Hungarian Butterfly

Hungarian Butterfly

While cleaning out the barn today, I came across a butterfly that at first didn't seem very interesting. With its wings together, it just looked like a plain moth with black and brown wings. It wasn't until it spread its wings that it revealed the beautiful colors that had been hidden.



It occurred to me that sometimes that's exactly how God works in us. We may seem plain and ordinary, but it's when God presses us through trials that we show our true colors. It's during these times that we are prompted to spread our wings and expose to others the love that is an overflow of the Joy we find in Christ.

No Photos

No Photos

There was a car accident on the road near where we live on Sunday. It was just a minor accident with little damage, but everyone from the village seemed to be coming to look at the two cars. The police were there for about an hour so I decided to walk over and see what the big deal was. I took a few pictures because it struck me as odd that so many people were just standing around looking at a smashed bumper. before I knew it one of the police officers came running across the road yelling at me. He was yelling "No photo! No photo!" I showed him the pictures I had taken and while I didn't understand much of what he was saying, I understood, "Delete! Delete!" So he watched as I deleted each one of the pictures I had innocently taken. I thought they were pretty good, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

I still haven't gotten use to the fact that we at the Castle here are like our own little community. In the morning, I often eat breakfast with not only my teachers, but Joshua's teachers as well. In the afternoon, I have a class with one of Joshua's teachers and we have group discussions together. In the evening, I sometimes sit around with my teachers and Joshua's teachers and have coffee while we discuss the days events and our children all play together nearby. Even stranger is that while there are people here from 15 different countries, some people are from San Luis Obispo and Visalia. It really is a small world.




Here's a picture of me cleaning out the barn. Yes Dad, they have a John Deere too and it's bigger.

Walk in the Woods

Walk in the Woods

This morning Joshua and I decided to take a walk in the woods and do some exploring. The trees are either oaks or pines planted in large plots to later be harvested for firewood. It was a beautiful morning and Joshua and I enjoyed walking the pathways across the gentle rolling hills. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by the quiet country side of Vajta. As I write this I can hear the sounds of dogs, sheep, chickens, geese, and turkeys coming from next door. It helps to break up the monotony of homework and studying.







We even discovered an abandoned farm house.

Subotica, Srbije (Serbia)

Subotica, Srbije (Serbia)

Today we went to Subotica, Serbia to get our visas for Hungary. It sounds strange, but we had to leave Hungary and go to the Hungarian embassy in Serbia because visas needed to be applied for outside of the country. Anyway, it was a long day but we saw a lot of beautiful and interesting things. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant, that served Mexican pizza, with French paintings on the walls, while an American Christian song played on the radio, in Serbia. That was a strange moment.





The boys made a new friend on the streets of Subotica.



Lost in translation?



While Dominic and Joshua were amazed at all the new sights around them, they were quickly made aware of the harsh reality of life outside the United States. As they went into a store, they came across a little boy who was sitting by the door begging. They each decided that the colorful dinara (Serbian money) that I had given them as souvenirs was better off in the hands of that boy. They asked if they could give their dinara to him. What could I say? It’s not where that money would end up, but the intentions of their hearts to give.

Vajta, Hungary

Vajta, Hungary

Yesterday was our first day in Vajta, Hungary. We got in late Saturday night so Edna and I decided to walk to the village and see what it looked like in the day time. We walked to the center of Vajta which seemed to be just a post office and a war memorial for its citizens who were killed in World War I and II. On our way back we noticed that most residents of this small village still get their water the old fashioned way. They lower a bucket down the well in their yard and bring up fresh water. We even saw a couple out for a Sunday stroll with their horse and cart. The area around here is beautiful and we are so blessed to be here. Joshua has already made a friend named Sean who seems to be a perfect match for his abundant energy and curiosity. They spent the day exploring the grounds and looking for German and Soviet souvenirs left over from the war and occupation. Sean even has a little dog that follows him everywhere. They named her Lassie because of her undaunted loyalty to him. Dominic has also been making friends and has, like Joshua, seemed to settle in quickly. I’ll post more pictures when I can.







Joshua and Sean have become new best friends.

The Long Night

The Long Night

This will be our last night in the United States for awhile. We don't know how long God is calling us out into the missions field, but we are excited to be present for the awesome power and love that God has for all of us. Even in our circle of friends and family, people are being changed for the good. God is shaping their hearts and softening the hearts to His word. I've been blessed by how people are coming forth and asking to help support us, because they see the change in all four of our lives, and they want to be apart of it. I'm so encouraged by the excitement people are showing in response to sending out more missionaries. God Bless you all.

I just want to thank all of you for wanting to help do God's will. I am so proud that my father is realizing more and more each day that God doesn't prosper us so that we might sit around and admire the prosperity. He gave us prosperity so that we might also see those who are impoverished and seemingly without Hope and show them the love of Christ and the reality of Hope in Eternal Life. Every thing that we have is just on loan, it's not really ours. Our Father gives and takes away, but without him, there would be nothing. Praise be the Name of our Lord.

