Matt and EB Jackson

Happy New Year!

2012-01-09T06:01:00.000-08:00

Our family thanks your family for your love, encouragement, prayers and generous giving that makes our work possible here in the mission field of Eastern Europe and Russia.

(from left to right) Liz, Savannah, Quentin, Matt, EB, Rebekah and Ben

Kosice and Tirana

2011-11-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

Kosice, Slovakia

Our ministry there had a music/cafe outreach. This is a quick video I made from the event.


AMERIKA: the map on the wall in an English classroom where we guest taught for one day.

The high school English classroom where we guest-taught

An actual sign in northern Hungary: "Just don't miss the turn to Miskolc!"

What I saw at the market in Albania

Some of the most vibrant, colorful, tasty and fresh produce I have ever seen, I saw at an open air market recently in downtown Tirana, Albania. But there were also some things as a westerner I found odd...

"Sorry, you are 3 telephone lines over the legal limit."

Top Row: Sheep heads

An eel hanging from a hook outside a shop selling fresh fish

your choice of tropical song birds


Your choice of turkey, duck or chicken. Buy live and eat fresh!

"The Other Side of the World is Not So Far Away..."

2011-10-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

In September, EB was part of a Campus Crusade team that traveled to the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk (where Matt was in June). She helped put on a women's conference through a partnership between our ministry there and a local Baptist church. EB spoke several times to several hundred women on topics ranging from home decorating and organizing, as well as child-rearing. As has become her custom in recent seminars, EB arrived a day early to shop in the stores and markets. She then uses items available locally to demonstrate how to beautify and organize a home easily as well as how to cook efficiently and cheaply.

Communism silenced or killed off Christian church leadership. That makes it hard today for this generation in Eastern Europe and Russia to find good teaching in their language and culture, including such topics as Biblical perspective of money and raising children. That is also why in this city of 1 million people, the largest Protestant church has only 800 members.

At the same time EB was in Siberia, I was in Orlando, Florida; quite literally on the opposite of the planet, 12 times zones away either direction. In Orlando I was helping to train the newest missionary class with Campus Crusade how to develop their financial support. The missionary class was divided into 5 different workshops were the training took place in a classroom setting. I am pictured above (lower left) with the workshop where I assisted.

These missionaries will fan out across the globe with the gospel, with their support teams behind them praying and providing for them. Some will go into very sensitive locations which is why several faces were blotted out in the above picture. My heart is have this quality training available to our staff in Eastern Europe and Russia which is why several European staff have joined me at these trainings so they too can learn to teach others in our part of the world.

July in Argentine Winter

2011-08-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

“Her hair was four inches from my face and about to make me throw up. It was crawling with bugs and smelled like it hadn't been washed in months.

I was likely the first white person she ever saw. She was a Toba, the native Argentineans who were extremely discriminated against by others. They lived in a neighborhood, full of trash and dogs. Their cramped houses with many people stuffed inside were made from scraps of metal, tarp and plastic. They could not leave the neighborhood without being in danger; they were hated because their skin was a little darker.

There was one small church, barely holding on because it didn't have money and very few people attended. The pastor worked at a construction site for 8 hours a day, had a seventh grade education and didn't have any resources to preach other than the Bible itself. Please pray for these believers.”

from Rebekah

Walking into the Toba village, the only thing I could focus on was my step so I wouldn't walk in dog feces, trash or animal carcasses along the dirt roads. Our team was led into a one room building with two bare light bulbs and a concrete floor: the church. The pastor introduced us to the staff of four women: the majority of the church. Then we went out and invited all the children we could find to a VBS program.

As the children walked in, I thought that it was going to be too much. They were rowdy and disrespectful. But once everyone was seated and quiet, something in the room changed;God’s Spirit began to move. The kids were enjoyed themselves. We sang songs, played Argentinean games and told the story of the Prodigal Son. I could tell the children loved it because of the giant hugs they gave us and their ear-to-ear grins.

We returned the next week. The pastor told us there were 30 new adults and teens at the church because of the VBS we put on. It was inspiring to see how many lives were changed because of three hours we spent encouraging children. God continues to use “the least of these.”

from Savannah

Savannah and Rebekah participated on a missions project to Argentina this July with MK2MK, a ministry within Cru for missionary kids living outside of their home country. There were 20 kids on this project, mostly Americans, who came from 14 different countries. Their activities for the summer included street evangelism, conducting VBSes for local churches and doing acts of service (such as cleaning and painting) at Christian rehab facilities near Buenos Aries.

"Don't say you are an American. That might be an obstacle to the gospel."

2011-08-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

The last week of July I traveled to Ukraine along the Black Sea and spent the week with a Campus Crusade summer project for student leaders from Russian speaking countries. Countries represented here are Ukraine, Russia, Moldova and Belarus.

The students and staff at this project were great and the spiritual conditions were fantastic. The physical conditions, for me as a spoiled American, were tough: no plumbing and electricity only a couple of hours each day. Here is the "big house" at the camp. From far left: three outdoor showers fed by a blue water tank, the only outhouse in the camp, the kitchen, a bunkhouse (top floor) and billard room (ground floor). We had our meetings and meals under the tent.

Below here are some of the bright shining faces of the students attending this project. I was the only American and the only native English speaker at the camp. Only 2 or 3 of the students spoke conversational English. In spite of that, I enjoyed greatly getting to know these students and learning of their hearts for the Lord and their desire to glorify Him on their campuses.

I spoke six times from Matthew's gospel that week. This is my translator Helen; she translated each talk into Russian. She also helped me navigate through a few culturally tough situations.

And seeing the multitudes, Jesus felt compassion for them for they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. Turning to His disciples, He said, "The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few..." (Matthew 9:36-27) Several times we went to a nearby beach and shared our faith. Since English speakers were so difficult to find, my partner in evangelism was my translator. She was the one who said to me that being an American might be an obstacle to the gospel in this part of the world.


We had a great gospel conversation with these guys.

I finally found an English speaker on this beach. Andre and I had a great talk about not just being religious but about having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We talked about the great commandment from Matthew 22 (and Deuteronomy 6:5), loving the Lord God with all our heart, soul and mind.

This picture doesn't seem like much but a half of a step back and I would have fallen 1000 feet straight down "the cliffs of insanity" to a rocky beach. After this pic was taken I turned around, looked down and said, "He didn't fall? Inconceivable!" I kept waiting for someone to say, "That word does not mean what you think it means." But my audience was not familiar with the movie, "Princess Bride."

Summer of Que

2011-07-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

As I type this, two of my children are sharing Christ with high schoolers in Argentina, two are at a church internship in California and EB is preparing to return from the States where she had some extended time with her family. That has left Quentin and me here in Budapest. It has been splendid.

Quentin loves baseball. I left baseball after the MLB strike and the steroids scandal in the 90s. But my son's untainted and innate passion for the game has brought me back to the love of my youth, both as a little league father and as an MLB fan. Sometimes our lives are like something out of the movie, "Field of Dreams" where we talk and talk and talk baseball. Below is one of the classic moments in James Earl Jones' long cinematic career. If you share our passion for baseball, then you will understand why this clip is classic.

People Will Come
Field of Dreams at MOVIECLIPS.com

Quentin also loves playing baseball. Granted, little league is not nearly as developed here in Europe as it is in the States. But there are leagues and camps and chances to play. Recently, Quentin represented Hungary at a tournament in the Czech Republic. Quentin was one of the youngest players in the tournament yet held his own. I loved every pitch, every swing, every hit, every run, every out.

Quentin only pitched one inning in the tournament but struck out two. I love his cheeks in this pic.

Quentin had a good swing at this pitch that resulted in a solid base hit. Note the baseball in the upper left corner.

It hasn't been all baseball. Just last week we escaped the heat of Budapest and hiked in the Slovakian mountains for several days. We hiked with some friends and spent the night in a chalet high up in the mountains. Even though non-existent in the Rockies of the American West, these chalets are common place in the mountains of Europe. Here is a quick video that highlights our hike.

Next week I will travel to the Black Sea and teach from Matthew's gospel to a group of summer Ukrainian missionaries. This week my main focus is preparing for those sessions. As much as I love my family, baseball and the mountains, teaching Bible is my great passion because it allows me to exalt my Lord. Thank you for your involvement in our lives in the mission field. And thank you for letting me get personal in one of our blog postings.

"Historic" Training and Journey into Russia

2011-06-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

Group shot from our "coaches training." Countries represented in this photo: Albania, Moldova, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia and several "closed countries" from outside of Eastern Europe.

Earlier in June in Tirane, Albania, we held the first Eastern European training for "MPD coaches." (Ministry Partner Development). One of the greatest challenges our missionaries face is raising their own financial support. We want each of our missionaries to have a "coach" when they are developing their team of ministry partners so that they have someone who can train them, encourage them, pray for them and hold them accountable during what can be a wilderness journey for many missionaries.

Here I am teaching at the coach's training. The director of all of Campus Crusade's support raising training, Ellis Goldstein, did most of the teaching at this training. He traveled from the USA to help us. (During my years in Atlanta, I worked under Ellis' tutelage.) Ellis called this training "historic" because so few missions agencies provide coaching, training and care for their staff during their support raising time.

