Johnson Prayer Letter Update Summer 2009

Sum mer 2009 Dear Friends,

We need to begin this ministry update letter with a very personal special prayer request which is currently unfolding in our lives. Chris’ mother has just been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer which has already reached an advanced stage. There are no truly promising treatment options. Obviously, we are still in shock and making arrangements to travel to Charlotte, NC as soon as possible. We were planning a furlough beginning next June, but in God’s timing He is bringing us home a bit early. Debbie’s father had a bit of health scare earlier this year, but is doing well right now. Thanks in advance for your prayers for our families as we walk in faith down this path which God has planned for us. Stay tuned to our blog johnsonfamilyhungary.blogspot.com for further updates.

Hilltop Experiences, Hockey Stars, HulaHoops In May, our team hosted a group of 14 from Liberty University who have expressed an interest in using their degree of study in missions and world evangelism. We tried to expose them to as many different aspects of missionary life and ministry as possible in the 7 days they were with us in Hungary. (Their tour of the region also included visits to ABWE missionaries in the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovakia.). Besides helping with a major Spring cleaning project at our Resource Training Center building which we called “Extreme Makeover RTC”, they organized a youth outreach in partnership with our church plant and 2 other church plants in the area. The typical “around the campfire” snack for Hungarians is chunks of fatback melted and dripped onto thick slices of bread. As you can see, it seems that the “S’mores” were a big hit! Another day of their visit was spent in concentrated prayer for the city of Budaörs and the Solid Rock Baptist Church which started in 2001 with significant involvement of then ABWE missionaries, Jon &

the

Johnsons

Hunga ry

Tóth Ilona utca 4. + 2049 Diósd, HUNGARY + +36 23 370-018 + [email protected] + http://johnsonfamilyhungary.blogspot.com

2

Lori Haskell, who had to return to the US for family medical reasons in 2005. Pastor István Durkó leads this dynamic congregation of about 70 people. The church rents a former cinema to hold their worship services and uses a myriad of ministry activities to build relationships and communicate the gospel to this professing Catholic (but largely spiritually apathetic and self-sufficient) middle to upper-class town of 26,000 which is growing rapidly near the intersection of 3 major motorways. From the rocky hills overlooking the city, our Liberty guests joined Pastor István and others from the fellowship in praying over the city, asking God to build His Church in Budaörs and call out a people for the glory of His Name. You can see more about the church’s ministry at www.kosziklagyulekezet.hu and pictures and video of our prayer day in Budaörs can be seen at webshots.com and vimeo.com or click on the links on our blog johnsonfamilyhungary.blogspot.com. When the email arrived saying that a former NHL goalie would be in Budapest for a couple days and available for ministry, I really had no idea where to start except to call one of my English students whose son plays in a youth hockey league. Like myself, my friend had never heard of John VanBiesbrouck, but his son’s coach had not only heard of John, but called him “one of his favorite players” and was shocked that the Hall of Fame goalie was willing to come to Hungary. Before we knew it, the news of John’s visit had reached the office of the president of the Hungarian Hockey Association. Suddenly, the opportunities became endless. For one very long day in June, we shuttled John from one side of Budapest to the other, from one event to another: practice and Q&A at a youth hockey camp, lunch and tour of the Hungarian Parliament building by one of the legislators, practice with National Youth Team goalies along with one of Hungary’s top professional hockey players, Levente Szuper, interviews with all the major sports press outlets, autograph signing, more Q&A and testimony sharing with players and coaches and finally dinner with the Hockey Association leadership. John was able to share his faith in Christ very clearly several times during that eventful day. The next day’s headline in the largest sports newspaper in the country read: “Az Isten kapusa” (God’s Goalie). The other major event we scheduled for John was a “Father-Son Sports Banquet” featuring John and ABWE missionary and professional sports chap-

Johnsons

the

Hungary

3

lain, Bruce MacDonald as speakers. Since such events are not typical and hockey is such a minor (though growing) sport in Hungary, we wondered if we’d be able to fill the 70-seat restaurant room we had reserved. God blessed our faltering faith with a full house with at least 2/3rds being non-believers! Dignitaries from the local city council attended, but perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the presence of Hungary’s most famous hockey fan, a popular rap music artist who calls himself “Gangxsta Zoli.” That evening everyone in that room heard the story of John’s changed life and Bruce’s clear relevant explanation of the gospel. On a side note, Bruce also had a chance to have a lengthy conversation about salvation with my friend (NT), the one whose son plays youth hockey and helped get the ball rolling with John’s schedule. He has now received a New Testament and other materials. We plan to begin a study of the Gospel of John this month. You can watch a video biography of John VanBiesbrouck’s career on YouTube.com. You can see video and more pictures of the sports banquet and John’s ministry in Hungary on our webshots.com and vimeo.com websites also accessible from our blog, johnsonfamilyhungary.blogspot.com. As part of his involvement in the community, the church-planter/pastor with whom we are partnering (Gyuri Varga, pictured left) serves on the board of the local public elementary school. In an effort to build relationships with the teachers, parents and children, he offered our church’s assistance in organizing and conducting the 8-week Summer Day Camp program which involves children from eight public schools in the district. So, for one solid week and 3 days a week for most of the others, members of our church, our ABWE-Hungary missionary team (including Brianna & other MKs) and helpers from the USA (two college girls from Florida & a family from Indiana) had an opportunity to impact the lives of between 60 and 100 kids, ages 6 to 14 every week this summer. It was quite a bit different from the VBS programs we typically conduct through our church, especially since the public school environment is supposed to be “religiously neutral” with no active “proselytizing.” In spite of these stated restrictions, we were still able to demonstrate the love of Christ, build relationships, present clear

Johnsons

the

Hungary

4

moral lessons and talk about our personal faith in private conversations. The teachers, principals and city council were very gracious in their expressions of appreciation for our help. We’re pleased and excited about the foundation that’s been established. As a follow-up, we’ve invited the children to a half-day event at our church on Sept. 18th which will be more like a regular VBS / Kids Bible Club event.

Other Highlights In late June, Gary & Gloria Nance came from our home church in NC to encourage us and serve alongside us for 10 days. They provided a wonderful children’s program during our church’s family retreat and helped with many practical aspects related to the Sports Banquet. The Phillips family (Kevin, Joy, Christiana & Brianna) are approaching the end of their first year of ministry with us in Hungary. We are proud of their progress in Hungarian language study, impressed by their genuine love for Hungarians and grateful for the gifts they bring to our ABWE team and the ministry of church-planting in Hungary. We pray that God’s grace will continue to sustain them as they deal with all the issues of adapting to a new culture as well as the unique challenges which come with being parents of a special needs child. Their website address is www.phillips4hungary.com. Our daughter and son-in-law, Bethanie & Joe Wakefield, recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. They still live and work in Charlotte, NC. Joe and his musician friend, Ryan, are in the final stages of producing a demo CD for distribution with the prayer that God would open even more doors for their ministry through music.

We’ve received close to $13,000 in special gifts to help defray the non-covered medical expenses we wrote about in our February email update. Since that time, we’ve acquired an additional $1500 due mainly to a major dental procedure. Please consider helping us retire this remaining deficit which currently stands at $3400. Checks should be made out to “ABWE,” designated for account# 11064 and mailed to: ABWE, POB 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585. You can also donate using the web at www.abwe.org/give. Thanks so much for the blessing you are in our lives!

Johnsons

the

Hungary

X $3400