God who never changes

Above: Beautiful sunset on the way to a neighboring village in our area.

Sharon’s trip to the U.S.

At the end of December I had the great privilege of returning to Delaware to walk alongside my longtime friend Karen Douglas after the death of her husband Matt. How great is God that he gives us lifelong friends that we can both celebrate and grieve together.

Above: Fun time together with Matt and Karen in 2011

Matt’s passing was not unexpected, though it is always a bit of a shock. It was such a testimony to me to see how many people Matt and Karen’s lives have touched.



Karen shared at the funeral how early-on when Matt fell one time and Karen could not help him up, he decided that he would ask for help—not just for that one occasion—but for their lives. Instead of hiding in fear and shame, they would ask for help and allow themselves to be embraced by those who would care for them.

The beautiful result was seen on the day of Matt’s Celebration of Life when several hundred people streamed in the doors of the church. Countless people gave testimony to the impact that Matt’s life had on their own lives. And this is what Christ can do with us when we humble ourselves and allow Christ to use us in all of our brokenness—he cares for us and he lifts others up. He builds and strengthens his church.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Trading places

A few days after Sharon returned from the U.S., I was off to the U.S. to spend some time with my mom who has been suffering with various health concerns that needed attention. Some of you may have been surprised to see me at Brandywine Valley Church, and even more surprised, seeing my mom with me. My mom is not a believer yet, but has opened up a bit more since my dad passed away last year. We would appreciate your prayers for her as she is still processing the grief and abundant change over the past year.

Above: Visiting my dad's gravesite with mom.

Játszóház (Children's Playhouse)

In the cold winter months where there isn't much to do on weekends for kids, we continue to hold our Children's Playhouse (Játszóház) ministry to keep building relationships with kids and parents that have attended our summer Bible camps.







As you can see from the pics above, our Bible lesson was about the spies who returned with fear instead of faith to enter the land God promised to Israel. The majority of these kids are from families that are 'unchurched' and have yet to come to faith in Jesus. These are great opportunities to share life changing lessons from God's word and plant seeds that we trust God can cause to grow in their hearts.

Children's Day in Jászfényszaru

Just 15 miles south of our village is the town of Jászfényszaru. In the past we had the beginning of a church planting work that never took shape. However, we do have church members that live in that town that continue to grow and be light in their community. One of our church members works at Jászfényszaru's preschool and we were invited to help with a Children's Day event.


Above: Many of these kids already know our teammate "Miki bácsi" (Uncle Miki) because we also come to this preschool every Easter and Christmas for our puppet ministry.






Please pray that God would make the way for church plants in towns like Jászfényszaru and send workers to the harvest field.

Romani in Bogács

Above: Greeted by this pig as I pull my car into for a visit.

God has been gracious to keep the door open to visiting a Romani family in the village of Bogács (about an hour commute east of our hometown). Erno (pictured above) has joined me a few times which gives us a good time to connect in the long car ride. Erno joined our church a few years back after escaping Ukraine just before the war broke out. He and his family have been a treasure to our church and they are thriving in Hungary and plan to stay. Erno has found various ways of using his giftings in our church community and I'm thankful for his help in Bogács.

Above: Maci's daughter Szimonetta is always full of joy.

Bridge-building Small Group

Our partners in ministry, Miki and Erika have had a vision for years about inviting parents who send their kids to VBS to a bridge-building evangelistic small group. In February invitations were sent out to various contacts, and praise God for those that responded and attended this small group.







We gathered around and watched a few short video clips that led into discussions about the world we live in and the inner dissatisfaction with the ways things are in our everyday experience. We then transitioned into reading the story of the woman at the well encountering Jesus who offered her living water. After having pizza together, we ended the night playing a game that encourages conversation about deeper questions in life. We hope to continue this bridge-building ministry to parents over the next few months and ask that you pray for spiritual breakthrough in the hearts of those who continue to be lost in this world without hope.

Unexpected opportunity

Above: Pioneers Europe Missions Conference in Hungary.