After the training was over, Ellis addressed a gathering of our Albanian missionaries and taught several sessions about Christ from the Old Testament. Ellis is pictured above talking with our Albanian director. Here is a man born Muslim (our Albanian director) and a man born Jewish (Ellis) yet embracing each other as brothers because of the common faith they share in Jesus Christ. Isn't that cool? What politicians and war cannot accomplish, Christ can.

After Albania, Ellis and I traveled 6 time zones to the east, the same distance that Atlanta was to the west, to the Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. During the drive into town from the airport, this famous Russian greeted us.

In Krasnoyarsk Ellis and I trained a gathering of Russian evangelical missionaries and pastors on how to raise funding for their ministries. When the training was over they presented us with two hand painted pictures of Siberian landscapes.


From our hotel room in Krasnoyarsk at 11:30pm at night. I don't think anyone sleeps in the summer in Siberia. It was dark only about 3 hrs in June. I'm so glad we were there in June and not January! Krasnoyarsk is a city with a population of 1 million and is a regional capital in Siberia. The largest evangelical church in that city is 700 people.

Here is a brief video about Campus Crusade's work in Krasnoyarsk. Also, there are some great shots in this video of the Siberian winter!

On the way back to Budapest from Siberia, we had a 24 hr layover in Moscow. That was my first visit ever to that city.

Family Updates and Photos from April and May

2011-06-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Liz sat in on some lectures while I took a Biblical Theology class from Dr. D.A. Carson here in Budapest. It was the most fascinating and difficult post-graduate class I have ever taken. And I loved it! Liz also loved it and asked questions of Dr. Carson at every opportunity. How often do you get a chance to learn from one of the world's foremost New Testament scholars! Here I am copying class notes off of Liz...er, ah, I mean, making sure she got all the lecture notes down correctly ;-)

Here is Quentin playing first base and scooping the ball out of the dirt during a Hungarian Little League game. Once again this season Quentin led his team, the "Diosd Dodgers," in batting average.

Here EB demonstrates how to make cinnamon rolls during a cooking class she gave at a Ukranian wives retreat. Please scroll below these photos and you will find many of EB's favorite recipes.

Rebekah has found a home in the fine arts. Here she is in-between songs during a bell choir performance. She has also recently done piano recitals and been part of vocal choirs.

Savannah has been determined to try new things and this spring she tried out for a local girls softball team. She is not the "franchise player" like she is on the basketball court, but here puts some good wood on the ball. Some of the pitchers in her league are throwing the ball upwards of 60 mph.

EB’s Recipes

2011-05-05T02:03:00.000-07:00

EB has done several cooking demonstrations lately. One here in Hungary and another in Ukraine. Here are some of her favorite recipes that she shares with others. Enjoy!

You Can’t Live Without ‘em Rolls Yield: 24 rolls

Ingredients:

1 cube yeast (élesztő in refrigerated section)

½ cup warm water

½ cup milk

½ cup Rama (margarine)

½ cup sugar

¾ tsp salt

1 egg

4 cups flour

Combine yeast and warm water, set aside.
Heat milk and Rama until butter melts.
Mix in sugar, salt and egg.
Add yeast mixture and stir well.
Add 2 cups of flour and mix to pancake consistency.
Stir in 2 more cups of flour.
Divide in half.
Roll each half out to ½ inch thickness.
Cut each into 12 evenly sized triangles.
Roll like crescent rolls and bake for 15 minutes in 200 Celsius oven.

For Cinnamon, Chocolate or Nut Rolls:

Roll out each half of dough to ½ inch thickness.
Spread with 1 cup softened butter.
Sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon (or cocoa and sugar, or ground nuts and sugar, etc).
Roll up and cut log into 12 pieces.
Put cinnamon rolls in 13x9 pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

For Sandwich Rolls:

Same as above, only layer salami, ham or cheese or whatever you would like on dough before rolling up.

Can also use for hot dogs in a blanket, hamburger rolls… be creative!

Praline French Toast Casserole Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 loaf sliced white bread, with crust removed

8 eggs

3 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla,

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 T sugar

Layer (2 slices thick) bread in 9 x 13 pan. In bowl combine eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Pour over bread in pan. Sprinkle with topping and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 180 Celsius for 40-50 minutes. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Topping:

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup walnuts

Pinch of Cinnamon

Pinch of Nutmeg

Crumble together and sprinkle over bread mixture.

Fruit Kabobs

Attractive alternative to fruit salad

Thread assorted colorful fruit chunks on wooden skewers. Serve with cream cheese dip. Fruit ideas: bananas, strawberries, orange sections, kiwi slices, pineapple chunks, grapes, melon cubes, apple cubes, etc.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

1 box hulala

1 package cream cheese

1 T strawberry jam

1 small container strawberry yogurt

Beat cream cheese until light and airy. In separate bowl, whip hulala for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Carefully blend cream cheese, strawberry jam and yogurt into whipped hulala. Serve as a dip for fruit.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 deboned chicken breasts

4 slices ham

4 slices Swiss cheese

Place chicken breast between plastic wrap and pound with meat mallet until about 1/8 inch thick. Put 1 slice of ham and slice of Swiss cheese on flattened chicken. Roll up and secure with toothpick. Chicken rolls may be breaded if desired. Bake at 180 Celsius for about 20 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Serve with rice or potatoes and mixed vegetables.

Poppy Seed Dressing Yield: 3 cups dressing

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups sugar

2 tsp mustard

2 tsp salt

1/3 cup vinegar

1 onion

1 ½ cups oil

½ cup water

3 T poppy seed

Combine all ingredients in blender. Mix until smooth and creamy. Serve with salad. Keep refrigerated when not in use.

Crostini Yield: about 24 crostini

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread (baguette/ long, thin loaf)

1 ½ cups shredded Mozzarella or Trappista cheese

7 Plum tomatoes, sliced

Pesto sauce

Cut bread into thin, diagonal slices. Top with 1 Tbsp cheese. Place slice of tomato and ½ tsp pesto sauce on top. Broil 8 minutes at 200 Celsius until cheese melts. Serve hot!

Chocolate Syrup Yield: about 3 cups syrup

(like Hershey’s)

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

½ tsp salt

1 cup cold water

1 T vanilla

Boil first four ingredients for about 1 minute. Add vanilla.

Good for chocolate milk, hot cocoa, and as an ice cream topping.

Store in sealed container in refrigerator.

Mozzarella Basil Tomatoes Yield: 20 servings

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes, sliced

5 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

20 slices of mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper

Place tomatoes on platter ½ inch apart. Top each tomato slice with thin slice of mozzarella cheese and sprig of fresh basil (or ½ tsp chopped, fresh basil). Drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Colorful, easy and delicious!

Shish Kabobs Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb of your favorite meat, raw and cut into 1 ½ inch strips

20 Feta-bacon cubes

Vegetables, cubed (onions, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, red/yellow/green peppers, zucchini, etc)

Marinate meat strips overnight in your favorite marinade or salad dressing.
Prepare feta bacon cubes by cutting/molding 20 cubes of feta cheese and wrapping them in bacon.
Thread meat strips, vegetables and feta bacon cubes on skewers in a colorful arrangement.
Broil or grill for 15-20 minutes, until meat is cooked through.
Serve with rice or grilled potatoes and salad.

Tomato Bisque Yield: about 24 cups

Ingredients:

4 large onions

10 cloves garlic

1 cup butter

7 cups diced tomatoes

3 liters tomato juice

6 bay leaves

2 tsp basil

2 tsp Dill

2 tsp Thyme

2 tsp Parsley

2 tsp Baking soda

16 oz cream cheese

1 liter light cream

Sauté onion and garlic in butter. Add diced tomatoes and tomato juice. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add bay leaves, basil, dill, thyme, parsley. Remove from heat and add baking soda slowly to prevent soup from boiling over. Return to heat and stir in cream cheese and light cream. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Easy and delicious. Freezes well!

Bacon Bread Sticks Yield: about 20 bread sticks

Ingredients:

1 package bread sticks

1 lb sliced bacon

Wrap each bread stick with one slice of bacon and bake in oven for 15 minutes or until bacon is nicely browned. Remove from pan and serve. Good hot or cold!

EB’s Peach Tea Yield: 16 cups

Ingredients:

6 cups water

6 tea bags

1 cup sugar

1 package Peach Bolero

1 package Orange Bolero

1 package Lime Tea Bolero

1 liter multivitamin juice (100%)

Bring water to boil. Steep tea for 10 minutes. Remove teabags. Add sugar and Bolero mixes. Stir until dissolved. Add multivitamin juice. Mix well. Add enough water to make one gallon of the tea.

Serve with lots of ice, lemon slice and garnish with mint leaves, if desired.

More food ideas!

1. Plan! Plan! Plan!...even if it’s a stretch for you. The alternative to not planning is very stressful and expensive.

2. Recipe websites:

http://allrecipes.com http://www.bestcookingsites.com links to other sites

http://www.food.com

http://www.recipegoldmine.com has lots of restaurant copycat recipes

http://www.epicurious.com includes out of the ordinary dishes

3. Use ideas from fine restaurants. Notice how attractively a meal is served – colors, shapes, etc! (Google: “plating food” for some great pictures, ideas and advice.)

