Above: After a good nights rest, kids were ready to sing along in our morning meeting.



Above: Kira, Elianna and Anna using their musical giftings to help in this years VBS.



Above: Zsófi, who was saved after attending VBS camps in the past continues to mature in her faith and is serving as a teacher this year. Today, she taught on the parable of the lost sheep as we continue the theme of God’s grace.



Above: Ben posing as one of the lost sheep in part of Zsófi’s teaching. With pointed fingers and shouting, the kids tried their hardest to let Zsófi that he was right behind her.



Above: Roger playing the part of the pastor in today’s mini-skit.





Above: After our morning meeting, we break into small groups. You can see my group above which is composed of believers and unbelievers. We’ve had some interesting discussion about the meaning of life, the problem of death and Arnold was able to share his testimony today about why he put his faith in Jesus Christ.







Above: Free time is full of activity for the kids with ‘crate-climbing’, soccer, archery, badminton and the our local camp post-office where kids write and design cards to each other.











Above: Petofibánya’s mayor (far right) came out to visit today. She presented Mariann (center) with a pin to recognize her years of service as a social worker in our community.



Thank you for your continued prayers for our team and all the children attending. Some are starting to feel the physical drain and need strength for the new day tomorrow. Please pray for a great night’s rest and for our bodies to be restored to serve. We’ve had an issue for the past two days of not having the amount of food we would have liked to distribute to the kids for lunch. Please pray for God to multiply what is supplied to us and for all to be satisfied. Pray especially for Lilla, a camper who we’ve had trouble connecting with. Please continue to pray that the Gospel may be proclaimed clearly and that entire households will come to put their faith in Jesus.

Above: After a smooth registration process with a great team of volunteers, we filled our campground building and began our day with songs. Miki always does a great job helping the kids feel welcome and excited about camp. This site has been so useful over the years and we’re now maxing out with the number of kids attending. We praise God for the reputation of this camp and how many lives God has drawn to Himself through this ministry.



Above: One of our helpers this year is Marika (striped shirt) who taught our kids in preschool and is now retired. Various members of our team have had the opportunity to reach out to her over the years and we hope she will come to a greater understanding of the Gospel not only through what she hears this week but what she witnesses in our lives as we are united in Christ.







Above: Zita teaching on today’s story of the Prodigal Son. Each day in our main meeting time, we have a new teacher and a new story that is focused on the theme of God’s grace this year. Kids from our church participated by doing murals for each story (see above hanging on wall).



Above: Fanni (blue shirt left) and Eszter are serving as volunteers this year and also attending by Bible study group daily. This is a mixed group of believers and unbelievers and we look forward to seeing how God will reveal Jesus to them and open their eyes to truth. Fanni has been meeting with me in our Baptism class as she has made a decision to follow Jesus by faith. In group today when asking how many camps they had attended, Fanni said this was her second camp. For some reason, I was taken off guard and found it hard to believe since she has changed so much in one year! I can remember that this camp was a huge part in the initiation of those changes as she came to know Christ’s love and His Gospel. Praise God for how he is transforming her life.









Above: Church members serving in the kitchen.



Above: Bogi who attended our English Club in the town of Jászfényszaru has joined us this week for VBS. I’m so glad we’re able to maintain our connection with her and continue to share the Gospel as we study God’s word together each day at camp.









Above: Praise God that He provided funds for a new tent. We now have two we can utilize in our various summer ministries!









Above: Using the afternoon snack for earrings instead of food.

We praise God for a great first day and look forward to His provisions tomorrow. Towards the end of the day it rained for about 15 minutes, but God swiftly took it away and allowed the kids to be outside again. One child was overheard talking to his mother on the way home; “Mom, this is the best camp. If you find another camp, forget about it, I want to go to this one.” May God continue to bless these kids with grace and use us to proclaim the Gospel. Please continue to pray for us and for those attending!

VBS begins on Monday

Over the past few weeks, our Wednesday night meeting usually just for leadership members in the church has turned into our VBS prayer and planning meeting. Picture those old challenges where people had to stuff themselves into a phone booth… that’s our living room on Wednesday night. It is such a joy to see so many volunteers from our church freely giving their time and talents to love these kids and share the Gospel with them through next week. Some are even taking vacation just to serve! When I survey the room, I often remember how this church plant started with just a handful of people squished in a two bedroom apartment. It is so amazing to see what God has done over the years and how he is using members to continue to spread His Good News.



Above: Ellie working on one of the decorative posters for this year’s VBS.

We’ll have nine groups from preschool age to young adults! The teen group will be the largest with 20 kids. Right now we have 131 kids registered and this will be the largest VBS we’ve held to date. We appreciate your prayers for the remaining planning and preparations.

• Please pray for success in teaching curriculum that proclaims Jesus and the Gospel effectively.

• Pray for a small group of volunteer teen workers that are NOT believers to hear and understand His message as they help throughout the week.

