Ministry Partner of the Month - May 2014

Pavel & Stana Kozak

Prayer Requests:
1. Lord’s special protection, while we serve in this dark country/city. Our church ONLY is ministering outside and we know that the devil hates it and us.

2. Everyday guidance of the Holy Spirit as we share the Gospel with a variety of people. Some are criminals and abusers and others are university students.

3. Very effective sharing of the Gospel and the Word of God to the unsaved people. Practices of the Catholic Church in the medieval times have caused people here to mostly hate “church” as an “institution.”

4. Lord’s special TOUCH of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of those who are listening to the Gospel. They really need God’s Touch to REPENT.

5. OUR COUNTRY – Please pray that the strong spirits of the paganism and atheism would be bound and broken by the power of the Lord’s Holy Blood. Very strong demons are ruling over this country and are keeping people blind and deaf concerning Lord Jesus.

6. OLOMOUC – a city of 100.000+ population, which is totally in the darkness, with empty religions, materialism and caught up in money worship. It is obvious that there are HUGE STRONGLOLDS of the devil here.

7. DECIN – where we continue to minister to the Gypsy people, while helping the Maranatha Church there. The Maranatha Church is recovering from a painful split, and new people are visiting but they need a lot of prayers and encouragement.

8. Christians in Czech Republic. “Christianity” in Czech Republic is back sliding, the world and entertainment have come to the churches. There is NO GOSPEL sharing, NO fighting, just fun and smiling while everybody is “happy and satisfied.” OUTSIDE of the churches is DARKNESS, CRIME, ATHEISM, VIOLENCE and the devil! NO! The Lord is crying… Please pray with us for the breakthrough!

9. For 10-12 real faithful NEW young ones, who would heartily REPENT and became NEW ZEALOUS DISCIPLES for the Lord in Olomouc.

10. We are planning many actions and activities for the spring and summer for the youth. Please pray for warm and quality relationships with us and for fruitful future follow up with them for the Lord Jesus.

11. We are planning to provide the open air worship services on Sundays afternoon on the Main Square soon. People will have a chance to see and mainly listen to the worship songs of Stana and also the basic Gospel preaching about the cross of the Lord Jesus. We surely will NEED MIGHTY Lord’s assistance, guidance and His PROTECTION! Please pray!

12. Our car was recently stolen and Police have since stopped their investigation. With high probability our car was a “TARGET” of the satanists or some other hate groups, because of what we do here spiritually. On the street where our car was usually parked overnight are MUCH BETTER and MORE EXPENSIVE cars, but they are there till today…yet our car is gone. Pray for a replacement.

13. HUMBLE PRAYER REQUEST – We would like to ask you humbly, dear Brothers and Sisters, those who are touched by our Lord Jesus for a kind money collection to be able to replace the ministry car. It was only one ministry car we had to use for the Moravian and Bohemian ministry. We do pray to collect about $8,000 – 10,000. Thank you for your prayers for its provision!

14. We are so very THANKFUL for you LOVE, MINISTRY and mainly for your PRAYERS! It is such touching that we are NOT ALONE here on this tough mission field, but we do serve TOGETHER! What the PRIVILEGE!!!

Father-Son Retreat Report

If you happened to talk to any of the Father-Son pairs that went to the Father-Son retreat on February 28th thru March 2nd, they will tell you... you missed an incredible time! Located in Grapeland Texas, Frontier Camp (one of WBC’s sponsored missionary organizations) offers everything you could possibly want from a father-son retreat: from horseback riding, to archery, to high ropes climbing, to zip-lines, to riflery, and great food!

Not only are you physically well fed, but you won’t go spiritually hungry over the weekend either. Author and speaker Shane Sanders challenged boys and their fathers to step up to the plate of 3 of the greatest biblical heroes: Caleb, Jonathan, and Nehemiah. As Shane shared how each of those Old Testament heroes put total reliance on God and showed steadfast determination, he encouraged fathers to remember the weekend’s focus verse: 2 Chronicles 16:9 which says, “for the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him.”

If you ask boys who attended like Caleb Knowles and Samuel John, each of them would tell you their favorite thing was ‘hands down’, launching the air-pressure powered 2-liter bottle rockets into the sky Saturday evening. Some rockets traveled over 100 feet high, and across a lake that was longer than a football field! Fathers and sons: be sure to join us next year for an unforgettable weekend of memories with each other!

