Missions Conference 2009!

Praise the Lord for the start of a great New Year in Hungary! Us Weaver folk are looking towards 2009 as an exciting 365 days, full of changes, challenges, and blessing. We are waiting in anticipation for the extraordinary things God has in store for our marriage, life, and ministry this coming year.

This past weekend was the annual missions conference here at Word of Life Hungary. Every year, one ministry is chosen from places all over the world. The entire weekend is then devoted to promoting the ministry, encouraging the leadership, and exciting people about missions! It is not uncommon to see many of our past graduates attend the weekend's festivities along with many other guests, who come to hear the Word and be encouraged. The missions conference is always such an exciting time.

This year, the ministry chosen was from our home country of Hungary! Menedek Alapitvany (Refuge Center) has been active since 1986 and is a ministry devoted to helping the poor, homeless, and needy (Menedek's choir is pictured above). They are a refuge center for those who have no other place to go. Mothers who have abusive husbands, chidren who are kicked out of their homes, and men who want to have victory over alcoholism; these are just a few of the amazing testimonies we heard this past weekend. Menedek has taken in hundreds of downtrotten Hungarians and has shown them the true love of Christ. By giving these people a roof over their heads and food to eat, Menedek has been able to share the Gospel with hundreds! So many have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior through this wonderful ministry. It is so true when the Bible describes true religion in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Over the weekend, we were challenged to not only encourage Menedek as a ministry, but to renew our own hearts in our walk with the Lord. Probably the most precious key I took away from the conference was the need for me have a heart that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit. As a Christian, I already have the Holy Spirit living inside of me, but how often do I actually listen to Him? How often do I just do my own thing and ignore the many people I pass everyday who need Jesus? Even to just say a word of encouragement to someone who needs a boost - this is what Jesus did. He spent his 33 years on earth living to save people, not to please himself. Boy, I have such a long ways to go.

At the end of the missions conference we all took a "Faith Promise" - promising to give a certain amount of money to Menedek by the end of the school year. The goal was set high, $10,000 to be exact. I was actually a little nervous that our group would be able to do it. Anticipating rose as our President read the final "Faith Promise" amount. Our little missions conference of no more than 150 people promised to give over $10,300 to Menedek! Praise the Lord!

Below is the link to Menedek Alapitvany if you are interestedin their ministry. I noticed they have an English option on the website :) http://www.menedekalapitvany.hu/index.php

Here's a couple pictures of my sweetie, Paul, teaching his seminar at the conference, entitled "Choosing a Mission Board." He challenged future missionaries to take a good look at a ministry before deciding to jump in. It is SO important to know a ministry's doctrinal statement, its leadership, and its main focus before anyone decides to commit to fulltime Christian work. He did a great job, of course!

Well, our dear friends and fearless leaders, Dave and Karen James, will be leaving Hungary for good next week, on February 2nd. They will be starting a new ministry back in the States, called Alliance for Biblical Integrity (for more information, check out my previous post or go to http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/). Our prayers are definately with them as they make this gigantic transition. They are most definately following God's will, but I am sure they are going to miss their friends and home in Hungary!

And here's some more big news...We are buying the James' home! This is SUCH a huge responsibility! It's like we're adults or something! Anyway... we won't actually be moving into the house until the first of June because another family who attends the Bible School needs a place to stay. So we will continue to rent our little Hungarian cottage, and move into our own real, genuine home in the summer. Life just keeps getting busier and busier, but God just keeps bringing the blessings! Stay tuned to future blogs for pictures and "before & afters."

And, for my closing paragraph, I need some advice... I try and I try to be a good little missionary, but the worldly side of me just can't seem to die. I have to admit that I am a faithful viewer of the Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart Living shows online. It is SO awesome! I can jump online anytime I want and watch clips of my favorite shows at the click of a button. It is definately my guilty pleasure ( how pathetic, huh). Anyway, this is my deal; Rachael Ray is having a contest called "So You Think You Can Cook?" Basically, I would need to enter a video, showing Rachael why I think I can cook and why she should have me on her show. Six people are then chosen, and we would all compete to be the last chef standing. I think I'd win a trip to Italy and some cooking supplies or something. My main reason for doing it is the glory, of course! We have an intern here this year whose specialty is video editing and I think we could do a really great job. I have a poll set up on the margin of my blog where you can let me know if you think this is a good idea or a waste of my time. Don't worry, I won't get my feelings hurt!

Thanks for reading and God bless!