May 09 Ministry Update

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to send out a quick ministry update before things get crazier here. So much is happening right now and we certainly need your prayers!

On Wednesday (27th) we will be receiving our first short-term ministry team at CityLight (CC Bratislava). The team will be here in Bratislava from May 27-June 20th. The "Fuse Team", as they are called, is part of a ministry called World Race. It's a pretty interesting concept: get young people to commit to one year of Christian service and send them around the world visiting a new country each month to do it! So, their next target is Slovakia! We will have the FUSE team supporting the ministry at CityLight, other local ministries, and breaking new ground via outreaches & evangelism. The team will be serving in schools, orphanages, after school programs and sports ministry (via Good Sports). We also plan to have them lead a local youth group & jump start a outreach to university students in on of the downtown parks. All in all it should be an amazing whirlwind time! Please keep the team & us in your prayers. Also, pray that hearts will be open to the Gospel.

To help us out with overseeing the FUSE team ministry we will have an a long time friend Erik Racz interning here for the month. Erik is originally from the CC Esztergom church, graduated and interned at CCBCE in Vajta, Hungary and just finished working for a few years in London. Recently, Erik felt the Lord calling him back "home" and he agreed to serve with CityLight until the end of June. Pray for Erik as he leads the FUSE team as they shine brightly here in Bratislava. We are also wanting to get some funds together to cover Erik's expenses (about $400)during his time here in Bratislava. If you want to contribute to this please let us know.

Today we had the pleasure of meeting and helping to prepare a team of 6 Slovaks who are on their way to serve in Nepal for a month. It's a joy for me to see young Slovaks taking the blessings they have received and wanting to go out into the world to now be blessings to the nations. Three of them some of you know - Milka B., Janka C., and Svetlana M (whom we ministered with in Nitra). The team will be leading youth camps, serving in orphanages, and taking evangelistic treks into the mountains of Nepal. It's a pretty amazing work they will be involved in. I will post more info on the CityLight webpage under the CAUSE section. If you would like to be updated on the team, know their prayer needs, or financially support them please let us know.

Please pray for us this upcoming weekend May 29 - June 1st). I will be leading the teaching for CC Vienna's Spring Retreat in Purbach, Austria - close to the Neusiedl Lake (45minutes from Bratislava). I'm calling the lessons "GROW UP!" and we will be looking at Christian maturity from Hebrews 5-6. It's all about responding to God's work in your life. Pray for my voice (I lost it today), sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and open hearts to receive the message.

Thanks for taking the time to rejoice with us in all that God (certainly NOT us) is doing here in Bratislava! Thank you for your continuous prayers - we feel then and we need them coming more and more. If you want to find out more about what is going on generally at CityLight visit the web or our blog.

Take care & God bless you,

Patrick + Ivetka + the boys



Online Donations: Account # 1175

Our Sending Agencies:
Go! Ministries: http://go.ccnorco.org/
Shepherd's Staff: http://www.shepsstaff.org/

Gifted to Give

Did you every realize that God has good…I mean GREAT intentions for you?! That He is actually on your side? Do you realize that He is shaping you in a unique way, for a unique purpose, for a unique expression of Himself? Now if you do, don’t get big headed. It’s not all about you. It included you, but all this shaping & molding is part of a much bigger work then you might expect.

Read more at CityLight (click here)

how do i stop?

Gabe recently got a bike for his 6th Birthday. Last year he started to get the hang of riding without training wheels. Now, he is going full force. He is a bit weak on the braking part, but no real damage thus far. Since we live in the city and there isn't really anywhere for him to ride we have to do it around the President's Palace. He proably made 100 laps around the fountian!

