© Ivan Steiger MMI

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (Luke 12:22-27)

March 2004

In January we welcomed 23 people from SOAR International Ministries on their trip back from Moscow to Alaska. Once again they delivered Christmas boxes to children in different Russian orphanages. It was good to see them all as well as Dub Page, our long time HCJB patron of Czech broadcasting. He is over 80 and does not miss any opportunity to serve our Lord.

KLADNO CHURCH
We also visited the Kladno church, in which Pavel preached for one year, and were very encouraged. The church is ministered to once a month by a visiting pastor from Usti. He is doing a great job. It is amazing to see how the Lord provides. The young Czech pastor helps the church in Kladno and the American missionary helps the Czech pastor in Usti. This is what goes on right now:

With our dear Czech co-worker Jarda, we kicked-off and English outreach course in the town of Usti (1 hour N. of Kladno). It was a thrill to realize that God has brought around 60 unbelievers from this town that will hear the gospel over the next 18 weeks and by His grace be part of this new church plant.

However, to become a believer is not easy. Following are testimonies from Kladno church:

Some are now experiencing persecution and opposition from their families because of their faith. Petr (who plays on our boys' soccer team) shared with us last week that his father threatened to throw him out of the home if he became a Christian. Karel's parents are very opposed to him being baptized. Please pray that these new believers will have wisdom and boldness in sharing with their families.

FILM JESUS
In February we missed, for the first time, the annual film festival in Prague. We were too busy in the office. However, the film Jesus was shown in Prague. The promotion was massive. Billboards, TV adds, flyers to many mailboxes. We attended the showing in our neighborhood. The film includes about six testimonies by Czechs. Before the showing they shared their background and former attitude toward Christianity. After the Film, the same people shared how Jesus changed their lives. Klara thinks that testimonies were very proper. However, the reactions were surprisingly not so good. After the showing, most of the visitors filled out the survey sheets and we had an opportunity to talk to some of them. We can say that viewers liked the film about Jesus. However, they generally distrusted the testimonies. Their predominant complaint was that it reminds them of a Jehovah Witness-like approach. As Klara was talking to people of her generation, they suggested that it would be much better if distinguished (Catholic) church representatives spoke instead of these young inexperienced people who know nothing about distress of life. The conversation led to generation differences and how they separate young and old. Young people will not listen to distinguished representatives and the older generation does not trust informal testimonies-no matter how real they are. Tradition, distrust and closed hearts are so common.

CZECHS LOSING RELIGION

Prague, Czech Republic

Saints peek out from alleys. Angels fleck the skyline. In stone, marble, God's mysteries reside in this city's baroque architecture. Choral hymns drift out of the city's churches; their facades carved with apostles and bishops, whose golden staff glint in the afternoon sun. The tourist may be inspired. But try finding Him in the Czech soul.

Czechs remain divided on the Church's role during Communism: Some say the church resisted Communist attempts to weaken it; others say they allowed it to be manipulated by Communist leaders. Moored neither to religious fervor nor national pride, the Czech, according to many here, is adrift. There is a sense of emptiness but not despair. People have forgotten that right and wrong stems from Christianity. People do not know about God, they do not know what Christmas is about, they are lost in galleries when they see paintings of Jesus Christ. One girl looked at a picture of the Crucifixion and asked 'Who did it to him?' Her friend responded, 'The communists.'

"Society has gotten to the point where it believes in nothing," Siklova said. "The Czechs even stopped identifying with their government and their army. There's an aggressive drive for accumulation of capital and not a lot of ethics."

The Arizona Republic, July 27, 2003by Jeffrey Fleishman,Los Angeles Times

• It is much easier to bring in new traditions like Valentine's day, homosexual marriages or euthanasia than the Gospel.
• In January through March we were very busy taking care of many ministry loose ends. We had an opportunity to host some new people and meet some "virtual" people we know from the Internet.
• Visiting with friends from the past is a very special event. However, visiting with an undertaker we know from our Ricany stay was truly unforgettable. Who else can describe better the ugliness of sin?
• We are working hard on radio programs, coordinating translations, editing, printing, publishing, supporting web service etc…
• We are grateful that our Lord has given us so many tools to use. Our work and your prayers do not go into vain:

