Latest Adventures Part 3

A workman preparing gas pipes for our apartment building.

 Progress is being made!  Workers came this week and removed the gas meters in our apartment building.  Then they replaced some gas pipes.  We have hope that new gas meters will be installed soon and that we will have gas service for our heating, hot water and cooking.  Thankfully, it has been warm, so we would not have turned our heat on yet anyway, but we will be glad to have heat available when we need it.

Two men replacing gas connections in our bathroom.

It was interesting to find out more about why the gas was turned off in our building.  We heard that it began when the apartment two floors above us was sold.  The new owners remodeled it before they moved in.  The man who updated their heating noticed that the gas service was not up to code and reported it to the authorities.  The gas company then shut off all the gas until the building could be brought up to code.

We have been without gas service for two weeks, but we much prefer this inconvenience to an explosion!

Visit Ends with Vince

Vince and Mike having coffee at the airport while waiting for Vince's plane.

We have enjoyed our time with Vince McCarty, Open Bible International Ministries Director, and our boss.  Earlier we wrote about traveling with him to Romania for ministry and business there.  Then we told about his ministry Tuesday of last week to the leaders of the Open Bible Churches here in Hungary.  We also wrote about how Vince got a nasty cold while here and how we moved him to a panzio when the gas in our apartment was interrupted and we had no hot water or heat. 
Wednesday we said goodbye to Vince as Tammy Swailes took him to minister in Ukraine.  We prayed not only for safe travel for them, but also that God would heal him.  God answered both prayers.  When Vince's Ukrainian hosts found out about his cold, they offered him some medicine that allowed him to sleep soundly for the first time in days and to feel well enough to preach in some wonderful meetings.
Yesterday, Monday, we met Vince at the Ukrainian border and brought him back to Debrecen.  It was great to be able to see that he was feeling much better.  We enjoyed some coffee with Field Director Michael Gulyas at McCafe and then a light supper at our home.  Today we took Vince to the airport in Budapest to catch his flight back to Des Moines. 
Thank you, Vince, for your leadership, ministry and encouragement. 

Latest Adventures Part 2

See yesterday's blog for the first part of this story.
Monday we were supposed to have a day of much-needed rest. We still had no hot water, so we sent a text message about it to the landlady.  Before she called back, however, we noticed we had no gas at all--none for the water, for the stove or for heating.  It turned out that just after we left on Friday afternoon, something happened to the gas line leading to our apartment building and the gas company shut off  all the gas to the entire building.  We also learned that it may take a month for it to be repaired!
To complicate matters, Vince woke up with a bad cold.  What he really needed was some good rest and a hot shower!  He was able to take some cold medicine he had with him and went back to bed while we tried to sort things out.  Finally, we were able to find a panzio (a kind of bed and breakfast place) where he could stay so he could get his rest and his hot shower.
Monday evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal and visit with Pastor Misi and Marika Gulyas (Field Directors in Hungary).  Tuesday morning and afternoon were meetings with the leaders and some INSTE students from the Open Bible Churches in Hungary.  We were all encouraged and blessed to be together and enjoying the Lord's presence, telling what the Lord has been doing among us.
Tammy Swailes, missionary to Ukraine arrived Tuesday evening, so the four of us had a chance to visit and make plans for the next few days. Wednesday morning Tammy and Vince headed for Ukraine where Vince will minister for the next few days. Please pray that Vince feels better soon and that the Lord will continue to minister through him in Ukraine.

Latest Adventures Part 1

We've had an eventful few days.  On Thursday the 13th, Vince McCarty, Open Bible International Ministries Director, arrived in Budapest for a couple of weeks of business and ministry in Hungary, Romania and Ukraine.  We met him at the airport and took him to Debrecen.  After lunch Friday we left for Romania. 

We had a meeting in Oradea, just over the border, with Teo Bulzan, leader of the Pentecostal Holiness Churches in Romania.  Teo has been sacrificially giving of his time and his heart to minister healing to the Open Bible Church in Gherla, functioning as its pastor for a year in addition to his other duties.  We are eternally grateful to this man of God for his help.  The meeting lasted a little over an hour, but since Pastor Teo had other business he had to attend to that evening, we went ahead of him to Gherla with plans to meet the next day.  We checked into our rooms in Gherla later that evening.

