New SOTS Set

New SOTS Set
Originally uploaded by Kool.

Friends,
After 2 months of hard work in collaboration, we presented the new Story of the Soul (SOTS) 2 disc (CD-DVD) set to the SOTS Conferencees 2 days ago.

As I am writing this, about 40-50 staff and students from about 12 countries in Eastern Europe and Russia are meeting downstairs in the conference room to be trained in the philosophy and practice of SOTS. It has been a good year for SOTS, ministries in several countries adopted it and are using it among students to share the Gospel in a revolutionary way. It is obviously not a perfect method - none are :) - and it surely does not replace descipleship, but it does well in what it was designed for: Bringing students without God to the realization of their spiritual need through the "cry of their own soul" and giving them JESUS.

Due to the appearent success of SOTS, it needed a structural and graphical redesign. We outsourced part of the project to a young webdesigner and programmer to have the interactive CD programmed in Flash animation. The CD is completed. We designed its contents so that it could be easily uploaded to a website. Something I am working on even now.

We are registering storyofthesoul.net and storyofthesoul.org. Please make sure you check it out in a week.

Please pray that the Lord would continue to use SOTS as He has in the previous years.

Wedding

Wedding
Originally uploaded by Kool.

Behold my wife!

Some Wedding Photos

Dear Friends,

We just got back from our honeymoon. We had an absolutely wonderful time!
Please check out some of our wedding photos online at
http://balsa.smugmug.com/Weddings

You can also order them from this site if you wish. It will be printed at
Smugmug Fuji and delivered to you if you wish.

Kalman and Julcsi

Story of the Soul at YTL symposium

YTL (Youth at the Threshold of Life) has been a world-wide success for several years now, and like Story of the Soul (SotS), started in Hungary. It has been reaching students and teachers with the Gospel in the hundreds. Maybe even thousands. Through it, CCC has been able to train teachers to use the JESUS Film as a means to teach students in classes about the historical facts of the Gospel. Now, SotS and YTL met for the first time. Dave Robinson, the brain behind BOTH outreaches held a SotS session at the YTL teachers' symposium last night.

Here is his report:

"The Story of the Soul at the Youth at the Threshold of Life (YTL) was historic. I wanted to pass on a couple of highlights.
* three believers, key leaders in Church Planting and Reform Churches
ABSOLUTELY loved Story of the Soul. I invited them to come to the training.
They are thrilled and so am I.
* One 25 year old, hip long-hair, educator from Sopron came up to me today
at the close of YTL and said he loved Story of the Soul and would like to be
resourced. He will LOVE what you all are doing. He was so enthusiastic I
thought him to be a believer so I asked him. He said, ³No. Not yet. But
the whole thing touched me deep in my heart.² Later I found out that Matt
Jackson shared Christ with him the night before.
* Out of the 329 there, 155 passed back to us a comment card and 16 of them
prayed to receive Christ.
* One 60 year old woman said, ³I have been to many training sessions in my
life ­ some for drug prevention, some for the mental health of our students.
It was good. Like here, methodology was stressed. The traditional
trainings, however, are missing something badly needed and I did not know it
until this weekend. It is missing your added dimension. YTL has a strength
and insight into what matters most and offers great help. The values, the
character development, the tools for building friendships and our students
self-worth are wonderful. And I will tell you why. It has been prepared by
love. It is filled through and through with love. I am so grateful to all of you for this.²

Our Multimedia team has been working on taking SotS to yet another level. We have brought in a young designer Phil Konya to help us with the project. We are completely redesigning the SotS training package. Part of it will be an interactive training CD and a DVD full of short clips to help learning about, planning and executing a SotS session. It is already looking great. The CD is planned to be completed beginning of May and the DVD in September. We are looking forward to how it is going to be used by God in the coming months. Please continue to pray for SotS!

Kalman

Legal wedding photos

legal
Originally uploaded by Kool.

