Newsletter - Hungary 2008

January 9th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

HUNGARY

We have so much to thank God for as we begin this new year! On January 15th, we will leave for Hungary. This is a great opportunity! Please begin to pray for this trip and ask the lord to call many children to faith! This is our first trip to this country so please pray especially for wisdom so that we will not make mistakes as this is a new culture for us. We want to be a blessing to the nationals and see a strong team planted there.

REJOICE!!!

Last Friday, our youngest son, Matt, and his dear wife, Jill, welcomed their second son into the world. Ian Matthew Summer weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces. Please pray that he will grow strong and that he will come to faith in Christ as a small child! His older brother, Luke, was very happy with his new brother! Praise God for His wonderful goodness!

SOME OF YOU WERE BUSY WITH CHRISTMAS AND MAY HAVE MISSED THIS NOTE IN A PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER. I WILL SEND IT A COUPLE OF MORE TIMES DURING THE YEAR SO THAT EVERYONE CAN REJOICE AT OUR AMAZING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

The Agape Puppets is now a non-profit organization so we can receive checks made out directly to the puppet ministry. Please mail these checks to my home address at 6550 West Armuchee Road, Summerville, GA 30747. Your gift will be tax deductible. We are maintaining our relationship with Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship and appreciate all of their love and support.

More, our web page now offers people an opportunity to contribute over the internet using their PayPal account or a number of different Credit Cards. Go to admin@theagapepuppets.org and click on the Donate button. You will find it very easy to follow the directions and more, you can read some of the stories of the children we have been working with this year.

I hope that your heart breaks for the needs of these children as God has broken our hearts.

In Jesus,

Linda Summer

January 14th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

Tomorrow, we leave for Hungary. Please hold us in your prayers and specifically ask the Father to open doors in places for us to do shows. We have 50 students waiting on us for training, but we are having trouble finding enough places each day for shows. This problem simply needs more prayer!

How Can I Help?

Many of you have asked me how you could become more involved. Here are some ideas. There are a number of things that we use in ministry that you might want to collect and send to us. You could make this a project for your Sunday School or women's group. Perhaps, you or your church would like to adopt the planting of a team in another country, providing the funds for their equipment. The following is a list of possibilities for you to prayerfully consider.

1.  We need small metal cars and beannie babies (new or like new). Also, we need name brand, good quality yoyos.

2.  We use feather boas and sequin fabric (1 and a half yard pieces, any color) for costume supplies.

3.  Bright colored Mexican sombreros or any other national interesting hat.

4.  For some countries, we need new winter gloves and toboggans (all sizes).

5.  Good Christian books...especially any John Piper books. We have many requests for good Bible study books.

6.  Good Christian praise music CD'S, no tapes.

7.  You could buy a case of balloons for a country. Call 1-800-777-5544 and ask for traditional colors, 260Q, Qualatex balloons and have them shipped to me. A case will cost about $170.00 and they will be a great blessing to the teams overseas.

8.  Adopt the equipment for a country. This will cost around $3000 dollars, but will provide the needed tools for nationals to continue in ministry after we go home.

9.  Schedule an opportunity for me to share with your mission committee or give me the pleasure of speaking to your ladies group. Plan a small dinner party for friends who have a heart for children and let me come and talk with them.

My address is 6550 West Armuchee Road, Summerville, GA 30747

Together, we can make a difference for the kingdom. Together, we can share the hope of Jesus with so many children! Please pray! In Jesus,

Linda

January 17th, 2008 Arrival in Hungary

Dearest Friends,

WE ARE IN HUNGARY!

God answered all of our prayers concerning our travel here. Not in a very long time has all of our luggage (filled with the puppet equipment) actually arrived with us. Nothing was missing! Praise God! Our stage was broken, but Sam was able to repair it. God is so good to us!

Today was spent in sorting equipment and solving a dozen small problems that had to be solved before we begin our programs tomorrow. We are still concerned about the music that we are using for the puppets. Since this is our first trip to Hungary, we have no knowledge of their culture and want to make the best choices for the children. Our friends here are wonderfully helpful, but there remains the problem of good Christian music being available. This is often a problem for us and we would appreciate your prayers. We need wisdom to make the best choices.

A TRIP TO SERBIA

For years, I have been praying for an opportunity to work in Serbia. God has answered my prayers! On Saturday, we will cross the border and go to the village of Moravica. We will be working with children at a Bible Club that our friends here at Word of Life started about 2 years ago. The mayor is very excited about the work that he has seen the Christians doing there and really supports their work. Many of the children are from broken homes and are very open to hear about God.

