Friday, December 28, 2012

What a Year...

2012 was a big year for the Cady family...

About this time last year we were getting ready to make the big announcement that after 10+ years serving in Hungary, we had been called to serve The Lord somewhere else.

It was in January that we handed over the churches in Eger and Heves, and by March we loaded up everything we owned into a container to be shipped across the sea. By April I was leading White Fields and by May we had bought a house and moved to Longmont.

After a year characterized by transition into this new place of ministry, I'm ready to be settled in and focus on forward progress and Gospel impact here in No. Colorado. We have some ideas...

Please pray for a great harvest of souls here in Longmont and a deep work of God in 2013.

 

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Father's Day Trip to RMNP

This past Sunday was Father's Day - one of the first Father's Days - if not THE first - that I have spent in the US near my dad since I left for Hungary 10 years ago.

We had a great time at church - we had a BBQ and potluck, and the church family spent time together on the lawn in front of our building eating and enjoying fellowship for a long time after church. I love that kind of stuff.

After church I took off with my dad and headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park, which is a relatively short drive from where we live in Longmont. When we were in Utah a few weeks ago we bought a season pass for the national parks and monuments, and being this close to RMNP, I hope to get good use out it.

My dad and I hiked up to Fern Falls, and had a good time together. We both love the Rockies and enjoy being out in God's good creation, which speaks of His glory and majesty and power and beauty.

Here are some pictures:

Moraine Park


Fern Falls


A Columbine - the state flower of Colorado


Hallett Peak (12,713 ft) over Bear Lake (9450 ft)


Bear Lake - the farthest mountain on the left is Mt Meeker, and the one to the right of it is Longs Peak


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Road Trip

We spent last week in Southern California. I attended a pastors conference in Murietta and Rosemary and the kids spent time with family and friends in Carlsbad.

We had a really nice time. On our way home we decided to take a detour through Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. They look really close to I-15 on the map, but they are a bit of a jog off the highway...especially Bryce Canyon.
Usually the trip through Utah is hard because it is so desolate and monotonous. I admit that I've never thought of southern Utah as a beautiful place - BUT I really did enjoy Zion and Bryce Canyon - especially when we got off the road and hiked down into the canyon. Our kids were troopers and had a great time hiking around and getting to see some wildlife up close.

Road trippin':








Kids at Bryce Canyon:




Here are some photos from Zion and Bryce Canyon:

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Moved to Longmont


We have been in Colorado for 2 months now, and on Tuesday we closed on our new house. It's really a crazy feeling for me to own a house. I feel very blessed to be able to buy a house where my wife and kids can feel at home.

We are really enjoying Longmont and the ministry at the church. And it is so nice to actually be living in Longmont now, and not have to drive up and down I-25 every day. If I never see I-25 again it will be too soon...

We are over half-way done moving our stuff in and unpacking, thanks to a lot of help from my parents and some kind people from church. It's beginning to feel like home. The kids were super excited to get all their toys back.

God is good. We feel very blessed.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Stuff Nate Says Lately


* On a rainy day, while driving in the car - "Dad, how do you say fog in French?"
* After watching "The Rescuers" - "Dad, I hope you don't get adult-napped."
* After moving into our house today: "Dad, I like Longmont, but can I visit Eger some day?"

Friday, March 23, 2012

Made It to Colorado


Balázs and I made it to Colorado. We left California on Wednesday after lunch and drove to Las Vegas, where we stayed with my friends Chris and Jeremy. We went down to the strip to show Balázs around...needless to say, he was amazed. We went on the roller coaster at New York New York twice - it was the first time Balázs had ever been on one, and my first time on a roller coaster in over 10 years! We had a blast.

Thursday morning we left Vegas after breakfast and drove straight through to Denver. Everything was really great - no problems with the car, no tickets, no problems. The Lord was gracious to us!

Rosemary and the kids fly in to Denver in a few hours. Our first few weeks here are going to be busy. We need to find a place to live, schools for the kids, immigration stuff for Balázs. Please pray for us!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

I Bought a Mac

I bought a new laptop last week. Balázs will be doing the rest of this semester of school online, so he needed a computer, so I gave him my PC laptop and I got a MacBook Pro.

