Out of Hungary

Yesterday, Sept. 27th, started with a two hour train ride into Budapest and then a 30 minute taxi ride to the airport. Greta hadn't been on a train for more than 20 years, so it was a pleasant way to start the day. Hungary is a bread basket country, so the train took us through some beautiful country. There were many quaint towns and cities, but the most impressive part to an old farm boy was the seemingly endless stretches of flat, fertile farmland. Most of the crops were harvested and the fields were fall ploughed to be planted in the spring. But we did see large combines working. Corn and sunflowers seem to be the major crops, but we also saw fields of hay and pumpkins - it seemed they were grown for the pumpkin seeds so our major league baseball players have something besides snuff to chew during ball games.
We were visiting Joska and Sandi Temesvary who live in a small village of about 700 people called Nagycsepely. Joska and Sandi joined Team Expansion earlier this year and we were helping them get their program set up.
There is usually a Catholic and/or Reformed church in every little village, but like much of Europe, few people - far less than 5% - are practicing their faith.The Reformed church just down the street from their house is dying and Sunday attendance is almost always less than 20. Joska has found that it is the same in almost every village and town in the Lake Balaton region. My impression, however, is that there is a spiritual hunger here and a ripeness for revival. Many Reformed pastors see the "handwriting on the wall" and are looking for help. They realize that it is likely impossible to "reform" the once reformed churches, but want to get involved in new church plants out of what might be left as these congregations drop off one by one. Joska took us to a local Baptist church that is very anxious to be involved in church planting in the area. Pastor Albert (picture at right) wants to build a partnership with Joska and others who will plant conservative, Biblical and largely nondenominational churches in the most needy, unchurched towns and villages of the Balaton Region. Joska and Albert could count 25 or more towns and villages needing such work where there would be no competition with existing churches. Lake Balaton is one of the largest natural lakes in Europe and has long been a tourists site. It lies southwest of Budapest and the little village of Nagycsepely and the towns surrounging it are on the south shore of the lake.
Joshka and Sandi are true "pioneer missionaries." They have bought a smell home in Nagycsepely and are working to renovate it. During our visit, they had not yet put in a heating system even though it is already quite cool and winter is rapidly approaching. They need our prayers as the build relationships with neighbors and local church leaders with a view to planting churches in the region.

Visiting Romania

Romania takes me back to childhood when we worked our small Kentucky farm with horses, milked cows, kept chickens and pigs and grew most of our food in our garden. This week, Jen Lotter took us to see one of the tourist spots near here - The Bear Cave in Ciscau. The cave was discovered in an excavation project about 30 years ago and has been developed into a tourist spot. By comparison it can't hold a candle to Kentucky's world famous Mammoth Cave, but it was impressive with lots of beautiful formations. It is called Bear Cave because it was a den for the now extinct cave bears of Europe. The cave was strewn with the bones, one complete skeleton that looked like the bear lay down to sleep and did not wake up.
The north part of Romania is an extension of the Hungarian plains with miles of flat fields. Unfortunately many of the fields still lie fallow after the fall of the Communist regime. Many people have reclaimed their smaller holdings of private land, but do not have money to buy modern farm machinery. So they can only cultivate and plant small strips of land using what they have. The fortunate ones have a horse or two and can farm small plots. We saw corn being picked by hand and tied into shocks and people digging potatoes with a hoe.
Jenny Lotter and Kelly James are our missionaries here. Jen is a physical therapist and works with handicapped children in several facilities that have a place she can work and then out in the villages among the Roma Gypsy people. Kelly James is still in language school but will work in a school for Gypsy children. The ultimate plan is to establish churches among the Roma people and train local leaders for the churches. Team Expansion works in partnership with Remember the Children and People to People, agencies that are working with orphaned and abandoned children. They also have been trying to help the Gypsy communities start churches and build schools. They asked for our help in the church planting work. Here Jen is talking with a Gypse lady confined to a wheel chair, trying to help her with some simple tasks. The language is still a challenge, so we need to pray for Jen as she tries to minister to these people.

Ancona and Verona, Italy

One of the first impressions that Italy gives in almost any city we visit is that Italy is old. Castles, old walls and forts date back to the time of Christ and before. Buildings testify of architecture and building techniques that have not existed for hundreds of years. Yet the cities are of full of life and youth. New highways and building cranes testify of growth and progress. There are walls and castles built in the Napoleon era and beautiful parks where the Team Expansion Ancona team often goes to jog and spend time in prayer and meditation, praying over the city of Ancona.
Greta and I are standing in this park with the city in the background and the two Casey boys, Harrison and Jacob, playing on the park grass. From this spot, Jason and the Ancona team often pray over the city of Ancona where they are making good progress in their work to establish an indigenous church. The team has been working in Ancona for seven years and have been praying for "breakthrough". If Jason, the team leader's feeling is correct, breakthrough may be very near. Join us in praying for that blessing.

Verona - Target for next year

The second part of our trip to Italy was to visit Verona, the city that calls itself "The Gateway to the North." Matt and Angie Crosser are to lead a new team to be located in Verona next year. They will be joined by John and Ann Blackburn and April Houk. The Blackburns have served in China for several years and April is currently working in Haiti.
Again we were impressed by both the age and vibrancy of the city of Verona. An ancient wall is still a prominent feature of the city and along with the Roman era coliseum, it attracts many visitors to the city.
We spent most of two days in Verona with the Crossers. We looked at an excellent language school the team can use for team members who need to learn Italian. Then we spent a great deal of time looking at various areas of the city that could become the site of the new church plant. Matt and Angie have led several survey trips to the city and will make at least one more trip before returning to the US for a period of home service. Its strategic location as "Gateway to the North" and its relative openness to the Gospel are just a couple of reasons Verona was chosen as the site for the next Team Expansion church plant effort in Italy. For more information and news and some great pictures of Verona, click on the link in the Links box in the right column.

