Friday, September 4, 2009
What's the buzz on the Mosquitoes?
As the school year begins, the Mosquitoes are scrambling to prepare for the upcoming tournament for the Hungarian championship. Three players from our village team made the Hungarian national team this summer and won 4th place in an international tournament held in Czech. Here is a video our Mikepercs Mosquitoes.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
After two or three years of practicing baseball with our village kids, GoodSports and our village of Mikepercs now has a team in the Hungarian National Youth Baseball League. We have only played three games so far and although we lost two (both to the Szentendre Sleepwalkers who have five or six Japanese kids on the team and most are 14, the upper age limit), the Mikepercs Mosquitos did manage to beat last year's national champs -- the Tiger Kids. And they did it quite soundly.
So baseball fever has hit our village. And in the whirlwind of hitting and catching, bunts and base steals, relationships are being forged. And we pray that Christ is glorified. May the pearl of great price come to Mikepercs in the form of a diamond -- a baseball diamond that is...
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Christmas in Hungary
The Greathouse's enormous hospitality brought seven girls who grew up in the orphanage at Miskolc down for Christmas in Debrecen. We did Christmas Eve at the Greathouses and Christmas Day at our home. Here are some photos.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
GoodSports Hungary Summer 2008
In the spirit of "a picture is worth a thousand words," here is our report from summer 2008. I hope you enjoy it. And you can join our new "Prayer Family" program introduced in this video.
Monday, July 21, 2008
When an Orphan Discovers the Family of God
As I write this, we are wrapping up five weeks of unending camps and mission outreaches which stretched from an orphanage in Miskolc, Hungary up to a baseball camp in Bojnice, Slovakia then into the simplicity of Hungarian village life and finally into a youth English camp before wrapping up back in the orphanage at Miskolc.
Over the course of these weeks we've struggled to break through the thick walls erected by wounded souls, we've fought stereotypes and an outbreak of scabies along with a threat of lyme's disease, we've learned more about our brothers and sisters in Christ who come from different denominational backgrounds, and we have seen some precious kids come to Christ in very genuine ways.
I used to think that was what it was all about, but now I understand that this is just the beginning. Becoming a part of a family can happen in just a moment, but that moment is but the cusp of relationships that develop and deepen over the course of a lifetime -- or perhaps eternity.
On last Friday, a baptism occured on the final day of English Camp. When Evi, one girl from the Miskolc orphanage learned of it, she ran to her best friend asked her if she wanted to be baptized. Evi had been baptized the year before.
"I do not even know what it is about," Anita explained.
Evi shared with her friend how it was the outward expression of what Christ has done in one's heart.
Anita's eyes lit up as she asked excitedly, "Can I do it in jeans?"
Anita could not be held back that day and as she stood before the crowd of campers and counselors, she told her story:
"My name is Anita. Two years ago both my parents died, one six months after the other. I lived with various relatives after that, but as soon as I got settled in one place, I was sent somewhere else. I had no home. Eventually I was sent to the orphanage in Miskolc. And when I started going to the Wednesday bible study and the different conferences and programs that you made for us, I suddenly felt like I had a family again. God has given me a family in you."
That day Anita proclaimed Christ and was born into a new family -- the family of God. It is a new beginning for her, but just the first day among many where she will grow and change succeed and sometimes fail.
May we always be faithful to love her and those like her through it all. This is our call -- to love and guide them in love through their good and bad days. For not only do we share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we share our very lives as well, because they have become so dear to us. 1Thess2:8.
Please pray for Anita and Evi and all the kids of the Lakasotthon orphanage. God is doing a work among them even now.
Over the course of these weeks we've struggled to break through the thick walls erected by wounded souls, we've fought stereotypes and an outbreak of scabies along with a threat of lyme's disease, we've learned more about our brothers and sisters in Christ who come from different denominational backgrounds, and we have seen some precious kids come to Christ in very genuine ways.
