Gávavencsellő Visit

Worshiping outside

Waiting for the sound system to be set up inside

We enjoyed visiting the Open Bible Church in Gávavencsellő Sunday.  This church has gone through some tough times the past few months, but it was good to worship together with those who are pressing in for more of God. The service began under an awning in the yard of one of the church members, but about halfway through the worship time, a storm came up and the entire service was moved inside.  More than 30 people squeezed into two rooms and the service continued. Mike preached a great sermon on responding to hurt in a godly manner and Misha Tovtin interpreted.  After the service, Misha heard some of the young men say that they enjoyed hearing a "real" preacher. 

When we were finished, we were invited to take a look at the future church building.  This house was purchased recently and several men are spending every available moment remodeling it and getting it ready for church services.  They hope to be finished in a month.

Misha and two elders look at the future church building

May God continue to bless these beautiful people!

Still Translating

Much of the translation work being done on Level 2 INSTE is pretty much invisible to us since the translators work in their own offices at home.  Yesterday, however, some of the translation team met at our house to coordinate their work.  We really enjoyed being with them, sharing a meal together and discussing INSTE.  We appreciate the work of Sandor and Eszter Bereczki, Éva Kriszt and Klári Galdi. (Klári lives several hours away and was unable to attend the meeting.)

Summertime

It's been hot in Debrecen the past week or so with temperatures in the upper 80's.  We manage quite well without air conditioning, but yesterday was especially hot, so we decided to eat our lunch downtown under the cool shade of the trees on the square.  We are looking forward to a slight cool-down in the weather this week.  They are forecasting temps in the lower 80's--much better.

Nancy's Eyes

I (Nancy) want to thank everyone who has been praying for my eyes.  About four years ago I was diagnosed with macular degeneration.  The long-term outlook for macular degeneration is not good.  It is said that within several years, vision deteriorates to the point that a person cannot see detail and cannot drive, read or recognize faces.  I was told to always wear sunglasses outside, to take special vitamins every day and to visit the eye doctor once a year or immediately if I noticed sudden changes in my vision. Recently we have been asking for prayer for my eyes more often.
I have noticed only slight changes in my vision.  July is the time for my yearly appointment with the eye doctor, so last week I asked our optometrist friend who lives two doors down from us if the specialist she had referred me to two years ago was still seeing patients.  She said no, but our newest neighbor whom we had not even met yet is working in his place!  She set me up to see him.  The specialist examined my eyes and said he saw some insignificant macular degeneration, but not enough to explain my symptoms.  So he did two further tests and discovered that I have a "macular pucker" in my right eye.  He explained that this is clear scar tissue that grows over the macula, contracts a bit and causes slightly distorted vision including wavy- or choppy-looking lines, exactly what I have been experiencing.  He also said that the tissue could be removed by surgery, but that the surgery is a bit risky.  He recommended postponing any surgery and doing another test in three months to see if there have been any significant changes, if my vision worsens, or if the scar detaches on its own.
I was so relieved when I read more about macular puckers online.  It was good to know what was causing my strange symptoms and that such a condition rarely causes blindness.  But I do ask for your continued prayers for complete healing of my eyes without surgery.  I believe God is working!

Fourth of July Women's Conference

Even though yesterday was a holiday in the US, here in Hungary, the Fourth of July is just another day.  So, we both had obligations during the day including meeting with our Hungarian teachers.  But we did take some time to enjoy a good lunch of American hamburgers and watermelon. In the evening Nancy attended a Women's Conference at the Élet Church.

The only men present were on the worship team and a couple who snuck in the back.

The ladies were enthusiastic in their worship.

Nancy was able to sit with some friends from church.

The speaker was Lynn Crow, an American missionary to Mexico.  She gave an inspiring sermon and prayed for many, many ladies at the end of the service.

Thankful for Translators

Since one of our translators, Klári, lives several hours away, we rarely meet in person, working mainly through email.  But today we were happy to be able to meet with her and Éva, another translator.  The picture above is Mike working with the two ladies.  Thanks, Éva and Klári for your hard work using your expertise in the translation of Level 2 INSTE into Hungarian.