Summer 2006
Dear Family, Friends and Prayer Warriors,
Wow! What a busy and wonderful summer this has been. Yesterday, Aug 15th, the last of our volunteers left for the U.S. For four straight months we have had guests or volunteers here helping us. Many of you were praying for them, and God answered your prayers.
In the Spring newsletter there were a lot of things we asked you to pray about. Here are the updates on those. The flooding in Hungary caused much damage to property but very little loss of life. Clean up and dike repairs are still going on, but it could have been so much worse. On a positive note, the flooding created an opportunity where we were able to partner with Hungarian Baptist Aid to help some of the victims. We provided and helped hand out 200 boxes of food and cleaning supplies. Each box also contained a "Jesus" film and a Bible. Please pray that the many seeds that were sown will take root in the hearts of the people.
May was the annual month of prayer for eastern Hungary. Many of the topics in the prayer guides were encountered this summer, and God worked in amazing ways. The prayer guides are still available--you may use the Online Prayer Guide or request a hard copy by writing us.
God brought the summer plans together. First of all, all of our volunteers were able to get flights. Tickets were more expensive than normal and we are very thankful that the volunteers made the extra sacrifice to come.
The summer interns, Stephen and Jennifer, were able to complete our huge ethnographic survey project. The information-gathering took two years, and now begins the final analysis of the data which will give us more direction as we plan long term work. (Pictures and information about the interns' 2006 work will be on our website soon.)
The blood pressure booth and baseball clinic went very well, providing many opportunities to share the gospel. The spotlight story on the Heart For Hungary website is about this project. You can read more at http://www.teamhungary.com/spotlight.html and see additional pictures on our website at http://www.hope4ehu.com/photo_album/2006_june_puspok/index.html
Chris and Dennisa Reade, the couple from Arkansas, stayed for two months to help with the projects and research more possibilities for student ministries. They were able to begin some very good things that we pray will continue to develop in the future. You can read more about their work at http://www.hope4ehu.com/events.html.
New prayer requests for this month:
We have turned in the paperwork to get our residence permits extended. It takes about three weeks for the paperwork to go through the process. There is not a logical reason for the requests to be denied, but lately a number of other people have been having difficulty. Please pray that everything will go through smoothly and we will receive our resident permits without any problems
.
Planning for the next two years is already underway. Several directors of missions from Arkansas came on a vision trip to see how they can help with the work here. In addition to seeing what is already happening, they were a valuable resource to brainstorm additional ways to reach the Hungarians for Jesus Christ.
Our summer projects brought us in contact with many national believers that desire to reach out to their own nation. Several have asked us for help in training, planning, and outreach. Please pray that God will show us how to wisely use the time he has given us.
The new school year is about to start. Last year there were 35,000 students here in Debrecen, and the number is likely to be higher this year. We are still praying for two workers to accept a two-year assignment to reach these students. Please ask the Lord to send laborers into the very fertile field of student ministry.
Thank you again for your continued prayer support.
May God richly bless you as serve Him.
In His Love,
Gary, for the Eastern Hungary Team
4026 Debrecen
Bem Ter 8, fsz. 3
Hungary
