Kallo

Erdotarcsa

We found out from the teachers after the show that this preschool decided to come back from Easter break just for our puppet show. Even with this being an optional day for the kids, it looked like most of the kids attended and were able to hear the Good News.
















Above: The kids are always excited to receive the Easter family workbook and CD after the show. We often hear kids tell us that they listen to the CDs which gives us confidence that the true message is being repeated throughout the year.

The kids were very attentive and the show went well without technical problems. While setting up, I found one of the bulbs in our stage lights was broken. I was thankful that God sustained these lights over the past three weeks without any issues. With all the various equipment involved from the stage to puppets to sound and lights, we give thanks to God for making it all work for His glory!

Early Tuesday morning we set out to the town of Gyöngyösoroszi which is a good half hour away from our hometown. After my God took care of my vehicle’s engine problem a few days ago, the engine light once again appeared. In my heart, I just turned to God, confident that this was His car and confident that He heard my request to deal with this in His power. I’m glad to report that soon after, the engine began working at full power and God has been faithful to protect us as we travel all over Northeaster Hungary in this ministry.

The team is healthy and continues to give it their all in each show even though they are feeling the fatigue from these three weeks of ministry. We appreciate all of you that have been a large part of how smoothly this season’s puppet ministry went as you stood with us in prayer!

The following photos will give you an overview of the places we’ve been on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Gyöngyösoroszi

Rozsaszentmarton

As many of you know, through many years we attempted to get into Rozsaszentmarton (an area we are churchplanting) with our puppet show with now success. Just last year, God opened the door, and we held a Christmas Puppet Show that resulted in our team being invited back! This is the town where one of our teammates and church elder Dezso lives with his family. It is the middle school where our kids also attend. Teammate Erika commented that she was almost in tears as she peered out and saw teachers and students joining us in singing this years songs. Although the enemy sought to gate-out the coming kingdom of God, Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18)






Above: Even though the show is geared toward the younger classes, Ben’s class was able to stay for the show as well.






Above: Our daughter Ellie (green jacket) with Adrien, daughter of teammate Dezso.






Above: Illustrating how God came in the flesh and broke our bondage to sin by taking it upon Himself and dying in our place to redeem us.

Pásztó

Above: Our third and final show on Tuesday is a special needs school in Pásztó. Teammate Erika (above, blond hair) previously taught at this school and was able to connect with former students and co-workers.




Above: Miki and Erika’ son Bence getting hands on training. Bence had a blast taking part behind the scenes of our puppet show.

Wednesday Csécse

Szurdokpüspöki

Vanyarc

Above: Just had to pull over and take some shots of these yellow fields that can be seen this time of year throughout our county. Such a contrast to the gloomy dark winters of Hungary. Praise God for such great weather and scenery.

Tomorrow we have some of our final shows while most schools are beginning spring break. After tomorrow, we’ll have one more show next week to conclude our Easter Puppet Ministry of 2014. Thanks for you’re continued prayers for this ministry of the Gospel!

Saturday in Gyöngyös

Saturday afternoon, our team traveled to Gyöngyös for a show in their community center. Since this show wasn’t on a school day, we had many parents who attended and heard the Good News of our Savior’s Resurrection.

Monday Szirák Middle School

Above: In each middle school we go into the Gospel a bit more in depth. It has been very effective having one person represent fallen man and another represent Jesus coming to save. Here, Allen (representing Jesus) is taking sin upon himself to set fallen man free. Erika shares that Jesus has done everything to break the bondage of sin and separation from God but it remains our choice to believe and by faith follow after Him.

Kisbágyon

Szirák Preschool

Above: Eniko and Brenda (Eszti in background) helping lug all the stage equipment into our third show for Monday. Each team member gives their all and it’s great to serve with those who do it with the joy that they have in Jesus.










Above: As you can see, the kids were mesmerized by the show and afterward they were able to answer the basic questions Miki had for the preschoolers about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We’re in our home stretch of this year’s Easter puppet outreach and continue to ask you to pray for us. Pray for God “to enable [us] to live a life worthy of his call. May he give [us] the power to accomplish all the good things [our] faith prompts [us] to do. (2 Thess 1:11) Thank you all for continuing to minister with us through prayer!

Héhalom

Egyházasdengeleg

Petofibánya Preschool

Above: Sharon and Ziva coming for today’s show in our hometown of Petofibanya. This is the preschool Ziva will be attending in the future.

Petofibánya Middle School

Above: Edit (purple shirt), the teacher who was recently saved and continues to teach in Petofibanya’s public school, served with us today by sharing the Gospel after our puppet show. Teammate Jennifer spoke in German (a language that is taught in this middle school) and Edit translated. What an amazing change God is bringing! How great to see Edit openly sharing the Gospel to her students and co-workers! Praise Him.

