May happenings

Here's a quick flashback to May so you all can see a little of what was going on.

Our new friend Nick was here meeting and making friends among the skateboarding crowd both around this area and in Budapest.  It was great to see the connections that could be made through common interests...we believe he'll be back again later!

His time with us overlapped with a team from our home church, Cross Timber BC, who came to serve by providing a baseball camp for the young people of Püspökladány.

 
Nick with kids at baseball camp in Püspökladány...and hanging out with skateboarders in Budapest.
 
 
  
The Cross Timber team did a great job at the baseball camp in Püspökladány.  The kids were quick
learners, and we all had a great time.  We were thankful for Adri's help as a translator.  
Gary quizzing the kids on what they had learned...there was also lots of fun unrelated to baseball.

   
Group photo after the tournament on Saturday...the team gave a concert with music, testimonies, etc.




In May we also had the closing occasion of our Hajdúszoboszló English course, offered as an outreach through the Baptist church there.  Even though we were sorry that not everyone was able to come to the party, we had a wonderful time talking, playing games, and having snacks.  While playing the Ungame we got into some very deep discussions about life, death, God, and faith.  Several of us were able to tell the story of how the Lord has changed our lives and given us hope and a future.  Please pray for the students of the English course, who have become our dear friends.

Life on the Field...and Holly's birthday!

A lot of people ask us what life is like on the mission field.  Some things are of course quite different, but other things are very much the same--although it can be much more challenging here to accomplish something that would be very easy for us "back home" in our own language and culture.  We were recently asked by some Hungarian friends whether we feel totally comfortable and at home here since we (somewhat) speak the language.  We replied that at times we do, but quite often we still feel like outsiders who don't totally know what's going on since we often miss the connotations of things or don't know how to properly express our real, deep feelings.   Living that way over a long period of time is stressful, but we are extremely thankful for the opportunity to be here since we know this is the place the Lord has called us to be; we love the people and the country, and time after time have to almost pinch ourselves when we realize how incredible it is to be here. We live "between worlds" in many ways--not only because we live in another culture, but also because our real home is not of this world.  (Phil. 3:20)  We look forward to the time when we will finally be home and will never again be strangers!  We do have a lot of great times while we're here, though.  When special days such as holidays or birthdays come around, we like to kick back and enjoy the experience, sometimes combining local culture and customs with our own traditions.

Speaking of birthdays, Holly's was on April 18!  "Thank you" to those of you who prayed for her on her special day.  Secret discussions had been going on about a surprise birthday party with some of Holly's friends, but we weren't sure how it was going to turn out--one of the biggest difficulties was trying to maneuver Holly into being in the right place at the right time!  We had thought to have the party right after the youth group meeting on Friday evening, with Gary and I setting things up and grilling some food while the young people were in the meeting. But Holly was cooking up other plans, and we all thought she might not come that night--she was interested in going to the practice of a girls' American-style football team that's currently forming.  It would be a great opportunity for her to make new friends, but her birthday party would be so much more fun if the guest of honor were there! 

We were very thankful that since the weather turned cool and rainy, Holly didn't go to the practice after all--the
surprise party was a success, birthday girl and all.  Here are some photos:


(L) Holly cutting her cake during our team meeting on Wednesday.  We hoped that the "decoy cake" would help cover for the surprise to come.   (R) Gary manning the grill
  
      
(L) Holly said she hadn't suspected a thing--how could there be a surprise party if she wasn't even planning to be there? (Something all of us were pondering!)
(R) Cool friends from several countries were at the party.  At the right, Gary is talking with Vivian from the IMB Budapest Team, who was in town that weekend.

Easter party with our Hajduszoboszlo English students

On April 9, the Thursday before Easter, we had an Easter party for the students in our Hajduszoboszlo English course.  We weren't sure how many would be able to come because the students have so much going on in their lives right now, but as it turned out we had a fantastic time. Along with the egg hunt in the yard--it didn't even rain!--we had brownies, cupcakes with sprinkles, and a great time of sharing what Easter means to us.  Several of us were able to give a testimony of the real meaning of the holiday, and Gary gave a simple presentation of the Gospel using an Evangecube.  Please pray for the students, who have become our dear friends, to be drawn into a personal relationship with the risen Savior.

 




Everyone had a great time, although one little guy conked out and had to rest a bit. At the end when we tallied up the eggs found--counting in both English and Hungarian--only one remained missing.      

Baseball / the Mikepércs Mosquitos win the game!

When we lived in America we always enjoyed baseball, and now and then we still get the chance to re-awaken those memories - but with a slight Hungarian flavor!  Last week Russell Chun of  Good Sports International  had to be out of town and asked Gary to help coach the Mikepércs Mosquitos, a new team he's been working with.  It was just the kids' third game ever, and they were scheduled to play a friendly game with a very strong team, the Debrecen Tigerkids.  Amazingly, the Mosquitos played with great heart and surprising skill for such a young team...and they won!  Congratulations, Mosquitos!

  

Speaking of baseball, a volunteer team from Cross Timber Baptist Church  in Burleson, Texas will be coming this summer to hold a baseball camp in the town of Puspokladany from May 18 to 23.  Please be praying for them as they prepare to come, and that the Lord will even now be working in the hearts of those who will be attending the camp.  CTBC will also be sending a team later in the summer--they will be holding an English camp in Hajduszoboszlo from July 6 to 12.  We pray that God will be glorified, and that many hearts will be touched during both the baseball camp and the English camp.  A big thank you to our friends at Cross Timber for their missions outreach around the world.

Easter and springlike weather arrive in Hungary

We hope that you all had a wonderful, blessed Easter!  We had a quiet day here, and enjoyed the chance to slow down a bit and remember the Lord's death and resurrection, the source of our hope and life.  After the morning service at Debrecen First Baptist Church we had a nice lunch at our place with Holly--we wished that A.P. could have been with us, too, but she was still in Budapest because of some medical issues (please pray for her continued healing.)


