First Baptist Church, Prague

Day 5 - A Wonderful and Awesome Lord’s Day
Sunday, April 22, 2007

Isn’t it wonderful when God’s people meet on Sunday, perhaps not even expecting anything to happen, and then God shows up? That is what happened today all around us.

We split into two groups to sing for Sunday morning services. The larger group went to Huetteldorf Church. I was not part of that group, but the report was they had a good service and our men did a good job leading in various ways with solos and testimonies. The choir sang as well. Don said they have a new pastor and he did a good job with a sermon that tied to our song “Who Can Satisfy.”

I was with the smaller group led by our president, Mickey Daniel. We went to Beheimgasse Church and had a glorious service. This church is small and has a multistoried building among all the rows and rows of buildings that you commonly see in Europe. They worship on the third floor. Our group started with a sweet time of prayer with their pastor, Daniel Zuch. Also with us today and for the rest of our time in Austria is Dietrich Doerl, head of the Austrian Baptist Union. These men both have a heart for their community and are trying to turn their church outward and become more evangelistic.

One of the highlights for all of our men in this group was the invitation in today’s church service. Michael Gott preached today and spoke of coming to Jesus. He emphasized that we needed to quit being a sympathizer and to make a stand for Christ. Christ died for us in a public manner and we should declare him publicly. Michael then did something very bold and not normal for European churches. He gave a public invitation. As we sang “Just As I Am” he encouraged those there to come to Jesus and accept Him as their Lord. As we started 15 people, adult men and women and several college age students came forward. Michael then went to each one, asked them their name, and confirmed what they were coming for. What an awesome sight to see God descend on a place and call people to Himself. Following that we sang “Holy Ground”. For the 15 of us singing, that song took on a whole new experience and meaning.

But that’s not all!

Tonight’s concert at the Lutheran church was an incredible time. We had a packed sanctuary that is bad need of repair. Part of our efforts hopefully helped raise some money toward their restoration program. The pastor didn’t know how much money was raised. He said he was the one that would count the money, but he didn’t want to miss the Singing Men concert.

There was a real sense that God was already at work as we saw many people from several Baptist churches as well as the Lutheran church there to help us in many ways. There was a sweet lady even assigned to assist me in selling our CD's. We ran out of our allotment for tonight’s concert! I’ll be mailing some CD’s to Austria when we get back.

We don’t have a full count of the decisions made tonight. Gerri Blackley was counting the cards and we had to leave on the buses. She says she stopped counting at 70! Praise the Lord.

We know that people are praying for us. We see God’s hand in even the small details of this trip. One of our members unknowingly lost his belt pack with his passport, cash, & credit cards at the Schoonboorn Palace this afternoon. It was almost two hours before he realized it was gone. With a phone call it was discovered that someone found it and turned it in to the security office at the palace with nothing missing. God is working for sure!

What a wonderful Lord’s Day this has been. We prayed this morning that all our churches would have wonderful services as well. We trust yours was.

Tomorrow we are on the go again. Pray for us in the following:

Travel to Krems.
Spending the afternoon with small groups performing and all handing out invitations. Another small team will sing in an area prison.
Concert at 7:00 (Noon Texas time) in the Church of the Dominicans Baptist Church
(Romanian speaking) Cornel Prejban is the leader/elder, no pastor.





Day 5 Pictures
Click on a Picture to See It Enlarged

4-22-2007 003sm Hutteldorf BC	4-22-2007 029sm Bill Howell	4-22-2007 032sm Doug Cooper
4-22-2007 044sm Luke Riley	4-22-2007 048sm Ralph Massey	4-22-2007 079sm Palace
4-22-2007 104sm Palace 2	4-22-2007 123sm Lutheran Int	4-22-2007 126sm Lutheran
4-22-2007 138sm Lees 50th	4-22-2007 141sm Dinner	mark hill, phil alford praying with someone
michael gott with those who responded

Day 6 - Standing on Holy Ground
Monday, April 23, 2007

One of the songs that we are singing during this tour is “Holy Ground.” It was used once again in a special setting today by the Singing Men of Texas. After a morning tour of Stiftgottweig, a 12th century Benedictine abbey near Krems, our host, Cornel Prejban, met us. Cornel is a native of Romania. There are many Romanians here in this area of Austria. There is a small Baptist church, the Krems Baptist Church. It is a Romanian Baptist Church with a God sized vision to reach other Romanians as well as Austrians for Christ.

They are currently constructing a new church building and Cornell wanted us to see it. In sharing with us he showed on a map the region of Austria pointing out that they were the only Baptist church in this region. As we walked among the construction site there really was a sense of awe and excitement of what this congregation wants to do.

The interesting thing is that Cornell is not the pastor. He is simply a layman and serves as an Elder in the church. He has a heart for his people and to share the gospel in this part of the world. When Don and Mickey met with Cornell over a year ago in planning for this trip, Don said that Cornell was a ray of light.

Cornell has worked hard for a year in putting together tonight’s concert and our time here in Krems. As we sang “Holy Ground” there at that construction sight, it was as if it was a foretaste of the praise and worship that is to come there in the future. Cornell also said something very profound. He commented that we had seen the past this morning, referring to the Abbey but that we were standing looking to the future. In a country with hundreds of dead and stone cold churches, the Krems Baptist Church is being salt and light in this area.

