by Brooks Nesse | Aug 9, 2018 | 2018 Posts
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your prayers this week as we have been ministering to the campers. This week has been challenging but we have learned a lot through this week and the challenges we experienced, (ie luggage that missed our flight due to a delay) and I know the Lord has helped us through it all. This year has been my (Hannah) 4th year to WOL Hungary. I have learned a lot. It has been a blessing to get to know my team members. It also has been a blessing getting to know the campers and new faces this week. Yesterday (Wednesday) I was able to share my testimony/adoption story with our English group. I didn’t have much time to prepare but it went well.
I (Gail) am amazed how to the Lord orchestrates the salvation of His children. A testimony here (baseball, football, English classes, and camp fires), sharing the gospel here, there and everywhere (baseball, football, English classes. restrooms, Bible hour, dramatic skits, and dorm rooms)! Sending people across the globe to teach and to instruct. Prayers are lifted up months in advance, garage sales are planned, and are carried out in miraculous ways all for the salvation of a soul. O how He loves us so! Four days down, one to go. Please pray for those who have not yet heard, have not yet seen, and have not yet understood.
I (Hannah) feel like the Lord has worked in so many ways for myself and my team. This week has to be one of my favorite weeks this summer. Please be in prayer for us on Saturday as we travel home. Like Brooks said, “The mission doesn’t stop here”. At home you will always find an opportunity to share the gospel.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-15
Gail Rodgers and Hannah Regier
by Ellie Regier | Aug 8, 2018 | 2018 Posts
Hello everyone! First off thank you for keeping us in your prayers. This year we have been coaching baseball. We have passed out the gloves and the dallas cowboys shirts to all of the baseball students. While we were distributing the items Charlie Reibenstein was explaining how this is a gift of grace nobody deserves. The students were so grateful and pleased to not have earned this gift but given it anyways. Helping Charlie pass out these items every year and watching how the kids light up- never seems to get old. Tonight they had a drama event which led to Adám giving a devotional about accepting Christ right at that moment. He asked the students to come up to the front of the stage if they had accepted Christ but only if they felt led to. About fifty campers went up, seven of them being our baseball students, such as: Akós, Balint, Norbi, Mira, Levy, Jami, and Eliza. It was absolutely amazing and encouraging to witness our own students accept Christ into their lives. We were so overjoyed we didn’t want to leave the room. It will always be a great memory to talk about!
Ella Avila & Luke Rodgers
by Brooks Nesse | Aug 8, 2018 | 2018 Posts
Word of Life Hungary Update:
Thank you all so much for the prayers that you have sent to us, they have traveled all the way from Dallas to the Word of Life Hungary camp. I can assure all of you that God has answered your prayers and he is continuing to do so. Every day here at the camp has been a blessing to all of us, we have been blessed with the privilege and honor of witnessing God at work. I know that God has transformed many here at the camp, those who trusted in Christ for the first time this week and those who have already trusted Christ but are still growing in their faith through this camp.
You all must be wondering why this blog is titled Kegyelem (Grace), this word had been brought up all day and will continue to be brought up within the week at camp. Every morning one of our team members have the great honor of proclaiming to all of the kids in the sports camp the testimony of Jesus Christ in their lives. On this morning of the camp, Charlie had the opportunity of sharing his testimony to the kids, and the first thing that he said to them was “Kegyelem.” Please pray that they would understand what this Grace is, the free gift that God has given us, not because of anything that we have done, but because God loves us and through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ, we can have a relationship with him and have eternal life. What better gift is there?!
God has been at work throughout this whole week, but the evil one has also been working in the shadows this week. We saw it on display before we even got to the camp, through the loss of our luggage. We have also seen it on display as we had just learned that one of the the English teachers named Carol (volunteer from Florid) had gotten sick and is not well. She and her husband Max are from Florida and they have been a blessing to us and to the kids. Please keep Carol in your prayers, may she have a full recovery and be able to teach English and continue to be a witness to the kids and us. The evil one is at work in many ways, but our Heavenly Father will protect his children and will not let the evil one destroy us.
With this missions trip being my first time out of the country, it has been a very interesting experience. Trying to have conversations with some of the Hungarians is difficult but having translators are a blessing. One thing that has amazed me is knowing the the Hungarian Christians are going to be in heaven with us, and although I cannot understand them in this life, I will be able to understand them and worship with them in the next life. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I cannot wait for the day when I will be able to to see my Hungarian brothers and sisters in Christ in heaven for eternity!
