Friday at 7 - ICF

Eszter and Arden...friends and IHD ministers!
Cathy sharing how she came to know Jesus personally.
Eszter, sharing God's heart through teaching!

Be sure to keep up with the International Christian Fellowship in Szeged at http://www.icf-szeged.com/ regarding upcoming events/teaching/etc.

Last Friday, Eszter made her teaching debut at ICF...she is a seasoned professor at the university, which was evident; however, this was her first experience teaching at ICF. It was GREAT as she broke us up into small groups to discuss John 6:16-24...all involved learned a little more about each other, connecting on a different and deeper level!

We also were blessed to hear Cathy's testimony, and of course, worship, led by Erik was blessed!

This Friday is our second "special event" Friday, and we are watching a movie together!

My dad

My dad is 78 years old! I'm sure he really appreciates me announcing that on my blog, but you'll see why in a minute. I got an email from him this morning in which he told me he'd gone to Flagstaff with the ski club he's a member of in Sun City West, AZ. Well, they got to the ski slopes, and lo and behold, there was a race for seniors...both slalom and giant slalom.

Ok, you must know and understand that my dad grew up in Colorado, so he was practically born on skis. So were we...he had me and my brothers out on the slopes in our lace-up boots when each of us was 3 learning to ski!

So, back to this past weekend...dad decided to enter the races! Guess what? He WON the slalom and got second place in the giant slalom!!! He's STILL got it! And now he has two big medalions he received to prove it! Congrats dad, and I want to be in as good a shape as you are at age 78!

On friends and friendship

"A true friend is one who stabs you in the front." (Oscar Wilde)

What a true and very good quote which aligns with a verse in Proverbs that says "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

Do we have friends in our lives who are willing to stab us in the front because it is for our good? Are we willing to BE a friend to someone and stab that friend in the front because we love that person so very much and want to see him/her grow in increasing intimacy with Jesus?

I believe that the truest friendships are those where each can and does stab the other in the front when necessary, because of love, and is still there afterwards to apply the needed salve for healing, which is the love, grace, mercy and forgiveness of God Himself.

3rd bird in the house

Well, Toby has finally gotten very smart about his hunting. He does it when mom is not home. So mom comes home yesterday and what does she find? Bird feathers near all the shoes by the front door, and Toby, hunched over the remaining few feathers and head of a small bird. Yes, he finally caught one, killed it and had eaten it before mommy got home. I was not happy to have to clean up the bird's head...and Toby didn't want me to take it away from him. I'm sure he was so very proud of himself and definitely full! Frankly, I was disgusted.

Ok, ok, I know it is their natural instinct, and I'm not complaining about what Toby did...he did what comes naturally. However, I still want to ponder some thoughts if we bring this to the human level.

Have any of us ever simply acted on instinct and that instinctive act has led us to devour someone "innocent"? Have we ever stopped in the middle of "what we've always done" and asked ourselves, "how might this be affecting the other person?" Then do we conclude, "Well, this is what I've always done and they simply need to adjust;" or are we willing to try to see things from the other persons' perspective and make changes so that person can live, move, and be who they need to be?

Of course Toby would not set the bird free...but are we, as people, willing to set others free, and in doing so, experience the joy of mutual giving and taking in relationship with one another, looking not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others?

Swimming....cold water.....ahhhh

I went swimming yesterday at my usual pool...one must shower before entering the pool, so I try to take a cold/warm shower to prepare myself for the shock of the pool water. Yesterday, the water seemed FREEZING cold as I jumped in. That moment before taking the leap is the worst because you are anticipating the temperature, but not really knowing just how cold it will be. Well, I think they turned down the heat a few notches in the past week, cuz I was covered with goose bumps for a good 200 meters!!!

As I swam those first 100 meters, moving as quickly as possible, trying to warm up, I kept reminding myself of how good this is for me and how wonderful I always feel when I'm finished with my 1000 meters, etc., etc.

Perseverance is the key....enduring the conditions...facing the circumstances and pushing through, knowing that in the end there is a "crown of glory".

Sometimes I find that the closer I get to Jesus and the more intimate I am with Him, the "colder" the circumstances and the world around me seem, and I must lean harder than ever before on my Beloved, exercising faith like never before and enduring the challenges which before didn't really appear to be challenges. Years ago, a friend said this to me, "The closer you get to the light, the more exposed is the darkness." How very true...both in our own lives, and in the world around us. Only fully allowing His love and His grace to inhabit the very core of our being and every sinew in us can we truly live life to the fullest for His glory in this world!

