Adams' prayer update excerpts

Hello,

Solomon advises his sons in Proverbs 4:26 to “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.” This verse describes what I was thinking as Mike and I prayer-walked Torokbalint this month. Our colleague and friend, Betsy, accompanied us one day and took the attached photo of this colorful fence and straight sidewalk. Many of the sidewalks, however, were not so straight. They were broken and overhung with ill-cared for trees that blocked our way. I was careful to watch for holes and low-lying branches so I would not stumble and fall. Sometimes we had to walk in the street, which made us feel like Hungarians. In the book of Amos, the prophet calls the Israelites to repentance when he said, ”Seek the Lord and live,…” . I prayed that verse many times as I strolled through Torokbalint this month. One man we met seemed to be a seeker of wisdom, if not God. He listened as Mike shared the salvation story with him and he allowed us to pray with him. He even asked if he could pray for us. You can pray for him. His name is “Frank.”

You can rejoice with us, because two of our campers became believers this month. One of these, “D,” attended a subsequent Christian camp where the seeds planted by the team from North Carolina were watered and we saw the fruit for which we long desire . Please pray for her mother, who told us the news about her daughter, but admitted that she herself is not a believer.

Mike and I had the opportunity to sing with a friend who officiated at a funeral this month. It was the second time we have been asked to sing at a  funeral of someone we had not known. The three of us were standing outside near the wall where the ashes of this lady were going to be placed. As we started singing the 4th song, two of the cemetery workers came forward, took the urn and placed it in the small opening in the wall, covered it with her marker, and then started sealing the grave. I didn’t know whether to stop singing or keep going, but opted to continue just as our friend Pisti was doing. Our singing wasn’t that bad.  We were so glad that Pisti was able to share the gospel with the family during the ceremony. What a joy to know that they still have hope.

By now many of you have heard that IMB has had to make the decision to offer voluntary retirement, available to 600 – 800 field personnel and office staff in Richmond, Virginia, in order to become more financially in line with our budget. Our age and years of service in Europe make us eligible for this opportunity. Please be in prayer for us and our colleagues as we seek to know God’s will for our future in ministry here in Hungary. We need to make a decision in the next few days and this is very difficult after pouring our lives into the lives of the people we have come to love over the years. We are so grateful for the support we have received from each of you and ask that you offer up additional support during this time of decision and potential transition.

Mike and Terry

Betsy's update for the week

Hello Everyone,

I hope that this email finds each of you well and that everyone is enjoying the beginning of fall.  It has gotten a bit cooler here in Nagykanizsa, which I am super excited about since fall is my favorite season!

First off, let me apologize for the pause in updates.  Things have been a bit busy around here; however, I will now attempt to update everyone.  Two weeks ago, I traveled to Helsinki, Finland with another friend who is a journeyman for a quick vacation before the semester starts for us.  It was a wonderful time of relaxation, encouragement, and rejuvenation.  It was great to hang out with my friend as we encouraged one another to finish our time off well.  (Some pictures are below).  I returned last Monday and taught my first student of the semester, Z., on Tuesday.  We had a great conversation about what exactly Passover is and how Jesus became our Passover sacrificial lamb.  She was very interested, but didn’t fully understand that she needed a Passover lamb.  Please pray that these conversations would continue and that God would work on her heart to hear and understand His word. 

On Wednesday I traveled to Croatia, as my supervisors had surgery.  Please be in prayer for them and their recovery.  Sunday we also had house church and celebrated several birthdays.  It was a great time as we learned from Luke chapter 4 and how prophecies of Jesus have come true.  Please pray that this news would work on hearts and that believers would be faithful to share with their friends and neighbors.  Finally, please be in prayer for this upcoming week as I will be traveling to a school to discuss what American holidays are.  Pray that I might form relationships and might even be able to relate our holidays to the gospel. 

Thank you all so much for the prayers.  They mean more to me than I can say.

In Christ,
Betsy

Prayer Requests:

-upcoming time at school
-supervisors’ recovery
-youth group this Friday
-new students and conversations with them
-Z. to understand her need for a Savior
-to finish well as I have only four months remaining
-future decisions
-upcoming Bible studies with non-believers

Hathcocks' prayer update excerpts

Greetings from Debrecen!

So thankful for today and God's faithfulness. We are so excited about how God will work through Darrel's class. He had a great first meeting. I will wait another week before assigning students for prayer until the class list is final.

