October 2018

I always feel a little funny when I write these because my life mainly revolves around school and education, but this is a missionary blog. I struggle with the idea that while I am a teacher, I am actually a missionary. I mean, I know it. Every day I am sharing the Christ with students, but it's not like I am planting a church or something. Maybe you understand what I mean.
With all of that in mind, I would like to share something I wrote after a recent Bible Study I led at GGIS.

"Usually my week of preparation for a message is doing a little reading, thinking, and praying each morning of the week. Last week I thought the theme "Give Me Your Heart" from Proverbs 23 would be a good topic; however the more I prepared, the more I fully expected it to just suck. Fall flat. I kinda just wanted it to be over with so we could all go play frisbee.
"As we sat and began talking (usually the message is me presenting some small ideas which the students talk about for a minute, then I ask questions that I want them to answer, and we repeat that several times) but tonight I couldn't believe what the students were saying. Incredible. Doctrine was pouring out of each and every one of them.
"Reka mentioned how making decisions for God can be so difficult but in the end you see a great result. (Hugi, keep her coming out!)
When we talked about how sometimes hearts can become hard, Seung Hee compared it to ice. Ice takes a long time to freeze, it doesn't happen instantly, but when it is heated up it melts quickly. That can be like us, our hearts can become cold, but when the warmth of the love of God is again realized in my life, I can have instant restoration.

"I wish I could go through what everyone said, it was so amazing. What I expected to be 15 minutes tops turned into 45 in the blink of an eye."

I think it can be hard for us to see the impact we have in our ministry at times. I have been here for six years and I am just now realizing the fruit of investment. I have been able to watch these students grow from crazy third and fourth graders into mature, God-seeking teenagers.

It is missions. Everything we do is missions. Remember, you and I are not at home here, every ministry we have is a mission, no matter where we are or what it is. A cup of cold water is a ministry if it's given from the Spirit of God.

The last thing is that in ministry, you can make connections that you wouldn't be able to otherwise. I walked into my classroom the other day and found the following list that various students have been adding to the past few days:


Thank God that he has and continues to use us!

September 2018

Hi Everybody!

I just returned from the annual GGIS High School Retreat. This is a time when we take all the students from grades 7-12 out into the country side in Hungary and spend three days playing sports, getting to know each other, having competitions, and of course praising God.

It is always so much fun to watch the new students during this event. While school has already been in session for two weeks, we had three new students start school on the morning of the Retreat. Their jaws all collectively seemed to hit the floor as they saw what incredible life there was.

I pretty much run the show, but I base almost everything off of what I learned from Camp Life growing up. It’s my job to make the schedule, make sure events run smoothly, kids are supervised, and that equipment is brought. Besides that, I also ran most of the events, did the announcing, made sure that things happened on time, and I also lead the barn dancing, campfire songs, and I preach one night.

Wow, writing that out it’s a lot.

I remember something my good friend, Pastor Barry, once said to me. Some people are excellent receivers, they are like sponges and soak up everything, but I am more of a producer. I have found that when I am active and busy in ministry, I have the most to keep pouring out.

My message was Friday night during the campfire. Last year I spoke about how to keep the fire in our hearts burning, and how we can’t just leave incredible times with God and forget that they happened. This year, I spoke about what to do now that the fire in us is burning.

In Exodus 3, the Bible says that Moses stopped what he was doing, turned aside, and drew near to see a great site. This was the burning bush in the wilderness. Out of the fire came the Word of God. This is just like us. People stop, turn aside, and draw near to the fire of God in us. We have words for them, we can encourage and edify, we can share God’s will with them.

A final point I made was that we can sometimes be shy about the fire of God burning in us. Sometimes there is a temptation to hide it. Maybe our reputations are at stake, maybe we are afraid that if people know we are on fire for God, they will think we are weird.

We can’t let that hinder us.

Remember in Judges 7 when Israel broke the clay pots and let the light from their torches shine, there was a miracle that took place and their enemy was defeated. That’s the exact same thing that can happen with us. When I am broken, that’s when my light will truly shine.

Lastly, if you could, I would like you to pray for a young man. He was in our school for three years, but just returned to his home country. He came from a bit of a rough background, but really became part of the GGIS family in his time here. Not only that, but he prayed with me to accept Christ last year however, his family are all practicing Muslims, which is why I am omitting his name.

In his final days with us, I asked him if there is anything that I could pray for and the one thing he wanted was to find other believers with whom he could fellowship in his new school.

July-August 2018

I just returned to Budapest from a great summer spent mostly in Baltimore. It was great to be with friends and family, this was actually the first time I’ve spent a prolonged period of time in Maryland since I moved in 2013.

I left a little early, though, this year to come back for Camp Life Europe.

Wow.

It was amazing.

There were a few students from GGIS who came as well as about 80-90 other people. There were sports, and games, but also times of worship, prayer, and time in the Word.

There was one Korean boy who came who was not a Christian but by the end of the week accepted Christ as his Savior. Incredible!

