As I write this, it’s snowing. That statement is completely irrelevant but it’s ok. I think this newsletter will jump around a bit.
GGIS normally has a chaplain but since our last one moved we haven’t had anyone to fill that role. I decided (secretly) that I would take on the job of speaking to every student in the high school. So far I have spoken to about ten percent of the high school students. It’s been incredible. Two of those students have accepted Christ and another one I have to follow up with this week. He is a Chinese boy in 11th grade who has really been questioning his family’s religion of Buddhism since he entered GGIS. When we spoke on Friday we talked about karma and how God doesn’t see us in terms of good and bad. It’s actually really good that I am speaking to him now because he is in my Bible class and we were talking about how God views our self-righteousness. I said that in Buddhism every one is kind of neutral, but then can choose to be good or bad. In Christianity, without Christ, we are just bad and the only way to produce good is to first accept Christ. It’s a heart change. I think a lot of Chinese people can feel stuck, I know you and I can, and think that everything good that we try to do always just turns out bad. In fact, isn’t that what Paul said in Romans 7? The things I want to do I can’t but the things I hate doing I find myself doing over and over and over? We don’t need to chase after perfection, just accept that God sees us as perfect in Him. After this time together, he thanked me and said that it was the most convincing thing he has heard yet as to why he should become a Christian. Please be praying for him.
Last week I spent Thanksgiving with my friends, Tim and Myriah who also invited about 20 other Americans over. We had two turkeys and a ton of other food. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. God is really doing things here in the life of the GGIS team. I think there are ebbs and flows in team life where people can go into hibernation and then come out again. It seems we are coming out again. I am so thankful for Tim and Myriah and all that they do here. On Friday nights they faithfully open their home to all of the GGIS staff who want to come over. We eat and play games and talk about the things God is doing. It’s so necessary.
I recently preached a message about negativity with our teen group. Studying for that message was amazing. The more I studied, the more I realized what an impact negativity and positivity can have on our lives. God never called us to be pessimistic and negative. He called us to declare His works. Is that what I am doing? I hope so. I need to focus on Him and His life and then that negativity fades away. The other thing I was thinking about was that negativity is just a manifestation of me not getting my way. Think about Jonah. He saw the works of God but instead of realizing how awesome what happened in Nineveh was, he simply pouted because he didn’t get what he wanted. Hebrews 12:15 says “see to it that no one fails the grace of God and by it a root of bitterness springs up in your soul.” If you recall, Jonah sat under his root of bitterness because in his eyes, the people of Nineveh, and God for that matter, had failed him. When my expectation for people isn’t met, I can become negative, but when I have God’s mind, people don’t need to meet my expectation. I can actually “see to it” that people aren’t put in a place in my brain to fail the grace of God. This allows me to live in positivity about things, rather than negativity.
I am so stirred up about this. God is doing mighty things. I am so proud to be a part of this.
Monday, December 4, 2017
Sunday, November 5, 2017
November 2017
Have you ever been angry? Like really angry? You feel your blood pressure rise, your head starts pounding, your scalp starts to burn. It happens to everyone once in a while. It happened to me this past month. I was mad about a situation that I had no way to fix. I tried to calm down, I went for a walk, I thought my situation over and over and over with different scenarios, but there was nothing that I could do about it. Honestly, I simmered like this for a couple days before I realized that God had a plan in it. I don’t think this is a great epiphany or anything. We know that God works all things together for good, that He has a plan for every situation, but still, in that moment, in my anger, God comforted me. My perspective changed. I readjusted to God’s mindset and my outlook in the face of this problem changed.
I have been thinking more and more recently about God’s plan and the way He directs and shapes circumstances in life to draw us to Himself. We always have a choice to accept His leading or reject it, but God wants to use everything that happens to me as a way to get to know Him in different ways. My situation that angered me so much was one of those ways.
Also, this past month I celebrated my birthday. My students all know my birthday (I tell them weeks in advance… I’m an only child), and I had lots of cards and classes sang to me, but I also had one very special surprise. At lunch time, I had a feeling that people were trying to get me out of my classroom. I usually work through lunch because I teach before and after and those thirty minutes are a nice time to prepare. Anyway, the middle school science teacher came into my room and asked if I would go downstairs with him. Ok, I see what’s going on. My 8th grade girls are all standing in the lobby, not in the cafeteria where they should be, whispering and suddenly becoming quiet as I walk by. Ya, something is up.
We sat awkwardly in the teacher’s lounge for a few minutes before I asked if I could go back up to my room. We both figured that enough time had passed that it wouldn’t appear like I knew what was going on.
The bell rang and as I walked down the hall toward my room I could see that the lights were off and there were banners and balloons hanging from the walls. I could see the tops of a dozen heads behind the desks. As I walked in they all popped up and yelled surprise. It was the best surprise party I have ever had.
I don’t know how to describe what I feel for my students. I feel like their parent, their sibling, and their friend all at the same time. I didn’t get a picture of it, but on one of my white boards the wrote, “We Love You, Mr. Cook”. I love them too.
This is why I need my perspective to line up with God’s mind. God loves these kids more than I do and He is using me to help them get to know Him.
I have been thinking more and more recently about God’s plan and the way He directs and shapes circumstances in life to draw us to Himself. We always have a choice to accept His leading or reject it, but God wants to use everything that happens to me as a way to get to know Him in different ways. My situation that angered me so much was one of those ways.
Also, this past month I celebrated my birthday. My students all know my birthday (I tell them weeks in advance… I’m an only child), and I had lots of cards and classes sang to me, but I also had one very special surprise. At lunch time, I had a feeling that people were trying to get me out of my classroom. I usually work through lunch because I teach before and after and those thirty minutes are a nice time to prepare. Anyway, the middle school science teacher came into my room and asked if I would go downstairs with him. Ok, I see what’s going on. My 8th grade girls are all standing in the lobby, not in the cafeteria where they should be, whispering and suddenly becoming quiet as I walk by. Ya, something is up.
We sat awkwardly in the teacher’s lounge for a few minutes before I asked if I could go back up to my room. We both figured that enough time had passed that it wouldn’t appear like I knew what was going on.
The bell rang and as I walked down the hall toward my room I could see that the lights were off and there were banners and balloons hanging from the walls. I could see the tops of a dozen heads behind the desks. As I walked in they all popped up and yelled surprise. It was the best surprise party I have ever had.
