Due to our family being sick, I have been unable to update our blog since Sunday. There is a lot to catch-up on, so here we go!

For those of you who haven't heard, on Thursday nights we hold two house groups simultaneously in Petôfibánya from 5-7pm. Our small group has a goal of mentoring and discipleship of teenage Christians. Miki's house group is evangelistic, reaching out to families and young adults who are open to spiritual things. The transition from one to two small groups just happened last week, and ever since that time the enemy has thrown a tantrum trying to stop the momentum of the groups. But, we can praise God that He has the victory over the enemy!



Above: Ádám holds up his new sword while the others try to bear the weight of Zoli.

As I picked up Zoli in the car tonight, he told me to swing by Ádáms house. Earlier, I had been told that Ádám couldn't make it. As we pulled to the front of his house, he was escorted to my car by his concerned mother. After looking into the car packed with the other teens, she asked me, "so what's this about?" I replied, "We're going to spend some time studying the Bible together, pray together and just hang out and talk.” I had met Ádám's mother before when she visited church, but haven't seen her since. As I said, praise God that He has the victory–Ádám's mother looked at me and said, “O.K.” It is hard to build trust, but God has blessed us with a trustworthy reputation. Praise Him!

Tonight, I met with Gabi S., Dávid, Zoli, Ádám and Milán. We spent time praying for each other and then began a study in the book of Colossians. I passed out a 'scroll' of Colossians that we will re-visit for the next few weeks of study. My desire for tonight was simply to read the book through in one sitting. The 'scroll' is simply the entire book of Colossians printed out for easy reading and note taking. I encouraged them to take it with them to school, on the bus and to re-read it throughout the week. Please pray that as they immerse themselves in God's word, that they would be transformed in their hearts and minds. It was a real blessing to see these teens stand up and read large portions of this Scripture. Each one took turns reading 15 verses of the text. Afterwards we talked about their initial impressions. Milán was drawn to Colossians 2:2

“...I work so that they may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of Christ. He is the mystery of God. God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.”

Milán recognized how God uses us to draw peoples attention to Jesus Christ. He said that they may never read the Bible, but in our conversations and actions we canto help them come to a "complete understanding of Christ".

Gabi told me that he didn't like this week's study as much as last week's. This is actually good news. It shows his desire for more of a mentor relationship. With more in the small group, it is hard to go as deep in conversation as we would like. I hope to be able to meet with him on- to-one on another night of the week.

One word comes to mind when I think about Gabi: faithful! God is also showing Gabi how He powerfully answers prayer. Last Thursday, Gabi and I prayed for something seemingly impossible (confidential request). Just four days later, he called me to tell me, "I have good news!" I cannot go into the details of what happened, but I can tell you that the request was powerfully answered. Gabi was overjoyed and also reminded me, “prayer is powerful!” Thank you God!

This Sunday, Dávid and Zoli will be baptized. As expected, Dávid shared that he is experiencing battles in his mind about his faith and salvation. He asked for prayer to win against these spiritual attacks that seek to deceive and discourage him from celebrating his new life in baptism. Please pray for these two men and their family members who will witness their baptism.



After our study was over, I stopped over at Miki's to snap some shots. I rejoiced to see his living room packed with people we have been trying to reach unsuccessfully for some time now. I will have a report tomorrow as to how the night went. As you can see (above R), childcare is an important part of this small group, and Heidi (new Pioneers Focus Group team member) did a great job blessing the kids tonight.

Thank all of you who have been praying for our paperwork that needs to be completed to extend our residency in Hungary. The process so far has been smooth sailing (as a result of God's help). For example, today I needed to renew our rental contract with our landlord who lives 30 minutes away. When I called her, it 'turned out' that she 'happened' to be in Petôfibánya for the day. This saved me significant time and hassle as we could quickly meet and complete the new contract. This is just one example in many of how God is hearing your prayers for this process to be smooth and successful. Praise Him!



Above L: Ben and Eli have been bonding as they spend more time playing together (Ben is stuck at home sick-like his mom and dad). Above R: Loading up on vitamin C.



Above: Some pictures of Monday's ESL (a bit late-sorry). Heidi (Above L) is temporarily filling in for Tamara who has returned to the States for a wedding. Andi and Hajnalka (Above R) attended Miki's study tonight.