Well...It has been such an awesome trip, thus far. We keep telling people that we just want to be sponges on this trip and soak up as much info as we possibly can. One thing is fore-front in my mind right now: God is far bigger than I often give him credit for. There are so many people who need to hear about God's saving grace here in Eastern Europe - please be praying for them.
I will give you a basic idea of what we have done thus far:
So on Saturday we got to Zory (the town we stayed in the first two days) around 9pm. Then the next day we went to the church there, which was such an awesome experience. It was so wonderful to meet the body of believers there - we were greatly blessed by it. Sunday evening we hung out with some of the youth from the church at Susan Ellis' apartment (she is a missionary there). On Monday morning we went to the Hash's home and hung out with them for the day (they are missionaries as well). Monday evening we drove to the Carlson's home (Greg Carlson is the one who we met with about 3 weeks ago and is the one who asked us to come this week). I got sick the day before we left to come to Poland and haven't been feeling that great. So on Tuesday morning I got to go to a Polish Doctor; I have a sinus infection and am on antibiotics now. We went to see H2O, which I will have to explain in detail later, but basically it is going to be a Hume Lake type camp for Poland (it is amazing!). Then we hung out with the Carlsons and Justin then spoke at their church on Tuesday evening. Justin spoke on the "Marks of a True Christian" from Romans 12. This morning (wednesday) we drove to Malenovice (in Czech) to here the end of a meeting which was to decide what English camps are going to be like this coming summer (for all of the countries). The rest of today was filled with rest (which was wonderful). The rest of this week we will be here at Malenovice with a lot of the missionaries from Josiah Venture; they all get together for Thanksgiving.
Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to be praying, not only for us but for the people of Eastern Europe and for the missionaries who are already here ministering to them.
We love you all and hope that you have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Thanksgiving in Poland
From Kimberly:
Over these last few months it has been amazing to watch as God has so clearly pointed our lives in a certain direction. As this has happened I have become increasingly aware of the fact that God is in control of my life, not me. Throughout my life I have sought to control my circumstances, thinking I knew what was best, all the while knowing that I didn’t (if that makes any sense). Well, ever since we came back from Czech, God has been opening my eyes; this has been a painful, yet exciting process. I have been realizing that my life wasn’t created to be about me, rather God created it to bring honor and glory to himself. What I mean by that is: I have been living, in many ways, as though there were nothing more to this life than my own pleasure. Through all of my selfishness, God, in HIS grace, helped me remember that this life was given to me by Him. I am but a pilgrim on this earth, therefore I cannot live as though it were my eternal home. Throughout Scripture God calls me/us to lay down all that I/we hold dear and to run after him. I just finished listening to Francis Chan’s five-part series on “The Cross” (http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/). Chan explains, much more clearly than I can, what the Lord did when he brought me out of darkness and into HIS marvelous light. I would encourage you to listen to these messages as they are an incredible reminder of the gift that God gave us in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ. The gift of salvation is the only reason that I am truly alive today. These last couple of months have been some of the most exciting in my life; I stand in awe of how Great my Lord is.
I will leave you with this passage from Acts 2:22-28.
For both of us:
All of that being said, God has been laying a burden on both of our hearts, a burden for the people of Eastern Europe. While we were in the Czech Republic this summer we sat down with our friend Nate, a missionary in Czech, and asked him where the needs were right now for Josiah Venture (mission’s agency). He told us there was a big need for young couples in Poland. So ever since then we have been praying about whether or not the Lord would want us to consider ministry in Poland. At some point in October, Greg Carlson (he is the head missionary for JV in Poland) contacted us; Nate had told him about our conversation over the summer. Well we had the opportunity to meet with Greg and a Polish national, Michael, on November 2nd. They came to church with us, shared about Poland in our Sunday School class, went out to lunch with us and our mission’s pastor, and then hung out with us for the day. It was an awesome opportunity for both us and them to get to know one another; it helped us to gain a clearer view of what ministry in Poland is like. At one point on Sunday, Greg came up with the idea of us flying out to Poland for Thanksgiving so that we could get a much clearer picture.
