Tuesday, October 15, 2013

As the washer churns

As I type this the washing machine is whirring away in the background, producing clean sheets for the guest bed...we've had a lot of company recently and I'm thankful we have extra room to put to good use. We have so many volunteers coming and going, and outreaches and projects on the calender, that I sometimes forget what comes next or what ministry we're talking about as we work together and plan!  Checklists and notes to myself help keep me headed in the right direction, but most of all prayer and times of laughter with Gary keep things in perspective.  

A few things to pray about with us:

  • Praise the Lord for His faithfulness, for the strength He gives us when we are weak, and for the opportunities He provides to share our faith. Pray for good health and moments of rest for all of our team in these busy times, and that the Lord will use us to His glory even in spite of ourselves.
  • Pray for our Tiszafüred church plant friends--many of them are in serious medical situationsAmong the most urgent: L's major surgery did not go well last week...she's still in ICU and may have to have a follow-up operation; T's brain surgery is coming up on Oct 24, and she & her Mom are both suffering & exhausted. Pray that God will provide healing & be glorified in these and other situations among our group.
  • PTL for the Timothy Leadership Training sessions this last weekend.  Even though the group was very small, the training was excellent and practical, and opportunities for expanding the program are opening up.  Gary has now completed the requirements to be certified as a Basic Trainer, which means he is now approved to begin teaching two of the manuals (for more about the training see http://www.timothyleadershiptraining.org).
  • Advertising is in progress & pre-registration is now open for the November 4-14 English course in Debrecen. Pray for the Michael Gott International volunteer team as they prepare to come and teach; also pray that the Lord will bring students to us who will not only benefit from the excellent teaching, but will also have hearts prepared to hear the Good News.
  • A small volunteer team from Nevada, Missouri will be arriving next week specifically to prayerwalk the streets of Balmazújváros and Nádudvar, where new work needs to be begun.  Pray that God will move in a mighty way as they prayerwalk; pray that the Lord will also use their time in these places to open up contact with people who will be key in the start of new small-group Bible studies.
Tiszafüred thanksgiving service - believers from nearby towns came to celebrate with us. Hungarian Baptist churches declare a day of thanks each autumn to praise the Lord for His good gifts.

I paused to take a picture of the Nádudvar sign last week as we left after Bible study.  We are working and praying for a church plant there, and it will be one of the places prayerwalked by the Missouri team.

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