Apc Preschool

Above: Even though Apc is a town that neighbors our hometown of Petofibanya, this is the first time we’ve been able to serve in their preschool. We had a very warm reception from the teachers and the children enjoyed the show. In other preschools that we have been visiting the past few years, the children are very quick to answer Miki when asking about the meaning of Easter. This preschool struggled to answer, giving more secular responses about bunnies and other cultural practices. As we plan to continually visit this preschool in Apc, we look forward to these children also coming to clearly know about Jesus, His death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead.








Above: The children’s expressions and reactions during the show are great to watch!




Above: Jennifer is the daughter of Vivi who is a mother recently saved in the Apc small group held each week. Vivi also just gave birth to her second child, Robi. Her pregnancy has been full of challenges and each time we turned to God in prayer, He answered. After her second child was born on April 1st, he was diagnosed with a blood infection. After praying her son swiftly recovered and mother and child are now both home.

Hatvan

Above: Our second stop today was in the town of Hatvan in a school helping those with various types of disabled children and young adults.

Bogács

After a few hours off in the afternoon, we headed back out to the town of Bogács. Our desire was to have the show outside in the families yard which would attract more neighbors but because of rain, we had to move inside. This is the Romani family that we visit weekly for a Bible study and they graciously made room for our puppet stage in their bedroom.















The family was very thankful for our visit and after the show, the father of the family gave testimony as to how Jesus has been changing his life and has brought peace to his marriage. He said he was sure that if he had not met Jesus, his wife would have left by now and he would most likely be dead. He told us that his door is always open to us and he wants to continue growing in his faith. Praise God for His work in Bogács.

Thank you for your prayers for teammate Eszti and her children. Eszti’s is recovering along with her children. Please continue to pray for complete healing.

The secondary team members did a great job for their first day of puppeteering as they rotated in and took over the roles of other members. There are various transitions and props that take some practice to handle properly in the show and everything went well.

My car’s turbo did not function the entire day, however on the way back from our third show I believe it has begun to function again! Please continue to pray for it to be fully restored.

Praise God for sustaining the team with His strength and providing so that all the equipment has been working flawlessly. Praise Him that the Gospel is being sown abundantly among teachers and children.

Jobbágyi

Above: Such an opportune time! Where else is the Gospel able to be freely proclaimed in public schools. We don’t know how long this door will be open in Hungary, but we praise God for sharing His truth with these children in this way. It’s amazing to see auditoriums filled and teachers commenting on how the kids were waiting with expectancy for the Easter show.




Teammate Erika did an excellent job sharing the Gospel with the middle school kids after the puppet show. Often with larger crowds it is more difficult to keep the kids attention and there is often lots of chatter and distraction. God was gracious in helping this group of kids pay close attention. They were very well behaved and attentive!

Szarvasgede

After today’s show in Szarvasgede, the headmaster of the preschool spent some time with us in the teachers’s lounge. She commented on how much she enjoyed the shows each year and asked if there were any way for us to come with even more before Christmas. Unfortunately, because of our schedule and the various ministries in the summer in our local area we told her we just did not have the capacity. Before leaving, I was also able to pray for her for healing of some neck problems she was experiencing. We thank God for each opportunity we are privileged to serve as His ambassadors and plant seeds of the Good News throughout northeastern Hungary.

As we are closing in on our midpoint of this outreach, our second team members will be serving starting tomorrow. One of them, Eszti is fighting sickness right now. Also, two of her children came down with sickness over the past few days. Please pray for Eszti and her family as she begins serving with us.

Last night, teammate Erika reported that her daughter Anna woke up screaming and in pain. Apparently she was suffering from a leg cramp. Obviously, this disrupted their families rest last night. As I mentioned in my last blog post, please don’t forget to pray for the families of those who are serving in this ministry as they are often attacked by the enemy while we serve in this outreach.

Yesterday, the engine light came on and the turbo (it’s a diesel engine) isn’t working properly. This happened before (months ago) and God remedied the situation. Please pray that He would do it again! The vehicle could use the extra ‘umph’ traveling up and down back roads and passing tractors:)

Bér

Above: Today we only had one show in the small village of Bér. The middle school children walked over and joined the preschoolers for today’s show. It was great to hear their basic knowledge of Easter, responding to Miki’s questions with Biblical truths like, “Jesus died on the cross for our sins” and “Jesus rose from the dead.”


Above: Singing one of our theme songs this year about the loving heart of God toward us.












