February 2020

Baptisms in the newyear!

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Above L to R: Betti, Ellie and Hajni


Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). The recent baptisms in our church highlight the power of God at work to save children, teens and adults from the grip of Satan, from the hopelessness of a sinful life, from the power of death and dreadful separation from God. Jesus is coming to Hungarians to give them eternal life and a reconciled relationship with God their Father. I have included some excerpts from Hajni, Betti and Ellie's testimony and trust you will be encouraged and praise God with us for His work of grace in their lives!

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Above: Hajni with her son Krisztián


Hajni's testimony: Before I received Jesus into my heart, there was always something missing in my life. Zita (a church member in Jászfényszaru) invited my son Krisztián to his first VBS and he came home with many great experiences. At that time, I was still rejecting God in my life. The next year, Krisztián would come home after VBS singing the songs and telling me all about camp that day. I began to be curious and decided to go to the Family Day on the last day of camp. I felt very welcomed and Zita ended up inviting me to a house group. I began attending with mixed emotions. I ended up going to worship service which was an amazing experience. After that point, I had no hesitations and continued attending. Through that time I also was able to help in different social ministries of the church. As the days went on, they continued to help me see that I needed to follow Jesus Christ and choose His way of life. In worship service, someone spoke to me about repentance and believing in Jesus. It was on that day that I put my faith in Jesus. I immediately felt His peace come over me. It was as if a huge burden was removed from my heart. Now God is in my life as I read His word and spend time in prayer. I think my story shows that it is never too late to seek God, His presence, His love and blessing and to follow Him.

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Betti's Testimony: Christianity has never been something distant in my life. My two great grandmothers are Christian. My mom and dad have attended services in the past. Even though I didn’t go to church, I still heard about God. In 4th grade, I had to make a decision between going to ethics class or Bible class. This is when God took another step toward me. I chose to go to Bible class and heard about what He had done for us and how He has a perfect plan for each of us.

In 9th grade, I had to fulfill 50 hours of public service required for school. My mom had the idea that I try helping out at Summer Bible Camp.

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Above: Betti's mom coming to our worship service for the first time to witness her daughter's baptism.


I ended up volunteering with my friend Luca and we had a great week. We felt that there was something different there. A different and bigger kind of love. We decided we would serve again if we could. Afterwards, I was invited many times to worship service but I just wasn’t ready to listen or grow yet. The following year, I volunteered for VBS again, and I wasn’t really doing well spiritually. I felt that I was missing something in life. I got into sports like handball to see if that would satisfy me. It didn’t. As I was in VBS and listened to the teaching, something was very different. I don’t know why I didn’t understand when I was at last year’s camp, but I know now that God was also trying to speak to me.

Everyday, I experienced a kind of love that I had never experienced in the world. At the last day of camp, we saw the camp video about the whole week and it gave me goose bumps remembering all that had happened. To finish, we sang my favorite song from camp that has a great message. As we sang it, the lyrics stuck in my mind… “Does He love me or not is not even a question anymore…what more could He do for you? (Referring to Jesus’ death on the cross) That question continued in my mind: “What more could He do. God loves you.”

As I was waiting in line for cotton candy, Eszti came to me and began a conversation. She asked what I thought about God and if I wanted to go somewhere to talk and pray. I said, “Yes, yes I would.” I came to understand that Jesus died for my sins and was willing to forgive me for anything that I had done and that He really loves me. My questions were answered. We prayed together and I was crying and it is there that God touched me and I became new. One of the first verses that God spoke to me after that was in 2 Tim 4:17, “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength…” This is what God has done in my life!

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Above L to R: Betti, Ellie, Ellie's mom Eszti and Hajni.


Ellie's Testimony: My name is Ellie and I’ll be turning 11 soon. I grew up attending this church and have heard a lot about Jesus. But there came a time when I knew it was not enough just to be here, I had to decide if I wanted a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe He died for my sins and rose from the dead and He lives today. I know that He has spoken to my heart.

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Encouragement from Bogi


On the eve of our baptism service I received an email from Bogi who's baptism was four years ago. God has given Bogi the gift of encouragement and I wanted you to share in the joy I received in reading her thoughts on the anniversary of her decision. (shared with permission)

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Above: Bogi teaching at a summer VBS.


Email from Bogi: Hajni’s baptism has made me think about my own life, about the people around me, about God’s family and about my connection to the Lord. It’s been four years since I made the decision to trust Jesus. It is not a long period. But this number of years means something to Hungarian teachers. Normally, you spend four years with your class as the homeroom teacher. You watch your students grow and mature, and you hope that by the end of the last year they become independent, intelligent, sovereign adults. You can only hope that you did everything you could to help them. Fortunately, we have many more years with God, He is more than our teacher, we don’t have to say goodbye after four years.

This particular year is really important in my life. So many things have changed except for God. He remains the same patient, faithful, loving Father. The only One.

I was listening to the worship recordings from service. The longer I listened, the more I could feel how I relate to these songs:
  • “Nem tudnék visszafordulni” – I would not turn back to my worldly life, my true life is with God
  • “Nem miénk, csak Tiéd minden dicsÅ‘ség” – I would not be able to arrange anything in my own life without God’s help, so only He deserves the praise
  • “Ki vagyok én?” – I am such a small thing, a nothing, I don’t deserve His love and care but still He loves me, He cares about my wishes, my emotions and everything about me.
  • “Szükségem van most Rád” – I need Jesus. Always. When I’m broken and wounded, He is the only One I can turn to to ask for help.
  • “Nem tart fogva semmi már, Fiad vagyok, Atyám” – the Lord is my true Father. Nothing can change it.
  • “Keresztfán meghaltál és engem megváltottál” (one of my favorite songs) – Isaiah 53:5 He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well.
  • “Karjaid tartanak” – I don’t belong anywhere else but to God. It’s the best place people could ever find.
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Besides many others, these songs helped me to summarize my experiences, feelings and events that I went thru throughout the past four years. You helped me a lot to start to listen to God’s calling. Without your encouragement, prayers and constant willingness to talk about the Lord I wouldn’t have chosen this living relationship with Him. May you have a blessed and joyful day with all the baptisms today.
— Bogi

Your partnership needed!


Thank all of you that have graciously given in order to equip us to remain in Hungary as ambassadors of Christ since 2000. As we are in the beginning of 2020 and look forward to new opportunities to proclaim His Gospel and make disciples in Hungary, we continue to need your prayer and financial support.

Over the years we have lost and gained supporters due to all kinds of circumstances. If you are a monthly supporter and find yourself in a financial position to raise your monthly commitment it would help us keep up with the rise of cost of living. If you are a one-time supporter, you can also help. Maybe you could partner by committing monthly. Of course, one-time gifts are also always helpful. Thanks for considering these needs and for how much you have already invested in us over these many years. We are so thankful for all of you!
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family 2019

Peace to all of you in Christ: Sharon, Allen, Ben (18), Ellie (16), Kira (13) and Ziva (8).


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