October 1, 2015
Dear Special Friends ,
Some of you may have seen that Hungary has been in the news lately because of the refugees coming from the middle east countries to settle in Europe. This has been happening for over a year but the News just started covering it in the last few weeks.
The news reports that maybe 300,000 people have come through Hungary in the last twelve months on their way to Austria and Germany. Most see Hungary as just a transit country to opportunities for a better life in Europe.
These refugees leave the Middle-Eastern countries such as Syria, Iraq and Turkey and travel to Western Europe. In the midst of this, churches that we have helped to start, have been able to minister to these refugees. These are young men, families, children and elderly people.
Just last week I was in Serbia with a pastor who we helped to start a church a few years ago. Miroslav, told me how the churches in Serbia are reaching out to help the refugees, who are almost all Muslims, with blankets, water and food.
They have even been able to give them Bibles and books in their languages of Farsi, Arabic and Urdu, the languages of the refugees. It even surprised these Christian leaders how excited people were to get books in their own languages.
Many of the churches in both Hungary and Serbia and Croatia have worked hand in hand with the police and the army of these countries. Time and time again the police have expressed their gratefulness to the Christian groups that have given so much to make their jobs easier.
We are thrilled that churches that we have started are part of reaching out to not only to refugees but to the police also. In the midst of this we continue to do what we cell God has CALLED us to do, start churches in cities and towns with few if any churches. This year we will have helped start at least FIFTEEN NEW CHURCHES with your help. Thank you for helping us do what we feel God has called us to do.
Impacting Eastern Europe with the Gospel,
Jim and Brenda