Mirjam

This is Mirjam (Miriam), our language tutor. Mirjam comes every week to give us an hour and a half Hungarian class. She's a good teacher, even though she gave us a test this morning! Thanks, Mirjam, for your all your help and your patience with us!

Messiah

Sometimes I (Nancy) get a little impatient, not being able to talk much about the Lord, or clearly share the gospel, or even pray with people effectively because of my (as of yet) limited language skills. However, this weekend I was very pleased that two of our neighbors and my language partner heard the gospel clearly presented in Hungarian! All three of them attended performances of "Messiah," a play about the life of Christ that was concluded by the director giving his personal testimony and an invitation to begin a personal relationship with Jesus. Our language skills are growing and one day I will be able to minister as I would like to, but I praise God for others He sends to speak when we can't!

Spring!!!

Spring has arrived in Hungary! The weather is warming up, the buds on the willow trees are swelling and the neighbor is hanging her clothes on the line!

Thank You, ICD!

Dede giving a testimony with Eva translating

Worship in English and Hungarian

Ever since we arrived in Hungary, we have attended the Saturday evening services at the International Church of Debrecen as often as possible. They have been such a blessing to us. When we first arrived and knew very little Hungarian, the sermons and worship in English were sent by God just for us. We were able to grow in our language skills by listening to the translation of the service. And we met wonderful people in the church with whom we became friends. Through this church we have built relationships with Hungarian Church of God leaders and have been able to introduce them to INSTE. Thank you, ICD!

We praise the Lord that the church is growing. They are moving to larger facilities in a hotel close to the university and are also changing their service times from Saturday evenings to Sunday mornings. This means we will no longer be free to attend often. We will miss the great fellowship we have had with ICD, but we pray that God will continue to pour His Spirit on them and that the Kingdom of God will be increased through them. Bless you, friends!

Would I continue to love Him?

I (Mike) am reading a book entitled, In God's Underground. It is a biography of Richard Wurmbrand, a Lutheran minister in Romania at the time of the Communist takeover, and details his life in the Communist prisons in Romania from 1948 until his release in 1964. He had undergone starvation, deprivation, disease and horrible torture, yet in all of this he continued to minister to his fellow prisoners and many, even some hardened athiests, had given their lives to the Lord in the midst of this darkness.

At one point, though, Richard Wurmbrand was placed in solitary confinement. It was during this time that he began to do some soul-searching. I would like to share some of his comments from the book:

I was kept in solitary confinement in this cell for the next two years. I had nothing to read and no writing materials; I had only my thoughts for company, and I was not a meditative man, but a soul that had rarely known quiet. I had God. But had I really lived to serve God -- or was it simply my profession?

People expect pastors to be models of wisdom, purity, love, truthfulness; they cannot always be genuinely so, because they are also men; so, in smaller or greater measure, they begin to act the part. As time passes, they can hardly tell how much of their behaviour is play-acting.

I remembered the deep commentary which Savonarola wrote on the fifty-first Psalm, in prison, with his bones so broken that he could sign the self-accusatory paper only with his left hand. He said there were two kinds of Christian: those who sincerely believe in God and those who, just as sincerely, believe that they believe. You can tell them apart by their actions in decisive moments. If a thief, planning to rob a rich man's home, sees a stranger who might be a policeman, he holds back. If, on second thoughts, he breaks in after all, this proves that he does not believe the man to be an agent of the law. Our beliefs are proved by what we do.

Did I believe in God? Now the test had come. I was alone. There was no salary to earn, no golden opinions to consider. God offered me only suffering -- would I continue to love Him?
(In God's Underground pp. 49-50)

Richard Wurmbrand, by his actions, proved that he would continue to love God. He was a light of Jesus' love in a very dark place. This is a question we also should ask ourselves: Even if God offered us nothing else but suffering, would we still love and serve Him? (Phil. 3:10)

Convention Opportunity

We were privileged yesterday to be able to attend the afternoon and evening sessions of the Hungarian Church of God Convention. Mike was given a few minutes to present INSTE to the pastors and to distribute some INSTE brochures. Please pray with us that the Lord will direct the hearts and minds of these pastors so that those who need the discipleship and leadership training that INSTE provides will pursue the possibility of using it in their churches.

That's Good to Hear

Yesterday Nancy ran into Ilona, one of the INSTE leaders, at the store. When asked how things were going, Ica replied, "We had a great INSTE meeting last night!" and smiled a broad smile. That is always so good to hear! INSTE is impacting lives for the Kingdom of God in Hungary!

INSTE is an intensive in-church discipleship and leadership training program. The discipleship part (INSTE First Level) has been translated into Hungarian and is being used in several Hungarian-speaking churches in Hungary, Ukraine and Holland. In July, we plan to return to the United States to raise funds for the translation of INSTE Second Level (the leadership training part) into Hungarian. What sets INSTE apart from other programs is that it is not just about Bible knowledge, but about ministering to others in and out of the church, about being mentored by mature Christian leaders, and about growing in Christ.

What a privilege it is to be able to "go into all the world and make disciples!"

Happy Women's Day!

Mike emailed Misha and asked if he would have time today to come over and work in the INSTE office with him. Misha replied that since today is Women's Day, he will be spending the time with his wife and daughters. That's when we remembered that today is International Women's Day.

Here in Hungary, Women's Day is celebrated much like Mother's Day or Valentine's Day--women are given flowers and chocolate as an expression of love and respect. In some other former communist bloc countries, the day is a national holiday in honor of the economic, social and political contributions of women. Nancy's just glad to have another reason to eat chocolate!


Happy Women's Day!

A Picture is Worth Heat

Okay, so how do you tell the landlady who speaks little English that the dial on the water heater is in the red zone? You take a picture and show it to her, that's how. The water heater is important to us for two reasons--not only does it provide us with hot water, but it also supplies heat to our apartment through the radiators. The landlady called the serviceman. Now to wait for him to arrive!

Good Day in Budapest

We had a great day in Budapest yesterday. The service at Örömhir Misszió was fantastic. Mike preached, Misha Toftin translated, and the front was filled afterward with people dedicating themselves to bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God. It is so much fun to minister when people are hungry and the Holy Spirit does the work!


After service we met Sebi Pop, son of John and Nelly Pop, Open Bible directors in Romania. Sebi is attending a university in Budapest working on his master's degree in international relations. Sebi brought his friend Csaba with him and we all went out to eat. Csaba is a fine young man who grew up in Gherla, Romania, and attended the Open Bible Church there. Now Csaba works and studies in London and was visiting Sebi for the weekend. We sure had plenty to talk about over lunch!

The picture shows Csaba on the left with Sebi beside him. Misha took the picture for us. By the way, we didn't eat outside. This restaurant has a heated outdoor area that is surrounded by clear plastic curtains. Not quite outside, but close!