1. For a special flair, serve dessert on a large dinner plate. Garnish with color: a strawberry, kiwi and orange slice; a chocolate stick, mint leaf on whipped cream. Drizzle Hershey’s syrup over all or heat 2 T raspberry jam and make a design on plate with spoon! Anything goes!!!

Spiritual Multiplication in Eastern Europe: Why We Are Motivated

2011-03-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Ellina Lesnik and her husband Sergey serve with Campus Crusade in Ukraine. They are one of the missionary couples EB and I have been able to come along side and help during our tenure in Eastern Europe. The video below displays why they, and many others like them, are worthy of our prayers and partnership.

Recently we traveled back to our home church in Atlanta, Georgia, for a missions conference. In addition to being encouraged, loved on and prayed over, there were some hilarious moments as well. Below is a practical joke that was played on one of the visiting pastors from Africa during a big missions banquet.

While we were in the USA at the missions conference, our daughter Savannah's high school basketball team here in Budapest won their conference championship. We missed the championship game unfortunately but we have this highlight video. We thought maybe, just maybe, you would like to see this too!

1000 missionaries from over 20 countries, all under one roof

2011-02-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

“I cannot imagine why anyone would not want a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Shirley Hinkson, at the mic, serving as a missionary in Eastern Europe for over 55 years.

Several weeks ago we traveled to coastal Slovenia (a small country wedged between Italy and Austria) for a gathering of 1000 Campus Crusade missionaries from across Eastern Europe and Russia. It was a great week of fellowship, Bible teaching (Dr. Douglas Moo, New Testament scholar from Wheaton and Dr. John Lennox, professor of Mathematics from Oxford), training and planning for the future. The worship was exceptionally encouraging as believers from 21 countries, from many different languages, cultures and societies, all raised one voice in praise to Jesus Christ. It was a foreshadowing of Revelation 4 when one from every tribe, tongue and nation will gather before the throne in praise!

For me the highlight was honoring those missionaries who had served the longest in Eastern Europe. At the top of the least was Swede Anderson and Shirley Hinkson, having served with Campus Crusade in Eastern Europe for over 55 years. Shirley, along with her deceased husband Bud Hinkson, pioneered the work of the gospel in this part of the world during the Communist years. As Shirley addressed the convention, she said something so simple yet so profound: “I cannot imagine why anyone would not want a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” In my mind, that captured the essence of the missionary heart.

Maciek and Mariusz, two good friends of ours and leaders of the evangelical movement in Poland

Elvis, Alina, Ramona and Julian, good friends and leaders in our ministry in Romania

Our kids’ school had their annual invitational tournament last weekend. This year schools came from Austria, Hungary, Ukraine and Bulgaria. For 2 ½ days it was wall to wall high school basketball. I loved every moment of it! I helped coach our girls high school team and they did great. They made it to the championship round but they were the walking wounded with bruised shoulders, sprained ankles and swollen knees. Still, they left everything they had on the floor but came up short. The school from Kiev, Ukraine won the girls bracket. Our boys walked away easily with the championship for the 2^nd year in a row.

Savannah's knee, the morning after the championship game

Sure, I would not expect these kids to win against a 6A school from Atlanta or Kansas City. But they show great talent for a school with a 4 year high school enrollment of 75, a third of whom are Asians. And they routinely whoop up on teams that have 10x the enrollment they have.

Above is a highlight video of our girls’ team in the qualifying around against a school from Salzburg, Austria. It was the best game our girls team had played in 2 years, including one of our girls who had a 5 pt play!

Crown Ministries and Financial Shepherding in Romania

2011-01-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

When I lead a meeting, I command respect and my hearers lean on my every word!

One day I led discussion with some of our leadership on re-writing financial policies for support raising as well as ways to implement coaching, training and shepherding for our Romanian missionaries in their donor development efforts. This is a picture of all the great staff in Romania with whom I work closely in these efforts.

For two days, Crown Financial Ministries led a training for our missionaries in Romania. There is an influential school of thought in the churches of Romania that says to have money is not to be spiritual and is to not trust in God. Therefore there is little planning, budgeting, saving, giving or avoiding of debt among many Romanian Christians. This seminar was one of our attempts to help change the culture, beginning with our ministry.

I am in the middle. To the left with the argyle sweater is Andrew from Bulgaria and on the other side is Titus from Romania. These were the guys from Crown Europe who taught the seminar to our staff. They did a great job!

Thanksgiving in Cairo; ministry in Egypt

2010-12-02T02:17:00.000-08:00

We had the awesome privilege to travel to Egypt to come alongside a ministry to the Christian minority there. We were there during Thanksgiving week and had 3 days of work and 3 days of touring. Our 3 children who live at home (Savannah, Rebekah and Quentin) also traveled with EB and me.

On six different occasions I spoke to students in both Cairo and Alexandria. My topics ranged from "How to Experience God's Love and Forgiveness," to "Loving Others by Faith" as well as "Our Joy in Christ," based on John 16:33, a talk I have given frequently as of late. Notice in the picture above how the guys and girls are separated on different sides of the room.

What a privilege it was for us to fellowship and worship with Arabic believers!

EB spoke with the moms and wives who are part of the ministry there. As usual, EB was popular among the ladies in Egypt who wanted to keep talking with her long after her session ended. In this photo, she and Rebekah and surrounded by a group of college students.


My friend and translator for the week was Bushra. He and Quentin hit it off well.

Here I am with two heroes of the faith in Egypt. I am holding a can of cantaloupe Coca Cola.

Typical street view in Alexandria.

One day we spent touring the pyramids. I was amazed at how big they are! And I love this picture of Rebekah. It so captures her personality!

Quentin gets into the act as well! Nacho Libre meets Tim Lincecum

The camel ride near the pyramids was the touring highlight of our week. Although Savannah said she also loved shopping and bargaining in the 900 year old bazaar that we visited (more than once) in Cairo.

Goats on a roof: Just another day in Cairo! Why not, "Fish in a Tree"?

The mosques were plentiful and beautiful in Cairo. We even saw several with "Christmas lights" but we knew that could not be...

bedouins near the pyramids

McDonalds in Arabic!

On the last day in Cairo, we hung out for awhile at Starbucks. We knew there was snow in Budapest and wintry weather in the States. We savored the moment in the warm sunshine and short sleeves on the Starbucks patio. It was kinda neat too to see Starbucks written in Arabic!

The sunset over Alexandria: One of my Christian heroes is Athanascius who lived in the 3rd century in Alexandria, Egypt. Athanascius influenced the church to retain the doctrine of the deity of Christ when it looked like the church would abandon such belief. From his work, the church received the Nicene creed. I was grateful to walk the same streets he walked and to teach the same message he taught.

Two weeks in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo

2010-11-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

Recently I visited our work among the Albanian peoples that stretch across 3 countries (Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo) in Southeast Europe. As I have reflected back on my trip, the Lord has impressed 4 things on my heart. I have interspersed those reflections among some photos of the trip.

Tirana: the beautiful capital city of Albania

Kyle Collins from Atlanta has a spiritual conversation with an Albanian college student.

Some of the bright smiling faces who are part of our work in Kosovo.

1) What God has done among the Albanian people: In the 1980s Albania was officially atheistic and closed to the outside world. All religious expression was illegal, much the way North Korea is today. Yet now in Albania the number among the evangelical church has gone from less than 20 in 1991 to over 20,000 today. Through the efforts of faithful missionaries, the gospel has gone out among every town, city and village across Albania. However, there is still much work to be done in proclaiming Christ in Albania.

This is me sharing my story of faith with students in Tirana.

Some of the guys who are part of our ministry in Tirana.

2) What God can do among the Albanian people: The Albanian body of Christ is already sending missionaries beyond its borders. Even more so than that, Albanian missionaries can go into the difficult Muslim countries that American missionaries cannot enter. Albania is the missionary gateway to the rest of the Muslim world.

Outside our hotel in Tirana, Albania was a lemon tree with branches heavy with fruit. Usually you don't associate Muslims in Europe with "low hanging fruit" but the team from Atlanta thought the word picture was appropriate after our week with college students in Albania

Brent Harrison, of Experiencing Missions International, leads the discussion with college students in Kosovo.

3) The necessity of church partnerships: In order for the gospel to claim new ground in our world today, there must be partnerships forged between mission agencies and missions-minded churches. The gospel work in Albania, as well as other parts of Eastern Europe, will depend on vibrant, committed partnerships with North American churches to provide encouragement, prayer support, training, laborers and finances. Likewise, many missions organizations can provide on-site logistic support, local contacts and the needed infrastructure for churches to extend their influence into “remotest ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

If your church is looking to establish church partnerships in international locations, particularly Eastern Europe, please contact me.

These are some of the awesome college students we talked with in Tetovo, Macedonia. This city is traditionally a very difficult place for Christian missionaries so our goal was to make friends and establish some connections. We were helping "move rocks" and "dig up bushes" that day so that later the soil may be plowed so someone else can sow seed.

On the main highway through the mountains southeast of Tirana we rounded a corner and had to brake quickly because we didn't expect to be sharing the road with some fellow travelers.

