Summer camp season begins!

Above: Our youngest and oldest daughter Ziva and Ellie. Not too long before Ziva catches up in height! Both of them served as translators at camp.

Above: Our daughter Kira with our new teammates Morgan and Adilene. Morgan just arrived to Hungary and will be serving with us throughout the summer and Adilene has already been with us a few months and will finish her time with us after summer. We're so thankful that they answered God's calling on their lives to take a step of faith and venture out to serve in Hungary.

This past week we served together in English Camp for younger children at our local middle school where our teammate Roger (below with mic) teaches Bible classes.





Above: On the first day, it was clear that first time camper Zalán was afraid and anxious as kids were checking in. Teammate Heidi was quick to come over to comfort him and help him ease into the new environment. It didn't take long for Zalán to fit right in and enjoy being there each day.









The children would rotate through different classes like grammar, science and art class. They had fun with various team building projects and problem solving.








Above: Each day we finished with someone sharing their personal testimony as to how they met Jesus Christ. It was great to hear the variety of ways that God sought them out and revealed his love and presence to each one.




Above: We finished our week with an afternoon full of water games.


Above: The 7th graders from last year enjoyed the camp so much that they asked to return this year even though there were no plans for 8th graders to be allowed to come. Sándor (pictured above left) was one of those kids. On the last day, Kira had an opportunity to share with Sándor how God has been changing her and invited him to come to the youth group meeting that was being held that same night. Sándor attended and we hope that he will now come on a regular basis to learn more about life in Christ.


Above: I had a great time playing soccer with Zalán at free time each day. He told me he'd be coming to our Bible camp that is just over three weeks away. Pray for these younger children to come to faith in Jesus at a young age.





Above: On Saturday, the parents were invited to camp for closing ceremonies.



Above: While outside for snack time with the kids, I was able to speak with Vivi’s mother (above), telling her what a great job her daughter did saying her memory verse. Her mother told me how much Vivi loves going to our camps and how there aren’t many opportunities in the area to practice english with native speakers. God opened up a door to share a bit of my testimony about how God called me to Hungary. I often see people nodding their head with understanding when I share about the emptiness I experienced before knowing Jesus, even though I had reached all my worldly goals. The majority of kids that go to our camps come from unbelieving families that do not attend church. We know that we, the believers in Jesus are the body of Christ and we bring the ‘church’ to them. These camps and the topics we talk about are a great bridge builder to help them taste and see that the Lord is good. They can all hear the invitation that we heard in our own lives to return to God through Christ and begin a new life of faith in Him as a beloved child of God.







Above: Praise God for the team from the US that came to serve. Szabi wanted to present them with a surprise Hungarian gift, a face painted flag of Hungary before finishing camp.

This camp was a great way to kick off our summer camp season and we’ll be continuing to spend time with many of the younger kids who will also attend our VBS camp next month. Praise God for providing a capable and joyous team that served in unity and blessed these kids. Praise God for great weather throughout the week to be outside and for protection from major injuries and sicknesses. We trust that many seeds were planted in these kids hearts and ask you to continue to pray for them to personally encounter Jesus Christ and understand and believe the gospel this summer.



We ask you to pray as we'll be beginning our next English camp for teens and young adults in the town of Lakitelek on Saturday! Thank you for partnering with us as we seek to share the love and truth of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ to a new generation of Hungarians.

Here are some highlight films from last weeks camp.