Well, the idea sounded great. The problem: how were we going to afford a trip to Poland for two on such short notice? We started looking into it and asking for prayer from those around us. This seemed like an incredible opportunity; we prayed that the Lord would open the doors for us to go if it was His will. God worked in amazing ways! He clearly opened the doors for us to go to Poland...the body of Christ came behind us and is funding our trip to Poland for Thanksgiving! It has been so humbling to experience all of this because it has made both of us realize that the God whom we serve is far greater than our imagination.
The purpose for our trip (as outlined by Greg Carlson) is as follows:
“The purpose of your trip is to meet our Poland team and the larger Josiah Venture team. I think it's important for you to meet the Poland team and for the Poland team to meet you before you submit an application [to minister full time with Josiah Venture]. This way you will have total freedom to talk with team members. If you leave your time with us with a positive sense it will give you a much clearer understanding of what you are moving towards and who you will be serving with. You'll have plenty of time to ask as many questions as you want about Poland, our team, the role we are thinking for you, etc.”
We would covet your prayers as we embark on this trip (11/21 - 11/29). Please also be praying that the Lord would make it clear to us if he wants us in Poland long-term. Thank you for your prayers and support, we would not be beginning this journey if it were not for God working through our friends and family.
The Lord is good..
Justin and Kimberly Klopfenstein
please check back for updates...
Over these last few months it has been amazing to watch as God has so clearly pointed our lives in a certain direction. As this has happened I have become increasingly aware of the fact that God is in control of my life, not me. Throughout my life I have sought to control my circumstances, thinking I knew what was best, all the while knowing that I didn’t (if that makes any sense). Well, ever since we came back from Czech, God has been opening my eyes; this has been a painful, yet exciting process. I have been realizing that my life wasn’t created to be about me, rather God created it to bring honor and glory to himself. What I mean by that is: I have been living, in many ways, as though there were nothing more to this life than my own pleasure. Through all of my selfishness, God, in HIS grace, helped me remember that this life was given to me by Him. I am but a pilgrim on this earth, therefore I cannot live as though it were my eternal home. Throughout Scripture God calls me/us to lay down all that I/we hold dear and to run after him. I just finished listening to Francis Chan’s five-part series on “The Cross” (http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/). Chan explains, much more clearly than I can, what the Lord did when he brought me out of darkness and into HIS marvelous light. I would encourage you to listen to these messages as they are an incredible reminder of the gift that God gave us in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ. The gift of salvation is the only reason that I am truly alive today. These last couple of months have been some of the most exciting in my life; I stand in awe of how Great my Lord is.
I will leave you with this passage from Acts 2:22-28.
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know - this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before me, for his is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ ”
For both of us:
All of that being said, God has been laying a burden on both of our hearts, a burden for the people of Eastern Europe. While we were in the Czech Republic this summer we sat down with our friend Nate, a missionary in Czech, and asked him where the needs were right now for Josiah Venture (mission’s agency). He told us there was a big need for young couples in Poland. So ever since then we have been praying about whether or not the Lord would want us to consider ministry in Poland. At some point in October, Greg Carlson (he is the head missionary for JV in Poland) contacted us; Nate had told him about our conversation over the summer. Well we had the opportunity to meet with Greg and a Polish national, Michael, on November 2nd. They came to church with us, shared about Poland in our Sunday School class, went out to lunch with us and our mission’s pastor, and then hung out with us for the day. It was an awesome opportunity for both us and them to get to know one another; it helped us to gain a clearer view of what ministry in Poland is like. At one point on Sunday, Greg came up with the idea of us flying out to Poland for Thanksgiving so that we could get a much clearer picture.
Well, the idea sounded great. The problem: how were we going to afford a trip to Poland for two on such short notice? We started looking into it and asking for prayer from those around us. This seemed like an incredible opportunity; we prayed that the Lord would open the doors for us to go if it was His will. God worked in amazing ways! He clearly opened the doors for us to go to Poland...the body of Christ came behind us and is funding our trip to Poland for Thanksgiving! It has been so humbling to experience all of this because it has made both of us realize that the God whom we serve is far greater than our imagination.