I never dreamed that God would work through us in such a way as to draw our families together so close. We are even seeing hearts being changed on Edna's side of the family. I will continue to be amazed with God's plan as we set out for Hungary tomorrow.

-Greg

Debtor To All

Debtor To All

As we finish packing, I came across a quote I had written down awhile back. I think it gives a good explanation as to why we would want to leave our comfortable home with its surrounding beauty and mild weather.

"When you are a starving man among starving people and you discover a banquet in the wilderness, you become a debtor to all. And the payment of that debt is delightful in proportion to the magnificence of the banquet."
-John Piper

Senders

Senders

Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20

For the past few days we have been telling people about our plans to move to Hungary and then on to Ukraine for long term missionary work. The response has been incredibly positive. Not once has anyone told us that it's a bad idea or acted like we were crazy for wanting to leave the warm coastal weather for sub zero climates. From friends and family to strangers, everyone has been so supportive.

Through it all, my parents have been the most supportive and encouraging. I can't say how much of a blessing they have been to us over the years and especially now. While we are being obedient to the Great Commission as "goers", they are serving as "senders". We couldn't be more thankful and proud of their response to our needs as we begin our journey. I know that they are making a huge sacrifice to send us, not just financially, but emotionally. Their only child, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren will literally be on the other side of the world. We can’t just jump in the car anymore and go see them. They know this and are still willing to help us answer God’s call.

As we have shared with them about how our hearts break for the orphans of Ukraine, their own hearts have been touched. In fact, they are so moved by this that they are willing to send their only son to bring Hope to these children. That reminds me of another Father who was willing to send His Son far from home so that others might be saved.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

We’d like to thank everyone for their prayers and support that are helping to make all of this possible. And Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, thank you for all that you have done and the life that you have given me. Most importantly, thank you for sharing the love of Christ with me as a child.

Goodbye SLOIt is with both sorrow and Joy that we will be leaving our home, family, and friends. On February 2nd the four of us will be leaving for Vajta, Hungary. We will be attending Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe, Missions Training Program. From there, we plan on moving to Ukraine. We will miss all of our friends at Calvary SLO who have become family, but we know that God has a greater plan for us in Ukraine. I was born in San Luis Obispo as were Dominic and Joshua. Edna grew up in San Luis Obispo from a young age, so we all have deep roots in SLO. We will also miss my parents and the ranch where I grew up on in Visalia. As much as we would like to stay and be close to those we love and the places we know, we understand the greater Joy of being obedient to God's call.

Goodbye SLO


It is with both sorrow and Joy that we will be leaving our home, family, and friends. On February 2nd the four of us will be leaving for Vajta, Hungary. We will be attending Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe, Missions Training Program. From there, we plan on moving to Ukraine. We will miss all of our friends at Calvary SLO who have become family, but we know that God has a greater plan for us in Ukraine. I was born in San Luis Obispo as were Dominic and Joshua. Edna grew up in San Luis Obispo from a young age, so we all have deep roots in SLO. We will also miss my parents and the ranch where I grew up on in Visalia. As much as we would like to stay and be close to those we love and the places we know, we understand the greater Joy of being obedient to God's call.

And yes, it snows there.

Missions Conference

Missions Conference

We just got back from four days at a missions conference at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta. The campus there was beautiful beyond our expectations. Everyone we met was so friendly and helpful. The messages that the various missionaries shared were amazing and extremely encouraging. We listened with tears in our eyes to the stories of how God is working around the world.

We expected to make new friends and bonds at the conference and we did, but some of the bonds were unexpected. Our children surprised us by making their own bonds. We thought that they might get tired of all the time they had to spend in classrooms, but it was just the opposite. We often had to drag them away from their new friends and had to listen to them beg to go hang out with them durring any free time. We felt so blessed to see our children become so interested and passionate about the missions field. They eagerly repeated the stories to us that they had heard from their friends about places like Brasil and Hungary. We were truly blessed in ways we had never expected.




Abraham and Joshua wanted to go everywhere together after they met in their class.




Dominic made several new friends who all spent hours together creating Lego empires.




The last night was the hardest when Joshua had to say goodbye to Abraham and his sister Bethany who had come up from Brasil.

Would the real Santa Claus please stand up

Would the real Santa Claus please stand up

This year my boys decided to corner me on the Santa Claus issue. They know that Christmas is about the birth of Christ not a man in a red suit, but they asked the tough questions like who is Santa Claus and where did he come from. So this year I did a little research and answered the tough questions for them.

