A Photographic Look Back on October

EB turned the riser at this meeting into a beautiful living room. EB is called upon more and more for similar tasks. If there is a spiritual gift called "beauty" (to make beautiful) then she has it. EB added beauty to the evening of celebration honoring Larry and Debby Thompson for 33 years of service with Campus Crusade in Eastern Europe.



Even Vonette Bright (Bill Bright's widow) aged 83 made the trip to Budapest from Orlando to honor the Thompsons.



The next day we commissioned Marek and Ala Wyrzykowski (seated) as the new Campus Crusade Directors of Eastern Europe and Russia. Marek and Ala are Polish and speak great English; EB and I have become good friends with them. On the far left of this photo are Steve and Judy Douglas, Campus Crusade President and on the far right are Larry and Debby Thompson.



Meetings with Campus Crusade leadership from Western Europe to discuss national staff support crisis took me to a meeting location near Zurich at a Catholic monastery To my delight, the meeting site was high in the Alps. This was the view from the deck where we had our coffee breaks.



Before Zurich, EB joined me in Geneva where we toured all things John Calvin (please see essay in the next blog entry). EB is standing outside the main door into St. Pierre's church where John Calvin's preaching sparked the Reformation in the 1500s.



While outside the UN facility in Geneva, I was able to capture with my camera this car with EB's name on it!



During October I made two trips into Romania to lay the ground work for church partnerships with our campus ministries. It seems that almost each trip into Romania is like a trip back in time, as I try to capture with this photo.



Here I am as the old man trying to be relevant among a group of hip, Jesus-lovin, English-speaking college students in Timisoara, Romania.

One of my main goals the next few years is to connect our campus ministries in Romania, Albania and across Eastern Europe with USA churches. We believe we must partner with USA churches in order to fulfill the Great Commission in our part of the world. I really want to talk to you and your church!

Oct 31, Reformation Day: the debt we owe John Calvin

Inside St. Pierre's Church in Geneva where Calvin's preaching sparked the Reformation in the 1500s.



St. Pierre's in Geneva

“Calvinism, cousin to the Reformation's other pillar, Lutheranism, is a bit less dour than its critics claim: it offers a rock-steady deity who orchestrates absolutely everything, including illness (or home foreclosure!), by a logic we may not understand but don't have to second-guess. Our satisfaction — and our purpose — is fulfilled simply by ‘glorifying’ him.”

from the October 21, 2009 issue of Time Magazine, where it says the “New Calvinism” is one of the “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now.”

I was on my way to Campus Crusade meetings in Zurich, Switzerland last week, so I convinced EB to join me for a few days prior so we could visit Geneva. It was with a sense of awe that EB and I walked the streets of Geneva, Switzerland. I remember thinking, “These are the streets that John Calvin walked.” It was with great anticipation that I entered the lofty sanctuary of St. Pierre’s Cathedral where Calvin preached; it was with great interest that I toured the museum dedicated to the Reformation Movement that Calvin started in the 1500s.

John Calvin in Switzerland and Martin Luther in Germany, contemporaries born only 25 years apart, were twin pillars for what we call today the Reformed Movement from which sprang the Protestant branch of Christianity. Calvin and Luther protested many things against the Catholic Church, including the selling of indulgences (purchased to supposedly spring the recently deceased out of purgatory).

If not for John Calvin, Christianity today would be just another religion focused on man’s attempts to please God through religious good works. Calvin and Luther took the spotlight off of man and put it squarely back on God. While Calvin emphasized the sovereignty of God in all things, Luther emphasized justification by faith alone.

Life was very difficult in the 1500s. And Calvin suffered greatly during his time on earth. He outlived his wife and son; he had death threats from the French king (that is why he fled Paris and came to Geneva) and he had enemies both within and without the institutionalized church. He was sick most of his adult life (as were many in that day) and he worked ceaselessly under conditions that were barbaric by today’s standards.

Many people today associate Calvinistic theology with fatalistic sour-faced religious piety. However, I find joy and rest in the thought that my heavenly loving Father rules sovereignly from His throne over the affairs of men including the circumstances of my own life.

