pitcher

Prague 2009

 I was unsure what it would be like to be in Prague again. We flew out of Prague almost exactly 6 months ago which, because of all that has happened since then, feels like a lifetime ago. When I got on the bus to the Dejvice metro station on our way to our hotel, it felt like I had been there yesterday. It felt great to be with some old Czech friends and fellow pastors, eat Czech food, speak the Czech language and just interact with the work of God in this wonderful country.

As I mentioned in my e-mail update and earlier post, I'm traveling with Al Barth, the European Coordinator for the Redeemer Church Planting Center in New York City. Al has been coaching church planters in Europe for the past few years, and is a wealth of experience for me as a pastor and coach. I learned a great deal during our two days in Prague. We were able to meet with Sasa Flek, a church planter in Prague that I was with at the Global Cities Initiative in September. We spent a lot of time hearing about his church plant, as well as attended a public reading of the Czech Bible Translation that Sasa translated. It was great to see how God is using him in the city. 

We also had a pleasant and informative meeting with Tomas Grulich and Rich Trca, who are leading a church in one part of Prague and also planting another church in a different part of the city. Finally, Al got to meet Pavel Cerny and Daniel Fajfr, the current and future Presidents of our denomination, the Církev bratrská. Both of those men are dear friends, and I was so proud for Al to meet them.

One fun highlight for me was Greg Strock coming up from Tabor to have breakfast with me during our one morning there. An old friend who is truly an honorary uncle for our kids (he proved it by of course sending a tasty little treat home with me for them!). 

Now, I'm starting my time in Berlin. More on that later!

  

Grace's 12th Birthday

Grace celebrated her 12th birthday today.  She brought chocolate chip cookies to school to share with her class and various elementary teachers.  We continued the celebration with our traditional family birthday meal.  Grace chose lemon chicken, rice pilaf and asparagus - yum!  We had banana splits for dessert with homemade hot fudge made by Shirley Zicafoose.  Double yum! 

The big gift of the night was a camera from Mom & Dad & Uncle Jason.  The boys bought her camera accessories.  She's wanted a camera for a little while and is quite the budding photographer.  Before Ken left on his Europe trip she put on a fake sad face and whined, "Daddy, I'll be so sad that you're missing my birthday dinner.  I would feel better if I opened a camera for my present!"

Grandaddy bought Grace a present all by himself this year.  No help required.  George the Frog is a series of books written by Mrs. Gibbs whose family is connected with the Christian Law Association.  Duane has worked with them and has the highest respect for their organization.  This book set even came with a stuffed animal George the Frog!  Way to go Grandaddy!

   Great Grandmother came up with the sneakiest and blingiest gift of the night.  We saw this corduroy purse at a craft sale (made by Janet Erickson) and Grace went crazy.  She loves blingy purses and you can change the scarf on this one to keep it matching your outfit.  Grandmother bought it on the sly and Grace was surprised when she opened it.  "This is the one I wanted!"  

 Most unusual gift of the night was a HUGE jar or pickles canned by Grandmother, Nancy Motley.  Grace loves pickles and is addicted to Grandmother's homemade sweet pickles.  She rode her bike to their house daily to "check" the pickles when they were being canned.  She ate multiple pickles a day during the Labor Day camping trip.  She eats pickles every time she's at their house for a visit.  So Grandmother canned her the HUGEST jar of pickles of her very own. 

Happy birthday, Sweet Grace.  We're so happy God put you in our family!

Grace's daddy birthday

 Since I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow (Ken), and I'll be gone for Grace's 12th birthday, Andrea and I took her out for dinner Sunday night. I wanted to make sure I could make a fun memory with her around her 12th birthday. She has been wanting to go to a real Chinese restaurant, so chinese food it was. Zachary joined us, and Nathan and Nicholas got a free evening on the TV and computer (neither one of them is interested in Chinese food). 

After dinner Grace suggested that a latte from Starbucks would really 'clean her palet', and since mom and dad were in a generous mood we then stopped at a fun Starbucks and each enjoyed a special holiday latte. All in all, a wonderful night with two incredible kids.

 

Thanksgiving 2009

 Thanksgiving has meant celebrations with other missionaries for the past 20 years for us. This year, our first in the US after many years, turned out to be a warm holiday spent with family and friends. A different experience for us in comparison to past years, but a great weekend none the less.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Motley home, and were joined by Darrell and Shirley Zicafoose who have basically filled in the role of aunt and uncle most of Andrea's life. Unfortunately, Grace was sick most of the day so Andrea and I switched off being with her at our house so that she could rest and recover.