4) The stewardship given to the North American church: I believe that God has given the American church all that is needed to fulfill the Great Commission in our world today (Matthew 28:18-20) . Yet are we good stewards of what God has given us? Recent studies, according to World magazine, show that the average Christian gives only 3% back to the church and of that money, only 3% goes to missions outside of the USA. Other resources such as training, laborers, facilities, even the English language, go largely to fortressing the church of America rather than proclaiming light in dark parts of the world. Will God remove the lampstand given to the American church (Revelation 2:5)? Will He transfer it to another church? The Asian church? The Latino church? The African church? Perhaps even the Albanian church? "God blesses his people with extravagant grace so they might extend his extravagant glory to all peoples on the earth." David Platt from his book, Radical.

This ole guy offered to sell me this rabbit which was still very much alive for 20 Euros ($28). When I politely declined he sweetened the deal by offering to slit its throat, skin it and throw it in a big pot of boiling water at no extra charge.

This sign was at a bridge on the Macdonian border with Kosovo. After I saw this, I thought twice about joy-riding across the bridge in my tank.

Matthew 16:21-23: Sin, the belief God really doesn't know what is best for us.

2010-09-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

But Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests but man’s.” Matthew 16:23

“Religious ‘flesh’ always wants to work for God (rather than humbling itself to realize God must work for it in free grace). That is why our very lives hang on not working for God. Then shall we not serve Christ? It is commanded, ‘Serve the Lord!’ (Romans 12:11) Yes, we must serve Him. But we will beware of serving in a way that implies a deficiency on His part or exalts our indispensability.”
John Piper from his book Desiring God.

This rebuke to Peter directly from Jesus in Matthew 16 must have come as quite a shock to Peter. Moments before Jesus 1) praised Peter and 2) called him a rock and 3) said his words were inspired directly from God (Matthew 16:17-18). Now Jesus reverses those three compliments and rebukes Peters, calls him a stumbling block and says his words are inspired by Satan. The color must have drained from Peter’s face and his jaw must have dropped.

After all, Peter was only defending his beloved Master. For Jesus had just told Peter and the other disciples that the time had come to go to Jerusalem where Jesus must suffer, be killed and rise again on the third day (Matthew 16:21). Peter was selective in his hearing and only heard the words about suffering and dying, not about His resurrection. So Peter, perhaps cocky from the blessing of Jesus, leaped up and exclaimed, “God forbid it, Lord!” That is when Jesus brought the hammer down.

God’s will is set; Jesus’ decision to go to Jerusalem was not an “open” one. The Word of God says Jesus MUST go to Jerusalem and be killed (v. 19). However Jesus’ crucifixion is neither sadistic punishment nor because things spiraled out of God’s control. On the contrary. It is the Father’s loving will that Jesus is crucified and raised. It is no wonder Jesus rebuked Peter so forcefully.

Jesus’ rebuke serves as a warning at several levels. First, this warning speaks to those of us in Christian service. Second, this warning speaks to all people everywhere.

I think those of us in any sort of Christian service can learn from Jesus’ rebuke of Peter. Just as Peter was blessed by Jesus (Matthew 16:17), often times in our ministries we see the hand of His blessing. Then, if not checked, our pride can grow and we begin to think we know better than God what God’s will should be! To varying degrees, we are all guilty of this. But in its extreme, our ministry can become a cult of personality; a ministry or church becomes more about making an individual, a ministry or a church look good rather than making the Lord Jesus Christ look good.

Perhaps even more important is that Jesus’ rebuke of Peter is a warning to all men, everywhere. Peter, probably without realizing the full weight of his comment, was attempting to usurp the very will of God. Sin is the belief that God really doesn’t know what is best for us. We are all guilty of sin (Romans 3:23) and the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Our sin is the reason Jesus went to Jerusalem.

God’s will will be done. Will we futility fight against it? Or will we join Him in the battle? Evil’s best effort was to crucify Jesus. Yet what was meant for evil, God meant for good (Genesis 50:20). For by the crucifixion of Jesus, our sins were paid for! And three days later, just as Jesus promised, He was raised! Because Jesus went to Jerusalem, died on a cross and was raised, all of mankind has hope – hope that is stronger than death! And, most importantly, God receives the glory due Him! Hallelujah! Praise God!

Don’t fight against His will; rather trust in Him, rest in Him, glory in Him.

"You shall be my witnesses...even to the remotest ends of the earth." Jesus in Acts 1:8

2010-09-23T04:05:00.001-07:00

Earlier in September I traveled to Orlando to help train a new class of missionaries in how to raise their financial support teams. This is exactly what I did during the 90s when we lived in the States. The training was divided into 4 classes or workshops so the training could be easily individualized.

The workshop that I assisted had a very unique quality. Many of these missionaries pictured above are going to HARD SOIL PLACES: French-speaking Africa, East Asia, Paris (spiritually speaking, Paris is very hard soil)and Islamic parts of Asia.. Many of these have returned for additional training from one year assignments at these tough locations and are going back full-time.

It thrilled me to be part of the equation in getting these missionaries to their remote locations.

It has been my growing conviction that here in Eastern Europe, our staff need standardize training and coaching in the area of fund-development. Each country has developed their own methods; some are successful, many are not. Therefore I brought with me 3 of our Campus Crusade missionaries to learn this training and to help me begin to implement it throughout Eastern Europe.

Here are the three staff from Eastern Europe that were with me in Orlando. They are from Albania, Romania and Moldova. Pictured here is my old boss and friend Ellis Goldstein (2nd from right) who directs all of Campus Crusade's fund developmnet training.

Edi from Albania and Elvis from Romania both try on football helmets for the first time during some time off in Orlando.

I traveled to Kansas a few days before the Orlando training so I could visit our two kids at college. It was also Liz's 20th birthday. No longer a teenager! We had a brief visit with family. Here is Liz along with her grandma (left, Charlotte Biays) and her aunt Sherla (EB's sister).

While in Orlando, I visited Campus Crusade's world-wide headquarters.

When I got back to Budapest, I learned that EB and the kids "rescued" a cat that was abandoned at our veternarian's clinic. Our dog Regan took an instant liking to the yet-unnamed cat and the two are now inseperable. Here they are cuddling on our porch.

Thank you for standing with us in ministry; together we are playing a fruitful part in taking the gospel to the nations.

"Upon this rock I willl build My church and the gates of hell will not overpower it."

2010-09-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Peter says to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” To which Jesus responds, “Blessed are you, Peter…and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it.” Matthew 16:16-18

John Piper is one of my favorite authors. He opens his book, God is the Gospel, with this compelling question:

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

I wish this question was merely rhetorical. But the sad fact is, many people alive today envision a Christ-less heaven, whether by accident or purposely. There was even a best-selling book by Mitch Albom, Five People You Will Meet in Heaven where God is regulated to a very small insignificant role, if even present at all, in His heaven.

Yet Jesus Himself gives us a different picture, from His reign in heaven (Revelation chapter 4 and 5) to His church on earth (Matthew 16:18). The Christian church is His church and not man’s church. The Christian church is the church where Jesus Christ is central. It is the church where Jesus Christ is honored, worshiped, adored, studied and proclaimed. The sad thing is that ironically many churches today, like Albom’s heaven, give very little credence to God.

It has always baffled me why churches exist where Christ is not proclaimed, or perhaps not even believed. Christ may exist in these churches as more of a water-downed self-help guru; certainly not as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” These churches are nothing more than man-centered, feel-good, houses of self worship. Jesus is regulated to a role akin to a cosmic "ShamWow!" salesman. These kinds of churches settle for much less than best because they fail to proclaim a Person much more beautiful, much more just, much more powerful, much more worthy than mere man. And that Person is Jesus Christ Himself.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who emptied Himself in the greatest act of humility our world has ever seen. He took on a human body, lived on planet earth, was delivered up to Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried for our sins. Yet 3 days later Jesus came back to life with a new resurrected body and by it proved that He was God! He invites wayward man into completeness through fellowship with the Father through Him. There is no other like Him; He alone is worthy of our worship and adoration.

If your church is not centered on the teachings of the Bible and on the person of Jesus Christ, then you are not in the church of the Living God; rather you are in a dead church. Leave that “church.” And find one where Jesus Christ is exalted. And it is Christ’s church that the gates of hell shall not overcome!

Throughout history, there have been those who have tried to destroy the Christian church. From Nero to the Communists, enemies of God have risen up, and will continue to rise up, in a futile attempt to exterminate the church.

In an interview I saw recently with Timothy Keller, he said that the “New Atheists” have declared that religion is “the worst thing that has happened to humankind” and these atheists have declared that religion “must be wiped out.” However, they will fail in their goals, just like Nero and just like the Communists. Because a church built upon the Rock, even when the mighty storms come and slam against it, WILL NOT FALL (Matthew 7:25) and the very gates of hell shall not overcome Christ’s church.

Worship, adore, proclaim and enjoy Jesus Christ. For that is His purpose for His church, which is His bride. Christ is central to the universe; from His church on earth to His eternal heaven, the universe exists for the glory of God. To be central on anything else except the Christ, the Son of the Living God is foolish. Hallelujah! Come Lord Jesus, come!

