Progress Report – 2023 – October

Sola Gratia is one of the mottos of the Reformation that began on Oct 31, 1517 in Wittenberg by Martin Luther. By this key principle Luther emphasized that our salvation is entirely the result of God’s grace, that we cannot earn salvation through our own effort and good works. Grace alone is also the best characteristic of God’s actions with this world as clearly demonstrated in the story of his Son, Jesus Christ. All we have, all our talents and resources, is a gift from God. Moreover, God gave us His Son to fix all our wrongdoings and faults. All this because of his sheer grace! How could we not praise and worship such a great God?

In October we praised God for his gifts and talents by organizing the traditional Night of Languages. With the help of language teachers, our high schoolers presented the languages and the cultures of the countries they study, including national dances and typical cuisines. Parents, students, and teachers could taste French cheeses, American hotdogs, Russian pierogi, Spanish churros, and German hams. The presentation included reading excerpts from famous books, various quizzes, and other insights into specifics of these cultures.

Day of Muffins was another fun event in October. It was supposed to be Day of Kites, bonding our highschoolers with kindergarten children to fly kites. Since heavy rain prohibited this outdoor activity, we turned it into Day of Muffins. One of our custodians baked 100 muffins, the high schoolers read fairy tales to kindergarteners, played games, and had fun together. Needless to say, the muffins quickly vanished.

We were happy to hold another monthly family worship service that brought parents of our students into our congregation. Children from our elementary school prayed, sang a song, and teachers performed a puppet skit. Our student pastor Natalia Kacianová delivered an uplifting children’s message on how God’s grace can set us free. We are grateful for many new faces in our church who could hear how great our God is.

The replacement of the roof of our main building has progressed significantly in October. Even though the weather has not been very cooperative, the contractor has already finished two thirds of the work. We hope to close it all before the winter so we can start reconstructing the two floors beneath and gain nine more classrooms and several offices. It is also through your many prayers and support of this project how we experience God’s grace. Thank you very much!

We live by grace alone! This Reformation fundamental belief calls us show grace to our children, to our neighbors close and far, to the nature around us, to everything we touch and think of. This is our privilege as children of God who is gracious. Sola Gratia!

Yours in His service,