June 2017

VBS Day 4 Update

Eszti continues to send updates from Hungary’s VBS in the town of Petofibanya. Here is her latest report:

“Today was full of surprises. It had already begun raining last night and it really started pouring with lightening and thunder this morning around 7:30. Because of the weather, we couldn’t make our journey from the meeting point at the community center to the campgrounds. Praise God that we were able to use a large room in the community center where we held the morning program with singing and teaching.

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Eniko (above) did an excellent job explaining the Gospel and talked about the names and character of God and sin and forgiveness. After the teaching, the rain stopped and we headed off to the campgrounds with the kids. We were able to complete the day without anymore rain.

In free-time, Peti’s knee twisted while playing soccer. He didn’t go home, but he was limping and was not able to lead the afternoon games and Gabi filled in for him. Please pray for healing. We continue to see positive change in Andor at camp but there are habits and ways of thinking that he continues to need help to change. Last night, Arni held a special cookout for his teen group. He reported that things went really well.

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Ruben, who is attending for the first time as a camp worker from Budapest, gave his testimony to the teens. Ruben has been a true servant in this camp toward the kids and we’re thankful to God for his help. Ruben continued his story in the teen’s small group today. Teens, Eszti and Kinga, who have attended this VBS since they were children, stayed afterward to talk more to Arni and Margit. Pray that they would come to understand the love of God and the gift of Jesus.
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As we began the afternoon games and crafts outside, stormy weather returned with downpour. Praise God we were able to pack up everything. After the afternoon drama and singing, the rain stopped again and we could safely walk back to the community center for the kids to be picked up.

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Tomorrow Zita (pictured above) will be teaching the main session and we ask for prayer for her and the other small group leaders.”

This is a time in camp when strength is needed to finish strong. Please pray for the team in Petofibanya to be refreshed and have the strength they need to bless these kids in this unique opportunity. Thanks for you continued prayer support!
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VBS Day 3 Update

The following is a report from Eszti who is serving at VBS in Hungary:


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Above: Eszti far left teaching her small group at VBS

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The last two days have been great. Since both days have been really hot, we've been spraying kids with water and tossing water bombs. There haven’t been any serious sicknesses. There was a young girl that had to go home because of a headache and another who had a bloody nose because of the heat. The heat is causing others to have headaches, but other than that, sickness has not been a big problem.

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There was a problem with a child who comes from foster care. He was not willing to listen to any of the camp leaders and Miki and Zsolti decided to send him home. We prayed for him that Tuesday afternoon and he returned today. He was sorry for the way he behaved and he was able to experience forgiveness and a new beginning at camp. He had a good day and enjoyed his time back.

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Above: Andor who was welcomed back to camp today after being sent home pictured with his grandmother Zsuzsa.

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Another child (Erik pictured above) that was also having lots of problems last year is coming faithfully every day this year and has dramatically changed. It seems that he is finding something new each day to get attention from others (saying his head hurt, his shoulder hurt ect.) but today he had no complaints. He is kind toward all the workers and other children. Please pray that this VBS would have a continued positive effect on his life and continue to lead him in the right direction. This child’s family situation is very unstable with him being sent out from home in the morning and only able to return at night. In this time he has no place to eat or drink and he is being cared for and loved in a special way at this VBS. 

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The volunteer team of workers are doing a great job and the events of the day are going smoothly. The teen helpers (pictured above) who are fulfilling 50 hours of community work through this VBS are taking upon themselves the work of packing up, setting out food and any other needs they can meet. Their team leaders Arni and Margit report that great conversations are happening in this group. Please pray that the messages they are hearing at this VBS take root in their hearts.

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Our two preschool groups are much more energetic than previous years. They are very talkative and moving all over the place which is quiet challenging for their group leaders. Other group leaders are also beginning to experience fatigue and we all have need of a good night’s rest and new strength for the remaining three days!

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Above: Eniko (expecting her first child due this fall) serving at VBS.

