Bohdan Hroboň: “Center for Christian education is our adventure of faith”

By September 2012 we have to do a lot of work – fundraising, recruiting, contracting, physical labor … But we are excited to see our God to make yet another miracle happen, says director of Bible school Bohdan Hroboň. You can receive fresh information of “what’s
happenin´“.The first batch of news is up now.

1. What makes you most happy right now when you are thinking about the Center for Christian Education?

I am happy because of our US friends and partners, our team, parents, and our congregation who did a marvelous job on the most necessary needs of one very fine, new, and growing Lutheran Elementary School. Our US partners have been faithfully with us in this endeavor, supporting us with finances, labors, promotions (esp. VBS and EFL), prayers, and encouragement. They are one of those miracles with which God has blessed us during this adventure of faith—the one we call “Center for Christian Education”.

2. What are the latest projects for the CCE?

We are finishing up classrooms for the elementary school in the last of the three buildings that the city of Martin is donated for this purpose. Besides housing the last (9th) grade, we are launching off the kindergarten in the upper floor next September.

3. What is the plan for the construction?

As for the kindergarten, it needs only minor remodeling and some paintings. The ground floor will be a complete remodeling: we have to take all the walls down, build new floor, new walls, heating, electricity, bathrooms … then plaster and paint. I hope everything will go well and God will bless our efforts.

4. What is the time table and job schedules?

We (our elementary school parents, teachers, and CCE staff) will take the walls down this weekend. Then the time-consuming jobs of putting new floors, walls, pluming, electricity, etc. will get done by our trusted contractor during the winter. All this should be ready by the time when our first swallows from beyond the big pond (understand first builders group from the US) arrive. . Our US volunteers will plaster and paint the walls, install tiles and some other construction jobs. Afterwards, we will do the cleaning, furnishing, and all the finishing touches.

5. What is the cost projection?

Our estimate is $125,000 for the reconstruction, $9,000 for furnishing,. This cost would be significantly higher if there was no volunteer work and the very favorable contractor.

6. What are you fundraising expectations?

The fundraising has just started. Our hope in this not easy situation is for yet another miracle. I know that this sounds unpersuasive and naive, but we have good reason to hope — the 13-year long and steady history of God’s miracles at this place. A big help in this has been the people — our elementary school parents, our team, our hope congregation and our US friends and partners. Just take the builders groups from oversees – these are truly missionaries and their mission speaks loudly, persuasively, and will continue to do so for as many years as all those walls they put up in the Center for Christian Education will stand. And, this mission makes a big difference, especially in the lives of all those kids and parents that use those walls daily. In fact, for many hard-to-believe Slovaks this is the only mission they accept. I know, because I have seen that during all those years, and also because it has made a difference in my life.

7. The Slovak political scene has serious problems. The government built by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union was ended. The Euro has serious problems and there is crisis in the world. In the light of this difficult situation, how do you see the prospects of these plans for yet another expansion of the Center for Christian education?

These days are not easy for us—several of our US partners reduced their financial support due to the economic crises. Fortunately, we did not have it good for long enough to get used to it, so the shortage of money and stuff does not ruin our days, let alone our hopes, dreams, and beliefs. God is faithful and will take care of us as He always did. I know that sounds like a good Christian cliché, but our Center for Christian Education has lived by it since its beginnings.