July 2009

WE'VE ARRIVED

WE’VE ARRIVED!

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Above: Ben trying to cool down with some gluten free fruity ice cream (if he can keep it from Jamie).

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Above: Over 30 people giving their week to serve Jesus and serve the Hungarian kids coming to camp. Praise God, everyone arrived safely!

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Above: Anikó, whom I was privileged to baptize last year at camp is now serving with us as a translator. Please pray for all the translators, as they have one of the toughest jobs cut out for them.

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Above: Beth with Kira. Beth will be responsible for watching over children of families that are serving this year. Our kids love her and we ask you to pray for her as she also has a very challenging job.

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Above: Heidi and Brenda. Saturday was a prep day for us. We broke into groups discussing responsibilities and took time to pray for our campers who will be here sometime today.

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Above Center: Mani will be my translator this year as I lead one of the Bible Study groups. I had some time to speak with her yesterday and she is very very competent with English. I am very thankful to have her in my study group and would ask you to pray for her to be equipped in all of her responsibilities at camp.

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Above: God was gracious to bring in a storm last night that significantly cooled down the 90 degree weather before we went off to sleep for the night. Today, it is once again sunny, but much cooler and therefore much easier to do the various activities we have planned.

Thank you all for praying!

Reminder: As I will be involved in many aspects of camp this year, I will (most likely) not be able to update our personal blog. If you would like the web address and password of a special prayer blog that will be updated daily, please email us at [email protected].
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ENGLISH CAMP BEGINS!!!!

Our English Camp is just about to begin! This Sunday, we will have over 35 campers from various areas of Hungary. Please join in prayer!

• For new staff as they transition to being in Hungary (culture shock, jet lag, fatigue).

• Pray for travel safety for staff on Saturday and campers on Sunday.

• Pray for good communication with one another, and consistent servant attitude to count others more important than ourselves so that Jesus may be magnified.

• Pray for protection from sickness and from accidents as everyone participates in activities.

• Pray that we will have time for all the last minutes details, meetings and prep before campers arrive.

• Pray for a strong bond of love among workers (Hungarian and American) that will be serving together throughout the week.

• Pray for strength and equipping for all that we are responsible to do and for the ability to rest well in a new environment.

• Pray that the Holy Spirit would begin preparing the hearts of campers even now to understand the truth of the Gospel and receive it as we teach every morining in our Bible Studies.

• Pray that campers could bond quickly with staff so they will share freely as camp is a few days shorter (7 days) this year.

• Pray that new campers will not be anxious as they arrive and that they will feel calm throughout the English placement testing time.

• With so many different ages, nationalities and backgrounds, pray for the staff as they decide how to put together the different groups for reading/conversation and game times on Sunday.

• Pray for Sharon to be able to work out with the cooking staff a solution for gluten free food for Benjamin and Elianna.

• Pray that the enemies schemes would be destroyed and that Jesus Christ would be known in this camp as Lord and Savior!

As I will be involved in many aspects of camp this year, I will (most likely) not be able to update our personal blog. If you would like the web address and password of a special prayer blog that will be updated daily, please email us at
[email protected].
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Weekly Update

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

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Above: Elianna and Kira spent the day at the zoo with Sharon as Allen took Benjamin out for a movie for his 8th birthday.

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Above: Benjamin turned eight on Wednesday. Praise God for giving Sharon the help in making a gluten free birthday cake.

WEDNESDAY ENGLISH BIBLE STUDY

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Above L to R: Erika (hungarian team mate), Hugi, Klári, Norbi and team mate Roger. On Wednesday we concluded the series we had been studying with a call to a decision. I am thankful that out of the four (outside of our team) that began attending this study, three of them have been consistently attending for months. God has helped them to gain an understanding of the fall of man, the power of sin, the character of God, and the fulfillment of prophecy that God sent His only Son Jesus to save us from sin and reconcile us to God. We reviewed the Gospel message and I asked if they were able (even if they hadn’t yet believed) to tell someone what the Bible taught about how to be saved. Afterward, I challenged them, if they had been agreement with all that the Bible revealed about Jesus, to make the decision to turn to Him for salvation.

Since this was the last study in the series, I asked if they wanted to continue meeting and whether or not they had ideas in changing the format. They suggested that they themselves search the Bible through the week and bring in a passage to discuss. Each one agreed and I look forward to seeing what they bring in this Wednesday. Praise God, that they have a continued desire to read His word and decided on their own to be responsible to read His Word through the week.

FRIDAY HIKE FOR VBS TEENS

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Above: Every year, God helps us reconnect with many kids through our VBS. As a way to follow up and continue to reach out to them, we planned a hike on the Friday following our VBS. We saw God at work just a few weeks ago to draw teenager Norbi into fellowship with us through a hike like this. He then attended our church and soon after hearing teaching about the Gospel he put his faith in Jesus.

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Above: Norbi (far left) with hand raised after winning one of our many team building games.

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Above: Ádám and Oliver, both old friends of Norbi responded to his invite to come and join us on the hike. Norbi shared with me his desire that these young men also come to know Jesus.

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Above center: Teenager Niki who has been attending our church and other Bible studies for over a year. Just tonight, Niki came to our church prayer meeting. From conversations in the past with Niki, it was clear that she was seeking and learning more, but I never knew whether or not she made a decision to put her faith in Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. Allen asked her about whether or not she made the decision and she confirmed it. Niki has been attending a class that we offer to help believers understand teaching on baptism. We praise God for Niki’s decision to follow Jesus and the signs of fruit in her prayer life and attitude in relationships.



Above: Short film of some of the game time once we reached the top of the mountain on our hike. WARNING: Loud music!

After lots of laughter and team building games, we set up the fire, enjoy smores and begin our discussion questions with the kids. We talked about experience of prayers answered and prayers that we may perceive as not being answered and explored reasons why they may not be answered. Praise God for clearing out a thunderstorm just in time for us to go on this hike and bringing new teens out to hear more about Jesus.

BABY MERCER

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Above: Kira pretending to be like mommy at the doctors office. Sharon is three months along and doing well. We were able to see our child’s heartbeat through ultrasound and given a good report from the doctor. Praise God.

FOURTH OF JULY

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Above: Even though we are miles away oversees, we were able to celebrate the Fourth of July at a barbeque with various teammates and friends from Pioneers.

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