Interest in gardening program encouraging

Praise the Lord for what He did through Dr. Curtis Smith this last week!  The concept of outreach using gardening is really catching on, and it looks like there are lots of open doors of opportunity. Thank you so much for your prayers for Curtis and those he spoke with while here in eastern Hungary.  Pray for the follow-up and implementation of new ministries.

Dr. Smith & translator Eduárd Nitkovszki at Monday evening presentation

Gardening for the Gospel

Please be in prayer for New Mexico volunteer Dr. Curtis Smith as he ministers here in Hungary this week, using his background as Agricultural Science professor, county extension  worker, gardening columnist and TV series host.  Tonight he will be  doing a presentation to area church leaders on how to use a Master Gardener program in outreach for Gospel connections.

While in the Debrecen area he will be doing several presentations to various groups, doing site visits in Roma villages, and spending time with interested individuals.

Pray that God will provide open doors for many spiritual conversations; also that believers will catch the vision of how to use agriculture and gardening not only for feeding the physically hungry, but also for providing spiritual food to those who need to know the Lord.

Curtis and Gary preparing for tonight's presentation

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer

Please join us in lifting up the nations during the 2016 Lottie Moon week of prayer, starting this Sunday, Dec 4.  Links to fascinating real-life missionary stories, photos, and videos can be found on the IMB website at https://www.imb.org/lottie-moon-christmas-offering-week-prayer/.

Thank you for praying with us!

Light in the darkness

Last night there was an electrical problem on our block, and the power went out in half of our house...later it was out for quite a while in ALL the house...then back on in the other half.  This kind of thing went on for much of the evening, making a Skype meeting and VOIP phone calls quite a bit shorter than planned.

It's so easy to feel dependent on luxuries such as electricity, but darkness and lack of Internet can make us slow down a bit and look at things differently.  Candles and our mini oil lamp gave a pleasant glow and a feeling of fun and nostalgia to our home. It's amazing how even a little light can dispel the darkness!

And yes, the power company guys did come and get our power back on in time for us to turn out the lights and go to bed.  :-)

Pray that we will shine His light in dark places.

Thanksgiving blessings

It was a joy to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Budapest team - we are blessed to have such wonderful people to serve with.  We always come away filled with encouragement (and in this case, with some really tasty food, too!)

Praise the Lord for how He meets our every need and beyond, and for the family He gives us when we are missing those back home in the U.S.  Pray that we will always keep a thankful heart no matter what circumstances arise.  It gives glory to God, keeps us from becoming discouraged, and is a witness to the people around us that the joy of the Lord is not dependent on the crazy ups and downs of life.

Team Budapest with support personnel

Snow flurry sighting

As I left the grocery store this morning I was excited to see the first snow of the season--it was only a flurry, but a thrill nonetheless!  I know a month or so from now it won't sound as fun, but today when I saw the swirling white flakes I felt like a little kid again.  I love to see the changing of the seasons, and this one reminds me that Christmas isn't far away!

What a blessing it is to see the wonders of nature and think how the Creator God became man, came down to us and brought the greatest gift of love ever given.   

Pray that our friends here in Hungary will look beyond the wonders of creation to the Creator who loves them and has provided the way to forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Click photo for enlarged version

A view of our neighborhood from the balcony.  The camera didn't pick up the snow flurries very well, but if you look closely you can see white spots  in the photo and a slight bit of accumulation on the roof of the house to the left. More will come, I'm sure! 

Namesake restaurant

Last Sunday when we were in Tiszafüred we went back to the Molnár Vendéglő, our favorite restaurant in the town.  Interestingly, the Hungarian word "molnár" means "miller," so we've felt a special affinity for the place from the very beginning.

In past years when we were going every week to serve at the church plant we would always stop there to eat.  Besides enjoying some very fine traditional Hungarian food, we became good friends with the owners and waitresses, and a lot of great conversations and sharing took place.

It was wonderful on Sunday to renew our acquaintance with the Molnár friends!  Please pray for these hard-working people and their families;  ask that Gospel seeds sown over the years will bear fruit in their lives.