Debra Allison – From the Czech Republic

December 10 -30, 2012

Dear Ladies,
Let it snow, let it snow is the theme for the day. As I sit to start writing this letter the snow continues to fall covering the earth in a beautiful blanket of white. It reminds me that the Lord said “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’’ Isaiah 1:18.  I am so grateful that the Lord has forgiven my sins and transgressions. We still have a forgiving God, even in the year 2012 and the years ahead.

The weather this year has been very unusual. The warmer temperatures during the month of January allowed our family to take a few adventures or field trips that we would not normally be able to do during the winter. We joined a friend for a private tour of the Punkova Cave and boat ride. We also went to the Brno Army Park for a re-enactment of a battle in Poland, from WWII, between the Nazi Army and the Red Army.

The first two weeks of February bought snow and very frigid temperatures, but the work here continued to move forward with a new salvation Bible study started in February with a lady named, Suzanna, but she has not had time between work and ill children to continue with the study. In February, we observed the Lord’s Supper with the church for the first time.

On March 19th, we attended the funeral of a friend, named Milan. Thank you Lord that we had the opportunity to share the gospel with Milan. On April 5th we received another call telling us that our friend and fellow missionary, Doug Todd, had died and his funeral would be the following week – two reminders that life is short.

March and April were warm and planting season had begun when a frost was found on the ground, gardens and fruit trees all across the southern part of the country. We were blessed to only have a few flowers destroyed. Our apricot tree and our strawberry plants were not damaged and produced much fruit for our family and enough to share.

In May, we were blessed with a group of young people, their Pastor, teacher and school principal. They were with us for 9 days. Literature distribution was one of our goals for the groups visit. 10,000 tracts, booklets and other pieces of literature were distributed during their stay. We were blessed by the wonderful times of fellowship.

This spring we were blessed with many visitors, the Sudbrock family (missionaries to East Germany) came to visit the first week of May for three days and then, three days later the Norton family (missionaries to the Czech Republic) came to be with us for three days. We had a great time with both families. We spent time hiking and touring Brno. We also walked to the border crossing (foot crossing only) at Hardegg. It is a 4 km walk from Čízov, Czech Republic to Hardegg, Austria; with “no man’s” land in between. The greatest blessings were the times around God’s Word and the ministries. We had no idea that our time with Brother Norton would be brought to a sudden end.

It is always a blessing to us to know that our daughters and their families are serving the Lord and others. Our granddaughters say and do some of the funniest things showering us with blessings and laughter. Lydia is now five years old, Lilibeth was two as of June and Eliana turned one year old in September. We were so thankful for God’s protection for them during the devastation of Colorado Springs and surrounding areas by the wild fires.

On June the 15th we finished school. James and David both did a wonderful job with their studies. They are both an added blessing to our family and the ministry. We had a party with friends, a game of charades and a meter long sub to celebrate and reward David for his completion of Elementary school and for James’ completion of Junior high school.

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in July. We also celebrated 10 years of ministering in the Czech Republic. We had a BBQ at the end of the month where we presented our DVD of the last 10 years. Can you tell we are Baptist… food and more food?

On Monday evening, August 6th we received a phone called letting us know that our dear friend and fellow missionary, Joshua Norton, had died at his home. We had the privilege to minister to his family and take part in a God honouring, Christ honoring memorial service on Sunday, August 12th with 80 people in attendance

At the end of August, we finished parenting classes and begin the disciplng lessons once again. It is so refreshing to see the Mazgut family growing in the Lord. We have continued the study of the New Testament during our Sunday school time, adults and children. The children (and the adults) have done a wonderful job with scripture memory.

Our summer months finished with hot temperatures that left us looking for a place to cool off and refresh our spirits. We have been hiking, locating and climbing viewing towers. It has given us a renewed and refreshed view of the Czech Republic country side and it has made the heat a little more bearable. Our mini family camp in Slovakia was held at the end of August. We had a wonderful time around God’s Word and the fellowship of other believers. Teaching our Czech friends and church members to make s’mores was a lot of fun.

On the second of September the boys started the 2012-2013 school year. James is in the tenth grade and David is in the seventh grade. The year has brought with it many challenges, but also many rewards and our schooling has been no exception to this. Jeff continues to teach on the Christian life- prayer, praise and trusting God and His Word – the living water.

We are praying and asking the Lord for wisdom in locating a place for Brno Bible Baptist Church to meet. Several weeks ago we located an office space listed on line for a very reasonable price considering its easy accessible location. We made arrangement to view the space – it looked promising, but after finding out how much it would cost this winter to heat the two rooms using the all electric heaters, it quickly fall short of our needs. We are asking the Lord to show us something that will meet our financial, as well as the physical, needs of a church desiring to grow. We continue to average 11 people for services.

The third Saturday in October, we cleaned our garden in preparation for winter. The boys were disappointed that we had decided to put the cuttings and dead plants into the Bio cans for pick-up. They were looking forward to a large bonfire — boys! With a clean garden, summer furnishings in the attic and winter tires back on the van; we were ready for winter to arrive, but not all too soon. Snow fell for the first time this season on Saturday, October 27th. I was in Prague for a series of meetings, followed by an interesting bus ride back to Brno.
In November, we were invited to an international work in Germany. We celebrated Thanksgiving Day American style with turkey(s), ham, and all the fixings. We were also given the opportunity to present the Czech work. This church just kept giving and giving. What a blessing from the Lord and an encouraging time of fellowship with other believers. We also went to the Napoleon Battle re-enactment. History class is so much fun in 3D.

Autumn and winter had been battling for their place in the season. Winter has won and it is here to stay. In December, we received seven inches of snow. The boys loved it! Unfortunately, they do not get off for snow days, but neither do the children that go to Czech schools.

We have been blessed with cards, encouraging words, gifts, care packages, emails, photos and prayers, which bring life and joy to all it touches. Thank you for being a part of our life and ministry.
The Lord has given us many opportunities to minister to those whose attend Brno Bible Baptist Church (BBBC) and those around us this year. We were blessed with a joyful Christmas. The children did a wonderful job with the Christmas play and we had three first time visitors who were very open to spiritual matters. Please continue to pray for our family, the members of BBBC and those who still need to hear and receive the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are looking forward to the Lord’s work in 2013 and we are especially looking forward to you being a part of it.

Love and Prayers,
Debra and Family