• Pray for the core group of over 30 Christian volunteers (health, unity, strength, wisdom). Pray for both children and parents to gain a clear understanding of God’s grace. Pray that a new generation would be drawn to God and put their faith in Jesus!

Bogács Update

A few weeks ago, I encouraged Erika to cry out to Jesus when she encountered attacks of anxiety, fear and confusion. Erika is in an abusive relationship and shared that she also is aggressive with her words and was often argumentative. This was surprising to us, because every time we meet, she seems like the most gentle person on the planet. It is clear that there is repentance in her heart. Each week she shares how she is beginning to see life differently. I asked if she was able to call out to Jesus this past week. She said, “Yes. It was as if I was told to just remain quiet. Not to fight back with words.” She said it was so different than her normal way of behaving that her husband began saying, “What is wrong with you!?” Erika said with a smile that it was as if she couldn’t even talk back and the arguments ceased. She also shared about another neighbor that she would often get into arguments with. She said she just remained quiet and had no desire to do it anymore. God is giving her wisdom as we study His word together and she is benefiting as she begins putting it into practice in her life.

On Tuesday, our study was on the meaning of repentance, belief in Jesus Christ and how Jesus turns His followers into fishers of men. As we went through these topics and studied the Scriptures other topics came up like the difference between the Old and New Covenant. It became clear to Edit that the sect that they were involved in over the past three years lived according to the Old Covenant, trying to earn God’s approval and trying to meet a standard that they clearly failed to meet. She shared that the teachings were based on making you respond out of fear. This gave us opportunity to explain the freedom we have in the New Covenant, the joy of being able to obtain God’s approval through faith in Jesus Christ who became the sacrifice for our sins and the provision of our righteousness. What a joy to bring this Good News to Erika and Edit and see their faces light up when God gives them understanding of spiritual truths.

Both Edit and Erika asked for prayer for deliverance from smoking a few weeks ago. I asked for an update once we met again and they shared that they both became nauseous and dizzy when they began smoking after we prayed. Edit has been smoking less and less. Towards the end of our Bible study, Edit said, “How long have we been meeting tonight?” I said, “Maybe two hours”. She looked at Erika and said, “See, we don’t need to smoke.” Erika began laughing, realizing how much time had passed with no need for a cigarette. I told them that there was something so much greater going into there souls as we studied God’s truth together over those two hours. That is really what their bodies need. It seems clear to us that Erika is very close to making a decision. She has been asking questions about baptism and also about the matter of having an unbelieving husband who may not support anything she believes. We ask you to continue to pray for Erika and Edit. Pray also for Puljka and his wife Katyus whom we meet with weekly. Also pray for Ilonka and her household. Our hope is that one day members from all of these households will begin meeting together and building each other up in their faith in Jesus Christ.

Above: Ben being launched into the air at a pond just outside of Petőfibánya seeking relief from consecutive days of ninety degree weather. Ziva, who could only bear the water for 20 minutes, rests by the shore.

Summer is here and we’ve already been gearing up for some of the great camp ministries just a few weeks away!

Bible camp beginning June 29th!

We have been busy preparing for our summer Bible camp and already have over 120 kids signed up varying in ages from preschool to high school. This will be our 10th year of holding this camp in Petofibanya and we rejoice in seeing how God has used it over the years. Kids like Eszti, Zsofia and Gabi who once attended as children, have since come to know Jesus as their personal Savior along with parents like Timi, Jennifer and a grandmother, Edit. Now they are a core part of the facilitating team and are using the gifts God has given them to bless a new generation of Hungarians with the Gospel.



Above: Edit, who attended our VBS with her grandchildren in years past, came to know Christ last year and is full of thanksgiving for having the privilege of now serving as a follower of Jesus.



Above: Eszti, now nineteen, attended our VBS as a child and was afterwards saved in one of our English camps.

Please pray for success in teaching curriculum that proclaims Jesus and the Gospel effectively. Pray for a small group of volunteer teen workers that are NOT believers to hear and understand His message as they help throughout the week. Pray for the core group of over 30 Christian volunteers (health, unity, strength, wisdom). Pray for both children and parents to gain a clear understanding of God’s grace. Pray that a new generation would be drawn to God and put their faith in Jesus!

Jászfényszaru English Club

Above: Teammate Roger teaching in Jászfényszaru.







Above: The advanced English Class. Bogi is pictured center (with scarf) and her sister Kinga is next to her in blue.

A few weeks ago we transitioned the second hour of our advanced English class into a Bible study. We’re now on chapter three from the book of John and continue to see God drawing students Kati (community center leader) and Bogi to Himself.



Above: Kati, the Community Center leader attends our Bible study every week.

As we discussed the term 'being born again' and the work of the Holy Spirit, Kati began asking how someone knows when the Spirit causes this new birth. Arnold, who attends from our church, was able to give a bit of his personal testimony and experience of how God transformed his heart. Kati also asked how we can know that we can trust the Bible. As we talked about valid reasons, it was clear that she was also convinced that she could trust God’s word. We will have one more class before stopping for summer break. Student Bogi is considering attending our English camp and also coming as a helper in our VBS. Please pray that we would have continued opportunity to reach out to Kati and Bogi in the summer months before we start the English club up again in September.

