August 2022 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

These have been busy and exciting times. Here is an update:

Summer Day Camp!

Thank you so much for praying for our first English Day Camp here in Budapest. Everything went so well. We had a great team arrive from Fellowship Baptist Church in Thonotosassa, Florida to help with the teaching and also had 14 of our church members there nearly every day helping with games, crafts, meals, and translation. The 21 children who participated came from 16 different families – and none of these families attend our church…yet! (an on-going prayer request!) On the last day of camp, we had a “closing ceremony” and invited the parents to come. Every family was represented. They saw their children perform, and I brought a brief message. We invited them all back to attend our Sunday service. We were so pleased to have 5 families come back on Sunday. They were able to experience what a church service looks like for us, and I preached a Gospel message. We had several good conversations after church. We have been praying that we could reach at least one family through the camp, and God has given us a good connection with one the families. I have emailed back and forth with the father a few times, and he came to church this past Sunday. Would you please join us in prayer for Szabolcs and his family?

Closing ceremony for parents

 

Trip to Zanzibar:

July 13-26 we travelled to Zanzibar, Africa to visit our son Ben, his wife Kelsi, and our granddaughter Wonder. We were glad that our daughter Hannah Grace was also able to travel with us. Ben had asked Charin and me to teach a weekend retreat to their national workers on the Christian Family. We taught one full day on marriage, and a second day on parenting. We really enjoyed interacting with their people, but it was also a huge challenge, as we came face to face with some major cultural differences. But we received a lot of positive feedback and pray that the Lord will use what we taught to build strong marriages and families.

Family seminar

 

We also had a great time getting reacquainted with our granddaughter. She is now about 22 months old, so she is at a very fun stage. And, of course, we had some good time of sight-seeing and relaxation as well. Please pray for Ben and family. They are expecting baby number two in September and have travelled back to the States for the birth. 

 

A look ahead:

1. Our next big event will be our church’s family camp which will be held August 24-28. We have about 60 people signed up, so we are excited about that. Please pray for a great week of drawing closer to the Lord and each other!

2. We are looking forward to several special events in September including celebrating our church’s 3^rd anniversary on September 18^th. 

 

Thanks so much for standing with us in your prayers and support! 

Marc and Charin Patton