Iron Curtain

It's been 20 years since the Iron Curtain fell in Slovakia, but the relics, scars, and impressions remain. Most of the time in Bratislava you wouldn't even think about it. It's been covered up with wealth, power, billboards, and the latest fashion trends. We are not Eastern Europe anymore, but CE (Central Europe). It's a bit of identity re-mix. Anyways, on a recent bike trip along the Morava river(near Devinsk Nova Ves) we came across a part of the famous curtain and an old bunker. This would have keep Slovaks from crossing the river into Austria. The guys enjoyed climbing all over (and in) the bunker. They still can't quite understand Communism and what it did here, but maybe that is best.

Night in the museum

Tonight we went out to visit a few museums since it's "Night of Museum" night tonight. Basically, a bunch of museums citywide are open till midnight and you just pay 1.50Euro for a ticket and you can visit them all if you like. Most people pub crawl in BA, we gallery crawled. Either way you get a headache after you are done :)
Actually, it was a nice time out. We went to the Museum of Weapons (we've got two active boys... that's what they are interested in). But the great thing about the museum is that it is situated in the Micheal's Tower and the end of the "tour de force" is on the top of the tower which overlooks the whole downtown area. Pretty cool, but my Nokia in low lighting doesn't do it justice. It was actually a great view but you wouldn't know it by the pics.

Shortly after we cruised over to the National Gallery (on Panska) and saw a very cool optical illusion piece called "Passage". It's great. You gotta check it out. It's basically this narrow passage that you walk through that is lined with books from the floor to the ceiling. However, the "trick" is that their isn't any visible floor or ceiling. With the use of specially placed mirrors it feels like you are walking along a thin bridge with no rails through the middle of an endless abyss of books. Hard to describe, but fun to experience.

After we wanted to either get a McDonald's shake or hit the Slovak National Museum for their photo exhibit Shangri-la. But obviously everyone else in BA had the same idea by the looks of the lines that poured out of MD & the SNM. We caught the shake elsewhere and headed home. 11 o'clock is waaaaaay past the boys bedtime...so we will see how it goes tomorrow! :)

morph

Gabe was messing around with this huge magnifying glass and unfortunately I didn't have anything but my Nokia with me to capture it. It reminded my of some old photos I saw where artists distorted images with glass. It got my mind going a bit to produce some "real" photo work again... we will see.

SNAP! : BA Driveby

itchy for summer

Well, my teaching saga at FOREL continues. It's getting closer to the end of the school year and I don't know who is more itchy for summer - them or me. Here is my brilliant, creative, slacker H5 class (9th graders...love them like the plague :) No, actually, they are one of my "funner" (that isn't a real word BTW) groups.

Big Toys

Hey Matt,
Remember this truck? Actually, I think you have it (our toy one) at your house? I saw this on a bike ride and had the backyard sandpit flashback!

This Week at CityLight (May 10)

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us..." Eph 3:20

Hi everyone,

Straight away I just want to thank all of you for being who you are in Christ and letting HIM shine brightly in you on our Sunday gatherings. It is an encouragement to me to watch the Scripture concerning how the Body is to function unfolding before my eyes! For me it is a testimony that God is living & active. I like how the Apostle Paul's talks about having joy from rubbing shoulders with those who made up the church in his day. You guys do that for me too!

Next Sunday for worship we will continue the "park experiment" we started a few weeks ago...but hopefully minus some of the distractions. So here is the game plan: We will meet at 3:30 (promptly!) at my flat and have the whole service there. However, Ivetka will lead the Sunday School and afterwards take the kids to the Presidents Park. When we as adults are finished we will head over to the park to join them for fellowship & fun there. Feel free to bring a snack/salad/dessert to share at the park if you want.

Also, one of you (I won't tell who... you have to guess) encouraged me to pay closer attention to our starting time. I believe this is wise council. So, please try your best to come on time. We do it every day for work & school, why not for church? We don't have to be legalistic about it, but it is an area we can all improve in out of love for one another.

Anyways, here is the promised info:

Third Day Concert (May 29-30: You can find all the info HERE. Basically, its a two day event in Trnava and it's free!