I kind of felt like a lemming buying a Mac, but I really do like it a lot.

I like the operating system, I love all the touch pad fast gestures, how the email program integrates with the calendar and how I am able to sync everything together.

I also love that my battery lasts 6 hrs on one charge.

I'll say this - a few months ago I got to the point where I hated using my laptop, and rather used my tablet as much as I could, only turning on the laptop when absolutely necessary, about once or twice a week. Using this Mac has made me enjoy using a laptop again.

Disneyland

A few months ago we promised our kids we would take them to Disneyland when we were in California. Thanks to the generosity of some friends and Christian brothers and sisters we were able to make it happen, and we all had a great day.

Here is a video of some pictures from our day there:

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Philistines for Friends

This past weekend we went to visit family friends in Los Angeles and had a really nice time, as we always do. They are more family than friends, and we make sure to see them whenever we are in So. California.

Probably as a result of living in Hungary and being aware that different people speak different languages, Nate often asks me what language different people speak in - including Darth Vader and R2D2.

Here's the conversation we had this morning:
Nate: "What language does Auntie Lola speak?"
Me: "She speaks English and Tagalog."
Nate: "What's Tagalog?"
Me: "It's the language of the Philippines."
Nate - with big eyes: "The PHILISTINES?"

Nate has taken in his fair share of Vegitales videos and Bible stories, so as he said this, it was as if I could see exactly what was going through his mind: "Auntie Lola and her family are Philistines?! The Philistines are the ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD!!!"

So I quickly tried to explain to him that they are not Philistines, they are from the Philippines - but since he doesn't know what the Philippines are, I'm not sure it helped much.

Later on Nate was talking to cousin Jack -
Nate: "Who is that on your shirt?
Jack: "It's Darth Vader"
Nate: "Wow! I have Darth Mal on my underwear! Look!" (starts taking off pants...)
Us: "Nate! Don't take off your pants in public!"

Maybe having such exciting underwear isn't such a good idea... It's hard to have Darth Mal on your underpants and not be able so show anyone!



Monday, March 19, 2012

Our First Week Back in the States

We've been back in the US for over one week now. Before we head on to Colorado and get into ministry there, we are spending some time in San Diego with family and people who have supported us over the years in Hungary.

Our flight back to the US went really well. The kids were really well behaved on the long flight from Frankfurt to London, and took good naps. When the kids are well behaved, it makes the whole experience better.
We had a 5 and 1/2 hour layover in San Francisco, which was very long - but it turns out we needed the time, because we accidentally lost Balázs' passport… We got it back, but it took a long time to find out exactly who had it, because it had been passed around from the airport employees to the police, to United…

On Saturday we went with Rosemary's brother Tony to see the USS Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego, and on the way our car started to overheat. Long story short - the radiator cracked and needs to be replaced. In all actuality, it couldn't have happened at a better time or in a better place. We have friends here in the car business who are going to get the car taken care of for free - not to mention how much worse it could have been if the radiator had gone out later this month in the middle of the desert or in the mountains while driving out to Colorado.

But while I took the car back to Vista, the kids and Rosemary and Tony all went down to San Diego and checked out the aircraft carrier.

On Sunday we were at Calvary Chapel in Vista, where Pastor Rob prayed for us at both services and we got to connect with people from the church. After church we had some people over who have been supporters of ours for years, and Rosemary made Hungarian food for them and we talked and hung out.
We really are thankful for all the support we have gotten from Calvary Vista over the years. This is a church that is really missions minded, both internationally and locally, not to mention a very loving body of people.

This past weekend we went to LA. We went to church at Reality LA and on our way back were able to make a short but blessed visit to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, where we joined the missions prayer meeting, a great group of people committed to praying for missionaries week in and week out. They have prayed for our needs and requests for many years, and we are so thankful for their support and impressed with their hearts for the mission of God and for prayer.

On Wednesday Balázs and I will be driving out to Colorado, with Rosemary and the kids coming by plane on Friday. Please pray for our travel and our transition to Longmont!










Slavery to Our Tools

Check out this presentation about the hold that technology can have on us.

There is a lot to take note of in what she has to say - lest we become slaves to our tools.