The purpose for our trip (as outlined by Greg Carlson) is as follows:
“The purpose of your trip is to meet our Poland team and the larger Josiah Venture team. I think it's important for you to meet the Poland team and for the Poland team to meet you before you submit an application [to minister full time with Josiah Venture]. This way you will have total freedom to talk with team members. If you leave your time with us with a positive sense it will give you a much clearer understanding of what you are moving towards and who you will be serving with. You'll have plenty of time to ask as many questions as you want about Poland, our team, the role we are thinking for you, etc.”
We would covet your prayers as we embark on this trip (11/21 - 11/29). Please also be praying that the Lord would make it clear to us if he wants us in Poland long-term. Thank you for your prayers and support, we would not be beginning this journey if it were not for God working through our friends and family.
The Lord is good..
Justin and Kimberly Klopfenstein
please check back for updates...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Gospel
Hello Everyone...
This is going to be short because I only have a few minutes to write this. But we just wanted to let you know what is going on here at English Camp. Camp has been going well, for the most part our team is healthy and safe. The most important thing for which we need your prayers is for tonight. Tonight Justin will be presenting the gospel to the students. Please be praying that God will just speak through him as he tells the students of the hope which can only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray that their hearts will be open to hear what he has to say. Even if no one accepts Christ tonight we pray that a seed will be planted which will continue to grow. We hope that this evenings talk will also encourage the believers to stay strong in their walk with the Lord and continue to grow rather than remain stagnant. God has been doing great things here, thank you for your prayers.
As far as health there are quite a few people who have been getting sick, probably because it has been cold and rainy up here on the mountain. I, Kimberly, almost lost my voice, but thankfully I didnt and was able to continue teaching english class. Meghan, on our team, fractured her wrist doing a camp song of all things. Tomorrow she will be going to get a full cast, please pray that everything will go well. We are all pretty exhausted, so please pray that we will have the energy and excitement to continue pouring into the students. They have been teaching us many things as well, we are so blessed to be here. Thank you for your continued prayers as they are such a blessing to us. Once again, please keep Justin in your prayers and above all the hearts of the students. He will be speaking 11:00am your time, 8:00pm our time. We love you all.
2 Corinthians 5 was a passage which God really used to speak to my heart the other day so that is what I leave you with.
This is going to be short because I only have a few minutes to write this. But we just wanted to let you know what is going on here at English Camp. Camp has been going well, for the most part our team is healthy and safe. The most important thing for which we need your prayers is for tonight. Tonight Justin will be presenting the gospel to the students. Please be praying that God will just speak through him as he tells the students of the hope which can only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray that their hearts will be open to hear what he has to say. Even if no one accepts Christ tonight we pray that a seed will be planted which will continue to grow. We hope that this evenings talk will also encourage the believers to stay strong in their walk with the Lord and continue to grow rather than remain stagnant. God has been doing great things here, thank you for your prayers.
As far as health there are quite a few people who have been getting sick, probably because it has been cold and rainy up here on the mountain. I, Kimberly, almost lost my voice, but thankfully I didnt and was able to continue teaching english class. Meghan, on our team, fractured her wrist doing a camp song of all things. Tomorrow she will be going to get a full cast, please pray that everything will go well. We are all pretty exhausted, so please pray that we will have the energy and excitement to continue pouring into the students. They have been teaching us many things as well, we are so blessed to be here. Thank you for your continued prayers as they are such a blessing to us. Once again, please keep Justin in your prayers and above all the hearts of the students. He will be speaking 11:00am your time, 8:00pm our time. We love you all.
2 Corinthians 5 was a passage which God really used to speak to my heart the other day so that is what I leave you with.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
We Are Here
Family & Friends,
Sorry it has taken us awhile to get our first update to you. We didn't actually arrive here at Malenovice until around 4pm yesterday (Wednesday), and our journey from LA began at 3:30 on Monday. Here is the reason for the delay: when we arrived at LAX on Monday we were informed that our flight was delayed an hour. This was going to cause us to miss our other 2 connecting flights. God is so good though and British Airways took very good care of us. Due to the delay we had to spend a night in London (we didn't get to go into the city though because the hotel was right next to the airport which is about an hour away from the city), which BA paid for. So we left London at around 7:30am on Wednesday. From Heathrow we flew to Munich, Germany and barely made our connecting to Karkow, Poland. Once we arrived in Karkow Lucka and Mel (missionaries from Josiah Venture) picked us up and we had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Malenovice (the Josiah Venture training center).
