February-March 2015

Wow! What a month it’s been!

We had our international conference, Eurocon, here in Budapest last week. It was an incredible time to be with people from dozens of different countries. There were many visitors from Asia, Europe and even Africa. This year’s theme was “The Open Door” from I Corinthians 16:9. I thought that the whole conference was going to be based around just this verse but, boy, was I wrong. I couldn’t believe the seed thoughts that were being given and received during the messages. Pastors were using verses that I have read over and over and yet they were new and fresh.

I went into the conference with a real need for God to speak to me. I have only asked for that one other time, right before I moved back to Baltimore for Bible College. Right off the bat, God answered my prayer. Every message seemed like it was directed right at me. It was a little scary.

I think the one session that really spoke to me the most was actually the Sunday morning service after Eurocon. Pastor Scibelli spoke about ministering to God, even when people won’t receive our ministry. It’s so important to receive from God, give to others and if they reject that ministry then you are still actually ministering to God. Incredible. Our work doesn’t go unnoticed in His kingdom.

We invite all of our students from GGIS to come to Eurocon every year. We offer to pay for their passes and make every possible provision for them. In years passed we have had very few who actually came and stayed for the sessions. This year, however, we had more than I have ever seen. And they loved it! There were quite a few of our Chinese students who came for one day and brought others with them the next.

One student saw the word ‘outreach’ on the schedule and asked me what it was. I explained to him that it’s when we go out and tell people about Jesus. He said “oh, good, you’re doing that right?” At that point I figured I had to. He, another student and I all went soul winning that afternoon. The next time it was on the schedule, the same student brought a few more students with him. It was amazing to see God using him to reach the lost and his own classmates.

I just got back from a trip to Salzburg, Austria, where the GGIS boys basketball team took second place in a tournament. We had to fight and scrap for three games in order to get into the championship but, unfortunately, the boys were so tired by the end of the day that it wasn’t much of a competition in the end. They had a great time and it was a great bonding experience with them.

Since there was such a great response at the conference, we plan on ramping up our teen program more over the next few months. After Eurocon, please pray that the fire keeps burning in the hearts of these young people!