St. Stephen's Day and the Flower Carnival

Yes, we're still here...I've just been busy (or procrastinating?) and haven't posted in a while.

Today is a really important holiday in Hungary--St. Stephen's Day.  It commemorates the founding of the Hungarian state in 1000 A.D. by the first king of Hungary, King Stephen.  His name in Hungarian is "Istvan" [EESHT-vahn].  Here are a couple of pictures I took of some of the people in the parade in traditional Hungarian dress:

          



Here are some little flag twirlers:



And some people from an Italian drill team (people come from a lot of countries to participate in the Flower Carnival here in Debrecen):




Finally, here's a little video I took of parts of the parade:

Hungary was founded as a Christian nation way back in 1000 AD, but to most people it is simply a cultural Christianity and not something that touches their everyday lives. Please pray that the people will come to realize that a Christian
heritage cannot take the place of a personal relationship with Christ,
and that Hungarian believers will take this opportunity to share their
faith with those around them. Pray that Hungary will become a country
that is not only culturally Christian, but also known as a place where
the Lord is truly honored in the hearts and lives of the people.

 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12a).

Another sad happening

Our landlady Erzsike [AIR-zhih-keh] and her family have become our good friends over the years we've lived here in Debrecen, and have always treated us like we were part of the family.  They continually do kind things for us...like turning up the heat for us when we're returning from a winter trip so the apartment will be warm when we get home (doesn't sound so good today, but is wonderful in February!), and leaving a pot of delicious Hungarian food for us to eat when we get home to an otherwise empty refrigerator. 

Today a little before noon our time, "Granny" passed away.  She had been sick for some time, but her passing still leaves a huge hole in her daughter Erzsike's heart, as well as the hearts of the rest of her family.  Today as we sat and talked, Erzsike told me that she has never in her whole life lived apart from her mom; even when her husband was alive, Granny lived with them.  Please pray that the Lord will comfort this dear family and bring them through this time; also pray that He will use it in their lives to draw them to Him.



Me with my friend Erzsike in her home several years ago.  Besides being a professional baker and wonderful cook, she also has an amazing green thumb...her garden is a marvel!

Bear with me, folks, a lot of good things are happening here, too...hopefully soon I'll have time to tell you more of the happy things that are going on.  Lots of pictures of the sports camp, good visits with folks in Püspökladány, plus a trip to the zoo (Levi's first!)

Please pray for our friends

We got some really sad news today - our colleague and friend Teri Tarleton, who serves in Russia, has passed away suddenly from an apparent heart attack.  Please pray for her husband Ed, their kids, and everyone involved.  We don't get to see the Tarletons very often since they live so far away, but they are a very special family who have been faithfully serving the Lord on the mission field for many years.

Baseball day wasn't rained out!

Yay--the baseball day happened in spite of dire predictions of gusty winds and torrential rain!  Thank you to everyone who prayed for good weather.  They actually played softball, but the info sheet they got told the difference.  Gary said they really enjoyed it and want to play some more.  He was so busy working with them that he didn't get any pictures, but we'll ask some of the girls from Kaba if they'll share some photos they took on their cameras.

Tonight Gary will be giving the presentation, and the topic given to him is "Heaven and Hell."  Not very easy information to present in a short amount of time, plus he has to be kind of careful since there are some little kids there who probably can't deal with the more graphic material.  Please pray for him as he prepares today and speaks this evening. 

Answered prayers

I'm so thankful to be able to write that Levi is doing better now...thanks so much for your prayers!  Gary was able to talk to him for quite a while and gave him some Scripture verses printed out in Romanian, Hungarian, and English, so he could compare and study them.  He seems much happier now and is getting involved in the camp activities. 

The "Creation and/or Evolution" presentation went well, with some of the young people asking very good questions.  Tonight's event will be the film "The Cross and the Switchblade."

We got quite a bit of rain last night, but not the dangerous winds that had been forecast, so we're thankful for that.  It's too wet to do outdoor sports, though, so they're using the gym again today.  Tomorrow is supposed to be baseball day (every day is an introduction to a different sport), so please pray that the weather will allow them to play outside.  Gary is taking the equipment and will be helping a lot with the training since he's more familiar with this sport than the Hungarians are.  I think it's wonderful that the local Baptist churches are doing this creative outreach, and I'm glad that we're able to help even a little bit. 