The children are poor and especially enjoy the sweets that the team brings; even a small candy is a big treat. They come for the treats, but they receive so much more. When the team had a problem at the border at Christmas time and told the children, many volunteered to pray for their return trip. They are learning that they can depend on God to solve their problems.

Please pray for Sam's wife Silvana to be able to get a visa tomorrow in Budapest. She is still traveling on her Brazilian passport and cannot come with us unless she gets a visa. This is not possible in a single hour, which is about all we have. Again, we ask you to pray, as all things are possible with God.

KAPOSVAR

This is a city about 3 hours from here and we going there tomorrow on Friday. Please pray for our time there as this will be our only opportunity to share with these children. Please also pray for our journey as some roads are not the best and we will be on these roads for over 6 hours.

STUDENTS

On Monday, we will begin teaching 50 young people how to do puppets, storytelling, balloons, and juggling. The students are from 11 countries, so please pray that we will be able to teach things in a way that everyone can understand. In Jesus, Linda for

Sam Shaw-Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Calah Sager
Billy Salinas

January 19th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

NICOLETTE AND BLAKA

These 2 little girls are 11 and 12 years old. They are Hungarian, but they live in Serbia. Today, they asked Jesus to be their Savior at the puppet show. Later, we were talking in a small group and they told me about their prayers.

Best of all, these 2 little girls asked me to be their nagymama (pronounced nojemama). This is Hungarian for grandmother. I was so honored! Our friends gave them special permission for the girls to stay for both the children's and teenager's programs.

When we finished, I rolled up the 2 stories that I had drawn and gave one to each of the girls. I told them that part of loving Jesus was telling other people about Him. Both promised to take my stories and tell someone else what they had heard. Please pray for Nicolette and Blaka to grow strong in their new faith and be bright lights for Jesus in Serbia. Also pray for many other little Serbian boys and girls who trusted Jesus today.

THE VISA

Silvana received her visa with no problems. Everyone who regularly dealt with the Serbian Embassy said it was impossible. However, within ten minutes after arriving, she had her visa! Praise God!

More, we enjoyed a giant German shepherd that jumped up and filled the guard house as we entered the property. The embassy itself was an incredible old building with the most amazing ironwork that I have ever seen. The interior staircase wound several floors with flowers and vines entwined all the way to the top floor. There was stained glass and carved arches everywhere. What seemed like such a big problem became a special treat.

THE CROSSING

Entering Serbia, the guard was fascinated by our passports. Between us, we had a mixture of passports, including 3 American, 1 Serbian, 2 Hungarian, 1 British, and 1 Brazilian. I have to admit that we are an unusual group.

Exiting the country and re-entering Hungary took more time. They were careful to open the door and check all of our faces. They also asked to see the back of the van, but the guard was happy for us to go when our friend Pascal began to share Jesus with him. He crosses a lot and said that they really don't want to talk to Christians.

KAPOSVAR, HUNGARY

This was a wonderful evening. God did so much more than was expected. When we arrived, I asked my dear friend Sara, a former Covenant College student, how many children she expected. She thought maybe 30, but wasn't really sure. Everyone expected less because they decided not to heat the larger room. There was no need. God sent us more than 65, including many adults. Over half of the group did not regularly attend church and some were hearing the Gospel for the first time. Even a group of ladies from a shelter for abused women came. God was so good to us!

The pastor told me that Sunday he had preached on how important it was to take every opportunity to share Christ's love. When he was contacted a day and a half earlier and offered an opportunity to schedule a last minute program, he started to say no. Then he remembered his own sermon and said yes. Look what God did!

LIFE IN SERBIA

I want to describe life in this region of Serbia to you. I asked many questions of our friends and was surprised at what I learned. The war had raged all around this area, but they had not experienced actual fighting as this is a Hungarian sector. Still, the war touched them as many people's extended family and friends suffered. Families struggled to survive financially. The area was flooded with refugees.

I asked if the Christians took advantage of this opportunity to share during this time. I was told that they were mostly apathetic, feeling it was not their problem. They were not involved in the fighting. I began to think, "Whose needs do I not see because I am comfortable?" "Who do I not see?" I did not like the answer I had for this question. This is important, so I want to ask each of you the same question. "Whose needs do you not see because you are comfortable?" "Who do you not see?" May the Father give us all eyes to see and hearts to obey.

