February 2016

I am a little bit late on my newsletter this month because I wanted to wait until Eurocon was over. Eurocon is the GGWO European convention, hosted annually in Budapest.

It seemed like I blinked and it was gone. There were so many Americans here this year, many of whom left on Saturday. I am a little disappointed I couldn't spend more time with them, but it's ok. I'm glad a family of friends is still here and I hope to see them a little more this week before they leave. What an awesome family. I am always amazed by their purpose and determination to stay positive. I was thinking last night while sitting with Pastor Barry that a true friend is someone who can correct you when you're wrong or when you've messed up and then forget about the stupid thing you just did. There were several times this happened with me and him and yet there is nothing between us. In fact, I trust him more because of this.

I think God is the exact same way, though we often fail to realize it. Pastor preached on the Friday of Eurocon about Jesus standing there with his arms open all day long. It's difficult to remember this sometimes. I can be so focused on what I did or how I messed up that I don't even see Jesus standing there with his arms open. I forget that He still loves me.

That was such a powerful message and exactly what I needed. It was also a great door opener for two of my students who were there that night. After talking with them after the message, both prayed to receive Christ. I was blown away. These are two students who I had been praying for since I moved to Budapest in 2013, and I am so excited that they made this decision. One of them asked so many questions about the messages and was beaming the next day during the evening session.

We must always remember that it's God's desire that all come to Him. He stands there with His arms open, waiting for us, loving us, even from a distance. He loves the believer and the unbeliever equally. I can become so overwhelmed when I see only the details of life and over the past few months I have been extremely overwhelmed with all that is happening at work and in my personal life, but this conference kind of shoved me back into the right mindset. I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to have my arms open, pointing people to Christ.

I am also thankful that my parents were able to come and visit this week. They had a great time traveling to Vienna and Prague as well as attending the conference. I saw them off this morning (at 5 am) and can't wait to go to bed tonight!

January 2016

Happy New Year! Can I still say that a month later?

This marks my third anniversary living in Hungary.

At the beginning of the month I climbed up Janos Hegy, (John’s Mountain) a small mountain on the outskirts of Budapest.

For a little while I had been struggling with the decision about whether I would want to return next year or not. I really do love living here but I especially love the school. I never thought I would connect with teenagers the way I have and God has really revealed, in a more deeper way, the call He has for me. I want to work with kids wherever I am, and for now, I know that I am called here.

We have had quite the month at GGIS. Please pray for us. There seems to be a bit of a bug going around, spiritually and physically. I haven’t gotten it, but many students have become sick and some teachers are also suffering from it. Also, as some of you know, we are currently in the process of becoming accredited by ACSI, the Association of Christian Schools International. This is a great thing and has taken a lot of work from all of us on staff. A committee comes in April to check things out and give the final word which you can also be praying for. I think that when there is a major work of God, Satan is right there waiting to attack it.

In a recent Bible class, a girl asked me what the difference between a test and trial is. I think the difference is that a temptation is Satan trying to influence you to turn away from God whereas a test is God revealing to Satan that you won’t. So often God can turn temptation into a test. We may not see the usefulness of a situation in our lives but it doesn’t mean that God isn’t using it. I am reminded of Romans 8:28 where it says all things work together for good. I think that God just loves showing us off. We are not perfect but He has given us Perfection. When I trust God instead of turning away from Him, I am living how He wants me to live, not perfectly but just relying on Him. This is what I have learned the most in the past few months and this is what I shared with that Bible class.

I am re-taking Pastor Schaller’s Homiletics class from 2011 online with my friend, Tim. It’s funny to watch myself sitting there on the videos from all those years ago. So much has happened but God remains faithful. The messages are still relevant and just as useful for me today as they were then.

Just a few days ago, my friends Pasha and Ruth had their baby. She looks just like Pash!

Thank you all for praying for us here, five months has turned into ____ years!

