I’m pretty excited to be speaking at Dél-Pest church two weeks from today! A celebration of their 6th anniversary of a Christian community serving others!
This is a great church where I have amazing friends and always look forward to being there.
Category Archives: travel notes
helping
I’m headed to Hungary and Serbia on a regular trip in a couple of weeks. If you are in the USA and want to help in this tragic situation, there are a ton of organizations that will do good work with your donations. Seek them out.
On my upcoming trip I will be taking funds from our organization. We are having a small fund drive of our own. With a small matching gift to get us started ($500) we are trying to raise $500 to make $1,000. Of course more would be amazing too.
When I am there, I will be visiting numerous sites including Budapest and Szeged and taking a look at what is going on surrounding Szeged. I will prayerfully seek God’s wisdom about who to partner with. In the last days there have been numerous suggestions of how to help. Those suggestions are being carefully prayed through.
This crisis will last for a good long while. If you would like to help us reach our goal, any amount will help. You can learn about the fund drive and give HERE.
Whatever you do, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for the refugees, the workers who are giving of themselves and for wisdom and justice to be sought by leaders.
photo taken by my friend Kyle E. outside of Szeged
Filed under travel notes
20 years ago
A few years ago this week, I joined a pastor and a journalist on a pilgrimage of sorts, to the small town of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia. We were traveling to attend the annual memorial service. Each year as more remains are found they are buried in the cemetery that has become a national memorial.
Because we were traveling to the memorial service, and there was an American in the car. The car we were in was subjected to a very thorough search and my fellow travelers were carefully questioned at the border. This delay caused us to miss much of the service but we found the service on the radio.
This film is a reminder from that day.
There are many events remembering that atrocity of 20 years ago this week. This is a report from the BBC from London today.
Filed under Eastern Europe, travel notes
Budapest
A couple of quick days, far too quick to see everyone I’d wish, ends this morning as I head home.
As I was reading this morning I was struck by these words.
“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.” (Proverbs 14:15 ESV)
Filed under photos along the way, seeking understanding, travel notes
Some reflections on 6 years full time today #thankful
As I was getting my gear together this morning to catch the 0745 from Szeged to Budapest my friend Gabor congratulated me on my work anniversary. Seems he noted it on LinkedIn.
Once on the train I began to reflect on the idea that it’s appropriate that Gabor made that early congratulation since he was the first Hungarian I ever met when I first arrived in 1997. Back then I had come to Hungary to check on a student exchange program between Deak Ferenc Gimnazium in Szeged and The Covenant School in Charlottesville (which I served as Chaplain and ‘everything else that neither Copeland nor Collmus wanted to do’).
That visit to Szeged and Budapest in March of 1997 would be the seed God would use to behind the vision for the founding of CEO 3 years later in April of 2000.
Then, in late 2008, the idea to leave the security and safety of the paycheck from the school began to grow. Months later, and 6 years ago today, I walked out of Covenant after leading a prayer in a closing ceremony for the last time as an employee. Later that day I got on a plane to Hungary with a team for a short term trip.
Teams are now part of CEO’s history but my travels continue. I’m writing this post from a train, just finished a coffee and am getting picked up by a couple of pastors who I will ask some questions on a quick retreat.
I’m thankful to God. For I know that the development of our network of partners has been His hand at work.
So, yes, it is very appropriate that this anniversary fall on my first full day in Hungary after 4 weeks of travel to D. R. Congo, South Africa, Croatia, Palestine, Israel, Serbia and Bosnia i Hertzigovina.
It’s also timely that during an impromptu meeting ‘as I’m going’ with a ‘fellow disciple’ that he encouraged me that ministry progress (that I didn’t even know about) was fruit of our disciple making conversations. God is great! Thanks be to God!
See, it’s God’s deal, it’s God’s fruit. Our job, according to Jesus, is to make disciples as we go.
As you travel behind Jesus, point people to Him and learn from Him together.
kingdom travelin' 