Lost in Translation

As seen in one of our favorite Hungarian restaurants...

Old Friends - The Revesz Family

If you have followed our ministry in Hungary since our early days the name Tamas Revesz may ring a bell. He was the young man in need of an internship for the seminary degree he was working on and we were in need of a leadership partner for the Pocsaj Roma mission. Tamas came into our lives while we lived in Derecske. Though he had his own apartment, he ate many meals with us and stayed overnight at our house many nights. Tamas was one of us. He was dating Orsi at the time and they married during our last year on the Great Plains. Tamas was very instrumental in the ministry in Pocsaj. He loved the people there and did what he could to teach and help them.

Time marches on... We moved to Budapest, as did Tamas & Orsi. They started their family and relocated to Debrecen. Our kids grew up and left home. We lost track of Tamas & Orsi. We heard they were living in a little village outside of Debrecen called Mikepercs. On a trip to eastern Hungary recently we decided to look them up. It was a great time of meeting their 3 kids (with #4 to arrive in Feb) and catching up. They enjoyed seeing pictures of Amy and Josh - saying Amy looks like the same sweet girl they remembered but Josh is a man! We all laughed. (Josh was 8 last time they saw him). They are very active in a church in Debrecen they helped to plant. It is growing and thriving. Ministry is still a large part of their lives while Orsi takes care of the family and Tamas works at Metro (a large warehouse-type store).

We are thankful for partners on this journey, old and new, that God brings across our path.

Healthy Mind, Body, and Soul

CBF realized early in its time the importance of keeping its field personnel healthy emotionally, physically, and spiritually. From those thoughts came the CBF member care program. Volunteer counselors are assigned to each field personnel to assist them in their journey of good health. There are also volunteer doctors, pastors, dietitians, and various others who help.

The Gypsy team is blessed to have Judy and Rick Landon as our member care providers. They do an excellent job of keeping up with us and our various ministries. They are always willing to listen and give counsel with encouragement when needed. Through CBF's guidance, the Landons visit our homes yearly or as funds permit, to see in person how we are doing. Recently Judy and Rick made a swing through central and eastern Europe. It was fun to have them since they have been friends of ours for several years. We talked about many subjects, ate some good Hungarian food, and in the picture provided you can see Rick speaking at one of our Hungarian Gypsy churches.

Thank you Rick and Judy for volunteering to be on our team and being our friends. Thank you CBF for being proactive in caring for our health.

292 Delegates, 42 Christian Schools, 18 Countries...

I, Tammy, was privileged to serve as the nurse at the 10th annual Student Leadership Conference sponsored by the Association of Christian Schools International. It was 3 days of an amazing mix of cultures as the students broke into discussion groups, attended workshops, participated in worship - all to formulate ideas and action plans on how to be Godly leaders at the their schools. They were encouraged to "Be Strong and Courageous!" (Joshua 1:9).

The conference was held at a former Communist youth camp in the hilly area of Budapest. Though the camp is definitely showing its age, the area is beautiful with walking trails and woods. We were prepared for out breaks of H1N1 flu but only dealt with sore throats, headaches, and the occasional bee sting. The last evening a young lady had an asthmatic attack that required an ambulance. I was very impressed with their professionalism and quick response as they treated her on the spot without a trip to the hospital. Thank you for praying for the conference. No major injuries, lots of new friendships, and much inspiration for the students to go back to their schools with plans to share their passion for Jesus. And I learned all the different places a teenager can display a name tag! :)