August Update
August 15, 2025
Above: Family arriving in Philly Airport at the end of June for our summer furlough. However, we were still missing our oldest daughter Ellie who was finishing a short term mission trip in Guatemala.
Above: With a week still remaining before Ellie was supposed to join us in the U.S., our friend Brenda secretly conspired with Ellie to surprise us. Brenda invited us one by one to come out from the house to see something in the trunk of her car. We thought it may be a new pet. When the trunk was opened and the blanket removed, our daughter popped out one week early with her beautiful joyous laughter. What a gift!
Above: We are often asked, what are some of the differences between Hungary and the U.S.. Going to a grocery store can be a bit overwhelming here as there are so many options like the cereal aisle that goes on and on and on!
Above: And you can't get donuts like this in Hungary :)
Above: Believe it or not, when we returned on furlough, the only child in our family that had a license was Kira (even though Ben and Ellie are older). And even with her license, Kira didn't have any time to practice driving when she attended high school in Germany. Ben and Ellie had failed their driving test the last time we were in the U.S.. So, much of my time this summer has been helping Kira, Ellie and Ben practice driving. Praise God that Ellie and Ben have now successfully passed their driving test and received their license!
Above: Allen and Ben took a trip to Philly and enjoyed an Eagle's preseason game together.
This is a season of many transitions for our family. Our son Ben will be staying in the U.S. to establish himself as his residency status in Hungary does not allow him the opportunities needed for continuing to live there.
Our daughter Kira was planning on going to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, but in a recent turn of events has instead decided to go to a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Discipleship Training School in Orlando in October. You can find more information about Kira's journey on her blog by clicking this LINK.
Above: Kira's first job experience at Chick-fil-A. We praise God that both Ben and Kira have found work in the U.S. Ben's next need is to find an apartment.
Above: Leading teaching time with Kids Club at BFCN.
We were thankful to be able to visit our supporting churches: Brandywine Valley Church, Bible Fellowship of Newark and Columbus Baptist in New Jersey. We are deeply grateful for our partners that offer encouragement and practical support to keep us on the field!
Above: Our youngest daughter Ziva was able to help out at Brandywine Valley's VBS. It was great to see how many kids attended and the way God used this to proclaim the Gospel.
Above: We're also thankful for the time we were able to spend with my mom. As most of you know, my dad passed away last April and mom has been going through grief and lots of change since that time.
Above: A recent trip with my mom to Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery. This is where my dad, my sister in law's dad and Sharon's dad and mom are buried in very close proximity.
Summer camps in Hungary
One major opportunity for ministry in Hungary is summertime. Once school lets out, we have camps from the beginning of July to the end of August.
Our teammates Roger and Heidi in partnership with members from their home church in California kicked off camp season with an English Camp for elementary school kids in our home town of Petőfibánya.
Above: The third year of holding English Camp for students from Petőfibánya's elementary school where Roger teaches Bible classes.
Above: Each day, the kids rotate through classes that keep them engaged while learning English.
This was a great start to the summer and many of these kids would be joining us again just weeks later in our VBS ministry.
VBS Camps in Petofibánya
Above: Panna who after last year's VBS decided to begin coming to our church and attended consistently the entire year.
Before returning to the U.S. we did our best to prepare materials (like crafts above) and help with administrative planning for our two VBS camps that draw in hundreds of unchurched kids from our neighborhood and surrounding villages.
We praise God for the many capable volunteers from our church who used their giftings and talents to share the love and word of Christ through our two VBS camps.
Above: One of my great joys was seeing Edit (center) be able to serve in our second VBS camp after fighting cancer for the past eight months. Months ago, it was our prayer and hope that she would recover from treatments and regain her strength. Praise God for His healing provision. Edit is in her seventies and her grandchildren Csanád (left) and Marci (right) also attended VBS. Edit shared the following: "I am thankful to the Lord and to you. Through your prayers and anointing my healing became quicker, and I am stronger. Csanád fully gave his life to the Lord, and Marci also drew closer to Him — they were very good helpers. Everyone served together as one body."
