BOGACS UPDATE

As I entered the last stretch of road before Bogács, I couldn't resist pulling over and snapping a few shots of the surrounding landscape.







I headed straight to Gyuszi's house, this time only to be greeted by his dog in the driveway. Entering the front door, I greeted his wife Melinda who held her young daughter Catherine by her side. Gyüszi would arrive a few minutes later which gave me some time to catch up with Melinda. I asked about her past religious experience. She shared that she attended religious classes in school and even went to mass as a young girl. Since then she has stopped and is very busy raising two kids. When I asked her if she had any more thoughts about God over the past week, she said she prayed sometimes and to my surprise added, "Gyüszi is taking this more seriously than I am now. He is talking about God more and even corrected me a few times when I was using bad language." When Gyüszi arrived, I began to see what Melinda was talking about. I guess the only way I can describe it is by saying I see signs of his faith in God growing.



Above: Some kids asked me to take their picture while walking through Bogács

It appeared as if there wouldn't be anyone coming to the study tonight because of a family celebration at another house. Gyüszi told me that his sister Babi had been asking about me for the past three days and we decided to walk across the village to her house. I sat next to Babi for the next 45 minutes asking her how she was doing and how I could pray. Through our conversation, it became clear that Babi believed that God could be punishing her for a sin that she had already repented of in the past. This gave me an opportunity to go over a few passages in Scripture about how the Father cleanses us and forgives us after we confess our sins according to His faithfulness and because of the finished work on the cross. I explained that Jesus Christ took the punishment for her sins on the cross and that Jesus' finished work sets us free from the condemnation we deserve. (1 John 1:9, Isa 53) I encouraged her to discern the accusing voice that she was hearing through God's truth. God no longer accuses and condemns His children who have been justified in Christ. He instead cleanses, forgives and restores His children in His faithfulness. Please pray for Babi to accept and believe this core truth of the Gospel and to gain discernment from God's Spirit to defend herself from the destructive deceptions of the enemy. Praise God that Babi continues to be free of pain that she had in her eye, but her healing is not complete! Please join me in praying for a miracle, that Babi would be able to use her eye again and be completely healed by Jesus from this burden of sickness.

After spending those 45 minutes face to face with Babi, I turned to see a room that had now filled up with guys asking if we could start tonight's Bible study! We read excerpts from the first few chapters of Exodus, seeing the oppression of God's people and the call of Moses to deliver them. Gyüszi was very active in making good observations and was excited to read God's word. He observed God's love for children and how God was pleased with the Hebrew midwifes that did not kill the Hebrew baby boys according to Pharaoh's edict. Gyuszi got especially excited when he realized that this reveals God's will about current issues. He said the Bible isn't just about what was happening then, but this shows how abortion and taking the life of babies today is wrong!



Above: When asked who will read out loud, the guys always elect Gyuszi to read the passage we are studying.



Gyuszi also observed how God saw the suffering of His people and responded to their prayers. "During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God." (Ex 2:23) He told me that he wants me to ask more people to pray for Him with great hope that God will also look down on His suffering and help.

After the study, I walked back with Gyüszi to my car parked at his house. Gyüszi invited me in, but I said I should be getting home. Then he said, "Could you just come in to pray for me and my wife before you go." With a smile I said, "Of course." Gyüszi put his wife's hand in my right hand while he grabbed hold of my left hand and bowed his head as we stood in front of his small wood burning oven that heats his home. That was a special moment, standing with this young couple and entering the Father's presence with them grasping my hands. Would you also feel their hands reaching out for yours and pray for Gyüszi and Melinda? Please pray specifically that their two children would not be taken away from them by social workers because of their current living situation. Pray that Gyüszi could find a way to refinance his house that has been taken away. Pray also that their kids Boxi and Catherine would be healed of sickness. Pray for their entire household to come to know Jesus as Deliverer, Savior and Lord of their lives.

PUPPET MINISTRY DAY 2

Above: On Tuesday, our first destination was the town of Jóbággyi. Past years in this area have been difficult as the acoustics in the gym aren’t great and the kids have been rowdy. This group of kids however were great! We had no issues with talking while the Puppet Show was being presented and the kids were very engaged.



Above: At the part of our show where Mary is distraught at Jesus’ death and the Risen Jesus appears to her, a kid in the front row blurted out in excitement, “Look it’s Jesus!”







Above: Distributing evangelistic gift packets for kids and teachers after the show.



Above: Our second stop on Tuesday was in the small town of Bér. This tucked away village has a population of less than 500.





Leaving Bér to head home, Miki began to experience problems with his car. Later I met him at the mechanic to take the rest of the team home. Apparently one of his shocks needed to be replaced. The roads we travel on are in pretty bad condition and are especially bad this time of year with the fluctuating weather increasing the number and the depth of potholes.

PUPPET MINISTRY DAY 3

With Miki’s car in the shop, Enikő’s husband Gabi offered Miki his car to use. As I waited for the team to arrive for prayer in the morning, Miki called letting me know that Gabi’s car also suddenly had an issue with the clutch and was unusable. Thankfully, I have a trailer into which we loaded our set and supplies and we all packed into one car. Please pray for these car issues to get worked out by God’s grace and that there would be no barriers to our traveling to these schools to share the true message of Easter.





Above: Our first destination for Wednesday was the neighboring town of Selyp.









Above: After Selyp, we hopped over to another neighboring village of Lőrinci for our second show for the day.





Above: We’ve been very thankful for the the kids’ attentiveness while Erika teaches after the Puppet Show. In a simple way, she is able to explain the Gospel. May these seeds take root and flourish in a new generation of Hungarians!





Above: Our third and final show for the day was in the town of Nagykökényes. We praise God that every aspect of the show has been going well and we have had no technical problems. The team is healthy. God has protected us as we travel and we are received with kindness at each destination. God has helped Ziva sleep better over the last two nights and the team has also been resting well. Thank you all for your prayer support! Tomorrow we’re off to day 4 of Easter Puppet Ministry.