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February
2010: Spotlight on
Weekly Coffeehouse in
Debrecen
 After a break
during the holidays, our weekly coffeehouse has again kicked into gear with
fresh energy and a new name. The Connections Coffeehouse is serving
up hot beverages, snacks, fun, and friendship each Thursday evening
in the cave-like environment of a guesthouse basement. Weekly attendance has
averaged about fifteen, and along with a lot of music and laughter, some
good, deep conversations have been had with several people.
Pray with us that relationships made and strengthened at the coffeehouse
will make an eternal impact on many lives.
Fall
2009 coffeehouse photos
For more information, visit the
Eastern Hungary Team website.
December
2009: Spotlight on
 Every year
around late November the city starts to decorate itself with lights, wreaths, ribbons, and every
other kind of decoration, all in celebration of Christmas. Though not nearly the commercial onslaught
that hammers the American celebrants, it is becoming increasingly more commercial here. With no
Thanksgiving to hold back the decorations, some stores started decorating in the
second week of November. It is noticeable to us, but also to the people of the city.
Recently the guy who
cuts hair for a few of us brought this up. He said, “I hate all of this
Christmas decorating and the shopping.” He is not a believer, so it was assumed
that he meant that he hated Christmas. Instead he finished his thought, “I hate
that all these people celebrate a holiday when they don’t even know what it is.”
Granted he didn’t understand either and couldn’t really explain what the true
celebration was, but his statement was interesting and showed that he is at least
thinking about deeper meanings. Pray for people like him.
Pray that the Gospel will shine clearly and brightly through the glow of
Christmas lights and decorated trees. Pray that when given opportunities, we
will be able to speak clearly about the true significance of Christmas amidst
the almost overwhelming clatter of the fake Christmas message.
For more information,
visit the Budapest Team's
site.
September
2009: Spotlight on
 Team Budapest has been blessed to be able to work with a local elementary school. Last year one of our team members worked as the native English teacher and had a wonderful year with the kids and teachers. This year we are even more blessed. Not only will this same teammate be teaching in the school again, but a new member of the team is coming to teach as well. Together they will be teaching the first and second graders in the bilingual program.
The team is very grateful for this opportunity to be involved in the lives of so many people. Even more, we have a chance to truly serve the community in a tangible way (the importance of learning English for these kids is hard for us to grasp.) But better still, God has also put us in a place where we can play a vital role in the lives of a great number of kids and be a friend to many teachers; in doing so we can be salt and light in a place that is desperate for it.
For more information,
visit the Budapest Team's
site.
August
2009: Spotlight on
English Lessons Lead to
Search for God
 Erika
is a young woman who has been trying to improve her English. In
fact, she has been coming regularly to Paul and Tena Brock’s
house for the past six months. Like many others in this time of
economic crisis, she is currently without a job. So Erika decided
this was the perfect time to improve her English language and thus
hopefully also improve her employability as well.
Erika has
been a good student, often coming twice a week when the Brocks had
time in their teaching schedule. As summer came, she wanted to
continue lessons. Paul told her that they were having two English
camps and that he would be involved there most of the time and would
be unable to teach her privately those couple of weeks. He did
encourage her to come to the summer English camps. She said that she
could not afford to do so, because the camps were more expensive
than the lessons at the Brocks' house. So she missed the first week’s
camp.
Before
the second week Paul called and encouraged her to attend the
second week of camp. He told her that she had been given a
scholarship so that the cost would not be a factor in her ability
to attend. She was encouraged and said she would see.
On the
first Monday of the second camp Erika came. At the first break
time, Paul asked her if she was able to understand the classes and
how it was going. She said it was very good and she did
understand, as the lessons were from the Bible like she was used
to.
As the
week went on, the team from North Carolina hosted afternoons at
the ice cream shop for the students to come, hang out, and
chat. Erika came a couple of afternoons to talk with Scott
Betts, who was her teacher for the week. Late in the week Scott
told her, “I think you are looking for God.” Erika
answered, “I think so, too.”
Please
pray for Erika and the other students who heard the Gospel
message. Pray they will continue with lessons in the fall and will
eventually become believers as God reveals Himself to them.
For more
information, visit the Western
Hungary Team website.
