Weekly Update

WEDNESDAY ENGLISH BIBLE STUDY
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Above: Conversation after ESL Bible Study: Erika, Edina and Timi.

As we continue to survey the Bible, visiting major highlights leading up to the Messiah, we finally entered the New Testament and read about the birth of Jesus Christ, and His being baptized by John. We considered the question, “Why did Jesus come to be baptized in John’s baptism of repentance if Jesus was without sin?” I was thankful to see God helping each of them see Jesus amazing work of identifying Himself with us (sinful man) through this baptism. We also discussed the symbolism of this foreshadowing his coming death (going under water) and resurrection (coming back out of the water) to secure the salvation of those who would repent and believe in Him.

BACK TO THE DOCTORS

It seems as if we have been in and out of the doctors office continuously over the past month. After morning Bible study with our students, Allen headed into Budapest to have outpatient surgery to remove a small abnormal growth on his chest. The most pain was experienced with the few shots given to numb the area. The surgery was completed in an hour and Ben was even able to sit in the same room and glance up now and then to see how dad was doing. The doctor said that she would send the growth in for lab work just to rule out any forms of cancer.

This surgery opened up an opportunity with the doctor to talk about where we lived, what we did and what denomination we belonged to (very important to know with Hungarians with the proliferation of various cults in Hungary). She said, "I've noticed that the Baptists, when listening to them on the radio, seem to be more people-oriented and less removed with religious traditions.” She added that when traveling with her family over Easter, she was able to listen to 'the Baptists' on the radio. She said,"The teaching had something for everyone". I told her that we believed that God's word is relevant for today for all men, and we believe it is living. I also added that traditions are only valuable when believers understand why they exist. Once they become vein tradition, an outward practice disconnected from an inward heart attitude of worshipping God, they are useless. Once traditions begin to be used as righteous outward camouflage over a cold heart, God is utterly offended.

“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”—Mark 7:6-8

I was thankful for her curiosity and for an open discussion about faith in Jesus.

FAMILY FUN

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Above: Kira striving to be a pro wrestler as she body slams Benjamin on our their favorite play area... our bed.

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Above: Elianna and Kira making their best cute squooshy faces. Sharon has been busy doing research on celiac disorder (that Elianna was just diagnosed with). It is currently quiet exhausting finding the ingredients, ‘wheat’ proofing parts of the kitchen, and making dishes that Elianna (and I) don’t turn our noses up to. Of the many things that Sharon has tried, there have been a few hits... but unfortunately most of them are of the sweet ‘desserty’ nature. It has been tough to find a replacement for bread, pizza dough and even pancakes. Please pray for Sharon as she seeks to bless Elianna with delicious food, even on a restricted diet.

THURSDAY VBS PRAYER AND PREPARATION MEETING

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Above L to R: Miki, Dezső, Marcsi, Erika and Julika. Some of you may recall that Julika (far right) has been a major contributor to our launching and continuing a summer VBS for four years now. Last year Julika spent most of her time in chemo therapy, battling cancer. Even in that time, she developed Hungarian curriculum for our VBS. She is a precious Hungarian widow with three children (two who are a few years away from finishing school). Once again, Julika, with the help of her daughter Mani has developed the theme of teaching children how to pray for this year’s VBS. We were thankful to spent some quality time together on Thursday working out the details as the camp quickly approaches.

FRIDAY TEEN OUTREACH

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Above: Dezső battling János in foosball.

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Dezső did an excellent job leading our discussion time later in the evening with around 15 teens. It is often very hard to carry these teens through a stream of thought as they are quick to be distracted, crack jokes or just lose interest. God was gracious to to help them pay attention and to be involved in the discussion. As we pushed them to consider if there was truly anyone they could trust in this world, the reality surfaced that there really was not. One of the more serious teens, said, “I could trust God.” This allowed us to explore why we really could trust God, and how Jesus Christ proved His utter commitment to love us by dying on the cross for our sins. We can trust Jesus.

SATURDAY

As I was out repairing a loose latch on my car, I heard a cheerful greeting from my neighbors a few houses down who happened to be out together on their porch. After finishing the repair, I walked over to greet them and was quickly invited into their newly renovated house. Sharon and I have had off and on conversations with our neighbor Zsuzsa, who happens to be the sister of our old landlord Endre. Zsuzsa’s daughter Timi is the local hair stylist. As I sipped orange juice in their kitchen, Zsuzsa shared with me some of their recent hardships with her husband being laid off of work. Zsuzsa just this past year went through chemo therapy and gave God praise for helping her and healing her. From our past conversations she knows I am a believer, and she tells me that she is too, however she is not an attender or member of any local church.

Tragically, Zsuzsa lost a daughter who was struck by a car 12 years ago in our town. She said that she still mourns the loss and just doesn’t understand why it happened. She would have gladly taken her daughter’s place that day. She also shared about how she often read the Bible and each time she opened it, God seemed to be telling her that she needed to forgive and not hold a grudge, nor seek revenge as some in her family wanted to do. Zsuzsa, with God’s help, was able to forgive. As we discussed suffering and loss, I was also able to share some of the unexpected things that had happened to us and how I processed them with the Lord. Before leaving, I prayed for Zsuzsa and Feri and saw that she was very encouraged by our conversation and prayer. I encouraged Zsuzsa to seek out Christian fellowship and not to live her faith alone. Maybe someday she will take me up on my invitation to our church.

SUNDAY WORSHIP

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Above: Beginning service in small groups studying Psalm 103 and finding characteristics of God that are praiseworthy. Since Sharon and I taught children’s Sunday School, we didn’t get to hear the message. Miki reported afterward that it was very encouraging. He said that at the end of service the church stood, holding hands and allowed a time for people to come forward with specific prayer requests. We praise God for His work in the lives of each member and ask that you would continue to pray for the younger believers to mature in their faith and work-out their faith in important decisions that are currently before them.
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