Mark and Valerie Zechin

In 1993 Mark and Valerie landed in the Czech Republic with their three young children.  Since that time they have been involved in planting churches, training workers  and raising up pastors. Sending a team of Roma leaders from their Czech church in 2006 they began a work in Slovakia from which several other churches have been planted including Roma churches in Canada, UK and Wales.   

In 2013 they moved to Slovakia with a desire to raise up leaders and plant churches in Roma Gypsy communities in southeastern Slovakia. In 2014 they founded the Jireh Project with a focus on seeing transformation in Gypsy families.  

God has provided two facilities.  One located in the Roma settlement of Trebišov (7,000 inhabitants) and another in Sečovce (3,000 inhabitants).    These settlements are some of the poorest in Slovakia with little or no education and a 95% unemployment rate.  Homes are without basic utilities such as garbage service, sewer and water.  Addiction, abuse, teen pregnancy and sex trafficking are the norm among Roma where life expectancy is 15 years less than the majority white population.