November-December 2015

Sorry I haven't written recently according to my normal schedule. GGIS went on Christmas break and I did too. Haha

For Thanksgiving I went to Israel for five days. What an amazing time that was! It's incredible to see all of the biblical sites- Engedi, Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, David's palace and of course the Wailing Wall. So many people go there and to see the things Christ saw and everything but it was cool for me to look at the people that Christ saw. I think this is more important. These are people searching for a Savior but then not recognizing Him when He came. It's like this all over the world, especially at Christmas time. A friend of mine just lost his mom after a long battle with illness (please pray for him) and as we went from house to house together on and around Christmas we were talking about how lonely you can get this time of year. I feel it especially when school is out. There is so much happening and going on and then nothing. The whole world seems to stop and you can forget that you have a purpose. If I feel like this as a believer I can't imagine how the unbeliever feels. This is why Christ came. Below are some pictures from my trip.

I taught a few Christmas Bible classes before the break and spoke all about the importance of the virgin birth, the hypostatic union and a few other Christmassy topics. It was a lot of fun just to study these things out again after a while. I kept thinking about what Pastor Schaller said all those years ago about learning it all over and doing it all over again. That's a good thought for this new year.

Christmas was fun, as I mentioned before, I went house hopping. On the 23rd I went to visit the Jako family, they have been a part of the church and school for much longer than I've been in Budapest and their daughters are all in GGIS. They are such a wonderful family. On the 24th I went to the Knight's (American missionary family/ principal of the school) house where we had a really relaxed time playing with their new puppy and chatting by the fire. It was a very comforting time and very relaxing. Christmas Day I went to an English/Russian missionary family's house where we opened presents, put together Legos with the kids and played games all day. I was so busy those days that I didn't leave my house after that. Haha

That's about it from here. Thank you all for praying for me. I hope you all have a happy new year!

October-November 2015

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I last sent my newsletter!

We had a Harvest Party at GGIS. Over 600 people attended including students, families, and friends of the school. We had line-dancing, food, and games. The elementary students left around 6 pm then we had a special movie night outside with the high schoolers. It was freezing! The movie we watched was called God’s Not Dead. It’s a Christian movie about a college student who has a debate with one of his professors about the existence of God. By then end of the movie, so many of the students were crying. It was an amazing time. I gave a short devotional and you could really feel God moving there. Quite a few Christian students prayed to get to know God deeper.

My friends who you have been praying for, Pasha and Ruth, finally were accepted to go to the United States. They left last week. What a hole they left, too. It’s strange not having them here. The students still pray for them and their unborn baby. I keep going to text Pasha and then remembering that it’s 3 AM for him. Below is a picture after Pasha’s going away party. We are standing in front of the Ronald Reagan statue in downtown Budapest.

I will be going to Israel for Thanksgiving this year! I am so excited to have this opportunity! I will be traveling with a group from Hungary and we will be there for four days. It’s so easy to fly from here, it’s only three hours. We will see the Dead Sea, Calvary, the Garden of Gethsemane, and other Biblical sites. Please pray for safety while we are there.

Europe is really in turmoil right now with the immigration crisis and the recent terrorist attacks in France. Please pray for peace for our brothers and sisters here. We know that we won’t ever have peace on earth but that doesn’t mean that they can’t accept Christ and have peace within.

Please pray for the youth group at GGIS. It’s a great place to spend time with the students outside of a school setting and we are able to minister to them a lot. The group is very young and loves to be entertained. They are very much drawn to the activities but not so much the messages. (Surprise, surprise). Anyway, you can pray for spiritual growth with them as well as older students to come and minister to them. Also, please pray that a team comes together to help with this. Pasha was leading it and I have since taken over.



Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and continued financial support!

September-October 2015

As you may know, there is a church in GGIS on Sunday mornings that I attend. This past week, my friends, Pasha, Tim, and I have been building many things for it including a stage, pulpit and cross.

We have had a week-long fall break at GGIS which has been nice but by day two I was ready to see the students again. I am so blessed to be able to teach these kids. It really is a mission field that comes to you.

We had a high school retreat at the end of September where we take all the high school students out to the countryside for a weekend. It was a great time with them, getting to know new students and hearing the Word. One senior, Jay, a Chinese boy, has had a spiritual awakening so to speak. He went to a camp this summer and was really touched by God. He has stepped up this year and become a leader in the school. He asked if he could pray in Chinese for all of the Chinese students after a message one night. It was amazing. I have no idea what he said but many of the students who we know are unsaved walked away with tears in their eyes.

My birthday was last weekend and my friends threw me a surprise party! It was so much fun! I am so thankful for all of them and the different, unique life that they each bring to the team here. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to surround myself with while living here.

