It was a two-hour flight from St. Petersburg to Prague. Pastor Slava was there to meet me in the airport and we drove 2 hours to his home in the northwest part of the country in Teplice. This town grew up around a women’s Benedictine monastery in the mid-twelfth century. It’s known as a famous spa town and for its hot springs. The district surrounding the town has a population of 128 thousand. The hills to the north mark the German border. The lush greenery, plant life and rolling hills remind me of northwest Oregon. Yet Slava told me that the Czech Republic is very atheistic and that this district was the most atheistic in the country. With all the beauty around them, I guess they don’t see a need for God.
Slava had made arrangements with a lady from his church that had a large apartment and would allow me to stay there. When we arrived, Irina had dinner ready for us. Irina is a healthy 78-year-old widow who had the energy of a 50 year old! She spoke Czech and some Russian. Slava translated from Czech until he left. Then she and I had to speak in Russian! Before Slava left, we took a walk around the city square at twilight. It was comfortable and beautiful to walk around this old well-kept city. 
The next morning Slava arrived at 10:15am while Irina and I were having a nice conversation. Slava said, are you ready to go? You are speaking at a school in 15 minutes! This was my opportunity to “flex” and be ready for anything! I grabbed a few things I thought I might need and we raced to the school.
No one had told the kids I was coming, so when I came into the class it was a complete surprise. Many were shy and didn’t know what to say. But I tried to break the ice and went around the room and introduced myself to each student. They all told me their name in English. I told them where I was from and how to say “Hi” in Texas. They all learned a new English word… “Howdy”!
Questions started to come and I would “pick” students to ask me a question. They would form their questions and ask things like, “What kind of car do you drive?”, “What do you think of Obama?”, or “How long was the flight?”. One girl who had little English training asked me after being whispered to by a friend asked, “How are you?” I replied, “I’m fine”! :-)
I would look for an opportunity to share about God and what they believed in the Bible. None of them had read any part of the Bible, yet they were open to what I had to say about it. When I asked one 18-year-old boy about the need for God he just said he didn’t need Him. Slava had said they were very atheistic, but that even if they didn’t agree with you, they wanted to hear and learn more about your perspective.
Between the two classes, the principal took me to the school tower. From there we could see the whole town and walk around on the outside-railed ledge. It was a spectacular view!
After speaking to the second class, we departed and had lunch at a Russian café. After visiting down town to exchange money and going by the Chamber of Commerce we went to Slava’s apartment to have afternoon tea. There we rested and shared about what could be done in Teplice. At around 7pm we went back to Irina’s home and had dinner. I was stuffed! Slava left at about 9pm and would return at 1:30am to take me to the airport. The flight left at 6am and I had to be at the airport at 3am. 
We had a great conversation in the middle of the night on the way to the airport. We even stopped at a newly opened McDonalds to get coffee for the ride into Prague. We prayed together, talked about examples of prayer, and answers to prayer. We also talked about disappointments and how church groups would come in with grand strategies, when what was really needed was simple lasting and ongoing relationships. In the military vernacular we would say they needed, “Boots on the ground”.
I’m convinced that SAC can minister effectively in the Czech Republic and it can start with this school. The principal is very open to us and knows we would come in and share the Gospel. I don’t have a grand strategy, but just to invite people to come and join with us to build relationship for Christ in the community of Teplice, Czech Republic this fall. Look for upcoming mission trip dates to the Czech Republic to minister to young people with open minds!
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