My favorite quote: "we used to share what we think, now we think so that we can share."

Check it out:

Only In Hollywood

Nate's latest interest is Star Wars, ever since he saw Darth Vader sword fighting with some Jedi masters at Disneyland. So he was excited to take meet Darth Vader on Hollywood Blvd.

Nate saw Elmo from the car window and shouted hello to him - so Elmo came over to say hi.
There is perhaps nothing more disenchanting than seeing Elmo standing on the side of the road counting his wad of cash!



Simply Christian

I am currently studying the Reformation in my seminary studies, and the other day I read this quote from Martin Luther:

"I ask that men make no reference to my name; let them call themselves Christians, not Lutherans. What is Luther? After all the teaching is not mine [John 7: 16]. Neither was I crucified for anyone [1 Corinthians 1: 13]. St Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, would not allow the Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I – poor stinking maggot-fodder that I am – come to have men call the children of Christ by my wretched name? Not so, my dear friends; let us abolish all party names and call ourselves Christians, after him whose teaching we hold." (LW 45: 70–1)

Amen to that Dr. Luther.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Golgota Eger Video

The church in Eger made this video for us, and played it after church our last Sunday in Eger. It is made up of pictures from the almost 7 years that we lived in Eger. Check it out:

Az egri gyüli készítette ezt a videót, és lejátszották gyüli után az Istentisztelet után amikor elbúcsúztunk tőlük. Fényképekből áll, amik az elmúlt 7 év alatt készültek.

Golgota Eger from Nick Cady on Vimeo.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Ending Where We Started

Monday night as we packed our bags to fly out early Tuesday mornin and leave our beloved Eger, we ate dinner with the Poczok family - a family who attend our church and live very close to where we did.

It was a very fitting way to end our time in Eger, because it was at there house that we started out when we first started coming to Eger.

Before we moved to Eger, for about a year or so, we took te train up from Debrecen to meet with some people and hold Bible studies. But since we weren't yet married at the time, Rosemary and I had to find separate places to sleep. I always used to sleep at the house of a family from the Baptist church and Rosemary would stay with the Poczok family.

Their daughter Judit was the first person in the church in Eger, and we spent a lot of time with their family over the years. Kati néni was always ready to help us no matter what we needed. She cooked for us, she watched our kids and played with them, and generally just loved us, and we loved her.

Sitting in their house 8 years after we first started coming to Eger, on our last night in Hungary was surreal, but a very fitting end to a very blessed era of our lives.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Búcsú Üzenet

Üdv Amerikából!

Hétfőn, mielőtt elindultunk, lehetőségem volt az áhítatot tartani az Irányjelző (határontúl: Pestindex) című műsorban a Golgota Rádión.

A Németh Laci arra kért, hogy egy búcsú üzenetet mondjam a magyar keresztényeknek mint egy leköszönő misszionárius és lelkipásztor aki 10 évig szolgált Magyarországon.

Ez az az üzenet:

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Theological Statements by Nate

Looking up at the sky the other night, Nate tells me:

"The moon is in the sky. That means that all the people in heaven are sleeping."

"God is so big, so he always has to sleep outside."

For Sale: Dobó István Laktanya

Do you happen to be in the market for a used Hungarian army base? Because there is one for sale in Eger.



Eger used to have a pretty large military community. When we moved to Eger in 2005 the army base was functioning and full of soldiers, and since we lived near to it, we often got to watch the army marching band march and play on our street right in front of our house. We loved it so much. Even a member of our church here was a soldier stationed at this base.

But times change. Hungary has no need for a large army, which is a good thing, and the military has been cut back in the national budget.

But seeing a military base with a for sale sign on it is a strange sight nonetheless.

Friday, March 02, 2012

Moving Day

Today was moving day!

Early this morning we started the day with packing up some of the kids toys which they didn't want to be put into the container, then I took Nate to óvoda, and by the time I got back home the movers were here.

The truck in front of our house in Eger - ours is the top floor.

Isaac was a big help today. While we ran around and packed he played "dolly house" for hours with Felicia :)




Nate had a great time with the movers. He followed them around talking to them in Hungarian, trying to help them as much as he could. It was cute. He loves tools and big projects.
He is sad about leaving and doesn't like saying farewell, but he is excited about going to Colorado.


