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Parakletos News Letter
March 2007
We had the far warmest winter since 1771 when temperature
measurements started to be documented in the
Czech Republic
. There was snow only for a few days and the temperature did not drop under low
30’s with an exception of only a few days. That was devastating for ski
resorts but most people seemed to be happy about that.
The
US
trip
In late January Pavel was in the
US
. He met there with the
US
part of the board and especially with
Amy Thompson
, who was in
Prague
in November, as you may remember. Amy has been considering to work with
Parakletos on the
US
side to help us develop the contacts and support structure. We have been very
happy for Amy’s decision to get involved with us, at least to a limited extent
at this point. That is for us something clearly arranged by God.
We have
also received a matching grant of $ 10,000 from an anonymous donor. The grant
will match any donation from a new donor or an increased donation from an
existing donor, every dollar by another dollar. We hope that the grant will help
us to increase our support for $ 22,000 by the end of this year, the finances we
need after the European Union grant will cease. You may remember that in the
last two years part of our expenses were covered by an European Union grant
which is coming to an end in July. We pray that God would provide those funds to
enable us function without an excessive stress.
Activities
Apart
from our routinely weekly functioning in providing an individual support to
pastors and Christian leaders, mentoring, individual and marital counseling,
working with lay counselors, training weekends for lay counselors and teaching
students at the Evangelical Theological Seminary we were involved at several
other seminars and conferences, mostly for churches.
A Marriage Seminar
It was a one-day seminar in
Prague
. There were about 35 couples and there was more interest though the room would
not take any more. It was one of the activities of the new Week for the Marriage
campaign run for the first time in the
Czech
Republic
. The campaign involved many programs including one in the Czech parliament. The
seminar was about intimacy and closeness in marriage with specific emphasis on
the usual communication traps in the relationship.
The
response was very positive. It was
interesting to notice sevaral people crying during the lectures when things were
touching them personally. It is always encouraging to watch, as one lady
noticed, quite a few wives to lean on the shoulder of their husbands as the
seminar progressed. One lady
approached me after the conference and said that what I talked about helped her
to name what they have been for several months going through with her husband.
Specifically one example which I used seemed to her very descriptive of their
situation. She said that now she knows what has been going on and she knows what
should she do and how to understand and support her husband.
Church Retreat
Pavel and Julia were doing a weekend retreat program for
one church from Havířov.
We have been involved with that church already for some time so it was nice to
see the people again. There were about 70 people including children. We had
lectures about family, identity of man and woman, and other issues for the whole
group, special program for the youth, and individual meetings with the church
leaders. One afternoon we had individual counseling sessions with anyone who was
interested. And we had opportunity to build relationships in the time between
the meetings.
Young
people after the first part of the program wanted to meet again and they had
many questions about healthy relating of boys and girls within the church. They
said that they had very hot discussions among themselves about that topic and
wanted to hear our opinion. They asked many questions about many other areas of
life. People were very interactive and responded to the message. Quite a few
participants had tears in their eyes as they were touched by God.
We had
chance to have our younger daughter, Jana, with us. It was important for us to
let her see what we do when we are gone. She connected with the young people
there and has a better understanding of our ministry.
Pastor's Conference KS Church
Pavel was asked to teach at the pastor’s conference of
the biggest charismatic denomination in the country, the KS Church. The teaching
was about sources of stress for the pastor, his lifestyle and burnout
prevention. After the speaking several people came for prayer and shared their
personal struggles, many with tears in their eyes. Even though such approach was
rather new for that denomination, as one pastor commented, all too many people
have already been hurt there by simplified answers. From the pastor’s
comments:
“Very
up-to-date, pleasant and easy to understand presentation. It was important for
my ministry and my life.”
“The seminar spoke about the exact problems we have been just
experiencing.”
“It was exactly for our situation. The seminar showed the way to us. We
liked the wisdom and experience of the speaker. It was nothing like the
easy-made answers.”
“It was a significant warning for me and my wife. We appreciated
kindness of the presentation, clarity and wisdom of the speaker.”
“It was very practical for my life and my growth. The seminar was well
structured and presented with love.”
“It
was very useful. I learned that I do not have to manage to do everything, I can
rely on God. The style of the speaker made the sharing very time-effective. I
appreciate the speaker’s humility.”
Seminar about father
Another seminar we held was about the role of father. It
was for the group of men both fathers and not-yet fathers. The seminar stressed
the importance of the father and some of the biblical teaching about father. We
also dealt with reconciliation with the father and there was a practical part
for those who are fathers. Men were very involved and asked many questions. One
man expressed his struggle like that, “How is it that I desided to be
different than my father but to my frustration I find now that I am the same to
my children.”
