Dearest Friends,
PLEASE HELP ME!
A lady came to the Word of Life Bible School on Friday. She was only 40, but appeared to be 60 years old. Her clothes were faded and torn and she was struggling to care for her 2 children as a single mother.
She begged for work but there was no work that they could give her. They simply had no funds. She did not want a gift. She wanted to work. She said, "Please help me!"
The lady asked, "Since you have no work for me, would you allow me to pick up sticks on your property? I need them for my fire." Of course the answer was yes. By the way, it is very cold here in the winter. Her children were cold.
Hungarians suffer from a crippling taxation system. Two out of every three dollars is taken in taxes from the people. In addition, there is another 25% that is added onto every item they buy. Prices are high and people struggle day to day to feed their families. Even the rent rate is set by the government and people feel trapped.
A spirit of hopelessness consumes people. Many are angry and have grown hard, refusing to consider what Jesus offers. They do a lot of street ministry here using a storyboard to share Christ. In the past, they have seen 5 to 7 people at every outreach trust Christ. During the time of the riots where people were protesting against the government’s unfair economic decisions, as many as 40 people at a time were praying to receive Christ. I was told that now, people are hard, do not want to listen, and often curse them.
Please pray for Hungary. Please pray for this mother as she struggles. Please pray for tender hearts. Please pray that God will pour His Spirit on the people of Hungary so that they can see that their hope is only found in Jesus.
URGENT PRAYER FOR SERBIA
A week ago, we were in Serbia sharing Jesus’ love with children. This country has been destroyed by war. Bitterness and hatred rule too many people’s lives. People have no hope.
On February 3rd, there is a national election where they will decide to either follow the nationalism of the past which led to war or choose something new. One path will make them look to the East for advice, to Russia, and the other path will make them look for advice to the West, to the European Union. One choice might close the door for future ministry. Please pray and ask the Father to hold open the door for the Gospel. This is a critical time for prayer!
THE WORD OF LIFE STUDENTS
We have now completed all but one of our classes with the students. I cannot write enough about how much effort they have poured into the classes. We have all been thrilled to have the privilege to teach them.
Their enthusiasm has made teaching them a real joy. Even after 2 to 3 hours of class a day, when we returned from afternoon puppet shows, they would meet for extra training in story telling, balloon tying, juggling, and simple "magic" tricks. Everyone had so much fun. Some of them will become the new puppet team and some are considering taking different trips with us.
They overwhelmed us with their gifts of cards for each one of us. They made them and each was full of wonderful encouraging notes from many students. One of them stood and made a beautiful speech to thank us for teaching them. I was truly overwhelmed when they began to clap and did not stop clapping. More, they gave us a standing ovation. We are all very humbled by their gratitude!
PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR THE REMAiNING TIME WE HAVE IN HUNGARY. PLEASE STAY ON YOUR KNEES SO THAT WE CAN STAND IN THE DARK.
In Jesus,
Linda for the Team,
Sam Shaw- Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Calah Sager
Billy Salinas