Author: LS

That’s right!  That second one is here!  The first Live with Luke for 2015 had a record number of viewers…it makes me think that my natural beauty wasn’t selling the others well enough and I needed a more beautiful star to up the audience.  Well, here is the follow up to the smash seller 🙂

That’s right!!  We haven’t decided what award it won yet…but that always seems to help marketing…

Check it out either here or under the Live with Luke tab!  As always, feel free to forward, share, and shamelessly plug anything on this site!  The very first Prayer Letter should be along soon too 🙂

The camera has struck again!  New pictures are up…including some of the engagement photos 🙂

The latest Theological Paper has also made it to the wonderful world of web!  Check both of these out using the tabs above!  And Merry Late Christmas!!!

And December has arrived!  Yes, the Christmas rush makes it hard to sit down, I understand…I am having the same trouble.  But I think these few minutes will be worth it!

Grab the popcorn, grab the kids…no need to grab the remote…sit back, relax, and enjoy!  Fun, clean, family entertainment!

Cultures have different values and different ways of seeing the world.  I am often reminded of that fact.  American and Hungarian cultures share many similarities…but they also have some crucial differences.  And, as with many things, the differences can make or break friendships…often times without either side knowing that what rubbed them wrong was a simple cultural misunderstanding.

Let me give you an example:

The other day I was Facebook messaging with a student.  As you may have observed, for many young people, a “conversation” on Facebook is no different than a real life conversation.  He had asked me what I was doing and I mentioned that I had a guest staying with me…a former SpeakOut student who had been in my tutor group.  This was one student that God gave me the privilege of following up and I had the joy of watching God slowly transform his life.  It has truly been amazing to watch!  Anyway, back to the conversation…so I mentioned that Mike (the former SpeakOut student) was staying with me.  Marci (the Facebook conversation student) mentioned how cool it was that Mike was staying with me.  Then he said something that caught my attention.  He said, “My tutor doesn’t want to talk to me anymore”.

Curious, I asked him why he thought that was the case.  He told me that his tutor has never responded to any of his Facebook messages.  Instantly I saw the problem.  I had to explain to Marci, that often times Americans say things – many times with the full intention of following through – which they never actually do.  For example, “Let’s grab coffee sometime”, “We will continue this conversation soon”, “Yeah, I will write to you!”.  Of course at the moment we plan to actually do or meet or write again with the other person.  However, life gets busy and it just slips our mind.  And in our culture, we all understand and know that such statements are not really commitments on our parts.  They are polite ways to finish a conversation.  We don’t actually expect the other person to follow through with it either.

However, when you live in a culture where people value honesty and clarity, things tend to be taken at face value.  Hence, when an American says they will write and then they don’t answer any of your messages on Facebook, that is translated and perceived as not wanting to talk or not wanting to be friends or not liking you anymore or…. (fill in the blank).  Sometimes, it can eventually even be something that becomes associated or connected with the message that the tutor shared and mentally becomes a representation of Christianity.

Fortunately, in this case I was able to explain this cultural difference to Marci and he has been involved in our ministry ever since the summer so for him, it did not turn him off from Christianity of Cru.  However, I do know of some unfortunate cases where it has not turned out so well.

Just another reminder of how easily we forget the cultural differences we have and what a tremendous difference they can make…even in our witness!

I have learned that usually reading something about Hungary in international papers is generally not a good sign…especially since most countries pay little attention to what happens outside of their borders.  However, I thought I would share this article with you to give you a brief picture of recent political events in Hungary.  Of course, this is written, as all articles are, from a particular viewpoint that does contain basis…but it also does seem to correspond to a lot of my personal observations.  Perhaps it will also give you a better picture of current life in Hungary 🙂

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/29/budapest-viktor-orban-democracy-edge-hungary

That is right!  The long awaited video has arrived!  I am trying a new video service that is still free but seems like it might have better options then the other one I used…so I might be making the total switch soon…I will see how the first test run goes 🙂

Ever thought about doing a mission project?  Why not come over and join us for a week?  I can guarantee that it will be life changing!  Just take a few minutes to hear from those who came this past week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zunb3dvqgJw&feature=youtu.be