I used to think that was what it was all about, but now I understand that this is just the beginning. Becoming a part of a family can happen in just a moment, but that moment is but the cusp of relationships that develop and deepen over the course of a lifetime -- or perhaps eternity.
On last Friday, a baptism occured on the final day of English Camp. When Evi, one girl from the Miskolc orphanage learned of it, she ran to her best friend asked her if she wanted to be baptized. Evi had been baptized the year before.
"I do not even know what it is about," Anita explained.
Evi shared with her friend how it was the outward expression of what Christ has done in one's heart.
Anita's eyes lit up as she asked excitedly, "Can I do it in jeans?"
Anita could not be held back that day and as she stood before the crowd of campers and counselors, she told her story:
"My name is Anita. Two years ago both my parents died, one six months after the other. I lived with various relatives after that, but as soon as I got settled in one place, I was sent somewhere else. I had no home. Eventually I was sent to the orphanage in Miskolc. And when I started going to the Wednesday bible study and the different conferences and programs that you made for us, I suddenly felt like I had a family again. God has given me a family in you."
That day Anita proclaimed Christ and was born into a new family -- the family of God. It is a new beginning for her, but just the first day among many where she will grow and change succeed and sometimes fail.
May we always be faithful to love her and those like her through it all. This is our call -- to love and guide them in love through their good and bad days. For not only do we share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we share our very lives as well, because they have become so dear to us. 1Thess2:8.
Please pray for Anita and Evi and all the kids of the Lakasotthon orphanage. God is doing a work among them even now.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Gearing Up for Summer!
The mercury is rising in Hungary as summer fast approaches. Here is a tentative schedule of events for GoodSports' high season along with a slideshow to help us remember all the joys and workings of God we experienced last year.
June 23-27 Baseball Camp in Miskolc, Hungary (reaching out to orphanage kids)
June 28-July 6 Baseball Camp in Bojnice, Slovakia
July 13-18 English Camp in Debrecen, Hungary
TBA English Days in Mikepercs, Hungary (reaching out to village kids)
June 23-27 Baseball Camp in Miskolc, Hungary (reaching out to orphanage kids)
June 28-July 6 Baseball Camp in Bojnice, Slovakia
July 13-18 English Camp in Debrecen, Hungary
TBA English Days in Mikepercs, Hungary (reaching out to village kids)
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
An Orphan's Challenge to Believe
"God has never answered my prayers," said 15-year-old Robi* who lives at the orphanage in Miskolc, Hungary, "And He never will."
The other orphan teens at the Wednesday afternoon Bible study raised their eyebrows as they turned to Russell and Karesz, the leaders, for reply. It is a statement that would raise most of our eyebrows, if not cause us to gasp in shocked offense at such blatant irreverence for God. But what was Robi really saying with this statement?
I do not know his story, but one does not end up in a Hungarian orphanage if life has been good and happy. We can rest assured that his life, thus far, has been at best, really bad; at worst, unspeakably tragic.
Last summer Robi came face to face with the Gospel and love of Christ for the first time in his life. He responded, and was baptized.
Since then, despite his everpresent proclivity for getting into trouble, he often comes to the regular Wednesday Bible study at the orphanage. Sometimes he is little more than a disruptive influence there, but still he comes. And so last week, in the midst of his disruptions, he blurted out, "God has never answered my prayers, and never will."
The words are shocking. They are irreverent. Perhaps a cry for attention. Perhaps a challenge to God. But before we write Robi off as a "tool of Satan" to wreak havoc on the Bible study and place doubts in the hearts of the struggling believers there, consider the fact that Robi's words are not so different from those penned by David, a man after God's own heart, in Psalm 22:1-2:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." (NIV)
Robi has not yet made it verse three in this passage, where David takes his eyes off himself and begins to recognize who God is and all that God has done through the ages, which galvanizes his faith to push forward, despite God's seeming silence.
