Golgota Coming to America

Check this out - Golgota Budapest is coming to America.

It was a joy and a pleasure for us to be involved in the work of God through Calvary Chapel in Eastern Europe for over 10 years. It's a story that deserves to be shared and heard all over the world.

Here's the promo video:

The End

Guess who got his Social Security number today!

This means that now he can get a driver's license, get a job, etc.

We thought the process of getting the SSNumber would be easy- just a formality- but like everything else in this process, it wasn't as easy as we had expected.

Anyway, it's good to be done, and we're glad Balázs can start his life.

Parenthood in All Its Glory

This is one of the best videos I've seen in a long time. LOVE IT!

Felicia Quotes

Rosemary talking to Felicia the other day:
"Good job, Felicia!"
"Don't say 'good job', say 'great job!'"

Walking down the hall tonight, I heard Felicia talking to Rosemary:
"Mommy, I love you, and I love daddy!"
I stuck my head in the room and said, "Oh, Felicia, I love you too!"
She walked towards me, I assumed to give me a hug, but pushing past me, she said "Get out of my way - I have a movie to watch!"

Yesterday on a family outing:
"Felicia you are very cute!"
"Of course. That's because I'm a child."

5 Years: Joining Day

During the time we lived in Hungary, Thanksgiving didn't have quite as much pomp as it does here in the US. We usually gathered with a handful of American friends. There was certainly no Black Friday over there.

This Thanksgiving we got together with family and some friends from church, but this Thanksgiving marks an interesting anniversary. 5 years ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends Ryan and Anita and Shane and Marianna - but there one was extra person there that Thanksgiving who has been with us ever since.

This Thanksgiving marked 5 years of Balázs coming to live with us.

It was in December of 2008 that we were given guardianship, and in December of 2011 that our adoption was finalized in Hungary.

Yesterday, to celebrate 5 years of Balázs in our family, we went up to Estes Park - saw some deer and elk and ate some ice cream.

We're glad you're with us, Balázs!

Americana

Just another Black Friday in the U.S. of A.

Trabant in Longmont

I saw this Trabant driving down Hover street in Longmont the other day.

Never expected to see one of these on the road all the way over here!

Thanksgiving Video Update

This is a video we made for our friends and supporters over at Calvary Vista. They showed it as part of their Thanksgiving Eve service.

It was pretty cold outside when we made it - I thought I wouldn't need a jacket. I was shivering!

Calvary Vista supported us while we were in Hungary and they have continued to love us and support us since we've come to Colorado. We are thankful for them!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! What are you thankful for this year? How have you experienced God's grace and provision?

The Longmont Pastor

I recently started another blog, which is titled: The Longmont Pastor and can be found here: http://longmontpastor.wordpress.com/

I will continue to update this blog, so please do keep checking in. This has always been more of a personal blog, detailing the lives of our family and ministry for those who know us personally and want to keep up on our lives. The Longmont Pastor is going to be very focused on issues relating directly to the Longmont from a pastor's perspective. I have written articles on there about marijuana legalization and other local issues.

If you have a Wordpress account, make sure to follow me on there, and if you don't, be sure to click the "Subscribe by Email" button at the bottom of the page.

 

 

Pastor Chuck Smith Memorial Service and Tribute

A few weeks ago, during our series called DNA: The Building Blocks of Life, I spoke about Pastor Chuck Smith, who recently went home to be with the Lord (click here to listen to it).

Pastor Chuck was a man who was used greatly by God and left a profound legacy. His ministry had a huge impact on my life and on the lives of people around the world. 

A memorial service and tribute to Pastor Chuck is going to be held this Sunday, October 27th at 6:00pm MDT. The service is going to be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, but will be simulcast on the internet so you can watch it live wherever you are at on your computer, tablet or smart phone: http://watch.pastorchucksmith.com.

The story of what God did through Chuck is one that should be shared and heard around the world. I encourage you to tune in on Sunday night and listen to the stories and be encouraged and celebrate a life well-lived for God's glory.

The End of a Long Road

Balázs got his green card last week!

It has been a long road... We began the adoption process in June 2011, which means that we have been jumping through legal hoops for 2 years and 5 months. But now we're done!

There were times along the way when it looked like it would be impossible for Balázs to stay with us here in US; like every door closed in front of us. God blessed us with some good lawyers and the means to pay them, and with favor in the eyes of officials who made the final decisions. We are also glad that the laws existed to support people in our situation.

Balázs got a green card for 10 years, after which he will be eligible for citizenship. Now he can work, get a driver's license and go to state college if he wants. God is good and we are glad.