June
2009: Spotlight on
Touching Lives Through
Sports
 Recently the European Union conducted some research on the increasing
rate of crime and violence among youth in the member states. They concluded that much of the problem was boredom from a lack of positive, meaningful activities. The research suggested that sports was one of the best ways to keep kids out of trouble.
A.P. Crouch of the Eastern Hungary Team has been striving to make a difference by providing opportunities for kids with after-school programs as well as coaching a local volleyball team. “Sports is one of the best tools to reach kids,” says Crouch, a certified P.E. teacher and volleyball player. If schools are willing to open their facilities she is willing to be there and have something ready for the youth. A couple of schools have agreed and allowed the use of their gyms.
The schools’ constantly shifting schedules make it difficult to keep consistent. School activities take precedence over the after-school programs so the gym is often reserved for other functions. Sometimes the students are busy with other activities, but Crouch is still willing to be there when she can.
She is also coaching a local volleyball team. The opportunity arose while talking with one school about an English program.
 Gary Miller, the EHU team leader, asked about the school’s sports program. The head of the English department said, “We have a volleyball team but no coach.” Miller responded, “We have a coach with no team.” At the school’s invitation, Crouch went to check out the situation at the following week’s practice. She has been the team’s coach from that moment on. It is
a great opportunity to build relationships and share the love of Christ by meeting a need for the school and students.
The EHU team’s sports program is still in its early stages. They hope to not only provide opportunities for youth to participate in sports, but also to raise up leaders who will take over and keep the programs going. The goal is that over the next two years they will build on these early starts to develop an ongoing sports ministry not dependent on outside sources or funding.
For more information, visit the
Eastern Hungary Team website.
April
2009: Spotlight on
God is at work in Western Hungary
 At one time or the other every missionary wonders to themselves and often to others and eventually to God, “Is my being here really making any difference at all?” It is a very common question when you are working with people of a different culture who have different customs, language and traditions. I know Tena and I have asked it of each other a number of times as we have labored from week to week with very little discernable progress.
 Recently we think we have begun to see some of the budding of possible future fruit. We have a Bible study group that has been meeting in our home for the past couple of years. The numbers have gone up and come down. It would seem that almost every time it looked like we were about to build a core group, the people in the core would move away to find a job. Some moved to other parts of Hungary, but many moved out of the country altogether as they have sought jobs in neighboring Austria, or in England, Scotland or Ireland.
 On a Sunday just a few weeks ago we had 21 people who came to our house for worship. Of the 21 we now have a regular core group of about 10 people. These 10 have become very faithful in coming for Bible study every week. In fact, most, if not all, have even invited family or friends to come with them.
We have also been seeing that there is still a large number of people who want to learn English with us through the Bible. We have someone call us almost every week that want to join us.
Please pray that we will remain faithful to share the love and message of Jesus Christ, that may Hungarians will join Him in a personal relationship that leads to salvation.
For more
information, visit the Western
Hungary Team website.
March
2009: Spotlight on
Like most young adults in today’s world, young Budapesters are faced with a world that is becoming increasingly unstable. In order for students and graduates to secure a decent job, knowing and speaking English is extremely important. Because of this, Team Budapest has been able to find many opportunities to serve the community in our native tongue, to make and build relationships with new Hungarian friends and to demonstrate the love of Christ.
 For instance, most of us meet with various individuals for English practice. Not only are we able to help people but we are also making friends…friends who invariably converse with us about our faith. We have also been blessed with opportunities to be in two different schools in our area. Denise serves as the native speaker (the government requires that a bilingual school employ a native speaker) at a local elementary school. Vivian has been able to work with a local high school because of English and, thanks to a volunteer team from North Greenville University, we hope to have an even bigger opportunity to work with the school.
 One last thing we are just now doing is a Bible study in simplified English. With a ton of help from a local church, we are offering people the chance to practice their English as well as learn about the basics of our faith in a study called Christianity Explored. We use a version that has a simplified English text to make discussion and reading easier. We are really praying that God will bring more and more people to us via this study.
Our prayer for the team is that God will continue to provide us opportunities to serve the community with something we take for granted…speaking English. We are also praying that God will put us in deep relationships with the people we are here to serve and that ultimately that they will come to know our Savior.
For more information,
visit the Budapest Team's
site.