Yes, we will indeed have the World Race "Fuse" Team of 5 gals + 2 guys coming to be a light here in BA. They are basically willing to do anything we direct them to do to help promote first and foremost Jesus and also the CityLight church plant. Click here for more details: Cause

Also I posted Sunday's teaching online, including the "God's Must Be Crazy" clip. Check it out for a laugh. Click: "Shaped to Serve"

Remeber this week to prayerfully respond by asking God for answers to these questions:

Q: What has God been shaping me for?

Q: What position in society has He placed me in? why?

Q: Why do I think He brought me here to BA?


If you clicked on the Cause link you will notice that it is a new tab to the CityLight webpage. Basically, I thought it would be a good section to highlight both outreaches and causes that we as a church community could get behind and also promote to other Christians. Let me know of any causes you think we should add to it.


Lastly and most importantly - prayer requests. I don't have them all, but here are a few:
- Samko's continued therapy (which is going well - PTL!)
- Silvia's Dissertation paper writing: to persevere, be successful, not get depressed by it
- Financing for Peter + Silvia's car
- All us men to be more godly leaders, workers. husbands, and fathers
- For the World Race team: planning for their time & open hearts to their service
- Higgins: time management, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, strength to go through the next too very busy months.
- Ivetka's health (she is a bit sick), success in new job, creativity/strength for Sunday School
- Mike & Heather: good traveling time in Rome/Paris (do we really need to pray? :), their next steps in life, processing of Heather's experiences in Romania.
- Erick (Patrick's friend) as he moves back from London to Slovakia on the 18th. God to guide Erik as he starts his life over here in Slovakia.
- Akihito as he considers/prays about how to be a light at Sony
- Open doors for us as a church to touch those around us.

Our Home Church Away From Home

I love being encouraged. I think ever one does. I don't mean the flattering kind, but the kind that does exactly what the word suggests - to put courage into someone. I have heard that the gift of spiritual encouragement is to "demand the truth from a person". The meaning of this being that when someone encourages us they are demanding us to step up to the plate of reality on God's terms & view, not our own (which is so often flawed). We all need this.

Lately my interaction with all the CityLight gang (our home church) has been a good dose of Godly encouragement. It's not that I'm completely off track, but rubbing up against ever ones lives as they manifest the Spirit of Jesus does keep me on the right path. And the great thing is that I don't think it's just me who is encouraged. It's a mutual infection of goodness.

I just got this link from Mike & Heather who are part of the group. They were blogging about CityLight and it was a great encouragement to me. It may also be to you who if you have been praying for the work here in BA.

Check out: Our Home Church Away From Home

“Shaped to Serve”

Last week in Body + Bride we explored the idea that we have been created to be in community. We need each other. And God is particularly interested in forming us into a community of faith because it is in His own nature. But is this just some type of spiritual system of communism? Or a spin off of a hippy commune lifestyle? Don’t I, the individual, matter? Do I have a significant, purposeful part to play in all of this?

Find out at: “Shaped to Serve”

3rd Day

Third Day will be playing in Trnava @ Lumen (May 30th)! Unfortunately we will be in Austria then...but if you are in the area check them out. BTW - did I mention the concert is FREE?!

For more info click

This week at CityLight

Hi guys,

I hope all of you are doing well this week. I meant to send this out a few days ago, but am soooo behind. Please pray for my time management. Anyways, after talking with Ivetka we decided that it would probably work better to have our church meetings on Sunday at the house as usual. It was great to be outside, but the distractions and managing the kids (mainly mine) made it a bit difficult. In the future if the big guys (Jakub & Dominic) can help Ivetka, she will take the smaller kids to the park for the 2nd half of the meetings. That way they get a bit of fresh air and burn off some energy. However, I still love the idea of us all being out together and Lord willing be able to meet with unbelievers and share something of the Lord with them as opportunities arise. I have got some ideas for this, but I would like yours as well. So, lets pray for it together!