Above: After the show, we took the advice of one of the preschool teachers to check out a local farm that was open to the public. As you can see below, there were animals roaming around unrestrained. The lama tried to make his way into our vehicle, be we have enough people on our team this year. Maybe next year. The owner approached our vehicle and we explained what we were doing there. Teammate Erika asked, “Does the lama bite?” He responded, “No, he only spits sometimes.”



As you can see in the photos, the weather is beautiful which makes traveling much easier. The team is working well together and all of the shows are going well. We appreciate your continued prayer as we continue over the next two weeks sharing the Gospel through this ministry! Please don’t forget to pray for the children of teammates that are often targeted by the enemy as we go out to minister.

Jászberény

(School for those with developmental disabilities)

Above: Szabi, a young man that I believe to be demon-oppressed uncontrollably abuses his own body and often needs to be restrained by his teacher pictured with him. She told me after the show that he has improved a bit because of more treatment. She said that this is the only event they can take Szabi to view. He was able to watch the whole show without any outbursts. She was amazed.

This teacher also allowed me to enter her classroom (as I did last year) and pray for Szabi. Afterwards, in our conversation, she told me that there is not any hope except for hope in God. Because of the classroom setting, I was not able to pray in depth with Szabi, but I was thankful for whatever I could do in prayer.

After the show, the team was invited to have traditional fruit soup in the teacher’s lounge. One of the teachers joined us and shared many of the hardships and challenges of their school as they try to help these kids with developmental disabilities. As we stood up to leave, I asked her if there was any way in which I could pray for her personally. She then tilted her head down, and beginning to tear up she said,”My brother just died a few weeks ago.” With my hand on her shoulder, I asked the Lord for comfort and help for Gyöngyi (June-Jee). She was very appreciative of the prayer and commented on how much the puppet show was a blessing. Teammate Erika then spoke some more about God with her and was given her email address for further correspondence. We’re thankful for this open door to minister to a person mourning and with little hope. Please pray for Gyöngyi to see the light of Christ and find restoration and a new life through faith in Him.



Above: After each show, the children each receive an evangelistic workbook that has various stories, puzzles and games related to the Easter puppet show. The book, “Five Crucial Questions about Christianity” is distributed to teachers that attend. Please pray that these seeds of the Gospel will take root and flourish in the hearts of many.

We praise God for the puppet ministry running smoothly and for the opportunities we had today to share God’s Gospel and His love. Jennifer and Erika are now both well (praise God for healing). Allen woke up sick with a sore throat at 4a.m. last night but after prayer the pain left and he was able to go back to sleep. As a reminder, much of our physical restoration depends on a good night’s sleep which means each team member’s family also sleeping well. Please continue to lift us up in prayer so that we are best equipped to fulfill our calling in this ministry with the Lord’s abundant provisions.

Heréd

Above: Jennifer (left) teaching for the first day. Jennifer shared the Gospel in German while Edit translated into Hungarian. Many students in hungary study either English or German as a second language.

Selyp

Above: Edit who served with us today was recently saved and baptized in our church in Petofibanya. She has a deep love for Jesus and her life has clearly become new since trusting in Him. Edit is a prominent teacher in our hometown and has many opportunities to share her faith each day.








Above: Mary encountering Jesus after His resurrection from the dead.


We were thankful for the warm welcome from both schools today. The children were very attentive and the equipment worked well. Please pray for complete healing for Eniko (back), Jennifer (cold) and Erika (cold). We also appreciate your prayers for us for physical rest and restoration for a new day tomorrow.

Rozsaszentmarton

Today’s schedule is light as we only had one show in the neighboring town of Rozsaszentmarton. Although previously this town had been ‘closed’ for years and did not allow us to present our puppet show, God recently opened the door to the middle school, retirement home and preschool! One of the workers in the preschool Kriszti was saved last year after attending a series of Bible studies at teammate Dezso’s house. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be with us today as she is recovering from surgery for a brain tumor. Please pray for Kriszti’s complete healing!

After this morning’s show, on the very back road that join our village with Rozsaszentmarton there was a serious accident which lead to it’s closing. We appreciate your continued prayers for safety while traveling and praise God for sustaining us.























Praise God that all the stage/puppet equipment is working well and the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed. Please continue to pray for healing for Jennifer and for God’s strength and wisdom as she teaches for the first time tomorrow.

Tonight, I’ll be heading out to Bogács for our weekly Bible study. Teammate Brenda and I would appreciate your prayers for our interactions with our friends in Bogács tonight. We hope to continue to bless them and equip them keeping their hearts fixed on Jesus.