We are humbled by the work the Lord has done in our lives and in the lives of the team so far! He is awesome! We cannot thank you all enough for all your prayers. God is listening. Please continue to pray.
We are so thankful for our team, we all mesh so well and we are excited to see what God is going to do in these next few weeks. We will be leaving tomorrow morning to head off to camp - not too sure how long that train ride will be - and english camp will officially begin on Saturday with the first classes being on Sunday. We're so excited!!!!
We'll continue to keep you updated when we can.
Tasting and seeing His goodness..
Justin & Kimberly Klopfenstein
Sorry it has taken us awhile to get our first update to you. We didn't actually arrive here at Malenovice until around 4pm yesterday (Wednesday), and our journey from LA began at 3:30 on Monday. Here is the reason for the delay: when we arrived at LAX on Monday we were informed that our flight was delayed an hour. This was going to cause us to miss our other 2 connecting flights. God is so good though and British Airways took very good care of us. Due to the delay we had to spend a night in London (we didn't get to go into the city though because the hotel was right next to the airport which is about an hour away from the city), which BA paid for. So we left London at around 7:30am on Wednesday. From Heathrow we flew to Munich, Germany and barely made our connecting to Karkow, Poland. Once we arrived in Karkow Lucka and Mel (missionaries from Josiah Venture) picked us up and we had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Malenovice (the Josiah Venture training center).
We are humbled by the work the Lord has done in our lives and in the lives of the team so far! He is awesome! We cannot thank you all enough for all your prayers. God is listening. Please continue to pray.
We are so thankful for our team, we all mesh so well and we are excited to see what God is going to do in these next few weeks. We will be leaving tomorrow morning to head off to camp - not too sure how long that train ride will be - and english camp will officially begin on Saturday with the first classes being on Sunday. We're so excited!!!!
We'll continue to keep you updated when we can.
Tasting and seeing His goodness..
Justin & Kimberly Klopfenstein
Monday, June 30, 2008
Our Last Team Meeting
Yesterday we had our last team meeting before departure. It was so encouraging to meet with our team - we all mesh so well together, we are excited to see what God is going to do. Please continue to prayer for all of the last minute details which must be taken care of prior to departure for all team members (english lessons, evening talks, packing, Dr.'s appointments, finances, etc.). Also, the youth group from Cheb (the church we are partnered with) could use prayer as they iron out all of the last minute details for camp. Please be praying for unity within the youth group as they have to make decisions and prepare for a week of camp. Lastly, we pray that there would be good health and saftey for not only our team but for all of those who will be attending camp. A few days ago we found out that there will be approximately 80 people at camp (including our team) which is very exciting because we never know if there will be very many people at camp. Thank you so much for your prayers, this trip would not be possible were it not for the support of those here in the states.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Last trip to Czech
These are pictures from our last trip to Czech. Most of the pictures include both students from camp and from the Cheb Baptist Church.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you...When you seek me with all your heart...”
-Jeremiah 29:11-13
-Jeremiah 29:11-13
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been such a blessing over these last few months as we have received your responses, in the form of both prayers and finances. We cannot thank you enough! The Lord has used you greatly and continues to use you in this ministry. We will definitely need your prayers as we prepare and as we minister in the Czech Republic. So, as we get ready to leave we wanted to update you with the most current prayer requests and information.
With preparation drawing to a close here at home there are many different tasks which must be completed prior to our departure and we need prayer for them. One area that our team needs prayer for is that of english lessons. Within our team there are both english teachers and assistants, both of whom will work together to teach the english classes at camp. Kimberly will be teaching an upper beginner english class; the students in this class speak some english but Kimberly will have to rely heavily on a translator. During camp, english class will last from 9-12 each morning. Our theme this year for English class is Olympics 2008; we decided on this theme because we can incorporate a lot of english but it still has a global aspect to it which is important. Please pray that all of the english teachers will be able to prepare the bulk of their teaching material prior to leaving for the Czech Republic. If this happens then a lot of our time will be freed up in the Czech allowing us to spend more time building relationships with the youth.