BTW - if you have any great photos from our time in the park would you please send me a copy?

Ok, here is the game plan: This Sunday we will meet at our home starting at 3:30 as usual. We can have a meal together as usual, but I would like to suggest that as we move into summer lets just keep things simple & easy. So, don't plan for a feast, but just a light meal or dessert.

Some other announcements: We have two conferences coming up. The first is the GROW UP! retreat May 29-June 1st. Also, the Foundations Conference (June 22-27) in Hungary. Like I said Foundations is an awesome event. Well worth attending. But it's popular and there is limited space. So if you want to go sign up ASAP. If $ is a problem don't worry about it. Just let me know your desire & need and it will be covered. Click here for details on either event.

Also, I could use your help. It looks like we will have a team of 6 from World Race come to serve with us here in BA from May 25-June 20th. They will confirm tomorrow. I need to set up some cheap (if not free) housing for them. Any ideas?

Look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Blessings,

Patrick + Ivetka

Body & Bride

Well, we are off to starting a new series all about what it is to be a Healthy Body (i.e. Christ & the Church in the World). It’s a pretty wide topic, but a good one. The goal is to explore some question like: Why a Body? What does God want to express via you (as a part)? What does God want to express via us (as a whole)? How do we do this practically? (always a hard part!) And lastly, what is God’s “Big plan” for this Body?

Right from the start it would be good to simply ask - why do we need to be connected? why do we need church? Did God really set us up to be a Body? A Bride? And if so, why?

Read more at: Body & Bride

Big 6

Like we said - Gabie is now 6! Can you believe it? this guy is growing up fast, but he is still our little biy and we are enjoying his childhood probably more then he is. It is fun to watch him learn, wonder, and discover.

Here are some pics from his Birthday also his Treasure Hunt map:

Treasure Hunt

Well, now Gabie is officially BIG 6! His birthday celebration streached over a period of two weeks (it seemed). But, one of the highlights was the Treasure Hunt. Gabe and a mob of classmates (16!) from all corners of the globe were on a mission to find the pirates treasure buried along the Danube river. To say these little balls of energy were excited would be an understatement. How Ivetka & I survived the 2+ hours of following a string of clues, challenges, and sugar-high monsters God only knows. In the end all the treasures where found, we didn't loose any kids along the way, and Gabe + all the kids had a great time!

The Gang


First clue


Matching the map


Little Masscot

The Mob

Dragon's cave

Where is the dragon?

Clean Devin

Part of the education at FOREL (where I work & the boys school) is character development. Usually this is in the form or ethics like cleanliness, honesty, tolerance, etc. Even better then talking about good citizenship is actually doing it. On Earth Day (April 23rd) the students of Forel went around the village of Devin picking up trash to keep our local environment clean(-er?). For them it was a nice way to apply good values, for me it was a day without teaching and just walking along the river on a beautiful sunny day!

“20/20″

CityLight teaching: "20/20"

"It has been asked of me - “What is the vision for our fellowship?” What a great question! To be honest, my personal vision for our church is not important. What is important is God’s vision. What is His opinion, His will, His direction? That is what is important..."

See the full text + video at "20/20"

Scrambled eggs

Wow, I am so behind on blogging. So much goes on in a week that it seems like two or three weeks have swept by us. I try to do a bit of photo-doc of everything at least... so here is a bit from our time with the McCartney Family in Esztergom, HU. As usually our time with the McCarney's was packed with craziness, great food, and Southern hospitality. It's been fun to get to know this family who are faithfully serving the Calvary Chapel in Esztergom. Their main focus is the youth group which ministers also to youth in Sturovo, Slovakia. A good and fruitful work of the Lord.

Anyways, the boys has a blast. Here are some pics of a mad dash Easter egg hunt.







A very cute Bunny cake by our in-house chef extraordinaire Ivetka!