Tomorrow we will be putting even more focus on the Gospel message. Please pray for Eniko who will be teaching and for hearts to be open to the message.
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VBS in Hungary!

In just three and a half more weeks, we’ll be returning to Hungary. Currently, we’re looking for opportunities to share in small groups and any other venue before our return. You can contact Allen and Sharon at 302-407-1498 or at [email protected].

This is the first time in many years that we’ve been in the US while VBS is going on! It is great to see so many banners as I drive through Delaware with churches reaching out to children and their families through this effective means of outreach. Some of you may be participating even this week in serving or maybe your kids are involved in some way.

In Hungary, our church has just completed their first day of this year’s VBS. Eszti wrote to me and shared an update for me to give to all of you. Eszti first heard the Gospel at our VBS and later put her faith in Christ at English camp. Since then, she has grown in her faith and has been serving along side of us for years. What has happened to Eszti is what we would love to see happen in so many more kids’ lives in Hungary as they hear the Gospel and see it lived out.

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Above: Eszti serving in VBS

Here is what Eszti wrote. “This year we begin our VBS with around 120 kids and 35 helpers. We’ll be sharing about the life of King David with the kids. Because of the church split this year with some members leaving we encountered various difficulties in the preparations leading up to camp. But in the end we finished preparations in time, problems were solved and we had enough workers volunteer. We have a drama team that will be presenting something everyday for the kids. There is unity among the team serving together. Most of the workers have served in previous camps but we have new helpers as well like Irénke, Andi, Hajni and Ruben who is from a church in Budapest.

We had a very blessed day today. Everyone had a great time and there were no accidents. The sky was overcast but there was no rain that would have interrupted our programs. There was a small problem with lunch because the delivery person got lost which led to a late lunch arrival. But by the end of the day, this was no problem. Every worker served with great joy. No one is sick. Zsolti is doing a great job leading by keeping order and creating a wonderful atmosphere for the kids. Even though we had a power outage until noon, the singing and teaching was successful. The twins that we were concerned about (see prayer request below) did not escape :) There are two kids, Alex and Erik that we invited into our VBS when they were roaming the street last year. This year, there was no need to invite them as they came on their own and joined in on everything, paying attention and obeying the rules. Márk who had issues with anger last year had no issues today in any way. Praise God!” — Eszti

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Here are some ways you can pray for the VBS in Hungary:

  • Protection from sickness, that the team and children would be able to rest and sleep well. (Some headaches, some didn’t sleep well)
  • That every worker would receive strength from God and serve out of His strength.
  • For Zsolti who is camp leader and the various responsibilities he will have.
  • For the parents, that their hearts would be opened to the Gosoel and that they would come to the open house on Saturday.
  • For the teachers that present the main message each day. (Tomorrow Zsolti will be presenting)
  • For small group leaders, that God would direct them, that He would give them wisdom, that they would have success working with their helpers and with the children in their group.
  • For workers that are fulfilling new roles and haven’t had the benefit of experience from past camps.
  • For the weather. Our camp benefits from comfortable weather as the indoor facility is crammed and not good for the majority of activities in our camp which happen outside.
  • For the food. That there would be enough, that it would arrive on time and that the new kitchen team would have wisdom.
  • For the technical aspects (speakers, mics,) and cars to work as kids are ‘bussed’ home.
  • For protection from accidents and injuries.
  • For twins in our pre-school class that have a reputation of ‘escaping’. Pray that there would be no problems with them.
  • For a young boy named Mark who had various outbursts of anger last year. Pray that he would have more opportunity to connect with others and join in the various programs throughout the day.
  • For brothers Levi and Andor who are in foster care and need the love of Christ. Andor is struggling with authority.
  • For the Gospel to be presented in a way that the kids can understand. For God’s truth to pierce their hearts.

Here are some pictures from today provided by teammate Tom Ledoux:

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Above: Converging at the front of the community center where we hold registration and then walk together to the campgrounds.