I don’t know how to describe what I feel for my students. I feel like their parent, their sibling, and their friend all at the same time. I didn’t get a picture of it, but on one of my white boards the wrote, “We Love You, Mr. Cook”. I love them too.
This is why I need my perspective to line up with God’s mind. God loves these kids more than I do and He is using me to help them get to know Him.
Monday, October 9, 2017
October 2017
Last week a student from my Bible class walked into my classroom during a break and just stood there smiling at me. It's not uncommon for this to happen, but this time it was a little strange. This student is new to GGIS this year so I don't have such a strong relationship with him yet. I smiled back. We stood like that for a few seconds. It was kind of awkward. He then said "I became a believer yesterday" and walked out.
Ummmmm.
That's amazing! I caught up with him later during my break and talked to him for a minute. He said that he had been praying and thinking about becoming a Christian and decided to the day before he spoke to me.
If you've read my newsletters before, at the end of every school year we have a survey that we give to all of the high school students asking them some spiritual questions, "do you understand what it means to be a Christian, are you a Christian, would you like to be" etc. Once we receive these back we can pretty easily gauge where our students are after all of the teaching we have given them through the year. I have never had a student come to me and tell me that they accepted Christ five weeks into the school year, though! Incredible!
I think that often times, if I am not actively aware of spiritual things, I can miss what God is doing.
I lead a Bible study on Friday nights for our High School students and our theme in September was "How to Keep the Fire Burning". Often times during our High School Retreat we have this amazing anointing and kids are fully aware of the presence of God. I have seen (and experienced) though, that just like the Parable of the Sower, there can be circumstances waiting to snatch away the seeds that have been planted. In our Bible Study we talked about how I can continue to live in that life, that spiritual awareness that I had in those anointed times. I don't know if the kids got anything out of it, but I sure did!
Another big part of my ministry here is working with a Korean youth group. Last weekend I was able to go to the Korean Sport Day which brings together the Korean community here in Budapest. I was shocked to realize how many of these awesome people I have met in the past year working with the youth group. It’s amazing to me that I get to do this!
Ummmmm.
That's amazing! I caught up with him later during my break and talked to him for a minute. He said that he had been praying and thinking about becoming a Christian and decided to the day before he spoke to me.
If you've read my newsletters before, at the end of every school year we have a survey that we give to all of the high school students asking them some spiritual questions, "do you understand what it means to be a Christian, are you a Christian, would you like to be" etc. Once we receive these back we can pretty easily gauge where our students are after all of the teaching we have given them through the year. I have never had a student come to me and tell me that they accepted Christ five weeks into the school year, though! Incredible!
I think that often times, if I am not actively aware of spiritual things, I can miss what God is doing.
I lead a Bible study on Friday nights for our High School students and our theme in September was "How to Keep the Fire Burning". Often times during our High School Retreat we have this amazing anointing and kids are fully aware of the presence of God. I have seen (and experienced) though, that just like the Parable of the Sower, there can be circumstances waiting to snatch away the seeds that have been planted. In our Bible Study we talked about how I can continue to live in that life, that spiritual awareness that I had in those anointed times. I don't know if the kids got anything out of it, but I sure did!
Another big part of my ministry here is working with a Korean youth group. Last weekend I was able to go to the Korean Sport Day which brings together the Korean community here in Budapest. I was shocked to realize how many of these awesome people I have met in the past year working with the youth group. It’s amazing to me that I get to do this!
Saturday, September 9, 2017
September 2017
I just got back from spending three days in the woods with 85 high school students. It was awesome. Every year at GGIS we take the students on a retreat so that they can all get to know each other and the teachers better. This year our theme was “Bearing Fruit”. We do a lot of fun things, play sports, have games, do a barn dance, but most importantly we have our sessions. Last night, sitting around a campfire, we passed the microphone around and a few students spoke about their time in the school and what it has meant to them. As a staff member, there is no better way to see the fruit of what God is doing here than those moments. We are bearing fruit. We may not realize it, but it’s happening. Isaiah 37:31 says that you bear fruit upward as your roots grow downward. To bear fruit is an awesome thing but the more important thing is to have roots. I hope that some students this weekend were able to grow some more roots.
Last weekend, I was able to be with the Korean youth group that I help out with for their retreat. We didn’t travel anywhere, but we did have a few services and then took the teens to play laser tag.
I love being with teenagers. They are the most real people you will ever find. They are honest, they are passionate, and they are growing up. I don’t think there is any better profession than to work in the ministry. No one knows what God will produce as fruit in the lives of the people we minister to but we do know that it will be at the perfect time and in the perfect place for His use.
I have one student who came to my classroom when I had a break this week and asked me a question about the Bible. She was a bit unsure about something she had heard from another church because it sounded funny compared to what she had grown up hearing in her church. We looked at a few verses together and in the end she decided that she was correct doctrinally and the other people were misrepresenting the truth of scripture. I was so surprised by how mature this girl had become just over the summer break. She had her daily reading Bible that she goes through and writes down her thoughts on that day’s portion. I was so impressed.
I was talking with my friend, Tim, this week about the evidence of doctrine in people’s lives. It’s incredible to see the results of a life that is allowing God to work in it.
Please pray for us here in Budapest. God is doing amazing things in a lot of lives. Next week we will kick off our after school Bible study. Pray that these times will really help establish the students and help their roots grow deep.
Thank you all for your continued prayer!
Last weekend, I was able to be with the Korean youth group that I help out with for their retreat. We didn’t travel anywhere, but we did have a few services and then took the teens to play laser tag.
I love being with teenagers. They are the most real people you will ever find. They are honest, they are passionate, and they are growing up. I don’t think there is any better profession than to work in the ministry. No one knows what God will produce as fruit in the lives of the people we minister to but we do know that it will be at the perfect time and in the perfect place for His use.
I have one student who came to my classroom when I had a break this week and asked me a question about the Bible. She was a bit unsure about something she had heard from another church because it sounded funny compared to what she had grown up hearing in her church. We looked at a few verses together and in the end she decided that she was correct doctrinally and the other people were misrepresenting the truth of scripture. I was so surprised by how mature this girl had become just over the summer break. She had her daily reading Bible that she goes through and writes down her thoughts on that day’s portion. I was so impressed.
I was talking with my friend, Tim, this week about the evidence of doctrine in people’s lives. It’s incredible to see the results of a life that is allowing God to work in it.
