Author: LS

The long awaited, oscar award winning (or at least should be :)) video of the year is here!  Check it out!  There is some special suspense in this one in the middle as the tram arrives halfway through filming!

http://lukeys87.wistia.com/projects/yxntctdone

Well I made it into the paper…fortunately for all good reasons 🙂  While in Debrecen, after the Friday night outreach, one of the students asked to interview me.  She wanted to write a report on cultural differences, different teaching methods, and what brought me to Hungary.  It was really cool to see that her article occupied about half a page in one of the local papers.  I thought I would give you a glimpse of how it turned out 🙂

The title reads: Faith and Love Connects Cultures

Working with Cru, I have the unique job position of getting to raise my own salary.  While this can be a daunting (and stressful) task, I have come to be really amazed and to stand in awe of the way that God provides.  As you might know, this winter I have been raising support specifically for ministry in the countryside.  I wanted to take a second to share with you what God has done, so you too can stand amazed!

I was praying and trusting God for a goal of $6,000 in one time support to kick-off this budget (which up until now has not existed).  Through you, God has been pleased to provide: $7,975!  That is INCREDIBLE!!  Not only did God meet the prayer goal, but He graciously exceeded it in an amazing fashion!  That is such a blessing and meets a huge need!  Won’t you take a second now to join me in thanking and praising God?

Perhaps you are wondering, what in the world is a countryside budget and what will it be used for?  Well, every ministry has a ministry budget which is also raised (usually by the team leader or other staff) in order to offset ministry costs.  The countryside ministry is still new and emerging (and I am currently the only staff in this role in Hungary), so up until now, this budget did not exist.  Our other budgets were not enough to take on new, additional items, so it became necessary to raise this in order to continue doing ministry in the countryside.

What are some things that this money will go towards?  Well, from having just returned from a trip to Debrecen (stay tuned for more on that later), I can name a few:

• Renting a room for the Friday night outreach
• Motel accommodations for my stay (Hungary has these sweet places called Panzios that are similar to a motel, pretty nice, and usually very cheap)
• Food for me
• Snacks/food for the outreach night
• Gas to and from
• Printing materials (advertisement flyers, comment cards for the outreach, etc.)

Those are just a few concrete expenses.  In addition, we would love to be able to connect with these students more…that means either I have to make more trips out to them or find ways to make it possible for them to make trips to me.  Both of those would be covered by this budget.  Also, I think it would be really cool to eventually host a retreat type event where I could gather students from the cities I have been to, spend dedicated time getting to know them, and prayerfully help them grow in their faith all within a few days.  Finally, this would also allow for scholarships to support students who would like to come to our spring and fall retreats, but financially cannot afford to do so.

As you can see, this all adds up fast…and with 6 major cities on the docket, there was a HUGE need for this budget!  Praise God for abundantly raising it!!

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21

From Budapest, Hungary – Have a very blessed Christmas!

Sometimes unplanned and unexpected pieces of joy fall into place!  This past week I had the opportunity to drive to Switzerland to visit with my parents and youngest brother.  The trip was literally planned a couple of days in advance and I was so very grateful that God opened all the necessary doors to allow it to happen!  It was a fantastic time to visit with some of my family and to catch up in person!  It was especially awesome to see my parents after 6 months and my brother after a year absence!  And to put the icing on the cake, God surrounded us with some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable!  But, for me, that was just an added bonus to spending time with family!

I hope and trust that you will get to do the same this holiday season!  What a privilege to have times to reconnect with those we love most!

Recently a colleague of mine sent around this graph posted.  I do not know the original source, so I cannot vouch 100% for its accuracy.  But I can say that it does seem to represent the trend I have noticed and felt living here in post-Christian Europe. It is a bit hard to see…sorry for the poor quality.  Here is what it says in the box: Percentage who know a “True Follower of Jesus Christ”. The columns are (from left to right): Global, Africa, South America, Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe.

So that sent me on a bit of a research drive to see if I could find some more concrete evidence for the current spiritual situation of each continent.  What I found was consistent with the graph…and was sad to see.  We hear so much about the 10/40 window, Asia, and the unreached people groups (as we well should!!), but sadly Europe is often overlooked.  While I am all for and very convinced of the need to reach the unreached, I fear that Europe is rapidly becoming unreached in our current missions emphasis.  Just some food for thought during the day!  Thank you for taking time to care about and seek to reach out to Europe!  Please join me in praying for this continent!!

The following statistics come from Operation World and are from 2010.  The percentages for people claiming to be Christian are far different.  However, based on the way Operation World defines “evangelical”, that percentage is of more interest since it is likely far closer to the actual percentage of true followers of Christ.  You can find more information on their website at: www.operationworld.org

Percentage, by continent (or large land mass), of those claiming to be Evangelical Christians:

1. North America: 26.8%
2. Pacific: 17.8%
3. Africa: 17.7%
4. Latin America: 16.7%
5. Caribbean: 14.3%
6. Asia (including the 10/40 window and the Middle East): 3.5%
7. Europe: 2.5%

It is official!  I am now a car owner for the first time ever!!  My first car finally made it into the dealership and I have had the joys of getting to pick it up…and take it for a spin 🙂  I am so thankful for it, especially with all of the countryside ministry I am doing and will be doing.  It allows me to better minister and opens doors of opportunities that were not there before!  Thank you so much for your support which allowed me to purchase this vehicle!  I would love to take your for a ride anytime!  So drop on by and I will show you the city!

The latest in the prayer letter editions!  I hope you enjoy reading and are blown away by what God is doing here!  Please also share this with your friends!

Prayer Letter 42 (November)