The afternoon was given to lunch on the main pedestrian area of this quaint town. The men and wives passed out invitations to the concert as the special ensembles performed. One extra group was formed today and went to a prison to sing. A group of 12 of us went and sang. There were only 10 prisoners and 5 guards, but we felt the ones that were supposed to be there were there. There were 4 prisoners and 1 guard who knelt with Michael to pray to be forgiven of their sin.

Tonight’s concert was held in an old gothic cathedral that is now a museum. We had a wonderful and receptive audience including an official with the mayor’s office. At the end of the evening we have records of 54 decisions for Christ. Praise the Lord; your prayers and our God are working in the lives of the Singing Men here in Austria.

One correction to yesterday’s update. Due to an interpretion error there were not 70 decisions in Vienna. There were 7 first time decisions, but indication of 92 recommitments to Christ. We give praise for this and hope that the seeds we planted will grow.

We have a similar day tomorrow as we head to Graz, Austria. Here are the things to pray for:

Safety in travel to Graz.

Receptive hearts to our invitation to the concert

7:00 pm Concert (Noon Texas Time) at Minitore Hall.
Host church is Graz Baptist Church.
Martin Wellacher is member, no pastor here as well.

Continue to pray for health, energy and strength as the trip winds down.





Day 6 Pictures
Click on a Picture to See It Enlarged

4-23-2007 003sm Monastery ext	4-23-2007 086sm Monastery	4-23-2007 102sm Krems Baptist
4-23-2007 107sm Krems Baptist 2	4-23-2007 125sm Park - Krems	4-23-2007 143sm Berry and Brim
4-23-2007 145sm 2 girls in Krem	4-23-2007 175sm Concert 1	4-23-2007 192sm Concert 2

Day 7 - Can You Come Back Again?
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

That is the question the mayor of Graz asked us tonight on stage at the start of the concert. Through the work of the Baptist people here in Graz we had an official meeting in the city parliament building today. The mayor was unable to attend this afternoon but an associate graciously welcomed us to this unique city with a warm and kind greeting and reception.

The mayor was in attendance tonight at the concert and in his remarks, asked us to come back again when we could spend more time. It was a wonderful night here in Graz as we sang in a former monastery building that is now a civic and performance hall. The guys are getting anxious to get home and we only have one more concert, but we gave all we had tonight and presented the life changing message of Jesus again.

We were close enough to our hotel here in the city center that we walked back to the hotel at our leisure tonight, so our guys scattered rather quickly. Because of this I was not able to get the number of decisions tonight. We trust that God moved in the hearts of people just as He has done this past week in all of our concerts.

We are getting reports now from our other concerts and it is heart warming to know that we are making an impact on peoples lives not just at the concerts. On the flight to Frankfurt last Tuesday some of our men found a new young friend in a little baby boy that was on board with his mother. Many of our guys that were sitting around her took turns holding him and playing with him. Today, we received this note from Christina Mikkelsen of Waxahachie.

"I just wanted to drop a quick note to thank all the wonderful people I met on the flight to Frankfurt. I had the good luck to be seated among all the singing men and company, and they were all so sweet, especially to my 3-month-old son Carsten. They all took turns holding him and the lullaby they sang was awesome! So, thanks again for giving a tired new mom a much needed break, and I hope their trip is a wonderful one! Christina PS I hope Ira is feeling better!"

Here are some comments from our concerts in Vienna and Krems:

"Thank you that you sing in a way that touches hearts."
"It is wonderful that Jesus was so praised and worshipped."
"The songs have wonderful words! Thank you very, very much for this great performance! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!"
"Your singing has been the most wonderful and touching sermon I have heard for years. God bless you!"
"God bless Singing Men Of Texas!"

We have been received so well by the people of Austria. It will be hard to see this tour come to an end tomorrow. Many of the people ask when we will be coming back. Perhaps in God's timing we can return again some day. If not our hope is that in heaven we will see many of these brothers and sisters in Christ again.

Pray for the following tomorrow as we end up our concert ministry.

Travel safety to Oberndorf & Salzburg

Afternoon spent with small groups performing and handing out invitations.

7:30 p.m. concert (12:30 pm Texas Time) at Leopold Kohr High School.

Graham Lange is the leader, beginning a new church in Oberndorf.





Day 7 Pictures
Click on a Picture to See It Enlarged

4-24-2007 032sm Graz Prep	4-24-2007 081sm Woody - flyers	4-24-2007 108sm City Hall
4-24-2007 114sm Graz Baptist	4-24-2007 132sm ready 2 sing	4-24-2007 153sm Mayor
4-24-2007 171sm Handbells	4-24-2007 192sm End	4-24-2007 205sm Concert 1

Day 8 - The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of the Singing Men of Texas
Wednesday April 25, 2007

Of course we had to use that title since we are in Salzburg tonight. And indeed the hills were alive with the Singing Men of Texas tonight in the small town of Oberndorf a few miles north of Salzburg on the German border.