We still have a few days left here in Eger, but without any furniture or dishes we are having fun camping out in our empty apartment.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Packing Our Bags

Tomorrow is moving day!

We weighed our options and decided to go with an international relocation service that some friends of ours used when they moved back to the States from Debrecen. It's not cheap, but since we don't plan on moving continents again for a long while, we decided that it is worth it. The kids get to keep all of their toys and even their furniture, which we trust will make the transition easier on them and give them a sense of continuity in their lives.
And one of the biggest benefits is that we don't have to pack ANYTHING except what we take with us on the plane - in fact, we are not even ALLOWED to pack anything because the customs require details lists, and the company told us we are not allowed to pack any of our own stuff - we have to let them do it all. We can watch. We are totally ok with that :)
People keep asking us how the packing is going, and the truth is that it is not - we have just been living life as usual except for selling a few things. It has taken a huge stress off of the move and made it possible for us to just focus on our family and the church here.

Today we told the kids to pack their carry on luggage for the plane. Here are some pictures and a video:


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A Word of Advice for Missionaries

This past Friday I was invited to give a lecture at the Eszterházy Károly Főiskola - the local college here in Eger - on the topic of how I, as a foreigner, see Hungary, Hungarians and Hungarian culture.

It was a really great experience; the lecture went well, and the reaction I got from the students was a pleasant surprise. I got to tell them about the Lord quite a bit and tell them why I came to Hungary: because, above all, I believe that the ultimate need of the Hungarian people is that they would be born again and come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. After I said this, 3 people thanked me out loud for coming to Hungary and serving them and their nation. All I could do was give glory to God.

There were 100 or more people who attended the lecture, some of whom I had met before at the college and in town. One woman said that she has multiple friends who attend our church, and that she thinks very highly of us.

Another comment I got at the end of the lecture was from an older woman who thanked me with tears in her eyes, and said that she had never heard a foreigner say so many positive things about Hungary.
Actually, not everything I said in the lecture about Hungary was positive, but I made sure to make it balanced and make my critiques respectfully.

One thing I have learned over the 10 years that I have been here - and something I would say as advice for anyone who wants to be a missionary in another country is this: If you often talk negatively about the culture or the country you are serving in, you are shooting yourself in the foot (magad alatt vágod a fát). If you are always deriding the culture or the country you are serving in, you will limit yourself from being heard. If you offend people by sharing your opinions about their home country without discretion, you will end up alienated and alone - with other ex-patriots as your main companions.

I have seen this happen before. Someone comes from abroad, assuming that the way things are done in their country is the right way - and when they encounter something different in the foreign culture they automatically judge it as inferior to the way things work where they are from.
If it would stop there it might not be such a big problem - but when they start talking about it, even if they don't realize it, they wind up offending local people - who understandably think to themselves (and often say amongst themselves): "We didn't ask you to come here. YOU chose to come here. If you don't like it, no one is making you stay. Go ahead and leave!"

The thing in Hungary - and I'm sure it is true elsewhere - is that Hungarian people themselves say a lot of negative things about their own culture and nation; but foreigners should understand that this doesn't mean that they too are entitled to criticize the country and its culture. Kind of like in a family - I can say whatever negative things I want about my family, because they are MY family - but YOU better not say anything bad about them, or else!

And for someone who comes to serve as a missionary, this should be emphasized all the more. Because our calling is to become all things to all people, so that some might be saved (1.Cor 9:19-23)

I know that I made this mistake at times during my time in Hungary - and that is all the more reason why I think this is advice that people who feel called to foreign missions need to hear: if you are not careful to use discretion in what you say about their nation or culture, you will offend people and you will limit yourself from being heard when it comes to talking about the Gospel.

Missionaries should be people who cross cultures for the sake of the Gospel and engage cultures with the Gospel. Culture is central to what we do. We should be sensitive to the people we go to serve - becoming all things to all people, so that by all means possible some might be saved.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Counting Down our Days in Eger

As of today, we have one more week here in Eger before we fly out.

Things are never going to be the same :)

We have loved living in Eger. It is a great place to live, and God has blessed us so much here.

