Dear friends,
It has been a long time since I have formally sent anything out, and for that I apologize. Time gets away from me very easily these days, but being settled now in my new apartment I hope will help me settle into a less chaotic routine. This has been a busy fall, and looks like staying busy for a while. Of course, it is that very fact that makes it so important that you all know and can pray about what is going on!
Summer, with one camp after another for a couple of months, was great—but rather than going into a lot of details here, I am going to refer you to the summaries of some of these different outreaches on my blog. The result has been some good follow-up with the campers, but my desire for the rest of the fall and into the winter is WAY MORE follow-up. At the last camp, many students expressed an interest in continuing to study the Bible. Now that I live “in the ‘hood” (more on this below), I am trying to develop some studies for continuing the work from the summer with some of the kids from camp.
One result of the summer camp season was a growing conviction that I needed to live in Prague (I have been in a suburb about half an hour away by train). So in September I began an apartment search in the city. In order to be more accessible to the students who were at camp and to the church plant I am part of, I limited my search to one district, Prague 9. After several weeks, I found a wonderful place within easy distance of everything. The bonus: It is in a new housing development that is very densely packed and full of young families and single professionals. There are so many possibilities! I have learned of a Christian family who lives here, and the wife has expressed interest in starting a community Bible study. What a great opportunity!
I am back in language class, and enjoying it very much. The little language victories continue. Indeed, the whole apartment search and move provided more language practice than I had counted on! From browsing advertisements to translating the lease contract to returning a defective storage basket to the store (all in Czech!), I had a lot of “firsts.” It was hard, but confidence-building.
So, looking ahead… So much is going on, and I greatly covet your partnership through prayer! This is getting long, so I will summarize the big things. For more detail, please see the blog or just ask me.
FAMILY CONCERNS
My brother Greg (who turned 33 today!) will undergo major surgery this Tuesday to repair a seriously leaking valve in his heart. Please pray for his peace, comfort, and healing.
My grandmother, who likewise suffering from congestive heart failure, has spent a lot of time in the hospital in recent weeks due to a serious but inoperable blockage near her heart.
Praise the Lord! My little sister Kelley has continued cancer-free since a surgery to remove a melanoma and affected lymph nodes one year ago.
MINISTRY
“Compass”: Our field has its annual planning retreat next weekend (Thursday p.m. to Monday a.m.). We will spend time in prayer and worship as well as discussion. Please pray for us to hear clearly what the Lord wants us to focus on in the coming year and to draw closer together in our relationships with one another as we prepare for another year of ministry side by side in this place.
Church plant in Rajska Zahrada/Cerny Most neighborhood of Prague: For the next few weeks, the church’s Wednesday evening small group meeting is being replaced with “Tea Nights” with special speakers on topics such as the purpose of prayer and why a good God allows suffering. Thousands of invitations have gone out into the neighborhood. Would you please pray with us that this outreach would bring many people to consider spiritual truths and to desire a deeper knowledge of God? We are also making available copies of the Jesus film, recordings of Scripture, and New Testaments. May we be overwhelmed by the response!
English Club (one of the primary outreaches of our church plant in the Rajska Zahrada) is continuing strong. Please pray for our effective communication of the Gospel to the young people who come.
Teen Challenge: This program, which began (obviously) with teenagers, now has programs for younger children as well, many of them from Roma families in an impoverished neighborhood in Prague. I am trying to be with the preschool group twice each week. These children are severely disadvantaged and desperately in need of love. Please pray that, even without perfect language skills, I will understand their needs and they will know they are safe and loved with me.
Camp follow-up:
Girls Bible study—I am hoping to get this study going soon. We will begin with a series on “How and Why to Study the Bible” as an overview and then study a book of the Bible together. Most of the girls who are invited, if they are not professedly atheist, are nominally Catholic but unchurched. Still, the interest has been there… God knows their hearts, and I suspect He is tugging at several of them.
“Sunday Philosophy Club”—This is a new idea still forming in my mind. I would love to do this like a book club I was in in Chicago. I would choose an excerpt from a Christian writer on different topics, then the participants would read and come ready to discuss the excerpt (in English). This is a very intellectual approach, yet it is very Czech too.
Visits to children’s home—For two summers I have been able to develop a relationship with several children from a home in Frydlant, a couple of hours away by train. I would like to continue those relationships more regularly, but have not managed to do this very consistently. Please pray that I would have wisdom about whether and how to do this.
Holiday outreach: Two big holidays approaching…what a great way to share with students, friends, and neighbors! I am looking forward to putting my new home to good use. Please pray for all the details involved in this!
Church Planting Institute: Many missionaries in Europe met for church planting training in Hungary last month. That was exciting enough. But we had several of our Czech partners with us, and it was SO ENCOURAGING to be with them and talk and dream and plan about church planting in the Czech Republic. Thank God for the opportunity to learn alongside these partners!
LANGUAGE LEARNING
Praise the Lord for progress and small victories in language
Pray for some new language partners to help develop my speaking skills
ALL THE REST
Praise God with me for a wonderful new home and great opportunities for outreach.
Praise God also for an improved dollar (how did that happen?) just at the time when my expenses increased due to the move. However long it lasts, this has been a remarkable blessing.
Please pray for healing from chronic hives for the last several months. Some days are worse than others, but not a day passes without some itchy welts forming.
Please stay in touch. I really do love to hear from you!
E-mail:
jrmclean123@yahoo.com
renee.mclean@efca.org
Mailing Address:
Renee McLean
Pod Harfou 938/58
190 00 Praha
Czech Republic
If you would like to contribute to this work, gifts can be sent with a note designating them for account 1276 to
EFCA
Attn: Donor Services
901 East 78th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300
Thank you for your prayers and support. They are a valuable part of all that I do here!
Seeking the Kingdom,
Renee
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