 

Autumn Hike

Colorado is a beautiful place in every season, but autumn is maybe the most picturesque as aspen leaves change from green to yellow, then orange to red, and while the peaks are getting their first dustings of new snow.

Here in Longmont we are cut off from the nearby mountains because of the floods. We can't get to Lyons, Estes Park or Nederland, all places that were quick trips into the mountains previously. This past Monday we went down to Golden Gate Canyon, the closest access to the mountains to where we live - about a 50 min drive south of us. Here are some pictures:

Grays and Torreys Peaks - both about 14,000 ft.

Longs Peak and Mount Meeker

 

Missional Mindset

This coming Sunday I will be continuing my series called "DNA: The Building Blocks of Life" with a study on Mission.

Check out this video of Tim Keller discussing characteristics of missional Christians and missional churches:

 

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments and let me know what you think.

Colorado Floods: How You Can Help

(Mirrored here from the White Fields Community Church blog)
In the last few days we experienced a historic and destructive flood, and so many people have been asking how they can help.
Here are some ways that we as the Body of Christ can shine light in the community:

Pray!

Pray for those affected by the floods, that not only would their needs be met and their hearts comforted, but that as a result of this time of crisis, they would remember how fragile life is and how temporary and fleeting possessions and the things of this world are, that they would turn to the Lord and find hope in the Gospel that goes beyond the circumstances and material things of this life.

Serve!

Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16). We encourage you to serve people in our community in the name of the Lord. There are many ways to do that, starting with helping those in our congregation whose homes were affected, to helping neighbors or friends who were affected.As a church, we are working closely with Longmont EOC (Emergency Operations Center) and Convoy of Hope Christian disaster relief ministry to help in recovery efforts, which will begin in the next few days and continue probably for the next few months. We will be looking to put together work teams to be able to go in and help with repairs and clean up. If anyone has special skills, please let us know, so we can help you meet those specific needs. For a list of current volunteer opportunities click here.

Give!

We have started a fund, called "Colorado Relief". You can give to that fund online here. In speaking with the EOC, they are going to help direct us to use these funds to help particular families meet important and specific needs. This is a good option if you would like to help people in our community and aren't sure how, as this will go directly to helping flood victims in our area, without any of it going to overhead.As of now, there are no particular material needs that we or the EOC or the Red Cross have, so we encourage you to give to the relief fund and we use those monies for hurting families as they come to our attention through these organizations we are partnering with.

Identity Issues

Recently, as we have been studying through Ephesians on Sunday mornings at White Fields, we have been talking about the issue of identity, with a focus on who we as Christians have become in Christ.

Identity is so important, and one of our focuses has been the importance of separating identity from actions. In other words, saying: "you are not defined by your actions." Actions are things that you do, but they do not define who you are.

This is an especially relevant message in the time and culture we live in today. Consider alternative lifestyles which are seeking so much to be legitimized and accepted. Essentially, this is an argument about actions vs. identity - however, many Christians have failed to recognize it as such, and as a result, we have a hard time engaging in conversation about these issues with people who think differently than we do.

The LGBT community, for example, is saying: "This is who we are!", whereas Bible-believing Christians are saying: "No, that's not who you are, that is just what you are doing! But that's not who God made you to be!"
When Christians say things like, "Love the sinner, hate the sin", it makes perfect sense to us, and seems like a kind, person-loving statement, however many people these days reject that statement altogether. Why? Because they don't separate actions from identity.
One of my childhood friends has an uncle who is a very kind and generous man. I have interacted with him on a number of occasions at weddings and family gatherings, and have found him to be a kind and thoughtful person. He is also a practicing homosexual. One day I was having coffee with my friend, and he asked me, "Why do you hate my uncle?" I said, "I don't hate your uncle. I think he's a nice person. I just don't agree with his choices and his actions." My friend responded, "But that is WHO HE IS! That is his identity. You aren't just saying what he does is wrong - you are saying that who he is is wrong!"

Do you see why identity is such a relevant issue these days?
What the Bible does is very unique in that it separates identity from actions. Just because you do something, doesn't mean that that is who you are. Take people who commit crimes, for example. Once someone commits a crime, they can be labelled a criminal. But is that who they are condemned to be forever, just because of some bad decisions they made at one time? Is a woman who compromises morally condemned to live that lifestyle, because their actions revealed their 'true identity'?
Basically, this is what Victor Hugo's classic Les Misérables is all about. A man named Jean Valjean, committed a crime. As a result of one bad decision, he is labelled a criminal - a label which he does everything to escape - only to have Javert, a police inspector, hounding him, constantly telling him that he is a criminal, and that that is his identity, and he can never change. A woman, Fantine, who makes some bad decisions and winds up a single mother, is condemned to the label of adulterous - and told that that is not just what she did, but who she is. Jean Valjean and Fantine fight not to be defined by the actions of their past - whereas others like Javert constantly tell them that the labels of criminal and harlot are their identity.