We, of course, enjoyed playing games as a family, which is a huge part of any holiday for us. Zachary conquered the world in Risk, and we played multiple games of Wizard, Rat-a-tat-Cat and Wii. It was fun to have Rebekah with us for those games, since she has a fun sense of humor and can quote movies at just the right time-skills that are pretty highly valued in our family.

The weekend was filled in with two basketball games for Nicholas, and decorating our house for Christmas. We have some of our decorations from our old house in Czech as well as some new ones, again giving us the feeling of familiarity mixed in with new aspects to our lives. Finally, Nathan was able to pick up his guitar after having some repairs done. He is really getting good, and continues to meet with a teacher who is nurturing his passion to play. 

A great weekend as a family, and we're thankful for all the ways God is blessing. 

      

Rebekah Johnson

 In 1991 Andrea and I were married and began serving as youth pastors for the Army Base Chapel in Fulda, Germany. We had a cute, little 7th grade girl in our group named Erica Johnson. The entire Johnson family soon became very important to us, and have remained so. Gustav and Darlene have supported us prayerfully and financially since we moved from Fulda to the Czech Republic. Despite the distance our relationships have remained close. Erica has grown into a wonderful wife and mother, and is currently a chaplains wife.

The youngest member of the Johnson family was Rebekah, who was only 2-3 years old when she lived in Fulda, and vaguely remembers us. She mostly remembers that she was afraid of me, and liked Andrea. Oh well! (Notice photo of Andrea to the right while pregnant with Nicholas! Rebekah is the cutie on her mom's lap) Rebekah is currently a Junior at Houghton Christian College, which is about an hour away from us. Gustav and Darlene, however, live in Texas. So, we have the privilege of having Rebekah for the entire Thanksgiving weekend!

So far, she has enjoyed the typical college student holiday weekend; a little homework this morning after 10 hours of sleeping last night, a nice lunch with our family, followed by a nap this afternoon. Combine all that with some reading and Wii playing this evening, and we think she is one satisfied guest.

Thanksgiving tomorrow!

  

Friends and partners in the gospel

One of our 'jobs' this year is to re-connect with friends who have partnered with us in the work of the gospel over these past 15 years in Czech. Last night and this morning we had wonderful opportunities to do just that.

Last night Donna Becker came over! Donna served along-side us in so many ways in Czech several years ago. She came and taught English at English camps, and then lived in Ostrava with us for a year. She is dearly loved by some of our old friends in Czech, and has been a faithful friend for many years. She traveled back to the US with Andrea when she was in early labor with Grace and the three boys were 3, 2 and one years old. That flight alone has earned her legend status in the Pitcher family! We love this dear sister in the Lord, and thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up on her life and catching her up on our lives. She continues to love and serve Jesus wherever He plants her, and truly encouraged our hearts.

This morning Ken got up and met Steve Picazo at 6:00 for breakfast. Steve also served along-side us at several English camps, and has followed and supported our ministry for the past few years. He is being used by God as a teacher and administrator in a public school, and also continues to serve Jesus wherever He places Steve. Thanks for standing with us, Steve.

A day at Northstar Christian Academy

We as a family are glad that our kids have the opportunity to be a part of Northstar Christian Academy in Rochester, New York. Our kids are having a great experience there. They are learning, making new friends and finding and getting involved in some extra activities. Friday was a day, however, when we as a family got to be a part of the life of the school.

Andrea was the chapel speaker on the first day of school, and did a great job. I (Ken) was asked to bring the message at chapel on Friday. I loved the atmosphere of the meeting: the worship was lead by a group of students, there was a lot of laughter and sharing, and the kids were attentive to my message. I'm glad my kids are a part of that every other week.

After school Duane and Nancy and I drove to the town of Alexander to watch Nicholas play basketball on the Junior Varsity team. They had a scrimmage there against the community high school. Nicholas played well, as did the team, even though it was very clear that they have a long way to go. I was, again, glad that he has the chance to grow with a team.

Praise God for a great place for our kids!

Church planting trip to Europe, December 2009

I just sent out an e-mail update to everyone on our mailing list letting everyone know that I will be traveling to Europe right after Thanksgiving with Al Barth. Al is the European Coordinator for the Redeemer Church Planting Center (RCPC) in New York City. 