Recently, I was tasked at a recent Pioneers Europe mission’s conference to take photos throughout the day. Soon after arriving, a long time Hungarian friend said to me, “Allen, there is a woman here from Indonesia who has a Muslim background. She has had dreams about Jesus. Would you like to talk to her.”

Yes, yes and yes!!! The next moment I was being introduced to -let’s call her- Dianne (to protect her identity). Apparently, Dianne had lived some time in Hungary with her Hungarian husband. Some of her Indonesian friends had invited her to attend the conference. I sat down and asked her about her experience with Jesus. Dianne told me, “I am Muslim. But after hearing about Jesus, I had asked him sincerely years ago, "If you are truly real please give me a child.” Dianne shared how she was amazed that after that prayer Jesus answered. She said that after that miracle, she went back to just living without paying attention to Jesus. Then she turned to him again in prayer and asked for another child and He gave her a second child. She shared that there were times when her daughter was terribly sick and she prayed in the name of Jesus and to her amazement, her child was healed. Then Dianne shared a dream that she had. Jesus was in glorious white descending from heaven with clouds under his feet. All people were bowed down to him.

I shared that God has revealed to us in His word that Jesus is Lord and that every tribe, people, and nation will bow to Him. I then had some time to read to her from the book of John and talked about our need to believe in Jesus as the one and only way to the Father. As I continued to share the gospel, Dianne said, "But I have sinned. What can I do?"

When talking about the amazing work of grace of Jesus the Son of God taking the burden of our sin and paying the price of death in our place, Dianne began weeping. Later Dianne shared with me that she believed she had an evil spirit. In her country, witch doctors had appointed a spirit to be her "protector". She began saying, “I’m afraid.” I told her she need not fear, Jesus was almighty and had authority over all spirits. “Would you like Jesus to set you free?” Dianne said, “Yes, but I’m afraid.” Apparently, this spirit was telling her that she would die if she drew any more nearer to Jesus. I explained to her that the enemy did not want her leaving the darkness behind. The enemy was doing all he could to lie and keep her trapped in fear. I told her that the truth was that Jesus was the only way to truly experience eternal life and life abundantly. I asked again if she would like to be free of this evil spirit. She said, "I don't have to go back to Indonesia to get rid of it?" Knowing the authority and power of Jesus, I smiled and said, "No, you don't need to. We can get rid of it right now." She agreed and we prayed. After praying together and calling out to Jesus, Dianne said, “My mind. It’s clear! It’s like there’s none of the fear or the thoughts that were filling it.” She was experiencing peace for the first time by God’s grace.

Jesus is graciously pursuing Dianne and I trust that the next chapter of her life will bring great glory to God. We were able to give Dianne a Bible and also a fellow Pioneer's contact (Val) to begin meeting with her to go through the book of John and learn more about this Jesus she has dreamed about and prayed to.

Two weeks later, I heard the good news that Dianne was able to meet with Val for three hours. Dianne also attended church and broke down weeping. Val asked what was going on and Dianne replied, "I feel like I have arrived home. I feel like the Father is saying to me that He'll be the Father I never had." Later in their time together Dianne asked, "How long does it have to be before I get baptized? I want to follow the way of Jesus." Dianne also wanted to know how soon it should be before she would tell her Muslim family members. Please pray for "Dianne" as she continues to meet with Val and attends a local church. Pray for her protection and for needed strength as she will face much resistance in her decision to put her faith in Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Pray for wisdom as she is seeking to be a faithful mother of her two children and that she may be the light of Christ to her husband who is not a believer.



Above: At the mission's conference we were also able to catch up with old friends that we had previously served with in Hungary in 2002. It was encouraging to hear about the open doors for Hungarians Jona and Orsi to be able to get into an area in the Middle East in partnership with a local fellowship to minister to factory workers in a poor community.

Emergency Room

Above: Gabi currently in rehabilitation protocol before being released.

Easter Puppet Ministry coming soon!

Above: Church members helping pack gift packets for teachers for this year's Easter Puppet ministry.

Family News

Above: Our youngest daughter Ziva (13) performing in a recent school celebration. Recent changes at Ziva's school have helped her to not be so burdened with anxiety in her life. We praise God for how well she has been doing and for her perseverance through some difficulties she has had over the past few years.