Please pray for us here in Budapest. God is doing amazing things in a lot of lives. Next week we will kick off our after school Bible study. Pray that these times will really help establish the students and help their roots grow deep.
Thank you all for your continued prayer!
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Summer 2017
I am back in Budapest after a great summer!
I was in the United States for about six weeks. I was able to attend the GGWO International Convention then headed up to New York to see my family. It was very relaxing and great to see everybody. I also had the opportunity to be in a dear friend’s wedding. This past weekend, my friends, Tim and Myriah, their baby, Agnes, and I took a drive to Slovenia, it’s about six hours away, but has some beautiful mountains and beaches.
I have been thinking this summer about finding and abiding in your calling. Some people may not know what I mean by that and that’s ok. It’s just knowing what God wants you to do and doing it. Jonah knew what God wanted him to do and refused to do it. He eventually came around and had great fruit but still didn’t want to do what God said. I wonder how many times I have know that God was telling me to do something but I refused. I think maybe a lot. However, when I actually do listen to God and start to walk in my calling, I find that it’s the greatest possible thing I could do. For now I am called to teach in a tiny school in Hungary and work with a Korean youth group. This summer, even though it was relaxing and it was nice to see everyone, I knew what my calling was and it isn’t to live in the US. I couldn’t wait to get back here to Budapest and continue to see what God will do. I pray that this year will be incredible. I don’t know what is in store, but I know that I am where I am supposed to be right now.
“Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” I Corinthians 7:20
It’s a short newsletter this time but there is going to be a lot happening in the next month! Thank you for all of your continued prayer and support. Walk in your calling!
I was in the United States for about six weeks. I was able to attend the GGWO International Convention then headed up to New York to see my family. It was very relaxing and great to see everybody. I also had the opportunity to be in a dear friend’s wedding. This past weekend, my friends, Tim and Myriah, their baby, Agnes, and I took a drive to Slovenia, it’s about six hours away, but has some beautiful mountains and beaches.
I have been thinking this summer about finding and abiding in your calling. Some people may not know what I mean by that and that’s ok. It’s just knowing what God wants you to do and doing it. Jonah knew what God wanted him to do and refused to do it. He eventually came around and had great fruit but still didn’t want to do what God said. I wonder how many times I have know that God was telling me to do something but I refused. I think maybe a lot. However, when I actually do listen to God and start to walk in my calling, I find that it’s the greatest possible thing I could do. For now I am called to teach in a tiny school in Hungary and work with a Korean youth group. This summer, even though it was relaxing and it was nice to see everyone, I knew what my calling was and it isn’t to live in the US. I couldn’t wait to get back here to Budapest and continue to see what God will do. I pray that this year will be incredible. I don’t know what is in store, but I know that I am where I am supposed to be right now.
“Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” I Corinthians 7:20
It’s a short newsletter this time but there is going to be a lot happening in the next month! Thank you for all of your continued prayer and support. Walk in your calling!
Monday, May 1, 2017
May 2017
What is truth? This is a question that Pilate asked Jesus and which has subsequently been asked throughout all of history since. In Bible class last week we asked this question. I think young people today are struggling with this question more than ever before because truth is being attacked more than ever before. Pilate was staring at the embodiment of Truth and failed to recognize it. In the same way, people all over the world today violently reject the very idea of God when in reality He is the truth for which they are searching.
Today (May 1st) is a national holiday in Hungary and I just got back from a long hike. There are a lot of beautiful parks in the mountains (hills) near where I live and I have been trying to make it a point to get more exercise recently. For a few weeks, I have been looking forward to climbing up to this certain peak with a huge tower on the top of it. Today was the day for it. I walked. And walked. And walked. I was sweating, legs aching, and I never made it. As I walked through the forest, ever clearing I came to I looked for the peak and kept catching glimpses of it. Finally, when I reached the pinnacle of the hill which I was climbing, I realized that I had overshot my target by about a mile. I couldn’t believe it. I looked all around and the tower I was trying to reach was actually behind me. I was on a completely different mountain!
I wonder how many people live their lives like this. They look for truth, they catch site of it, keep going, looking up and then realize, once they think they have finally achieved their purpose in life that it wasn’t God’s intended purpose for them at all. The truth that they thought was reality was actually a lie.
One of my Korean students asked a great question a couple weeks ago along the lines of this- what if all the work and study that we put in turns out to be pointless? We come to the end of our lives only to find that we achieved nothing lasting? My heart breaks thinking about this question.
I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of 8th graders, who I see six days a week normally between teaching and church, and they were so confused about the meaning of the Christian life.
The Christian life isn’t working or doing something for God. The Christian life isn’t being a nice, upright person. It’s simply knowing and operating in the truth. How do I know the truth? I get to know God who is the Truth. God doesn’t compromise on truth. He can’t. There is too much at stake. How will a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to the Word. How will I be sanctified? By the Word, the Word is truth.
The problem is that the truth can hurt. My flesh doesn’t like the truth, it’s not nice to my flesh. My flesh has ideas for my own life and God may have a completely different plan.
The greatest thing that my students can do in their lives, the greatest thing that that Korean girl can do, is to recognize Truth and follow Him. That’s the greatest thing that you and I can do in our lives as well. Pilate missed it. Most of the world will miss it. I want to recognize Truth when He’s looking me in the face and I want to follow Him.
Sorry I didn’t really talk about what is happening in Budapest! This is more of what I’ve been thinking about in my heart for a couple weeks.
Please pray for GGIS as we begin to wrap up our school year. I’ll be back in Baltimore in about six weeks!
Today (May 1st) is a national holiday in Hungary and I just got back from a long hike. There are a lot of beautiful parks in the mountains (hills) near where I live and I have been trying to make it a point to get more exercise recently. For a few weeks, I have been looking forward to climbing up to this certain peak with a huge tower on the top of it. Today was the day for it. I walked. And walked. And walked. I was sweating, legs aching, and I never made it. As I walked through the forest, ever clearing I came to I looked for the peak and kept catching glimpses of it. Finally, when I reached the pinnacle of the hill which I was climbing, I realized that I had overshot my target by about a mile. I couldn’t believe it. I looked all around and the tower I was trying to reach was actually behind me. I was on a completely different mountain!
I wonder how many people live their lives like this. They look for truth, they catch site of it, keep going, looking up and then realize, once they think they have finally achieved their purpose in life that it wasn’t God’s intended purpose for them at all. The truth that they thought was reality was actually a lie.
