November 2016
November Ministry Update
November 07, 2016
Church planting works
Our focus remains the same this season as we primarily serve in four towns in Northeastern Hungary. Those four include our hometown of Petofibanya, the neighboring town of Apc, the town of Jászfényszaru and finally Bogács located an hour away from our home. After more than 12 years of sowing and reaping, Petofibanya is more of an established church with ongoing mentoring relationships and local ministries reaching out to the community. The other three areas are in different stages of growth. With the help of other church members, we look forward to these other areas also becoming established local congregations that continue to multiply by God’s grace.
First Love Baptist Church in Petofibanya
Above: Our Sunday public worship meeting in our hometown of Petofibanya.
Above: Before being dismissed for children’s Sunday School, the kids gather in front and sing songs they learned in our Summer VBS along with Miki. We’re so thankful to have a full spectrum of kids from preschool to teens.
Above: Andi (who was recently baptized) with her mother Irénke. Please pray for Irénke as she continues to learn more about Jesus and the new life He offers through faith in Him. Pray for the gospel to spread through Andi’s family!
Above: Arnold (saved a few years ago in Petofibanya) preaching in our church for the first time. Arnold has begun theological studies by commuting to Budapest. God has put a desire in his heart to serve as a missionary possibly in Sweden. Not only does Arnold benefit from what he is learning in Bible school, but he has hands on training and personal mentors in his life to continue to encourage him on his journey. Please pray for Arnold to have a strong foundation of truth from God’s word in his heart and for the Spirit to use that truth to from him into a mighty man of faith. Pray also for other men in our church to be free from a spirit of indifference and to begin living with passion for God’s callings on their lives.
Above: Teammate Tom at our special Thanksgiving service. Instead of our traditional service, we split the church members up and seated them at different tables in small groups. At each table we had guided discussion about ways we were thankful for God’s work in our lives.
Church plant in Bogács
Above: Kati and Dori. Kati and her mother were recently saved and baptized and continue to attend our weekly meetings in Bogács.
Above: Dori’s grandmother Angela, also recently saved and baptized continues to open her home to us for Bible study. Because of cultural and logistical reasons, we still have not found a way to meet in one place in Bogács. It has been our habit to go to two houses on the same night holding the same Bible study for two different households. As we grow in number this is becoming more difficult and it is our hope to find a way to meet in one central place. In our other church plants God has been gracious to give us favor with the local government and we use their local community centers to meet. This seems to be the direction God is leading us in for Bogács as well, but we haven’t yet met the town’s mayor. Please pray for favor and for a solution to gather all the believers together in Bogacs in a way that we could mutually build one another up and worship God together.
Church plant in Apc
Above: Reni (left in red jacket) and Vincse (center).
Above: Robi and Vivi.
We continue to hold a weekly Bible study in Vincse’s home in the town of Apc. Over the years we have seen various people come and go but the core group has remained the same. Thankfully, Vincse and her daughter Vivi continue to attend and grow. Recently, Reni (pictured above) asked Vincse for prayer for her child who was sick in the hospital. Vincse told her that she and the church would pray. Soon afterwards her son fully recovered and Reni then invited us to her house to pray for her husband Miklos. This opened the door to share the gospel and the week after, Reni along with her mother attended our worship service. Please pray for more open doors to share the Gospel in the town of Apc and for entire households to come to faith in Jesus.
Church plant in Jászfényszaru
Above: Every other week we hold a public worship service in Jászfényszaru and God has graciously provided a core team of a few families from this town that are partnering in the work of the ministry. In the past we used an English Club to bless the community and open up opportunities to develop new relationships. After that we followed up with holding a VBS for the first time in the town of Jászfényszaru and have since then been holding Kids Playhouse meetings where we teach on a certain them from the Bible, and provide games and crafts for the kids.
Above: Photos from our recent Kids Playhouse. We had visitors that joined us fro the first time and also others that we have come to know though the years through our work in Jászfényszaru.
Above: Margit who is part of the core team in Jászfényszaru helping at craft time. By God’s grace and healing power, Margit has fully recovered from a stroke that left part of her body paralyzed just months ago!
Winter Clothing Distribution
We’ve started a small movement in our town collecting used clothing and organizing days where the community is invited to come and take what they need. There are many poor families that are blessed by the contributions and we have had such an abundance of clothing come in that we are also able to pass the clothes on to the poor in Apc and Bogács.
Above: Kids sifting through toys that we were giving away.
Annual Hike to Blue Mountain
We learned early on when we moved to Hungary that when a Hungarian asks if you would like to go for “short” hike, you shouldn’t picture a stroll on a nice flat trail. Their idea of a hike is a HIKE! Every year we invite church members and others who have come to know us through various outreaches to join us on a “short” 10 km hike to the top of Blue Mountain.
Above: Hugi having a little difficulty crossing the stream as we make our way up the mountain. Those are tears of laughter and not tears of pain.
Above: Brenda (right) also plays on Petofibanya’s little league baseball team with our kids. She has also attended our VBS in the past but has not yet made a decision to put her faith in Christ. Please pray for those we know like Brenda that we spend time with to be drawn to Jesus as they are exposed to the light of Christ again and again.
Above: After reaching the top of the mountain, we gathered wood for a fire, broke out the marshmallows and Arnold shared his testimony with those who attended.
Above: Jennifer handling the contraption used to squeeze the lard out of bacon to drip on bread.
Above: Eniko, Jennifer and Judit celebrating surviving the journey and devouring bread with fresh lard drippings, scallions, tomatoes and bacon.
Thanks for your continued support. Many of you have partnered with us for over 10-15 years and we are grateful for your faithfulness and generosity! We are privileged to be serving in Hungary and excited to see how God will continue to do great things as He proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ through His church.
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