Travels into Budapest

This was the final night of our journey in Eastern Europe. We finished the day with a wonderful dinner at a famous resturant in Budapest (on the Pest side) as well as a cruise on the Danube. Amazingly beautiful and full of the history of Budapest. We leave tomorrow for the airport at 5:00am and poor Dan is doing one last drive :( Thank you for your support and prayer throughout this entire journey. We have loved the priveleage of sharing this experience with not only eachother but with the church body as a whole. Thank you! Please pray in particular for a man I met in the interview process who is having to travel over 600 miles every other week in order to attend seminary in the Czech Republic. This is not only a financial burden but a hardship on his wife and young son as well as unborn child. He is especially on my heart. See you back in the States soon...michelle and I are finally going to go to bed...maybe. :) Love from Hungary one last time, The team

Hello from Nancy... !

Yes it is me--finally. tried a few days and the whole thing went blank....BUT I tried

It has been VERY hectic but such a blessing. Highlites have been interviewing scholarship applicants, meeting and praying with some of participants,learning about the various cultures,and helpingthe various staff set up and present their programs. The stores of what they have come thru (communism ,underground churches, living on less than 75euros per monthetc)

Forgot my password so couldnot e- mail Sharon..sorry. Will be home late Sat nite-we will see about going to FEF--might not get up till Monday' ígotta run. Got bless, Nancy

Hey... this is Dan,

Later today I will be driving another run to Budapest, but before I do that I want to tell you about the forum bookstore. We have brought boxes and boxes and BOXES of books from the US. Many of these are expensive theoloogy and reference books that would be out of reach finacially for the delegates. Here, they do not have to pay shipping, and the prices are deeply, deeply discounted (sorry, Arnie). Sara and I have worked in the bookstore, and it is like watching little kids on Christmas morning. They are amazed at the wonderful resources that are available to them for pennies on the Euro. I am humbled (even embarrassed) at how much we have, how spoiled we are, and how unthankful we are. These delegates are so, SO grateful.

Please keep on praying. We have much to do in the next few days, and a long way to travel home. Dan

Hello to all from Hungary

Dan and I are writing from the hotel lobby on a keyboard that has the y and the z buttons transposed so every word containing a y or z has to be retyped.

We just said goodbye to Mate from Hungary. For those of you who may not remember, he is the young pastor our church sponsored financially to come to the forum. He expresses his thanks for the chance he had to come to the forum. ˝It was a good financial investment.˝ He said the Sunday morning plenary session was especially meaningful for him. He likened it to being a construction worker being covered with dust at the end of the day-and having God´s grace like a shower refresh him.

We have heard many touching stories, many of which we would like to share. Like the astronomer from Bulgaria who could get a high paying job in the US but feels God has called her to remain at the University there. Through the forum she has been able to have speakers come to the major university in her country on 2 occasions to speak of the existence of God. This causes many to think of these issues in a country that has only a handful of believers. She has been praying for a Christian colleage and recently this prayer has been answered. One of her major prayer requests is that God would bring brave men as leaders in the church. She says that the women get together and pray about this.

Many have expressed to us that the forum allows them to have the encouragement they need to carry on in a life completely surrounded by those who think they are just a strange sect of some kind. Pastors come discouraged and for a small amount of time get to sing in a large group praising God-what a wonderful experience.
Sara

Wordless Wednesday

Love from Nancy

Hi everyone!



This is the first time I've had a chance to sit and type to you all--plus I finally had a lesson from Mitchelle on what a blog is --so this is my contribution!



Mark/Cathy: I had to interview Pastor Peter--what a dear, dear wonderful Christian man. He said to send you his greetings and added that I should tell you to contact Dave

Progress...

It seems we have finally come to a place where we are comfortable doing our jobs, know how to handle situations, and are very effective at the projects we are given. And it only took us four days to become so! :) However, here things change on a regular basis which, for me, is part of the charm. For example, last night during the time when there is usually a large group meeting, there was a culture night. This night included five different stations including a singing couple from New Zealand/England, a dueling piano station, a jazz and poetry section, a visual art section, and an amazingly talented singer who closely resembled a Shawn McDonald sound with a Romanian accent. Each participant were able to attend three of the five choices. The whole experience was a wonderful "night off" of experiencing the talents of just a few of those at this conference. Specifically I was touched by the honesty, clarity, and passion of the singer (who sounded like Shawn). The introductions of his songs were amazingly profound and also simplistic, a hard balance to find in music I believe. Well I am off to finish up the evaluations from this morning. Love from us all in Hungary! God Bless, The team

Hello my Precious Family.....

Hello my Precious Family Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Thanks for praying...I know that you are because of what happened on Friday. as you know, I have been not just bumped but ripped out of my comfort zone. Our suitcase had not arrived with us at Budapest, and I would soon be driving in a foreign country. Well the suitcase showed up, and I have driven four round trips (each over 300 Km) to the airport, each without incident. Wow....thanks! I really, really mean it!
Let me tell you about driving. (My adult children will really love this...they think that I am gadget challenged, and they are right!) I have been totally dependent on a GPS. It has worked great! It has told be about every turn 800 meters, then 300 meters, then 100 meters, before it was to happen. I've made them all. It also talks t me about other things. (Imagine this in a British accent). It will suddenly (often :-() say..."You are exceeding the speed limit". Opps! Then, when I would slightly miss the course, it would say, "Route recalculation". It was great. I even named...."Little Buddy". Please pray especially for me again on Wednesday when I again begin driving to return delegates to the airport. Thanks.

One more thing (for my adult children :-) I was in the Budapest airport for only five minutes before someone asked me for directions. The family tradition rides on!

As DeeDee Lund would say, "Pray On".

Dan Scholten for the Wisconsin team in Budapest

Jo Reggelt!

