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SPRING 2007

Czech Couple Grateful for Community Life

"My husband and I did not know what to expect when we arrived, but what we found was much better than what we had hoped for," says Anna Svetlikova as she and her husband, Jan Svetlik, conclude their OMSC residency.

She expresses gratitude for OMSC staff and residents as well as for the community life she and Jan have experienced since August. "Community worship services and prayer meetings have been sources of encouragement, and visits with individual residents have been warm moments of friendship. This time has meant a lot to us while we have been far from our families and friends," Anna reflects."We will remember the example of many of our neighbors, as well as the help and support of the staff. Although we have not been able to participate in the OMSC seminars, we have learned a lot. We have heard South Koreans pray for North Korea, listened to a discouraged missionary who could not give up his calling, received help when our health was failing, and glimpsed the Christian life of our brothers and sisters. For all of this, and for everything else, we are grateful," she comments.

Two of fifty-one residents from fourteen countries, Anna and Jan arrived at OMSC from the Czech Republic. A Fulbright Scholar from Charles University in Prague, Anna will soon complete her term at Yale Divinity School’s Jonathan Edwards Center, where she has studied since August, researching for her dissertation on Jonathan Edwards.

Jan, an architect who primarily works on small-scale projects such as houses, has been an intern at the world-famous Pelli Clarke Pelli architectural firm, which is based in New Haven. He has worked with Cesar Pelli and other designers of some of the world’s most recognizable skyscrapers, including the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.

Both Anna and Jan are involved in many ministries in their home country. Jan has led small Christian education groups and was actively involved in youth leadership programs. Under the auspices of his home church, he designed a workshop and center for handicapped persons, was part of the design team responsible for the church’s renovation, and was also appointed to its standing construction committee.

Anna has translated English study materials into Czech for the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Prague and has been an interpreter for English-speaking presenters at Christian conferences. She also interprets and translates for A Rocha, a Christian environmental conservation agency.

They leave OMSC in July. —Omar Khan

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