Evangelism, God prepares the hearts: 

May 2016 

The Room was packed full of Christians.  Only believers show up for evangelism training.  While we studied the Word and talked about evangelism the atmosphere was great.  When it was time to go out and meet people, a small storm erupted in the back of the room and quickly spread.  I gathered from the group’s first three comments that while they believed that God can do anything, they also believed that no one in their city was interested in talking about faith or religion.  Thus, the plan to go out to meet new people for three hours was generating great concern.  Despite their objections, we took a step of faith and trusted God to work through us.

When we gathered three hours later in the stuffy room there was a different atmosphere.  Lots of people were excited.  Many had just shared their faith.  Several had the best conversation that they had had in a month.  God had worked.  As some shared their experiences I collected a little information.  As you can see in the graph, on this day God led his children to a very interesting audience.  70% of those we met were open and interested in the message!  The data was shocking for everyone.  It revealed that God is at work in people’s lives and he can use us to connect with them. 

Sometimes we conclude that people aren't interested in our message.  Perhaps there are places and occasions that this is true.  But overall, we keep discovering that people are more open than what we thought.

Summer of the guitar

The long awaited boxes arrived for Justin. Guitar components. The dream come true. It was now time to figure out how to assemble the beast. In my opinion it required a healthy dose of confidence and courage for a 13 year-old to build his own electric guitar. The process was complicated by the fact that none of us knew anyone who had ever attempted the task before.

The process was interesting, at times comical and ultimately satisfying. If there were classic mistakes that a novice could make, we made them. Thus, we learned not only how to solder, but also how to un-solder our errors. In the end a sweet stratocaster was created that is Justin's greatest joy. It was one part of the summer that we will not forget.

And then came the puppy

It all happened so fast. While in Odessa, in the middle of a wonderful conference, Shari got an email from the breeder. The message informed Shari that on Sunday (the day after our return to Budapest) the pups would be 8 weeks old...old enough to find new homes. So after church we drove out to a place that breeds labs (mostly for seeing eye dog training). There Cristy had the pick of seven darling dogs. This little one caught her attention and within 30 minutes we had Maia. (Cristy named her)
The transition to being puppy owners has gone VERY WELL. Maia sleeps with our other lab -- Sierra. They have become fast friends. Lots of smiles at the Ginn's house.

Daredevil

Cristy surprised us all. The tree was cut off about 30 feet above the pine stray forest floor. Climbing the pole was plenty of excitement. Standing on top of it was more than what we expected. She held her composure and then jumped off. Got to love the girl.

Summer fun

We love being back in the states for a lot of reasons. Mostly to see the people. But a trip down the Animas River in Colorado is pretty nice as well. Dave is in the inter-tube. He flipped off of it about 50 meters down stream....what a ride!

God met with us

It is quite a privilege to be working with a thousand colleagues spread across 20 countries. Day by day God works through them to bring the Gospel to many.

One challenge that we constantly face is the responsibility of bringing inspiration, biblical teaching and motivation and training to this cast of more than thousand. Part of our tactic for acheiving this goal results in many trips and on-site visits. But these in and of themselves are not sufficient. Everyone once in a while we need to pull everyone together and ask the Lord to speak to us in a special way.

This is what happened at the end of January in Hungary. We call came together and God spoke, renewing our vision and our passion. To speak generally, most of the staff clearly said it was the best conference (most blessed) that they had been to yet. It ministered deeply to their souls and helped restore all of those issues that revolve around our First Love.

We are thrilled that God answered our prayers and did exceedingly above and beyond all we asked and imagined.

School Spirit

So, what is it like to have a family overseas? How much of "America" do we experience?

The answer can be surprising. We stay closely attached to the culture that we love. For instance, February is School Spirit month at our International School. The high point of the time is a big basketball tournament. Schools from Austria, Ukraine and Hungary converge on our little town of Diosdi for 3 days of serious ball playing.

In preparation for the event everyone invests something in developing school spirit. Cristy loves art. This love opens us a channel for her to rally with the school in generating that spirit. Starting over the Christmas holiday we planned together how she could create the largest banner our school (mascot -- Bulldogs) has ever seen.

Despite the fact that our house smelled like paint for 2 weeks, we pressed on to a wonderful conclusion and surprised the school with the banner you see in the picture. It is 4 x 3 meters and looks terrific in the school gym.