Magyar Mullets March 2012 Newsletter

2012 Hungary Summit partners--not pictured: Brad Mullet and Deborah Roy

Dear Family and Friends,

Randy and Robin Kohl

Thank you for praying for us as the Lord brings us to your minds.  March was plenty full and the weather perfect for a gathering of representatives from some of our partner churches for the 2012 Hungary Summit.  The content of the summit can be found at www.hungarysummit.org Sam Rotman was on hand to share the gospel while doing what the Lord has given his hands to do—playing concerts.  While Hungary celebrated a holiday over a four day weekend, I ran off to Kansas to encourage our youngest son Jacob in some life-course decisions.  Kari held down the fort with help from Robin Kohl, our teammate from the EFC of Crystal Lake, who was on-site for three weeks to fill in teaching English, serving, hosting, and working. Her husband Randy did a few projects himself.  We continue to sow and water seeds of the gospel and pray for growth. Last week the mother of two girls who came to our English camp last summer accepted Christ. They plan to attend this summer too.

Uncle Jake has the touch with Isabelle

While I was away for a few days, some bodies came by the ministry center and put graffiti on the walls and doors—something I abhor. During a team meeting the next day, I saw it through the window. I started a slow burn. After the meeting, I changed into my grubby work clothes and headed outside. I was already asking myself, “Is this why I am here? To clean off graffiti?”  As I rounded the corner, bucket and supplies in hand, ready to pick a fight, I saw two young guys walking by drinking beer. They stopped; I stopped. I said, “What’s up?” The one guy said, “I hate tourists.” I said, “I’m a tourist, wouldn’t you like to be a tourist?” He said, “I would be if the pay were good enough.” The other guy took me in at glance and asked, “You get paid a lot to do that?”  I said, “I do this for nothing, this isn’t why I came to Hungary.”  At that moment, I deserved to be struck by bolt of lightning. In a flash, I recalled the testimony I’d memorized in 1999.  “…my life is not my own, I’ve come here to share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ…”  What better way to share the gospel than on the street, doing what the Lord has given my hands to do? Cleaning graffiti off walls and windows. I spent thirty minutes with those boys explaining the gospel. When they’d finished their beer they walked away. I went back to my scrubbing.  About ten minutes later they came back by and asked a few more questions.  I don’t know what God was doing in their hearts, but I know what He was doing in mine. I’ve determined to let graffiti be my prompt. God beckons me come out; someone will be along shortly. I must ready myself to share the real meaning in life; obviously that’s why I’m on the planet.

Purposeful in the labor,

Brad (and Kari)

Magyar Mullets February 2012 Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,

   Greetings to you from sunny Budapest!  Thank you for your involvement in Hungary through our lives.  Some curious events have taken place this past month:  Hungary’s national airline went belly up.  Dozens of evangelical churches lost their legal status as churches.  Our teammates, Jack and Susan Morris lost their home in Illinois to a fire.  For sale signs going up everywhere and more shops around our ministry center have closed for business. It all sounds pretty bad, but the pictures I have this month depict something else happening in Hungary—God at work. 

  Despite intense adversity, Jack and Susan Morris are persevering as directors of our English Outreach—God continues to grow it and the gospel is being proclaimed.  It speaks well of their efforts when they are here and we ask that you keep them in prayer.  When I went down to talk with some engineers of the subway station to arrange a tour for our Hungary Summit participants, four of them said they want to start coming to our English classes.  They are discouraged with their industry outlook in Hungary; please pray that they would find true hope and certainty in Christ.

  I was blessed to chauffer our youth down to attend worship services at one of our sister churches, the Evangelical Christian Church of Veszprém.  A number of the youth in this picture heard the gospel and trusted Christ through other believers who worked in our summer English camps and clubs over the past few years.  We enjoyed a meal together and came back to attend a baby dedication at the Kelenföld Evangelical Church. 

  It has been a long time since we’ve had a baby dedication at our church.  It was a wonderful time for these couples and our church family to dedicate ourselves to leading these little ones to Jesus Christ and teaching them about him.  Had illness not kept another family away, there would have been two boys and two girls.  We also had a new member join our church who moved to Budapest from Veszprém. 

  Great news:  our teammate Mark Revell was appointed new ReachGlobal Budapest City Team Leader.  We are thankful for him and his family.  Our team spent several days praying, planning, strategizing, and goal setting this past month.  In spite of the dire circumstances in which the country finds itself, God is accomplishing his purposes in and through us.

There is something else altogether more exciting going on through this adversity. Thirty seven evangelical denominations formed the Forum for Evangelical Churches here in Hungary. The denomination we started in 2000 ceased to exist on March 1^st, 2012 by government decree.  In a land where the church has been more characterized as separatistic, the banner under which the church now unites is evangelical.  God has brought us together around the centrality of the gospel.  This is truly something for which to praise God.  In contrast, many religions that deny the gospel of Jesus Christ altogether are fully recognized by the government.  I believe this to be a turning point for Hungary in the persecution of the church and consequently rejoice in a much anticipated advance of the gospel. Please pray for these churches and their leaders to persevere in the faith. 

In Christ,

Brad and Kari