This past month has been a time of getting ready for the summer campaigns.  All of us missionaries are all busy preparing for the groups that will start coming in June.  It is looking to be an exciting time for all of us and the Christians here as well.  Along with the campaigns from the U.S., we are having our own campaign to Nyíregyháza, Hungary.  Tuesday, Chuck and I went there to do some preliminary work.  It looks as if we have found a good place and it will be at a reasonable price and work out well for all of our needs.

An Interesting Thing

 This month since I returned from Germany, I have been having an interesting experience.  I have had one of the Christians (Margo), and her two teenagers, living with me.  It has been different after ten months of living alone.  While I was gone, she had to move out of her apartment and so she had no where to go.  So the Christians here decide that my place would be the best because I had some extra beds.  So when I returned I found a family in my place.  It has not been too bad.  Just things have been different.  Especially since I am used to living alone.  It makes for another experience in Hungary.  Soon, she will have another apartment and this experience will be over.  However, living with several people in a small apartment is always fun.  It gives a feeling of being back at home.

The Church in Hungary

 This coming up weekend is the first of May.  In Hungary, it is a holiday and most people head for the hills, or to the country.  They just get out of the house and enjoy nature.  The church in Miskolc has invited all the churches in Hungary for a nature walk and a time of devotion in the mountains.  It is looking to be a great day where we can enjoy the beauty that God has created and spend time with our brothers and sisters.
 Also I wanted to mention that the foundation that is in Szolnok, Hungary is up and running, it has actually been for a few months.  But now there are official classes scheduled for the fall.  We will have a class in Old Testament Survey, and then in the spring the New Testament will be taught.  It is looking to be two good classes for Christians as well as for non-Christians to attend to learn more about the Bible.

Culture Corner

 This month I want to let you know about the main sport in Hungary.  It would be hard to figure out which sport is the main sport in the U.S. but in Hungary one sport is by far more popular than the others.  It is football, no, not American football but soccer.  This is a sport that is actually very popular all over the European continent.  It is the sport that the majority of the people most widely play and support.  I do not know a lot about it yet but I am learning more about it.  Since most of the Christians are still in high school, I have only been to high school football matches but they are interesting to say the least. So I will mainly focus on this aspect of Hungarian football that is within the schools.
 They play the football match on a concrete court, a little bigger than a basketball court.  This makes it a little interesting in itself.  There are two teams of five players and a goalie.  There can be as many substitutes as each team wishes.  The substitutes can come in and out whenever the coach chooses.
 The game is played mainly by the same rules as normal soccer except a few differences.  One main difference is that it is not a penalty to be off-sides.  Being on such a small playing area limits the amount of space to pass the ball and so off-sides is aloud.
 The schools set it up very much like the schools do in the U.S..  They have divisions and each team competes in their division.  After this, the champions compete to find the best team.  They hold the matches in the fall and then again in the spring. 
 While I was growing up I never played soccer.  I played baseball, and know a lot about American football, basketball, and hockey.  But now that I am in Europe and one big cultural experience is the love of football/soccer.  It let’s me see a new sport and gives a different view to this culture.

Prayer Requests
 

Margo’s search for a place to live.

The campaigns that will be coming to Hungary in June and July.

The work of the church throughout Hungary.

The hearts of those that will be influenced by the outreach this summer.