Here is the group who came from Hungary.



This is a picture of Dasha, a student at GGIS, and Rae, a camper from America.



This is Boti, he is from Miskolc, in the countryside of Hungary. I was glad to get to know him as I have seen him and his family over the years, but never really made a connection with them.



Overall, while my time in America was short this year, I am so glad I was able to go to Camp Life. I remember the times I spent as a camper were life changing and I know that this event is still changing lives today.

Thank you so much to all who had a part in putting this together, P. Love, P. Pete, the Romanians who hosted this year, and all those who laid down their lives to make this thing possible.

I am looking forward to another great year in GGIS as I return to work next week.

If you think of it, please keep me in your prayers.

June 2018

This will be my last newsletter before I come back to America for the summer.

So much has happened this month, we had a spring high school retreat which I already told you about, I went to two graduations and two banquets, and now we are wrapping up the end of the school year with final exams this week.

Last Saturday was the GGIS graduation. It was probably the best one I have been to. This was also the first year I wasn't the photographer for the day since I taught a senior class and was sitting on the stage. Traditionally we have our graduates each give speeches (we have small classes). It was fascinating hearing the impact that this school has on the lives of its students. I think I still don't comprehend it fully, but this week I saw more and more how vital this type of ministry is. The other graduation I attended was much different. There seemed to be no connection between the teachers and students. I caught myself wondering if this was how school should be and that I am just too personable as a teacher, but then I realized how different GGIS is. I think of Acts 3:6 when Peter told the lame man that he had nothing physically to give but he had something far better. GGIS can't offer the extracurricular activities, honors programs, or campus that the other school has but we have something far greater, we have a ministry, a connection with students that goes beyond the human level. It's spiritual. Lives are changed, not just temporally, but eternally.

I must say that my life has also been changed being here.

There are quite a few staff members who have or who are leaving this year. As I think back on all the memories I've had with them, it's amazing that we have had the opportunity to be here as a team, doing this for this long. (I'm not leaving, but others are.)

One fantastic event we had this past month was a Middle School boat trip. This is a three hour cruise along the river with dinner and games. It happened a couple weeks after our High School Banquet so naturally the Middle Schoolers all called it their "banquet". It wasn't meant to be but it was kind of cute to see them all get dressed up and try to bashfully ask each other "out" (we all rode a bus together to the boat then sat at communal tables for the food).

On the boat trip there was a seventh grade girl who has been in our school for six months, she is not returning next year and is instead going to that other school I mentioned earlier. She is so depressed! She loves it here, but there is a perception based on outward appearances that the other one is a better school so her parents will send her there next year.

Outward appearances are deceptive. More and more I see it. When I look at certain students I often times see no outward change. Maybe their grades are bad, their attitude is bad, or they just seem lazy, but then all of a sudden they will tell you that they accepted Christ months, or even years ago, and they have been going to church, and want to grow as a Christian. It's incredible. This actually happened with a student this year. I didn't want to speak to him, I went to his study hall three times before I finally pulled him out to speak to him, and right away he told me he has been waiting for the opportunity to accept Christ. My how that young man's life has been changed in the months since then! Amazing.

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. I look forward to being in Baltimore all summer before returning to Hungary for Camp Life in July.

May 2018

I just returned from a weekend retreat with the 9th-12th grades. This is something that I have wanted to do for a few years now and am so glad we decided to do this year. Every fall we have a retreat with the whole high school and usually we have class trips in the spring but this time we let the students vote and (with a little persuading) they chose to have a retreat.

Here is a picture from one of our worship times.



GGIS also just crossed the 200 student mark. Isn’t that amazing? That’s two hundred young people from all over the world who come to us and and hear the gospel. Incredible!

We are getting into the busy season as we start to wrap up school. I think every weekend for the next six weeks there is something happening. After that I will be back in America for five weeks.

It’s funny, usually I feel like I am dragging myself to the finish line at the end of the year, I can’t wait to go back to America and just get some rest and relax, but I honestly don’t feel that way this year. I am so excited, rejuvenated, by what God is doing. I am certainly excited to see family and friends in the States, but I also know that seeds which were planted here and in me are now starting to really bear fruit. It’s thrilling to be walking in God’s will.

I like to think of the verse I Corinthians 3:6- “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” This is a great summary of both ministry and personal growth. I may plant, you may water, but God is the one who gives the result. In the same way, people have planted spiritual seeds in my life, others have watered them, but it’s always God who brings the fruit.

One thing I’ve noticed, and was talking to a friend about today, was there there is so much pollen in Budapest right now. I mean it’s everywhere, all over my laundry, every surface in my house is covered… I should probably clean more… but looking back, we determined that it was because we had such a hard Winter and the plants are all producing more pollen to stimulate exponential growth. Isn’t that just like that verse? I may have a spiritual Winter, it can be tough, I see no growth in my life, but in time (and I don’t know how long it will take) God produces something incredible in my life.

