Blessed Sunday

Sunday was a wonderful day at our home church here in Debrecen.  It was a "Church Sunday" which means that there is a meal after church and everyone is encouraged to eat together and stay as long as they like after the service.

During the service, one of the ladies was honored for having had her 60th birthday that week.  It is the church's practice to recognize members who have "round" birthdays, that is birthdays that end in zero.  Nancy was surprised, however, to hear her name called also.  Although her birthday was Saturday, it wasn't a "round" birthday, but the pastor explained that the church wanted to honor her and Mike for ministering in Hungary for 10 years.

Both Nancy and Margo were presented with flowers and gifts. Mike preached a powerful sermon on Lessons of Faith from Mary and Martha and itt was a great service. After the fellowship dinner, everyone enjoyed birthday cake.

Happy birthday, Margo and Nancy!  Thank you Shalom Open Bible Church!

Vacation in Israel

What a privilege it was to be able to take a tour of Israel! 

Last August we heard that three of Nancy's sisters were making plans to take a tour of Israel with a group led by Drs. Marc and Marceil Royer and The Christian Research Group.  So, we looked into it and decided to use some vacation time to take the tour.  How could we resist?  For one thing, our airline tickets to Israel from Hungary were a fraction of the cost of flying from the US and we would have no jetlag either.
February 6 through 14 we toured Israel, seeing such places as Joppa, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Cana, Gideon Springs, the Dead Sea, Masada, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  It was exciting to see so many places we had read about in the Bible, to notice how rocky the soil is, how barren the wilderness is and how mountainous the country is.
It was a joy to share it not only with each other, but with family, too. On the second day, however, Leota, Nancy's sister, became sick and had to be taken to the hospital.  The entire tour group (64 in all) prayed for her.  The tour moved on to another city and Nick and Leona (another of Nancy's sisters) stayed back with Leota.  Praise the Lord, the following day, all three of them rejoined the tour and praised God for Leota's miraculous healing.
It is not required for followers of Jesus to visit Israel.  The same Jesus who walked on the Sea of Galilee and healed so many people including Leota is right where each of us is today by his Holy Spirit.  That is more important than joining other tourists in the Holy Land, but it was heartwarming to be able to see and touch places Jesus walked on this earth.  We pray that this experience will enable us to understand the Word better and to better share with others about our Savior and Lord.

The Torch Church

Sunday afternoon, Mike preached at Fáklya Gyülekezet (Torch Church).  We enjoyed the presence of the Lord and good fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Mike preached from John 11 about faith.  He said that faith is based on relationship, is simply trusting in someone we know and when we have faith in someone we will do what they say.  Afterward was a powerful prayer time.  We love being able to minister to our Hungarian friends.

Pastor Daniel Kriszt interpreted for Mike

Today, Monday, we are heading to Budapest.  Early Tuesday morning we will catch a flight to Tel Aviv for what we expect to be a wonderful vacation.  We were gifted with a discount on a tour of Israel with TCRG Tours. 
One of the best parts of this vacation is that three of Nancy's sisters and two of her brothers-in-law plus other friends will take part in the tour also.
We will be posting pictures on Facebook.  Shalom!