October 31st is Reformation Day on the Christian calendar and 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. It would serve humanity well to remember this quote from John Piper, one of the pillars of "New Calvinism," a quote which has had a huge impact on my life: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Embracing the Glory of God in Revelation 3:20

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me." Jesus in Revelation 3:20

During the early years of my ministry I wrestled with Revelation 3:20. Should I use this verse evangelistically? Was this verse written to believers or non-believers? The conclusion I came to would not allow me to use this verse when sharing my faith. Now my attitude has totally changed about Rev. 3:20.

Yes, this verse is from a letter written to a church, a dead church at Laodicea. This church makes Jesus even want to vomit! (Revelation 3: 16). And this church is wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. (v. 17) Never does Jesus use this kind of language with His redeemed, the sheep of His pasture.

As we dig deep into the Biblical text, lets not miss the forest for the trees... Embrace the glory of God on display in this verse!

Imagine, the One who speaks the stars into existence, the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God (Revelation 3:14), wanting to dine with us! We are sinful, rebellious, helpless, ungodly, even enemies of God (Romans 5:10). Yet here we receive an invitation to dine with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Dear friend, no earthly pleasure will delight your soul like fellowship with Jesus!

George Sheldon Ladd, in his commentary on Revelation, says this: “A shared meal in the ancient Jewish world had far more significance than it has today. It was a symbol of affection, of confidence, of intimacy.”

Imagine, the Lord Jesus Christ seeking entrance into a place where He has been shunned, neglected, ignored and even despised! All Jesus has to do is to call down His wrath and this lukewarm church would disappear into a cloud of judgment and smoke.

Jesus does in fact use harsh language with this dead church. But He also beckons them, pleads with them and gives them a heart call to repent. Beautiful. Just like my Jesus.

Charles Ryrie says , “How incredible that Christ should be kept outside His own church! How gracious that He should still seek entrance!”

Why in all my frailty and flesh do I follow Jesus? It is because of verses like Revelation 3:20.

For this verse is gospel; it captures the core of our faith; it is the end result of the Cross: restored fellowship with our Creator!

When that day comes and you read my obituary, do not weep. For then I will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb! For then I will be complete, lacking in nothing, more conscious and alive than at any moment in my existence. I will experience the reason for which I was created!

Is the door shut between you and Jesus? Do you hear Him knocking? It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or not a Christian; the invitation is the same. Jesus’ death on the Cross for our sins is the key to the door. Open it. And dine with the Great God of the Universe, the Lover of your Soul!

Albania: glimpses of its history, culture and faith

We wish you could have joined us.

(from left: Dima and Svetlana Brovko from Ukraine; Mariana and Eugene Simonov from Moldova; EB and me)

The other night here at our house we had two couples over for dinner. These couples are Eastern European and on staff with Campus Crusade. They are spending this school year on a one-year assignment working out of our office here in Budapest. Our office here in Budapest oversees what Campus Crusade does across all of Eastern Europe and Russia…11 time zones!

The two couples are Dima and Svetlana Brovko from Ukraine and Eugene and Mariana Simonov from Moldova. All 4 grew up in typical Soviet Communist homes; their homelands were not the countries they are now. Under Soviet rule, Ukraine and Moldova were a part of the USSR. All 4 became Christians in the 90s when there was a wave of missionaries who poured over the crumbled Iron Curtain. That wave of missionaries has either gone home or moved on to other places in the world. However the needs remain great in this part of the world. Evangelicals in most countries of Eastern Europe are less than 1% of the population.

It was fascinating to hear their testimonies and to hear them tossing around the Russian language among each other like a rubber ball in a racquet ball court. Even though all 4 of our guests speak English and their mother tongue, they all had to learn to speak Russian in school. Russia still holds great (and sometimes scary) influence in this part of the world.

This November marks the 20th anniversary since the Berlin Wall fell. The euphoria of the event has long ceased and most people are trying to figure out how to make life work. Most governments of Eastern Europe lean strongly toward socialism and operate a “command and control” economy.

With some exceptions, freedom of religion exists in Eastern Europe. In some places like Bosnia and Albania the gospel is being heard for the first time in 1000 years! However, for most religion is only a cultural expression; the primary god worshipped is materialism. Eastern Europe and Russia is a land of great gospel need; our Lord deserves not just their religious activity but He is worthy of their hearts and their worship.