The Father-Son Retreat happens annually the last week of February. Frontier Camp also offers a Mother-Daughter retreat in early November and a Father-Daughter retreat for girls ages 11 to 17 in the first weekend in January! Additionally, Frontier Camp features week long Summer camps for elementary, junior high, and high school aged kids. For more information on any of these, check out the website here.

An American Dream Come True

For Noel Centeno of Waxahachie becoming a United States citizen has been a dream of his since he was a child living in Mexico. On June 10 that dream became a reality after a semester of classes. Centeno was presented with 10 questions, and he had to answer at least six of those correctly in order to become a citizen of the U.S. He answered the first six without any hesitancy or problem and was deemed a bona fide citizen.

Centeno said the road to obtaining this goal was long and hard, and wouldn’t have been possible without the English as a Second Language ministry at Waxahachie Bible Church and his family.

“Life in Mexico was very hard when I was growing up,” Centeno said. “As I grew older, I realized that it was going to be difficult finding work to provide for my family. I had heard stories of people coming over here, getting jobs and sending money back to their families in Mexico. I thought it would be a good start for me.”

Making his first trip to the U.S. At the age of 17, Kenton said he was given an inside look at what life could be like if he were to become a citizen. After choosing to get married at 19, he knew relocating to America was going to be the best thing for him and his family.

He found work and began providing a good living for his wife and children, but that still wasn’t going to satisfy him. He chose to apply for residency. Even though he was considered a resident of the U.S., Centeno said he constantly felt like a visitor and knew something needed to be done about that.

After attending the citywide giveaway that WBC held in December, Centeno was provided information about the ESL and citizenship classes. He said it really interested him, because he saw it as a chance to capitalize on an opportunity.

“When they told me about the classes, I didn’t think twice,” he said. “I knew it was something I needed to do.”

He said the classes were challenging and trying to learn English at the age of 50 was very difficult, but he was determined to see it through. Centeno was given a list of 100 questions, which required him to not only study English, but U.S. History and civics. He said his children and grandchildren grilled him over and over until he knew the answers forward and backward.

“I knew going in that there would only be 10 questions,” he said. “But you must study all 100, because you don’t know which ones will be on the test.”

Obtaining citizenship to the country wasn’t the only reason Centeno felt impressed to learn English. He said to maintain employment, English is a must. And although he works as the maintenance coordinator for Vista Hills Mobile Home Park in Waxahachie, which is a predominantly Hispanic community, he said knowing the English language will go a long way.

He said he and his wife have made their home in Waxahachie surrounded by their four children and grandchildren.

WBC Citizenship Instructor Eddie Martinez said he is very proud of everything Centeno has accomplished. He said seeing Centeno achieve his goal was proof that their ministry efforts are bearing fruit.

“Noel became our first student to become a naturalized citizen,” he said. “He came back to our citizenship training class to give encouragement to those in attendance. He gave God all the glory for his success.”

He added that becoming a citizen is no easy feat.

“Obtaining citizenship to this country is a four part process,” Martinez said. “You must be able to speak basic English. You must answer at least six questions on the test correctly. You must be able to write a sentence in English, which they dictate to you. And you must be able to read a sentence in English.”

He said as a volunteer with the ministry, nothing gave him more gratification than to see Centeno receive his citizenship.

“This is a great ministry,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to help people realize their dreams and make them come true. I’m very happy for Centeno and for all of the others who are involved in these classes.”

Martinez added that the classes aren’t just for Hispanics, but for anyone seeking to become a U.S. citizen.

“We’ve had people from Jordan and Albania take these classes,” he said. “And we encourage anyone in the community wanting to pursue U.S. citizenship to be a part of our program.”

The idea to offer the classes stemmed from a mission trip to Honduras that Martinez, his wife and Pastor Bruce Zimmerman took. On the return trip, Martinez discussed how sad it is that there are people right here in this community who struggle with the English language and it keeps them from reaching their goals. He said at that point Zimmerman said they should start an ESL program at the church.

“The goal of this ministry is to help people to become citizens, while sharing Christ’s love with them,” Martinez said. “Initially, we had approximately 50 or so students enrolled, all of whom were Hispanic. This past September we had more than 60 enrolled. We followed up with citizenship training and helped with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) application.”

