Kecskemét

We enjoyed our trip to Kecskemét today.  We met with leaders from two area churches and talked about INSTE.  Hopefully, there will soon be two or more new INSTE groups south of Budapest.  Here are some pictures of beautiful Kecskemét.

One of the beautiful buildings downtown

The lovely tree- and flower-lined blocks-long walkway

This is a manhole cover with the city seal on it.  "Kecske" means goat and a goat is featured on the city seal.

Mike enjoying the beautiful walkway.

Romania Visit

Over the weekend we took a trip to Gherla, Romania.  It had been more than a year since we visited the Open Bible Church and we were warmly greeted by all our friends there.  We arrived Saturday evening and were able to sit in on part of a meeting of youth from six local churches.  It was exciting to see the youth worshiping together.

Sunday morning Mike preached and our friend Relu interpreted for him.  Earlier in the service, Relu gave a short presentation about a trip he and his wife are planning to take to Namibia Africa.  They plan to stay for a month and help a missionary couple there who work among the Bush People.  Romanians are not rich, but these dear believers are reaching out to help the very poor people in Africa materially and spiritually.

We are praying that God will continue to bless this church and will guide them as decisions are made about their future.  We are blessed to be able to speak into their lives.

Ups and Downs

We like to stay positive when we report what is going on in our lives and with INSTE.  Life does not always go as planned, though.  This week we've encountered some challenges with a couple of the INSTE groups.  These challenges require us to go to God in prayer, asking for his wisdom and direction and for favor with others.

Mike was scheduled to preach Sunday afternoon at a church about two hours away, close to the Ukrainian boarder. There was going to be time to talk with the pastor and other interested people about INSTE after the service. Saturday evening, however, we received a series of phone calls.  Apparently, they were having difficulty finding an interpreter.  Ultimately, everything had to be postponed for a couple of weeks.

We are not discouraged.  We know that everything is going according to God's plan even if it isn't going according to ours. We share this to remind you that we need your prayers, but also to encourage you.  If things are not going according your plan, check to make sure you are following God closely and then rely totally on Him.  That's what we're doing.

Congratulations, Graduates!

Sunday we were privileged to participate in the graduation of 16 Level One INSTE students from Open Bible Churches in Hungary.  These students spent two years studying, memorizing scriptures and learning to be servants in their own churches.  Several of them gave testimonies how they grew in their relationships with the Lord and learned daily habits of Bible reading and prayer.  One graduate shared how God helped him through the difficult time when his father was sent to prison.  Another shared how God miraculously healed her of psoriasis.  Hearing the testimonies made us so happy that we came to Hungary.

The congregations of four churches crowded into the Open Bible Church in Debrecen and celebrated with the graduates.  An added blessing was that, since it was Pentecost Sunday an invitation was made and three people were filled with the Holy Spirit. 

After the service, everyone enjoyed a delicious meal of stuffed cabbage followed by homemade sweets.  We praise the Lord for what He has been doing in Hungary. 

Oops!

Sunday afternoon was Nancy's first class in a week-long intensive Hungarian language course she is taking to improve her Hungarian skills.  There was just enough time after church to grab a quick bite to eat, catch the tram, and make it to her first class.  So, both of us went to McDonald's, ate a hamburger and proceeded to the tram stop.  As we crossed the street, we saw the tram coming, so we hurried and got on just as the doors were closing.  We validated our tickets and then, to our dismay, the tram turned off in the wrong direction!  We had jumped on the wrong tram!  Thankfully, the next stop was not far away and we had planned for some extra time.  We quickly got off the wrong tram, hurried back to the first tram stop and got on the right one.  Nancy made it to her class just in time.  Whew!

As we said before, some things changed here in Debrecen while we were gone.  Now we know we can't just hop on the only tram line and get to our destination.  We have to pay attention to whether the car coming is on the number 1 or on the number 2 line!