One of my Korean students asked a great question a couple weeks ago along the lines of this- what if all the work and study that we put in turns out to be pointless? We come to the end of our lives only to find that we achieved nothing lasting? My heart breaks thinking about this question.
I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of 8th graders, who I see six days a week normally between teaching and church, and they were so confused about the meaning of the Christian life.
The Christian life isn’t working or doing something for God. The Christian life isn’t being a nice, upright person. It’s simply knowing and operating in the truth. How do I know the truth? I get to know God who is the Truth. God doesn’t compromise on truth. He can’t. There is too much at stake. How will a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to the Word. How will I be sanctified? By the Word, the Word is truth.
The problem is that the truth can hurt. My flesh doesn’t like the truth, it’s not nice to my flesh. My flesh has ideas for my own life and God may have a completely different plan.
The greatest thing that my students can do in their lives, the greatest thing that that Korean girl can do, is to recognize Truth and follow Him. That’s the greatest thing that you and I can do in our lives as well. Pilate missed it. Most of the world will miss it. I want to recognize Truth when He’s looking me in the face and I want to follow Him.
Sorry I didn’t really talk about what is happening in Budapest! This is more of what I’ve been thinking about in my heart for a couple weeks.
Please pray for GGIS as we begin to wrap up our school year. I’ll be back in Baltimore in about six weeks!
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
The Wrong Message
When I was just starting Bible college, I went to the "Teen Studies" that the youth ministry in Baltimore has every Saturday night. I didn't really do much, I was stuck between a teenager and a team member, but I remember a Pastor coming up to me and telling me that I had a gift in working with young people. I kind of just shrugged this off as nothing and didn't think any more about it.
When I moved to Hungary, I was encouraged to help out with the Friday night Bible studies, help run events at school, and also "run with the boys" on the soccer team. I did it (and still do) and it's fun. I don't really think about it.
About two months ago, I had the opportunity to go on a class trip with the 9th and 10th graders from school. It was AWESOME. I had so much fun with them. I think over the course of two days I got about five hours of sleep but I felt like the Energizer Bunny. I kept going and going and going. I didn't really think about this until one of the other chaperones asked me how I was able to keep up. I didn't know what to say. This kind of stuff is just fun for me.
I don't think I'm special. I know kids like me, but I don't really think anything of it. I know there are much better youth leaders around the world and I think that to even call myself a youth leader is kind of overstating what I do. It doesn't take anything out of me, it doesn't take any work or preparation. I just like being with younger people and getting to know them.
This past weekend we had a youth retreat with the Korean church that I attend on Sundays. Admittedly, I don't know the kids as well as I would like. This has been different than school. In school you get to know students day in and day out for the majority of the year. In church, you see them for like two hours on Sundays and then go about your week. As the week of the retreat approached I felt a bit apprehensive. Do they really care if I'm there? Do I add anything? I'm an American guy in the middle of 26 Korean kids and a handful of Korean adults. How can I relate to these kids? We're not from the same culture or generation. Most of them grew up across the globe and I'm American through and through. Do they think I'm just some weirdo who is trying to be Korean? (I'm not, by the way. I just think that Korean culture is more similar to American culture than either Chinese or Hungarian, the two other main nationalities I have taught, and so I get along best with Koreans.) Do I have anything to actually give them?
These are the things I was thinking about all week before the retreat. Stupid. As soon as I got on the bus with the kids I was overflowing with joy. I was excited. I had energy. We barn danced, we ate good food, we played frisbee in the dark, and when the frisbee broke, we played tag. I got a solid five hours of sleep after a long work week and then hit the ground running Saturday morning, by the afternoon, however, I was dragging. What happened? I was worn out. This hasn't happened to me before.
But then...
A girl I had met just once before the retreat, a girl who isn't part of a church, but was invited by her friend, asked me a question... about God's love. She heard a message that she didn't understand but it led to an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to her. I foolishly thought it was the wrong message, but God used it.
Bam.
Wide awake.
We talked for the next hour.
She prayed to accept Christ as her Savior.
I was awake. The rest of the night was incredible. This new energy burst from me. I was lip syncing and dancing on the bus ride home. I was so happy and excited, it's Wednesday and I'm still thinking about it!
In II Timothy 1:6 Paul writes "I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you." I understand now. This is my calling. I am stirred up in my gift as my gift is stirred up. In pouring out, I am being poured into. How am I able to keep going?
God.
God is working through me. I find the greatest, most lasting memories in my life are when I speak one on one with young people. The other stuff, the dancing, singing, cookies that I bake, are all just ways to get into those conversations. They are tools God has given me to reach people. When I am able to connect with kids like I did during this retreat, that's when I feel the closest to Him. It quickens me. I'm not anything but God uses what I am. I thought I was just a sub, a fill in, but I was wrong.
Here they are:
These kids are incredible. They wanted to pray longer than our prayer sessions lasted. They were (mostly) able to stay awake through four pretty substantial and challenging messages. I love them so much.
When I moved to Hungary, I was encouraged to help out with the Friday night Bible studies, help run events at school, and also "run with the boys" on the soccer team. I did it (and still do) and it's fun. I don't really think about it.
About two months ago, I had the opportunity to go on a class trip with the 9th and 10th graders from school. It was AWESOME. I had so much fun with them. I think over the course of two days I got about five hours of sleep but I felt like the Energizer Bunny. I kept going and going and going. I didn't really think about this until one of the other chaperones asked me how I was able to keep up. I didn't know what to say. This kind of stuff is just fun for me.
I don't think I'm special. I know kids like me, but I don't really think anything of it. I know there are much better youth leaders around the world and I think that to even call myself a youth leader is kind of overstating what I do. It doesn't take anything out of me, it doesn't take any work or preparation. I just like being with younger people and getting to know them.
This past weekend we had a youth retreat with the Korean church that I attend on Sundays. Admittedly, I don't know the kids as well as I would like. This has been different than school. In school you get to know students day in and day out for the majority of the year. In church, you see them for like two hours on Sundays and then go about your week. As the week of the retreat approached I felt a bit apprehensive. Do they really care if I'm there? Do I add anything? I'm an American guy in the middle of 26 Korean kids and a handful of Korean adults. How can I relate to these kids? We're not from the same culture or generation. Most of them grew up across the globe and I'm American through and through. Do they think I'm just some weirdo who is trying to be Korean? (I'm not, by the way. I just think that Korean culture is more similar to American culture than either Chinese or Hungarian, the two other main nationalities I have taught, and so I get along best with Koreans.) Do I have anything to actually give them?
