Gifts to be thankful about

I am thankful for the believers that God had placed in my life that preceded my salvation. I am thankful they showed me the presence of God through their peace, their joy and their relationship with Jesus. Maybe someone is thanking God for your encouragement in their life today. Maybe you are the last spark that God is using just before their hearts ignite into a burning flame of faith in Christ.

I am thankful for the power of Gods word to cut through all the deception of my life that was leading me into deeper depression and darkness. In my youth, God used Ecclesiastes in my life to awaken my heart to turn away from worldly empty pursuits to Jesus. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10) Maybe someone is thanking God for the way you brought God’s word into their lives as living and a source of hope and as light to a difficult dark path they were on.

I am thankful for BVBC church in my formative years as a new believer. At that time, there was a strong singles group with a majority of members headed to the missions field either short term or long term. I am thankful for the impact of these young men and young women who took this calling seriously and encouraged me with their initiative to live in light of the great commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19) Maybe someone is thanking God for you today for the way you helped them see God’s vision and calling for their lives in Christ.

I am thankful for a wife who has made me a better husband, father and leader. I am thankful for her vision for Hungary, her love for Christ and faithfulness in times of difficulty. Maybe someone is thanking God for your faithfulness and all the ways they have tangibly experienced the love of Christ through you even when they were at their worst.

My list and your list could go on and on, because our Father’s generosity in our lives goes on and on. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17)

Bogács ministry to Romani update

As we mentioned in our last update, the doors in the town of Bogacs and the ministry to Romani families has opened back up. I continue to commute each week and spend time with Maci and her brother Krisztián, both of whom I have known for over 10 years. I continue to see evidence of change in Maci's spirit, especially her outlook on life. With trust in God she has gone from being a very fearful, anxious person full of grumbling to a more caring and peaceful person. However, because of the culture she grew up in, there is much to learn from Jesus regarding family relationships. This has been our focus of Bible study over the past few weeks as I have become aware of fighting among family members and unresolved strife.





In our last study we read: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.“ (Ephesians 4:31-32) Bitterness, rage, anger and slandering one another was the ‘normal’ environment that Maci and Krisztian grew up in. Please pray for Maci and Krisztian that these old ways would continue to be put to death and that the new ways of forgiveness, compassion and kindness would flourish in them as they walk with Christ who forgave them in His amazing grace. Maci also shared that her husband Imi who works abroad felt as if the Holy Spirit did something in his heart. He has been listening to sermons online and talking to Maci about what he has been learning. Maci said that many times, the same scriptures we discus in our studies are the same things God is helping Imi to understand. Please pray with Maci that her husband Imi also come to know Christ so that this family may grow together in Him.



A young man Norbi (above) that has been in and out of our fellowship over many years was touched by God this past Summer at one of our summer camps. Norbi suffers from a type of anxiety that has influenced many of the decisions he has made over the years in negative ways. He has re-committed his life to Christ and has joined me every week to travel to Bogacs. I am thankful to see his perseverance and his growth in learning how to not run away and give up when he experiences failure as a believer. In our hour long time of travel, I have opportunity each week for discipleship with him, with the beautiful bonus of the ‘hands on’ experience that Norbi gets as we serve together to encourage the Romani believers in Bogacs.

Norbi has had trouble his entire life holding a steady job because of his issues with anxiety. But I see in him a faithfulness and many blessings that he brings as he has been serving on our worship team helping with sound, his helping with our puppet outreach and as mentioned, his joining me each week to go to Bogacs. Please pray for the formation of Norbi’s heart into the likeness of Christ and for changes that would allow him to remain at a workplace long term.

Játszóház (Children’s Playhouse)

We held our “Children’s Playhouse” ministry in October and November which is designed to keep us connected with children and parents that have attended our Summer Bible Camps. This not only gives us another opportunity to reach out to the kids in our community, it also where the younger believers in our church serve and learn more about how they can use their gifts in evangelistic ministry. We have youth helping with leading songs and crafts, younger adults helping with planning game time and even providing the Bible teaching for the event.







Szabi who taught in our last Children’s Playhouse did a great job speaking about the life of Zechariah and Elizabeth as well as Mary and Joseph. To share a funny tidbit of what goes on in some of these kids minds, Szabi asked at one point, “Do you think Zechariah and Elizabeth were familiar with the story of Abraham and Sarah and the miracle of God giving them a child?” One boy in the front row fully confident he knew the right answer said, “No! Because they didn’t have phones back then.” I think heaven was laughing at that one with us. The kids were very attentive and the message of not just understanding truths about God, but truly believing was delivered in a way they could grasp.

Christmas Puppet Ministry

Praise God that the door remains open in Hungary for us to publicly proclaim the gospel through our Christmas Puppet Ministry. We’ll be visiting 24 public schools with the good news and distributing plenty of evangelistic material. And not just schools! For the first time, we will be presenting our show over two days at a workplace of one of our church members where parents will be brining their children to attend a Christmas event. We also praise God that one of the schools in a neighboring town that we would like to see a church plant in the future has once again allowed us to come with our show after many years of not being allowed there.



God has raised up the volunteers we need for this year’s team and we could use your partnership as well in prayer support as we have a full schedule and anticipate spiritual warfare. I’ve prepared a prayer calendar that you can print out and share with your family or small group.
“The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16) You can download a copy of the PDF prayer calendar here: http://bit.ly/4i7XiVC

Family News

Above: Ziva’s 13th birthday.


Above: Our youngest Ziva with our oldest Ben.



Elianna continues to thrive at Moody Bible in Chicago. She is in her junior year and God has provided her with a great group of friends, and a supportive home church. Ellie has opportunities to minister to younger students and is involved in organizing and facilitating student prayer meetings. Kira is a senior at BFA and has already applied and been accepted to a few Christian colleges. We hope to go back on furlough in the summer of 2025 to help her get moved into whichever college she chooses. Ziva just turned 13 and is hoping to grow taller than her siblings. She is definitely making strides. After doing her dreaded homework, Ziva is usually busy creating earrings, especially ones that are holiday themed. Ben is living and working in Budapest. We recently found out that although he was able to get a residency permit, the type that he has only allows him to remain in Hungary as a worker for up to three years. After that he has to leave the country and can return to restart the residency process. Please pray for God to draw Ben to himself and find true life and joy in a personal relationship with Jesus.







Both Sharon and I have been adjusting to having the additional role of Area Leaders in our organization. This new responsibility has pushed Sharon into deeper dependence on God which has spurred more spiritual growth. We have also continued meeting various married couples from our church for counseling and remain hopeful in God to bring healing and breakthroughs to these marriages.

We want to thank all of you for your generosity that has equipped us to minister in Hungary since 2000. Many of you have known us even before 2000 and we’re so grateful for your faithful partnership to proclaim the gospel in Hungary! We believe there is much more work to be done. We continue to have extra medical costs, education costs for Kira at BFA (in her last year), and increased fuel cost as I have been commuting to Bogacs each week. If you are in a position to be able to give, end of year financial gifts would be a tremendous blessing. Options for online giving can be found HERE. We appreciate the blessing all of you bring into our lives through your partnership.

”The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” (Psalm 28:7)