It would seem this post doesn’t have much to do with Budapest, but let me say this.  There is nothing special about a missionary, EXCEPT for a high calling to follow the Almighty God to a strange place, cross cultures, and start churches.  I am so thankful we serve a Lord and Savior that will accept us and use us just as we are for His Glory! And even those with such a calling are ordinary, flawed, frustrated people who wear stained jeans and often wake up with feet in their face.

(from Christina)

We’ve been at a rampant pace of visiting with churches and individuals. It’s both invigorating and draining. Draining because it multiplies all the details that go into being a young family. Invigorating because God infuses us with joy and hope anew every time we share His calling us to Budapest. Our sense of urgency grows with every meeting.

Already we have had several instances where God has providentially brought us in contact with people who have a personal connection to Budapest – of all places!! He shines so glorious when His plans are revealed along the path! So we are moving forward with expectant and joyful hearts. We continue to pray for supporters who will give their hearts along with their funds to send us to Budapest.

And we are looking forward to the day when we will step away from all we own, part from family and friends, and cross both land and culture to share the great unending heart of God to see His grace go to all the nations. He is not only preparing our team, but the nation as well. Hungary is sensing that they are upon, if not over, a moral precipice, and looking for answers.

I’m realizing this week that there’s an unexpected ministry role that’s taking place. So far missionary life is a whirlwind of activity. But right in the middle of it I have found an unexpected ministry – being the catalyst for people to wrestle with their tensions about international cross-cultural missions.

Pretty much every conversation I have will either start or end discussing God calling my family to serve the Hungarian people. What happens (and I’ve been slow to recognize it) is that once people know you’re headed overseas as a missionary they begin to openly share their convictions and troubles about the idea. For most it’s a chance for them to express their own curiosities and desires for such work. For others, it’s a chance to speak about things that trouble them. It may be something as simple as “what about your children” (I say simple because it really is a very simple matter – ask me about it sometime). Or it may be something larger like, “there are so many lost people right here, I don’t understand why we need to go overseas anymore”.

So in the middle of hustle and bustle, when I’m thinking it’s so much about my family and how God’s going to send us to Hungary…some unexpected ministry arises and I step back in grateful amazement at how God is mercifully letting us be both a safe sounding board and a voice of biblical conviction about God’s unchanged heart for the nations.

I had never been to Hungary. Growing up the only child of Hungarian immigrants, I tried to stay as far away from my roots as possible. I soon learned however that roots are a hard thing to escape. While my middle school mates had PB&J for lunch, I had hard boiled eggs and salami. My mother’s accent is so thick she has never been able to order a hamburger at a drive thru and be understood the first time, and above our fireplace was a GIANT oil canvas of the virgin Mary. There is a story told in our family that during the Hungarian Revolution, my mother, grandmother, great grandmother and 3 great aunts fled to Yugoslavia. They stayed there for almost 12 months waiting for the American Red Cross to clear their health papers for travel to the US. Initially they did not pass, and their papers were stamped for Sweden (think of what a cute, fair haired Swed I could have been). My grandmother could speak some English and persuaded the Americans to recheck the family. All declared healthy at that point, thanks to a lovely watch used as a bribe, my family boarded an Army cargo plane and headed for NY. Turns out the story is true. Go figure.

Fast forward and my husband and I are in our thirties. My grandmother passes away and my mother comes to live with us for 4 months. During that time there was a lot of fussing and fighting (we’re Hungarian!), but God used this time for His glory and late one night the hubs led her to faith. I think our desire for Hungarians to know and love the Lord started there. See growing up Hungarian you know who Jesus is, but you have no idea how that pertains to you; how much He loves you, and longs for you, His lost child. And I began to realize that although I see Hungarians as pessimistic and difficult at best, God sees them differently. God wants to draw all people to Himself, and if my Hungarian background helps God draw this very difficult people group, I will go. “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL people to myself.” John 12:32

For years Terry and I prayed God would reveal his plans for us locally. My husband’s zeal for travel quickly faded as we had children. We barely even went down the street to the movies, much less to another part of the world. And travel with children? Ha, forgetaboutit. It took a while for God to open our eyes and show us that while all ministry is His – local and global – God has been specifically shaping and preparing us to serve in Hungary. Terry’s background in Technology and Bible teaching is much needed with the men of Hungary, while my language skill will help us bridge the WIDE gap between Hungarians and Americans. When we visited in May 2009, we found a country with buildings full of bullet holes still present from WWII. We found that an RN and a Hungarian Pastor / English tutor have a combined annual income of $12K (USD), while groceries cost about what they run here in the US. Prostitution is legal and an abortion costs $10 USD. We also realized that when Terry graduates from Seminary this Spring, he’ll be graduating with hundreds of others who will go to work locally. Nobody is beating down the door to get into Hungary. In fact believers and non-believers alike wondered what on earth would draw us to such a difficult place. After years of tyranny and communism, we believe God has a plan for Hungary, and we believe we are part of it! Won’t you join us in support and prayer?