These are the things I was thinking about all week before the retreat. Stupid. As soon as I got on the bus with the kids I was overflowing with joy. I was excited. I had energy. We barn danced, we ate good food, we played frisbee in the dark, and when the frisbee broke, we played tag. I got a solid five hours of sleep after a long work week and then hit the ground running Saturday morning, by the afternoon, however, I was dragging. What happened? I was worn out. This hasn't happened to me before.
But then...
A girl I had met just once before the retreat, a girl who isn't part of a church, but was invited by her friend, asked me a question... about God's love. She heard a message that she didn't understand but it led to an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to her. I foolishly thought it was the wrong message, but God used it.
Bam.
Wide awake.
We talked for the next hour.
She prayed to accept Christ as her Savior.
I was awake. The rest of the night was incredible. This new energy burst from me. I was lip syncing and dancing on the bus ride home. I was so happy and excited, it's Wednesday and I'm still thinking about it!
In II Timothy 1:6 Paul writes "I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you." I understand now. This is my calling. I am stirred up in my gift as my gift is stirred up. In pouring out, I am being poured into. How am I able to keep going?
God.
God is working through me. I find the greatest, most lasting memories in my life are when I speak one on one with young people. The other stuff, the dancing, singing, cookies that I bake, are all just ways to get into those conversations. They are tools God has given me to reach people. When I am able to connect with kids like I did during this retreat, that's when I feel the closest to Him. It quickens me. I'm not anything but God uses what I am. I thought I was just a sub, a fill in, but I was wrong.
Here they are:
These kids are incredible. They wanted to pray longer than our prayer sessions lasted. They were (mostly) able to stay awake through four pretty substantial and challenging messages. I love them so much.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
April 2017
So much has happened this month in Budapest! We had our last European conference in Hungary- next year it will take place in Poland. This is a little bittersweet, because we on the Budapest team have been able to host Eurocon for as long as I’ve been here, but it’s also neat to see it moving on so that other European churches have the opportunity to host it.
The theme of this year’s Eurocon was “A Time of Love” from Ezekiel 16:8. I am always amazed that the themes of different conferences throughout the year are always so timely. Now really is a time for love.
It was great to see all of the visitors and friends who came from around the world to be with us. In a time of wars and feuds, political angst and economic instability, it’s incredible to have a couple thousand people from all over the world with all different backgrounds get together without bias or prejudice and worship God. It truly is a time of love.
I am so proud of that girl and all of the decisions she has made in her new Christian life.
Keeping with the theme of Eurocon, I have recently been thinking about love as a choice. I don’t love people because it’s convenient, I love people because I can choose to love them with God’s love. When Christ looked out at Israel in Matthew 9:36, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He loved them even though they didn’t know He loved them. Can I love someone in Russia even though I’ve never met them? Can I love someone from Brazil even though I’ve never been there? I can! Eurocon was great proof of that very statement. When I have the love of Christ, every moment is a time of love. I make the decision in my heart to love people, not because they love me, but because God loves me.
I was speaking with a recent Bible class about this topic in relationship to reaching the lost. We said that no matter how polished your apologetics may be, the thing that really reaches people and that makes a difference is love.
This coming Friday, I will be going on a weekend retreat with the kids from the Korean church. If you think of it, please pray for this time.
Lastly, please keep GGIS in your prayers. Toward the end of every school year, we give out surveys in Bible class checking to gauge student’s interest in Christianity. Teachers meet with different individuals after reading the surveys and try to connect and answer any questions they have. Every year students get saved, and some even get baptized, but it’s also a time of great warfare because the spirit of God is moving so mightily.
God is doing great things!
The theme of this year’s Eurocon was “A Time of Love” from Ezekiel 16:8. I am always amazed that the themes of different conferences throughout the year are always so timely. Now really is a time for love.
It was great to see all of the visitors and friends who came from around the world to be with us. In a time of wars and feuds, political angst and economic instability, it’s incredible to have a couple thousand people from all over the world with all different backgrounds get together without bias or prejudice and worship God. It truly is a time of love.
Last year I had been asking all of you to be praying for one of our Seniors who accept Christ at Eurocon. A year later, here is a picture (sorry it’s so small) of that same girl marching for China in the missions march.
I am so proud of that girl and all of the decisions she has made in her new Christian life.
Keeping with the theme of Eurocon, I have recently been thinking about love as a choice. I don’t love people because it’s convenient, I love people because I can choose to love them with God’s love. When Christ looked out at Israel in Matthew 9:36, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He loved them even though they didn’t know He loved them. Can I love someone in Russia even though I’ve never met them? Can I love someone from Brazil even though I’ve never been there? I can! Eurocon was great proof of that very statement. When I have the love of Christ, every moment is a time of love. I make the decision in my heart to love people, not because they love me, but because God loves me.
I was speaking with a recent Bible class about this topic in relationship to reaching the lost. We said that no matter how polished your apologetics may be, the thing that really reaches people and that makes a difference is love.
This coming Friday, I will be going on a weekend retreat with the kids from the Korean church. If you think of it, please pray for this time.
Lastly, please keep GGIS in your prayers. Toward the end of every school year, we give out surveys in Bible class checking to gauge student’s interest in Christianity. Teachers meet with different individuals after reading the surveys and try to connect and answer any questions they have. Every year students get saved, and some even get baptized, but it’s also a time of great warfare because the spirit of God is moving so mightily.
God is doing great things!
March 2017
Finally! Spring has arrived in Budapest. The past few mornings I have woken up to the sun shining in my window. It seems like this winter was especially long. It's gloomy, dark, and lonely here in the winter. A lot of people don't realize it, but it's true. Whole weeks can go by without the clouds parting and letting the sun shine through. February, I think, was rough for us at GGIS. It seemed gloomy. The kids shut down.
Our regular Friday night youth group at school had a Valentine's Day party with food, games, a special guest speaker and a whole lot of fun. It was very well attended, but after that we kind of went downhill. As the leader, I spoke with my team and we decided to postpone it for a couple of weeks until after the Eurocon break. This was an extremely hard decision to make and I really struggled with it for a while. I think it's necessary to regroup, rethink, and come back with a new vision. I hope the kids will respond well to this little break.