THE CHILDREN OF MORAVICA

The children and the teenagers who came for this Bible club were very well behaved. They were very nice; described to us as better behaved than many Hungarian children. They were timid, shy about talking with us. Everything that we did for them, thrilled them. They were so grateful!

In many ways, they are more innocent about the world than their counterparts in Europe. The war delayed the arrival of the internet and so even though they have grown up in a war torn country, they are in many ways unknowing of the rest of the world. For a long time, UN embargos isolated them.

Today, most young people will leave Serbia, because they feel they have no future. Please pray for all of these children to find their future in knowing Jesus.

THE BIG PROBLEM….THE BIG ANSWER

No national revival has ever happened in Serbia. People are very religious, faithful to the Orthodox Church. However, they believe they must be good enough to know God and live in frustration when they fail. Most do not know the true Gospel. They do not know about how only faith in Jesus can change a person from the inside out.

Please pray for God to send a revival to Serbia. Please pray for the older believers who are there to take risks for the Gospel so that they can model lives of service and passion to the next generation.

In Jesus, Linda for

Sam Shaw-Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Calah Sager
Billy Salinas

January 21st, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

A CONVERSATION WITH ANNA

I met a lovely lady today who told me many interesting things about Hungary. A very long time ago, the Reformation came to Hungary. Many pastors preached fearlessly and some were even sold into slavery as punishment for what they said.

She told me how during a desperate time, revival swept across Hungary. People were very poor and many were forced into hiding for fear of the Turks. They were very hungry. Preachers would go to these hiding places, stand on a hill and proclaim the hope of Jesus. People listened because their need was so great.

Today, she told me is a different day and described the church as sleepy. She said that it doesn't help that the government is Communist and opposes historic Christianity, but the real problem is a desperate need for God to send another outpouring of His Spirit to this place. I was thrilled as she told me about the revival that has begun in the Gypsy community and in a few other places.

She gave me 2 prayer requests. Please pray for Hungarian Christians to become passionate about Jesus and willing to do ministry. Please pray for God to be kind to Hungary and send revival again.

THE DARKNESS

Sometimes when we are doing a program for the children, it is so hard. You can feel the unhappiness of the adults in the room and more, you can see it on their faces. At times like this, we have learned not to look at the adults and focus on all of the smiling children. Today was this kind of a day as we shared in a village culture center.

Many mothers came with their children and that was great, since they had not heard much about real faith. Most people here think that they must be good so that they can know God. Too many do not know the simple Bible words, "The just shall live by faith."

It was awesome to see the crowd more than 3 times bigger than was expected. Everyone was so surprised and happy with the opportunity that the Lord gave us. Still, others who were with us commented about the feeling in the room. Some who came strongly disagreed with what they heard, but no one left until the end of the program. Today they heard a clear and sweet presentation of the Gospel. Praise God! Please pray that this seed will grow in their hearts.

TEACHING

All of us were very excited about the students' response to the class that we began teaching today. Some even told us that they wanted us to keep going and not stop. This is always a good comment to hear from students. Please pray that we will be able to do a good job for these young people who have come from 11 countries to study God's word here at Word of Life.

They also represent many different churches. While we are here, we are working with Baptist, Reformed, and Lutheran Churches as we travel to many different towns and villages doing puppet shows. Sunday, we shared with the children at an international church in Budapest, a non-denominational fellowship and they were extremely responsive to the program.

Two little boys came running up to Sam when we finished and said, "You rock!"

YOUR PRAYER SUPPORT IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT GIFT TO US! PLEASE STAY ON YOUR KNEES!

In Jesus,

Linda for the Team,
Sam
Silvana
Calah
Billy

January 22nd, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

THE BEST SHOW

Today, we went to do a show in a nearby village. The room at the culture center was packed. Many of our students also attended. Every opportunity is precious, but some programs are especially sweet! Today was such a day. The children loved everything that we did and were so excited. They truly loved the story of Jonah. Even the teachers, who are not always enthusiastic about Christian things, were nodding their heads in approval.

Ruthie is almost 5 years old and wears her hair in pony tails. She is Romanian and her parents attend the Bible school. They all came to the puppet show. Ruthie is already a believer, but was encouraged by the story to speak to her parents. She told her parents, "I have decided to obey my parents and to obey God." Ruthie is a very smart little girl. Please pray for her faith to keep growing!