Julia’s Study
Julia is studying for her Old Testament course in May and
another course in June. She enjoys her preparation. Part of what is required is
to read the whole Old Testament. She has been touched by specific passages and
comes up with many applications (especially for her husband). She will take her
first course in June.
Women’s
ministry
Please, pray for women’s conference which is planned for
May. The speaker will be Elisabeth Murphy from
Elmbrook
Community
Church
. Julia and
Petra
invited about 20 women leaders and are preparing the conference with prayers
and also practically.
Petra
Petra
is changing her other half-time job in physiotherapy (she has been half-time
with Parakletos). It is always a risky step so, please, pray that God would
prepare that new place for her.
Take care and thank you for your support and prayers!
Pavel and Julia and
Petra
Parakletos
News Letter
June 2007
In the last period several new things started for us and other came
to an end. We organized a first women’s conference and Julia accomplished her
first course in her M.A. distance study. On the other hand we have accomplished
the two years lay counseling training program with the first group of lay
counselors. And we are going to end the European Union grant project.
Mentoring Seminar for Pastors
In April we had a seminar for pastors. The topic was a
mentoring. We did it together with
Steve Olsen
. There were 28 pastors present. In their evaluations pastors found the seminar
to have offered them a new inspiration and motivation to invest into others.
They appreciated the professionalism of presentation together with a very
approachable personal approach. There was also the practical exercise which
pastors found helpful. Most of pastors asked for other seminars in the same and
other subjects.
Individual Mentoring for Pastors
Part of our work with pastors has been in the area of
mentoring and the mentoring seminar was based in our hands on experiences. We
found especially young pastors and young church leaders to be very open to such
a relationship. Currently we have been working in that way with about twelve
pastors or church leaders.
Women’s
Conference
In May we had a conference for women. It was result of
several years of working with women. The conference was limited to the women who
work with others.
Elizabeth Murphy
was the speaker and Mary Keppler accompanied her.
Elizabeth
did very good job and all the women were very encouraged. Even several weeks
after the conference the participants speak about the encouragement which the
conference was for them. One lady wrote in her response:
“I cannot find
words to express my gratitude for the opportunity to be at the conference. It
was an oasis for my soul and stimulation for my future. The ideas at the
conference were feeding me spiritually. It was amazing that we were able to meet
so many women with the same mindset and openness to God.”
The conference has been a Julia’s dream for many years.
It was exciting to see the dream to become reality.
Lay Counseling Training
We had two other weekend training seminars for lay
counselors. With the last weekend we finished the two year program. It was good
group of interested and motivated people. The program combined counseling skills
and theological foundations. There was a sense of sadness when we finished the
last training. But we wish to keep in touch with those who graduated and to
offer an advanced program sometimes in future.
Radio Program about Man, Shame
Even though it has not been our priority, because of our
limited capacity, we do from time to time a rasio program. In April Pavel did
two programs for the Czech Radio which was not a Christian program. It was done
from Christian perspective but not for Christian audience. One program was about
Men and the other about Shame. People called to the program online and it was
very interesting experience because even though their clearly outside the
Christian framework it was an opportunity to respond to very real issues like
homosexuality or sex.
Churches Visits
Pavel made several visits to the churches with seminars.
One was about parenting and the other about marital sexuality. That usually includes
seminar, preaching, individual meetings with interested people and some time
with pastor and his family. Those visits were an effective ways to help
churches, marriages and individuals and to invest into pastor and sometimes also
other church leaders.
EU Grant
In July the European Union grant is going to end. It has
been a great help financially in the last two years. But it is also good that it
ends. It has been harder and harder to do an extra work to accomplish our vision
apart of the grant requirements. There was also quite some bureaucracy related
to the grant. On the other hand it helped us to implement a system or planning,
organizing, documenting and evaluating all the activities which we do and as
result we are more focused.
The
termination of the grant puts us into a need for at least additional $ 25,000 a
year. We trust that the Lord will take care of us like He always did. We have
received a matching grant of $ 10,000 from an anonymous donor so that every new support
or an increased donation will be matched and extra $1 to every donated dollar.
Plans for the next several months
Pavel has been lately extensively tired. The fatigue was
getting rather serious. After a seminar he had to relax at least for a day. And
there appeared signs of pre-burnout. We discussed that at the board and we
decided to plan in the next school year chunks of time in the Fall and in the
Spring which Pavel will spend in the States both working and also studying,
reading and writing. Pavel also takes a year off at the Theological Seminary.
Mainly because the regular teaching gets in the way of his US trips.