Dear Friends,
you can now find the first batch of photos of our legal wedding. Just click on this photo. More, higher quality photos are coming soon.
Kalman & Julcsi

Rejoice with us...kinda' :)

Dear Friends,
Yesterday afternoon at 1pm Julcsi and I got legally married. In Hungary this is a necessary thing. One does not have to have a church wedding, but has to have a legal wedding. So among Christians this is something they do not over-organize. Usually close family and the witnesses are invited and the whole ceremony takes no more than 15 minutes tops.
Christian couples do not consider this the real wedding so they do not move in together afterwards – thus the kinda’ :) in the subject. There is also a church wedding sometime afterwards. Ours is on the 1st of April as I might have mentioned before.
Please pray for our next 3 weeks as this will be an extremely busy time with work, school and getting ready for the wedding. We both feel exhausted and that we are longing to have quality time together – something we have had very little of in the past months.
We’d love to have you all join us in the ceremony if it was at all possible...
Praying for you all,
Kalman & Julcsi (pronounced “yool-chi”)

Karolina Court apartment building

karolina2.jpg
Originally uploaded by Kool.

Friends, as our wedding is coming closer (April 1st - no joke!) we have been extremely busy. Not only with work, school and organizing the wedding, but also selling an apartment in another town (belongs to my fiancé) about 3-4 hours from Budapest and buying another one in Budapest. After looking for several weeks and praying for much longer, we have been turned down. We almost got one, was it not for someone else who got in right before us. Time was pressing us, but we kept praying and in a matter of 2 days God provided us an apartment much better we could have asked for. Way better location (on the Buda side - that is the hilly side of Budapest), brand new and there was a special deal only THIS WEEK so they are selling it for about 5000 USD less than its normal price. It is gonna be a lot better investment of the money the Lord provided for...HIS apartment. Yes, we consider this His apartment. He got is, he provided for it, and we find ourselves praying: Lord, please help us to get you an apartment you will like. Only one little hiccup: Its cost - even with the special deal - is still about 5000 USD more than we can afford at the moment. Still, we believed this opportunity comes from the Lord thus we signed the contract yesterday (Friday, the 24th of Feb.). We will likely not be able to move in before December, and still need to figure out where we are going to live until then, but at least will have time to save money and pray that the Lord would provide for the remaining 5000 USD before December. Please pray with us, so that
- In the middle of all of this, we would have time for Him and each other
- God would give us a place to stay until we can move in to this new apartment
- God would give us the remaining 5000 USD or more. (more would allow us not to have to take a large loan from a local bank).

If our God is moving your heart to help us with this new apartment, please let us know at kalman.kovacs@ccci.org or call us at +36-30-251-2031.

May the Lord bless you!

Story of the S…uccess

Story of the Soul Training CD label
Originally uploaded by Kool.

This is the 3rd update I write about Story of the Soul (SOTS, or nowadays SOS). When I last worte, I explained how it is becoming an outreach that is becoming very effective and many ministries in many nations are begginning to have an interest in it.

Ever since the debut of the first SOS Training CD I helped put together, it has gone around the world. From India to the city of Cambridge, England, ministries in over 15 countries are starting to use it. It seems to be extremely effective, and its use of the many forms of arts through media to address spiritual issues, and to present the Gospel, makes it farily easy even for university students to plan and use. It is also highly customizable for each culture.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Campus team of Romania with some of the volunteer students were trained to hold a SOS evening. They got so excited, that 2 days later they held one and over 40 students came!

Dave Robinson has just recently been in Cambridge, training a group of believers in SOS.

The amazing success of this outreach called for an update of the training CD. Now, it has more materials, more training and a nicer look. ☺ Check out the disc cover image.
We just finished printing over 60 CDs and they were handed out at the National Directors Conference.

Please continue to pray for SOS!