Not an easy time

Good morning, everyone.  Please pray for Levi...things have gotten very tough for him and he's WAAAYY out of his comfort zone.  Differences in customs, culture, language, etc., have hit him upside the head this week, and he's not having such a good time anymore.     The preparation days are over and the actual sports camp begins today, so now he'll be dealing with other campers in addition to the church folks who have been there getting things ready.

There are about 19 people taking part in the camp--high-school and college-aged.  About half of them are not believers.  They're at varying levels of spiritual interest, all the way from "seeker" to self-acknowledged atheist.  Plans for the camp have been rapidly changing because of logistical issues and bad weather; this morning I saw on the news that a storm warning has been issued, calling for strong winds and rain.  Gary said they plan to have the sports time inside a gym today.  Hopefully this front will move on through quicker than the forecast calls for and outdoor activities will be possible again after all.

Each evening of the camp there will be some kind of presentation.  Tonight's subject is "Creation and/or evolution."  This will be interesting for the young people, because most of them have never heard anything other than the teaching of  evolution that's given to them in the schools and they don't even know that other views exist.  We appreciate everyone's prayers for Levi, for the camp, and that the possibly dangerous storms that have been forecast will not come after all.  Thanks!

People responding, 312 Bibles distributed!

I'm at home now, so I'm going to try to catch you up a bit on what's been happening these past few days. I'll try to keep it short, but so much has been happening that it's going to be hard!

Our booth Friday (July 18) at the Püspökladány open market was a busy place.  We gave away Bibles at the long table, and there were free blood pressure checks at the small table. Things started off a little slowly to begin with, but pretty soon we had plenty of people stopping by, talking, accepting a Bible or New Testament, and getting their blood pressure checked.  Each person signed a statement promising to try to read the Bible through; this was printed onto a book mark for their Bible, which we hope will serve as a good reminder to them.  It was great to get to continue some relationships that we had made in previous projects in the town, as well as making new friends.  And what a blessing it was to work alongside the local Baptist church folks, from Kaba and Hajdúszoboszló as well as Püspökladány.



On Saturday we had our Bible booth at a park in Püspökladány next to the big tent the church had set up for their family fun outreach days.  Once word got out that people could get a free Bible, we kept very busy!  Over the course of the weekend we gave away 312 Bibles/New Testaments!  We're so excited to have such a great response!  In this same town in a previous year, over the course of a December  project where we spent 6 days in the market doing a Bible distribution project, we gave away only 32 -- we believe this is one more sign that the Lord is really working here.



In the picture below you can see Levi and Gary with one of our new friends. This gentleman came by and talked to us quite a bit, and gave us his address so we can get together again in the future.  Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in his life, as well as in the lives of the many other people we came into
contact with during this project.



The church also had children's programs, with music, Bible stories, and games.  You can see some of the kids here having a great time
tossing water balloons from sheet to sheet.  It was a beautiful day to be outside!



The youth from the area Baptist churches provided music for the evangelistic services held in the big tent, and they did a great job.



On Sunday afternoon a psychologist who works at the drug treatment center in Debrecen--and who is a believer--came out to the park and gave a talk about drug dependency, alcohol, smoking, and other addictions.  He was a great speaker and really drew his audience in, getting people to interact with him.  He talked a lot about the reasons people turn to drugs of all kinds, and brought in the spiritual aspects.   Afterward he spent a lot of time answering questions and talking to people both in the group and one-on-one.



Both on Saturday and Sunday there was a 6 PM evangelistic service.  On Saturday Gary spoke, using stories from his experiences as a flight instructor back in the States to illustrate spiritual principles.  He really got the people's attention when he talked about a dangerous situation when a student's error sent the plane hurtling straight down toward the earth; in that moment it was imperative for the student to immediately give total control over to Gary as the flight instructor, who could correct the situation.  I believe the listeners got the point he made...that in our out-of-control lives we must yield ourselves to God, who is able save us.

Pastor Tibor preached on Sunday evening, and it was great--he really told it to them straight, and the people sat extremely still, just listening. At the end when he asked for a response, two people said that they had accepted Christ!  I believe that many more folks there were deeply affected, though, so please pray that the Lord will continue His work in them.

The church in Püspökladány is about to begin their outreach sports camp, which will be going on from Wednesday through Sunday, so please keep praying for this little town and the people here.  Thanks!