I recently went on the 9th and 10th grade class trip to Vienna, Austria. (If you look up GGIS on Facebook you can see a video I made about it.) It was such a refreshing time to just be with the students. It really brought me back to the purpose of me being here. Like I said before, it can get so gloomy sometimes, not just weather-wise, but also mentally. I can become burdened and forget my purpose. Being in my calling brings me back like the sun shining through the clouds again.
I am looking forward to Eurocon, which is the Greater Grace European Conference that we have every year. It’s going to be an amazing time as it always is. I have two guys from America staying with me this year. I really look forward to being refreshed and renewed at Eurocon.
Lastly, I wanted to tell you about a Bible class I taught last week. I teach Bible four days a week, but I reserve Wednesdays as a discussion day with the students. One 11th grader asked me what I used to do in my free time as a teenager and I began to tell him. From that answer the students asked me a lot more questions about my life growing up. It was interesting for me to look back and think about where I was and what I was doing at their age. So much happened to me, both good and bad, but I told them in all honesty that I wouldn’t change any of it. God has always been working in my life for good. Who could have thought that things happening in my life ten or fifteen years ago could produce such fruit now. Keep going!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Changes
I was recently showing some of my Korean youth group kids pictures of myself when I was their age. I felt old. Man, I was actually skinny once. They said I still looked the same, just a bit older, fatter, taller. My reply was "I like to be consistent."
I take that back. I love consistency. I love men of God who stand up for what is right and don't change their message because people get their feelings hurt by the Word of God. (Come on, people, it's a two edged sword, did you think your flesh wouldn't be hurt by it?) I love when young people choose to go to a Bible study on a Friday night because they know that that is where they belong. I hate alcohol because it changes the people I love and care about into something that they are not- addicts, fools, aggressive. I love when Pastors have the guts to stand up against things that would harm their congregation and tell people it's wrong.
My parents always tried to teach me not to fall for the new fads- remember Pokemon cards? I had twelve of them. They were duplicates that my friend had and gave to me. One of the hardest decisions of my early childhood was to throw them away. I'm so glad I did.
Occasionally, I have the chance to reconnect with old friends. I find these times fascinating, not because I can see how much they have changed, quite the contrary! Actually, it seems to me that the more I run into old friends, the more I notice that they haven't changed.
I have changed.
Wait.
That doesn't fit.
Why am I changing?
I love consistency.
Have I really changed?
I guess I have.
Well, parts of me have.
I see my Christian life like a staircase. God is leading me up it, and with every step I take, I leave something behind and gain something new. I can look back and see all that I have left behind, but it doesn't compare to what I have now. I see the Pokemon cards waaaaaaay off in the distance, down toward the bottom of the staircase. I see stupid jokes a little further up. I see the search for a girlfriend after that. Looking at my current step, I see ministry. I see two youth groups. I see an understanding of things I could barely grasp way down toward the bottom of the stair case. What will happen as I move up the staircase? I don't know. God knows. He is with me on it and in it. Through God consistently leading me, there has been a continual growth in who I am as a believer. The dross is being skimmed from the top of the gold God is refining in my life.
It seems to me, after writing all of this, that character is developed through consistency, and that's what I really love. If I consistently base my decision-making on the Word of God then my actions will be based on the character of God and that's when a consistent character is developed in me. My view on Pokemon cards changed because I saw the absorbing and addicting effect they had on my friend. It was a conscious choice to leave them behind. This decision solidified an area of consistency in my life where decisions would have to be made later on. If my view on alcohol ever changes, so too will that part of my character that was developed by the simple act of throwing away Pokemon cards. I pray that that lesson is never forgotten.
What do I really love about those men who don't cow to a world that claims it's hurt? What do I love about a kid who skips going out to eat with his friends to stay and hang out at school on a Friday? It's the gold that is shining through the dross. It's the character that has been developed on their own staircases.
The last thing I will say before I turn off my computer for the night is this: Facebook is a master of inconsistency. I see it all the time. People can have one political view one day and another the next. They can be Bible thumping, hard-nosed Christians one day and then leave the church the next. We live in an inconsistent world and media is a sounding board. I saw a sounding board once, it was in an old church. It was a large rectangle that jutted out from the wall above the pulpit and caused the speaker's voice to project forward toward his audience with little to no extra exertion on the part of the speaker. It's an ingenious invention used in a time before electronic amplification. Now, we have the internet. Now, we use technology to say whatever we want, whenever we want- it's 11:44 on a Tuesday night and I'm using it to say what I want.
Think about the original purpose of a sounding board, though. Its only purpose was so more people could hear the Word of God. Fascinating. Is that how I use my digital sounding board? Does my sounding board reflect the character that God has developed in me?
I take that back. I love consistency. I love men of God who stand up for what is right and don't change their message because people get their feelings hurt by the Word of God. (Come on, people, it's a two edged sword, did you think your flesh wouldn't be hurt by it?) I love when young people choose to go to a Bible study on a Friday night because they know that that is where they belong. I hate alcohol because it changes the people I love and care about into something that they are not- addicts, fools, aggressive. I love when Pastors have the guts to stand up against things that would harm their congregation and tell people it's wrong.
My parents always tried to teach me not to fall for the new fads- remember Pokemon cards? I had twelve of them. They were duplicates that my friend had and gave to me. One of the hardest decisions of my early childhood was to throw them away. I'm so glad I did.
Occasionally, I have the chance to reconnect with old friends. I find these times fascinating, not because I can see how much they have changed, quite the contrary! Actually, it seems to me that the more I run into old friends, the more I notice that they haven't changed.
I have changed.
Wait.
That doesn't fit.
Why am I changing?
I love consistency.
Have I really changed?
I guess I have.
Well, parts of me have.
I see my Christian life like a staircase. God is leading me up it, and with every step I take, I leave something behind and gain something new. I can look back and see all that I have left behind, but it doesn't compare to what I have now. I see the Pokemon cards waaaaaaay off in the distance, down toward the bottom of the staircase. I see stupid jokes a little further up. I see the search for a girlfriend after that. Looking at my current step, I see ministry. I see two youth groups. I see an understanding of things I could barely grasp way down toward the bottom of the stair case. What will happen as I move up the staircase? I don't know. God knows. He is with me on it and in it. Through God consistently leading me, there has been a continual growth in who I am as a believer. The dross is being skimmed from the top of the gold God is refining in my life.