A Summer in Ethiopia: "Heart-breaking injustice, unspeakable poverty."

2010-09-01T06:50:00.001-07:00

Our three oldest children (Liz, Ben and Savannah) spent their summer in Ethiopia on a missions project with a Campus Crusade ministry called MK2MK (Missionary Kid to Missionary Kid). Below you will find their words and their pictures describing their experience. A hearty THANK YOU to those who prayed and gave to make their summer mission possible.

LIZ: "Heart-breaking injustice, unspeakable poverty."

I couldn’t put words behind the things I was seeing as I climbed up the pile of trash. The worst stench I had ever smelled entered my nose as the two girls holding my hands helped me find my footing. I tried not to gag. My shoes and pants were covered in mud and filth. I was walking through a dump, and surrounding me were pieces of glass, AIDS tests from a hospital, feces, streams of urine, and much other grime and waste. Also surrounding me were at least a hundred dark faces, young children and frail elderly, digging through it all persistently. This was their existence.

I was walking through the Korah dump. Korah is a slum of over 130,000 people in Addis Ababa. A former leper colony, it attracted the beggars, prostitutes, HIV positive people, and society’s rejects for 75 years, growing into the huge community it is today.

God did many things in my heart this summer. Seeing the poverty, I really began to reflect on the brokenness of the world. However, God has provided the Answer, Jesus Christ. Christ brings hope, and I want to share that hope with the nations.

BEN: "The harvest is plentiful in Ethiopia!"

The ministry I was a part of did initiative evangelism at major Ethiopian
colleges. Because of my evangelism background of Europe, I was skeptical
going into it. But the second we began, I knew that that was right for me. One day I talked to three little boys and within ten minutes they were asking the money question: “How can I have a personal relationship with Jesus?”

I loved my conversations I had with students about the Gospel and God used me and my Ethiopian translator to bring 11 people to Him! Praise the Lord! Ethiopians are so willing and so open about the Gospel. The harvest is plentiful in Ethiopia!

SAVANNAH: "I am more blessed than I ever could imagine!"

When I walked into the nursery at the Ethiopian orphanage, the first thing that caught my eye was a cockroach crawling from the bed sheets into the pillowcase. The filth in the orphanage was overwhelming. It smelled like a mixture of urine and rotting food...I just wanted to go back outside and play with the older kids.

Despite my inner complaints, I was handed a small Ethiopian child, who couldn’t have been more than three years old. My heart broke for the girl whose life was rapidly coming to an end. She had growths on her face that looked like warts, but were caused by her illness—she was HIV positive.

Spending time with the orphans who had nothing but were filled with hope was so heart‐warming. The joy of knowing Jesus was one of the few joys they knew. It was moving to see how content they were, their home being a filthy orphanage with no personal possessions except for the clothes on their backs. It made me realize that I am blessed—way, way more than I could’ve ever imagined.

Jesus: "Who do you say I am?"

2010-08-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher...You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher."

C.S. Lewis, from his book, “Mere Christianity”

Matthew 16:13-17

Jesus is with His disciples in a place called Caesarea Philippi, about 120 miles (195 km) north of Jerusalem. He turns to His disciples and asks them (v.13), “Who do people say that I am?” “John the Baptist”, “Elijah”, “Jeremiah”, “one of the prophets.” The answers pop forth like kernels of popcorn heating over a stove. Then Jesus makes the question personal (v.15): “Who do you say that I am?” It is no longer about what other people think; now it is personal. Every man must decide for himself.

Every man, not only present then with Jesus, but everyman who has ever lived on earth must also decide for himself. In fact, THIS IS the most important question anyone will ever face: “who do you think Jesus is?”

Jesus picked an interesting place to ask this penetrating, all-encompassing, question. Caesarea Philippi was a city known for its worship of pagan gods, particularly a god named Baal. It would be today’s equivalent to Jesus standing outside the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake or an extravagant Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia and asking, “Who do you say that I am?”

Peter’s response to Jesus’ personal inquiry was quick and unhesitating (v.16): “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” “Christ” as used in those days was the Greek form of the Hebrew word, “Messiah.” “Son of the living God” implies a nature superior to that of human; it implies deity, God. Peter throws in an interesting adjective when he says, living God. Jesus is not a dead god like those worshiped in Caesarea Philippi; rather Peter states that Jesus is the living God, the real God, the God Who Is.

How does Jesus respond? Note that Jesus does not rebuke Peter and say, “I am not God; I am merely a prophet.” Rather, Jesus receives Peter’s statement of worship and even blesses Peter for his proclamation.

At the trial of Jesus (Matthew 26:63), the Jewish high priest asks Jesus point blank, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Living God?” Curiously, this is the same title given by Peter in Matthew 16. Again, Jesus does not flinch; Jesus does not deny it. Jesus affirms His own status as Messiah, His own title as Son of God, His own deity, even though it will result in His crucifixion.

We cannot merely say Jesus was just a good teacher or a religious prophet. Jesus never gave us that option. Jesus claimed to be God in a human body, the 2nd person of the Godhead. As C.S. Lewis frames it, Jesus is either Lord, a liar or a lunatic. Personally, I believe He proved Himself as Lord by rising from the dead. We must either accept Jesus on His terms as God or we must reject Jesus completely. One option leads to the forgiveness of sins, friendship with God and eternal life; the other option leads to eternal separation from God.

Who do YOU say Jesus is?

Two fun videos

2010-08-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

While in the USA this summer, Savannah needed her wisdom teeth pulled. The camera captures her one request, repeated over and over, while waking up from anesthesia.

While not for everyone, this video starts with a $20 investment in some groceries and what happens when they become targets at a rifle range. There is some great footage here shot by my son of a watermelon exploding on impact from a rifle bullet. This video is also subtitled, "What happens when someone messes with one of my daughters without permission."

‎"We thought God had forgotten Kosovo."

2010-08-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

The last week of July I teamed up with our campus ministry in Kosovo and Albania for an English language camp. Both Kosovo and Albania are ethnically Muslim and war-torn yet they are open to the gospel and friendly to Americans. The above quote is a response I heard when conversation turned to Jesus at camp.

Many of their names I could not pronounced so I relied on nicknames. This is my class starting back left: Me, Luan, Taulant "Mr. T.", Xhelal "J-Lo", Denis "Hopper", Ardit "DT", Genci. The front row: Dianna, Kaltrina, Alketa "Katie" and Flora.

That week was one of the funnest weeks of ministry I have had in years. There were difficult parts, most certainly, but connecting with the students in my class made it a fantastic week. Mine was the advanced level of 4 different classes which led to good conversations with these students, both inside and outside the classroom.

I had in-depth gospel conservations with just about everyone in my class. When I met with "DT" (pictured here with his girlfriend Ela) he told me, "I believe that Jesus was the Son of God. What should I do next?" I was floored with how the Holy Spirit had prepared his heart. DT trusted Christ with me that very evening! Another student in my class also trusted Christ that week.

In the evenings on the beach our class had "discussion group" when we read from the Bible and discussed what we read. Bible readings for the week including Genesis 1 ("do you believe there is a God who created the universe?"), John 1, Romans 5 and Matthew 27-28, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Although most of the students were not Christ-followers and most were at least ethnically Muslim, the conversation and questions led me to believe these students were attentive to what the Spirit wanted to show them.

Two law students in my class, Kaltrina and Flora, both had birthdays during camp week and we gave each a UGA baseball hat. They are both from Muslim homes yet they do not fit the American stereotype of young Muslims.

Jennie and Ron Rush from our church in Atlanta (Johnson Ferry Baptist Church) traveled over to help teach at the camp. The students respect and look up to older people, contrary to many western societies, and they loved Jennie and Ron. Here they are pictured with Izmiri.

Dave Stubblefield (middle), on staff at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, also joined us for the week. Dave taught one of the classes and did a great job connecting with the students. Here he is with Denis (left) and Xhelal "J-Lo."

One day we had a discussion about different countries. Here are my notes about what my class said they liked (left panel) and didn't like (right panel) about America. I kept the in-depth discussion to spiritual things even though it was interesting to see how this culture viewed the rest of the world.

Need to use the bathroom while at school? May I introduce you to the "squatty potty"! Just put your feet on either side of that hole and the rest is self-explanatory. Also, they turned off the electricity to the school for the summer so our classrooms were without any electrical power, including fans and lights.

From a distance, the beach where we stayed was new and beautiful. Yet there was trash everywhere. Cows scavenged thru the trash on the beach and wandering pigs rummaged thru the garbage along side the roads.

Our flight leaving Albania departed at 5am for Budapest. Since we were picked up at the hotel at 2:30 am for the 1 1/2 hour drive to the airport, I just didn't go to bed that final night and stayed up with the students. One of the blessings of a 5am flight was that I was able to catch the sunrise out my airplane window.

Thank you for your prayers and giving so we can be ambassadors for Christ in far-away places. The world is hurting and needs what God has entrusted to the American church.

Here is one last glimpse into our week...

My Story

2010-06-27T13:27:00.001-07:00

Fall of 1981: Shawnee Mission South (Overland Park, Kansas) Varsity Cross Country Team (from left: Craig Schultz, me, Pat Lawless, Teun Ebbers, Phil Ceceilski (sp?)

