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One photo can say so much. In this case it is of two men. Born into Muslim families in the Middle East, they gave their lives to Jesus and had to flee persecution because of their faith. They ended up in Hungary, 3800kms from home. I was contacted and was able to take them from a nearby refugee centre to church.

‘F’ was part of an underground (secret) church. His church was raided, his pastor arrested. He fled with just the clothes on his back before he could be arrested and killed for professing Christ as his Saviour. Both ‘F’ and ‘H’ have little chance of returning to ever see their family again. Parents, siblings, friends all left behind.

Tortured, beaten and mistreated, their road to freedom has been difficult. Yet now, they are free to worship God and be welcomed into a church family. Pray for them and pray that I and others would show then love of God to them.

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As 2018 winds down, we are already deep into planning 2019. Here is a little of how it looks:

Continuing to develop the local work here in Győr – Bible studies, worship services, anti-trafficking work, counselling etc.

Focusing more on developing partnerships in Hungary with other churches and possible church planting efforts in other cities.

Trips to speak and minister in Ireland (January), Spain (February), America (June and July) and Ireland again in November. As of yet no dates for potential trips to Romania and Ukraine, but to be organised soon.

Conferences in UK (May) and Bulgaria (September)

Wedding of Zsuzsi and Zsolti in April.

Preparing for and welcoming new full-time partners to Győr (the Anderson family) in April.

VBS at a local orphanage in July.

We still have a limited number of free time slots where we can come and visit your church. Feel free to contact us and we can arrange dates and details.

We look forward to seeing many of you in 2019! May you all have a blessed and joyful Christmas and New Year!

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I am pleased to report that in partnership with a sister church in Spain, our church in Győr, Hungary raised money to buy a new washing machine for Vis de Copil in Arad, Romania. We also were able to buy food and cleaning products and leave a substantial amount of money for building repairs.

Vis de Copil serve the poorest of the poor (the homeless, families where single unemployed mums look after multiple children, beggars, prostitutes and drug addicts). They offer a hot meal, a place to shower and wash clothes and education and safety for children. It is still awful to see little kids begging daily in Arad but I am grateful that Vis de Copil are doing something to help these little ones!

The current washing machine was on its last legs when I came with a mission team from our church in August. With much love and generosity we could provide this new machine. I am so grateful to our church family in Győr and also to our brothers and sisters in Spain! You are all wonderful, thank you!

Whilst in Arad I was also able to help unload about 400 Christmas shoe boxes from Ireland that arrived. What a blessing to serve in so many ways!

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I am very excited to announce that we have a new family joining us in 2019 to help with ministry in Győr. The Anderson family have heard the Lord calling them to serve alongside us to reach the people of Hungary with the Good news.  Chadwick (Wick) and Sarah are parents of four young girls (Addison, Sophie, Ruby and Phoebe).

Wick is currently serving as the Pastor of family life at Moundford Free Methodist Church in Decatur, Illinois. Sarah is a qualified teacher and is currently homeschooling their four girls. They have put together a website and blog which you can find on  https://andersonfamily6.com/

They are currently beginning the process of raising partners (prayer and financial). AndersonIf you desire to partner in our ministry in Győr, you may like to prayerfully consider becoming a supporter of the Anderson family.

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We are busy with the start of the new school year. We are grateful to the Lord for the continuation of both the Adult Bible study group and the University Bible study group. We have seen some small growth in both these groups. Naturally we are also back in the orphanage every week and Kati is working with two kids in particular and helping them significantly with both their academic work and by being a loving ‘ear’ to hear of their days. I can’t share the issue but your prayers are needed because of a situation at the orphanage. We ask that truth will prevail and those involved would be honest.
Also growing is the English language service. We had 29 people this past Sunday and they all stayed for a long time after the service to fellowship. It is becoming a real community of believers who care for one another!
I also was recently in Germany. I took part in a course on developing church communities and reaching out to people of peace. I’m not at liberty to say too much about this but I will be attending another conference on this subject soon. Prayers appreciated for all involved as it is in a country where this may be frowned upon by the government.

