June 8th, 2015 by Zac

In the upside-down kingdom of God, things are not as predictable as they might seem. Like, to live, you must die, to lead you must serve, to be rich is to be poor.

Over 700 youth leaders from all over Slovakia gathered for 4 days of intensive challenge about living upside-down.

Kim and I both had seminars and other responsibilities. And Emili participated with her youth group team and as a conference volunteer.

If you have been following the ministry here in Slovakia over the years, you know that KPM keeps growing and growing in it’s strategic influence among youth leaders across the country. It is a real honor to be a part of this influential tool in the youth ministry movement of Slovakia.

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

Our family will be returning to our home town (ElDorado, Arkansas) for a visit this summer. Our arrival will be Wednesday, June 17. Then we will return at different times. Kim and the girls will leave on July 12 in order for the girls to participate in a summer camp. Then the boys and I will return on July 21. We are very excited about being home again and meeting many of you again face to face. And of course there are those special attractions we are all looking forward to, like swimming in warm water, fried chicken, hot weather, fishing, Spudnuts, root beer, barbeque and most of all family.  Home never looses it’s charm! Hope to see you soon.

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

Our Emili turned 17 in March! She is maturing so beautifully. All of you who have known her over the years would be so proud. Proud not only that she is growing and maturing, but that she lives a strong missionary life from day to day. Recently her class teacher used her as an example of a person who genuinely lives what they believe.

She works hard in her school to cope with learning in a second language. And she struggles hard to keep a healthy balance between school and involvement in ministry. She loves her youth group and constantly volunteers there to do anything from making desserts to washing dishes. She also has a leadership role in the summer English camp. And she manages to lead a weekly discipleship group of girls that she helped lead to Christ.

Now with only two years left of High School, the college search will begin. We are proud of Emili and love to watch what God is doing with her here.

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

We have written before about the taxing process every student must face here in Slovakia to enter High School. To me it’s similar to entering College in America. Emili has already been through this phase and successfully made it through. Now it’s time for Gwyneth!

She’s finishing her 9^th year in school and is ready to move up.

She chose several High Schools and proceeded to take their entrance exams. She managed to score high enough to enter the most acclaimed school in our city, where students learn French and then study in French for the rest of High School. We were very proud of her! She also qualified for the same school that Emili attends. The decision took a concentrated time of praying, analyzing and seeking God’s will. And in the end, she believed Gymnázium svety Františka z Assisi (High School Saint Francis from Assisi) was the right choice (same school as Emili).

We are excited for her as she moves into this new High School phase and we believe she was wise in her decision process.

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “Our community with one another exists solely in what Christ has done to BOTH of us”.

Without this starting point of genuine honesty about our own brokenness, real community in the church family will likely be shallow.

This was the topic I was recently invited to speak about at a weekend church retreat in a nearby city called Banska Bystrica.

At one point in the retreat, one new church member (we’ll call him Don) gave his testimony. He was a new believer and had previously been a part of the local mafia gang and had spent several years in prison for numerous crimes. Since he was only a recent convert, the tension in the room was palpable. How would a recently converted criminal find real community in a group of mature Christians in a church? Could it really work?

After Don’s the testimony was over, this question hung in the air. It was a moment of decision for the church family. Would they accept him as a sinner just like them, broken and needing daily grace for every next step? Or would he be looked down on as an outsider, shady criminal type needing some time to make sure he’s got this spiritual experience figured out?

Every church family, small group or ministry has to start with this fundamental principle about the nature of real community.

I haven’t heard if Don found community there in that church family. But it was a helpful time of examination for my own understanding of real community. 

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

For almost 14 years now, we have lived in rented houses in Slovakia. We just moved into our 5^th house in our town last summer. It has been an interesting journey in many ways. We are always reminiscing about when we lived here and there and remembering the details of each place.

But one thing it has not accomplished is helping us to establish home equity. We realize home equity is not essential to survival, but we have begun to wonder if it might be time to consider buying a home here. We have tried this before, but were not able to secure a bank loan here locally. Plus, houses are very expensive here (around $300,000 for a normal family sized house). So we asking you to help us pray about possible options. Here are the options as I see them.

1. By some miracle, we get a home loan here in Slovakia. (not likely)
2. Get a bank loan in the States. Also not likely since property in Slovakia is not accessible as liability to an American bank.
3. We start a house fund and start regular contributions to it over time.
4. Get a personal loan from a willing private person or organization in America. (probably the best option).

Our current owner just told us this week that he is willing to sell the house we are in currently.

So, please help us pray about this issue that we will know God’s plan. And if you have any other ideas, please don’t hesitate to tell us.

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

Last month (May) Kim got an emergency text from her sister, that their mom was in the ambulance and on the way to the local hospital in ElDorado, Arkansas. Apparently, she was in the middle of a heart attack. By evening, she was on the operating table for a 5 hour, double bypass, open heart surgery.

This was such a big surprise, especially because her mom had just finished radiation for breast cancer just a week before. 

Kim felt it was necessary to fly home as soon as possible to help. So, she took the soonest flight she could get and was at home before her mom left ICU. The surgery went well and the doctor was pleased with the procedure and her fast recovery.

Within three days of her surgery, they released her to go home. Amazing!

Kim was able to be a critical help to her sisters and mom for almost 2 weeks. Looking back, it seemed essential that Kim was able to go.  The situation was simply too much for her sisters to handle on their on. And with her mom returning home so quickly, her medical knowledge was very helpful. Her mom is still recovering really well and almost back to normal. 

We thank all of your who prayed for her mom and helped Kim in any way while she was in this situation. It will be great that we can be back with her mom again this month to keep helping her in recovery.  

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

If you are interested in all that went on at Training Center Kompas last year, you can find it here. This is the annual ministry report we  do each year to highlight and celebrate how the movement of God is growing. It’s also great if you want a general overview of what Kompas is about. It’s an electronic document that is easy to flip through page by page. So, when you have time, celebrate with us what God did in 2014!

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

Fellowship Greenville church in Greenville South Carolina has been a faithful partner of ours since the first day God called us to Slovakia and even before. We are so thankful to this church family who has encouraged us year after year through every twist and turn of our journey.

Last month (May) the missions pastor, Todd DeVaney – Outreach Pastor at FG, paid us a visit. He wanted to see God’s work here first hand and formulate a vision for our future partnership. We thank Fellowship Greenville for sending Todd to us. It was an encouraging time together and we are excited to see what God has planned in our ongoing partnership.

June 8th, 2015 by Zac

We believe the local church is the primary means God has established to reach and grow Jesus followers. So, here at Kompas, we spend a lot of time training church youth ministry teams. This past April, 9 local church teams came together to concentrate on Summer English Camp training. Summer camps are so important in Evangelism in Europe.

Last Summer, over 600 students made decisions to follow Jesus across Central Europe! So, please pray for these teams as they plan and prepare for camps this summer.