More pix from ICF weekend

Gathering of the nations....American, Nigerian, Hungarian, Norwegian and Swedish.
Food galore!!!

ICF this past weekend was special not only because it was a two-day teaching on building lasting relationships, but because we had very special guests all the way from 'Merica'....that's America for those of you from up north. Ha! Tom Foley and his daughter Joanna (who now teaches in Budapest) brought Dan and Mario from California...they got to see a number of different ministries and missionaries in both Hungary and Croatia.

Prom time in Hungary

One of the many "formal dances"....this was the English waltz!
Waiters bringing the champagne to the seniors!
My "teacher/student" dance dance partner, Zsolti Makovits and his mom and her hubby.
One of my students, Bogi, Zsolt, and Mary Jill!
Two boys I've taught for four years...we were cutting a rug!!!

Saturday night, the school where I teach had its annual "prom". Prom is extremely different here than in the U.S. with formal dances at the beginning, champagne glasses given out to all the seniors for a toast, alcohol being sold, dinner being eaten at the school with parents and other family members, and parents and other relatives coming to the prom and some of them staying once the dance starts! My friend Mary Jill was in town for our ICF weekend meeting so she got to come with me and experience a Hungarian prom for the first time! We had a blast, as you can see! And this year, I was asked, for the first time in 8 years, to dance in the teacher/student dance! What fun!

ICF - Building Lasting Relationships weekend!

Sweet worship time!
Mario on the guitar!
Jim Person teaching!
Tanya Person teaching!
Some of those who came on Friday evening!!!

What a blessed weekend we had Friday evening and Saturday morning here in Szeged! 39 people from 11 different nations gathered on Friday evening for ICF, the first night of a special event: "Building Lasting Relationships". Jim and Tanya Person teamed up to teach, Erik and the worship team led us into the presence of God, and we were blessed by a worship pastor from CA, Mario, with a song that fit perfectly into the evening!

Saturday morning, we began worship at 9:30 and were again blessed by great teaching on the topics of soul-ties, and sexuality, wonderful fellowship time, LOTS of food, and most importantly, the presence of God!

May all the seeds planted be watered and caused to grow by God Himself!

You know you're Hungarian when...part 3

Ah, so very, very true...and a Hungarian friend of mine asked me, very seriously, when I read this one aloud to her, "You mean Americans don't do that?"

When you put ketchup on your pizza.

You know you are Hungarian when...Part II

This is actually one of my favorite Hungarian foods:

When you use fruit to make soup.

Yep, fruit soup...can be served at room temperature or cold. Very yummy!

"You know you're Hungarian when..."

A friend of mine sent me a hilarious email today entitled "You know you're Hungarian when..." There were 100 items on it, and it was amazing that I could "relate" to about 95 of them! Here is one that will give a bit of "insight" into this culture...

When catching a bus an old lady with lots of heavy bags runs by you and reaches the bus first, then sits down panting and complaining how old she is and how the stuff is heavy and young people are not well educated, etc.

Friday at 7 - ICF - Some students are back!

It was great to see some faces returning to our fellowship on Friday night! Students are in the process of returning to Szeged and we are hoping for a big turn-out next Friday evening and Saturday morning for a special event, "Building Lasting Relationships", taught by Jim and Tanya Person.
One new young lady came last night, 5th year English major, and she and I and another young lady had a very good conversation after ICF. She asked an interesting question which shows post-modern thinking: "Don't you think it is ok for everyone to have his or her own 'definition' of "what" Jesus is?"

Flash from the past

During my couple of days in Budapest this week, I was surprised and blessed to meet a very "old" friend...old in the number of years we go back. I "stole" this picture from Mary Jill's blog...thanks MJ...of me and Elena, who go back to 1991! We both came to Hungary with ESI at that time, and Elena stayed, got married and has two children! What a blessing to have this divine meeting at McDonald's!

God is ALL about relationships, isn't He? He loves bringing His people together in His time for His glory! May we rejoice in Him, thank Him for His divine meetings and rely on Him to build His relationships in the body of Christ for HIS glory!

IHOP - Budapest - 24 hour worship and prayer

Just a few of the 135 steps leading to the prayer room tower!!