Pastor Teo Bulzan

Saturday, the three of us went to the mall in Cluj to walk around a bit and visit the Starbucks there.  While we were sipping our drinks at Starbucks, who should walk in but Pastor Teo!  He had stopped on his way to Gherla for a coffee, but since the line was too long, we all decided to go back to Gherla for the meetings scheduled for that afternoon.  By the time our meetings were done, we could not find an open restaurant, so we went back to eat at the hotel's restaurant.  Guests were arriving for a wedding reception that filled the entire restaurant, but we were offered our choice of either beef or chicken with potatoes and salad. We ate at a table set up in the hotel lobby. The meal was delicious and appeared to be what was served to the wedding reception guests, too.  The reception, however, lasted until about six in the morning, so none of us slept well due to the noise, but we had a good breakfast and headed for the church service.

The service was a wonderful celebration of how God has grown and strengthened the church in the past year and a half.  A new assistant pastor was installed and prayed over.  Daniel will serve as assistant for a year under Pastor Teo's supervision and leadership.  Immediately after the service, some other business was handled and then we went to Daniel's home for a delicious lunch.  We couldn't stay long because Vince was scheduled to preach in Oradea, in Teo's church that evening.
 

Pastor Teo Bulzan (left) and Vince McCarty (right) praying over Daniel

 We arrived in Oradea in time to quickly freshen up, pray with the worship team, and find our places in the sanctuary. It was thrilling to worship with hundreds of Romanians and to join in the prayer for the children who were to begin school the next day. Vince honored Pastor Teo during the service for his ministry in Gherla.

Vince presenting Pastor Teo with a gift in appreciation for his ministry in Gherla

We arrived back in Debrecen about 9 pm our time.  We noticed, though, that the water heater wasn't working, but we were all so tired, we decided to call the landlady about it the next day.

Visitor

We are looking forward to International Ministries Director Vince McCarty coming for a visit.  He arrives tomorrow (Thursday) in Budapest.  Friday we will travel with him to Romania to conduct some church business there and to enjoy church services in Gherla and Oradea.  Monday and Tuesday he will visit with us and the Open Bible ministers here in Hungary.  Then we will send him with Tammy Swailes to minister to the pastors and leaders in Ukraine for a few days.  Vince will return to Hungary the following Monday to catch his flight on Tuesday back to the US.  It promises to be an exciting time.  Please pray for safe travel and God-directed ministry for all of us. 

Gólyatábor

This past week was Gólyatábor (literally stork camp) which is a celebration of the beginning of the school year for university students.  It is called gólyatábor because the incoming freshman for the university are called gólya (storks).  The week is filled with parties, concerts and various other activities for the students, and each night we could hear the music and fireworks from our apartment. 

The "Stuffed Food" Celebration in front of the Nagy Templom (Great Church) in downtown Debrecen. You can also see the stage where they held the concerts for the Gólyatábor.

Many of the "stuffed foods" that were being sold

Other booths where you could buy various food items or drinks

Along with this was a "stuffed food" celebration in the main plaza in downtown Debrecen.  Many booths were set up where people could buy various food items stuffed with something; such as stuffed cabbage, stuffed crepes, different types of meats stuffed with fruit, etc- hence the name.  Today after church, Nancy and I went downtown to eat lunch there.  Nancy had a "töltött palacsinta" (a crepe stuffed with meat), and I had duck breast stuffed with plum and covered with a plum/apple sauce.  It was delicious!   It was also another opportunity to enjoy Hungarian culture.

The Posta

I (Nancy) just got back from mailing some letters at the post office (posta) and thought I would let you know about the post office in Hungary.  This is where we mail letters and packages and buy stamps.  But that is not all.  We can buy all sorts of magazines and newspapers and merchandise like purses and toys.  Snacks and soft drinks are available for purchase along with bus tickets and even car insurance!  When a fee is owed a government office, like for a driver's license or a filing fee, official stamps in the amount owed are purchased at the posta and the stamps presented at the government office.
The posta is where we pay our bills, too.  When we receive bills in the mail, like the internet or phone bills, they attach a slip of paper (csekk, pronounced "check") with all the information on it.  We take the csekk to the clerk at the posta who places it in a scanner.  We give the clerk the cash to pay for the bill, she gives us a receipt, and the bill is paid.  It is an efficient and reliable way to pay bills.
Hope you enjoyed this little bit of information about the post office in Hungary.  Any questions?

More New Groups

We received word today that two more INSTE groups are forming in a couple of villages northeast of Debrecen.  We are very excited.  If every group starts and continues as planned this month, we should have eight Level 1 INSTE groups in Hungarian!  Praise the Lord! We are so happy that so many people are committing to grow in their faith.