© Ivan Steiger MMI

September 2004

DEAR FRIENDS, PRAYER AND MINISTRY PARTNERS

We praise the Lord for the ministry He entrusted us and thank you for your generosity and faithfulness. Day-by-day we can see by the letters and e-mails how vital of a ministry we provide together. We are reaching thousands of people not only in Czech Republic and Slovakia but around the world as well. They are special Czech and Slovak individuals uprooted from their homelands.

ONE-DAY-AT-A-TIME-this is an exact description of our summer. Our spring was cold and dry, not even mosquitoes hatched. Later on we had rainy and rather cold weekends. It looked like we would count true summer days on our fingers.

As soon as the school vacation starts people leave the town for their summer homes or enjoy the vacation. Everyone has at least one month of paid vacation and it is often difficult to plan or get anything accomplished. Actually numerous small stores and businesses are just closed down due to vacation.

Long summer vacation is a European specialty. However, Europe is waking up to the reality that the good old times may be over. In Germany, large manufacturers are negotiating with Unions to extend the working week from 35 hours to at least 40 hours or more, to shorten vacation time from 6 weeks down to 5 weeks, to cut some vacation financial entitlements and to cut some holidays. Those are painful changes buthe European economy is in trouble and European Union rules are not making situation any better.

For example, recently it issued quotas on sugar production here in Czech Republic. This country was self-sufficient in sugar production, exported large amounts of it and was the primary turn-key builder of sugar mills all around the world, especially in the third world countries. At the present the cost of sugar is about 30 cents per pound. With imposed quotas the producers are not allowed to grow enough of sugar beets, thus many of the sugar mills will be closed down. The imported sugar from Western Europe will be about twice as expensive …

Our political summer days could be almost eventless. However, instead of government vacation, we had a major crisis-forced resignation of the Prime Minister:

After all the summer fuss over the collapse of the government, the ousting of one Prime Minister and the ushering in of another, it appears that the country's political direction and even its Cabinet have barely changed. Now we have 34-year-old Stanislav Gross, the youngest Prime Minister in Europe, who admits to having a limited understanding of economics and foreign policy, not to mention foreign languages. His skills lie more in the field of negotiating and quelling the disunity that has nearly vanquished his party.

The government program, upon close inspection, does reveal the new Prime Minister's soft touch. There are promises to provide greater financial support to families, increase spending on scientific research, maintain free health care and enhance lifelong learning opportunities. It is full of vague, generalized goals such as, "Support families with children by creating the supportive social and economic environment so that it would be affordable to have children." (Peter Kononczuk)

And one more one-day-at-a-time quotation from a local English newspaper: Prague Post, August 6, 2004:

A grenade attack outside a casino in central Prague that injured 18 people, most of them foreign visitors, has prompted efforts to tighten controls on the gambling industry and cut its suspected ties with organized crime. Authorities were quick to rule out terrorism as the cause of the August 1 blast, insisting it was an isolated incident linked to a settling of accounts among Israeli criminals. In July we had a joyful reunion with one of the "HCJB travelers". We met Mildred already twice before and this was the third time. Since she was in Prague previously, we spent a relaxed afternoon together and leisurely explored the Jewish quarters of old Prague. Mildred is 86 and her age and extraordinary joyful spirit triggered a reminder to enjoy each day the Lord gives us. Speaking of that, as I [Klara] was waiting for a tram, I noticed an elegant elderly lady. As I was processing in my mind her age with mine, I realized that in 10 years I will be almost seventy. And we have so many plans and ideas! There is no retirement once you are engulfed by Him.

ONE-DAY-AT-A-TIME sentiment reminded us of some other major events and life decisions. August 11, 1964 is a day to remember. It has now been 40 years since Pavel and I met the first time. Five years later, on the very same day, we left our native country (1969) after the Russian occupation (1968). We happened to be homeless for the next six months and stateless for the next seven years. Those events were crucial for us. Numerous other one-day-at-a-times brought us to Christ some nine years later (1978) in LA and after 23 years (1992) we left our adoptive country, the USA, to serve Him in our native country as foreigners …

MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY
In the last Newsletter we informed you about some opportunity - Audio studio for Slovakia. Here is Milan's letter to David Manney in Kiev (Eurasia region of HCJB):

Dear broth David,
It is a great joy for me to get such a great encouragement through your mail. What a privilege to have such a wonderful people thinking of us and the ministry we are doing here in Slovakia. I am thinking of our meeting at the conference in Germany and of the vision to build the studio for the Christian university students. Many things happened since. I will try to describe them briefly.

We have started to work on the project very intensively. Writing letters and talking with the officials of the university brought up the document I am sending to you attached. The Steiger's will take the document to the HCJB World Radio Conference in Colorado together with other documents describing some details of the present situation of the project.