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Above: A good group of older kids that also attend. Pray especially for these teens to be impacted by the Gospel. Some of them are using this camp as a way to fulfill community work for their high school and they are not yet believers.

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Above: Lidia (center) was baptized in January this year. We’re glad to have her helping out in VBS. (Photo credit: Gyula)

As most of you know VBS is the highlight of many kids’ lives. They find that that Christ’s love, joy and peace they experience at VBS is unmatched and some just don’t want to go back to the instability they often experience in their homes. We appreciate your continued prayers!

Here are some more photos from today taken by Attila

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Back to Hungary Soon

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As we come come to the tail end of our furlough in the US we wanted to give you an update on how God has graciously been at work in our lives. Our past furloughs have often been short and mainly focused on sharing about ministry and reconnecting with family and friends. I feel as if this furlough was God inviting us into a safe place to work through issues that slowly yet powerfully began to affect our ministry, family and marriage in negative ways. God’s answer to these issues was to call us back to the US for six months into a community that has cared for us and ministered to us in ways that will impact the rest of our lives. I am thankful for the wisdom and discernment God provided to a counselor we were able to see weekly for the past three months. God has used him and others involved in our lives to bring clarity to areas that I needed to repent of and helped me to see the new foundations to build on in the future. Sharon and I have experienced so much healing in this safe place of relying on God’s help and we are seeking to apply what He is teaching both of us. As a church planter, my character and the inner working of my marriage and family life are key components to properly caring for the church of God. “For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?” (1 Tim 3:5) As I have had time to reflect on how I ‘managed’ my own household and how I have cared for the church, I now see areas where I have been deficient in expressing the compassion and love of Christ. As I move forward by God’s grace, my hope is to grow in these areas as I continue to reflect more and more of Jesus in my life. We wanted to thank all of you for allowing us this unique time of having the freedom to receive ministry and to rest. We value your commitment to us, in encouraging us, praying for us and consistently supporting us. We experience the love of God through all of you!

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Above: Our team (missionaries from the US) including Hungarian partners in ministry Miki and Erika.

On Sunday we were able to reconnect with our team in Hungary via Skype. As I reported previously, the church and the team are experiencing grief, hurt, loss and many other challenges because of the church split that occurred in January. In the midst of these burdens we are all more than ever turning our trust and reliance to Jesus. Please continue to pray for continued healing, continued growth, the giving of comfort and help that we all need in this time. Although this is a season of struggle, there are awesome signs of growth and many things worthy of praise!

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Above: Some of the younger adults in our church, Arnold (left and Peti (right), set out to initiate a teen conference. They did all of the planning and facilitating of this event that was held last Saturday. There were sixty kids that attended and good reports of how God used it in their lives. Since the split, there have been other church members that have stepped into roles that were previously filled and they are doing a wonderful job serving. God has also brought back some who had visited in the past, but now are regularly attending church and small groups.

Back to Hungary in July


We are scheduled to return to Hungary mid July. We’ll have a night to unpack and then we’re off to this year’s English Camp. For once, we’ll be recovering from jet lag like the rest of the team that travels from BVBC to serve with us in Hungary! Please pray for us as we work out many logistics preparing to return. Our remaining time in the US is just six weeks. We look forward to seeing how God will use all of the changes in us to be a blessing in Hungary.


Below, so many reasons to be thankful seen in photo highlights:


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Above: Family time with grandparents.

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Above: Time to walk and talk in Delaware’s beautiful parks.

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Above: Fun with the cousins.

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Above: Thanks for so many being advocates for our spiritual formation, health and well being as believers.

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Above: Disney with the cousins. So much fun.

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Above: Time with brothers and mom and dad.

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Above: And more time together with cousins.

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Above: The beauty of blooming trees and nature trails to walk on at dusk.

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Above: Family fun.

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Above: New friends from school.

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Above: Pop pop!

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Above: So many blessings at WCS.

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Above: Reconnecting with old friends.

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Above: So thankful for the growth of BVBC and their loving support for our family and ministry.

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Above: Growing in our love for one another.
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