With my son Ben's high school graduation this spring, I've been thinking alot about my own high school graduation recently. Even today nearly 28 years later I can stil see it in my mind's eye...Coach Schmidt airborn, parallel to the pavement, shoulder-high, tackling cross-country team member Teun Ebbers. Fall of 1981. That first domino fell and changed alot of people's lives, including mine.

I was my son Ben's age when the Lord got a hold of me. Even though Ben shows some of the same free spirit I had when I was his age, Ben is strides ahead of me compared to where I was as a senior in high school.

I was supposed to be team captain that year; I was more like team jerk. Veryln Schmidt produced a champion-caliber program at our high school that attraced national attention yet I played a role in trying to undermine it all. My life as a high school senior was centered around ME with three primary manifestations: running, drinking friends and my girlfriend.

During the spring of 1982 my drinking caused problems; then my girlfriend and I broke up. Also the high school administration felt I played enough of a role in the collapse of the cross country team that they relieved me as captain and kicked me out of National Honors Society (who gets kicked out of National Honors Society?)

Going into high school graduation in the spring of 1982, I was a distraught young man. The things that were supposed to make me happy had all failed me. I was confused.

In 2005 Tom Petty wrote a song "Saving Grace" that unwittingly described perfectly my senior year in high school:

“And it’s hard to say, Who you are these days, But you run on anyway.
You keep running for another place, To find that saving grace…”

I was running from something in 1982 but I did not know from where or why.

A friend on the track team saw my depression and invited me to church. I declined. “I got religion,” I said, “and I got a Bible.” That was true. Every night I read my Bible. But I had no idea what it said.

Finally, because a cute girl was going, I decided to go to church too. I went to church expecting to meet my next girlfriend; instead I met someone much better.

Jesus Christ.

The speaker at the church talked about the pain of Jesus’ crucifixion and that He did it because of His love for me. The speaker’s talk was dramatic and graphic, like something from the TV show "24" or from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion.” I remember thinking, “If God loves me this much to suffer like this, then I want to get to know this God.” One of the youth workers at that church, Kyle Gillespie who still remains one of my best friends today 28 years later, clearly explained to me the Christian gospel.

On a hot summer’s night in June 1982, I gave my life to Jesus Christ. His Spirit entered my life, forgave my sins and I began a journey with Him that continues today.

Now after more than a quarter of a century Jesus is still central to me. I don't live a life of sinless perfection; I need God's grace and forgiveness every day. I have an incredible wife, awesome kids (2 in college!) and I still enjoy running and music. I even moved my family to Eastern Europe so we can tell those who don’t know Christ about Him.

Yet the very core of my life is the Creator of the Universe who limited Himself to a man’s body, took our sins, paid our death penalty and offered us forgiveness and a forever relationship with Him.

I did not merely “become religious”; I began a relationship with God Himself. I can call the Universe’s Greatest Power, Love and Judge “my Father”! What a privilege!

I was found by Truth and in Jesus I found Love. I even found my “Saving Grace.”

June 1982

Fall 1981

Fall 1981

2010: Matt and EB Jackson family, (from left) Quentin 9, Rebekah (with our dog Reagan) 13, Ben 18, Savannah 15, Liz 19

A Monumental Day

2010-06-19T08:10:00.001-07:00

We put Ben and Savannah (along with other missionary kids from our community here in Budapest) on a plane to Ethiopia. There Ben and Savannah will meet up with our daughter Liz. Liz is coming from Orlando, Florida, where she has been preparing for a summer internship on this Campus Crusade missions project. It has been EB’s and my prayer since our kids were born that they would be laborers in the harvest. Today we have seen God honor those prayers.

As eventful as that is, however, today is even more monumental for another reason. Today Ben left home. After his month in Ethiopia, Ben flies back directly to Kansas to prepare for his freshman year at college. Ben is joining Liz and dual enrolling at Kansas State University and Manhattan Christian College. Like Liz, he plans on playing basketball at MCC.

Ben (and Liz) will not be home again until Christmas. When our kids leave for college, they really LEAVE for college. No weekend trips back, no jaunts home to do laundry, not even home for Thanksgiving. It is sad for EB and me. For me (I cannot speak for EB) only the birth of our children and our moves have been more monumental in our lives. Yes, it will be more quiet and the pace of life may slow down. But we will miss Ben’s sense of humor, his individuality and his stories. With both Ben and Liz gone from the nest, a hole will certainly be felt.

Please pray for our kids and their missions project in Ethiopia. You can track with them at the project’s blog: www.mk2mkethiopia.blogspot.com

Graduation Season and Baseball

2010-06-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

It has been a family-focused few weeks recently. Below are two videos I would like to share.

First is of Ben's high school graduation from ICSB, the Intl Christian School of Budapest.

Second is Que's highlights from his championship little league game.

And as a free bonus, here is one of Ben doing a back flip off a cliff during his class's senior trip to Cyprus.

Thanks for sharing our joy with us!

3 videos

2010-05-25T06:10:00.000-07:00

Last week I returned from a trip to the US where I was helping some of our European missionaries develop their financial support teams. Here are some quick introductions to those missionaries.

Ben showing off...

Savannah and Ben being recognized for the basketball achievements at their school's awards night.

The Sign of Jonah and the Validation of Jesus as God

2010-05-25T04:15:00.000-07:00

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But Jesus replied to them, “…a sign will not be given except the sign of Jonah.”
Matthew 16:1,4

Woody Allen: “If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”

French atheist Voltaire: “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses that admit a miracle.”

At the first reading of this Biblical text, one may ask Jesus, “Why not do a miraculous sign in the sky and prove that you really are the Messiah? Why not settle the issue once and for all? Why speak so encrypticly and use phrases such as ‘The sign of Jonah’?"

However, a closer reading of the text from Matthew’s gospel will reveal recent days that were full of miracles, specifically miracles of compassion: miracles of healing (14:35-36; 15:28; 15:30-31) and miracles of provision (15:32-37). The Pharisees and Sadducees had all the miracles they needed if they were truly seeking evidence of who Jesus is.

The issue wasn’t that the Pharisees and Sadducees were searching for God; they were “testing Jesus” (16:1). But Jesus was not into “miracles on demand.” He was not some circus freak show.

He did, however, promise them one Granddaddy miracle: “the sign of Jonah.” The first time Jesus mentions “the sign of Jonah” was at a similar confrontation in Matthew 12:39. There Jesus explained what the sign of Jonah is: “for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus is saying if you really want a sign, then wait. For when you kill me, three days later I shall be alive again. To rise from the dead with a resurrected body to never die again is a miracle that no one has ever before done in history. There are evidences for “smaller” miracles, but one has ever risen from the dead!

The Sign of Jonah would vindicate Jesus as God in the flesh once and for all. Why listen and follow mere “prophets” when the Lord God Almighty became a man, was crucified, dead, buried and then rose again? There is no God like our God!

The issue of the Pharisees and Sadducees was not that they didn’t have enough evidence (which, by the way, is an argument frequently put forth by atheism even today). The issue is that their own hearts were hard to the things of God.

Will we believe in God, or will we only trust Him further, if He performs a miracle according to our expectations? Rather embrace the God Who Is knowing the Sign of Jonah, His resurrection, validates His claims and His supremacy.

Czech: the most atheistic country on the most atheistic continent

2010-04-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last week EB and I, along with Quentin, traveled to a campus in Ostrava, Czech, to speak to a student group there about the reliability of the New Testament Scriptures. The name of this Czech-led evangelical ministry is KVZ {www.kvz.cz}, a ministry with close ties to Campus Crusade for Christ. We have ministered with this group several times over the past few years and have grown to love their staff and students. KVZ has done a great job witnessing for Christ in this spiritually dark country.

EB is pictured here (2nd from the left) with a group of students involved with KVZ in Ostrava. The two girls in dark shirts in the middle were just recently baptized as new believers in a local evangelical church!

Martin, on the right, is one of the KVZ staff members. He has a doctorate in microbiology yet heard the Lord's call into ministry. Here he is witnessing to a student after my talk from Josh McDowell's Czech translation of "More than a Carpentar." This particular student is from Bulgaria, studying in Czech, talked with me in Hungarian and is named Vladimir....only in Europe.

Lada and Eva, KVZ staff and our excellent hosts! They fixed a typical and tasty European breakfast for us.

Quentin went with us and found a listening ear in Lada (Lladislaw), our host in Ostrava. Lada didn't know much about baseball and his English isn't perfect either. But that didn't stop Quentin from telling him all about the most recent Braves game.

If you wanted to know what happened to Carl from "Up", I found him on a bus in Ostrava. Pixar sent him there to scout out a location for a sequel ("Down"?).

From high up in a student dorm looking down on graffiti in the courtyard on campus

I believe that policemen are overworked, underpaid and under appreciated. But oh just this once I wish I had a bucket full of water balloons!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL IN CZECH! THE LORD HAS NOT ABANDONED THIS ATHEISTIC COUNTRY!