There is so much more that I want to share but it is getting super late and I will need my rest for another day full of Grace! Please be praying for the salvation of the many Hungarians that do not know Christ in the camp yet, also be praying for courage and boldness for each of us to give an answer for the hope that we have in Christ, be praying against any complications and workings of the evil one, Satan does not like what we are doing and he will try to throw everything plus the kitchen sink at us. I have seen God answer prayers in Rockford, Illinois and he will never stop answering our prayers, so pray big for the rest of this week. God is going to do something special this week!
In Christ,
John Wattron
by Brooks Nesse | Aug 6, 2018 | 2018 Posts
Word of Life Hungary update
Monday, August 6, 2018
First of all- thank you for your earnest prayers! The team can tell that you all have been faithfully lifting us up in prayer and we are so grateful! The Lord has been answering in big and small ways and we are encouraged to know that He is at work in all things.
We are grateful that it rained a bit last night and brought down the temperature by a few degrees. I know we are supposed to be used to the heat, coming from Texas, but we are really used to having air conditioning, which we do not have here. So the few degrees lower today was delightful!
We are grateful that our luggage arrived yesterday earlier than expected! We heard that you all had prayed specifically for that and the Lord answered- we received it in time to sort out the supplies and have everything ready for the campers today.
The camp began this morning in earnest. All of the English teachers had prepared lessons for the morning sessions, and when we met briefly afterwards, we all seemed a bit discouraged. The students seemed very shy and reluctant to talk and we had difficulty drawing them out. We discussed different strategies to try in the afternoon and encouraged one another. We had time in the afternoon to pray for our groups and we knew that you were praying for us, as well. The afternoon sessions all went well and we felt uplifted in spirit. The students began to laugh with us and volunteer conversations and information. Everyone cheerfully prepared for tomorrow’s sessions with great hope that the “ice” has been broken.
The baseball and football camps also got underway today. Some campers have never played these sports previously while others are repeat campers. There are two girls in the football camp, which is new. Many campers were really excited that Brooks and Charlie were back to coach! All the kids had a blast. The coaches praise the Lord for great weather, good attitudes among the Redeemer volunteers, and clean clothes to change into after the workouts!
Mealtimes are not for the faint-hearted! We enter the room greeted by loud music, which continues throughout the time. There are songs and skits and competitions, and lots of laughter. It is wonderful to see the campers having such a great time. It is easy to see how this experience can change their lives. We have attached a video clip which demonstrates how music can unite different cultures! (You can click on the two links at the bottom of the page to view two different videos).
We have been blessed to join in the evening chapel these past two nights. Tonight, as we left the building, several students indicated that they had trusted Christ and were staying behind to talk with their counselors. Praise God! Many of us will have the opportunity to share our personal testimonies with our individual groups of campers over the next several days. Please lift this up in fervent prayer- for us to be bold and sensitive as we speak, and for the Holy Spirit to open the hearts and minds of these young people and draw them to Christ.
-Kyle Renard
by Ellie Regier | Aug 5, 2018 | 2018 Posts
Thank you to everyone who prayed and continues to pray for us! We’ve been feeling those prayers since the hour we left the States! We arrived without complications in Philly, but barely on schedule. Who knew that we would be literally running through an airport to catch the last leg of our journey! After being warned of severe storms in Philly, our flight was delayed for almost an hour, which meant we arrived right on the minute when our connecting flight to Budapest was scheduled to depart. Thankfully the captain was late, which helped stall the departure for a little while longer, though barely long enough. A couple of our team members tried desperately to convince the airline staff to hold off on closing the gate till all of us were able to board together. That obstacle was overcome, although by the time we boarded, word got around that we were the group who delayed the departure time…
After a long eight hour flight, most of us—and by “most of us,” I mean all of us humans arrived in Budapest; our luggage got held behind in Philly. So we made due with the clothes on our backs and walked for miles around Budapest, touring the city with Adam and Tomás and his wife. Later we went to a store and bought some clothes and toiletries to tie us over till our luggage arrives, which thankfully we have received word that it is due to arrive by tonight.
This afternoon, we separated into our sports and English teams, and tomorrow we will be beginning our lessons. The campers are arriving as I type this, so please pray for them. They come from all areas of Hungary, each one with a different story and upbringing. Pray for unity among the staff and volunteers, especially those who have been working since the first week of camp. Pray also that we will have energy, optimism, kindness, openness, and willing hearts. Pray for safety, for connections to be made, and for the Spirit to work in the hearts of everyone at camp. We are excited to share with y’all the work God is doing here at Word of Life (WOL) Hungary!
Till tomorrow,
~Helene (Ellie)
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