Sziasatok! (Hello Everyone)

Today marks the end of our first month in Hungary. Our welcome has been wonderfully warm. The Debrecen Baptist Church family has helped us in so many ways! They picked us up at the airport with a van and trailer for all our luggage. They have arranged meals for us while we searched for a home. They even helped us apply for our residency permit. God’s provision is overwhelmingly present.

It is a delight to serve alongside global servants from our IM family. We were met at the airport by Carmella Jones and Kurt and Carrie Smalley who live in Budapest. They have been full of encouragement and good advice. We are thankful that Larry and Becky Stanton and their daughters live about twenty minutes away from us here in Debrecen. Already, we have had a few opportunities for fellowship. The Stantons have helped us connect with a group of English-speaking missionaries. Many of them have children around the same ages as our kids. One family has really taken us under their wing. They have taken us shopping four different times!

Hungarian is a difficult language for English speakers, but we learn more every day. Our family began working with a language tutor last week and we adults will begin classes at the university in mid-January. Our Hungarian speaking friends are gracious to help us and strangers are patient with us. Learning Hungarian will be a challenge, so we treasure your prayers. Please also pray that our children will thrive in this environment. The Lord is already providing for their spiritual development through a welcoming youth group. The kids are making friends and happy about beginning school next week.

We know that God has answered prayers for finding a home. Located in the center of town, we are close to just about everything. We can walk to church, two different grocery stores, and the hardware store. The tram line and busses are also nearby. Even better, it is a single-family home with five bedrooms and a small yard for Pepper. Yes, the Lord has provided us with plenty of space for guests, and that includes you! We marvel at God’s faithfulness.

So, what is the best thing that you have noticed, you ask? Jesus is being proclaimed and people are responding! Jesus said in Matthew 11:4-5, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” We joyfully tell you that we have already seen our Hungarian friends witness to their neighbors. The church here is stretching to proclaim the good news of Jesus. The school is a refuge of joy where Jesus is lifted up. The kids enjoy it so much that some cry because they have to stay home for Christmas break. Missionaries have so many opportunities to share the love of Christ that they long to have more time. Please pray that the doors to publicly share Jesus will remain open and that many will find hope and new life in Jesus.

We praise the Lord for the opportunity to serve here and praise Him for you, our ministry partners who have sent us. Hopeful anticipation for what the Lord will do fills our hearts. We also are excited to see how Jesus will lead you to partner with His work here in Hungary in deeper ways. Please keep in touch with us and let us know how we can pray for you and for your church.

Yours in Christ,

Jon and Amanda Good