Santa Claus

a. Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 AD and later became Bishop of Myra. He died in 345 AD on December 6th. He was only named a saint in the 19th century.

b. Nicholas was among the most senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and created the New Testament.

c. In 1087, a group of sailors who idolized Nicholas moved his bones from Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy. There Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children's stockings with her gifts. The Grandmother was ousted from her shrine at Bari, which became the center of the Nicholas cult. Members of this group gave each other gifts during a pageant they conducted annually on the anniversary of Nicholas’ death, December 6.

d. The Nicholas cult spread north until it was adopted by German and Celtic pagans. These groups worshipped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.

e. In a bid for pagan adherents in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas cult and taught that he did (and they should) distribute gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.

f. In 1809, the novelist Washington Irving (most famous his The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle) wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History. The satire refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.

g. Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read Knickerbocker History, and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…” Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.

h. The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast almost completed the modern picture of Santa Claus. From 1862 through 1886, based on Moore’s poem, Nast drew more than 2,200 cartoon images of Santa for Harper’s Weekly. Before Nast, Saint Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock. Nast also gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children of the world. All Santa was missing was his red outfit.

i. In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red. And Santa was born.

So now I can confidently point to a holiday can of coca-cola and say, "Kids, this is Santa Claus."



At the end of the day after all the presents were opened, we all agreed that the best present was still under the tree.

Starbucks everywhere?

Starbucks everywhere?

Dominic has come to the conclusion that there must be a Starbucks everywhere or atleast one place in every city where you can buy a Starbucks product. He asked that we document his findings with photos.




In the Space Needle in Seattle,



In Leavenworth, WA,



And on the streets of Vancouver, BC Canada.

Sleds, Sleighs, and Carriages

Sleds, Sleighs, and Carriages

No matter where we went in Leavenworth, there always seemed to be some type of ride you could take. They actually had a horse drawn open sleigh.

The boys and I went looking for the sleigh ride and we stumbled on to a bridge that went to an island. We discovered three dog sled teams on the island and the owners were happy to let the boys play with the dogs when they weren't working.

Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth, WA

We just got back from an action packed weekend. I'm still not sure how we crammed all the things we did into just a few days. Just yesterday we were sitting in Starbucks in Vancouver, BC sipping hot beverages. None of us had ever been to Canada, so we decided to drive there for lunch, but I should start from the beginning.

We drove up to Leavenworth, WA to meet with Steve Cassidy, the founder of Orphan's Hope. We met to discuss possible partnerships and ways to reach more of the orphans in Ukraine. We were very excited with all the possibilities that God could be leading us to.






An added bonus to the meeting was that we were in town for the Lighting Festival. Leavenworth is a Bavarian Village that pulls out all the stops for Christmas. We were blessed by all the family activities they offered. Sleigh rides, dog sled rides, sledding for the kids, chestnuts roasted over open fires, Bavarian music and costumes, lots and lots of German cuisine, and much more were all there to the delight of Dominic and Joshua.





The lights for the buildings came on as a shining star passed them while being carried down the street as the entire town sang "Silent Night". It was a beautiful sight to behold.




Edna sporting her new winter hat. It was a little chilly, dipping down to 19 degrees.




Of course Joshua was out making new friends with one of the town characters.


Over the next few days I'll post more pictures including the ones of Seattle and Vancouver. We all had an amazing time, (except for the marathon drive there and back, 48 hours and 46 minutes of total driving and 2625 total miles!), and the boys will never forget it.

Christmas Lights

Christmas Lights

I finally got all the Christmas lights and decorations up. Edna was surprised to come home to all the lights and a tree all decorated. I figured it was time to throw out the pumpkins and put away the fall decorations.


I took a picture of this cross at the Benedict Castle. I liked the way it came out. I think it captures the true meaning of Christmas better than any tree or wreath.

Benedict Castle

Benedict Castle

We had a very busy weekend of traveling and speaking. I was asked by Joshua's school to represent the military as they remembered Pearl Harbor. So, I started off Friday morning by saying a few words about why we remember Pearl Harbor. All the children met at the flag pole to raise the flag, say the pledge of allegiance, sing the Star Spangled Banner, and hear a little about Pearl Harbor. It was an honor to explain the price of Freedom to all the children at Hawthorne Elementary.
After that we drove down to Riverside to speak at a volunteer appreciation dinner hosted by Teen Challenge. It was held at the Benedict Castle on Friday and Saturday night. Edna and I gave our testimonies and shared how God had blessed our lives. We spoke both nights and were blessed to meet so many wonderful people. The Castle itself was like something out of a fairy tale. The pictures don't do justice to all the work the men at Teen Challenge put into all the Christmas lighting and decorations. But, by far the most beautiful thing was the change that God has made in the lives of the men going through the Teen Challenge program. I was touched by their stories and the new hope that was in their eyes.



Everything was so beautiful and we felt really blessed to be there.



Sunday morning we started our trip back home. We knew we wouldn't make it back in time for church at Calvary SLO, so we stopped by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
We enjoyed hearing Pastor Chuck and Edna was mesmerized by all the selections in their book store, but we missed home. The four of us soon piled back into the car for the trip home. We finished our weekend by making it back in time to see the Christmas performance at Calvary SLO. It was a beautiful celebration of God's love and a perfect ending to our weekend travels.