Time flies. We’re back on our every-other-year schedule and are looking forward to reconnecting with you during an extended home assignment from July to December.
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study . live . teach
Time flies. We’re back on our every-other-year schedule and are looking forward to reconnecting with you during an extended home assignment from July to December.
[Read more…]Ever since my early years as a believer I’ve wanted to understand Scripture better. During the M.Div. program at Trinity I couldn’t get enough of the theology or the Bible intro classes. At the end of the M.Div. I felt like much of what I had learned, I really should have learned in Sunday School. Why didn’t we talk more in depth about the Trinity in Sunday School? Why didn’t we open up the book of Genesis the way we did at seminary? I felt like God’s people should have this same access to solid teaching like we got at seminary.
[Read more…]Just when we thought things might get back to normal the world was hit with another major crisis that dramatically changed everything from politics to our daily lives. It’s time to take a quick look back and see how all this affected us and what we were up to in 2022.
[Read more…]by Todd 3 Comments
We have many things to be thankful for this year. With a war breaking out next door in Ukraine we’re thankful that there is peace here in Slovakia and we’re thankful for the opportunity to play at least a small part in helping build God’s kingdom.
Most of all, we’re thankful for the Prince of Peace who came to solve the real problem, the root problem of all problems—the problem of sin and death. This year we wish you the eyes to see and the heart to understand and receive the sign that God sent us when God became a baby wrapped in swaddlng cloths.
We also hope you’ll enjoy our annual Christmas video with some photos from our year 2022 and wishes from us to you for 2023.
[Read more…]by Todd 3 Comments
Wheaton recently performed a concert featuring Leonard Bernstein and his extended choral composition Chichester Psalms. The second movement, which juxtaposes Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd…” with Psalm 2 “The nations rage” has an especially powerful prophetic message for the world right now. I’ve listened to this again and again this week and it strikes me as a masterful interpretation of these Psalms. The choice of Elisabeth (who is half Slavic, half American) to sing the solo adds to the prophetic power of this interpretation. This is what art is and should do. This is how the Psalms should be read and applied to life.
I’m writing this on February 24. This morning the Russians invaded Ukraine. Right now there’s a Ukrainian family staying in our church on their way to who knows where. Twenty more Ukrainians will be staying at a campsite run by a couple from our congregation. Please pray for Ukraine and pray for wisdom and strength and willingness to help.
UPDATE: The twenty Ukrainians I mentioned above decided not to leave Ukraine because they would have to leave their husbands and fathers behind. Some estimate that up to 4 or 5 million people could end up as refugees as a result of this conflict. Since 2014 a large number of Ukrainians have emigrated and come to Slovakia. We have wonderful Russian-Ukrainian neighbors. Two of our pastors in Slovakia have wives from Ukraine and families still in Ukraine. I’ve been very encouraged by Slovakia’s attitude toward these people and would appreciate your continued prayers.
[Read more…]This was another tough year but in our family we can testify that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom 8:28) and we hope it is the same in your family. This Christmas season we hope you can celebrate the coming of the king and anticipate his second coming. And may these two great events profoundly shape your present.
We hope you enjoy our family Christmas video again this year. Every year I say this is the last year and with Elisabeth now off to college next year’s is certainly going to be different. We’re glad she’s home now and we had the chance to go through all twelve video greetings.
Blessings to you and your family in 2022!
by Todd 2 Comments
Elisabeth has now finished up her final year of high school and she’s performing in her final voice and violin recitals while she gets ready to transition to college.
This summer we will be coming back to the States for our scheduled home assignment and in August just three of us will return to Slovakia. Elisabeth will remain in the States to start her college career and study voice performance at Wheaton College. I guess that makes these the last recordings of recital performances that I’ll be posting as a family update.
In the first video Elisabeth plays her final recital piece (Adagio by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály) for her violin teacher Beata Bieliková and in the next she sings Giacomo Puccini’s O mio babbino caro, which is an Aria from his opera Gianni Schicchi.
We’re proud to be missionaries with the Evangelical Free Church of America and its international mission ReachGlobal.