Our service in Nebraska - summary, evaluation

Joint service  with  the local Church:
We had the opportunity to visit places that people from local churches  would have difficulty obtaining permission to visit. We, as foreigners-Europeans, were welcomed as an interesting - maybe even somewhat exotic - group. We had an opportunity to speak openly about the meaning of our faith in conditions none of them were able to imagine, and to clearly declare what faith in living God has meant and still means to us.

Service in local schools:
We presented our program in grade schools and in some high schools. In one case, even preschool children were brought to the hall. Depending on the need, we modified our program to be understandable and interesting to different age groups.

Service to the local Church:
Our presentation was requested by some  of the surrounding churches, so we had the opportunity to visit three communities of  the Free Church of America. In two of those communities we took part in Sunday service, in Bible study, and we were able to approach young people in their meetings as well.

Service to local society:
Wherever we appeared, our group was introduced as "our guests from Europe, Czech Republic,  a pastor of a church with his wife and with three people from his church community". Local people seemed to be quite interested in our program. We signed many visitors books and had the opportunity to contribute to more intimate knowledge of the confessing Church. Our experiences gained in our homeland served as a warning,  but also as an encouragement for many.

Service to our nation:
People, in general, had many questions pertaining to our society and Church. We met a lot of local Christians who could identify with many problems we are facing, especially as their society, too, is quite materialistic.  We have easily won their prayer support. Through our testimonies about the great changes in our society and the Church, we were able to show God's power and his help to us in ways they were not able to imagine.

Service to our Church:
We have become more aware of the fact that we don't live just for ourselves, but that the maturity of our community  needs to be evident in our availability to others. We were aware of God's calling to serve also to the unknown, to the remote, to the people in other nations, and were encouraged to accept his calling. We have realized that it is the essence  needed for the growth of the Church.

Service to the world:
We have gotten used to the idea that our country and our Church is small and insignificant,  and that we are responsible only for solutions of our own problems.But we have experienced the mutuality with people living in different countries,  and that has helped us to realize, that we, too, have  the responsibility for the world we live in.

Service to ourselves:
Through our long and intensive preparation for this trip we had to clearly sort out where we stand, what is important to us, what we want to share with people, what we can give, and what we need to receive. We realized how important is the cooperation, how precious is the fact that we can depend on each other, and supplement our service to others with our different abilities and gifts. We had to pay special attention to those problem areas in our lives which could possibly be a stumbling block for others.

Service to future:
We were jointly seeking ways to be useful to our societies and to be instruments of God's work in people around us. Better understanding of our Christian brothers and sisters in Nebraska has helped us to realize new ways in which we can utilize the services of Sheryll Baker in our community  more efficiently.

Mila Kloubek