I was listening to “The Prodigal” on the new album Sons and Daughters by Sovereign Grace Music. It’s a great version. I was working on some video, looking at shots from our May trip and listening to that song when the thought occurred to me: Budapest could be a prodigal city.

I say could be because it has not returned to the Father, not yet anyway. Normally you wouldn’t hope to be the prodigal. But if you’re already in the place of despair, then the prodigal becomes a position to aspire to. You may think to yourself, “If the Father took him back, perhaps he would take me back too.” That hits on our hope for Budapest. If they will run to him, the Father will take them back. Perhaps, just maybe, Budapest will be a prodigal city.

One of Firefox’s greatest advantages is the huge list of add-ons. There’s something for just about everything you do online. There are two that make sense for me to post on this site. The first is the ESV (English Standard Version) search engine. With a quick download and install you can add this additional search engine to the standard one’s that come with Firefox. Now you can search the ESV (words, passages, restrictions included) . If your shortcuts are working, you can just click Command+K (CTRL+K on a PC) and type. I’ve found it very useful for study and also teaching. I can have the text up on a projected screen and quick search to any verse/passage. If you don’t have Bible software (Logos, Bibleworks etc), it’s a great option.

The second one I just ran across today. It’s a toolbar for Biblegateway.com. Same function as the ESV search engine – but it also includes the option of parallel searches…including other languages. With this toolbar I can read common English translations alongside the Hungarian translation. Well…I wouldn’t say I’m “reading” the Hungarian yet…but working on it!

We also heard some remarkable stories of work that’s being done around the world. Paolo Mato is a missionary to Sao Paolo, Brazil. I didn’t know this, but said Sao Paolo is that largest city in the southern hemisphere. There are over 2,000 slums! For more than a decade he has been ministering to people in those slums, especially caring for the children. He moved his family into the slums and holds church at night in order to get the runaways off the streets. He goes into the brothels, and witnesses to members of organized crime. Despite being ridiculed, kidnapped, and shot, he’s full of the joy of Christ and love for those folks in the slums. An amazing testimony.

Another was Faustin Ntamushobora from Nairobi. He was born in the Congo, the son of the village priest. He was next in line to be the one to sacrifice to the village ancestors. After hearing of the forgiveness and life offered by Jesus he became a Christian. He has since pastored in several African countries, including during the genocide in Rwanda!

We also heard from Hanz Finzel, the president of World Venture. He was a missionary to eastern Europe for many years, smuggling Bibles into communist countries. He was in Berlin when the wall came down….crazy.

All in all it was a good time and very encouraging to hear about the great work to show the love of Jesus and share his good news around the world.

The conference is free, registration is required. Call (281) 446-3216 to register. Christina and I will do three breakout sessions talking about our journey to commit to international cross-cultural ministry.

Hosted by Solid Rock Baptist Church, 9450 FM 1960 Bypass Rd. West, Humble, Texas 77338.

• Friday, October 2, 2009
• 1:00pm: Plenary Session I: Vision & Mission of the Missional Gathering
• Opening Prayer, Music – Worship (15 minutes)
• Testimony, Message
• 2:30pm Break
• 2:45pm Seminar Session A
• 3:30pm Break
• 3:45pm Seminar Session B
• 4:30pm Dinner break
• 6:30pm Plenary Session II: Welcome and Overview of the Missional Gathering
• Music – Worship (15 minutes),
• Testimony, Message
• Plenary Session III
• Saturday, October 3, 2009
• 8:00am: Plenary Session IV: Welcome and Overview of the Missional Gathering
• Opening Prayer, Music – Worship (15 minutes)
• Testimony, Message
• 9:30am Break
• 9:45am Seminary Session C
• 10:30am Break
• 10:45am Missionary Panel: Why is there urgency in the Scriptures about missions and what must the church be to impact the world for Christ?
• 11:45am Break
• 12:00pm Plenary Session V
• Music, Testimony

In the meantime, our pastor graciously gave/had us give the news of our Budapest plans to the church. A small thing in one sense, but it was very meaningful to me. I can’t say enough about the integrity of the leadership and the heart of the church. I’m very thankful to be there during this time.

Anyway, you can hear a bit of the announcement at the start of this sermon:

Dome of the Basilica from Terry Cokenour on Vimeo.