Refugee Crisis

Changes have been very fluid this past week in Hungary with the refugee situation. Last Monday, Sharon and I went into Budapest to help at the Keleti Train Station which had been jammed in the past with crowds of refugees.



Above: Above, the upper level of the Keleti Train Station in Budapest.

Cutting through the train station and heading to the lower level we found that there were hardly any waiting. We passed a line of police officers and a designated path just for refugees to quickly board trains and exit Hungary as soon as possible.



This was all due to upcoming changes that happened last night where Hungary finished locking down it’s border and declared a state of emergency with much stricter and immediate consequences to those who cross the border illegally.







Above: A small group from Syria joyfully showing their tickets to a train that would take them to the border of Austria.



Above: As we walked around, we found a man laying down with shoes off and I struck up a conversation with him. Unlike the masses who were arriving and immediately leaving on trains, he was waiting for the rest of his family to arrive on busses since they had been separated at the Hungary Serbia border. Once they arrived they would also board the train and make their way to Germany.

It turns out that this man was a middle school teacher in Syria. It is amazing how much we could communicate with his limited English and using make-shift sign language. He allowed me to pray for head pain he was experiencing and Jesus was merciful to heal him. He gladly accepted a few bananas and also some homemade cream that he applied to his worn feat. We gave left over supplies to another non-profit organization as we had to head back home to get Ziva from preschool. This just shows how quickly the crisis is shifting and how needs are hard to pinpoint with all the change happening. We are currently discussing ways in which our mission agency can best contribute with the donations we have already received and how to use the personnel that have time outside of their existing ministries to help. We appreciate your continued prayers!

ENGLISH CLUB IN Jászfényszaru

Above: Roger getting back to teaching ESL with returning students and thankfully many new faces in Jászfényszaru.



Above: Dezso, who we first met though an English club in our hometown in Petofibanya more than ten years ago has since become a elder in our church plant and serves with us now in Jászfényszaru with his giftings in evangelism.

On Monday, we relaunched our English Club in the town of Jászfényszaru. We have been working in this town for a few years with a desire to see a church planted. Our first hour is divided into two classes, with a beginner class for adults and a new class for pre-schoolers and younger children.





Our next two hours are for intermediate and advanced students and it is in this time that we hold two separate Bible studies. We were grateful for the turn out and especially those who attended the Bible studies. As many of you know, last semester Bogi was one of our students from Jászfényszaru who ended up putting her faith in Jesus over the summer. We hope to see this time and time again as we sow seeds of the Gospel in this town.



Above: Brenda’s beginner English Bible study.



Above: Our advanced class from left to right: Hanna, Bogi (recently saved) and Kati who is works facilitating the programs for the local community center.

In my advanced class, I had a new student, Hanna who had just moved to Jászfényszaru a few weeks ago. I was thankful for how the class made her feel welcome right away and how she was involved in our Bible study on Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. As we discussed the life of the Samaritan woman and her needs, Hanna commented that she heard somewhere that all of us have a void in our heart that only God can fill. It was clear that the Spirit was already helping her to see what Jesus was offering those who come to Him. Please pray for Hanna and students in Brenda’s English Bible study to come to know Jesus through His Word.

Outreach in Bogács

On Tuesdays, we continue to commute to the town of Bogács reaching out to the Romani tucked away in a ghetto area of the town. Erika, who was baptized a few weeks ago continues to grow in spite of great difficulties and challenges because of poverty. Sitting around a dimly lit kitchen table, she began giving testimony about how for the first time she is experiencing freedom from the power of sin in her life. She said looking back at who she was and how she lived, she just doesn’t know where she would be today if she didn’t meet Jesus. Her friend Edit continues to be hesitant because of the past influences of false teachers. She just doesn’t know who to believe. It has been our goal to help her to read the Word and use it to discern who is telling truth. Every week she has new questions and I simply bring her to the Word and we read it together seeking answers. This week we focused on Scripture that revealed that Jesus was God in the flesh. Please pray for more to come to know Him in Bogács and for the young believers to grow in discernment and in the knowledge of God’s love.

New Believers

Over the past few months, God has been bringing families into our church that have been in the crowds where we have scattered seeds of the Gospel in the past. Zsuzsa had two of her children attend our English Camp. In a terrible turn of events in her life, she fell into desperation and began truly seeking answers. Since she has had spiritual conversations with us in the past (and because she is our town’s postal worker) she began hearing again from multiple people from our church the hope we have in Jesus. Instead of going to her door, she (in her normal course of the day) would come to our door. Soon after, she put her trust in Jesus Christ and is planning on being baptized along with many others (including our daughter Elianna) next week.



Above: Our core church planting team with Heidi and Roger, Brenda, Dezso, Sharon and Allen and Erika and Miki.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.