Evidence supporting early dates for the writing of the New Testament Gospels

2010-04-19T04:19:00.000-07:00

Evidence #1: PROPHECY IN MATTHEW: Matthew 24:2 Jesus predicts the fall of the temple in Jerusalem, along with Mark 6 and Luke 21. This prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when Titus and his Roman army destroyed the temple. But the fulfillment of this prophecy is not recorded in Matthew (or the other gospels).

Matthew records many other prophecies fulfilled in his gospel (5 in just the first 3 chapters) but there is silence regarding the dramatic destructon of the temple in Jerusalem.

Evidence #2: ENDING OF THE BOOK OF ACTS: The Book of Acts chronicles the growth of the Christian church immediately after the resurreciton of Jesus. Extra-biblical sources tell us that Paul and Peter were executed in Rome somewhere between 62 and 65 AD. However, the Book of Acts ENDS with Paul very much alive under house arrest awaiting trial.

The Book of Acts details the murder of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60) and James (Acts 12:2), so it is not afraid to mention difficult events for the early church. On the other hand, Acts misses the opportunity to turn the executions of two of its pillars (Paul and Peter) into a cause of martyrdom.

Therefore it is logical to date the Book of Acts, which is a sequel to Luke's Gospel, before 65 AD. That date puts the writing of Acts within one generation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Evidence #3: MARK'S GOSPEL IS THE EARLIEST: Given it is reasonable to date the Book of Acts in the early 60s AD, then we can give an earliery date to the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke and Acts were both written by Luke and Luke's gospel was written first. And most scholars agree that Mark's gospel pre-dates Luke's gospel.

Therefore to assign the date of the writing of Mark's ... See Moregospel to the late 50s AD is not unreasonable. This is within one generation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. There is plenty of time for critics to contradict Mark's claims and not enough time for legend to develop.

Evidence #4: ANCIENT CREED IN 1 CORINTHIANS: Many scholars believe that 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is an ancient creed that Paul is quoting. Given what we know about Paul, some scholars date that creed within 5 to 15 years of the earthly time of Christ. In that creed we have core doctrines of Christianity mentioned: Christ died for our sins, was death, buried, raised and appeared!

Matthew 14:26-33 Learning to trust Jesus deeper in the storms of life.

2010-04-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried, "It is a ghost!" Matthew 14:26

At our church here in Budapest, I teach an adult Sunday school class on Matthew’s gospel. This week we studied Peter walking on water from Matthew chapter 14. Outside of the Christmas and Easter stories, there are few Biblical texts which have been taught on more often than this one. And rightfully so. Peter, an ordinary man, displays great faith only to have it shattered by the winds and the waves of life, a scenario many of us can relate to.

While studying, my mind was brought back to a similar story in Matthew 8:23-27 which has striking similarities with this week’s passage (Matthew 14:22-33). In both stories, you have the disciples in a boat on a sea that was very familiar to them. And in both stories, the weather turns ugly and the disciples turn fearful. In both stories Jesus proves that He is trustworthy and proves He alone can calm the storm.

However in the first boat-in-a-storm miracle, the disciples are in the boat WITH Jesus. In the second, the disciples are WITHOUT Jesus. He seems far away, even unrecognizable (Matthew 14:26). The more I studied the more convinced I became that it was Jesus’ plan to be with the disciples physically the first time but not the second. I believe Jesus wanted to STRENGHTEN THEIR FAITH IN EVEN GREATER WAYS. Jesus wanted the disciples to learn to trust Him in ever more difficult circumstances.

That is why in the second storm , Jesus was NOT with the disciples. Jesus was hoping that the disciples would remember that He calmed the storm the first time and that they would remember that He had earlier that very evening healed the masses (Matthew 14:14) and fed the 5000 with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:17-21). Therefore even though He was absent, the disciples had plenty of reason to trust Him. I think THE LORD WANTS US TO LEARN THESE SAME LESSONS OF LEARNING TO TRUST IN EVER MORE DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES.

When we are young in our spiritual journey, we readily sense the Lord is near. It seems as if He is always quick to answer prayer, give wisdom and calm the storm. Yet as we continue to walk with Him, at times He seems not near; He seems far away and mysterious. We are jaded by life’s difficulties; we are disappointed by unmet expectations. As a result, our faith easily grows cold. We can relate when the disciples cried, “It is a ghost!” not recognizing Jesus when they saw Him (Matthew 14:26).

After years of walking with the Lord does He seem silent to you? Does He seem more like a ghost than a personal Savior? He was with us in the boat at first so we learn that He is trustworthy. But next He will send us out into the storm alone, so we will learn that He is even MORE trustworthy. Like a new mother whose baby is always near. Yet as the child grows, the child learns to trust even though Mom doesn’t always immediately respond. For if Jesus remained in the boat the second time, the disciples would have never witnessed Him walking on water. And Peter would have never walked on water with Jesus. The faith of the disciples would have remained untested and unstrengthened in a child-like state.

Yet never doubt that He is in fact there. He may seem hidden, nebulous and silent. Yet may we never forget Matthew’s last words of Jesus before He ascended: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18).

You might wonder where it is the Lord will take you as you follow Him. You may wonder what storms await as He calls you into the boat. You might wonder with Lucy and Susan if the Lord is even safe at all. We would be good to remember Mr. Beaver’s reply: “ Of course he isn't safe.....but he's good. He's the King I tell you." - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Quentin after his first baseball game as starting center fielder for the Diosd Dodgers. They outlasted the Erd Indians by a score of 9-3.

EB, Rebekah and one of the five puppies that have joined our family this spring.

The (Frequently) Missed Message of Easter

2010-04-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

{At our monthly office meeting, I gave this message as a devotional. Some asked for my notes. Written out in long hand, here are those notes.}

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour... [An] angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him… And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. The first [trumpet] sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
Revelation 8:1-7 NASB

As the Book of Revelation unfolds, heaven up until now has been full of noise. There are the sounds and peals of thunder around the throne (Revelation 4:5), the constant praise of His creation (Revelation 4:8, 11; 5:11-14; 7:10), the loud calling of angels (Revelation 5:2; 7:2-3) and more. Yet here we have silence. 30 minutes of eerie, terrifying silence. As the last of the seven seals is opened.

And the ending of that 30 minutes of silence is a scene of worship. As the angel offers incense before the altar, the scene is duplicating the Old Testament duty of the priests. John MacArthur, in his commentary on Revelation, made the connection this way:

"In the Old Testament era, the priests would twice daily (morning and evening) take hot, fiery coals from the brazen altar (where sacrifices were offered) and transport them into the Holy Place to the incense altar. They then ignited the incense, which rose toward heaven, emblematic of the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8)."

Yet in one of the most frightening twists in all of Scripture, the silence in heaven is shattered as the angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, then turns and throws it down to earth. Peals of thunder, sounds and flashes of lightning and great earthquake accompany this bizarre twist. John must have been horrified; surely he was expecting a liturgy or a chorus from this moment of high church. Yet without warning the holy worship in heaven becomes terrible judgment on earth (Revelation 8:5).

A trumpet sounds, the first trumpet judgment, and the fire from the altar in heaven arrives on earth mixed with hail and blood (Revelation 8:7). A third of the earth is destroyed. A third of the trees and ALL of the green grass. ALL? Yes, ALL!

I remember just a few days ago standing on a baseball field here near Budapest. The sun came out and the warmth chased away the cold wind. All around were signs of spring. The crack of a bat and the pop of a glove. However there is no more soothing, comforting sign of spring than green grass. The juicy, soft green color of spring grass is an indication that winter is over and warmer months and renewed energy lay ahead. How many children’s drawings in your life have you seen that include green grass? Yet in the judgment of God, green grass is GONE, ALL GONE!

What is going on here? How can a worship service in heaven without warning turn deadly on earth? I thought God is a God of love! In fact, John wrote “God is love,” in 1 John 4:8. Didn’t God so love the world that He gave us His only Son? Isn’t Easter a sign of God’s triumph over evil and death? Don’t we celebrate Easter with little bunny rabbits, green plastic grass and chocolate eggs? Don’t we point our children to God’s love through the celebration of Easter? Then why this judgment? What is God doing?

It is very tempting to not like this God…and to despise the cross. At first glance, at least…

Yes, it is true. The cross is a symbol of God’s love for mankind. For God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died a horrific death on the cross to pay the death penalty for our sins.

However, Jesus’ death on the cross not only displayed God’s love; it also displayed His judgment. Sin was not merely laid aside and dismissed. Justice was satisfied; the law fulfilled. The full punishment for sin was poured out on Christ; for the Lamb of God who stands before the throne took our wrath upon Himself. He took our sins upon Him so that we might have the righteousness of Christ upon us.

Romans 5:8 speaks beautifully of the love of God and how that love drove Jesus to the cross. Yet the very next verse, Romans 5:9 also speaks of how the wrath of God destined for us sinful humans was assuaged by Christ Himself: “Much more then, having now then, been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Christ.” The wrath of God destined for us was imputed to Him.

Yet the Lord will punish, no longer with imputed wrath but with the full weight of His fury, those who reject the cross. The Book of Revelation spells out in excruciating detail the wrath of God on those who reject the cross.