Our Easter meal--baked ham, broccoli salad, cauliflower with
cheese sauce, deviled eggs, and home-made bread. 

 
Holly made a light, delicious dessert of home-made angel food
cake with fruit and whipped cream.  It was as yummy as it looks!

Easter in Hungary is a two-day holiday, and on Easter Monday Gary and I went for a walk down to the Nagy Erdő (Big Forest) park.  The weather was gorgeous, and lots of people were out enjoying it.  Here are some pictures I took during our walk:


On the way to the park we passed a home where someone had
decorated the tree by their balcony with Easter eggs.


There's a wonderful little lake at the park that I always enjoy
visiting.  Such a relaxing sight!


Some people relaxed, others preferred to be a little more active. 
These two guys were practicing their football (soccer) skills.


Here and there were stands where you could buy balloons or
snacks such as fresh roasted corn on the cob, popcorn, or
cotton candy. 


Some adventurous souls were enjoying the paddle boats at another
place in the park area, a small man-made lake.

We're still here / major happenings in Hungary (Updated Apr 15)

Yes, we're still alive and kicking here in Debrecen.  It's been so long since I posted that it's hard to know where to start.  Plus it's about time to fix dinner, so I don't have much time to write...yes, real life needs to go on!

The main thing I want to say now is to please be praying for Hungary.  In case you didn't see it in the news, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány resigned today with no successor yet named.  In a time of economic crisis and general widespread dissatisfaction, this development brings an even greater feeling of uncertainty.  Pray that the Lord will intervene and help this nation, and that He use this whole situation to bring glory to Himself.  Also pray that Hungarians--and people where you live, too!--will find hope and peace of mind in the Lord.

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UPDATE (April 15, 2009)

Please continue to pray for Hungary and for the leadership and people here.  I saw in the news this morning that a new prime minister, Mr. Gordon Bajnai,  is now in place.  He is promising to implement tough austerity measures to deal with the current economic crisis, saying that things will get worse before they get better.  Demonstrators have been demanding that Parliament be dissolved and a new election held.  If you're interested in reading more about the situation, here's a link to an article in English:  Protests as Hungary's PM sworn in  (BBC News)

Health fair tomorrow (Updated Apr 15)

Tomorrow morning (quite early!) Gary and I will be heading out for Budapest to observe/assist at a health fair outreach project sponsored by the Jozsef utca Baptist Church (pronounced YO-zhef ootsa, meaning "Joseph Street" in English.)  It is being held there on the church property by Hungarian Baptist doctors who want to do something to minister using their skills and experience as medical professionals. They'll be doing check-ups, consultations, and giving presentations on the health of mind, body and soul.  There will also be a blood donation drive.

Some of you know that when Gary and I worked in Romania we did a lot of work with American medical volunteer teams, and saw how fantastic it was to be able to help the people and show the love of God in such a needed way.  Many times it also opened up the opportunity to share more about the Lord, to invite the people to Bible studies, church, etc.  Here in Hungary it's not legal to bring in outside doctors to do medical work, so seeing the national doctors doing this is very exciting and encouraging to us.  Tomorrow we want to see how they put together their project and talk to them about possibilities for partnering with them in similar work here in eastern Hungary; they said that they would be happy for us to help them, also, so we will be doing blood pressure readings and whatever else we can do as non-doctors. 

When I talked to the organizing doctor this week, I asked her how we could be praying for them and the project....she said to please pray that the people will come, but not so many that the available doctors will be overwhelmed and not able to serve them.  Pray that the Lord will use this to help people both physically and spiritually, as they see believers reaching out to them in love, asking nothing in return.

If I can I'll get some pictures to post so you can see how it went.

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UPDATE (April 15, 2009)

Thank you for praying for the health fair--it was terrific!  When we arrived we soon realized that the church had organized and planned very well, and had great support from their members.  Volunteers had also come from other churches.  People were stationed everywhere to greet and to guide the visitors; a sign-in table was set up to register patients and to schedule them with the various doctors; nice, professional-looking signs were posted all over the church premises to show which way to go to the different services. We had thought they might need us to help, but they really didn't.  This didn't disappoint us at all--we were thrilled to see the people working together and reaching out to their community, not depending on outsiders such as ourselves.  We decided to just observe and learn from how they did it, and to serve by praying for the church and the people who came to see the doctors.  It was awesome to see the Lord using this event--within the first ten minutes of opening their doors, I saw for myself what this kind of project can do beyond the basic benefit of providing health services.  Several ladies from the community were talking in the foyer, and when I greeted them they asked me if it would be OK for them to come to the church (I assured them they would be very welcome!)  They said that all the people they were meeting there were very friendly, and that they liked the atmosphere of warmth and helpfulness they were feeling.  They said that before that morning they hadn't even known the church was there in their area.  Praise the Lord for how He works, and for the faithfulness of His people!

As it turned out, we were able to help some after all in an unexpected way.  The church had set up a display of Christian books, postcards, etc., to offer for sale to people as they came.  (Churches in Hungary often do this, as there are very few Christian bookstores.)  The lady who was manning this booth wanted to see some of the doctors to check out some issues she was having, so she asked if we would stand in for her while she was gone.  We were able to spend most of the morning there at the table, which was just inside the front door of the church, and had the opportunity to talk with many of the people as they came and went; the lady responsible for the booth was also pleased that we made quite a few sales.  I laughingly told her that people were attracted to the booth because they wanted to hear the foreigners trying to speak their language! 

Volunteers registering people to see the doctors; everything was
carefully planned, and carried out in a warm and friendly way