We are thankful for the things God is doing on Monday nights. Darrel's class especially has a mix of non-Christians and new believers. J. is really coming along. Keep praying because there are others who need to know Jesus. We were on campus Wednesday walking and praying and asking God for conversations. It is very interesting as we walked around we saw so many different kinds of people from many different places. This week we found out that there has been a building purchased near campus for the purpose of functioning as a mosque. We see a lot of M students.

Please continue to pray:

• God will continue to send those who He wants to be a part of the class and that there will be opportunities to talk after class.
• Monday night, that God would give us wisdom as we teach and disciple the young people who come.
• Our desire is to be a good steward of the time God gives us with the students who come into our lives. We would encourage, teach and equip them for the things that God has planned for their lives.
• All the M students who are on campus, that the witness of Christians would be strong and that believers would have the boldness to share there faith.
• Please keep praying about the refugee situation in Hungary and throughout Europe. God would give the leaders wisdom and that the refugees would have the opportunity to hear the gospel and experience His love.

Thank you so much for praying,
Kimberly Hathcock

Hathcocks' prayer update excerpts

Greetings from Debrecen,

We are thankful to be here in Hungary at this time working with students. Darrel's class will start this Wednesday! If you would like to pray for one student for this first semester let me know and in the next couple of weeks when we get the final class list I will send you their name. We are excited about seeing how God will work in their lives this semester. We continue with school and we are expecting my mom and her husband to visit us. We are very excited. Darrel preached this morning at an international church and did a wonderful job challenging the students. As you have probably heard in the news that the refugee crisis continues and intensifies. There is not easy solution.

Please pray:

• Darrel's class on Wednesday, that God will bring the students He wants in the class. Darrel will communicate clearly and the students will feel the freedom to participate in the discussions. He will be a light and that the conversations will continue after class.
• Wisdom and discernment for the government officials working with the refugees. Also for the best way believers can offer practical and spiritual help to the immigrants.
• Students who came to church this morning would see themselves as missionaries where God has placed them among other students. They would be bold and ready to share their faith.
• IMB missionaries who will have the opportunity to take an early retirement in the next few months, that God would speak to them clearly and that He would give them peace. Also for everyone else who is waiting on God, to discern what His plans are for their lives. We are all praying and asking God for what He wants us to do.
• J. continues to come to Bible study and is still very open to God. Pray that what ever is stopping him from fully trusting in Jesus will be removed.
• D. continues to call from his home country and will be back with his father at the end of this month. Pray that God would give him the ability to understand and believe in Jesus. Only God can do that!!!
• While Darrel teaches at the university, the girls and I will be on campus, pray that God would give us divine appointments to share the gospel.
• God would give us the ability to learn and speak Hungarian as we meet with teachers this week and prepare for an exam in December.
• I need wisdom as I teach my daughters that God would direct my words so that they bring clarity where there is confusion and encouragement when they are discouraged.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Blessings,
Kimberly Hathcock

Brown family newsletter August 2015

Dear Friends and Family,

We are witnessing one of the largest refugee movements Europe has seen since World War II. Governments and politicians are seeking solutions to this crisis, but there is no agreement as to what should be done beyond providing humanitarian assistance and granting asylum. As you have probably seen in the media, Hungary is in the eye of the storm as they attempt to secure their border with Serbia and register all immigrants entering the European Union, which is understood in the Schengen Agreement.

While governments and politicians work through issues and solutions, there are ordinary citizens -- especially believers and churches -- who are greeting refugees as they enter cities and congregate at transit service centers, train stations and parks with bottles of water, food, toiletries, medical services, clothes, diapers, etc.

If anyone is interested in serving and caring for refugees coming through Budapest, we’ll be glad to talk and explore ways to serve. Gary Miller, our team strategy leader, can also be contacted; Gary has contacts with various groups and agencies working with refugees coming through Hungary. Contact Gary through the contact form on the Heart for Hungary webpage. 

Baptist Global Response is helping refugees displaced by the Syria conflict; you can learn more at: https://gobgr.org/news/news_detail/help-and-hope-for-syrian-refugees

Please pray for the refugee crisis, for European governments and peoples to respond with compassion and understanding. Pray for wisdom and discernment in knowing the best ways to help asylum seekers and how to resolve the causes of this massive migration.

