Indications of Fall

Fall is coming to Hungary.  The signs are in the air.  The sun rises later and sets earlier.  The days are still warm, hot even, but the nights are cooler. Leaves are beginning to turn color and fall. School is starting soon.

The leaves do not remain on the sidewalks long, though.  Even though there are many beautiful trees lining the streets in Debrecen, crews wearing bright safety vests are hired to sweep up the leaves by hand with brooms and rakes from public sidewalks and parks.

Families have returned from vacations and are preparing for school.  The first day of school all across Hungary is September 1, but since that is a Saturday this year, the first day will be Monday.  University students have a couple more weeks of freedom, though before they hit the books. 

It's been a good summer.  We're looking forward to an even better fall.

Level 2 Translation Praise

Progress is being made!  The fourth Level 2 INSTE book is almost finished.  The translation work and editing have been completed and work is almost done on the proofreading.  Two more books are in the translation process.  There are 24 books in Level 2, so we still have work to do, but we thank God for bringing us this far.  And we thank our translation team--Andi, Klári, Berci, Eszter and Éva for their continued excellent work.

And more good news!  We just received word that a donation has been made to cover the translation of another book!  God is so good.  He always supplies what we need when we need it.  May God bless all those who have given toward this wonderful project.

Applying for Official Documents

We have begun the process of having papers drawn up to allow INSTE in Hungary to be officially recognized by the government.  INSTE has been operating under Open Bible Churches in Hungary and we are very grateful for their covering.  These new papers, however, will allow INSTE to take another step toward being established in this country and being able to reach more churches and believers with awesome discipleship and leadership training. 

We are thankful that Mirjam Gulyás (daughter of Mihály Gulyás, Open Bible Field Director) has offered her services as a lawyer to help us in this process.  She has warned us, however, that we have a long road ahead and that it will not be easy.  Please pray with us for favor with the courts and others we must work with and for divine ability to be able to finish this task.

Gávavencselő

It was impossible to get a picture of the entire congregation at once, but about 50 people were present.  Gizella, the pastor's wife is on the far right.

 Saturday we were invited to visit the church in Gávavencselő, a small village about an hour and a half north of Debrecen.  This is a church started by Level One INSTE graduates Géza and Gizella Balog about a year ago. They recently were able to rent a house in which to meet.  Several people had to stand or sit around the corner where they couldn't see, but it is good they have their own building now.  The congregation was so happy to have us there and we enjoyed the entire service.

13 of the 16 students were present for the photo.  Their pastor and leader is on the far left.

The highlight for us was at the end of the service when the students who are beginning INSTE received their books.  Their pastor is the leader for the two groups and gave them some very good tips and lots of encouragement for their studies.  May God bless this church and these new INSTE groups!

Helsinki Vacation

We had a wonderful short vacation in Finland.  Thanks to a little bit of inheritance, we finally got to visit the country from which Mike's great-grandparents emigrated to America.  We spent only three full days in Helsinki, but enjoyed every minute of it.  Here are a few pictures of some of our experiences:

We ate some interesting things like these berries from Lapland

We saw some monuments like this monument to Sibelius, the famous composer (this shot is from the center, looking up).

We ate some delicious food like reindeer meatballs.

We visited some churches like the Rock Church, which was dug out of existing rock.

We saw the largest Orthodox church in the West

Mike climbed the steps to the Great White Church (Lutheran)

We took a boat tour and got to see ice breakers resting in the harbor

We learned a lot about Finland, its people and its history.  Now, we wonder if they need to start INSTE there?

Short Vacation in Finland

In the late 1800's my (Mike's) great-grandparents emigrated from Finland to America. I have always wanted to visit the "fatherland" but never had the opportunity. When my dad passed away this past February we boys received a small inheritance, so I thought, what better way to spend some of that money than to travel to Finland, especially since we are so close now. So, today we head to Helsinki for a week.  We hope to post some pictures in a few days.

Making Books

More INSTE groups are starting soon and we need to be prepared for them.  Mike is putting together some Discipleship 1 books.  Notice the concentration on his face.  It's not fun to punch holes in the wrong side of the pages and have to print a whole section, or even a whole book, all over again, so he is very careful to pay attention to what he is doing.

After he saw how serious he looked in the last picture, he lightened up a bit.  Have fun making books, Mike!

Missionary Meeting

We're enjoying conversation, catching up and such with Tammy Swailes, our friend and missionary to Ukraine.  Tammy is a fountain of information and encouragement and we appreciate her taking time to be with us.   

Tammy arrived at our house this afternoon at the hottest time of the day on the hottest day of the year.  It was 99 degrees outside, but we were able to keep it about 85 degrees inside.  We don't have air conditioning (most Hungarians don't), so we opened all the windows wide early this morning, cooling it down as much as we could.  Then, before it got hot, we closed all the windows and drapes to keep as much of the cool inside as possible.  With a fan running, it is comfortable.  Hopefully, it will cool down enough this evening so we can walk down the block and buy an ice cream cone from the cukrazda.  :-)

Youth Camp

We enjoyed a good breakfast of sandwiches and tea.

Tuesday we traveled an hour and a half north of Debrecen to spend the day at the Open Bible youth camp near Tokaj.  Dozens of youth from Hungarian Open Bible Churches were present including 13 from Tomor.  We were treated to breakfast, lunch and supper.  Marika Gulyás is the much-loved camp cook and she made delicious paprikás csirke (paprika chicken) for supper.  We heard stories about how former International Ministries Director Paul Canfield loved his paprikás csirke.

Jethro translating for Mike

The main reason we went to the camp was to speak in the morning sessions.  Jethro Gulyás translated for us and did a fantastic job.  He was a little nervous, since this was his first time translating in front of a group, but he did very well.  Jethro, his wife Kata and their twin baby daughters are in Hungary for a good part of the summer visiting family.  In September they return to Kuwait where Jethro and Kata teach in a special needs school.

We enjoyed our day at youth camp.  The young people were attentive and receptive.  We told about how God had changed our lives at youth camps and we pray that the lives of each of these campers will be changed for eternity this week.