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.

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.

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!