June Ministry Update
June 09, 2016
Proclaiming Jesus in Bogács


Above: Kids cooling off at the local well in Bogács

One of the families we have had opportunity to consistently visit weekly in the town of Bogács is Edit’s household. Edit’s daughter Kati was baptized in February.

Above: Kati’s baptism in February
Every week, I take a print out of a Bible story that we read gathered around Edit’s kitchen table. Edit’s daughter Kati began taking these print outs to an friend named Angela and discussing with her the things she had been learning from God’s word. This led to our first opportunity to meet Angela personally a few weeks ago. We praise God for a new opportunity with a new family! As we made our way up the steep stone path, Angela had a look of joy and quietly said, "You came here for me?"

Above: Angela and Kati
When I enter a new home it is my habit to ask if there is any need for prayer for healing based on principles I learned from Jesus in Luke 10:8-9. Angela told me that she had been suffering from pain in her leg for the past year. She was constantly taking pain medication (which she said she couldn’t afford) and the pain radiated from her hip. I asked, "Is it painful now?" She looked at me as if I were joking. "Yes, of course I'm in pain."
I began to tell her about Jesus and His ministry and asked if I could pray for her in Jesus' name. I had her put her hand on the area of her hip that was in pain and placed my hand upon hers and told the pain to leave and the leg to be healed in Jesus' name. Removing my hand, I said, "Get up." She said, "You mean right now?" "Yes, get up and walk. Is there any pain now?" Looking at Kati and Edit, Angela began walking and moving and said in a bit of shock, "There's no pain. It's gone!" I told her to keep walking around a bit and she continued without pain. Edit said to Angela, "Did you feel heat in your leg?" (This is common in these type of healings) Angela replied, "Yes, heat and something like tingling” Angela was in a bit of shock.
As I got know Angela better, it became clear that she has also been visited by a sect for more than five years. This sect misuses the Bible and preaches a false Gospel. Angela shared that they told her that if she were to begin listening to me that she would become confused. This was exactly the same scenario I had been in with Edit when we first began to meet. Edit was also involved with the same sect before she began meeting with us and studying God’s word. Like Edit in the beginning, Angela didn't know who to believe. She didn’t know if she was supposed to cut ties with this sect and continue to meet with me or vise versa. But since I came with healing in Jesus' name, Angela was able to experience the grace and power of God personally. Jesus taught us in John 15:26-27
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning."
Jesus says the Holy Spirit “will bear witness” about Jesus and Jesus says, “you also will bear witness”. We bear witness about Jesus as we proclaim His good news, and the Holy Spirit also bears witness to confirm that what we are proclaiming is true. The Holy Spirit was touching Angela with healing as I proclaimed that Jesus is alive.
After witnessing this healing, Edit (who now confidently rejects the same sect that Angela is still involved with) commented, "Angela, after all the years you have been taught by 'them' did anything good come out of it?" Angela thought for a moment and replied, “No".
The following week, we were invited back to Angela’s house. Unfortunately, one day after experiencing healing, Angela’s pain returned to her leg and she once again had trouble sleeping and walking. I was able to talk to Angela a bit more about faith in Jesus and also about matters of fear, negative thoughts and the schemes of the enemy. After explaining these things, I asked if I could pray again. After a short prayer, the pain was gone and we were able to hold our Bible study.

Now, the following (third) week, we were once again invited to Angela’s home. This time, Angela greeted us with a big smile. Her countenance had completely changed. After asking about her leg, she told me that this time the pain was completely gone and did not return. This is after being in constant pain for one year! Since we last visited and she experienced healing in Jesus' name, she no longer had to take pain medication and could finally sleep at night which she shared with us with great joy. Praise God for pouring out mercy and touching Angela that she may experience physical deliverance from pain. Because of Angela's personal experience of being touched by Jesus, I was able to speak more about our spiritual need and about Jesus’ power to do a greater work of cleansing us from sin and restoring our relationship with God. It seems clear to Angela now that she must cut ties with the sect that has been visiting for the past five years.
Please pray for Angela and her household to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that she may have wisdom to handle cutting ties with the sect she had been involved with for so many years. Pray for God to continue to lead us to more households in Bogács and for more open doors to proclaim the Gospel. Pray for the growth of those who have already professed faith in Jesus, Puljka and his daughter Izabella, Edit and her daughter Kati, Robi and his wife Erika.
Petofibanya

Above: A view from one of the mountains behind our hometown of Petofibanya.

Above: Teammates Roger and Tom helped Hungarian partner in ministry Pisti coach a baseball team from the local pubic school in Petofibanya. This sport is gaining popularity in Hungary and has been a great way to bless the kids in our community. This is one in many ways that we seek to have continued Christian witness and influence in these kids’ lives throughout the year. Many from the team have already come to know us as they’ve attended our Vacation Bible School, or English Club or various children’s ministries throughout the years.


Above: As the summer months approach various villages including our own have festivals and community gatherings that where we are invited to help. We usually have teams face painting, giving out balloons and interacting with the community. This is also a great time to get the word out about our Vacation Bible School coming up at the end of June. We already have over 80 kids registered!

Above: Zsófi helping out with facepainting. After attending VBS for years, Zsófi was later saved at one of our teen camps a number of years ago and had since traveled to Ireland and spent a few years there. It was great to keep tabs on her and see that she continued to grow in her faith in Christ. She is now back with us in Hungary and serving with us!



Vacation Bible School June 27th!

Above: Our weekly meeting includes a first hour of fellowship and prayer and then we get to work on preparing the various materials needed for this year’s Vacation Bible School.

Above: Józsi and Mónika (left) talking with Edit (right). This photo is a testimony of how God has used the VBS in Petofibanya not only to bless children with the Gospel, but to reach parents and grandparents! It was just last year that Józsi and Mónika heard their kids returning home from VBS each day, telling stories and full of joy. It was just last year that Józsi and Mónika attended on the last day of VBS for our open house and heard testimonies of how various members were saved by Jesus. It was through their kids and through the testimonies on that day that Jesus drew them to Himself and they were later saved and baptized into Christ.
Edit, who attended VBS with her grandkids (because they were too young to attend without a family member) has a similar story. She experienced the love of God at VBS and through the various stories and teaching we brought each day, she came to understand the Gospel and was saved and baptized into Christ. Now Edit, Józsi and Mónika, along with others who were just saved last year, are serving together with us to share Jesus with the children and other parents in the community in our VBS.
Please pray for our Vacation Bible School. Pray that it powerfully proclaim the Gospel and express the love of God in such a way that draws entire families to Jesus Christ! Pray for the various church members and their families who are volunteering. It is in these times that we often experience various attacks to distract or derail our ability to carry out this camp. Pray for protection for all of us and that God would continue to impact especially parents’ (and grandparents’) hearts as they attend on the last day! Pray also for the facilities as they are still in the process of being renovated and are still not finished (camp is just over 2 weeks away).
Every year, our Vacation Bible School involves extra finances that go toward various supplies needed from teaching aides, to props for our drama, to games and crafts and so on. If you would like to give a gift toward helping in this area, please contact me via email by clicking here.

Above: Pioneeers Hungary team members Roger and Heidi, Tom, Allen, Sharon and Brenda.
We appreciate your continued partnership in Hungary! There are going to be so many great opportunities this summer and more stories to come of how Jesus continues to seek and save the lost. Thanks for journeying with us!

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