Our ministries across Eastern Europe and Russia took another heavy blow when we learned that our outreach and operating budgets were cut by 2/3rds. In a land with so few Christians and so many open doors, it breaks my heart to see monies either directed elsewhere or just plain no longer available. And we don’t qualify for a government bail out. Perhaps this is our Gideon moment.

Anyway, we wish you could have been our guest at dinner that night. The “EB food” was excellent, our company was wonderful and our God is holy and sovereign! Thanks for walking this journey with us; your partnership keeps us in the mission field out here in Eastern Europe and Russia.



EB and her friend Deb Olson host at our home a "young mothers" luncheon for those associated with our missionary community. Some of the countries represented here are Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Belarus and the USA.



These next pictures are from a Hungarian culture festival held in our village of Diosd. This first picture is of a big basin full of grapes. The barrell dispenses fresh grape juice. What happens between is anyone's guess.



Hungarian horsemen




Quentin looks into a big pot of Hungarian goulash.




Yup, this is the real thing! Notice: no feet. Also, notice where the rod goes in and where it goes out.




Quentin and his friends sampling some of the food. Quentin does not express a lot of confidence that he can identify what he is about to eat!

Sending Liz to college

Sending your oldest child off to college is always a monumental event. Yet even more so when one is separated from that child by half of the globe. We tried to capture just a little of that sentiment with this brief video. Liz is a freshman at Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, Kansas.

3 summer videos

The other day I realized that since late April I have been home (in Budapest) only 3 weeks. Currently we are in the US having just finished attending Campus Crusade’s big staff conference held every other year in Ft. Collins, CO. There is a lot to tell you about that has happened since late April. But for now, I just wanted to point you to a few videos:

ANGRY ATHEISTS DON’T LIKE THE SUNRISE: June was a sabbatical month for me. During one of those weeks EB and I got away to Greece for a week. We asked our Budapest travel agent to send us someplace last minute for a great deal. We got a three star resort on a dusty island in Greece. Days were spent touring and being poolside. It was the first time in 10 years EB and I got away alone for longer than a weekend. While in Greece I filmed the sunrise over some mountains on the Turkish mainland. I uploaded it to our youtube site and added some comments about evidence for a Creator in a sunrise. Some angry atheists added their comments (how did they find the video?). Anyway, here is the video and comments. Feel free to add to the conversation.



CLIMB UP LONG’S PEAK: We took advantage of the only free day in the 10 day Campus Crusade conference to head to the mountains. Ben and I, along with Campus Crusade staff Jerry Hertzler and his son Andrew, climbed the tallest mountain in northern Colorado, Long’s Peak. The 16 mile round trip hike (5000 ft elevation gain) took us over 12 hours. Here is the video.



LIZ AND BEN EMCEE: At the Campus Crusade conference our kids shined. Our daughter Liz, along with her brother Ben, helped emcee a pre-convention smaller conference for USA staff serving overseas. Liz also raised $8000 at the conference for an orphanage in Uganda that she has a heart for. Liz also taught a seminar and was in a recent edition of World Wide Challenge, Campus Crusade’s magazine. Meanwhile EB and I watched the convention from behind a lightpole up in the balcony seats. Here is a video of Liz and Ben emceeing at the conference telling stories of people's responses when they say they live in Hungary.

Why America Needs Heroes

A Review of Night at the Museum 2

Today is Memorial Day. It is a day that is, unfortunately, not even noticed over here in Europe. Memorial Day is a time when all Americans everywhere reflect on the sacrifices of American Servicemen and women in the name of freedom. It is also a day to be reminded of all the things that are right about America.

For example, our family saw a great movie last night here in Budapest: Night of the Museum 2. I highly recommend it. What is more compelling than the kid-friendly plot is the way American heroes are actually portrayed as, in fact, American heroes. I recently saw an Oliver Stone movie with my 17 year old son Ben which spotlighted what is wrong with America. Halfway through the movie Ben spurted out one accusatory word that summed up the movie: “Propaganda.”