This past weekend we had a very nice visit from Németh Laci and his family from Budapest. Laci is the pastor of the Calvary Chapel in South Budapest (Golgota Dél-Pest).

We went to the Eger Castle with them - one of Nate's favorite places. They even have a playground up on top.

I remember going up to this castle back in 2003 with my pastor to pray over the city of Eger, as we sought God's will about planting a church in the city.

When we first moved to Eger we spent a lot of time at the castle, but for the last few years we haven't gone there very often.
I guess its pretty easy to take it for granted that there is a thousand year old castle in the center of town when you see it every day for 7 years :)

There are no Rocky Mountains in Hungary - and there are no medieval castles in Colorado. C'est la vie :)

Here are some pictures:




Thursday, February 23, 2012

Saying Goodbye

These past few weeks since we announced that we are leaving Hungary and moving to Colorado have been filled with a lot of emotional goodbyes. Even people we don't meet with that often, saying goodbye is hard, because we have memories with them, and we don't know when we will meet again.

The first big goodbyes were in Debrecen, where they had a going away party for us. We really love those people, and even though we left Debrecen 7 years ago, we have been able to keep in touch and visit pretty often.
The Calvary Chapel in Debrecen is a blessed ministry that is really characterized by good fruit. If you look at the fruit of that ministry you can see that truly the Spirit of God is at work there, drawing people to Jesus and building them up in their most holy faith. As I told the church there - I came to Debrecen as a kid, and left as a pastor :).

This past weekend we went to Baja to see our friends Csicsó and Detti. Csicsó pastors the Calvary Chapel in Baja and has a great heart for the people. It was good to see good fruit coming out of that fellowship as well. I got to preach there on Thursday night - which very well might be the last time for me preaching in Hungarian for some time... I really enjoy preaching in the rich Hungarian language, and it is something I will miss.

On Saturday, when we got back from Baja, we said goodbye to our dear friend Judit - the first person who got saved through our ministry in Eger. She was the first person in the church, and God used her gift of evangelism to bring many others as well. Her whole family has been in our church, and we are going to miss them a lot. Judit has been living in England for the last few years, but she came home in part to say goodbye to us.

Yesterday we went up to Budapest to say goodbye to some friends there. We said goodbye to our dear friend Ocean, whom we've known since our time in Debrecen. He used to live in the church building there and even supported us financially from his meager salary to travel up to Eger when we started the Bible studies here in 2004.
We then went to the Budapest Calvary Chapel, and Pastor Phil prayed for us at both services. It is great to be a part of the work that God is doing through Calvary Chapel in Hungary, and we hope to continue to be involved in it in some capacity even from the States.

We still have a few more goodbyes to say before we go. They are not easy, but we are thankful that God has given us so many close friendships and such deep fellowship with people here.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Religious Toleration

From Timothy Keller:

Theological tolerance of all religions is absolutely impossible for anybody.

If you say: "You mustn't try to convert people to your religion," as if your religion is superior, what you are really saying is: "I want you to abandon your inferior view of religious truth and take my superior view".

You are essentially saying that your view of religious truth (that all religious truths are relative) is superior to my view of religious truth (that some religious truths are absolute).

You are doing the very thing you say that I shouldn't do.

Everyone has faith commitments. Believing that someone else's faith is wrong is itself a faith commitment.

You are saying - "My view of religion is superior to your view of religion".

Therefore, to say that all religions are relative is a faith commitment - that is a religion, and it is now vying with the other ones, AND is vying for superiority.

To say that you can't judge between religions is to judge between religions. To say that you can't determine between right and wrong beliefs is to determine right and wrong beliefs.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Farsang 2012 - Updated

Farsang is the Hungarian version of Carnival or Mardi Gras, and for kids it is a great time of dressing up and having a party - kind of like Halloween in America, just without all the candy and threatening neighbors that you will play a trick on them if they don't give you a treat.

Nate loves Farsang, and last year he had a great time at his óvoda performance. This year parents were not invited, but the kids still had a party at school.

Nate dressed up as Lightning McQueen, and Rosemary did a great job fixing him up with some face paint.




Lightning McQueen

Here are some pictures the teachers took at óvoda - they had a full Hungarian folk band!