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!

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.






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

Ballet at the Opera House

As we are getting closer to the day when we will leave Hungary, we have a list of things to do before we leave.

For years I have been promising to take Rosemary to a ballet. Realizing that time is running out, and also because Rosemary's birthday is on Thursday, I finally took her to the ballet last night in Budapest.

The national ballet performs in the Hungarian State Opera House - a building that I have always wanted to see.
It was a great experience. Here are some pictures:

Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov
Originally uploaded by nickandrosemary

I took this photo in Český Krumlov, Czech Republic quite a few years ago. I always thought it was a good photo and it was even my desktop background for some time, but it never got many views on Flickr - until a couple days ago when someone put it up on their Tumblr.
Since then it has been viewed a lot and been favourited by some. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is viral, but it is cool to see how fast things can spread on the web.

Farewell Dear Dacia

In June 2010 we bought our first new car - a 7 seater Dacia Logan MCV.

Today we said goodbye to our dear car, which we loved very much. It really was a great car. We had hoped to take it with us to the US, but it would have been too complicated.

The car sold very quickly - within only a few days of us putting it up online, and amazingly, we actually got more for it than we had hoped :) God is good, and he keeps using things like this to confirm that our move to Colorado really is His leading.

Farewell Dear Dacia! You will be missed.

Little Angel

Little Angel
Originally uploaded by nickandrosemary
Little Angel

Big Day

Yesterday was a pretty significant day in my life for 3 reasons:

On JANUARY 22, 2002 I arrived in Hungary on a train from Germany with the plan that I would stay here for 8 or 9 months. The Lord had other plans, he just wanted to get me here first before showing me what those plans were :-)

On JANUARY 22, 2010 our daughter Felicia was born. She was severely asphyxiated at birth and had to be removed with an emergency c-section. The doctors determined that she had suffered brain damage, and told us to pray for a miracle, because that is what it would take for this little girl to get better, but they told us not to expect that she would ever be 100%. We didn't know if she would survive for hours, much less days, but yesterday, by the grace of God she turned 2 years old, and she TOTALLY healthy. She is smart and cute and ahead of the curve developmentally - a true miracle, all to the glory of God. A testimony to His kindness and grace.

On JANUARY 22, 2012 we ordained Hernádi Jani as a pastor, a fulfillment of the vision that God gave us when we moved to Eger 7 years ago of planting a church and raising up local leaders, and eventually a Hungarian pastor whom we could hand the church over to when the Lord would lead us on to the next place. Jani will take over the church when we move to Colorado in March, and we are excited to see all the good things God will do through this church in the future.

January 22 is a day we will never forget.

Change - Változás

(Magyar verzióért tekerd lejjebb)

There are some pretty significant changes going on right now with our family and ministry that we would like you all to know about.

This coming Sunday, January 22, we are going to ordain one of our elders - Hernádi János - as a pastor, and shortly thereafter he is going to take over pastoring the church here in Eger and our church plant in Heves.

In March, Rosemary and I and our kids, including Balázs, are moving to Colorado, where I am going to pastor White Fields Community Church in Longmont - where our friend Pete Nelson is currently pastoring.
We will fly out on March 6 to San Diego and spend 2 weeks in Southern California before driving out to Colorado. Our first Sunday at White Fields will be March 25.

I have been serving in Hungary for 10 years now, Rosemary for 13. We love Hungary and the work that God is doing through Calvary Chapel here, and it is very hard for us to leave.
This all may seem sudden to some of you, but it has been in the works for about a year and a half. We have waited until now, because we didn't want to leave until the ministry here was at a place where we could hand it over and until Jani was ready to step in as pastor.

We are not leaving because anything is wrong - in fact things are going really well in our ministry here and in our family, and we are making these changes simply because we believe that this is God's will and direction for our lives and for the churches involved. When we moved to Eger 7 years ago, our vision was to raise up leaders and eventually raise up a Hungarian pastor that we could hand the church over to. We are sad to leave Hungary, but at the same time, we are excited and looking forward to all the God has in store in the future for our family, for the church in Eger and for White Fields church in Longmont.

The ministry of the church here will continue on. God has blessed this church with a lot of committed and gifted people who want to serve the Lord with their lives. English Camp will continue - we already have the dates for it: July 9-14 - and Lord willing, I plan to be here for it this July, hopefully leading a team from White Fields to serve.

We would be happy to answer any questions that you might have!

A közeljövőben néhány jelentős változás történik Egerben - a családunk életében és a szolgálatban egyaránt. Most vasárnap, január 22-én, lelkipásztorrá fogjuk avatni a gyülekezetünk egyik elöljáróját, Hernádi Jánost, és nem sokkal azután ő fogja átvenni tőlem az egri és a hevesi gyülekezetek vezetését.

Márciusban pedig Coloradóba fogunk költözni Rosemaryvel és a gyerekekkel (természetesen Balázst is beleértve), ahol a White Fields Community Church gyülekezetének a lelkipásztora leszek, Longmont városában - ez az a gyülekezet ahol Pete Nelson lelkipásztor barátunk jelenleg szolgál.

Március 6-án indul a gépünk, először San Diego-ba megyünk, és ott leszünk 2 hétig Dél-Kaliforniában mielőtt továbbautózunk Coloradóba. Március 25. lesz az első vasárnapunk a White Fields-ben.

Én most már 10 éve szolgálok Magyarországon, Rosemary pedig 13 éve. Nagyon szeretjük Magyarországot, és szeretjük azt a munkát amit az Úr végez a Golgota által, így nagyon nehéz elmennünk innen.

Lehet, hogy néhányotok számára, ez elég hirtelennek tűnik, pedig már másfél éve folyamatban van. Azért vártunk eddig, mert nem akartunk elmenni, amíg a szolgálat nem volt olyan helyzetben, hogy át tudjuk adni, és amíg Jani nem volt felkészülve hogy fel tudja vállalni a pásztori szolgálatot.

Nem azért megyünk, mert valami baj van; igazából, nagyon jól megy minden a családunkban is meg a gyülekezetben is. Egyszerűen azért megyünk, mert hiszük, hogy ez az Isten akarata és irányítása az életünkre és az érintett gyülekezet számára is. Amikor ide költöztünk Egerbe 7 évvel ezelőtt, az volt a tervünk, hogy alapítsunk egy gyülekezetet és neveljük fel helyi vezetőket, idővel pedig egy lelkipásztort is, akinek majd átadhatjuk a szolgálatot. Ez a vizió beteljesült, és ezért örvendezünk! Szomorú dolog nekünk innen elmenni, de ugyanakkor izgalmas is, és várjuk mind azt a jót, amit az Úr tartogat a mi családunknak, az egri Golgotának és a longmonti White Fields gyülekezetnek.

A gyülekezet szolgálata ugyanúgy folytatódni fog. Az Úr nagyon megáldotta ezt a gyülekezetet sok elkötelezett és tehetséges emberrel, akik az Urat szeretnék szolgálni az életükkel. Az Angol Tábor is ugyanúgy folytatódni fog - az időpont is megvan már: 2012. július 9-14 - és ha az Úr is azt akarja, én is jövök a táborba, remélhetőleg egy szolgáló csapattal a White Fields gyüliből.

Kedves magyar barátaink, nagyon fogtok hiányozni! Továbbra is fogunk imádkozni az itteni misszióért, és vissza fogunk járni amennyit csak tudunk. Kérlek benneteket, hogy szeressétek és támogassátok Janit és Tündét, úgy ahogy minket is szerettetek és támogattatok!

Ha esetleg vannak kérdéseid, szívesen válaszolunk!