With Oliver Stone’s movie as a backdrop, it makes Night of the Museum 2 an uplifting film as it portrays American heroes in a positive light: heroes such as Amelia Earhart, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, the Wright brothers, the Apollo space missions, the Tuskegee Airmen, Albert Einstein and more. Even General Custer is given a comedic role that allows him a quasi-shot at historical redemption.

Unlike the Oliver Stone movie, lines between good and evil are clearly drawn in Night of the Museum 2, (albeit the script is simple). The bad guys are shown as bad (including the notorious American Al Capone) and the good guys are good. There is no blurring of the lines between good and evil, or even a denial that good and evil exist, which is a world-view commonly found today in movies, government, universities and coffee houses.

And the movie is great fun! And I was not expecting its pro-America message. No movie is perfect. But Museum 2 is family-friendly and could be used as a home schooling American history lesson. And in this time when our President is apologizing for America, it is refreshing to be reminded of America’s great contribution and leadership.

“America is great because America is good,” is a quote attributed to French historian Tocqueville. But if America becomes a highly centralized mandated society, then we will no longer have a need to be good. American ingenuity and problem solving will no longer be required; rather a child-like reliance on big brother government will be all that is needed to survive.

Why take risks when the government will take care of us? Why pursue new frontiers when a stimulus check will arrive tomorrow? Why problem-solve when Washington promises to pay our rent and put gas in our car? We need heroes, risk takers and entrepreneurs who don’t want a stimulus check but the chance to solve problems, create solutions, forge new frontiers without government interference. All that is needed from government is to get out of the way. Big government negates our need for heroes; yesterday’s heroes may have no replacements. We are moving into an era when big government both creates and “solves” all of our problems.

Recently my 8-year-old son Quentin had a fever. We asked him what would make him feel better. He wanted his two big notebooks containing his baseball card collection and he wanted to listen to the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals baseball game over the internet (while wearing his Atlanta Braves baseball hat). What can be more American than a boy’s love for baseball? As a boy growing up my heroes were Freddie Patek, John Mayberry, Amos Otis, Frank White and George Brett.

God bless the USA and our heroes, especially those servicemen and women who gave their lives and who make America great! The next time you hear America’s National Anthem, please stand, take off your hat, put your hand over your heart, say a prayer and shed a tear for those who willingly died to make America great and to extend freedom across the globe!

Czech it out!

Here is a short video about our weekend with Christian college students in the Czech Republic. It is heartening to see this work of God in a country that has become hard to the things of God.

Can I brag on my kids?

Liz shooting up and over the team from Zurich in the championship game.



This past weekend our kids' basketball teams (ICSB: Intl Christian School of Budapest) traveled to Salzburg, Austria to play in a high school basketball tournament with other intl schools from Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Bratislava and Zurich.

Both of our teams won the tournament! Both Liz and Ben were named to the all-tournament team (like last weekend's tournament) and this week it was BEN who was named tournament MVP. Also, Liz gave her testimony at a chapel service at the tournament how a season-ending knee injury last year drove her deeper in her faith. Her testimony led to several great gospel conversations with players and coaches.

Whereas we praise God for who He is and what He has done for us at the cross, we also give Him thanks for His many blessings as well. Here are some pics from the weekend:



Ben shows his MVP-winning form as he powers up against Vienna Christian.



Liz sharing at the chapel service at the tournament.




EB with her two MVP children: Ben awarded his at the Salzburg tournament and Liz at the ICSB tournament.

Basketball and more basketball

This past weekend was the highlight of the school year for our family. It was our kids' school (ICSB: Intl Christian School of Budapest) annual highschool basketball tournament. Schools from Austria, Hungary and Ukraine played in our tournament.

Would you allow a proud father to boast? Liz (Sr.) team won the championship and she took the honors for the tournament offensive player award as well as was rewarded a spot on the all tournament team. Ben (Jr.), for his explosive offensive performance, was also named to the all tournament team.

This video is Ben's highlight video:



This video is Liz's highlight video:



This video is a summary of Liz's championship game:



Thanks for sharing our joy with us!

Support Summit for National Staff: “The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few,” and the number of donors is small.

One part of the summit was to divide up into small groups and discuss different issues regarding the ability of our national staff to raise their funding. In this picture we see evangelical leaders from these countries: Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Albania. “The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few,” and the number of donors is small.

