2 sick

Julcsi got sick over a week ago. She got a tonsil infection and they're now swallen up in her throat. It does not look good, but she is happy as ever. She's been taking some antibiotics, but it seems to heal slowly. She goes to see an ENT tomorrow.
I also got sick last Wednesday, still not over it. Saw my ENT on Friday. I went back to her today. After looking at me, she had me go to have a lung x-ray done. It was negative. The problem is somewhere else, but my lungs hurt nevertheless. I am still coughing and it gives me a headache. Feeling very tired and lacking energy. I am now taking antibiotics and have to go back to her Wednesday. Please pray for us, so we could get well as soon as possible.
Kalman

"My Family"

My Family logo
Originally uploaded by Kool.

I was approached by the Country Director of CCC Bulgaria, Scott Gill and one of the Regional Directors of Eastern Europe, Dave Ginn about 6 weeks ago. They took me out and shared with me about a project they are planning for the spring of 2006. It is called “My Family” and it is an initiative of CCC Bulgaria. It is a Nationwide JESUS Film Campaign – targeting 10-15 cities at one time! There will be a focus on families in the advertising and overall effort. CCC Bulgaria extended the project to be much wider than only JESUS Film. They brought on board foundations like the Red Cross, even the Bulgarian Government to support the initiative by providing events for the growth and health of Bulgarian families. They are even trying to have the Bulgarian Government pass some laws for the benefit of families! They believe that by these partnerships the JESUS film will be viewed by more and accepted much easier as part of something bigger. Thus they will be able to make JESUS known to more people. As in other Campus Crusade for Christ ministries we desire to reach leaders. Fathers are the broadest common denominator leaders in the world. And leaders are what the church needs.
How did I come into the picture? I was asked to design the logo for the “My Family” project. The logo you see here is the close-to-final design. The colors are going to be different. I am also working on a fund raising piece for this project. It is a great privilege for me to be able to help Bulgaria come to know Christ this way! Please pray for the citizens of Bulgaria!

AMI website

AMI website
Originally uploaded by Kool.

I want to tell you a bit about what I’ve been up to over the summer. Many of you know Grant Olson and hi family and the ministry he has been directing in the US called Audio Mission International (AMI). It has really been great having him over here in Hungary for the past year as he is heading up our Multimedia department.
This summer, many people from our office were gone to the US raising or maintaining support and so we had fewer projects to focus on. I also planned to go, but for this summer the door was closed. Who knows, maybe next year I can go and maybe not alone…;)
Since Grant was leaving to the US as well, he asked me to help him with creating a website for AMI. You can visit it at http://www.audiomission.com.

God’s love…through a Wok

I shared this story with my Church one Sunday a couple of weeks ago, as I was leading worship. It totally demonstrated to us the kind of love God has for us.
It was my 28th birthday on July 7th and Julcsi asked me a few days before what I want for my birthday. Now, I’ve wanted a Wok for some time. I like to cook, but I neither wanted an expensive, nor a cheap one that would not last for a long time. So we agreed to wait and keep looking for one. As time went on, we looked in a few places, but did not quite find a good one for the budget we set. We went to visit Julcsi’s mother one weekend and as we talked one day, we mentioned that we are looking for a wok. She walked over to a kitchen cabinet and pulled out a brand new wok! Then she said to Julcsi “it’s yours”. We had no idea she even had one and kept looking at each other. I said, “no we don’t want to take your wok, you need it too.” Then she said something that surprised us, “I mean, I don’t need it and it is yours Julcsi, because you WON this about 6 months ago and it’s been sitting in my cabinet all this time!” After seeing the look on our faces, she explained that about 6 months ago she got something in the mail for Julcsi, and she could win some recipes and a wok if she mailed back. She mailed back in Julcsi’s name and a few weeks later a wok and a box of recipes was delivered. So, she’s had the wok for a long time, but she never mentioned it to. As we realized what just happened, also was reminded about the beautiful parallel between this and God’s love! In Romans 5:8 we read, “…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” That is what the wok story is all about for us. God preparing a wonderful gift for us in Jesus, long before we even knew we wanted it or needed it!

Croatia, the beautiful

We took a 5-day trip with a couple of friends to Croatia in the middle of July. We’ve been longing for a time of rest. We practically drove around the northern part of the country and on the way back, through Italy and Slovenian part of the Alps. We had loads of fun. We spent 2 nights on the island of Cres, in the little village of Crest. I loved it with its friendly bay, narrow streets and fresh fish smell coming from the market early in the morning. The sea was beautiful and we spent lots of time on its rocky beaches. And then it dawned on us: all of this used to be Hungary not so long ago! We just hope to be able to go back again someday.

Hope worth having

Julcsi’s grandmother was 92 years old. She was amazingly alert despite her age and the fact that she’s been sick for a few years, loosing her memory. The first time I saw her I introduced myself to her six times, because she would forget me completely. After a few months she remembered me even when I was gone. The doctors said this is unusual, but she remembered me. They also said it is possible that she would remember old memories, but could not remember new ones. What amazed me was that every time we sang some old hymns, she would remember the words of all of them! Every time we prayed her speech was very clear and understandable. She has been a believer since she was a child. She’s been living with Julcsi and her mother since last summer. They have been taking care of her. She went to be with the Lord the 25th of July, and I had the privilege of attending the funeral. It sounds a bit strange to say this, but the days with Julcsi’s family around the funeral was a great time. We had lots of laughter and remembrance of her life. I only knew her for about 7 months, but still had wonderful memories with her. The time with her family brought to my mind 1 Corinthians 15:54-55. She was a believer and served the Lord all her life. We have such hope that assures us that she is indeed with our Father and such hope is worth having.

We’re back! :)

Dear Friends,

Lots have happened since the last time I wrote…wow, it has been over 2 months. I have a lot to tell you about. So, first things first, Julcsi and I are doing very well. We had a wonderful summer over all. I’ll tell you more later. Thank you for praying for Julcsi’s exams. University exams are extremely difficult here, thus it is pretty common for someone to fail and have to retake any particular exam. She had 3 exhaustive exams and did fail a couple of times. She should finish the school next summer, but it seems she might be delayed by a semester. Please keep praying for her and her schooling. Thank you!

Kalman