Each night at english camp there will be “Evening Talks” followed by discussion groups. I (Justin) will be giving these talks along with team members Landen and Adam. All three of us need prayer for clarity and purity as we seek to speak the truth in love. The purpose of these talks is to deal with the most basic cravings of our souls. Landen, Adam, and I are going to share our hearts and God’s Word openly with the students always leading them to Christ. I will be be speaking on three topics: ‘Uniqueness of being human,’ ‘Love,’ and ‘Perfection’ (gospel presentation). Following the “Talks” there will be “Discussion Groups” during which the students will split off into their english class groups and have a chance to discuss certain questions pertaining to the ‘talk’ which was given. Please pray for the students that they will come to know freedom in Christ.
Thanks once again for all your prayers. Kimberly and I look forward to sharing with you all of what God is doing in Czech.
Tasting and seeing His goodness,
Justin and Kimberly Klopfenstein
Here is a rough schedule of what our time in the Czech will look like:
It has been such a blessing over these last few months as we have received your responses, in the form of both prayers and finances. We cannot thank you enough! The Lord has used you greatly and continues to use you in this ministry. We will definitely need your prayers as we prepare and as we minister in the Czech Republic. So, as we get ready to leave we wanted to update you with the most current prayer requests and information.
With preparation drawing to a close here at home there are many different tasks which must be completed prior to our departure and we need prayer for them. One area that our team needs prayer for is that of english lessons. Within our team there are both english teachers and assistants, both of whom will work together to teach the english classes at camp. Kimberly will be teaching an upper beginner english class; the students in this class speak some english but Kimberly will have to rely heavily on a translator. During camp, english class will last from 9-12 each morning. Our theme this year for English class is Olympics 2008; we decided on this theme because we can incorporate a lot of english but it still has a global aspect to it which is important. Please pray that all of the english teachers will be able to prepare the bulk of their teaching material prior to leaving for the Czech Republic. If this happens then a lot of our time will be freed up in the Czech allowing us to spend more time building relationships with the youth.
Each night at english camp there will be “Evening Talks” followed by discussion groups. I (Justin) will be giving these talks along with team members Landen and Adam. All three of us need prayer for clarity and purity as we seek to speak the truth in love. The purpose of these talks is to deal with the most basic cravings of our souls. Landen, Adam, and I are going to share our hearts and God’s Word openly with the students always leading them to Christ. I will be be speaking on three topics: ‘Uniqueness of being human,’ ‘Love,’ and ‘Perfection’ (gospel presentation). Following the “Talks” there will be “Discussion Groups” during which the students will split off into their english class groups and have a chance to discuss certain questions pertaining to the ‘talk’ which was given. Please pray for the students that they will come to know freedom in Christ.
Thanks once again for all your prayers. Kimberly and I look forward to sharing with you all of what God is doing in Czech.
Tasting and seeing His goodness,
Justin and Kimberly Klopfenstein
Here is a rough schedule of what our time in the Czech will look like:
• July 7th - Depart from LAX
• Week One - Training at the Josiah Venture training center
at Malenovice (on the eastern border of Czech)
• Week Two - English Camp (on the western side of Czech)
• Week Three - Staying with host families in the town of
Cheb (on the western border of Czech, 10 minutes
outside of Germany) and hanging out with the youth
group from Cheb Baptist Church and possibly some
students from English Camp
• July 23rd - Spend the day in Prague
• July 24th - Fly home to LAX
• Week One - Training at the Josiah Venture training center
at Malenovice (on the eastern border of Czech)
• Week Two - English Camp (on the western side of Czech)
• Week Three - Staying with host families in the town of
Cheb (on the western border of Czech, 10 minutes
outside of Germany) and hanging out with the youth
group from Cheb Baptist Church and possibly some
students from English Camp
• July 23rd - Spend the day in Prague
• July 24th - Fly home to LAX
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