We left the Curry House and Phil Metzger snapped this picture of us: him, me, Sherry, Christina, Ryan and Terry. The laughter here was typical of our lunch. That laughter was more around the marvelous things God is doing than the goofing around that was also rampant. I have to say Sherry and I were going to treat the group in thanks for all they had given us. Terry responded by choosing a cash only restaurant – and we had already given away almost all of our Hungarian Flourins so we were not able to accomplish our goal. I am a long term relationship person so there is a certain pain to meeting so many marvelous people knowing that I will never see most of them again in this life.

Heading Home

We did our packing and went early to bed, knowing our early morning departure meant there was a 3:30 am alarm set. I woke to do a bathroom visit and saw the message that our flight was delayed by 25 minutes which set off my travel anxieties stemming from a short layover in Amsterdam. We got to the airport in plenty of time only to get a note from the checkin machine to see the service desk. The kind lady notified us that the delay meant we could not make the Amsterdam connection so we would need to be switched to another set of flights. In my mind, I saw my carefully chosen seats disappear to be replaced by center seats for the 10 hour hop to the west coast. My imagination proved true. Worse than that our wheel chair assist also disappeared for our Paris connection so Sherry had to make the long walk to our departure gate with very tight time constraints. Had not another kind woman helped us get wheel chair passage throught the passport control, we would not have made the connection. Fortunately our 39F and 40F seats were with amiable seat mates who were understanding about “excuse me, please” and I could reach up and touch Sherry from time to time.

Reflecting on our time

I was deeply impressed by the power of the Golgota (Calvary) movement in Central Europe. Not only is the gospel preached powerfully and worship done in very lively ways, the church very intentionally reaches out to marginalized populations like the Roma (Gypsy) people, drug addicts, as well as orphans and widows. Part of my commission was to lay groundwork for reaching into the growing LGBT community in a country where they are legally excluded. The transforming power of Jesus is at center of life.

Expositional preaching typifies Calvary everywhere. It is done well here and there is a deep commitment to equipping young preacher/teachers to continue the Bible centered work. I knew the Americans would be doing that, but was excited that those from Central Europe were also deeply committed to exposition along with equipping and empowering younger leaders.

When I teach I usually pack my time with challenging material, both intellectually and applicationally. In my first session, I found that the leaders were eating it up with rapt attention and insightful questions. The challenges of translation were eased by very high level translators who could comprehend quickly and translate naturally. They were quick to ask clarifying questions to confirm understanding.

My ending thought was “when can I get back here?” Maybe that is why the keys to the flat still in my pocket when we went through airport security (!!!!!)

Arrival home

Sherry Atkins fetched us home from the airport, stopping at Panda Express to get some supper for our exhausted selves. We did some unpacking and a few “gotta get it done” things. I was able to make it until about 8:00 before I fell into bed for a 12 hour sleep. Sherry was coming a bit later but had a coughing spell and was slower but also had a renewing 12 hour sleep. I was renewed enough for a Saturday trip to give pastoral help in a most challenging situation. Happily God moved powerfully. I am deeply grateful to be a minister of the gospel in Hungary as well as Western USA.