There are European Christians who are trained, motivated and ready to work hard as laborers in Eastern European and Russian harvest fields but don’t have the friends and contacts necessary to raise their support.

And what about the Christian wealth in America of which barely 3% goes to Christian causes? The numbers of Christians are lower and giving percentages are lower still for His church across Eastern Europe and Russia. What do we do? Do we persevere in faith to embrace Christ’s mandate to make disciples of all nations? Or do we consider it a hopeless situation and just let everyone “go back to their nets”?

We believe in a big God. And we believe He is in control. It is HIS mandate to take the gospel to the world; it is not merely our idea. But we are called to be His ambassadors even though we might not fully understand why as a ministry we are currently on this path.

With this as a backdrop 30 missionaries with Campus Crusade across Eastern Europe and Russia gathered here in Budapest for 3 days last week to discuss this problem and brain-storm possible solutions. We asked primarily two questions: “What can we start doing today so that within a generation the Eastern European Church takes ownership of the work of the gospel within her borders?” Also, “How do we help our European missionaries make connections in the USA (where most of the world’s Christian wealth is found) to raise their support?”

Join us in prayer please as we seek answers to these questions. Much of my job description for the next several years will be generated by this conference although this is not a problem that will be solved quickly. Solutions will require BIG changes in the culture on both sides of the Atlantic. But we move ahead faithfully confident in His provision knowing the Lord is more concerned about this than we are.

Please pray that the gospel will go out unhindered across Eastern Europe and Russia. Please pray the Lord will give us faith-filled and new ideas to address these issues. Please pray for the funding for our indigenous missionaries across Eastern Europe and Russia. And pray for our hearts that they will always be His and that we will persevere through trial.



One evening the whole conference came over to our house where EB had dessert and coffee ready for us all! Here Beni from Albania and Eugene from Moldova dig in!

Poland: What a ministry privilege!

Wow! What a great week we had in Poland! While our other 4 kids went to their own conference in Slovakia, we went further north. EB, Quentin, our good friend and Atlantan Brent Harrison and I went to our Polish ministry’s Christmas student conference. It was held in the mountains of southern Poland. It was truly one of the great ministry experiences of my life.

I can still remember Billy Graham speaking on Matthew 9:37 (“the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few”) at a Christmas conference I attended in 1983 as a college student. God used his talk to change the direction of my life. What a privilege to be before a group of Polish students a generation later to communicate the same Biblical truths. Poland is a very conservative, God-fearing country. But personal knowledge of God (John 17:3) is very rare in Poland with less than 1% of the population being evangelical. There are more Jehovah Witnesses than Baptists in Poland.

Over the course of 4 days I spoke 4 times to the main session and helped lead two other seminars. The theme of the week was STEWARDSHIP. I used the Christmas story (Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 2:1-19) and examined different characters to highlight different aspects of stewardship. I was able to dig deep into the Biblical story of Christmas, which is surprisingly unknown among European young people. I did this as I was teaching on four aspects of stewardship: stewardship of God’s gift to us (baby Jesus), relationships (Joseph), money (the Magi) and our very lives (The Great Commission). By week’s end I was emotionally spent but what a great way to pour out yourself!

The talks and seminars generated small group and one on one discussions. Here Brent continues answering questions after our “men only” seminar. EB is counseling a Polish college student who attended our relationship seminar.

The young man in the middle, Raphael, came to Christ at our “American Café” outreach that I participated in a year and a half ago in Krakow. Rafael gave his testimony at this Christmas conference. Another girl also gave her testimony (not pictured here) who came to Christ after my talk on the first night about the meaning of Jesus coming to earth as a baby.

We gave each student at the conference a copy of John Piper’s book, “Don’t Waste Your Life.”

The students expressed their appreciation to us with this gift of a Polish ceramic tray.

The cold Polish countryside.

“Why does a baby born 2000 years ago in a barn to a poor Jewish teenage girl continue to captivate hearts and minds even today?”

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7



EB and I, with the help of a translator, were able to share with a group of Czech students about the real meaning of Christmas.