Martinez said what made this class particularly exciting is the fact that Centeno gained citizenship in the U.S. and God’s kingdom, because he recently gave his life to Christ. He said this news was too big not to share with the community.


For more information about the ESL and Citizenship classes or to become a volunteer, contact Eddie Martinez at 469-831-8486.

Christ @ the Center of the Passover

Did you know that we are rapidly approaching the Passover season? In the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, Spring Cleaning has begun with earnest. The e-mails one can read which detail what needs to be done in order for one’s kitchen to be Kosher for Passover is overwhelming. I am a clean and tidy person, but I would be going insane right about now if I was overwhelmed by the cleaning minutiae involved with being an Orthodox and/or Ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman. No wonder, and I am not joking, that some Jewish homes have two kitchens - one for Passover and one for every other day of the year.

However, I am more concerned about the growing frivolity I see surrounding this most holy of Jewish festivals … and I think there is a reason for this irreverence (will explain later!) First, and to borrow from Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, I believe that Passover has become more about tradition than spiritual meaning. For many Jewish people, they are going through the motions without really understanding what it represents and what it promises. In fact, there is a recent movie — When Do We Eat? — that best exemplifies this apathetic and lackadaisical concern over Passover. For many Jewish people, Passover has become a four-hour meal and not the reality of what Moses and Jesus meant it to be.

Second, Passover sadly has become somewhat of a holiday to mock and not reverence. I have received e-mails about cartoons you can purchase that will keep the kids busy while someone is cleaning for Pesach (Passover). There is a gourmet gefilte fish recipe available for those who are turned off by this Passover traditional side dish. There are tsotchkes (knick-knacks) galore for anyone who wants to “spice” up the Passover holiday — including a Moses action figure or nail decals illustrating the ten plagues. I could write about additional items such as the Elijah’s Cup in which the wine “magically” disappears but I think you get the idea!

Third, the story of Passover itself has become somewhat passé for many Jewish people and the traditional Haggadah (booklet which provides an order and structure to the Passover meal) just doesn’t excite anymore. I have received e-mails from Kabbalists, Jewish mystics, offering to sell me a Haggadah that “decodes” the hidden meaning of Passover as if the Hebrew Scripture was not enough. There is a website (www.haggadot.com) where you can jazz up the old story of Passover with a “Muppets parody” or even capitalize on a big movie craze with a “Lego” Haggadah. You can also “speed-read” the Exodus account for those who are in a hurry and don’t have time to remember what God did for them almost 3500 years ago. The Orthodox Jewish population has even entered the fray with a software program that allows anyone to “create your own Haggadah.”

I believe that all three of the reasons given above are tied to the fact that 99% of all Jewish people do not know the end of the Passover story. An end that began as Jesus lifted the matzah and said this is my body and lifted the cup (of redemption) and said this is my blood. Passover has lost its importance because we as believers in Jesus have forgotten to share with them that Jesus is the Passover Lamb and the prophecy of Malachi 5, stating that Elijah would come as a forerunner of the Messiah, was fulfilled when John the Baptist in John 1 stated — “Behold, the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world.” There is no need for an Elijah’s Cup, a disappearing one or not, because we who believe in Jesus have drank of the cup of redemption and are looking forward to the cup of praise at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as it is promised in Revelation. We who are Christians and churches have forgotten to tell them about a little used verse of Hebrew Scripture for the Jewish People that goes something like this …

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

Isn’t it time that we brought Passover back to the Jewish people? A Passover that truly only has final and complete meaning through Jesus the Messiah …our Passover Lamb. Therefore, Tzedakah Ministries is excited by the opportunity to share the truth of Jesus in the Passover with Waxahachie Bible Church on April 17 during Resurrection Week. I look forward to seeing you there! Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover Holidays)!

Acts 20:24,
Amy Downey -- Tzedakah Ministries
“To Equip His Church to Reach His People”

This Month's Focus

Over the last several weeks, we have been focusing in worship upon the meaning and significance of the “I am” statements of Jesus in the gospels. These statements are often linked to powerful metaphorical images that describe our God in a unique expression (i.e. “I am the light of the world”). Having an understanding of these powerful images will help us appreciate and worship Jesus as we lead up to our Resurrection Celebration on April 20th that will be based on this passage found in John 11:


18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”