Winter 2003/04
Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you for your prayers and support over this past year of extreme change. Through all the times of transition it has been such a blessing knowing that we are not alone in this, but that hundreds of others are praying for us. We look forward to an amazing year ahead.
I am writing this letter on the train heading to Budapest for a meeting. This morning as I was waiting at the station in the cold biting wind, thinking of those who can't get in out of the cold, I saw an old "puffer belly" (steam engine) pulling out of the station. The steam was so thick that it engulfed the four train cars behind the engine. It was one of those surreal moments when you can hardly believe it is really happening.
Once again, I was reminded of the amazing technical advances made over the past one hundred years. It was only a hundred years ago that the Wright brothers made their historic flight. In a time when most trains still ran on steam, people were just beginning to be able to buy personal cars, few houses had electricity, and very few farmers had tractors -- two bicycle mechanics launched a new era.
Many of the technical advances have been marvelous helps to humanity, and some have been terrors. Many have brought the world closer together, while others have brought great destruction. As I sit working on a laptop computer with a cell phone in my pocket, Carolyn is putting together a website for eastern Hungary. Instant communication is possible almost everywhere in the world, yet ethnic tensions, terror, and world conflicts have not diminished. The heart of man has not changed.
Charlie Duke the astronaut said that as he stood on the moon and looked at Earth he saw how small the world truly is. He went on to say that he realized that we are really "one" but saying we are "one" doesn't make it so. It takes a change of heart, and only God can change a heart. How right he is. In a world where we trust in technology more and more, we need God to change hearts as much as ever. The only real hope is that found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Please pray that the Hungarian people will have the change of heart that Charlie Duke was referring to. That they will come to experience the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the life changing power of the Holy Spirit.
The Hope for Eastern Hungary website, www.hope4ehu.com, is scheduled to launch February 1. It will contain just basic information to start with, but we will be adding more in the months to come. Terry Robinson, the physical therapist in Dallas who treated the herniated disc in Gary's neck, helped provide for the site. Thank you very much, Terry and Shirley.
February 8-28 we will be attending Strategy Coordinator Training in Prague. This is where we take the information that we have gathered regarding our people group, other ministries in our area, and the vision that God has given us, and put it all together into a written plan of action. Please pray that in each step the Lord will give His guidance, and that we will follow His leading to fulfill His purpose and calling.
Here are a few special dates and events to remember in prayer:
Feb. 1, the launch of the website
Feb. 2, language exam
Feb. 8-28, Strategy Coordinator Training in Prague
Mar. 15, Hungarian Holiday
May, a month of prayer for Hungary
Thank you again for your prayers and support. May God richly bless you in this New Year.
Love,
Gary for the Millers