The prayer room is the window in the white tower, just below the "opening" half-way up the tower. One must climb 135 steps to get to the prayer room! How blessed to be able to look out OVER the city and pray!

"24 Hour Worship and Prayer"

Laci and his team worshipping in the Budapest prayer room!

"Worship the Lord!" Budapest prayer room!

Prayer focus in the Budapest prayer room!

No, it's not international house of pancakes, but rather the Hungarian version of International House of Prayer, modeled after IHOP in Kansas city. http://www.ihop.org/ Most of you know how much I LOVE being at IHOP in Kansas City, so this is very exciting for me to see the "birthing" of this fledgling ministry here in Hungary!!!

Prazsak Laci, (Laci Prazsak), a Hungarian Christian leader and worshipper in Budapest, went to IHOP-KC a few years ago for a month, learned about 24/7 worship and prayer, and returned to Hungary, wrote a book in Hungarian about this vision, and started a prayer group at home, with the vision of watching God begin an IHOP in Budapest.

In January 2008, there was a dedication ceremony of the room in the tower pictured above, and 24 hour worship and prayer has officially begun in Budapest! Laci and his team were "given" this room, which is literally in a tower! One must climb 135 steps to the room! The ministry has been asked to pay for utilities.

Right now, Laci and a team of two others lead worship each day from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and another "team" leads from 10:30-12:30. During the other hours of the day, worship cds are playing. They are praying for God to bring His people to be a part of this ministry of worship and prayer!

I was blessed to be able to take part on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week from 8:30-10:30 each morning, and both days were wonderfully blessed times of praying for Budapest, Hungary, Christian leaders, political leaders, Israel and the world, and the Holy Spirit is definitely moving in this small, but faithful group of Budapest "warriors".

ICF website

Go check out www.icf-szeged.com for the latest announcements about International Christian Fellowship - Szeged!

30-somethings Bible study

In my prayer letters, I regularly make reference to my 30-somethings Bible study women! Well, it's been a long time since we got a picture of the four of us together, but two weeks ago, Edith Bond came to Szeged to do a special teaching, and we remembered, at the end, to have her take a picture of us!

These women are extremely special to me. Eszter, far left, is a linguistics and English professor at the university here in Szeged, and she and I do inner healing and deliverance ministry together. Anita, to my left, is a professor in the economics department at the university, and is currently on maternity leave, expecting her second child. Gabi, on the far right, is a lawyer and a mother of 3 children. We have been through thick and thin together. Both Gabi and Anita experienced God's healing power as He healed their babies in their wombs!

Just to show you how far back we go, I taught both Eszter and Anita when they were in high school! They graduated in 1993! Gabi was in their class, but not in my English conversation group. All three of them attended Bible studies my teammates from ESI and I held in our flat from 1991-1993. When I returned to Szeged in 2000, these ladies and I started meeting for Bible study again, and God has grown all of us by leaps and bounds...by His grace!

These women are true sisters in Christ, as we bear with one another and forgive one another just as Christ has forgiven us...and we love one another with His love! What a treasure we have in Him and in each other!

ICF

We had a very small group last night...total of 16, including leadership team of 8. It could be discouraging if we were after numbers, or if it was about us; thankfully, it's about God and His glory, and He was lifted up and glorified.

Four new people came, one American girl from W. VA who is doing a semester abroad! She just happened to see one of the advertising posters in one of the university buildings! Another Hungarian couple had been walking by outside where we meet and saw our big sandwich board with our poster in it and decided to come in. They are not believers and came just for the English! They only stayed for the first 45 min. for the singing part of the worship, and they loved it! They said they would be back next Friday. This is the 3rd time someone has come in as a result of our sandwich board advertisement!

We're looking forward to next week when university students return, since that seems to be the "heart" of our fellowship at this point.

We did have a full worship team this week...I on guitar, Erik on electric guitar, Cathy singing and Tanya playing the flute. We miss Toby playing the drum...no not my cat, but one of our Nigerian students. Jim spoke on the last section of John 5, the focus being on the fact that all the Scriptures point to one thing: life in Jesus, and we must come to Jesus for life!

In two weeks, I'll have my new camera...yippee...AND we are having a special Friday night - Saturday morning seminar on "Building Godly Relationships"...very appropriate during Valentine's week. We're hoping many will come and be blessed by Jim and Tanya's teaching!