Hey Y’all! Just want to give you guys an update on how our day went, what went on, and something the Lord has been teaching me. It started out with a late morning (one of the few we could sleep in on) and we split up in three groups. One went to Cornerstone, the church that meets in the Montazs Cafe, one went to Golgota, a church that meets in an old movie theater, and the last group took the morning to recharge with alone time, devos, and more sleep. I, Sharon, Leah, Alyssa, and Emilee went to Golgota and had a blessed time there. The worship was fun because it was in Hungarian and the sermon was translated into English. The sermon was on Mathew 5 and how we as Christians should be the salt of the earth. It has been encouraging to see first hand how Christ’s Church really is global through the participation in worship and service with the Hungarian believers. Once everyone got back from the services, we went and got lunch in the area around our apartment. Zing Burger is a new favorite among many of us.

After lunch we traveled back to the ministry center (above the Montazs) and had a time of prayer and encouragement before attending church at KEGY. We sat in a circle and prayed for and encouraged everyone. It was meant to recap the week in what strengths we had seen in each person in our team and then prayed for them in the coming week. I think it really helped all of us focus on the importance of each person on our team and how we could grow personally. Following our encouragement time we set up our classrooms and met with our class teams to plan for the week.

The afternoon KEGY service was very encouraging. We sang songs in English and Hungarian and Sam delivered the sermon. It was on Acts 17 when Paul preaches in the Greek Areopagus. Sam taught how Paul’s message was the Gospel: Christ’s death, resurrection, and second coming. How we must call out to Jesus and repent because Christ is the one who will judge in his righteous appointment. That is the Gospel we must share to the Hungarians and all who we encounter. The result, we saw in God’s Word, was that some believed Paul and some mocked Paul. Sam ended the sermon with the encouragement to share this good news and only this good news with unbelievers, with boldness and courage because God is the one who changes hearts and knows our hearts. Communion afterwards left me feeling very fulfilled and ready for the week. I think we were all very grateful for the time of worship.

We enjoyed pizza from the church and a time of fellowship following the sermon. Once our time at the ministry center was completed we took the Metra home but on the way we stopped and got palacsintas – thin crepes with anything you want inside covered in sprinkles, powdered sugar, and four cherries. It was very veryyyy good. In fact I think we will probably make an early morning palacsinta run before camp.

Overall today was a very restful and encouraging day. I think we are all excited and prepared for this next week. Something the Lord has been teaching me personally is that God is the one who judges our heart. This gives us complete freedom to interact with the kids in a Christ-like manner as faithful witnesses knowing that no matter what the kids think of us, we are ultimately serving our Lord. I am excited for all that He has planned for us this week and look forward to all the ways he will continue to teach and bless us.