Monday, February 23, 2009

February Update

Greetings from Eger!

Here's an update on what's been going on with us for the past 2 months.
At Christmas time we got to go to the States to visit our family and friends. It always seems that our trips to the States are both too short and too long - because we don't get to have enough time as we'd like with everyone, but yet it is a long time to be away from Eger.
It was really nice to have a family Christmas in Colorado with Nick's parents and Rosemary's brother, Tony. It was a blessing to get to visit with our friends and supporters as well.

Since arriving back in Hungary, we've been sick quite a bit. Just this past week we all got the flu, and Nate had a fever of 104 F (40 C) for 3 days, and still has a fever, although it is getting lower.

One big thing that happened recently, is that 2 weeks ago our house got broken into and robbed. We went out for dinner with some friends, and came home to find our stuff all over the floor. It took a minute to realize what had happened, and then we started looking for our stuff, and realized that a lot of things were missing. The robbers broke into our building with a crowbar, and then went out into our yard and pried one of our windows open, and came in that way. The police came out and we filed a report, but so far they haven't found anything. All in all, we lost about $5000 worth of stuff - mostly electronics and jewelry, including our laptop and camera and some stuff that we can't replace, like Rosemary's mom's wedding ring, and jewelry from our wedding. The bright side is that we weren't home when it happened, and we're all safe. Its an unsettling feeling that someone broke in; Balázs was especially shaken up by it. This is the first time someone's broken in, but the second time we've been robbed here at this place, and someone tried to break into another flat in this building last year.
We would like to move sometime soon, not just because of this, but because we'd also like to have another baby, and would need the extra space. We'd like to maybe buy a flat or house rather than rent. We've started looking already, but we're probably going to start doing it more seriously after this.

Personal
  • Nathaniel: Is now almost 18 months, and he is quite the busy little boy. He is starting so say some words and loves to imitate things and make animal noises.
    We had to take him to the emergency room for the first time recently, because he climbed out of his crib and hit his head on the floor. We had a big bump on his head that lasted a week and a half, and we had to take him to get x-rays, but thankfully there was no serious problem.
  • Balázs: Has been doing better in school since he moved in with us. We can see that he has a lot more self-confidence, and its nice to see him growing as a person.
    He is finishing the 8th grade, so he will start Secondary School in the fall. He applied to a good school here in Eger that specializes in technology, and it looks like they will accept him.
  • Rosemary: Has been sick 3 times already in the past month, and hasn't been getting a lot of sleep because of the baby being sick too. She's been having a rough time of it, so please pray for her.
  • Nick: Started studying theology through a distance learning program with the University of Gloucestershire (England), and is excited to go back to school and hopefully get a degree out it.

  • Prayer Reqests:
    • Praise the Lord that we are all safe
    • For our health - especially for that of Nathaniel and Rosemary
    • For the safety of our family
    • For us to find the right place to move to
    • For our desire and plan to have another baby
    • Nick to be wise with his time, as starts school
    Calvary Chapel of Eger
    On Feb 6-8 we had our 3rd annual church retreat in Mátrafüred, about an hour from Eger. These retreats are one our favorite things we do with the church. They are always times when we grow closer to the Lord and closer to each other, as we spend the weekend in fellowship together, hanging out, cooking, playing sports, going hiking, and studying God's Word.
    Horvát-Kávai Árpi, Andi, and Nina came up from Vajta, and Árpi taught the Bible studies, which were a blessing to everyone.

    We have started planning for our summer English Camp outreach, which will be July 27- Aug 1. We are praying for helpers to come, as we are expecting a bigger turnout than ever before. We just got the flyers back from the printer - we ordered almost twice as many as in previous years, and we hope to have more kids there than ever before. If the Lord does this, then it will require a lot more work and a lot more helpers, so please pray for that.

    The church as a whole is doing well. The last few weeks we have had a packed house on Sundays, so much so, that people have had a hard time finding seats. Praise the Lord for that, and pray that it continues, and the Lord uses us in a great way to make disciples and reach Eger for Jesus Christ.

    One noteworthy thing, is that on one of our Wednesday night Bible studied a few weeks ago, one of the girls in the church made the comment, What, are there only guys in this church? Now, that's obviously an exaggeration, since there are many girls in the church - its probably 50-50 really, but it shows that God has really answered our prayers for more men and families to join the church. Of the people who have recently joined the church, most of them are men. We see this as a really good thing, because when we started the church was almost only young girls, and we are glad to have this healthy balance.

    Prayer Requests:
    • Praise the Lord for the good things He is doing among us
    • Praise the Lord, that He has answered our prayers
    • For those in the church who are suffering financially
    • For those in the church who are unemployed and need work
    • For Allert and Anita, a couple from church who got married on Saturday
    • For love and unity to be characteristic of our body
    • For a great harvest of souls in Eger!

    Thank you for your prayers and support! Please feel free to contact us; we would love to hear from you.

    God bless,
    Nick and Rosemary

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