Thanks for praying for us and encouraging us on our recent trip to the Czech Republic. It was a privilege to be able to share the Christmas story and the gospel to a group of college students who have grown up largely ignorant of the story and message behind the religious symbols.

We were there as guests of an evangelical Czech ministry called KVZ which is run and staffed by Czechs. This ministry is similar to Campus Crusade and has its roots with Campus Crusade but it is separate from our ministry. Even in this statistically atheistic country, God has His people in place who are proclaiming His excellencies. The wonderful KVZ staff were very hospitable to EB and me and they are taking care of the follow-up from our outreach.

I laid out the Christmas story from Matthew chapters 1 and 2 and Luke 2 as if I was telling a story. I was introducing characters, recounting what they said, and what their words and actions meant. It was a perfect lead in to sharing the gospel. “Why does a baby born 2000 years ago in a barn to a poor Jewish teenage girl continue to captivate hearts and minds even today?”

EB was able to share how we as a family observe and celebrate the Christian message of Christmas in our home. It would have been something most every Christian family in America could relate to but it was new and different for most of these Czech students. What made it even more relevant was that EB shared about her own Czech heritage and how her great-grandfather had immigrated to Kansas from a town not far from Brno.

These are some of the Czech students who attended.

When we had a Q & A time, most of the questions were about the genealogy tables found early on in both Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel. It was a very precise and analytical group of students yet they were cordial and friendly audience.

Before we spoke we went out for dinner to an authentic Czech restaurant. I thought I ordered a potato pasta dish yet this is what I got. I recognized cabbage and onions. And on the right was some meat with fur still attached. However, I still ate it. Not sure what it was though.

In the public square of Brno, Czech we visited their Christmas market. Christmas markets are a very popular holiday tradition across Europe. A Christmas market is a series of outdoor little wooden kiosks selling all things related to the holidays, from Christmas ornaments to hot wine.

We found this guy selling flasks that looked like ram’s horns. He looked just like an extra off the set of "Lord of the Rings." He didn’t speak a word of English but he didn’t mind posing for a picture with EB.

Gamblers for the Greatest God

“Are gamblers for gold so many and gamblers for God so few?” CT. Studd, British missionary to Africa in the 1800s at the onset of a gold rush in the Congo.

After the recent presidential elections I was very emotional. I scribbled down a lot of thoughts. Yet I wanted to wait until my emotions subsided before I circulated my observations. Two weeks post-election, here are some thoughts that still remain.

America’s presidential elections put on display to the rest of the world what is right about America. The politics leading up to the election are almost always ugly. But the actual election and transfer of power are an example to the rest of the world. It is a blessed country whose citizens can choose its own leaders. Many Americans stood in line for hours in order to vote. For my wife EB, and our daughter Liz (who turned 18 just two months ago), and me it was both a joy and an obligation to vote, even while living outside of the States. We had to do a lot of communication with our local US embassy and there was a lot of back and forth faxing with the State of Kansas of voter registrations and ballots in order for us to vote. And come January there will be a peaceful transfer of power when Obama takes office, which is something that speaks to the character of America. There will be no seizing of the military or throwing the losing candidate in jail or mass arrests (even executions) of political opponents, as frequently happens in other countries merely trying to put on a façade of democracy.

Several sources I read (for example: www.opensecrets.org) mentioned that $1 billion was raised by the candidates on this campaign! Wow! That is a lot of money for the pursuit of an earthly kingdom! Countless volunteer man hours and prayers went up in the pursuit of our next president. And here is where I want to challenge us, as American Christians, in our thinking.

Are we willing to put out the same kind of investment and effort to advance our heavenly kingdom?

Do you know what $1 billion would do for the cause of the gospel in Eastern Europe? India? China? The Muslim world? Are we willing to knock on doors, forward emails, engage in debate, cry out to God, in order to advance His kingdom? Imagine the pastors that would be trained, the missionaries funded, the evangelism done, the churches planted, the justice achieved, the suffering alleviated. Yet now is a difficult time for the work of missions. Now more of our American missionary friends are back in their home bases raising support than at any time since we moved to Budapest in 2002. And we have learned that some of them will not be coming back due to inability to secure funding. Other non-American missionaries have also given up and gone home, “back to their nets,” so to speak. This should not be so! The cause of missions world-wide is crying out for passionate laborers who come along side our missionaries and mission endeavors with the same zeal by which we promote our favorite candidate.