It seems to me, after writing all of this, that character is developed through consistency, and that's what I really love. If I consistently base my decision-making on the Word of God then my actions will be based on the character of God and that's when a consistent character is developed in me. My view on Pokemon cards changed because I saw the absorbing and addicting effect they had on my friend. It was a conscious choice to leave them behind. This decision solidified an area of consistency in my life where decisions would have to be made later on. If my view on alcohol ever changes, so too will that part of my character that was developed by the simple act of throwing away Pokemon cards. I pray that that lesson is never forgotten.
What do I really love about those men who don't cow to a world that claims it's hurt? What do I love about a kid who skips going out to eat with his friends to stay and hang out at school on a Friday? It's the gold that is shining through the dross. It's the character that has been developed on their own staircases.
The last thing I will say before I turn off my computer for the night is this: Facebook is a master of inconsistency. I see it all the time. People can have one political view one day and another the next. They can be Bible thumping, hard-nosed Christians one day and then leave the church the next. We live in an inconsistent world and media is a sounding board. I saw a sounding board once, it was in an old church. It was a large rectangle that jutted out from the wall above the pulpit and caused the speaker's voice to project forward toward his audience with little to no extra exertion on the part of the speaker. It's an ingenious invention used in a time before electronic amplification. Now, we have the internet. Now, we use technology to say whatever we want, whenever we want- it's 11:44 on a Tuesday night and I'm using it to say what I want.
Think about the original purpose of a sounding board, though. Its only purpose was so more people could hear the Word of God. Fascinating. Is that how I use my digital sounding board? Does my sounding board reflect the character that God has developed in me?
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Misconceptions
Last Friday night was interesting for me as a youth leader. For three weeks my team had planned to have a Valentine's Party with our youth group, we put up sign up sheets, made announcements, and repeatedly told the kids about it. The response was good, but the one question I kept getting asked was "if our Christian school doesn't approve of relationships, why are we having a Valentine's Party?"
During the party, we wanted to play musical chairs (I don't get it but the kids love it, so we play it) and I needed to come up with some music on the fly. The most appropriate song I had on my phone was Faithfully by Journey. I know, it's still not appropriate, but it was the most appropriate. It's a classic. Anyway, at a certain point I overheard two of our girls talking:
"Ugh, what is this music?"
"I dunno, probably some Christian song."
Laughter between the two of them.
In my time working with youth I have heard this stuff over and over. Christianity to them (especially the ones who are not raised in it) is boring. It's wishy washy music with repetitive choruses; it's some person telling you the stuff you like to do is bad; good Lord, to get to know God you have to be quiet and read? I totally understand the unappealing aspects of it and I'm with the kids on this. I too, have said these things growing up, and I was raised as a Christian.
Christianity in these forms IS boring. I'm bored with it. I think God is bored with it. Where is the excitement? Where is the motivation to move forward in Christ? Jesus did miracles, healed people, and told super cool stories all for the purpose of blowing up people's misconceptions about religion. He related to people on their level. He worked with their likes and dislikes but injected those things with truth. What are we doing? We can't bash kids over the head with rules, we give them a list of don'ts, and we tell them the things they want to do are sinnnnnnnnnful.
We need to find a way to blow up their misconceptions like Christ did.
Christianity in these forms IS boring. I'm bored with it. I think God is bored with it. Where is the excitement? Where is the motivation to move forward in Christ? Jesus did miracles, healed people, and told super cool stories all for the purpose of blowing up people's misconceptions about religion. He related to people on their level. He worked with their likes and dislikes but injected those things with truth. What are we doing? We can't bash kids over the head with rules, we give them a list of don'ts, and we tell them the things they want to do are sinnnnnnnnnful.
We need to find a way to blow up their misconceptions like Christ did.
Two weeks ago I had the privilege of doing a Friday morning chapel service with the entire high school. I haven't spoken in front of all of them at one time before. I was pretty nervous to be honest; I don't get stage fright but I do worry about getting up and sounding like that person that says everything they like to do is bad or wrong.
I chose an easy topic- love. When I got up to speak and said that, I could feel the entire room lurch as all 85 pairs of eyes collectively rolled. They expected me to tell them that their secret relationships, that they think all of us teachers disapprove of, are wrong. Luckily I only spoke about God's love, not relationships... it was easier on all of us. One thing I did mention, though, was music. I told them to ask the person next to them what their favorite song was. They all talked, I don't know what they said, they refused to tell me.
"John, what's your favorite song?"
"I dunno."
"Steve, what did John say his favorite song was?
"Ummmmm."
"Oh, are you scared to say it because it's not Christian?"
"Kinda..."
What the heck? Can a Christian have a favorite song that is not worship music? I do. I listen to music all the time and 90% of it is not Christian. Does that mean that I have less of a relationship with God? No, I just worship God in other ways. I like to walk and pray. These are the times when I find myself worshiping God the most. If I forced myself to try to fit into a mould of a good Christian and only listened to Christian music, would I be better off? I don't know, I don't think I would be. How would I relate to the sullen teenage girl in my class who went ballistic when she found out that I like Twenty One Pilots? There would be no connection there.
I'm by no means saying that Christians should bend the truth in order to reach people. God forbid! I am saying, though, that we need to stand up for truth and stand against things that are wrong according the the truth while infusing this ideology into our young people in a way that encourages them to live a practical, real Christian life, not in a way that drives them from having one.
Relationships are not wrong. Relationships based outside of truth are wrong. Music is not bad. Music that distorts my view of truth is bad.
How can I get my students to understand this? I want them to know that I am fighting with them, not against them. I too am pushing back against Christianity, but I'm fighting a twisted version of Christianity. An uptight version. A version that says you need to act a certain way, dress a certain way, live a certain way, listen to certain things, so that you become... boring. I don't want to live like that. I don't want my youth group kids to live like that. I want them to know Jesus and in knowing Jesus, John 17:17, they will be sanctified by truth with conviction enough to stand up for it when ideas come along that go against what they know about truth.
That's living a real Christian life. It's not boring, students!
Relationships are not wrong. Relationships based outside of truth are wrong. Music is not bad. Music that distorts my view of truth is bad.
How can I get my students to understand this? I want them to know that I am fighting with them, not against them. I too am pushing back against Christianity, but I'm fighting a twisted version of Christianity. An uptight version. A version that says you need to act a certain way, dress a certain way, live a certain way, listen to certain things, so that you become... boring. I don't want to live like that. I don't want my youth group kids to live like that. I want them to know Jesus and in knowing Jesus, John 17:17, they will be sanctified by truth with conviction enough to stand up for it when ideas come along that go against what they know about truth.