Above: I was also thankful that Zsuzsa (center with Miki and Erika) who had been attending a bridge-building Bible study in Miki and Erika's house has since been attending church and also served as a helper at camp.
Above: The oldest group of kids in our VBS have grown up attending and end up signing up for our camp as helpers to satisfy civil-service requirements for school. After being with us over the years and hearing the gospel over and over again, we often see kids from our oldest group choosing to put their faith in Jesus.
Our Hungarian partner in ministry Erika shared this good news about the teens: Today it was such a blessing to hear Emi’s testimony in the older group among young people from different backgrounds. Hanna D. told Miki that she would like to commit herself more to the Lord and be baptized. Hanna also gave her testimony to the young people. This evening, Anna V. (Picture above) also said that she wants to follow the Lord and be baptized. Thanks be to the Lord for drawing young people to Himself!
Please pray for Anna (pictured above) who has often been discouraged by family members from attending Christian events. Our daughter Ellie and others have been active in Anna's life seeking to encourage her and help her grow in her understanding of the life of following Jesus Christ by faith.
Here are a few films that church member Norbi put together from VBS:
Above: Bogi who years ago was saved through ministries in our church now teaching in one of our morning VBS sessions. Bogi's little brother Beni attended VBS and Bogi shared that since attending, Beni has started asking questions like, "Is it Jesus or God? Are they different? Are we sinful?" And Beni kept asking Bogi to sing "Our God is so Mighty" and thinking about all the lyrics in the song.
Bogi's mom, who many years ago was opposed to Bogi getting serious about her faith in Jesus and being baptized, decided to come to VBS on the final family day of camp. Bogi's shared with me, "This camp has been my favorite one, it was full of joy and blessings. I'm thankful for this week, for first-timers, for returning kids. It was lovely to serve together with the church members after such a long time. And I'm also grateful that both of my parents came today. Miki had a pretty long conversation with my dad, he went back to Miki a few times to finish their topics. I was amazed."
English Camp for teens and young adults
Praise God that there were plenty of volunteers from the U.S. and from Hungary who came together for this year's summer English Camp for teens and young adults in central Hungary (south of Budapest).
Cathy reported the following from English Camp: Two campers prayed to receive Christ as Savior and 10 asked for prayer because they are on a journey that we believe will soon come to a point of decision. Some of them are fearful of what family and friends will say and many don’t know any believers other than us, so it is very hard for a teen to be the “only one” in their family or their ‘community’. Please pray that we will be able to stay connected with them and that the Holy Spirit will encourage them and they will continue to see their need and be drawn to Christ. Pray that the enemy would be defeated in their lives. Several of these young people told our staff that they wanted to make a decision but they are “not quite ready”, “afraid that I can’t live alone for God”, “must have a conversation with their parents”, “need to think more about it”, etc… You can imagine the kinds of comments, but it was obvious that the Lord was working in their hearts and minds."
Here is an English Camp video that Dani put together from the week:
What's next?
Above: Allen and Ziva will be returning to Hungary next week as Ziva begins 8th grade September 1st.
Above: Sharon will delay her return to Hungary until mid-September as she'll be going to a song-writing conference in Orlando with Kira. And as mentioned earlier, Kira will be attending a YWAM DTS in October that you can find more about HERE.
Above: Ellie is safely back in Chicago and getting ready to finish her senior year at Moody Bible Institute.
Above: Ben will be staying in the U.S.. He currently has a management position in retail and will be looking for an apartment.
Above: Beginning of summer trip to Ocean City with family.
Above: A trip to Baltimore celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary.
We're very thankful for quality time with family and friends since we've been back on furlough. Thank you for partnering with us through your gifts and faithful prayers to bring the gospel to Hungary!
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