Perhaps you are going through a spiritual Winter, things may look bleak, there may not seem to be any fruit, but don’t worry, Spring is coming. Everything here is blooming and it seemed like it happened over night, but it didn’t, it took a long, hard Winter. In the same way, I see things blooming in my life, but it took a Winter to bring it about.

God bless you!

April 2018

Hi Everyone,

This past month, spring has finally come to Budapest. In a recent teachers’ meeting, it was mentioned that sometimes the winters here, which are pretty dark and gloomy, can wear you down. You can start to wonder why you’re here or what is going on, but then, boom, before you know it, the sun is back, the kids are normal again, and you remember why you live. This is very true, but it actually didn’t happen to me this year. I have seen God working so mightily in different ways, I feel like every day something new and incredible is going to happen.

I went to Eurocon in Warsaw, Poland at the beginning of the month. It was a great time to be with people I don’t often get to spend time with. It was also neat because ever since I moved here, Eurocon has been in Budapest, but for me, living here, there can be a lot of distractions. Now that it was in Poland, I had nothing to do except go to the conference and spend time with the people there. I didn’t think about that until afterwards, but it was an interesting side note.

I asked my friend, Pastor Love, if I could video him speaking for a minute about his work in the chaplain program in the NBA to show to the basketball team at GGIS. Here is a picture of them listening to him.

It was really neat to see them paying such close attention and they asked a lot of questions afterwards.

As you may know, I have been talking individually to the high school students in GGIS and have now spoken to 57 of them. Please pray that I keep having these opportunities as they are very special. Last week, the day before our Easter break, three students prayed with me to receive Christ, two of which were boys who you see in that picture, listening to Pastor Love. Amazing!

I have been talking about Camp Life with my students because it is now happening in Europe as well as the US. I will be coming back to Hungary a bit earlier this summer so that I can attend and the kids I have talked to about it are very interested. This is a fantastic program and for me, both as a camper, and a counsellor, it was life changing.

I wanted to show you another picture that I took recently at the Korean church I attend. This is in the chapel at GGIS. During Eurocon, I was able to speak to P. Dunbar, who is a missionary in South Korea. It’s cool to me to have a connection about a love for people. I can’t wait to someday go to Korea and visit him!

 

March 2018

I have been working with a Korean church in Budapest as a youth leader for about a year and a half now. Generally what happens is after the main service, we all get together, sing, talk, and discuss the message. We also do events and had a two day retreat last year. It's been really great, but I also see that most of the kids only have a very basic Biblical understanding. (The couple students who also attend GGIS are like spiritual giants, though.) Anyway, a couple weeks ago, the two ladies who also help with the youth group were both sick so it was just me. We had about 15 kids and we divided up into groups. I had two students lead groups to discuss questions that I wrote down and I led another group. I realized there might be some confusion with one of my questions so I regrouped everyone and asked if they had questions.

Then!

It happened!

The moment I've been waiting for a year and a half!

They had questions!

We spent the next hour talking about some really big, theological questions they had. It was awesome. I won't say all of them were in tune, but most were.

Question after question.

It was incredible. "How does God measure faith", "can you explain eternal security", "what are some verses that go with that", "what do I do when I'm slumping spiritually", "what is hell like and who goes there"?

These questions were so good! I was ecstatic as I left. Please pray this continues! These kids are amazing and are longing to have these deep questions answered. It takes time, I've realized, for teenagers to open up. It reminds me of Proverbs 20:5. There has to be a drawing out of the questions and thoughts, but it takes time, you have to build trust before it can happen. I have built that trust at GGIS to the point where every free block I have in my day I have a student in my room talking to me, and now I am so happy that I am starting to build that trust with the Korean church!

Since I have this Korean connection, I am the go to guy when we divide our high school by language (I don’t speak Korean, but I can read it!) for Bible class on Fridays about once a month. I look forward to these times that I can spend with the small group of Koreans that we have in the high school. This past Friday I had one of the students lead us in worship and then I spoke about our value. I have found that this is such an important topic in the Asian community. So often identity can be tied into what you do- grades, work, extracurricular activities, but people can forget that we are valuable because God says we are. We looked at Micah 6:8 which asks the question, “What does the Lord require of you?” There are three things listed there, but the last one is the one I focused on- walk with God. If I walk with God, it doesn’t matter what I “become” in life. I could end up with the least desirable job ever, but if I walk with God in it, it’s the most valuable thing I could be doing. I think that the students understood what I was saying. God’s will is so much greater than my plans. He wants me to have the best, but His best may not be what I have mapped out for my future.

As I write this, I am looking forward to Eurocon, a conference of many Greater Grace churches in Europe, in a couple days. This is the first time since I’ve lived here that it hasn’t been in Budapest. I think it will be good. Having it in Budapest is a bit distracting for me since it’s my home and I always find something to do here. Now that it’s in Poland and I know nothing about Poland, I think it will help direct my focus a bit more if that makes sense. I feel a little like I did when I first came to Eurocon in 2012. I am excited and looking forward to what God is going to do!

Hopefully I will see some of you there!