RCPC is the organization that hosted the Global Cities Initiative that I attended in September. Andrea and I are very impressed with what we know about this ministry, and there is interest on both sides as far as working together in the future. 

As excited as we are about this trip (I'll be visiting church plants in Prague, Berlin, Hamburg and London), I do feel the pressure of finances these days. God continues to be good to us, but we're feeling a drop in our giving due to being back in the US. We're also realizing just how expensive life is in the US, and adding a trip like this on top of our normal expenses is quite sobering for me as a dad and husband.

So, please be praying for us as I go to Europe, and Andrea holds down the fort here. Pray for us as we seek to make wise decision about our future. Pray for discernment in regards to working with RCPC in the future.

We'll keep you informed as God leads us!

Also, in case you didn't get the e-mail, here it is:

Dear Friends, As we go through this year of transition, Andrea and I are prayerfully seeking God's guidance as to how we should serve Him in the next season of our lives. I have an opportunity that could be an important step towards future ministry for us in Europe that I'd like to let you know about. The Redeemer Church Planting Center is supporting church planting in major cities in Western Europe. There is interest in working together in the future in Central and Eastern Europe. RCPC has a great deal of experience, training and coaching for church planters, and we have a lot of cultural knowledge and insight into that part of the world. http://www.redeemer.com/ I (Ken) will be traveling with the European Coordinator for RCPC to Prague, Berlin and London from December 1 to December 10. We will be meeting with a new church plant in Prague where I have a strong relationship, and then visiting church plants in Berlin and London where RCPC has a long history. This trip should give the leadership of RCPC an idea of what any future ministry with us could look like, while also giving us a picture of how God is using RCPC in Europe. Please be praying for us as we go through this process, especially as I go to Europe in December. Andrea will keep life going during this busy time, including getting kids to all basketball practices, music lessons and after school activities. The family will also celebrate Grace's 12th birthday while I'm gone! If you would like to help us take this trip, we estimate that we'll have up to $1500.00 in extra expenses (round-trip ticket to Europe, travel and housing costs during the trip). Any donations can be sent to Josiah Venture/ P.O. Box 4317/ Wheaton, IL 60189-4317. Our account number there is #12030. You can also give electronically at www.josiahventure.com. Also if you haven't checked out our blog recently, you can see the latest family and ministry news there at: http://pitcher.typepad.com/pitcher/ May God bless you as you celebrate Thanksgiving! We'd love to hear from you this season.

An age old father-son ritual

Nicholas and I went through what fathers and sons have gone through for many years; at least as long as men have been wearing ties! Nicholas needs to wear a tie whenever his basketball team travels to another school, so we went this week and helped him pick out the first tie of his life. He did a great job of picking out a shirt, tie and pants that go very well together. He is becoming a mature, young man so fast!

This morning he decided to wear his new clothes to church even though he didn't have to. He and I worked on tying a tie a few times, and he quickly picked it up. The photo at the right is the result of Nicholas's own tie-tying skills. Looking good!

Anne Rice's book

Andrea checked this book out of the library, and after reading told me that I had to read it. I'm so glad she did! Anne Rice is a prolific writer, mostly of vampire science fiction. Not being really into vampire science fiction I never read any of her writing and really knew nothing about her. However, I did read somewhere a few years ago that she had returned to her relationship with Jesus (she was raised a Catholic and left the Church during her college years and basically became an atheist). 

Called Out of Darkness: A spiritual confession is a stimulating read, and at times I found myself unable to put it down. She talks about her childhood in an authoritarian, catholic environment, and how she left it all as a young adult. The book becomes incredible as she begins to describe her journey from the faith of atheism back to a faith in God and a deep love for Jesus. Here are a few excerpts: 

But history was telling me everyday there could very well be a God. The story of the survival of the Jews told me that there could very well be a God. Everything I was reading-and I was reading more than ever before-was telling me in a secret and insistent voice: Anne, you know there is a God. 

She also wrote about how she worked through various critiques of the four Gospels that she had read and believed for so many years. I loved how she spoke about them:

Collaborative documents would never contain so much that is contradictory and surprising and difficult to explain...The interplay of simplicity and complexity seems at times to be beyond human control...At times I have the feeling that I will die, with my face down in one of these books, on the verge of some new and momentous question or insight. In sum, there’s no visible bottom to this well of meaning. It’s unlike my experience with any other written text.

A book that both Andrea and I would recommend!