March 2007 Newsletter

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What’s Been Up?

Kosice WorshipFestival
February 10th was a WorshipFestival in Kosice. It was amazing to see over 2000 people worshiping God and we believe that it will bring a change to that city. During the festival, representatives of different Churches came on the stage to pray for and bless each other. The mayor of Kosice, who also attended the event, supported the WorshipFestival. He gave a short speech and after that the representatives from the churches prayed for him as well. It was a very powerful moment and very important for the city. We are very grateful to the Lord for the unity, friendship and trust among the denominations there in Kosice.
In addition to great music and a blessed prayer time, we also had a great response to the main speaker, one hundred and eighty people responded to his challenge to find their identity in Christ and to separate themselves from this world and twenty people prayed for the first time to start a relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Most Centrum” - The Bridge Center
The past months have seen a lot of progress in the work on the Center here in Presov. After a year of working in a construction zone and trusting God for His timing and provision, all of the major work is complete with just a few final touches left.
The studio in the basement is complete and Vlado is already starting to work with the queue of bands that have reserved time there.
The attic is two thirds complete. Only the conference room lacks carpet and furniture. Marian, our national director, moved into his new office upstairs earlier this week.
The Café is almost ready to open. The walls are painted, the chair rail is up, and all the furniture is just waiting for people to come. Rado is ordering and receiving the things needed to run a café. Roman is finishing the menu design and Ludka is completing the artwork for the walls. The only major thing left is a final inspection and certification to have a café here.
If you have internet access, you can go on a photo tour of the building at my flickr site in the set “Most Centrum: Before and After”

YFC Ranch at Kralova Lehota (formerly Svarin Ranch)
The first time I was at the ranch I felt that it was a place where God’s Spirit wanted to work. We have a vision to see this place used to touch the lives of young people and their families. We believe that God has provided the ranch for this purpose and as a home to CampFest. I believe that Satan also knows this about the Ranch and he has been throwing up roadblocks left and right.
The big thing is to secure permission to have CampFest at the ranch. The ranch is partly on protected land and so getting permission to host a tent city for a weekend requires special permission. We trust that CampFest is one of the reasons God provided us with this land.
In order to have CampFest at the Ranch we need to update the septic system and build shower and restroom facilities to accommodate about 5,000 people. Getting the building permits and finding both the manpower and funding to complete this task before August has been a concern. Plans are in place for a couple mission teams to come and help with the work.
Another obstacle we have faced is that because it’s out in the middle of nowhere the ranch is an easy target for thieves. We have lost some valuable property and recently just over $1,000. Again in this we trust God’s faithfulness to prevail.
God has provided so far and we trust Him to do so again.


What’s Coming Up! (This is the really exciting part.)

Leaving & Coming Home
It seems like the longer I’m here, the more I add to my list of things to do in Slovakia. Some of it is just things I want to do, like visit Spis castle and Poland and Austria while I am so close, plus I have two or three video projects on my “wish I had time” list. Some of the things are more urgent like packing and wrapping up the loose ends of projects that I have already started.
But regardless of what gets done from my ever-growing list, in two weeks, I’ll be back in the states. I booked the flight, I have the ticket and I will fly out of Kosice the morning of the 28th. I will make my way through Prague, Dublin and Boston and finally come into Pittsburgh (either 11 or 17 hours later depending on your definition of time), at around 8PM.

Redefining “Home”
Coming back to the states is a mixed bag emotionally. Presov and Slovakia have become “home” so I am in the odd position of leaving home in order to come home.
One thing that is making leaving much easier is that Micah and I believe that God has called us to come to Slovakia as a couple after we are married. We have been invited to live and work at the YFC Ranch in Kralova Lehota. Micah will take care of technical and maintenance work on the ranch as well as the renovations and improvements that are planned. I will continue to work with video and photography, from the ranch instead of the main office here in Presov.
This makes the next 4 months after I return to Pennsylvania very busy ones. Micah is in the process of joining YFC World Outreach staff and is planning to attend Candidate Orientation at the end of April and MTI cross-cultural training at the end of May. We are planning our wedding for June 30th and hope to be at the Ranch in time for CampFest 2007 at the beginning of August.
The need here is immediate and we can’t think of a better way to start our life together than on this great adventure that God has laid out in front of us. Would you please pray for us as we go through this busy time and also start to think and pray about continuing to support us as I finish up my year of adventure here in Slovakia and Micah and I start our ministry together.


Thank you
As my time in Slovakia comes to an end for now, I know that I have never been alone this year. I have been held up daily by your prayers. Every one of you who supported me through your giving and prayers has been a part of the work that God is doing in Slovakia through Youth For Christ. As sad as I am to leave, I can’t wait to come back to the states and show you a more complete picture of the difference that you have made this year.

Love from Slovakia,
Stasi.