Hitchman News - April 2023

April 2023 ... Young Adults, Ministry Centre and a Conference.

Ministry Update

Young Adults.

What an amazing few months!

We have had the most amazing opportunity to do a weekly Bible Study with university students in the city. Most of the students came to Hungary to study on a scholarship provided by the Hungarian government for people who experienced persecution or discrimination for being a Christian in their country of origin. It’s fantastic though to have Hungarian young adults join us as well as other students who are not on the same scholarship programme.

There has been such a depth of discussion and a real feeling of community growing in the group. We feel very privileged to be part of it. We’re already praying for those who are applying for the same scholarship next year (40 applicants so far) and would value your prayers too. We’ll be continuing with the Bible study until the exam season starts and we are already making plans for the next term.

One thing we had asked you to pray about was the venue. The room we have been using in the University has served its purpose perfectly however we had only been given access to it until the end of April. Good news though, we have been told that access to the room can be extended so we are now up and running with plans in place for the next academic year. The University has also asked for an article reporting on the success of the Discipleship Group.

Paraszt Haz Ministry Centre

February brought Ben Epton back out to Hungary to help progress the work with the Paraszt Haz project! Ben was such a blessing and worked so incredibly hard to turn this house into a place we can use for ministry.

The vision for this house is that it will be a place where those who reach a crisis, either with their marriage or with other areas of life, can come and stay short-term to process their life and relationships and receive counselling and ministry. It is also a place where missionaries can come for debriefing and also for those in ministry who are dealing with burnout.

You can see from the photos the transformation that Ben's visit achieved.

Berci Foris also blessed us by working to get electricity installed! We’re almost there with that, but the final part can only be completed once we have the kitchen installed.

In the photos below are Berci and Ben.

Another huge move in the right direction was getting heating installed. Unfortunately, we needed a new boiler, but that’s up and working and too!

The photos below show the new boiler and the heating installation in the bathroom.

So what’s left to do? The next big step will be getting the floors tiled. Once that’s done, the bathroom can be installed. We already have the fixtures for that part of the project. Then we’ll be able to turn our attention to buying a kitchen and then after that we get to the furniture and fittings for the bedroom and the lounge. If you want to help either with hands-on-deck or financially please get in touch.

We now understand the expression ‘It’s so close we can taste it’.

National Marriage Week

On February 12th, Lainey and I ran a marriage workshop/presentation for our city. There was a fantastic turnout and we believe that not only were the couples attending able to start addressing some areas in their marriages but also it was beneficial in raising awareness of our local church.

Debriefing

Also, since our last newsletter, we hosted a missionary couple that recently came to the end of their assignment. Having served in several locations, it was time for them to visit us for a debriefing. Over a period of several days, we worked together to unlock the effects of past highs and lows and the challenges that lie ahead as they enter back into life in the UK. It always is a privilege to serve in this way.

Missionary Conference

We’re really looking forward to attending the Elim Missionary Conference at the beginning of May. This will be a flying visit back to the UK and an opportunity for us to receive from other's teaching.

Praise and Prayer

Last time we asked you to pray for a venue for the discipleship group. We have been praising God ever since we were granted use of a classroom on the University Campus. Please continue praying as we seek extensions to this room's availability throughout this and the next academic year. Please also continue to pray for the students whose lives we get to touch.

We are extremely thankful for all that you do to keep us on the mission field. Without your love and support we would not be able to invest in the lives of those who God brings to us. The funding shortfall that Elim Missions made us aware of still needs attention. Please pray that God provides for our monthly living support and ministry costs. I want to reassure all who are giving to the Paraszt Haz project that these funds remain committed to the project and are in no way being diluted by any of our personal funding needs.

We deeply appreciate all the love and support that you have given us in this last year. We know that we would not be able to do what we have been called to do without your partnership.