Jo Reggelt! (Good morning in Hungarian)

This morning was one of those mornings when the sky is blue as can be, breakfast was outside, and the air was filled with talk of Christ's love spoken in as many languages as you could count. Just another normal day at the Forum! Dan and Sarah had their first full night of good rest, Michelle and I were able to explore the town a little late last night, and Nancy is so busy and talkative I have yet to see her except in passing... but from what I can see, she is loving this opportunity. This forum is a very unique experience because it is a rare situation where you are able to serve those around you and see the results of that work in the faces and lives of those around you. Therefore, we have been blessed beyond words! Yesterday, I met Mate, the pastor of the Evangelical Church in Budapest who's scholarship was provided by our church. He is a wonderful man, working tirelessly for Christ who, when interviewed yesterday, did not stop expressing his thanks to us and to our church for providing this opportunity for him! The interviews, a process every scholarship applicant must go through, has been the most powerful thing I have yet to experience. Sitting across the table from someone who's heart is sold out to Christ no matter the circumstances, while listening to the story of his life is an amazing amazing thing! The participants continue to thank us, but we must also thank them for the work they do and the passion so obviously written on their faces. This is just one of the many ways this forum has affected us on a highly personal level. Thank you for your support of our team as well as the members attending the forum. You cannot fully understand how much you have changed their lives through your generosity. Love from Hungary, God Bless
-Elisabeth and the Team

Late Nights...

It is about 12:30 or so here in Hungary and I am just writing to say goodnight. Sorry the post was so short today but we all have been so busy interviewing and enjoying those around us that I completely ran out of time today. There will be a much more informational post tomorrow. For tonight, good night! Much love from Hungary from us all! God Bless, Elisabeth and the team

It has now begun

We have been told that our first real day of the Forum has now begun. It is about 10:30 here in Hungary and the day has been underway since 6:00 this morning for most of us. A normal day begins with breakfast in the main dining hall usually consisting of eggs, Hungarian sausage (very good!), danishes, breads, cucumbers and tomatoes, and of course...lots and lots of coffee.

sorry, ...have to run -

love to all
Nancy

Another day in Eger

Another day in Eger...

It is about 10:00pm here in Hungary while in the states you are most likely just getting ready to make dinner after an afternoon nap (we are 7 hours ahead). It has been a very long day full of new people to meet and books to sort. A highlight of the day has been dinner. Each different particpant in the Forum is assigned a different table to sit at in hopes of mixing people from other countries together for meal times. This is very exciting for me as I was able to have a wonderful conversation with a Scottish gentleman, a British gentleman, as well as an American living in Budapest for the past 16 years. We will sit in these same groups for the first three days of the conference and then will have themed nights such as national night where citizens from the same countries all sit together. Thus far, meeting all these different people from different parts of the world has been the most enjoyable for me. I can't help but grin everytime I hear a new accent! Today both Michelle and I found it more difficult to wake up and are feeling the long days more and more. Again, please pray that we will not lean on our own strength but that of the Lord and are able to serve these amazing people to the best of our ability.
Love in Christ, Elisabeth and the Team

The Real Deal

Good morning from Eger Hungary. I am typing away not only at this blog but also at lists and lists and more lists of books we will be selling at the Forum bookstore in the next few days. Coming here, I have come to realize once again what a blessing literature is to so many people. All the forum participants come up the stairs into the book store, and it looks as though Christmas morning has come early! I have never before realized how much access we have to books in the States that those in Europe do not have the opportunity to enjoy. What a blessing it is to experience this kind of joy over something that we take for granted to often. This is just one of the ways the participants have blessed us when really we have come to try to bless them. It is amazing how God works. This is also the last day that people will be arriving at the Forum and therefore the registration area is packed and the drivers, namely Dan from our group, is kept very busy. Please pray for us all that the Lord will provide strength when ours fails and love for those around us when we feel tired. Thank you so much for your loving prayers and support. God Bless, Elisabeth

Hello Everyone

Thanks for the prayers. The luggage arrived, unscathed, at about ten AM into our hotel room. I spent the day taking mug shots of the participants for the record. Every year, these pictures are used for identification purposes. Dan and Michelle and I spent a good portion of the day setting up the bookstore for the participants. There are lots and lots of books, half of which we would all like to read, given the time. Dan and Nancy spent a good portion of the day going to the airport to pick up a load of people flying in-just waiting for them to pull in any minute.
Pray on.
Sara

First Morning in Eger Hungary

...We are here!
I am writing you from the lobby of our hotel looking out the window at cobbled streets and the terraces of the apartment buidling across the street. Hungary is beautiful to say the least! We are finally here after 23 hours of grueling travel. Though all the members look more refreshed after a night of rest, we are still a little travel worn. So far all has gone well except for a lost suitcase of Dan and Sara's that was misplaced between Budapest and Amsterdam. Please pray for its safe return soon. An interesting event thus far has been Nancy's seatmate during our trans-atlantic flight, a woman from St. Petersburg, Russia and a believer at that! Finally, I have discovered that European fuses do not play well with American hair dryers...oops. Well we are off to breakfast and to start our first day and its 7:00am over here.

Hope all is well back home! God Bless, Elisabeth

We are ready to be on our way....

William Wordsworth says this..

" The Best portion of a good man's life, his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love."

Serving is putting feet to affection and affirmation. If you love someone - do something.

European Leadership Forum Team

Sara, Dan, Michelle, Lissy, & Nancy

Our 2008 May Missions Team is ready to leave for Eger, Hungary

Please continue to pray for them and the National Pastors and Leaders that will be attending this Forum.

more information about the forum can be found at http://www.euroleadership.org/

Weclome Back Amy!

Sumpango, Guatemala will never be the same.

Thank you for living for Jesus in your every moment and your every days!

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