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.