That's living a real Christian life. It's not boring, students!
Monday, February 6, 2017
February 2017
Hi everybody!
Recently, I was asked if I could design a wall covering for the Chapel at GGIS. One of my hobbies is woodworking and I do a lot of stuff with pallets in the US so the idea was to make a pallet wall behind the stage. I asked my friend, Tim, to help me think it all through and to build it with me, the whole project took about 25 hours between drive time to get the wood, staining, then prepping the wall and putting everything up.
Here is a picture of the before:
and here is after:
Previously, I had built the stage, pulpit and the cross that you see on the new wall with my friend, Pasha, who moved back to America last year. It was a fun project and great to reminisce about what we’ve been doing at the school. As Tim and I were leaving the building after finishing, we started thinking about the chapel itself and how much use it gets. It’s home to two churches (including my Korean church) and is also used for both the elementary and high school chapels (assemblies) every week. I wonder how many individual people have been in that room. I wonder how many of them have gotten saved in that room. It’s interesting to think about.
I had the opportunity to actually speak in the high school chapel last Friday. This was actually the first time I have ever done a chapel in my four years at GGIS. I talked about how we have to make a conscious choice to love people. If someone hurts me I can choose to love them, not because they deserve it, but because I can give it. I didn’t deserve love and God loved me, therefore, I can love people with that same love. It was interesting because yesterday, at the Korean church I attend, the Pastor spoke about the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6. If you look through those verses, you see that the prayer starts with being fed by the Word of God and knowing the Word allows to forgive. Then, living in the Word is what sustains us through temptations. The Word is also what allows me to love people. When I have the Word in my life, when it’s my daily bread, I am able to live right, to live clean. I don’t get distracted by other “food” that I am offered (politics, anger, money, relationships, pride, etc.) because I have something better and which produces an effect, not just on me but on those around me. I can love because of the Word in my life. I need to think with
God’s Word continually.
Thank you all for your continued prayer!
Recently, I was asked if I could design a wall covering for the Chapel at GGIS. One of my hobbies is woodworking and I do a lot of stuff with pallets in the US so the idea was to make a pallet wall behind the stage. I asked my friend, Tim, to help me think it all through and to build it with me, the whole project took about 25 hours between drive time to get the wood, staining, then prepping the wall and putting everything up.
Here is a picture of the before:
and here is after:
Previously, I had built the stage, pulpit and the cross that you see on the new wall with my friend, Pasha, who moved back to America last year. It was a fun project and great to reminisce about what we’ve been doing at the school. As Tim and I were leaving the building after finishing, we started thinking about the chapel itself and how much use it gets. It’s home to two churches (including my Korean church) and is also used for both the elementary and high school chapels (assemblies) every week. I wonder how many individual people have been in that room. I wonder how many of them have gotten saved in that room. It’s interesting to think about.
I had the opportunity to actually speak in the high school chapel last Friday. This was actually the first time I have ever done a chapel in my four years at GGIS. I talked about how we have to make a conscious choice to love people. If someone hurts me I can choose to love them, not because they deserve it, but because I can give it. I didn’t deserve love and God loved me, therefore, I can love people with that same love. It was interesting because yesterday, at the Korean church I attend, the Pastor spoke about the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6. If you look through those verses, you see that the prayer starts with being fed by the Word of God and knowing the Word allows to forgive. Then, living in the Word is what sustains us through temptations. The Word is also what allows me to love people. When I have the Word in my life, when it’s my daily bread, I am able to live right, to live clean. I don’t get distracted by other “food” that I am offered (politics, anger, money, relationships, pride, etc.) because I have something better and which produces an effect, not just on me but on those around me. I can love because of the Word in my life. I need to think with
God’s Word continually.
Thank you all for your continued prayer!
January 2017
I was able to go New York to see my family for Christmas and New Year's this year. I just got back to Budapest on Thursday afternoon. It was great to see everyone and be with the family for two weeks. It felt strange because it's the first time I've been able to do that since moving to Hungary (four years ago this week).
I had asked the Korean youth group if they needed anything from America before I went, they proceeded to send me a list of, well, mostly candy, that they wanted. I'm sure all of their parents will be so happy with me!
Things at GGIS leading up to the break were really exciting, we had a Christmas party and then a day of ice skating with the high schoolers. This was a really great time to connect with them on a level that most teachers don't usually get to. I've come to realize in my time here that it's so vital to build relationships with students based on your life and character rather than just having a teacher/student relationship. Our real purpose here is to minister Christ and I pray that the kids get to see that along with all of the teaching and professional interaction we have with them.
Our vice principle, Mr. Doug Janssen, sent out an email a few weeks ago with a quote from Martin Luther, which said: "If I had to give up preaching and my other duties, there is no office I would rather have than that of schoolteacher. For I know that next to the ministry it is the most useful, greatest, and best; and I am not sure which of the two is to be preferred. For it is hard to make old dogs docile and old rogues pious, yet that is what the ministry works at, in great part, in vain; but young trees, though some may break in the process, are more easily bent and trained. Therefore, let it be considered one of the highest virtues on earth faithfully to train the children of others, which duty but few parents attend to themselves." I printed this quote out and stuck it to the podium in my classroom so I have to look at it every day. Isn't that amazing? I found myself thinking the same old thoughts again while I was in the US- does what I am doing in Budapest really matter? Am I actually making a difference? Am I really a missionary? I think, like Nehemiah (6:3) building the wall around Jerusalem said, "I am doing a great work! I will not come down! The work will not stop!" Nehemiah had to send a message to the people who were oppressing him, but when my own mind tries to get me to throw in the towel, I can talk right back to it. I won't give up! I am doing a great work! I will not stop! It may take years, lifetimes, or even generations to see the full result of what has happened here in Budapest these past four years, but it is a great work!
You are doing a great work as well! Never forget this. We can become so discouraged in our ministry at times but there is no reason to be. Build yourself up in whatever God has you doing. Don't let the little thoughts creep in and try to get you to come down from the wall.
I am so edified by you who read these little letters. Thank you for the emails and feedback you give me. You'll never know how much those few words mean to me.
Thank you for all of your continued prayers! Happy New Year!
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