young man came to us and asked: "Is your name Pavel? I remember you from Quito when you talked to us students." It was back in 1990 when this young man was about 14. Now, Joel Rydbeck works for Northwest Airlines, and he and his wife may come to visit us in Prague.

One of our dear friends, Marty, who was then teaching at the Alliance Academy in Quito, told Pavel last year that he kind of "envies" him his accent and looks. It sounded like a joke. Pavel commented that he would much prefer Marty's impeccable corporate all-American president-like looks and speech. Marty said, "The students you talked to in Quito will never forget your mad scientist looks and the way you say things, while my looks do not leave a lasting impression." He was right on the first point. At least Joel remembered Pavel's face and accented speech.

Praises:
We found a great rehab center with swimming pool in a former communist hospital for the top party members. It is about five minutes ride from our home. We purchased pass for twenty visits to take care of our bodies once a week.

In March we will be for several days with our dear friends from Houston and in April we will attend Paraklesis ministry in France.

Prayer needs:
Our current need is to add at least one more employee to our staff. We are looking for a full-time translator (English to Czech) and editor dedicated for Web page ministry enhancement.

We are translating and updating weekly HCJB World Radio ministry news from around the world, Creation moments and we have a list of ministry ideas we can add. Pray for wisdom for the right person and for funds.

Please continue praying for many opportunities for Pavel as he preaches and speaks in different churches and events.

As we look back, we can say that our decision to take a one-month home ministry assignment was perfect. Our work schedule in Prague before the departure and after our return remained manageable. The airfare was about half as much as for the extended length of time. It is true that we covered a smaller area, but we were coming to pre scheduled events. In the future we would like to handle our home ministry schedule in a similar matter. Our prayer is that next year or in the near future we can visit our supporting churches which has not seen us for more than five years. We have an invitation to visit the East Coast, Minneapolis, Texas, Los Alamos in New Mexico, Vancouver and other places. We need to keep our eyes open for special events and conferences, which can enrich our ministry as well.

We are looking forward to minister everywhere the Lord opens the door.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, ...

(Galatians 5:22)

THANK, YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT.

In HIS Sovereign Grace,

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