God of wonders...

Faith, it says in the book of Hebrews, is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Last night during our small group meeting, we practiced and prepared for an Easter outreach event that would have taken place this morning in a park. This morning we woke up to the sound of rain, then turning to snow, and finally it's just raining again. We won't have an egg hunt and puppet show about the true meaning of Easter today. Nonetheless, our hope is that Christ will build His church. We are certain that He is working. We are certain that He will return for his own, just as certainly as he died for our sins, was raised to life to lead us in victory over death, and to bear witness to the world.

Below I've pasted a paragraph from the website of a realestate developer with whom we've met several times. It will give you an idea of what is happening around us and perhaps give you pause to inquire of the Lord concerning His kind determinations in placing His witnesses in such close proximity to so many who've never heard: He is Risen!

Etele Square, the center point of South Buda, is becoming one of the top inter-modal public transportation junctions of Budapest, including the end station of the new M4 metro line, the Kelenföld Railway Station, an inner city bus terminal, an out-of city bus terminal and the end stations of two tram lines. With 20,000 sqm of development site in front of the terminals, Etele City Center will be the cornerstone of the revitalization of the whole area. Futureal will work closely with the municipalities to ensure that our development adds value to and will spark the regeneration of this part of South-Buda.

This development will drastically improve the appearance of our district. Pray for the Spirit of God to prepare hearts for the message of the Risen Saviour. Pray for the church in it's responsibility to proclaim the good news to all these people. Pray for wisdom for me in leadership during these exciting times.
Christ is Risen!
Brad

2008 Hungary Summit participants

It was a memorable 3 days in Budapest and a valuable time for our partners to see first hand what God has brought about. We were blessed to share our lives and ministry experiences with them as well as hear reports from ministry partners sharing the building with us.

We are faced with many opportunities and challenges in the next year and would appreciate your prayers.

Pastor from Springfield

Just a quick note...spent a week with this guy in Budapest: The first day he got here, he knew what to do around our ministry center. He grouted tile in our upstairs kitchen, painted a wall, set up chairs, desks, sound system and pretended like he was at home. He stayed late nights with me to lock up after everyone else had gone home and he subjected himself to the culture--he tried Unicum for his stomach...I think it went to his head...and blew off most of his hair. :-)
I think he likes Géza bácsi's coffee, which as much as guarantees he'll be back.

Magyar Mullets February 2008 Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58
In this letter, I have some pictures of several friends who gave themselves fully to the work of the Lord. It is a delight to labor alongside others: Allyn and Emily Weddle, from Faith EFC Manhattan, KS stayed with us most of the month of February and gave themselves to the service of the saints. They went where we went, did what we did, and even went and did things we couldn’t have done. They were a great encouragement to our family, our team, our small groups, and the church.
One of our collective undertakings was to prepare for the Rhino team from the frozen north—Wisconsin. It was a wild week of service to the saints and there were many construction accomplishments. They helped frame and sheetrock attic rooms for a single mom in our church, empty an apartment of a dumpster full of debris for renovation by a local church planter, and outfit a new kitchenette for our upstairs office tenants in the ministry center. There were rich times of sharing our hearts, building one another up in the Lord, and praying for Hungarians. They were able to cross off a good number of tasks from our ‘to do’ list in the ministry center.
On the home front: our sons Peter and Jacob dressed up to take friends to a Valentine’s Day banquet and also wrapped up their respective basketball seasons with tournaments. Peter’s team got second place in a Varsity tournament here in Budapest, and Jacob’s JV team took fourth place in Bratislava. Unfortunately there were only four teams in the JV tournament. Three of the vehicles with my name on them, including our personal vehicle, had to go in for major inspections and/or major repairs this past month. Everyone knows how much fun it is to pay those kinds of bills. Kari and I are both enjoying our English discussion groups and the open forum we have for discussing our faith in Jesus Christ.
Please pray for the safe arrival of partner church representatives and missionaries in Budapest March 6-8 for our Hungary Summit. The first night of the Summit, we are choosing to honor 75 guests at a semi-formal banquet. We want to recognize their involvement with us in the ministry and show our appreciation to them. To our knowledge it will be the first of its kind: there will be representatives from several mission agencies, church leaders, our lawyers, our accountants, coworkers, and past and present renters and users of the ministry center including the International Christian School, and the Budapest Culture Center. We want to celebrate what God has done and give Him the credit for what He’s done in full view of believers and unbelievers alike. Pray that God would use this occasion to draw many who only know us, but don’t yet know Jesus Christ, to salvation. We are short of funds to cover this extra expense, but have undertaken it by faith. Donations to the Hungary Field to help cover this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for sending us to Hungary to serve the Lord in this way.
May God Be Praised,
Brad, for the family