Pasha and his wife, Ruth, will be moving back to America sometime in the next few weeks. He has his interview on Tuesday and they will find out shortly after when they can go. Pray for safety and God’s perfect plan for them as they start this next chapter of their life.

Also, if you think of it, please keep me in your prayers the next few weeks. I have been struggling with a few different things lately (nothing serious, Dad) and could use some prayer.

Thank you all for reading! Sorry the newsletter is a little late this month!

Love,



Jon

August-September 2015

School has started here in Budapest! We are now in our second week, the new building is complete and classes are normalizing. I am still getting used to my new schedule and all that some with it, grading, planning etc. but things have been going really well.

We have church at the new GGIS chapel on Sunday mornings and use it for Bible class and special events during the week. I can't believe how much more space we have now! It makes me wonder how we were able to pack our entire school into one building before we got this second one.

I have been teaching the book of Psalms in Bible class. It has gone well so far. I think my favorite part is actually the planning for it. Soon I will speak on Psalm 19. It's interesting if you look at the list that the Psalmist gives. He says to cleanse me from secret sin in verse 12. This is what happens when we see what it says before that: The word gets in me, I have a testimony, His thoughts change me, I can see His will, I have respect for His call on my life because I agree with the things He has said about me.

Please don't believe everything you hear on the news concerning the refugees. I walked through a major train station the other day. You can see the tents which were donated to them and are being used as temporary housing. In this particular camp, there is running water, bathrooms and a doctor present to help out. It is still very rough but not at all as bad as what some people seem to think. These people are fleeing their own country where things are much worse. We have met quite a few Christians who had been persecuted for their faith. They know that this life is just a pilgrimage.

Please keep the refugees in prayer as well as the students here at school. Our weekly Bible study on Friday nights has been going well, pray that more students attend though as I won't be satisfied until the entire high school comes out.

I asked you to pray for my friend, Pasha, in my last newsletter. Good news! He has an interview scheduled with the American Embassy in October and afterwards will be able to emigrate to the Unite States.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, God bless,

Jon

June-August 2015

I had a great summer in the States going to the international convention in Baltimore and visiting with family in New York and Pennsylvania.

Since I have been back in Budapest I have hit the ground running. We have been working so hard getting the new school buildings ready for our September 1st start date. I have been laying flooring and hanging whiteboards as well as packing and moving tons of stuff. As much as I enjoy this kind of work, I cannot wait for school to start. I really miss my students!

Afghani refugees have been swarming into Budapest as they try to escape the trouble in their own country. This has caused refugee camps to be set up in the parks near the train stations in the city. I’m amazed at how many people are here. Some Hungarians don’t like all of these people “invading” their country but others, including our church here, have stepped up and taken care of the people. We bring them food, clothes, toys, diapers and water. It’s amazing to me that they just stay in the parks. They have no where to go and most are just waiting to be deported as they aren’t being accepted into the EU as refugees.

We have been doing outreach several times a week in these camps and on Thursday, my friend Pasha brought his guitar to play for people.

It’s amazing because he is from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan is one country away. He said these are just like the people he remembers seeing at home. Ruth, his wife, is American and they are trying to move to America this fall. Pasha is almost in the same situation as many of these people we met because if he returned home he would not be allowed to leave again. Please pray for these dear friends of mine: that his visa application is accepted in the next few weeks and he can become an American citizen in the next few years.

I have been thinking about all that God has blessed me with since moving here in 2013. I honestly had very little interest in youth ministry but since coming here I feel that my call has really been defined in that area. I have had the opportunity to speak to so many different cultures and people and tell them about the gospel. There have been difficult times and God has gotten me through them with grace and patience. Looking back, I can see all the small details that God has used in my life to define my call. When I was in Baltimore, I spent a short time working with the preteen ministry on Sunday mornings with Andy, who is now the director of GGIS and one of my closest friends here. I just love that God works everything together for good.

I’m sorry this newsletter doesn’t have much news in it but I think it is important to constantly see the hand of God in our lives. Please pray for the Afghani people here and that we can continue our ministry to them. Also, pray for a blessed school year as I now am in a full-time teaching position. Another thing to keep in prayer is the youth ministries I hope to be involved in this year, one at GGIS and one in a Korean church down town. God works everything together for good!