© Ivan Steiger MMI

(Luke 13:4,5)

November, 2001

DEAR FRIENDS AND MINISTRY PARTNERS,

After the events of Sept. 11, we should start each new day with PRAISES AND PRAYERS. In the past month we shared with you many things, but this is the time to praise and pray in spite of odd circumstances. “Remember that even the heaviest hour in your life has only 60 minutes” (Sophocles).

Above all, we want to praise the Lord for the opportunity to be a part of the “Sovereign Grace in Evangelization” conference in New Jersey (we received a scholarship from the conference organizers). We arrived to New York on Sept. 8, met with our friends from Houston at the Newark airport, and together we drove to Sea Side Heights, NJ Tuesday morning our sovereign God allowed the tragedy to strike the heart of Manhattan and the Pentagon.

We experienced déjá vu-very similar emotion as in 1968 when we first heard of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia and then saw the first Russian tanks and soldiers right at our doorstep in Prague. There, however, an important difference-we saw the enemy and we could talk to him-the Russian soldiers. In both cases we were shocked, numbed and helpless. We watched what was happening on Sept. 11, and prayed with others. But we were assured by the topic of the conference that God is in control no matter what happens. It was a bonding experience to be with fellow believers from different parts of America.

Our original plan after the conference was to visit a friend in New Jersey who resides just a 30-minute bus ride from New York City and spend the weekend in New York before returning to Prague on Monday. The conference was just a short side trip before the Paraklesis event in Prague that we helped organize. As a result of Sept. 11, we experienced more changes than one.

First, there was no weekend in New York City or visit with our friend. For a few days we had no idea when we would be able to fly with to American Airlines from JFK back to Prague. Instead, we were invited by a pastor Frampton and his wife to be their guests at their Philadelphia home and hear one of the conference speakers preach on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This was a truly praiseworthy time for us.

During our time in eastern Pennsylvania we were able to visit our good friends and supporters near Philadelphia. Once again, we did not make too many telephone calls. On Saturday we were finally able to contact American Airlines. Our flight was redirected from JFK - Zurich - Prague to Philadelphia - Dallas - Zurich - Prague. This meant spending more hours in the air, but we were happy to be back home on time to get ready for arrivals of missionaries coming to the Paraklesis Sabbath experience.

Before we boarded the plane in Dallas, we were reassured by Paraklesis in Grand Rapids that all plans were unchanged-everything remained as scheduled. After we arrived home we found a recorded message that the retreat deposit had not yet arrived at the hotel even though it was sent before we left for New York. Several people had to cancel due to travel changes related to the terrorist attacks. Then we got a call from Grand Rapids saying that due to circumstances, we would have to cancel our plans. Since the cancellation came six days before the event (the deposit finally arrived), the loss was substantial. Of course this added to already great disappointment, but everyone understood. After all, we had a mini-Paraklesis. A US-Canadian couple from Ukraine could not cancel their flights, and a missionary from Slovakia arrived as well. Another couple flew from Moscow directly to the US They were supposed to come to Prague. We were expecting them at the airport in Prague; however, they continued on, and we missed each other. The next week two more couples from the US on their way to Poland and back to Prague kept us busy between the airport and the railroad station. It’s a blessing to help when you can.

BACK IN PRAGUE

The first night at home after a long flight-jet-lagged, we watched a late-night documentary film called, “The Jung” (war), from Afghanistan produced by an Italian team consisting of a medical doctor and a journalist. The document showed the daily life of people in Afghanistan during the past three years. Documentary films usually portray actual situations with all the gory details. We saw pictures of blown-off limbs (caused by land mines), bloody flesh (shrapnel, bullets), amputations where the only tool was an old rusty iron saw blade, no medication, no medical supplies, no sanitation, just incredibly gory pictures of those who were trying to save lives. In agony and dying those men were singing, “We will win, Allah is great. Brothers let us defeat the Taliban.”

The film showed people on both sides of the conflict, people on the run, hungry, thirsty, 800 tents of refugees at one of many similar sites in Afghanistan that showed suffering women, children, the weak and the old, fear on their faces… sobbing, crying and weeping, multitudes running away from war. Heaps of decaying bodies and no one to bury them. Young boys-actually children-ready to fight and to give their lives for the right cause. War is present everywhere. Afghanistan is full of tanks, helicopters, trucks and donkeys. Guns, kalashnikovs, all kinds of arms, missiles, rockets, grenades and endless numbers of soldiers who are ready to fight and die, their mind confused by drugs and hatred for the enemy.

And here we are. Now the war on terrorism has been declared, and war-torn Afghanistan is in the heart of this tragedy.

The whole world is watching with fear and trembling. Never has America had such international support. Never in history has America had the opportunity to be a world leader like now. This opportunity may never be repeated. We all know that the ultimate justice belongs to Him. Our world has only one Commander, and He is in for sure in absolute control. No army or world power can win this war, only the Lord can. No other country in history has had an opportunity to show the noble character of a Christian nation showing mercy to people who are victims of war themselves.