Our Travels in Europe

Greta and I are on a month-long trip to Europe visiting missionary teams who work with our mission agency, Team Expansion. Our first stop is Dublin, Ireland, and the home of Paul and Abigail Steiner. It is easy to forget just how beautiful Ireland is. Dublin and the fields and farms surrounding it are always greener and the Irish Sea bluer than we remember from the last visit.
This trip we are making Dublin the hub for our various trips to Kosova, Italy, Hungary and Romania. We will try to keep something coming as we move around during this tour. We are deeply indebted to Paul and Abigail for opening their home to us and allowing us to camp out there between trips.
This post is coming after we have already visited Kosova, where we attended the opening of the new American High school, organized and staffed through the work of the Chesnut family. The school will be staffed by teachers from churches in Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky. All classes will be taught in English. It is designed to be the finest English school in Kosova. The event was important enough that the city mayor of Pristina, {population 600,000} the capital, came to cut the ceremonial opening ribbon.
As the school grows and prospers, it will become a big feather in the hat of our workers in Kosova where levels of education are very low.

Youth Camp Again

When we were younger, Greta and I often went to camp for as many as three weeks a year. We also did came several times in Africa. A few years ago we decided that camp was for younger people and we did not go to camp for many years. Then a friend called and talked us into being the camp missionaries at a camp called Wonder Valley Christian Camp located near Salem, Indiana. He was the dean for a week of camp for fifth and sixth grade youth. Reluctently we decided to try it again. We were assured we would just be the camp missionary and would do a one hour missions presentation once a day. We would have our own private room and bathroom and could participate in any other activities as we wanted.

This year, the first week of August was the fourth year we have attended this camp. Another week of hot August days days of almost 100 degree heat, campfires, hikes, games, even helping build solar ovens to bake cookies in the afternoon sun - it was hot enough to do that.

We have found this camp and this age group surprisingly refreshing. They are of an age that they are eager to learn and are able to learn quickly. Using some age appropriate videos and materials we were pleasanatly surprised to be able to teach them rather lofty mission ideas such as "What is a people group?", an "unreached people group", or the now famous "10/40 window". Through a simple memory idea, we were able to teach them the five major world religions. We called it the THUMB. So, the five religions are Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim and Buddist. By the second or third day, all we needed to do was give the "thumbs up" gesture and they would recite the five major world religions. I know lots of adults: preachers, elders and church leaders who do not have good mission information. At the end of the week we had a "Bible Bowl' type quiz and were amazed at how much information the children had learned.

These children are the church of the future. Greta and I feel honored to help in the formation of their minds towards good missions planning in the church. These children already know that the church is spending 95% of its "missions" money on the parts of the world that are already largely Christian and the remaining 5% on the parts of the world that have no way to find out about Christ or the church. Our hope is that they will help change the way the church today does missions.

Even an inexperienced fisherman knows that if you want to catch fish, you must go to a place where there are fish. Why is that the church finds it difficult to understand that if we are to reach the lost, we must go to where the lost are living?

This is Africa

A few years ago, Greta and I were invited to join friends for a visit to East Africa. The trip involved a conference in Mombasa, Kenya, on the Indian ocean and then a trip into the Great Rift Valley to a mission station and then to Masai Mara Game Reserve. It involved a long drive into the wilderness, and an overnight with a missionary family in as remote location as I had ever seen. At the time I said I used to think I was a missionary and had lived in some wild places, but this family took the cake.
The next day we drove to to the Masai Mara Game Reserve. From the moment we left the mission compound, we began to see some amazing animals. When we entered the park the animals were abundant beyond imagination. We had not driven 3 miles along a trail until a male lion sauntered out of the bush and walked by our vehicle as if it/we did not exist. He was the "king" and knew it. We saw most of the "big" game that day; lions, elephants, hippo, zebra, giraffe, cape buffalo, cheeta --literally thousands of animals, except the rhino.
When the lion walked by, everyone was trying to get me to roll up the window for fear of being attacked by the vicious beast. Some hours later, as we were about to leave the park, we came upon a herd of cape buffalo resting quietly some distance off the road. Our missionary guide began to tell us that these big cows, not the lions, were the most dangerous animals in the area and that more people were treated in the mission clinic from buffalo attacks than from lions. Buffalo are "just mean" he said. I took his word for it with a grain of salt until I saw this video on YouTube. Here is the link. Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

My Country

I am unabashedly patriotic. I love my country and am proud to be an American. I fly the flag proudly and still get a bit choked up when they play or sing our National Anthem. I have lived in other countries long enough - over 23 years in Africa- that I appreciate the blessings of being a citizen of the United States. At the same time I try not to be the "Ugly American". Having lived in other countries and having friends from literally all over the world, I appreciate and respect other countries and cultures and understand their national pride.
This Fourth, Greta and I went out looking for fireworks displays and found one at a town a few miles outside of Louisville where we live. I like the small town fireworks displays. The big crowds such as the million or so who attend the now world famous "Thunder Over Louisville" turn me off. It was pleasant to sit back and watch the "Rockets red glare" and reflect on what it all means to me as an American. God bless America!