* Our dearest Pavel and Klara,
It is impossible to number how many times I wanted to express our gratitude for the magazine. Each time we enjoy a number of interesting and inspiring articles. Your selection of topics and way of writing forces us to think deeply. It helps us to lift our spirit and warm up our blood. We rejoice when we see in our mailbox the typical blue cover. We love the balance of individual topics as well as the Readers Column. It is sad to notice how some readers do not realize that you are not forcing on them "an absolute point of view" for any given topic. They should feel freedom, as we do, to consider and decide for themselves. We pray that our Lord will lead all readers and will give them strength to decide for themselves without personal evasion.
While reading I always think of Jesus, how He taught and admonished His listeners. He did not force them, but left them free to follow or reject. His words were sometimes so strong that even His spiritual brothers were shaken.
When I read some reactions, I am disturbed, sad and inspired to pray for such a person. It looks like some of them prefer a church (sect) with strict doctrinal politics and authority to interpret what to think and do, without personal conviction or conscience. I am thankful for His love that He rescued my family and me from such totality. We pray for those who did not experience His mercy and deliverance.
I often use the topics from the magazine in our Bible study group of former Jehovah Witnesses. Those who were delivered from the organization (JW) realize and are so grateful for the freedom to read and express themselves without being labeled a heretic. Once more, I want to express my gratitude to the Lord that he is using your labor for this ministry.
We treasure memories of our personal meeting and we would love to see you again, if possible, on your side. We greet you with His blessings for your ministry and personal life.
Yours, Vlada and Blanka S., letter # 248 / 2004

* Dear sir,
I red the article in issue # 78 several times and I like it more and more. It has an incredible theological depth. It shows that you were inspired by God. … I am looking forward to His second coming.
Lubomír K., letter # 75 / 2004

• Each year we receive over one thousand letters and as many e-mail contacts.
• We praise the Lord that He provided qualified ministry helpers. Jindra, our administrative and counseling servant, has retired as of January 1, 2004. However, she continues to stay with us as long as we are around. Her retirement is low and we continue to employ her as a retired person.
• Contract with Radio Lumen was renewed without financial increase till March 31, 2005.
• Our son Vit e-mailed us the documentation of his fractured hand. We examined his X-rays, surgery procedure, incision and final pin removal. While in cast, he was able to shave his head with his right hand (he is a left-handed person), to keep his cool looks. He would like to come to visit us in May. However, the airfare is quite high right now.
• On the other hand, round-trip airfare from Prague to the US is about half that of roundtrip from the US to Prague. Therefore, we were able to enjoy a reasonable airfare for April. First we will "hop" to CA to visit our supporting churches in Madera and Santa Rosa that are a little bit off our beaten path. Since Klara did not appear in person in those churches for many years, we are looking forward to seeing them all. During the second half of April, Pavel and our son Filip will attend the Bunyan Conference near Philadelphia while Klara will enjoy our grand children Samuel and Nathaniel in Manchester, NH. The end of the month we will visit our supporting church in NYC.
• Klara will present Ecuador and HCJB ministries in the main Prague Public Library.

• Please pray for the opportunity to share about HCJB ministries in Czech Republic with new contacts and churches in US.
• For travel safety and effective itinerary
• Higher taxes are being assessed on almost anything. Publications used to have 5% value added tax-now we are facing a 19% or 22% rate. Since we started publishing The Christian Digest the cost for one issue rose 5 times. During the publishing time we absorbed the cost increase by reducing mailing from 6x per year to 4x and instead of 24 pages, we print 48.

SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
Slovak TWR is patiently waiting for the registration. A six-month procedure is considered to be normal processing. We have another month to go. ... On the Czech side, the studio and dispatching room is taking shape. Final "assembly and wiring" (see, I am not a technical person) is in final stages. Lighting and furniture is ready to be installed. ... The central server with complete archive is ready to be used. Testing is in process.

Notice our new e-mail address

We were plagued by so many spams-thus the change was necessary. We will have to think about a spam filter for our LINUX server.

Praising together the LORD for
HIS BLESSINGS AND PROTECTION.
pavel and klara steieger

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