YWAM Budapest
We’ve been back in The Netherlands for almost two months now, and already a little used to being back again. And did it ever take some getting used to; being back in our little house here after living in such a castle for five months!!! Ha ha!
We have both dived back in to our work here at Heidebeek, which brings mixed feelings at times. I (Rodney) am finding it a challenge to get back into the swing of life here at Heidebeek. The office in Budapest was just so quiet compared to the busyness of Heidebeek. Jolanda is getting settled back in fairly well, but she also feels ambivalent as she stays in contact with the work she started doing for YWAM Central Europe. One thing is certain, though, that having tasted working and living in Budapest, we certainly miss it!
The most frequently asked questions!
Budapest
Since we’ve been back in The Netherlands, many people hav asked us: “Will you be going back to Budapest?”
We are hoping to have everything worked out so that, sometime next year, we can take the big step of returning to Budapest. We both feel strongly that God has given us a clear “yes!” about Budapest. This has been a process that we have been in for more than a year, but having lived in Budapest and especially now that we’re back in The Netherlands, we feel the confirmation more strongly than ever.
The next question people usually ask is: “When will you be going back to Budapest?”
This one’s a little harder to answer. First and foremost we need to increase our monthly financial support. Up until this point, the Dutch government has been our biggest supporter, in a manner of speaking. As soon as we officially leave The Netherlands as our country of residence, we will have to give up about $550 per month of social benefits that we receive from the government. Another important question is the girls’ education: will we homeschool them like we did during the trial period, should we put them in local, Hungarian school, or should we choose for the International Christian School where all of the YWAM kids are going. This last option would be the easiest and best long-term solution for our family, but that will cost about $4500 per child per year!
In other words, to be able to live in Budapest, we need to see our monthly support increase by $1400 to $2100 per month!
“Jumping into the deep end…”
We have faith that God will bring us to Budapest. How and when He will do that, is not yet completely clear. We are taking it one step at a time, being careful not to get ahead of the grace and faith He has granted us. At this time, we feel that God is asking us to start raising support before we can definitely say when we will return. This could change at some point and we ask for much prayer for wisdom that we don’t jump too soon or wait too long.
Of course, we have our share of doubts about the whole undertaking. Doubt can sometimes be good, in that it pushes us to draw closer to Jesus and rely on Him. If we felt complete confidence in ourselves, we might forget to take the time to seek Him, and that would be a big mistake. When God calls us to do something, it is often like “jumping into the deep end”, and comes with some doubt and trepidation. The question is, really, if we are going to push through the doubt onward into all that God has for us. Our answer to this is a resounding “yes!”
We covet your prayers in this and ask you to continue standing with us in prayer. Any words, scriptures, pictures or ideas you have, please let us know.
Equip Workshop in Vienna
Last week I, Rodney, attended the University of the Nations Equip workshop in Vienna, Austria. My primary purpose for going was to meet and network with communication staff working with YWAM in Europe, but I was also blessed and encouraged by the times of worship, messages and workshops that made up the busy schedule. It was also good to get to see some friends again that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Bud Speck, European comm. coordinator, Wycliffe
On Tuesday, I was also privileged to meet up with Bud Speck, the European communication coordinator for Wycliffe Bible Translators who is based in Austria. We spent some time getting to know each other and asking questions about our respective organizations and what our jobs are as communication coordinators. It was a blessing to meet up with him and we even talked about the possibility of meeting up sometime with the European communication people for Campus Crusade for Christ, and Operation Mobilisation (OM).
On Thursday, and informally througout the week, we as communicators working in Europe met up to talk about what EuroCom is and a little bit about what is going on in Europe. We discussed several issues, including what means there are for getting our news out to the different locations of YWAM Europe.
Furlough in the U.S.
In just a few days time, July 2nd, we will be flying out to Arizona, U.S.A.! The four weeks in Arizona are already filling up with activities. We will be giving a presentation in our church there in Globe on July 17th and we also want to visit with as many friends and supporters as possible. Of course, we will also be spending as much time as possible with my (Rodney’s) parents and celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary!
Thank you for the continued part you take in our ministry and our calling!