Please pray with us as we are being intentional about reaching the lost for Christ and building relantionships with believers across denominations to reach as many people as possible. God has great things in store for Gyor, Hungary and all of Europe!

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index.jpgI am excited to tell you about an event that is in the planning for 2018. The Northern Europe Prayer Journey will be an opportunity for any interested parties to find out more about the work of the Free Methodist Church in the countries of Belgium, France and Hungary, with visits to each of the aforementioned countries. There is also a possibility of visiting the UK and finding out more about the roots of Methodism. With visits to Brussels, Budapest, London and Paris (along with visits to Bruges, Oostende and Gyor) this will be an incredibly exciting and  immersive experience.

If you are interested in what the Lord is doing in Europe then this journey may be for you! Click on the link below for further details.

https://reformationtours.com/package/rlw18-europe-prayer-journey/

 

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Recently we have been praying and hoping that the Lord would send some others to join us in ministry in Gyor. As ministry grows and changes we need help and are simply unable to do more. We have some great local people who help with various different ministries, but we really could do with a missionary/missionary couple or missionary family to partner with us. Could that be you? Or perhaps you know someone who may be interested? Here is a list of areas that we need help in:

  1. Expanding ministry to orphans (we have a desire to see this work grow)
  2. Leading Bible studies (we have two weekly)
  3. Helping with worship and/or preaching
  4. Starting an English language club
  5. Helping with ladies coffee morning or starting a group for men
  6. Pastoral care
  7. Hosting visitors and teams
  8. Whatever else the Lord puts on your heart!

If you might be interested, please contact me via the contact form. Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

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Lenovo_A1000_IMG_20170205_125833.jpgYesterday we were blessed to accept an invitation to spend time with missionaries from the Mission of Christ Network   https://missionofchrist.org/  who are serving in Hungary and Slovakia. They met this weekend in the beautiful city of Sopron in Hungary (very close to the Austrian border) for a gathering time of refreshment, teaching and encouragement. We work closely with one of these missionaries (Sarah – not pictured), who is one of the leaders of the monthly English language service we hold in Gyor.

Gerry brought a message from Exodus on supporting one another and we enjoyed a time of prayer and worship together. After the service, we enjoyed a long (and delicious) lunch together and then Kati and I got to have a walk in Sopron. Yesterday was the first day with sunshine and temperatures above freezing in a very long time and it was a pleasure to see the sun!

Please be in prayer for them all – Sarah and Tamas and their three girls, Jon and Dora and their son, Audrey, Melissa, Samantha and Stephanie

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I was privileged last week to enjoy co-teaching a course on Free Methodist history and polity with my colleague and friend Larry Winckles. With people representing Greece, Hungary, Romania and Spain it was a wonderful, multicultural week.

The youngest participant was 19 and the oldest was 73! Yet all contributed in a meaningful way and many friendships were built that will last into eternity. Many of those involved are ministerial candidates and are considering ordination in the future.

With Church history, policies and procedures, theological distinctives and ethical case studies, the week was jam packed! We did however find time to enjoy walks in Budapest, good food and an evening of board games! Please pray for these men and women as they minister in their communities!

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We had the pleasure of leading an English language carol service in Győr this afternoon. Although the attendance was smaller than we hoped (we were 26 in total), we were delighted to be with those who turned up and it was a great blessing to also welcome people via the internet as we live streamed the service on Facebook. People from Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Romania, the USA,and the UK were among some of the countries who joined us this way.  We also had our good friends and colleagues Ildikó and Julia join us in person from Budapest. Thank you ladies for making the trip from Budapest to be with us!

We sang a number of traditional Christmas hymns such as ‘Silent Night’ and ‘O come all ye faithful’. We particularly enjoyed a solo of ‘Go tell it on the mountain’ by our friend and missionary colleague Sarah Berta-Somogyi.  Sarah is a missionary with the Lutheran church and it is through her hard work and contacts that we are able to use the Lutheran church facilities for free. Thank you Sarah!

Many others helped of course. Thanks to András, Gwen, Kathy, Yoli, Katica, Attila, Zsolti and Zsuzsi!