© Ivan Steiger MMI

March 2003

NEWS FROM CZ
By this time our letter reaches you, hopefully the winter blues will be over for all of us who do not live in Arizona, California, Florida and/or similar sunny places. The Czech Republic has had no sunshine or president for weeks, not to say that the two are related in any way. The two terms of the former president Vaclav Havel are over. Since the president is not elected directly by the people but by both "chambers" of the parliament, parties are unable to unite on a candidate who would be acceptable to all of them. For many people and especially the media it is an amusing comedy. There have already been two rounds of election in the parliament with no results. The president of this country is not the head executive as in the U.S.A. He is more like a "king for a republic." The executive power is in the hands of the prime minister. The country may lack a president for a long time.

MIDDLE EAST
The Iraqi crisis has not noticeably affected us yet. The Czech Republic is sending a chemical battalion to Iraq that is reinforced by some 60 Slovak soldiers: A Czecho-Slovak army is again one unit after 10 years. Brussels had some critical "comments" that these new NATO countries like Poland and the Czech Republic are more pro-American than pro-European. Since France, Germany and Belgium recently delayed admission of the new NATO candidate countries like Slovakia, and the Baltic countries etc., the very respected commentator said that historically when the international policy was formed for Central Europe by France and Germany it was always disastrous for this part of the world. Now they even talk about an axis of Paris-Berlin-Moscow. Seen by the eyes of Central Europeans one can only hear a sigh-God protect us! Czechoslovakia would not have been formed after the WWI if it were not for president Wilson. In 1938, France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy caused Czechoslovakia to crumble into five pieces. Only God knows the outcome of WWII if the U.S.A. did not enter into it. If it were not for the "cowboy" Reagan, this part of the world might still be a "protectorate" of the USSR. Not many people realize that their only reliance in the past century was on the U.S.A. Yet, some anti-Americanism is visible even here especially among young "peacemakers" who have no historical experience. We know clearly and well that all these things may be disturbing; however our sovereign God is above it all:

FILM FESTIVAL
Do you remember last year when we wrote about this Prague event? About 650 movies from around the world are shown within a week! Last year we concentrated on the Indian and former USSR productions. This year we paid our attention to Arabic movies to get educated. Surely, 9-11 played its part in our decision. We did not regret it! We wish you had such an opportunity back Stateside. Movies like that will make one understand the context of most what is happening in the world and minds of people better than watching, listening and reading all commentaries of the best news networks around the world.
We finally grasped how it was possible that Jacob was married first to Leah rather than Rachel. We frankly did not understand how that could be practically done. In one of the Algerian movies "Citadel" we saw how the wedding ceremony is arranged. We grasped even the way Pharisees and scribes conducted their reasoning. A boy whose parents had rejected him at childhood was raised by another family who treated him more as a servant and an employee than part of the family. The boy grew and the time to marry him off came. His stepfather promised in front of other village men that he would marry off this young man, in fact, he boasted that if he didn't manage to do it, he would divorce all of his four wives. But there was no bride to be found. The wedding procession proceeded nonetheless and the cheering crowd with the bride to be went on. The bride was carried on the back of another man to the groom's house. Everything looked so real until the silent bride was unveiled. The stepfather who arranged the marriage provided a shop mannequin that is used in a window to display apparel. He "legally" kept his word and the entire village was satisfied. The LAW was observed, though the "married" man killed himself!

THE MINISTRY
You can see we have not been hibernating. Actually, just the opposite! Pavel was busy preparing for publishing a book on comparative theology. Klara started to re-edit and rewrite radio programs Pavel wrote several years ago for broadcasting from Quito. We have to change their length. It is a nice project-polishing texts and making them more palatable. We also visited and ministered at several different towns and churches. Our Sunday afternoon church planting ministry in Kladno continues to be a regular event. Peter and David have many contacts with young people in Kladno during the week in English classes, but on Sunday we hardly see any new visitors. Unless the pizza is served, Czechs stay away. On the other hand we are encouraged by the promise that His Word never misses the target. Since we are a small group, all children stay with us during the service. It is true that parents make sure that there is at least a seat between them, but they are present. One of the families was just talking about whether the children understand or have any benefit of staying with us adults or should they have message prepared specially for them. As the question popped up, the children referred to what Pavel said in his message. Children do hear and understand what is going on even if it looks that their mind is somewhere else.