Moreover, this is a huge opportunity for the gospel to be shared among people who may not have had access to it before. Pray that churches and believers will lovingly serve and care for refugees in the name of Christ and intentionally, boldly, clearly tell the gospel and invite refugees to believe, repent and follow Jesus.

Attached is our family’s newsletter for August. (Download here.) Please forward and share with your church, Sunday school class, Bible study and missions group and others.

As always, we are grateful for your prayers and the faithful support Southern Baptist churches give to the Cooperative Program and generous gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. You make it possible for us to serve as Christ’s ambassadors here.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. I Peter 1:2

Ron and Robin

Hathcocks' prayer update excerpts

Greetings from Debrecen!

Thankful for this week and how God provides. Our hearts remain open to what God's future plans are for us. We trust in the One who knows everything. We are thanking God for a wonderful service yesterday when we had our once a month English worship. God's Word is powerful and encouraging. Darrel continues to talk with D. about spiritual things and just last week he was able to see the connection between our prayers and a situation that was resolved. Yeah! The students are making their way back to Debrecen and will start classes in the following weeks. The refugee situation has become a big issue among Hungarians and seems to be the topic of many discussions. There are so many people coming at once that the system is overwhelmed and many people are fearful. Our company is considering the best way to help out.

Please continue to pray:

• For the many students who will be returning to Debrecen, that they will connect with other believers, and that those who are not believers would have hearts that are open to hearing the good news. Especially praying for those who are coming from countries that do not have many opportunities to hear the truth.
• That D. would continue to be open and that we would see God's hand in his life. That he would choose to be a believer.
• That God would give us divine appointments as we meet students.  We live in a typical college town so in the summer it seems empty, but when the students come back you can notice a difference in the amount of people who live here.
• Pray for us and other m's who need wisdom and clear direction from God.
• Wisdom for those who are working with the refugees, that God would help them to know the best way to help, and that they would be open and have the opportunity to hear about Jesus.

Thank you for praying!

***I am including a 40 days of prayer for European people:  Download here

Blessings,
Kimberly Hathcock

Betsy's update for the week

Hello Everyone,

I hope that this email finds each of you well!  Things are starting to get busy here in Hungary.  School starts this week.  Please be in prayer for all of our students.  Pray that they will have a great start to the school year, study hard, and excel in their classes.  Please be in special prayer for our believer students, as well.  Pray that, in addition, they would be a light for their fellow classmates and would be bold to share the gospel with their friends.  Please also pray that God might open hearts of the students that he sends our way to learn English.  Pray that they would have eager hearts to learn about Jesus and His desire for a personal relationship with them. 
Finally, please be in prayer for Friday and Saturday.  Friday night we are having Youth Group again and Saturday we are having a party for back to school.  Please pray that many would come and that we can make new points of contact.  We had Sunday House church this week and many people returned from summer vacation and activities.  Please pray that we can reconnect with those relationships. 

On a different note,  I wanted to mention a change that has recently taken place within our company.  I’m sure some of you have seen the article, but I wanted to make sure that you were aware, since you are my prayer partners.  As some of you know, the IMB has had some financial challenges over the last few years and our budget has not been able to be balanced.  Due to this, we have a deficit that must we corrected.  After much prayer and consideration, it has been decided that the next best step is to decrease our number of personnel both in the states and on the field.  Currently, the company is projecting for 600-800 units to leave by the beginning of next year.  Of course, this is quite a large step; however, we are trusting that God is sovereign over the company and what we do.  I am mainly telling you this to ask for prayer.  Please pray for the leadership of the company.  Pray that God would direct their steps in the days ahead, steps that would glorify and honor Him.  Please pray for the units that will be leaving their positions.  Pray for good transitions and continue spread of the gospel.  Please pray for those who remain as many will have to take on more responsibility.  Pray for flexibility, openness, understanding, and above all perseverance in spreading His word.  I have attached the press release below, and if you have any further questions, please respond back and I will try to answer them as best I can or direct you to someone who can answer them. 

Thank you all so much for the prayers and your partnership.  They mean more to me than I can express. 

In Christ
Betsy

Prayer Requests:
-upcoming school year
-believers to be strong
-Friday night group
-party on Saturday
-upcoming vacation
-reconnecting with friends
-Sunday House Group
-future of the company


Link to press release: http://www.imb.org/updates/storyview-3489.aspx#.VeS9U7QnVUQ