Border crossing went great, PTL!

"Thank you" to all who prayed for Gary and Darrel's border crossing yesterday - it went great! Praise the Lord, they had no problems at the border, and they are both now safely at home again (Gary to Debrecen, Darrel to Budapest.)   The Hathcocks are enjoying having their personal belongings from the trunks brought from the Ukraine, things they hadn't seen for so many months! Please pray for them as they continue to adjust to life in a new country, for their language classes, for the girls in their new school, and for opportunities for each of them to share their faith with those they come into contact with.  We praise God for this family who have come to minister in Hungary with us!

Prayer request re: Ukraine trip

Gary and Darrel are in the Ukraine this weekend to bring back the Hathcock family’s things from their former place of service.  Gary called earlier to say they hadn’t made it through the mountains yet so are going to spend the night and do that part of the driving in the morning. He sent me a text message just now asking for prayer for them at the border crossing tomorrow.  Please pray for grace in the eyes of the officials at the border, and for continued safe travels during the rest of the trip. Thank you!

Image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carpathians-satellite.jpg

Feeling thankful

I'm pausing in the middle of a busy day, feeling thankful and praising the Lord. 

Gary made it safely back from Romania after a good week of camp...it's so great to have him back, and I know that God will continue to work in the lives of the young people there.  Gary had no problems at the border with all the stuff in the car or with the paperwork issues we were a little concerned about.

Another praise...I got a call to come by Immigration, and we have now picked up our new residence permits.  It feels so good to have this taken care of!  We won't have to deal with that again for three years.

There's always so much to be thankful for.  Sometimes in the midst of the busyness of life it's good to just stop for a few minutes and say, "Thank you, Lord!"  

Please pray as Gary travels and for the camp - UPDATED

 Gary just left for Romania with a carload full of interesting stuff for the Angel Wings aviation camp in Romania this week...a homemade wind tunnel, homemade model of a plane with electronics and moving parts to demonstrate flight principles, other items for demonstrations and lessons (and most likely a toothbrush.)

     Here are some photos from last year's camp so you can get an idea of what it's like:

   
A teams of campers with the wind tunnel......Gary teaching, with Pastor Edmond translating to Romanian

    
Staff & campers enjoying good Romanian food...one ultralight getting ready while another comes in to land

   Please pray for safe travel for Gary, that he won't have trouble at the border (his cargo looks very unusual and there is also the possibility of trouble with paperwork), and that the camp will greatly impact the young people for Christ.  Principles of flight will be used to illustrate spiritual truths, the young people will experience a lot of Christian love and bonding through sports, music, and worship times, and they will have the opportunity to fly in an ultralight plane.  For many this will be the first time they have ever flown in any kind of plane!  Please pray for safety in all of the activities.

For more information about the camp and the Angel Wings foundation, find them on Facebook, the foundation
 web site, and their YouTube videos (the newer video or the original that gives more background info.)

Thanks for your prayers!

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UPDATE: I got a message from Gary that he made it through the border crossing just fine!  Thanks for praying...please continue to pray for him and the ministry at the camp. May this week be a turning point in many lives.
 

Saying goodbye

     It hasn't been an easy day for us today, as the time finally arrived to take our co-worker Stacia to the airport in Budapest and see her off on her return trip to the States.  It's been a great two years, though, and as her term has now ended we can only praise the Lord for letting her be a part of our team. She's been a blessing in many people's lives - ours included.  We know that she'll continue to stay in touch with good friends she's made here, and will keep on mentoring them and drawing them closer to the Lord.

    Please be in prayer for her over the coming hours, that she and her luggage will all arrive safely, and that her reunion with her family will be a great time for all of them.  As she adjusts back to life in the U.S., please pray that she will find a job to support herself and work on paying off college loans, and that the Lord will guide her as she begins seminary in preparation for future ministry.

   Stacia, thanks for your heart to serve the Lord, and for all that you invested over these last two years. May God richly bless you as you move into this new stage of your life....we'll miss you!

August 20 - St. Stephen's Day

August 20 is St. Stephen's Day, celebrating the founding of the nation of Hungary over 1000 years ago.  As they consider their history, pray that Hungarians will find a personal relationship with Christ that goes beyond tradition and national heritage.



    

Here in Debrecen a big part of the celebration is the Flower Carnival, which includes a huge parade drawing participants and spectators from around the world.  Flower covered floats, marching bands, flag teams, baton twirlers, and marchers in traditional dress represent countries such as Italy, Germany and Israel, as well as those above wearing traditional Hungarian clothing.

**The photos shown above were actually taken a previous year--our camera is currently having serious problems which we hope to have repaired soon.**

Camps going on this week - UPDATED WITH PHOTOS

    We are partnering this week with the Grain Game team to provide camps in Puspokladany and Karcag.  Another team, which is from Weems Creek Church in Annapolis, Maryland, arrives today to partner with Pac Kerti Mission in Debrecen.  Pray for Kingdom impact! 

UPDATE - Pictures from that week

Kids at both Grain Game camp locations, Puspokladany and Karcag, learned truths from the Bible in a fun way...lots of games and object lessons to make the nuggets of truth stick in their memory. 

   
Photos from the Grain Game camp in Puspokladany - Grain Game staffers are in the blue T-shirts

The Weems Creek volunteer team made a big impact in Debrecen at the Pac Kerti Mission, too.  They made a lot of good relationships among the kids and adults that were there.  At the closing ceremony of the camp the mission had a baptism for three new believers (unrelated to the camp that week), and believers came from the mother church, (Debrecen Baptist) and from other area churches.  A lot of people from the neighborhood also came out of curiosity, and they heard the Gospel shared over and over through music, testimonies and preaching.  It was an awesome day! 

  
The Weems Creek team with kids from the camp.......Justin, Weems Creek team leader, giving his testimony

  
Pastor Tibor from Hajduszoboszlo baptizing our new sister...Pastor Lajos (Debrecen Baptist), Pac Kerti Mission pastor Csaba, and Pastor Tibor pose with the baptismal candidates.  Please pray for these new believers as they continue to live out their faith with joy even in difficult times.