Family
Kristyna finished her first year in St. Andrews. She stays
in
Scotland
because she needs to work to earn finances for the next year. She seemed to be
very tired and ready to come home but now she is doing better. She also plans a
mission trip in July to
Cuba
. He heart seems to beating for missions. Jana finished her high school with the
final exams. She needs to wait for the results until the beginning of July. She
also is looking for a job right now.
Julia
just finished her first course in her M.A. studies. It was in
Austria
with other students from
Russia
,
Ukraine
, and other former
Soviet
Republics
. Julia enjoys the study. She wrote a paper about Abraham and also a Sunamite
woman.
Petra
We are sad that
Petra
is going to leave Parakletos in the end of July. But we understand her reasons.
Petra
has a new apartment and has to pay mort age. And she plans to still do some
work for us on a volunteer basis. We have appreciated her very much in the last
three years and she was a valid member of our team.
Take care and thank you for your support and prayers!
Pavel and Julia
and
Petra
Parakletos
News Letter
September 2007
Parakletos Ministry
We
exist to facilitate the church to be a safe, honest, and intimate place to meet,
know and grow in Christ and His Body.
Parakletos
creates safe place through means of individual counseling, seminars, and
mentoring,
www.parakletos-cz.org
Summer season has been changing to the colors of the Fall here. And
we would like to inform you about the last developments in our ministry. We had
a good Summer and were able to combine rest and work. We were also able to spend
time with our daughters, both grandmothers and family.
Student’s Retreat
 Pavel
was speaking on the Evangelical Theological Seminary student’s retreat. That
is the time for spiritual formation of the students and first opportunity to get
to know the first year students. Pavel spoke about the topic of Closeness with
God. It was the opportunity for him and all of the students to talk about our
lives and both struggles and precious experiences in a very real way. The
specific topics were Our Need For God and Our Need For Intimacy, Facing
Frustration and Pain With God, Crises As A Way To The Closeness with God and Who
Is God and Who Are We, what is our position in our relationship with the Lord.
Students responded in a very lively way. The program was very interactive
and students were very involved. One student at the end of the retreat shared
her struggles in the last several months. She felt very encouraged by the
program. It is always interesting how much students appreciate personal
openness, transparency and vulnerability. It was a very precious time in which
we encouraged each other and learned from each other.
Many
students are very gifted and they illustrated some thoughts of the program with
drama in a very creative way.
Marriage and Family
Course
Because Pavel is taking a one year’s leave in his
teaching at the seminary next year, he was teaching the course Marriage and
Family in September. All other courses have been arranged for in another way
thanks to the help of the other teachers.
In this
course students reveal to us year by year the desperate longing for a fulfilling
marriage but at the same time their fear that they may not succeed. Students
again were very involved. They asked many questions and we had great
discussions.
Old Testament
Theology Course
Julia passed another course as part of her program. She
really enjoyed that one in which she was together with another six students. It
took place at the country house in the
Czech Republic
and Julia appreciated the teaching of a wise and experienced professor Dr.
Paddock from the
US
. They had a lot of fun but also they had a lot of work done. Julia found that
one of the best courses.
Family Conference
Joy of Intimacy
 Pavel
and Julia were main speakers at the Family Conference in
Silesia
. There were about 120 adult married men and women and about 100 children. We
spoke about Intimacy with God, Intimacy in Marriage and Intimacy in Family. We
also led seminars about Boredom and Stress: The Greatest Marriages Enemies and
Obstacles to Intimacy. It is always great to see how in the progression of the
conference people gradually grasp the concept and start to see their lives in a
new perspective.
The time
at the conference was very busy as many people asked for personal meetings and
marital counseling.
We had a
very good time and it was almost hard for all of us to leave when the conference
ended.
Plans for the next year
We plan to have kind of consolidating year in the next ten
months. We would like to stabilize the organization by increasing the support
structure and work out programs more substantially. We wish to evaluate our last
five years experience and prepare for future. We will still continue in our
programs but we want to have some capacity for the consolidation of Parakletos.
Family
Our family vacation we
spent partially with Julia’s mother and Pavel’s mother and partially
together with our girls in the cottage in the Slovak mountains. During our time
in the mountains it was, probably, the worst weather in the whole Summer. It was
raining and cold. We still enjoyed it. We visited some castles and heated the
house with the wood burned in the old stove. And we talked about many things.
Kristyna
during summer worked as she has to earn finances for her next year of studies.
She was also on a mission trip to
Cuba
with the team of several other young people. She is now back to her schol in
St. Andrews
starting her second year.
Jana
graduated from high school in June. She has been admitted to
Glasgow
University
in
Scotland
but she takes one year off to be able to earn finances for her school. She also
plans to work part time with the Christian organization Young Life in
Prague
.
Thank
you for your support and prayers!
Pavel and Julia Raus
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