Three Countries in One Week

Last weekend we met Tammy Swailes, the Director of Inste in Europe, at a hotel about halfway between her home and ours for a meeting to discuss important Inste matters. That meant traveling to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine.  The meeting was productive, the weather cooperative, the scenery beautiful and the roads filled with potholes.  We arrived back in Hungary Sunday afternoon after the four and a half hour trip, thankful for God's protection and direction along the way.

This week we are working out the details for spending most of the month of March in Gherla, Romania.  We are wrapping up as much Inste business as possible, making arrangements for our obligations here in Hungary, and trying to pack what we will need for a month into our little car.

Friday, our plan is to make the trip to Romania, unpack in the small apartment our friends found for us there and spend a month ministering to the leaders and people of the Open Bible Church as the Holy Spirit leads us. 

That means that this week we will have been in three countries!  Please pray for us as we finish up our responsibilities here in Hungary and as we prepare to minister in Romania that we will hear God's voice clearly and do all that he tells us to do. 

Business Meeting

It has been a busy weekend and it's not over yet. 

Thursday evening we went to our home group meeting as usual, but before the meeting began, we enjoyed a little party.  Since Friday was Nancy's birthday, we brought along a cake and everyone sang a happy birthday song as the "firework" candle burned. (These little firework candles are so popular for birthdays and other celebrations that the bakeries offer them for sale along with the cakes.)

Friday morning we left for Ukraine to meet with Tammy Swailes, the European director of Inste.  We had some important business to discuss and decided to meet about halfway between her home and ours.  Our trip took a little longer than expected when we were stopped at the Hungary/Ukraine border by the Hungarian authorities for a "more thorough inspection of travel documents."  We were in no trouble, but we had to wait an extra hour or so while the border guards looked over Mike's papers. 

 We met Tammy at the Golden Trout Hotel and Fishing Resort in the Carpathian Mountains.  The scenery is beautiful and the river swollen with melting snow is amazing. We enjoyed freshly caught trout at the restaurant in celebration of Nancy's birthday.  Friday evening and Saturday we prayed together and discussed our business.  Early Sunday morning we plan on heading back to Hungary.

Please pray for continued safe travel and for God's will to be worked out in our lives and in Inste in Hungary.

The House Church Visit

Yesterday we enjoyed visiting the House Church, a bilingual (Hungarian and English) church that we have a close relationship with.  The House Church ministers to both English-speaking university students and Hungarians.

We sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit from the start of the service, really enjoying the worship in both languages.  Mike preached from Galatians 2:20 about dying to self and fully surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ.  After the service, we enjoyed visiting with old friends and making new ones.

Mike used one of the university students in an illustration

Our plans for next weekend are to meet our supervisor, Tammy Swailes, in Ukraine about half way between her home and ours for a long-overdue meeting.  Please pray for safe travel for all of us and for each of us to know God's direction for our ministry.

Busy INSTE Weekend

Friday evening was an Inste board meeting.  Among other things, we discussed important business concerning the future leadership of Inste in Hungary and made specific plans for the April 29 Inste Conference.  The best part of any Inste board meeting, though is being with the precious men and women of God who give their time to oversee Inste.

Sunday morning we were delighted to visit the Salvation Army here in Debrecen and to distribute books to the new Inste group there.  This church is alive and growing and it is a privilege to help them make disciples who know and love Jesus and the Word of God.

New INSTE group at the Salvation Army

Maria- the INSTE group leader

Thank you for your prayers of Inste in Hungary and for the students who are studying and growing closer to the Lord.

Be Instant in Season, Out of Season

Paul told Timothy to "be instant in season, out of season". This certainly came true for me last night. I (Mike) received a call last week from a man who was interested in starting INSTE in his church. It is still difficult for me to understand Hungarian over the phone, but I was able to figure out he wanted me to come and discuss the process of starting INSTE. We set a time and place to meet in the town where he lives (a small village not far from Debrecen). I arrived that evening after a little difficulty finding the place, we sat down in his kitchen, and I explained the process of him being trained as a group leader and how to start a group. I also gave him the leader's training book, test, and necessary materials to begin. I was thinking that our time together was coming to a close when his wife said she was going to pick up some people in her car for the service. The man then explained that they were going to have their regular weekly home group, and he wanted me to minister. This may have been mentioned in our phone conversation, but I definitely missed it. Consequently, I had not brought my Bible and was not prepared at all. PLUS, there was no translator! After a short time people arrived, we sang some songs, and I was introduced to minister. I had to borrow a Bible, but I felt led to talk a little about INSTE: sharing one of the main principles from 1 Cor. 12 that everyone is a minister. I spoke for about 1/2 hour on the importance of everyone finding their spiritual gifts and place in the body of Christ. All this in Hungarian. Needless to say, it was quite an interesting night, but it looks as though we will have a new INSTE group in this village, and I did survive ministering completely in Hungarian.

Uszka Visit

Sunday we were invited to visit the Free Christian Church in Uszka.  Mike preached a powerful sermon and Misha Tovtin did a great job interpreting for him.  Afterward we were treated to stuffed cabbage and cake at the pastor's home.  We were able to give them the INSTE books for Old Testament for their current group.  They are really enjoying studying INSTE and told us that they miss their weekly group meetings between semesters. 

On the way back, we (that is, Mike) drove through very thick fog for about an hour.  It was so thick that all we could see was the edge of the road and the middle line!  Praise God for his protection and for a fruitful time with the congregation in Uszka.