I recently heard a story of one young man who was told over and over by his peers growing up that he was gay. He said, "After a while I thought, 'well, if this is who I am, then I am fighting a losing battle if I resist it. So I might as well embrace it as my identity. And if this is my identity, then I should probably go ahead and act accordingly. After all, that's who I am." Another story I heard recently was of a young woman, who had been abused and molested. She said, "I felt dirty, and after a while I just accepted that as my identity. And since it was my identity, I just went ahead and embraced that lifestyle and acted upon it."
However, neither of these stories ended there. Both of these people heard the Gospel and came to put their faith in Jesus Christ. And both of them came to the point where they said: "I came to realize that my past actions do not define who I am. What people said about me, what people did to me - that's not who I am." And these people turned away from these lifestyles and became Christians, embracing who God declares them to be in Christ as their true identity.

Who you are is not defined by your past actions. When you turn to Jesus Christ, you find a whole new identity in Him: Loved, Chosen, Clean, Forgiven, Redeemed… The list goes on. May you live in the freedom of knowing who you really are and who you can be in Christ.

 

Mount of the Holy Cross

Climbed Mount of the Holy Cross today. 14,005 feet / 4269 meters high.

It was grueling. We saw a ton of people turn back along the way. But it felt so good to reach the summit.

I climbed Longs Peak last year with these same guys, minus one, and I have to say I think this was harder, but yet more fun.

The pictures don't do justice to the majestic beauty of this pearl of God's creation.

 

Best Birthday Message Ever

I got this message today from a young man who came to know The Lord through the English Camp.

May I say - best birthday message ever.

Szia Nick!

I wish you Happy Birthday and I would like to say thank you for the last week and for the past years as well. I'm so blessed because of the day Rosemary came to our class and gave me that flyer. That was the beggining of a "trip" but finally I arrived and I can go on with God! So thank you again for you and Rosemary to establish this camp because without you I wouldn't know anyting about God.

Hope see you soon! At least in next camp! 😊

 

Last Day in Eger

Today we spent the day meeting up with people and winding down before we leave to go back to the US.

We got together with a number of people from the church here, took Natalie and Suzan to a confectionary and coffee shop (cukrászda), which they appreciated, being cake makers themselves.

Here is Felicia playing dolls with Poczok Judit

Here is Suzan and Natalie with Pastor Jani, Tünde and Julcsi.

Here in Eger before and after camp we've been staying with our friend Krisztina - the doctor who first held Felicia. God used her to save our little girl's life and since then we have developed a wonderful friendship with her. She's came out to visit us in Colorado and was there for Felicia's birthday in January. She was a gracious hostess and we had a good time catching up. Krisztina also came out to camp a number of times last week, as she has to each camp over the past 3 years.

We will leave Eger tomorrow morning on the train to Budapest, and then we fly out from there.

 

English Camp 2013 Video

A talented young man named Csaba from the church here in Eger spends the entire week at English Camp each year taking photos and videos which he puts together and shows on the last day of camp.

Here's this year's video. Check it out:

 

After Camp

Camp ended on Saturday; we had devotions and prayer in the morning, and then teachers met with their classes one last time. Then we packed up, said goodbye to the kids, and got everyone back into town - a process that takes about 3-4 hours.

We had a great team of servants this year and made wonderful connections with the campers.

After getting everyone into town, people from church showed the helpers around Eger and took them up into the castle. Rosemary and the kids, Natalie and Suzan all went up into the castle, but I ran into our Canadian friends Rob and Kitty who used to attend our church in Eger when they lived in Heves as English teachers. They were leading a team from their church on a trip to Ukraine where they did a camp for their denomination. They were in Eger to spend a few days sightseeing before heading home. We had a great time catching up; it was a wonderful treat.

In the evening, all the helpers got together for dinner and debriefing.

This morning we had church; I preached and we had a full service with many kids from camp coming out.

After church the youth group had their meeting - and even more kids from camp showed up. Kriszti, who leads the youth group here is doing a great job.

We also had a great surprise this morning that the Pápai family from Debrecen drove up for church to see us. We had a great time with them after church catching up.