Time Changed

Our clocks went back an hour last night. While the extra hour of sleep was welcomed, we hate what it means. Now the daylight shrinks rapidly. Soon it will disappear between 4 & 5PM only to peek out again between 7 & 8AM. With the usual cloud cover that accompanies the drab winters here, we'll be lucky if we actually see the sun before March. We are counting the days until we turn the clock back to daylight savings time and can't wait until Dec 21st - winter solstice - when the daylight once again begins to grow longer....

More to Come....

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories about First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC's short term personnel trip to the Gandhi High School in Pecs. I am waiting to receive more pictures from the team members. We mixed things up this year with new activites and it was a huge success!

B-I-N-G-O!!

On Tuesday night after a service of singing and testimony by a young Roma woman we headed to the cafeteria at Gandhi for Bingo! It was all fun and games until the first Bingo was called out. Once the students saw the prizes were envelopes with a bit of cash everyone got quiet and serious! It was a fun evening with all of us huddled over our cards and piles of white bean markers. BINGO!!

Talent Winner

The young man on the left was the winner of the Gandhi Gymnazium Talent Show held October 11 and sponsored by FBC, Greenville, SC. Posed here with Glen Adkins, CBF Field Personnel. This guy did a fantastic imitation of Michael Jackson's Thriller routine. We were all moving our groove things!

God Smiles

Their place of worship is a concrete room added on to a layleader's home. Even though it is not decorated with carpet, stained glass windows, or fancy pews it is a welcomed place of refuge for the Roma of Berencs. It is a place where they can forget the worries of the world and come together to sing praises to the one true God that loves them and values them as His children. This day as we made our way to the tiny house in the rundown Roma section of town, God smiled. He gave us a sign through this beautiful rainbow appearing to end at the very house of the Roma mission. Ralph explained our American folk story about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. He added that in Hungary God showed us it was true because at the end of this rainbow was the Berencs Roma congregation - rich in faith, love, and praise for their God.

Just a Day in the Life....

Even Global Service Corps personnel get tired! Glen Adkins, along with his wife, Clista, our newest field personnel, is an accomplished musician. This day sitting in the sun waiting to lead a group before the Roma mission, well... it was just too cozy....

Visit from Virginia Baptists

A group representing the Virginia Baptist Mission Board (VBMV) of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) attended the European Baptist Federation's Council meeting held in Budapest September 26-29th. After the meeting we had the privilege of introducing them to some of the Roma (Gypsy) ministries of CBF here in Hungary and a hopeful project in the Ukraine. Virginia has been a partner of ours for a long time and we were glad to travel with them to northeast Hungary.

We attended worship services in the villages of Berencs and Ilk. At each of these locations the Virginians spoke a word of encouragement to the group. When missions pastor, Steve Blanchard spoke of his beautiful daughter from China, the Roma were moved to tears and one Roma leader rose to challenge each of them to love others who may be different. This challenge went out to a group of people who are discriminated against daily because they are different.

Becky McKinney, Virginia's Women's Missionary Union (WMU) president, encouraged the women to listen to what God may be saying to them. She challenged them to follow Him and be examples to their families and communities. In Roma society women are often over-looked and these words were greatly appreciated.

On Saturday the group joined, Bela, a representative of Hungarian Baptist Aid, a world renowned organization for their disaster response ministries, to journey to the Ukraine. Here they toured a huge building (see former post on Ukraine) that has the promise of being a Roma ministry center. The dream is for the building to host a church, kindergarten, medical office, and hygiene center (place for the local Roma to bathe and wash their clothes). There is a great deal of renovation needed to see this dream come true.

We had a good time with the team before putting them on the overnight train to Bucharest. While there they toured the Ruth School and heard about the ministries of Project Ruth.

We are grateful to Virginia Baptists and all they do to assist us and others in spreading the Good News of Christ to the unreached of the world. Thank you!

In the group: Jerry Jones, Team Leader, Glocal Missions and Evangelism Team, VBMB of BGAV; Becky McKinney, Virginia Women's Missionary Union President; Steve Blanchard, Minister of Missions, First Baptist Church, Richmond, VA; John Eure, Pastor, Ash Avenue Baptist Church, South Boston, VA

VA WMU President Speaking to Roma Church

A group representing Virginia Baptists traveled to Budapest for the European Baptist Federation Meeting the last weekend of September. (See other posts) I (Tammy) was pleased to spend time with Becky McKinney, VA's WMU president. If you have ever heard my story you know that WMU and its mission programs played a big role in my faith journey. It served as a reminder to me of how important it is that we teach our children about missions and how we all have a responsibility to share God's love with the unreached.

CBF Moderator Visits Hungary

The European Baptist Federation held a council meeting in Budapest the last weekend in September. CBF was represented by several people, including Harriet Harrel, our current national moderator from Texas. After the meetings, Harriet and I (Tammy) had a day of play in Budapest. We visited a few sights and shopped. Of course we also managed to sample some good food and enjoy an outdoor cafe. Fall in Budapest is lovely - ya'll come and find out!

picture - Harriet in front of the St Stephan statue at the Church in the Cave of Gellert Hill

Gypsy Smith School - September Session

A regular session of the Gypsy Smith School for training Roma leaders in Romania was held September 17-21 with Greg Barr, South Carolina, and Charles Qualls, from Georgia teaching. This is a picture of the group that attended. One leader was recognized in a graduation ceremony. The group was smaller than usual because in the fall the men are able to find seasonal work as day laborers. It was a good experience for all and the men learned about prayer (led by Charles) and Matthew (led by Greg).

During the session on prayer, the men would often break out into spontaneous prayer as they discussed the Psalms. When asked about prayer for difficult situations or when you simply did not know how to pray, the men learned the prayer that never fails, "Thy will be done".

Jack Snell, 1941-2007

The entire Cooperative Baptist Fellowship family mourns the passing of Jack Snell while celebrating his life's work as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are grateful for his faithful service, humble leadership and unparalleled commitment to being the presence of Christ. For details about funeral arrangements, visit www.thefellowship.info/Landing/JackSnell.icm

Dear Friends and Supporters;
Jack Snell was Director of Field Ministries with CBF and one of our supervisors. He was an example of faith to all who knew him. We mourn his passing. Please pray for comfort and peace for his family.

Tammy & Ralph