New Year, New Assignment

This week we are not only beginning a new year, we are beginning our new assignment in Romania.  We are very excited!

But first, a little news about our Christmas.  We were able to visit Mike's brother Dann and his wife Karla on our way to spending Christmas with our son Matt, wife Mandy and daughter Lucy in Michigan.  It was so good to catch up in person with each of them and to give hugs all around.

Matt, Mandy and little Lucy

 The Saturday after Christmas, Nancy's extended family from the Des Moines area gathered together for more food, fun and hugs.  We really appreciated the family praying over us as we leave for Romania.

Nancy's extended family from the Des Moines area celebrating Christmas

Our trip to Romania begins this Friday. We are planning to arrive in Budapest late Saturday evening, then travel it to Debrecen on Sunday.  After picking up our car in Debrecen, Lord willing we will drive to Gherla, Romania on Tuesday the 8th.

As was said, we are excited!  This is a new adventure and we are looking forward to seeing what God will do in Romania as we are obedient to his guidance.  Please pray for us, for--
-safe, trouble-free travel
-adjustment to our new home and culture
-successful completion of all paperwork to receive our necessary documents
-quick language acquisition
-God's direction and anointing
-that our Romanian brothers and sisters will grow in number, in faith and in power.

Year in Review

What a year 2018 has been!  We feel like we have been spun round and round like a carnival ride, dizzying but exciting.

The first half of the year was filled with preparations to transfer Inste Hungary to Hungarian leadership and prepare to leave the country.  Late in 2017, a candidate for the position of Inste Hungary Director was chosen and Mike began training him to take over. We worked with the Inste board to find a new office location and to work out other details of the transfer of leadership.  Tammy Swailes, the European Inste Director, also worked with Vince Varga and by the time of the Inste Conference in May, he was prepared and was appointed as Director.

Inste Hungary Director Vince Varga, his wife Timea and Tammy Swailes, European Inste Director

As these preparations were taking place, Vince McCarty, Open Bible Global Missions Director, asked if we would consider moving to Gherla, Romania for two years to help with the Open Bible Church there.  After much prayer, we knew God was guiding us to Romania and we said yes.  Before we left Hungary, we packed a van full of our household goods and drove them the five hours to Gherla, where the church was kind enough to store them for us.

Pastors of the Open Bible Church in Ibrany saying goodbye to us

Saying goodbye to our Hungarian friends was difficult.  We had grown to love our church family dearly and they expressed their love for us with many words and kind gifts.  We said our farewells in June and traveled to the US in order to visit as many of our supporters as possible, letting them know about our change of assignment and asking for their prayers and support.

Itineration was wonderful, being able to see so many of our good friends and speaking in twenty-one churches.  We are very thankful for the hundreds of people who promised to pray for us specifically as we minister in Romania.

Mike reporting on Hungary and explaining our plans for Romania

Our time in the US was not without excitement. We spent time with each of our children and grandchildren and many of our other relatives.  We had some minor medical issues taken care of.  Nancy had a fall in June, breaking out her front tooth and scraping up her face, but she is back in one piece now.  Our son Paul, pastor of the Open Bible church in Austin, Minnesota, suffered a stroke in September.  Since we were only a few hours away, we were able to go to be with him and his family for a week following his stroke. Many, many people have been praying for Paul and he has recovered except for his eyesight.  He still has only half the usual field of vision in each of his eyes.  We know God is able to complete his healing and we continue to ask Him to do so.

A big highlight was spending one-on-one time with each of our grandchildren

As 2018 wraps up, we are making preparations to return to Europe.  Our flight leaves Des Moines January 4.  We will land in Budapest the next day, take a transport to Debrecen on the 6th, pick up our car that we left there and travel to Romania on the 8th.

All through 2018 God has blessed us tremendously, meeting our needs, answering our prayers, and leading us unmistakably.  We do not know what 2019 holds, but we do know that the same God who has been with us in 2018 will be with us in 2019.  Thank you for praying for us.  And thank you for your continued prayers.

End of 2018 Itineration

We enjoyed listening to the Kankakee Open Bible Center choir sing a Christmas song.

 Sunday was our last stop on this year's itineration.  We visited Open Bible Center in Kankakee, Illinois and shared about our work in Eastern Europe, asking for their help in prayer and finances. We were well received and welcomed as dear friends since this church is missions-minded and many people know us from past visits or have heard about us when missions is emphasized in the church.

Pastor Andy Hansen

We were very pleased to have this church and three others invite us to speak between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a very busy time for most churches. 

We have tickets to fly back to Europe on January 4, so in the mean time we will be wrapping things up here, deciding what to take back with us, making reports and doing other final business before we leave the country.  Language study, of course, continues as we endeavor to be able to communicate.  Our plans are to spend Christmas with our youngest son and his family in Michigan and to stop and see one of Mike's brothers on the way there. 

Looking back over the last six months, itineration has been a joy.  Nothing compares to worshiping the Father with his children no matter what city we are in.  Renewing acquaintances and making new friends is always delightful and being able to share with them what God has done in Hungary and what our hopes are for our new assignment in Romania is inspiring to them and encouraging to us.  The prayers prayed for us are priceless and we are humbled by the generous offerings that have been given.  May God bless each church and pastor for receiving us, listening to us and taking such good care of us.  Thank you!

One Month to Romania

One month from today we fly to Romania to begin our assignment there.  We are excited about our new adventure and are eagerly seeking the Lord to direct us and empower us to do what he wants done in and through us.

Last Sunday we spoke at two meetings, Sunday morning at Community Chapel in Des Moines and Sunday evening at Cornerstone Community Church in Albia, Iowa. Both congregations were welcoming and very interested in our work in Eastern Europe. 

The Community Chapel congregation was very attentive, including the children.

The little jar to the left of Mike was used for a coin march.  The children put coins in this jar and one dressed as a boy as a fund raiser for missions.

 After the service, there was a delicious potluck lunch.

In Albia, we enjoyed worship

then, after Mike spoke and they prayed for us, they served a dessert potluck.

As we near the end of our time in the US, we are enjoying being together with our American brothers and sisters in Christ, looking forward to being with our Romanian brothers and sisters in Christ soon.  Everywhere we go, we have family. What a blessing!