The Greatest God has given us the Greatest Cause. The Lord commissioned us before He ascended to “be My witnesses…even to the remotest ends of the earth, (Acts 1:8)” and “go and make disciples of all nations, (Matthew 28:18-20).” He “gave to us the ministry of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).” After all, “our citizenship is in heaven” and not of this world (Philippians 3:20).

We will spend $1 billion on a presidential campaign but how much are we willing to invest in the advancement of a far greater, more permanent kingdom: His kingdom? I have a framed article here in my office from World Magazine that says the average Christian gives only 3% of their income back to Christian causes, including their church. (Some well-informed Christians have told me that figure is too generous.) And of the money that is given, less than 3% makes it beyond the borders of the USA. Statistically speaking, the average Christian does more financially to promote Starbucks than Christianity! And a simple Google search will reveal what sort of causes Starbucks is involved in!

Even though the Greatest God gave us the Greatest Cause, each of us must examine our own commitment to that Cause. There are many, many generous Christians out there. My family and others with whom we work could not even consider going to the mission field if it wasn’t for the commitment to missions of the American church. But if we run the stats of the previous paragraph, we learn that of every $1000 a Christian in America receives in a paycheck, less than $1 goes to fund the proclamation of Jesus Christ beyond USA borders. Yet getting the gospel to the remotest ends of the earth is exactly what we are commanded to do; it is the Greatest Cause of the Greatest God! All other earthly pursuits fall short!

The world is crying for a messiah. Yet much of the world has rejected the True Messiah and is projecting many of its messianic hopes onto a mere man. Christians, too, cannot pin their hopes for a Christian kingdom based on who occupies the Oval Office. For example, under Bill Clinton, who was not the choice of most evangelicals, international Christian missions that were rooted financially in the US dollar thrived. Under George Bush those same missions suffered. The value of the US dollar plummeted under Bush creating hyper-inflation for those being paid in dollars while living abroad. Countries that recently had embraced American missionaries suddenly became suspicious of a USA passport. Our hope as Christians cannot be on any one person, political party, currency or country.

This life is only temporal. And the path of this life will be a path of suffering. It will not, should not, be a path of comfort. After all, our heavenly glory is forever while earthly glory is for 4 years. Maybe 8. Christian, seek not a comfortable life rather a Christ-centered life. Take risks. Gamble. But not for an earthly kingdom. But for our Lord. Lets be the gamblers for God that C.T. Studd cried out for. Live as if you know that you have “obtained an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4).” What earthly kingdom or promise can make that same claim? What earthly god is more worthy of our allegiance than the Lord God, who created us, loves us and died for us?

Christian, soon and very soon, we will be at home with our Lord! Glory, unthinkable and unceasing glory, awaits us soon! We will experience glory and be glorified in ways that our finite minds cannot even begin to comprehend (Romans 8:18). And one day, before the throne, there will be one from every tribe, nation and tongue praising our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:9-10) and the Lamb will guide us to the springs of the water of life and He will wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 7:17). What a day of rejoicing that will be! Meet me there. Please.

Serbian student: “I would like everybody to know that God really changes lives and does amazing things.”

This is a picture from the street near the apartment of the team of missionaries we have in Novi Sad. This is Chuki (rhymes with cookie), one of our Serbian national staff. And that is a Yugo there on the left. They are still found in an abundance here in the former Yugoslavia.

If you do indeed read what I have posted over the past few years then you may remember that I have traveled at least once a year to come along side our ministries in either Belgrade or Novi Sad, the two largest cities in Serbia. In years past my work down there was always evangelistic. Yet this trip was different. I went down to teach on the Holy Spirit and what it means to walk with God. Even though there were only 15 gathered in the living room of a small apartment in Novi Sad, it was obvious to me that a corner has been turned. Instead of presenting the gospel to seekers, I was teaching young believers how to grow.

Serbia is a hard country. It is the remnant of the old Yugoslavia and is home to the “politically correct terrorist.” Whenever Hollywood needs a terrorist, they are too afraid to have that terrorist be Muslim or from the Middle East. So usually they choose a terrorist from Serbia. Too bad. The Serbs I know are all hospitable, friendly, great people with a hearty sense of humor who like America.