New Look

Dear Friends,
YES, you are at the right place, this is still The Forge. The blog of Kalman
Kovacs. I decided, that I will change it a bit. I hope you like the new
look.
Kalman

Our Future

My fiancé, Julcsi and I have been thinking about our future in the ministry ever since we started talking about marriage. When she and I first talked about this, it did not come as a big surprise - since we both have had a relationship and involvement with Crusade and a growing love and interest for what they do on the campuses - that the first and most natural thing for us to ask was: Would God want to see both of us full time with Campus Crusade or not?

After having been given an offer by Campus Crusade Eastern European Director of Affairs, Larry Thompson to join CCC through their Hungarian ministry, we decided to have several conversations with other leaders and staff. Also, about half of my support still came from the JESUS Film Project, and as of the end of the summer, they decided to stop supporting me, because they thought they did not need me part-time anymore. We decided to take steps to learning more about going on staff with CCC Hungary.

For me to be able to continue to serve with the Multimedia team of CCC long term, we have to go through "basic training", just like in the military. That is, spend a year or two with the Campus ministry of CCC Hungary, meeting students, evangelizing and discipling them. Thus, as of the fall of 2006, Julcsi and I will join CCC Hungary. I will be there for one year, for the basic training and then be transferred back to the Area office. Julcsi will stay with the Campus ministry after our training. Of course this is a plan, and Lord willing will be fulfilled, but we want nothing more than we want the will of God for our lives. Please pray with us on this journey. It is likely that we will be going to the US next summer to raise support and will most likely be in the Indiana State area. We will continue to update you on these things.

We appreciate your all your prayers on our behalf!

Kalman

Engagement

Engagement
Originally uploaded by Kool.

Dear brothers and sisters,
I am delighted to announce that my swetheart Julcsi and I got engaged this past saturday! We are praising the Lord for His grace! He made it all happen! :) Please praise the Lord with us and pray for the months that lie ahead of us...our current plans for the wedding date is April 1st (we laughed hard when we looked at our schedule and figured that the best date would be April's fools day:))!
Kalman & Julcsi

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

Julcsi's exams

Dear Friends,

I'd ask you to join us in prayer.
My sweetheart, Julcsi is having her end of the year exams (fourth year in law school) and they are extremely difficult. As of now, she is studying a minimal of 12-14 hours a day. It is very exhausting. Please pray the she would have the energy, focus and understanding to study and remember what she learns. She will have an exam on the 6th, 9th, 21st and 27th of June.

Thank you friends!

Kalman & Julcsi

Taking Story of the Soul to a new level

Ever since Story of the Soul (SOTS) was designed by Area Campus Coordinator, Dave Robinson and piloted in Hungary, it has been introduced to the Campus ministry of Russia and Ukraine extremely effectively. Recently, Campus ministries of other Eastern, even Western European countries started to show interest as well.

Dave approached my team about a month ago and asked us to design an interactive training tool for SOTS. This would serve to fulfill the great demand for training the what, why and how of SOTS in Eastern and Western Europe. Dave believes that the future of SOTS lies in student leadership. Thus, this tool will need to be translated easily into other languages as well as be user-friendly enough to have a student walk himself through it.

After much discussion and thinking we decided to create a CD with lots of video training material. We shot much footage of SOTS events, interviewed staff and students, took many pictures and gathered several used SOTS materials from Hungary and Russia. We compiled these into a step-by-step training. The result is a CD that walks you through the creative process from the vision to the making of SOTS, using videos, pictures, documents, tables and much more, from the original SOTS logos through elements for printing posters to slide presentations. Really, it is more than training.

The most wonderful part: last Friday, we were able to hand out about 50 copies of this CD to Campus Ministry workers from about 12 Eastern European countries!

It is only a beta version and we’ll have much refining to do, still, it is good to get it out there. Not to mention how exciting it is to be part of taking this wonderful outreach to a new level!

Please pray
- that we would be able to refine this tool to easily train many for the glory of God!
- that God would continue to use SOTS mightily
- that God would take this tool all over the world