Back home we continue to follow the news, CNN, Fox and local TV and radio. In many ways we must admit that the Czech reporting is in many instances more informative than CNN or Fox. The commentaries have political depth and background. Czech reporters are in Afghanistan, and it seems, since they are not citizens of traditional powers, they may be shown a bit more by Afghans. They pay much more attention to military strategies, facts, numbers, statistics, positions and evaluation of the Czech part in the future actions than the human factor. The local and European news is much less concerned about human sorrow and disrupted lives than in America. Very little was reported on the American spirit of solidarity, prayers, generous concern, help to the families and children, government emergency actions, etc. Actually, how much is anybody interested in the sorrow of a faraway country? A saying goes-when it happens to you, you know it’s true. We can understand a little better now how during the Holocaust so many people did not pay any attention until they became victims and it was too late.

A few days after our arrival to Prague, several armored vehicles and soldiers were positioned around Radio Free Europe in downtown Prague. The station broadcasts to Afghanistan and to Arab nations. The military blocked the major freeway that goes through downtown Prague. This is our mini-war zone.

As we are preparing this letter, bombing in Afghanistan has started. The Czech prime minister alerted us about 48 hours ahead of the actual bombing. We suspected that the Czech government said something prematurely. We were told that we were hours from actual bombing-including numbers of soldiers and countries ready to strike. It was like a report from two different news worlds. When we turned on our radio close to midnight, the AM frequencies did not work (our computer interfered with the radio). Life streaming on the computer did not work either. So Klara said, “It does not make any sense to go to bed. Tomorrow we will wake up to a war situation.”

When the actual announcement of air strike came two days later, we remained calm and praised the Lord that America did not use only force, but exercised all measures to deal with terrorists and protect the people.

To wrap up September events-they were unforgettable, and we do not know what an outcome it will bring. All history however praises the Lord!

MINISTRY PRAISE

Members of the recent HCJB World Radio tour to Euro-Asia presented us with two mini-disk recorders that can be connected directly to a computer. One mini-disk is used by our pastor who prepares children’s programs for broadcast from Radio Station HCJB in Quito. We also get his Sunday messages for broadcast from Quito and to be available on HCJB World Radio’s Czech web site. Thanks to those who participated in this great gift to the ministry.

When we received our September support statement, for a moment we thought that the entries did not belong to us. Not one name was familiar, not one name was on our mailing list. Than we recalled that we were asked in Colorado Springs for our Czech Projects account. We were excited to add that sum to our employee salaries’ budget. Every special gift helps.

In light of the past events, Pavel wrote an article: “Where was God when planes hit the World Trade Center?” We put together our e-mail list and mailed it to about 500 addresses. The respond was tremendous. Only one person “knew better” and was critical. Now people are mailing the article to their friends (locally and internationally) and asking for permission to translate it into Slovak and Serbian or publish it in their church bulletins.

Klara was asked by several elderly ladies to explain, “What is a holy war?” It was an excellent opportunity to share Christianity and its differences from Islam.

NEW HELPERS

With trembling hearts we are moving forward. Opportunity for providing Internet service to several ministries, including our real audio service is a great challenge-personally, technically, professionally, financially and people-wise. We are technically positioning ourselves to start broadcasting on Internet through live streaming.

Recently we were asked to help a ministry in Slovakia to share our Internet server. After looking into the matter, Pavel and Vladimir found out that our server does not have capacity to accommodate this request. After some consideration, they decided to step ahead and purchase and manage our own server. Now we can even provide and accommodate live audio streaming. To accomplish this we had to buy another 60 gigabyte computer. It will take several weeks before the necessary steps are completed, but we are looking forward to new opportunities to bring His word closer to Czech-speaking people around the world.

The Lord provided new people: Gabi full time (she formerly worked for Reader's Digest) and she will be responsible for search, coordination and completing of Czech programs. Mirka volunteers once a week and helps to keep regular monthly contact with radio listeners. With help of Gabi and Mirka we can expand the HCJB Radio outreach.

The mini-seminar in Prague with Geoff Volker of Phoenix was just small, almost “a family affair.” A number of people cancelled in the last minute-illness, other commitments, travel, etc. For us who made it, the event was a blessing even though we had some emotional outbursts and tears. The hot issue in informal conversation was-should one become baptized as a believer, or is infant baptism acceptable? With the local ecumenical atmosphere, should evangelical churches go along with an infant baptism? Some churches accept either form. Saying that we agree with believer’s baptism because it is the sign of biblical obedience was interpreted as “pressure.”

PERSONAL PRAISES AND PRAYERS

Our son Filip got a new job in Salt Lake City. Their Denver house is for sale. We pray that it sells in a reasonable time. We praise the Lord that Filip was laid off two months before the terrorist attacks. His new job is not related to the travel or airline business. He interviewed with several travel and airline companies. They live in an apartment for now, and after their second baby-boy is born and their Denver house sells, they will look for another home. Praise the Lord for His care of the new job, house and delivery of the second son due in December.

IN HIS GRACE Pavel and Klara

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