May this sober us and may it quicken us in our short-time of ministry upon earth. The cross is a frightening reminder of God’s judgment on sin. Yes, the message of Easter is one of love of God for the world. It is also the glorious message of the power of Christ over death. Yet we must not miss the most prudent message of the cross: that God has judged and will judge sin.

Through God’s judgments, the wrongs will be made right; sin will be punished, creation restored and death will be reversed. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. “God will dwell among us…and wipe every tear from our eyes.” Revelation 21:3-4.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

“The cross is God’s commentary on us.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2010-04-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

"The tree of life looked good but was the only thing in the world to bring death. The cross looked bad but was the the only thing in the world to bring life."

Ronnie Stephens, our pastor here in Budapest

Nothing says spring like a lawn full of fluffy, frisky puppies on a sunny spring day! Our dog Reagan had 5 puppies late February.

Another sign of spring is boys playing baseball. Quentin gets his dream that he has had for several years. He is now playing ball for the "Diosd Dodgers" little league team. (Never mind the Braves baseball hat!)

I helped run a baseball clinic for kids in our community here in the suburbs of Budapest. We expected 10-15 kids and over 50 turned out! Here I am (on the right with the red jersey) explaining to the kids the true meaning of Easter and what Jesus's death on the cross means.

Hungarian kids taking their turn at this "strange American sport."

EB going thru "Resurrection Eggs" in a park with some local kids.

Budapest is a beautiful city, especially at night. Here is the Chain Bridge and St. Matthias Church.

Buda Castle from the shore of the Danube.

Hero Square: the early morning sun radiating through the statue of Gabriel

Liz Laboring in the Harvest Field of New York City

2010-03-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

New York City is a colorful, lively, bustling city, and people there are always on the go. Yet at the same time, it is one of the most dead places in the world spiritually. Because it is a melting pot of cultures, it also becomes a melting pot of religious beliefs, yet the truth is drown out and extremely difficult to distinguish in this sea of every kind of spirituality. The city is yearning for truth, and so this spring break our goal was to equip the college students and future leaders with God’s truth, giving hope to this lost city. With over 1 million college students, more than any city in the world, and people from almost every culture represented, NYC is a strategic place to fulfill the Great Commission.

Six of us from K-state joined 35 other students from all over the country on this trip. We used tools such as Solarium, evangelistic videos, surveys, and “Knowing God Personally” booklets to spark spiritual conversations with students at various campuses across the city. My team and I went to Hunter College, and while we were there we encountered Muslims, Mormon, Catholics, atheists, Hindus, and many more. We strove to get to know these students and talk about spiritual things, learning more about their beliefs and sharing ours.

One day, my friend Francesca and I showed a video to a girl sitting and eating lunch by herself. She responded excitedly to the video and quickly opened up to us about her beliefs. When her friend joined us, she insisted her friend watch the video as well. Accordingly, we were able to go deep quickly with these two girls, and ended up talking to them for over three hours. We shared the gospel with them and also different things God had done in our lives. They responded well, and Francesca and I were extremely pleased that God used us to proclaim His truth to these searching girls.

This was one of many encouraging conversations we had throughout the week. The students of New York City are friendly, open, and seeking to understanding life. Please keep New York City in your prayers, as the fields are ripe for the harvest, yet the laborers are few.

Using the gift of the English language to proclaim Christ

2010-03-19T07:44:00.001-07:00

Emily, on the right from Athens, GA, was with us that morning. Her husband works for the US State Dept here in Budapest. The hurt among some of these kids is so deep. They willingly talked music, friends and movies but when the topic turned to family, several did not even want to talk about their families. You can almost see that truth in how they dressed.

Yesterday I had the chance to speak in some Hungarian high school English classes. English is the universal language of our planet. If you are a native English speaker, then your language skill is in high demand around the world. Most mission agencies realize this and use English as door opener. This is true of our ministry here in Hungary.

I accompanied a few of the members of our Budapest student ministry. Several English teachers in a Hungarian high school turned their class periods over to us. While speaking English we played some simple games and had conversations with students. In turn the students were able to practice English with us.

At the end of each class, we invited the students to come to our ministry’s weekly Friday night meeting as well as to our summer English language evangelistic Speak Out camps. Even though we could not share the gospel in the classrooms, doors were opened and connections were made that very easily lead to telling high school students about Christ. This is one of the primary tools our Hungarian student ministry uses to reach into new high schools.

My morning with our Hungarian ministry serves as a reminder of why EB and I do what we do in the harvest field in this part of the world. As we help our missionaries by assisting them in their funding efforts, our personal impact is multiplied as they in turn can reach out evangelistically to lost students all across Eastern Europe and Russia.

Thank you for investing in our lives so we can invest in others!

Great words to live by!

More Hungarian high school students

Jamie and Emily, on the left, both have husbands who work for the US gov in town but volunteer with our ministry.

Ryan, on the right, is new to our ministry here in Budapest and is a recent grad of Dallas Theological Seminary.

Okay, one last basketball picture. This is Ben jumping higher than I ever thought he could in the championship game of his conference against the team from Salzburg. It is sad to me to think Ben will not wear his high school's jersey again in a basketball game. Watching our kids play basketball is the funnest thing I do as a parent!

ICSB girls win DVAC conf championship!

2010-03-16T05:03:00.000-07:00

In a game that took 2 overtimes to decide, ICSB girls beat AISS (Salzburg) for the DVAC (Danube Valley Athletic Conf) championship! It was a hard fought game, even ugly at times. Savannah played remarkably well, especially as a starting freshman. Yet all the girls contributed for the victory.

Ben goes up strong in the championship game against AISS (Salzburg)

Ben's team rolled through the tournament to an easy confernece victory. And like the girls' team, the boys championship was determined with a win over the team from AISS (American International School of Salzburg).

We are proud of our kids! We look forward to three more years of Savannah playing basketball for the Intl Christian School of Budapest (ICSB). It is sad to think we will not see Ben play again for ICSB. But it is good that this season is over, in some way, as we can now focus on other things!

Ben's team wins basketball championship!

2010-02-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

Ben launching against cross town rival American Intl School of Budapest on the opening night of the tournament.

This past Saturday was one of the funnest days of my life! Ben’s basketball team, the Intl Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) high school varsity team, won their tournament championship for the first time in 10 years!

Even though I have just finished the most intensive support raising effort for our European staff in almost 2 years, the last few days my mind has been in a completely different place. This past weekend was our kids’ school’s big invitational basketball tournament. For 2 ½ days it was wall-to-wall basketball. In fact, my plane from Atlanta landed in Budapest at 3:30pm on Thursday, the first tip off was 4:30pm Thursday. Jetlag was not an option as game after game was played involving teams from as far away as St. Petersburg Russia.

Ben’s team, the varsity boys, lost in the seeding round of the tournament to a school very much like their own, Kiev Christian Academy. After the loss, Ben’s team rallied in the rest of their games and the same two teams faced each other again in the championship game. Our ICSB boys, up against a Kiev team of 4 seniors who had beaten them badly just the day before, were a clear underdog going into the game for the tournament champion. Yet what happened was truly phenomenal! Please watch the video highlights…

There is a great moment in this video at the 2:35 mark where EB hugs Ben and then recoils because she got his sweat all over her. Watch this celebration video and tell me if you think that moving to the mission field produces out-of-touch, bland kids!

ICSB’s girls team, which Savannah is on and I help coach, did not have a good tournament. We lost two starters to season-ending injuries on the first day of the tournament; our team was held together with duct tape and bailing wire and still we played our hearts out.

It was hard to not have Liz at this tournament since this is a place where she saw so much basketball success. Also, we have a deep love for Kiev Christian Academy, a school very much like our own. Even though the rivalry is intense, there are many shared friendships between the schools.

WARNING: BRAGGING PARAGRAPH! I think there is a good reason why our “little religious school” can field basketball teams that consistently beat teams from schools 10x their enrollment size. (Ask me and I will tell you my opinion). If you draw a line from Salzburg, Austria thru Vienna, Budapest, Kiev and on up to St. Petersburg, Russia, there is not another team from any independent school that can beat our boys this year! There are probably not too many public schools across Central and Eastern Europe that can beat these guys either. So cool!

The International Christian School of Budapest NEEDS TEACHERS! Being a missionary teacher will never be as fun as it is at our school! Please help us get connected with teachers that would like to teach at a school that serves the needs of missionary parents and will have a teacher’s impact on kids from across the globe. Please pass on the school’s website: www.icsbudapest.org Pass on the videos above also!

School spirit even hit EB's kitchen! In a game day "victory" brunch EB prepared, the menu had names such as "shoot em up vanilla sauce" and "victory apple crisp."

EB's mom Charlotte Biays, was able to visit us while the tournament was being played. She saw every second of play!

The starting five for the 2010 boys varsity basketball team at the Intl Christian School of Budapest: (from left) Jake Sanders, Ben Jackson, Andrew Neel, Jacob Mullet and Ming Huang.

Happy New Year 2010!

2009-12-31T14:31:00.000-08:00

May God's abundant grace be upon you during 2010! As we seek to resource the work of the gospel in Eastern Europe and build a stronger bridge to the church in America, thank you for walking with us on our journey of faith.