November Update

Well, one thing is for sure; winter has definitely arrived in Eger. These past few weeks has seen snow and freezing temperatures in most of Hungary. I am told this is extremely early for the first snow, but that all really depends on whom you ask. I am really loving it though. I have always felt winter is my best season, not just because of the great holidays which involve presents, visiting with family you don't see very often, and tons of food, but because, as Bill Watterson once said “I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.” All joking aside, I just simply enjoy the winter because it is a great time to sit and talk with people. In the summer, everyone is so quick to do something or go somewhere, but in the winter, we all kind of slow down and want to talk about things.

These past two months have been a lot more relaxed with Nick and Rosemary back from their vacations, though a lot busier due to their refreshed vision for the church. We have started meeting in a larger room in the complex we hold our Sunday church service and have started looking around for a new building to rent. Our current situation requires us to set up and take down everything each week. It puts a lot of wear and tear on the Cady's car as well as requires a lot of our time each Sunday. We are also praying about starting a small Bible study in a town called Heves, about 30 min away from Eger. It is off both the bus and train routes and thus is very hard to get to Eger from there. We have about 6 people in that area though who have expressed an interest in coming to church if we started a service there. Since we hold service in Eger in the afternoon, we could easily hold a service in the morning in Heves, then head back to Eger for the afternoon.

Last month we have had a brother from Colorado out here doing some outreaches for churches in Hungary and the surrounding countries. The outreach we had scheduled here was to reach out to local business men and show them how they can be successful financially, but without Jesus, they are still poor. We had a few people come out and two of them expressed an interest to visit the church. While that might not seem like a big deal, we are finding that much of the town is convinced we are a cult and are completely unwilling to even visit the church until we have convinced them we are not. The great part is we have had one of those two come every Sunday since the outreach! Also, we got a lot of requests for a small business luncheon with, so it sounds like others are still interested in talking, but maybe not in visiting the church just yet. We've also been blessed with quite a few people coming in off the street due to a project the youth and I do every Friday. We go around town and put up posters for the church while handing out fliers and talking with people. It seems to be producing some fruit now, so I hope it can continue to be a blessing.

Some praises from this past month. I was able to purchase a mode of transportation! It is a little cold out right now, so I really have to bundle up to keep from turning into a Shane-sicle on my bicycle... he he. Seriously though, I am really loving the freedom that comes with it. I no longer have to spend a half hour to get across town, though riding up the hills here can be pretty grueling. I am also finding out Nick has a serious pain issue, as in he feels none! We went riding a few times and I swear I never felt so out of shape. It is great though because there are some beautiful spots for pictures that are best reached by bike. Also, my plane tickets are purchased and I am all set to come home for a visit next month. I should be arriving on the 5th of December and returning to Hungary on January 9th. I plan to spend the bulk of the Christmas time with my family, but I should be able to visit with plenty of people during the first two weeks and the week before I leave. I intend to pick up a cheap pay-as-you-go cell phone and will send out my number when I get it. Finally, some praise about finances. I have received an offer to help from a friend in Colorado for the next month or two while I finalize arrangements with Shepherd's Staff. Please send any checks to the new support information address below. Also, please make sure to note that the check is for me on a post-it note and attach it to the check. Do not write it on the check itself. Thanks, God bless you all, and merry Christmas!