Two rooms in the building have to be adapted for the studio and there is need to rebuild the central heating and gas connection. Specialists are on holiday, so we are waiting for them. We also have to overcome some bureaucratic obstacles. It also takes time ... But the most important thing is how we feel God's presence behind the project. Without Him we could not do anything. That is the crucial point. This brings us closer and closer to Him, as we feel total dependence on Him. That is the reason God strongly speaks to my heart through the Bible.

The first story I was touched by is from EZRA 3, verses 6 and 10 to 13. All the people experienced the same situation, the same blessing of the Lord, but not all of them were praising Him. Some of them shouted for joy but some wept aloud (verse 12). What a difference. I recognized myself in these two categories! When I look at the things God is doing in my life and in the ministry, I am shouting for joy. But when I am looking at the circumstances and the problems we are facing with the project, I am crying. I want to change the situation as described in [deleted 'the'] verse 13. " ...the sound was heard far away". I would like to praise Him loudly, but I want to cry and fight with the problems in my inner privacy. Thanks for the miracle you came with and the opportunity to share our problems with the others through prayer ... Thank you my brother.

The second word of wisdom came from MARK 14, verses 3 to 5. The jar of pure nard was wasted. It could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the needy. But Jesus looked differently at the situation. The woman glorified Him. Again the two different points of view of the same situation. Where am I? Am I wasting my money, my effort, my life on invaluable things-like this project-or is Jesus seeing the project in a different way? Lord I want to glorify you with all my best and precious gifts! That is my prayer.

Please pray for God's guidance for advancing the project - according to His will. We need more people willing to share the vision together. Please pray for wise decisions, for managing and preparing the project, for sufficient funds. Rebuilding the central heating and gas connection are the extra expenses we did not expect. That is the quick glimpse on the situation. Thank you again for your great encouragement, dear brother David. I hope we will be able to see each other here in Banska Bystrica in the near future.

May God richly bless you in your ministry.
Sincerely yours,
- Milan Hudec -

PROGRESS REPORT FROM TRANS WORLD RADIO
We esteem your (HCJB) financial help. Thanks to you for it. We (TWR-CZ) perceive it as a miraculous grant for our prayers. We had a lot of promises from various parties. Your help however, has been realized as the first and so far as the only one, though the initiating signals were not promising at all. Thanks to God and you.

During the summer vacation (July and August) we invited a few students who voluntarily converted our audio archive. They transferred around 1000 MD's and 300 VHS's with spoken recordings and 500 CD's with music recordings onto a high-capacity PC server. The spoken word and Christian music will be directly selected from the PC server for the satellite broadcasting.

Four workstations simultaneously convert the audio material into the PC server. Each takes two inputs at a time. Thus the PC server has been fed by eight audio sources at the same time. This voluminous audio material has been rapidly preparing for the satellite broadcast.

• What privilege we have to be submerged in His Word. The radio ministry is blessing people in Slovakia. The outcome is more than one blessing. To write and listen to translated programs, other voices and music is pleasing our heart and soul as well. It is motivating power and desire to do more.
• We praise the Lord for special ministry to us-especially the ministry of two pastors from Arizona who are "feeding" our souls here. We are translating some of their work from English into Czech.
• We were notified by Grace Community Church (John McArthur) that we received a free membership to Shepherds' Fellowship: This is a ministry of Grace Church specifically designed for pastors that provides a wide range of resources regarding pastoring, preaching, counseling, church administration, etc. The membership usually costs $400 annually, however the overseer of that ministry has agreed to provide us with an on-going free membership.
• One of our Czech speaking magazine readers in Germany offered to translate some of our texts into the German language.
• In August we had once again an audit in our office procedures. PTL Jindra came out with flying colors.
• Second week in August we spent lovely time with Pavel's brother family in Bavaria. Pavel was resting and reading while Klara was cooking (fruit dumplings tradition), entertaining grandkids and lovingly restored and dressed four antique dolls for Toy museum display. What a joy to relax with kids trying to be one step ahead and see their responses.

• Klara will attend Annual Members' Meeting in Colorado Springs on September 13-17, 2004. We have not been at HCJB headquarters for many years. There have been many personnel changes and we have a whole agenda to sort out. Please pray for the positive outcome.
• Gabi will undergo breast surgery in September.
• Our son Vit underwent a knee surgery August 20. Pray for his healing and recovery. He will visit us in Prague for one week in October. He has not been here for four years at least.
• The Satellite Broadcasting project Trans World Radio CZ and HCJB World Office is in slow motion mode, the Slovak legislation is limping behind. We rejoice in His timing.

Once again, thank you for your faithfulness, love, prayers and kindness

In His Sovereign Grace
Pavel and Klara Steiger

You may mail your US tax-deductible contributions to:
HCJB WORLD RADIO
P.O. Box 39800
Colorado Springs CO 80949-9800
U.S.A.

You may mail your Canadian tax-deductible contributions to:
HCJB WORLD RADIO
2476 Argentia Rd. #201
Mississauga ON L5N 6M1
CANADA

Attach to your check
the following note:
FOR THE CZECH PROJECTS MINISTRY
ACC # 577850

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