Ellie (left) continues to thrive at Moody Bible in Chicago finishing her junior year. She plans on doing an internship mission trip in Guatemala this summer. Kira (right) will be graduating from Black Forrest Academy and has plans to also attend Moody. Kira will be leaving in a few weeks on a short term trip with BFA to serve in the Dominican Republic. Many of you have helped over the years, sending gifts to help us pay for Kira's tuition. We are very grateful and praise God for the tremendous blessing this has been in her life. We do have one more upcoming quarterly tuition payment that we could use help with. You can find ways to send support by

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Our son Ben finds himself in a difficult dilemma in Hungary as recent laws have changed and he cannot get the same type of green-card we have for staying in Hungary indefinitely. Because of these changes he is considering returning to the U.S. this summer with us (when we go on furlough). He will be looking to start life in the U.S. finding a job and an apartment. This will be a big transition for him and we would appreciate your prayers for him that God may direct his steps.

Thanks for making it possible for us to serve long-term in Hungary. We greatly value your partnership, your prayers and support!

A white Christmas

Christmas Puppet Ministry Update

Above: In our puppet show, a grandfather shares the Christmas story with his granddaughter. In the story, wise men and also different animals like a camel and colt also share how they were privileged to meet Jesus the King of kings.

Above: Church member Zita (above), who served with us, was able to talk to some people organizing their Christmas event where she works. They invited us to present our show to the parents and children who would be attending a weekend Christmas gathering. God opened the door to not only be in public schools but also into this workplace!



Above: Children and parents at Zita’s workplace.



Above: Praise God for his protection as we traveled with a full car and a trailer through various weather conditions from snow, to fog, to winter slush and rain. Praise Him for sustaining us and giving each of us strength and healing when we struggled with sicknesses. Praise Him that all the equipment worked throughout each show and we were able to distribute over 1,800 evangelistic materials to kids and teachers.























Above: Years ago we were able to do our puppet show in the neighboring village of Rozsaszentmarton where our children have attended middle school. But, a principal there closed the door and did not invite us back. Just recently, this principal retired and a new principal allowed us to come again! This is an awesome open door! Currently, our youngest daughter Ziva (13) and our teammate’s daughter Naomi attend this school. Also, one of our church members, Janka, began teaching there this year. As our older daughters Kira and Ellie (above left) returned on Christmas break, they were able to visit the school with us and reconnect with teachers they had known for years. Janka shared that after the show, the principal had a meeting with the teachers to ask for feedback. All of them gave very positive comments, with one saying it was heartwarming. We hope to be able to come back at Easter.

Thank you for standing with us in this seed sowing ministry. We are praying for a new generation of Hungarians to be raised up as faithful followers of Christ. Here is a short film I put together of some highlights through the week.

Petofibánya Church Choir

We’re not professional by any means, but we had a wonderful group of younger and older church members come together to sing Christmas songs of praise to God for our community and for our Christmas worship service.









Above: Every year our choir visits the retirement home where church member Gizi lives. Gizi is a true servant at this retirement home and is a bright light to the elderly community there.

Christmas Events

Above: Youth group Christmas gathering. A fun night of singing, decorating ginger bread men and eating too much sugar.





Above: As a gift to families that attend the Mother’s of Preschooler’s ministry, I did family portraits. I was thankful to see new families that I had not seen last year.



Above: Sunday pizza party and Advent wreath creation.











Above: Church member Janko with a beautiful smile and a changed life. Just a few years ago, Janko was literally close to death, having a terrible problem with alcoholism and suffering the consequences of a marriage and family that was falling apart. Through the perseverance of his wife’s faithfulness, the prayers of the church and men like teammate Roger investing in Janko’s life, he is truly a changed man. Praise God who continues to do the impossible in raising the dead to life!



Above: Ben and his girlfriend Niki will be joining us on Christmas. We look forward to our entire family being together.

Our family wishes you a joyous Christmas full of the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” (Psalm 33:22)