Jászfényszaru Outreaches

Above: Kids playing on the gigantic hay bales at church member’s Zita and Zsolt’s ranch in Jászfényszaru. Zita came up with the idea to invite children from her son’s middle school class and parents to a Children’s Day with a puppet show, crafts, family games and of course goulash stew.





Above: Zita helping pass out the stew. Zita’s husband Zsolt in blue passing on a hulla hoop in our family game time. Both Zita and Zsolt have been members of our church for a few years look forward to a church plant in their hometown of Jászfényszaru.







Above: Parents gathered around watching the puppet show that has just as a powerful message for them as it does for the kids.



Above: Teammates Roger and Heidi invited their neighbors from Petofibanya who also joined us for the day with their two children. They’ll also be attending our VBS this year. This is just one in many ways along with an ongoing English Club and opportunities in the public school where we continue to seek to reach new families from Jászfényszaru. Jászfényszaru is one of four areas we are currently focusing our resources to plant churches.

Tuesday (weekly Bible study in Bogács)

Above: Teammate Brenda’s dad who was able to celebrate his seventieth birthday in Hungary with his daughter. Brenda’s parents spent three weeks visiting and rejoiced to have quality time not only touring Europe, but ministering with her.



Above: Brenda’s mom had an opportunity to meet and pray with some of the women from Bogács that Brenda meets with every week.





Above: Teammate Eniko helping out with the kids. We rejoice having ‘homegrown’ church members joining us in various church planting works.





A few weeks ago, God opened up the opportunity for us to visit two new Romani households in Bogács. This is great news as we have only had opportunity to visit one household on a consistent basis. Maci, the daughter of Puljka who's house we have been visiting the past three years, has been sharing with her girlfriend Ilona what we've been teaching each week. They would 'compare notes' as Ilona was visited by a teacher from a sect bringing false teaching. Eventually, Ilona was convinced that she wanted us to come and she now no longer allows the false teacher to visit. The other new household has a similar background of being visited by a sect weekly for over two years. After hearing about us, Edit invited us to her house to determine who was telling the truth.

On our first visit to this new household, I asked if there was any need for prayer for healing as I seek to follow the principles Jesus presented to the disciples in Luke 10:9. Edit shared that her husband András suffered from severe back pain. After speaking to him briefly about Jesus, I sought to diagnose where he was with pain on a scale from 1 to 10. He was at a 7. Placing my hand on his back I prayed in Jesus’ name for healing. Removing my hand, I asked, "Test it out. How does it feel?" Andris began to blurt out (as if expecting pain as usual) "Well it's still...." and then he stopped and looked confused. I asked again, "How is it? Any pain? Is it at a 5? Is it down to a 2?" Andras still moving around did not answer. He started smiling and grabbed my hand and said, "What do you have in there!" His pain was gone and he was healed in the midst of his family watching. I had him touch his toes and move all about to make it clear to all those in the family what Jesus had done. He began lifting his leg and telling his family, "Look, I can lift it and it doesn't hurt."

A few weeks later, Andras’ son (also named Andras) complained of the same genetic problem in his back. I prayed for healing and God healed him instantly as the family stood and watched. A few weeks ago, after finishing our Bible study and preparing to leave, one of Edit's daughters peered around the corner and said to her mom (clearly in pain) my tooth hurts. She started to head out and I called her back saying, "Let me pray for you." Samantha shared that she had throbbing pain for a week because of her wisdom tooth being pulled. As I continued to speak to her a bit about Jesus, all of a sudden the pain spiked and she began wincing. I said," give me your hand right now!" With my eyes open watching her face I began praying for healing. Then her face changed and relaxed. I said, "The pain is gone isn't it!" She was in shock. Putting her hand to her cheek, she looked at her family and said, "It's totally gone. It's gone!" I told her to give her thanks to Jesus who lives! This healing came after a great Bible study and conversation with Edit (the mother of the household), Orsi (Edit's stepdaughter) and Erika (also a mother and friend of Edit).



Above: Edit left and Erika right.

Edit is still trying to determine which 'messengers' to trust. I believe God continues to show her and her household that we are bringing His truth. Erika shared that ever since we have begun meeting and shared the truth of God’s love for her in sending Jesus to die on the cross, she has been able to sleep in peace after struggling with anxiety and a lack of sleep. She is gaining more and more understanding each week and I believe all of these women are close to making decisions to put their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Praise God for these open doors to new families. We ask that you continue to pray for our Romani friends in Bogács.

Family PIcs

Above: Kira with ready for water war.



Above: Ben preparing to launch his paper airplane.



Above: Ellie at the park.



Above: Ziva enjoying swings with Kira.



Thank all of you for your commitment in equipping us in our ministry in Hungary. It is so amazing to consider that we’ve been here for over 15 years. We have so much more work to do and need your continued prayers and support! We appreciate your partnership with us!