Believers and Baptism





We attend an established Hungarian baptist church each Sunday morning at 10:00. They own their own building, and only have one service on Sunday. The first picture is from the back of the church during the music. The words to the songs are projected on the wall. We have a pianist, 2 guitars, drums, and several singers to lead the songs. There is no "special" music during the service. Sometimes there is an instrumental "concert" after the service. They take time to pray together and share testimonies. The children sit with parents during the first part of the service. We bring books for ours to read, and we take the baby outside for a walk when he can no longer sit quietly. It is common for parents to go in and out with their little ones. At the sermon time, the children go upstairs for a Bible lesson. All the children are in one class, ages 2 - 10. Our children are still learning to understand Hungarian and try to participate. We ate lunch together after one service (also pictured)- the church provided hot dogs (no buns), potato salad, and bread. Everyone also brought fruit, desserts, and bottled water.

Last Sunday we witnessed our first baptism. A portable pool was brought inside with a ladder. Three people were baptized wearing white clothes. Before the baptism, they each gave their testimony in front of the church. The room was so quiet as each one climbed up the tall ladder and down into the pool. All eyes were wet with tears when they came up out of the water. What a beautiful picture of the old life being buried, and being raised to a new life in Christ. This was an amazing event. Afterwards, the three kneeled in front of the church to be prayed for.

"So then, those who had received his word were baptized.....and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostle's teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And those who had believed were TOGETHER..."
Acts 2:41-46

It is GOOD to be with God's people!

Five Years!







Our daughter, Elizabeth, celebrated her fifth birthday with a small party at our house. The day before the party she ran around the house squealing, hardly able to contain her excitement. We were thrilled that our new Hungarian friends came. It was a great opportunity to get to know them better, and many of them are not believers. At the party we had three special children - one with Turner's Syndrome, one with Noonan's Syndrome, and one with Down's Syndrome. A couple of weeks ago she decided who to invite to her party after our bedtime prayers. When we moved here, God told us that he was going to use our children in a great way. They are to be a special part of God's work here in Hungary.

Our daughter is a real miracle. We are so glad that we have her. When she was still in the womb, we were told that it was OK if we wanted to have an abortion. We didn't know exactly what was wrong with her, but that it would be very wrong to abort. Only one percent of babies with Turner's Syndrome survive the pregnancy. We asked God if he would allow her to live, and he did. I look into her beautiful brown eyes and am thoroughly amazed that we have such a blessing. When I honestly didn't know if we should plan a baby shower or a funeral, God promised that we would see His goodness:

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:13 - 14


Jesus said, "Unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in my name receives Me..." Matthew 18:1-6

Be an Example


On the way home from language class the other day, we passed by the Diosd cemetary. There was a funeral in progress. My heart was stricken at the brevity of life and how few people know Christ. Our teacher was just telling us that here in Hungary, there is no cultural Christian background which people grow up with. You would be surprised at how much the cultural Christianity influences our society in America. Here, people have grown up with atheism and cultural Catholicism and have never attended church. Many have never seen a real Christian and have not grown up knowing what the ten commandments are, have never attended a VBS, or don't know the basic Bible stories. Morality standards don't exist. Christianity is an entirely new culture, and this is radical change. Janos is a great teacher. One of his techniques is to teach us samples in Hungarian - "This is a ________." Then, we can apply the sample to any situation or sentence. I related this thought to being a Christian "sample" here in Hungary. If there is true sample of what Christ is, then there is something by which people can compare their lives to. A Christian will be the same in any culture, in any place in the world. By the way, Janos is also a pastor. He has helped start several churches, and even helped smuggle Bibles into Romania during communism. His entire life has been an offering and a living sacrifice to the Lord. We are to be His examples, a true sample, a salted life, a fragrant aroma, a light....