VIDEO CLIPS ON OUR WEB
You can see selection of about 60 short clips from HCJB conference sites in September. Sorry the guidance is in Czech language but you can pick up some location names: http://www.hcjb.cz/Video/Ekvador/

BROADCASTING
In previous letters we informed you about the termination of Czech and Slovak short wave broadcasting from Quito. Now, about six months later, we will be on the air again, this time with 15 minutes on Sunday mornings in Slovakia.
We praise the Lord for giving us broadcasting time Sunday morning at 10:45. Previously we were offered time on Saturday very early in the morning, then late at night, and now the time is perfect. The station covers most of Slovakia, including the largest city of Bratislava. On March 23, there will be a live broadcast with Pavel, to introduce the program. We have to pay for the broadcasting time and we have to PTL that at this time we have the first two sponsors for the first two months of broadcasting. The Lord provided several volunteers in an unexpected way. The one who negotiated all the terms and will be responsible for technical preparation, and the translator is a man who was "discovered" through e-mail - he asked an unrelated question and we asked him to help. Now we pray for a good voice to record the programs.

ALASKA EXPERIENCE
The last days of January we had a privilege to meet the "SOAR International Ministries" mission group of mostly young people from Alaska, who spent two weeks in Russia. They visited a number of orphanages and some women's prisons. They delivered Christmas gift boxes to all those places. Their stop over in Prague was a relaxing and enjoyable time for them as well as for us.
There are some friendly and practical traveler's advices for groups and individuals visiting Russia and similar places below.
It is wise to plan ahead and consider all possibilities, especially if you travel in a group. By doing so, you can save yourself a lot of money and hassles at the airport or airline offices.
If you travel to Russia on a group visa, you must leave the country on the group visa - no exceptions allowed. If you want to stay in the country longer, you must travel out of the country and apply for a new visa abroad. You need a special invitation to some countries. To get a visa the same day usually means a double fee plus you must get another round trip air ticket. Not all embassies are open every day. Not all airlines provide daily flights to all destinations.
Make sure that dates of your visa and flights match. Any delays with visa can force you to change your flight. When you apply for a visa, do not limit them by validity of your air ticket. Just make sure that your visa is valid before and after planned trip. For practical reasons, ask for a multiple entry visa. Remember if you change one thing the rest needs to be changed and again, it is costly. This applies only for former USSR countries with exception of the Baltic countries. Tip: http://www.traveldocs.com/
Do not forget the weight limit of your luggage. US carriers are usually more lenient than European. It is expensive to pay for overweight.
You do not need to have your whole wardrobe with you. Mix-and-match for day wear is sufficient during travel. You will be more comfortable without extras. Repeatedly transportation and hotel people are amazed why most Americans carry so many suitcases even for short trips. Remember, everything is smaller in Europe.
We also found out that booking hotels, transfers, etc. through U.S. travel agents are very expensive. Anyone traveling to Prague and CZ will do much better through this reliable contact:
http://www.athos.cz/
http://www.a-prague.com/

OUR APARTMENT
After four years living in our apartment we finally painted it in January. A week later, we hastily opened the entry door to rush to the ringing telephone, just to find out that it's being flooded from the apartment above us. Fortunately we came home right at the beginning of the deluge. Thus the real damage is minimal. The carpet in master bedroom and closet was soaked. The hardwood floors are damaged in an area where it is not as noticeable. Blisters on newly painted walls dried up. The owner of the apartment above us lives in London and unfortunately has no homeowner's insurance since they moved in during Christmas. They are very nice and we continue to be good neighbors.

PRAYERS AND PRAISES
Praise God for generous gift to help with our publishing needs.
Praise God that a contract was signed and we began broadcasting our bible teaching programs on the morning of Sunday March 23, on a private Catholic FM station in Slovakia! Pray that others will see the need/potential and support these broadcasts.
Satellite Project with TWR for Czech and Slovak broadcasting from Slovakia is in progress. Gabi has been digitizing new programs. We have a couple of new speakers. The rest is a matter of prayer and HCJB involvement. Pray that God would supply the necessary funds needed for technical equipment. Pray that God would supply energy, increased efficiency or new volunteers with a heart for God.
Klara's mother was hospitalized in January to undergo corrective hip surgery. During the preparation for surgery doctors discovered that her vertebras are fractured so badly that there is a real danger that she will be paralyzed. Surgery was ruled out and the doctors are suggesting to immobilize her spine with an orthopedic corset. Please pray that God will provide wisdom and skill for the doctors, so they would prevent further damage.
In March we will host another mini Theological conference with Geoff Volker in our office. Please pray for the protection of those who will attend. Previously we had illness and unexpected events which prevented several people from coming.
Please pray for His protective hand over all of us. The world situation requires hard decisions to be made so please pray for wisdom and unity for the world leaders and different coalitions. We live in dangerous world.

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