Dear Family, Friends and Prayer Partners,

Thank you all very much for your continued prayer support. Your prayers mean a lot to us, and it is very comforting knowing that many people around the world are praying for us and the work in eastern Hungary.

In our last newsletter we asked you to pray about two volunteer teams coming in March. The first team came from the University of Arkansas through Baptist Collegiate Ministries. The students came as part of a culture exchange program and had the awesome opportunity to speak in several of the English classes on campus to tell about life in America. It went so well that we are talking with the professors about making it an annual event. The students also had a time each evening to meet at a local coffee shop to really get to know each other and begin to share on a deeper level. This was a great boost to our new student ministry. For updates on how student work is going you can visit the blog of our student coordinator Holly McMickle at http://hollyshungary.blogspot.com.

The second team came from the Baptist church in Rosebud, Arkansas. All of our plans totally fell apart and the team boarded the plane not knowing exactly what they would be doing. Praise God that He puts together all the right pieces at the right time. Easter Sunday we went to the little Baptist church in Püspökladány where the team held a children’s program. It was an awesome time reconnecting with the church, and the team did a wonderful job. Carolyn and I were able to talk to the pastor and elder about this summer and began making plans to work together.

The next day the team held an informal Bible club type meeting at our friend’s house in Balmazújváros where we want to plant a church. Because of this we had the opportunity for an in-depth spiritual discussion with a young father who had brought his son to the event. The team also went to Nádudvar to visit the pottery shop and to prayer walk. This team ended up in all three places where we have focused, ongoing work. They were also able to meet with the Budapest team to discuss the plans for their summer trip to help in the city.

Our summer plans continue to morph. Every time we think we have details together, they change on us again. We like to have plans in place before our April newsletter when the prayer guide goes out, but this year plans are still very much up in the air. Hungarian churches we work with are waiting on replies from other people as we await confirmation of cancellation from teams we think are no longer coming. It is going to be interesting to see how it all comes together.

This will be our first summer in four years not to have American students working with us as summer interns. We will not be without a helper, however. A young Gypsy believer who is being trained as a church planter is scheduled to come and work beside us for two months. This is an exciting answer to prayer. For several years we have been frustrated with not being able to get help reaching the Roma (proper term for Gypsy) population. The Hungarian and Roma cultures are extremely different, and it takes special training and insight to plant churches among the Roma. We have contacted organization after organization asking for help, but they were already all too overloaded.

For several years now the International Mission Board has had a program to train and send Roma from Romania to Roma communities in surrounding countries. This is the first year they have had a Hungarian-speaker being trained. We will work together as a team. When we have outreach projects he will make a special effort to connect with the Roma who attend. Once he has a group established we will help find a sponsoring church to help oversee the growth of the new church start. Be praying as he goes to the orientation the last week of May. Also pray for his travels and work here in Hungary.

Prior to starting our summer work we want to again cover the area with prayer. This will be our sixth annual 31 Days of Prayer for Eastern Hungary. The format is similar to last year’s calendar but with a theme for each day of the week and then a specific topic within that theme for the day of the month. The calendars are available in hard copy or on the web at www.hope4ehu.com. Please feel free to copy these and distribute them to everyone who will pray with us during this special season of prayer. It can be used as a companion to the countrywide prayer guide that is also available in print or electronic versions.

In addition to praying through the calendar we need to ask you to pray for us also. We are going through very difficult times with our health situation. Carolyn had to have a hysterectomy on March 31 to remove an extremely fast-growing fibroid and cysts. In fact we wrote the first rough draft of the prayer calendar in her hospital room while they were prepping her for surgery. Gary, along with other health problems, has re-injured his back and has difficulty walking or driving. An MRI was performed but the doctor is yet to make a recommendation as to what to do. No matter what, outside of a miracle, there is not going to be a quick solution to the problem. In the past we have experienced both miraculous healing and the sustaining grace of God to see us through. Whichever He chooses, praise be to His marvelous name!

A quick recap of the prayer requests:

• 31 Days of Prayer for Eastern Hungary in May
• Healing for Gary and Carolyn
• Plans for summer projects
• Student ministry follow-up
• Roma church planting intern

Thank you again for your prayers and support. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated. We are also eager to pray with you about matters affecting your life. It has brought us great joy to be able to lift many of you up as you have done for us.

In His Love,

Gary for the Eastern Hungary Team

IMB Eastern Hungary Team