The drive from Graz to Salzburg was filled with oohs and aahs all day long as we would crest another hill and round another corner. A few strains of "Awesome God" were even heard on the bus as we all marveled at God's great creation here in Austria. If you have never been to this part of the world to see for yourself, God outdid Himself. Hopefully the guys were able to get a few good pictures as we zoomed by at 100 kmh.

After checking into the hotel in Salzburg we journeyed about 45 minutes north and found some wonderful Christian people in Oberndorf. Oberndorf is famous for being the place where Franz Gruber wrote "Silent Night." Many of us viewed the Stille Nacht Chapel during our walk around town distributing invitations for the concert.

Our concert was held at the local high school and was financed in part by the Chamber of Commerce and the city. A small group of people, led by Graham Lange, a retired pastor, are trying to begin an evangelical Christian church here. This concert tonight was an effort to build relations with many in this community. This concert did not have a major evangelistic appeal tonight, but the gospel was shared in various ways and we trust that hearts were stirred to respond to Christ in a personal way.

Graham has been trying to build a relationship with the local Catholic parish priest and to affirm that they are not in competition but are partners in building God's kingdom. The priest was in attendance tonight and the offering that was taken was given to the Catholic Church for their renovation project as a gesture of good will. Tonight was a good event for this small group of believers and they were most gracious in hosting us.

As in the other concerts the crowd received us warmly. The people of Austria and the Czech Republic have blessed us so much. Tomorrow we get to enjoy this great and historic city of Mozart. It will be a great time to unwind and enjoy this wonderful place. We close our trip with a celebration dinner tomorrow night before heading to Munich to fly home. We will close with a final update tomorrow and a recap of the trip.

Once again thank you so much for your prayer support. Start now to pray for the follow up on the decisions that have been made this week.





Day 8 Pictures
Click on a Picture to See It Enlarged

4-25-2007 017sm Josef	4-25-2007 104sm trip 1	4-25-2007 108sm trip 2
4-25-2007 111sm castle	4-25-2007 122sm Karina	4-25-2007 129sm school
4-25-2007 150sm concert 2	4-25-2007 166sm concert 1	4-25-2007 181sm Gott
4-25-2007 200sm a gift	4-25-2007 207sm friends

Day 9 - To God Be the Glory, Great Things He Hath Done
Thursday April 26, 2007

We sang that song tonight as a group at our farewell dinner here in the hotel. It's more than just an old Fanny Crosby text. It's our heartfelt rejoicing at what has taken place over the past 10 days. Our concerts are done and the bags are being packed all over this hotel as I write this. (The bags have to be outside our doors at midnight!) Our concert tour and mission trip is now over, but we believe that God is not finished here in central Europe.

Tonight, Michael Gott shared with us the importance of communicating what has taken place on this trip. Not to just share the silly stuff but to be ready to have a genuine response to tell what God has done. He also helped us clarify the kind of decisions we have seen and heard reported this week. Taking a cue from the Billy Graham crusades, we are using the word inquirer for those who have responded. We don't really know and don't want to presume any salvation experience. We have reports of 192 people over the course of our concerts that made serious inquiries about knowing Jesus in a more personal way. There have been perhaps another 200 to 300 people who have made re-commitments in their lives. Many of these may indeed end up in a salvation decision. The most important work of following up on these begins now. Some churches are already starting. Pray for them earnestly.

Only God knows what has been done. It is in His hands now. We were faithful in God's call to come here to the Czech Republic and Austria. God was way ahead of us every step of the way.

Our purpose was twofold in coming. First, to give an evangelistic appeal and see people come to a personal faith in Christ. Then, to encourage the hard working folks in these churches to spread the faith. Both of those goals have been accomplished.

Our dinner tonight was spread over three hours. This gave our men and women time to share what has touched their lives. We could have gone on for several more hours. Person after person relayed stories and impressions that we each will take home.

A resounding theme kept emerging. God has sustained us and the prayers of His people have made this trip possible. Please do not take lightly your involvement in this process. It was vital and important. Thank you so much for your support.

Pray for us as we now head home. We depart our hotel in Salzburg at 3:00 am for a drive to Munich. Our flight leaves at 7:00 am to Frankfurt. Our long flight back leaves Frankfurt at 10:05 getting back to DFW at 1:50. Pray for safe travel and no delays. We are ready to come home.

If you are free on Thursday, May 10 come join us for our last concert of this season. It will be at The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson on Central Expressway. They have a 2500 seat auditorium. It will be wonderful concert as we celebrate the outflow of what God has done.

To God be the glory, indeed.





Day 9 Pictures
Click on a Picture to See It Enlarged

4-26-2007 017sm Von Trapp movie home	4-26-2007 035sm gardens	4-26-2007 064sm Mozart birthplace
4-26-2007 069sm Mozart Birthplace	4-26-2007 102sm cathedral	4-26-2007 124sm JK Weger
4-26-2007 127sm Salzburg	4-26-2007 160sm goofy hats	4-26-2007 167sm Ed
4-26-2007 172sm Celebration Dinner	4-26-2007 201sm Mickey	4-26-2007 202sm prayer