Robi's faith is still in its infancy. He scarcely knows it what it means to be "sure of what we hope for and confident of what we do not see." (Heb. 11:1) The life in which he finds himself has left him ill-equipped to fight the battles that he faces. He is like an untrained soldier forced to the frontlines. And these Wednesday Bible studies represent his only training ground -- and he is being trained in the heat of fiercest combat.
As we see the despair, let us not overlook the hope in his words. First, clearly Robi believes in God. He knows God is out there, he merely questions God's interest in him personally. Second, "God has never answered my prayers," insinuates that Robi prays. There is some faith alive in him. And finally, the fact that he says, "God never will," insinuates that he expects to pray in the future.
Robi is distraught, longing for assurance, but he has not given up on God.
And the better news than that is: God has not given up on Robi.
If we were all a little more honest, we'd have to admit we have had Robi moments too -- those dark days when God seems so distant, "so far from the words of our groanings." (Ps 22:1) I am thankful Robi had the confidence to articulate the doubts most of us would keep hidden in our most secret of places.
Join with me and pray for Robi at the Miskolc orphanage, that God would bring this boy through this dark time, and make Himself known to Robi in a real and dynamic way. And that God would use Karesz, Russell, and other Christians to meet this boy where he is.
*Not his real name.
The other orphan teens at the Wednesday afternoon Bible study raised their eyebrows as they turned to Russell and Karesz, the leaders, for reply. It is a statement that would raise most of our eyebrows, if not cause us to gasp in shocked offense at such blatant irreverence for God. But what was Robi really saying with this statement?
I do not know his story, but one does not end up in a Hungarian orphanage if life has been good and happy. We can rest assured that his life, thus far, has been at best, really bad; at worst, unspeakably tragic.
Last summer Robi came face to face with the Gospel and love of Christ for the first time in his life. He responded, and was baptized.
Since then, despite his everpresent proclivity for getting into trouble, he often comes to the regular Wednesday Bible study at the orphanage. Sometimes he is little more than a disruptive influence there, but still he comes. And so last week, in the midst of his disruptions, he blurted out, "God has never answered my prayers, and never will."
The words are shocking. They are irreverent. Perhaps a cry for attention. Perhaps a challenge to God. But before we write Robi off as a "tool of Satan" to wreak havoc on the Bible study and place doubts in the hearts of the struggling believers there, consider the fact that Robi's words are not so different from those penned by David, a man after God's own heart, in Psalm 22:1-2:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." (NIV)
Robi has not yet made it verse three in this passage, where David takes his eyes off himself and begins to recognize who God is and all that God has done through the ages, which galvanizes his faith to push forward, despite God's seeming silence.
Robi's faith is still in its infancy. He scarcely knows it what it means to be "sure of what we hope for and confident of what we do not see." (Heb. 11:1) The life in which he finds himself has left him ill-equipped to fight the battles that he faces. He is like an untrained soldier forced to the frontlines. And these Wednesday Bible studies represent his only training ground -- and he is being trained in the heat of fiercest combat.
As we see the despair, let us not overlook the hope in his words. First, clearly Robi believes in God. He knows God is out there, he merely questions God's interest in him personally. Second, "God has never answered my prayers," insinuates that Robi prays. There is some faith alive in him. And finally, the fact that he says, "God never will," insinuates that he expects to pray in the future.
Robi is distraught, longing for assurance, but he has not given up on God.
And the better news than that is: God has not given up on Robi.
If we were all a little more honest, we'd have to admit we have had Robi moments too -- those dark days when God seems so distant, "so far from the words of our groanings." (Ps 22:1) I am thankful Robi had the confidence to articulate the doubts most of us would keep hidden in our most secret of places.
Join with me and pray for Robi at the Miskolc orphanage, that God would bring this boy through this dark time, and make Himself known to Robi in a real and dynamic way. And that God would use Karesz, Russell, and other Christians to meet this boy where he is.
*Not his real name.
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