From left is Thea, ZZ, Cristina and Johanna. Thea’s and ZZ’s testimonies are posted below; please scroll down and read them. One word about Cristina. She is one of our full-time Romanian Campus Crusade staff who has crossed cultural, linguistic and political boundaries to be used by God to share Christ among Serbian students. Christendom needs more heroes like Cristina.

Serbia has a population of over 10 million. But there are only 10,000 born again believers in the country while Muslims number in the hundreds of thousands, mostly across the southern sections. Novi Sad is the principle city in the northern part of Serbia and with three small Bible-preaching fellowships among a population of 200,000, Novi Sad is referred to by the handful of missionaries there as the Bible Belt of Serbia.

You can also see more photos and captions by following this link to my Novi Sad photo album on my facebook page. I’ve also posted the testimonies found below on my facebook site. Please add me as a friend on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=177665&l=9fcfb&id=545260313

Thanks for all you do to keep our family in the mission field in Eastern Europe. There are some HUGE challenges ahead just for the survival of our ministries across Eastern Europe. But thanks to your faithful giving and persevering prayers, our family can be used by God in a small way to advance His kingdom in this part of the world.

This is me with Viktor and Meshu, both Novi Sad students involved in our ministry.

Novi Sad’s city hall is located in the middle of the town square with a very European feel to it.

Oh, I almost forgot… I also spoke recently at our ministry’s Budapest campus meeting. I love our Hungarian staff and EB and I have so many good friends on this team. This is Kálmán and his wife Julci (on the left) plus two of her disciples, Petra and Barbara.

This is me and Laci (“LOTS see”). Laci became a Christian when an American “tourist” in Hungary approached him in 1987, while Hungary was still Communist. The American took the initiative and shared the gospel with him. Today Laci is married with three kids and leads our university ministry in Hungary.

The Serbian students’ stories of faith I found fascinating. I wanted to share two of them with you. Their photos are earlier in this posting. Oh, each story below mentions Speak Up! camp, which is an evangelistic English language camp in Montenegro that EB and I have attended the past two summers.

This is ZZ’s (Aria) testimony.

I had problems with my parents so I was angry with God for giving me parents like that. I didn't want anything to do with God. In 2004 I went to a voluntary work camp in Germany and met my boyfriend who was raised in a Christian family that actually lives Christian life and is tightly involved with the evangelical church. I thought his parents were freaky but they and my boyfriend kept praying for me for like 2 or 3 years. I still didn't want to convert but at least I had heard the gospel and realized that I don't really know what I believe in. Last year I met the students from Campus Crusade at the faculty (university) in Novi Sad and they invited me to Speak Up! camp. I went because I wanted to practice English. I had great discussions with Ramona Acatrinei from Campus Crusade Romania, read “Mere Christianity” and the Book of Revelation and was finally convinced! So the God's loooong knocking finally gave fruit last year."

This is Thea’s testimony…

I heard the Gospel a year and a half ago at the Speak Up! camp, first time in its true shape. Before that, I had believed that God existed and that Jesus walked on Earth like 2000 years ago, but I had no clue what it had to do with me. I learned it at the camp. I honestly experienced God's love there. You might be interested in knowing that your presentation about the Bible was very influential, and that it really made me think. I got a little brochure with some Bible verses and "directions" how to become a Christian. I prayed shortly after the camp.
Then, the group of STINTers (one year mission) came and I connected with a girl name Courtney Cozadd, who is a really amazing woman of God, sometimes it's hard to believe. She started discipling me and I started really progressing in my relationship with God. I joined the Christian Baptist Church here in Novi Sad in October 2007. I got baptized on February 10, 2008 at my church.

I am having an amazing relationship with God through Christ, and I really know what the line "no turning back" means. I know that my life is never going to be the same again. I went from being a bitter, disappointed and confused person to knowing where exactly I am going; God is continually changing me. I have a lot of inner peace, I am becoming more patient and understanding. I really see how God is working in my life daily. It is really amazing...

I would like everybody to know that God really changes lives and does amazing things.