A Certain Woman in Eastern Europe

In February 2011, I became a trustee and the chief elder of the International Church here in Budapest.  It really has been an exciting time serving the Lord in this new position. I still do get to travel as "Certain Women Ministries" but my primary focus has been the church.  I think that all International Churches are interesting, fluctuating and a bit of a challenge.  For one thing, you are usually located in a very large city, meeting in english while your closest neighbors speak a different language than you and your congregation is spread out over a very long distance. The other challenge is some people are just visiting, some are on short-term assignments and only a minority are established there for long-term.   So, building blocks are in limited supply.  Our congregation has grown since 2010 and has had one service with 70 people but usually we are a low of 24 to around 60.  You never know from Sunday to Sunday who will be there. God has b...

 The girl friends  The siblings  The cousins  The Judge  The ice cream cake in Johnstown, NY The Party Hat!  The red-velvet cake in Poughkeepsie, NY The black-forest cake in Budapest, HU

In addition to the above beautiful scenery, a black bear ran out in front of our car (which is a very rare sighting and we saw eagles.  Thank you Lord!!

 Here are some recent Word's spoken over Budapest.  They are a confirmation of the Word's spoken by John Dean about the angelic visitations that occur before a big move of God. John also was told by the Lord that Budapest was one of the 7 portal cities in  the world. Others being Jerusalem and Winnigeg, Canada.  A portal city is strategic and also affects the surrounding nations.  One of the other things John said was that there would be people coming to harvest fields in Hungary and even television cameras and many eyes would be on them and the harvest would be brought in speedily. His Word was not to be discouraged if you have been working in the field with hand tools and faithful for a long time. Don't despair, rejoice together as the harvest does not belong to those with machinery or to the one in the field - it belongs to God Himself!!  That made me think of the awesome results of  a recent weekend, June 1-3 with Franklin Graham - when about 2,7...

I was recently in Szeged visiting my friends and speaking for ICF - International Christian Fellowship-Szeged, Friday at 7. This fellowship, ICF was started in 2007 with a city-wide concert and began meeting the following weekend.  It was founded because of the heart cry of 3 University students to the missionary, Arden Campbell that was faithfully teaching & leading Bible studies in Szeged. They asked for a "church" to be started in English as many of the university students studied in English and many students' faith were being weakened by not having an opportunity to worship or be taught in English.  Arden answered that "call" and also asked me to help and I then asked fellow missionary Edith Bond and also the Person family and we all contributed to the International Christian Fellowship of Szeged (ICF) - Friday at 7, starting.  What a blessing that this is the 5th year of the fellowship! How enduring God and His Word is even though the "founde...

David walking down the aisle of International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) After the diploma is presented each student chose a long stem red rose to present to their mom/parents   David presenting the rose to his mom, Tanya The family together!! back row: friend Zach, David, Jim middle row: Tiana, Tanya and Bethany and Jennifer in the front With very mixed emotions I headed out to the high school graduation of David Person last Saturday. Graduation from high school usually marks the time for the student to venture a little further from the nest. In this case David graduated on Saturday, celebrated his 17th birthday on Sunday and left Monday for Alaska where he will be fishing for the summer. In late July his dad will join him there and  then accompany him to Phoenix, AZ where he has been accepted at a Christian College to enter their music program. David and his sisters Tiana (visiting from Alaska for the special event) and Jennifer blessed ICB by ...

Wesley is originally from Sierra Leone and has been in Hungary for 7 years. I was blessed to attend his graduation this month from the "Bible Speaks" International Bible School.  Wesley has finished the 4 year school and if the Lord allows will go for further training to Baltimore, Maryland.  Please, pray that all his official paperwork challenges get solved.

I had this idea of how much fun it would be to surprise Carol's Budapest based friends with her arrival. We agreed not to tell anyone she was arriving and then set up days to invite friends for the "unveiling". My motivation was simply to bless them, but I was amazed to discover how excited I was to organize the surprise. It made me think of all the behind the scenes effort and delight God has in surprising one of His beloved and arranging "divine appointments".  It just makes life that more "abundant", with those surprises of God sprinkled throughout our lives in Christ. I feel like God is hinting at more surprises, so join me in the anticipation and expectation of what might be just around the corner!  We really need an ear to hear His gentle call when considering our plans and schedules. Lord, help me always have time for  the  "divine appointments" you've scheduled for me and help me be in the right place at the right time to ente...

Dear friend, Carol G has been in states for the last 3 years taking care of her mom, Ruth, who has now gone to be with the Lord. Carol and I met in Budapest years ago while she was here ministering to English speaking prisoners. She left Hungary 7 years ago and worked in South Africa before taking on her U.S. "home" assignment.  She will base out of Budapest for 90 days and take some trips into Western Europe before she does an exploratory trip back to South Africa.  We are really enjoying our time together, especially the prayer time!

What a wonderful celebration we had last Saturday! I have been involved in this mission work for 15 years and have been on the Board of Directors the last 10 years. Please, Rejoice with us! Electronic newsletter of Kelet-Európa Misszió, Hungary - May 2012 Bible verse: "Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced..." (Psalm 105:5) LOOKING BACK BUT ALSO FORWARD On the 12th of May, on a sunny Saturday our mission centre in Inarcs was home to a jubilee celebration of the 20 years’ anniversary of the Eastern European Mission Hungary. We celebrated with a day of thanksgiving, including a church service with our more than 150 guests.  It is impossible to reflect on all the activities of two decades in only a few hours. However, it seems more realistic to recall a few episodes from the past, to remember the major milestones and bring back some of the emotions that we went through in the past 20 years. And this is exactly what we attempte...

 Uzghorod from the river side  Oksana and baby Anya  New missionaries to Ukraine (from NY) Mike, Annie and Solomiya  Pastor Gabor, Lydia and new son Balasz (big sisters are 14 & 16)  God bless this new generation of babies!!  Person family Mother's Day toast to me  New on the Danube - this road/river tour bus!  Pastor Paul and Volodya and Oksana - team day out in Budapest  On the evening river cruise  International Church of Budapest with Smith family worship  ICB - Maria and missionary Jackie - easy friendship begun  Always time for coffee - just take your pick. "Locked" in love on the River Uzs