February
2009: Spotlight on
Hajduszoboszlo Outreach English Course
 The Baptist church in Hajduszoboszlo [HIGH-dew-soh-boh-sloh]
wants to help people and share the love of
Christ at the same time. Since Hungary has entered the European Union and
because so many Hungarians have family living abroad, the importance of learning English has become greater than ever…and there is
no sign of this changing any time soon. New language schools pop up almost daily, but many people cannot afford the high price they charge.
The church
requested help from missionaries to fulfill their goal of helping people and sharing Christ by holding English camps. For the past three summers volunteers have come through the IMB at the request of
the Eastern Hungary Team to hold one-week camps.
 Pastor Tibor Komaromi reported that this has been the church's most effective outreach for forming long term relationships with the unchurched, but he had a vision of taking it even further. He asked the IMB team if they would consider teaching a weekly or biweekly English course. “We are not the church growth department of the Hungarian Baptist Union,” says Gary Miller, the Strategy Coordinator for eastern Hungary. “But there are times when it is strategic for missions to help the local church grow stronger so that there are more workers for the harvest.”
The strategic importance of the city lies not in its size or location, but in its hot water. Hajduszoboszlo is known for its natural hot springs and as a family-friendly vacation spot. This resort town with a population of 30,000 people averages 10,000 visitors a day. In peak season it can run as high as 50,000 visitors a day. One half of all housing is used for tourism. Literally hundreds of thousands of people come from all over Europe to relax in these mineral baths in the middle of the great plains of eastern Hungary. The potential for broad sowing of the Gospel seed to much of central Europe is
astounding.
 The English classes have drawn many people to the church, where every other week they receive an English lesson related through a Bible story. The team uses Bible stories as the basis for teaching the English classes because a Christian heritage is a common point between the two cultures, and the Bible contains almost every type of literature. This makes it a great place to find almost any example of grammar usage, plus relay God's message at the same time.
The EHU Team has agreed to continue the course until their summer projects begin in mid-May. Along with the regular classes, the church and the IMB team plan special events where students are given an opportunity to practice what they have learned in a relaxed, fun atmosphere, and where church members can connect on a personal level with the other students.
For more information, visit the
Eastern Hungary Team website.
January
2009: Spotlight on
"Pray
that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and will be honored
wherever it goes." II Thessalonians 3:1
This is the prayer request of Paul and Tena Brock and Larry and Melinda
Ewing of the Western Hungary Team as they gear up for the spring semester. The fall semester was a wonderful
period of sowing and growth. God brought many new students and young adults across their paths. They had come to practice conversational English, also knowing they would be discipled in
God's Word at the same time. One professor, who had begun to come regularly, admitted that he had been searching for answers by studying the major religions of the world. He decided it was time to study the Truth, so he began coming every week to the Bible discussion group. There he heard about how Jesus was high and lifted up to be our sin Substitute and Sacrifice.
Other new friends that we met while volunteer teams were here in September also came on Tuesdays and to other activities that the teams offered. Through all of these efforts, relationships are being formed and strengthened as a foundation is being laid for the receiving of the Gospel.
The Brocks and Ewings are anticipating a fruitful spring semester, as
new people will be joining the team in early January. Among these is a young family; Adam and Jenna Kester and their
two small boys will come alongside the Brocks in ministry among those who study English through studying the Bible in Nagykanizsa. Be praying with us that the Kesters will make a smooth transition from their home in Arkansas to Hungary. Pray for them as they settle in and begin Hungarian language study.
Also joining us in January is Melissa Perry,
who will be joining the Ewings' team for four months with a Hands
On project. Melissa came as a volunteer in September to help with the fall university reach-out projects. After she returned home she immediately applied to
come back so that she could continue sharing her faith. She befriended several girls with whom she has been communicating through email. Pray for Melissa to
be able to take the friendships she has formed and help draw these new friends
into a personal relationship with Christ.
The team is also looking forward with great anticipation to the
upcoming return of David and Tina Taylor from their stateside assignment. Be praying that Tina and David will be able to get all
the needed documents for a quick return to Hungary. One of the students in the city of Keszthely in western Hungary, whom David and Tina had discipled before going stateside, has become a witness to many in her university during
the Taylors' absence.
Our team is greatly anticipating what God has in store for His
Kingdom's work during these exciting months ahead.
For more
information, visit the Western
Hungary Team website.
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