OUR STUDENTS

We taught for 3 hours this morning and were so thrilled by the response of the young people. After dinner, we met with 15 different students and went over their first efforts to tell a Bible Story the way Sam and I tell one. I tell you the truth. We learned something from every single student. They tried so hard and came up with some of the most original ideas. All 15 students choose a different Bible story, drew illustrations for it, and acted it out for us.

Tomorrow, we have 27 more students and the first meeting is at 6:45 AM. The rest we will see on Thursday. Please pray for us to be a blessing to these young people. We have only 5 more hours of lessons and so much more to cover.

In Jesus,

Linda for
Sam
Silvana
Calah
Billy

January 26th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

JESUS LOVES YOU

Jezus Szeret Teged (pronounced yeezeush seret teeged) is how you write Jesus loves you in Hungarian. Some children heard and understood these words with their ears and their hearts as they attended a show in a near-by village. In the softest whispers, I heard a precious few children calling on Jesus. Praise God! Please pray for many more Hungarian children to hear and accept these three little words.

WHY DID WE COME TO HUNGARY?

First and always, we go anyplace because we know that God wanted us to be in this place, but I want to share with you more of this story. Two years ago while sharing in India, we met a guest teacher, Dave James, who was also working with our same friends in India. Dave serves with Word of Life Hungary and it was at his invitation that we made plans to come here. He was the one who God used to open this door!

Our time here has been amazing! We have had the great joy of telling Hungarian children about Jesus, trained a group of 50 students from 12 nations to share effectively with children , and this weekend, we are participating in their annual mission's conference. The entire weekend focuses everyone's attention on reaching children for Jesus Christ.

God has poured His Spirit on each of these plans and we are blessed beyond all measure. We have seen children trust Christ! The course that we have been teaching on children's ministry is a new addition to their curriculum which they plan to make a permanent part of the student's curriculum. I am very excited about that decision. They are seeking among the student body members for their new puppet ministry team. The enthusiasm for this kind of work is building in people's hearts. We are talking with people about future trips to Romania, Czech, Serbia, and many other countries. Some of the young people here have already committed to travel with us to other countries!

More, Word of Life Hungary has chosen us to receive a large portion of their faith promise offering that they are gathering this weekend. I came to Eastern Europe to bless them and they have decided that they want to help us reach the children of the world with the hope of the Gospel. I am so humbled by their generosity! I am so challenged by their love for Jesus!

PEACE AND BLESSING

While in Hungary, we are working through all kinds of churches to schedule programs for the children. The other day, we went to a Reformed church who says hello and good bye to each other with these words, "Peace and blessing from above". Hungarian Reformed churches are marked by a rooster or a star of Bethlehem on the top of their steeple. I have heard a couple of reasons for the rooster, but one man told me that it is because the rooster will crow as the dead rise when Jesus returns. A beautiful star of Bethlehem filled a large circular window at the roofline of the church to remind them of God sending His Son to earth as a baby to save the world. I wondered if the people in the town know the reason for these beautiful symbols, but I doubt it as for most children and adults here, Christianity is only part of their history.

My heart is broken for the children of Hungary. In so many ways, life is so much better here than for people in other Eastern European countries, but it is such a hard place for the Gospel. This is a dark place spiritually! I look into the faces of the children and I see such hopelessness. There are 1.5 million children here who desperately need to hear about Jesus! Please pray for the new puppet team here who will make these dear children their priority.

THANK YOU

How can we begin to thank our friends here at Word of Life for all that they have done for us? I dreamed of Hungarian children hearing about Jesus through puppet ministry and they gave me my dream. I dreamed of young people enthusiastic to share Christ with kids and now, I have a campus full of incredible young people to talk to about future puppet ministry. God has abundantly answered your prayers!

Please continue to pray as we have more puppet shows at an orphanage and in villages, a seminar, and another class to teach. Also, we are participating in the conference this weekend. We want to finish well!

In Jesus,

Linda for the team

Sam Shaw-Asst. Director
Silvana Shaw
Calah Sager
Billy Salinas

January 27th, 2008 Hungary

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

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

January 29th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

AN AMAZING GIFT

I sat in church Sunday night feeling like a small child feels the night before Christmas. This service was planned to give the young people an opportunity to commit their lives to missions. More, our friends were committed to raising prayer and financial support for the puppet ministry. They planned to announce the amount that was pledged on Sunday night.

To be honest, I thought: "This is a Bible school. It is Eastern Europe. The staff are all missionaries and very few of those are Americans." I knew that our friends would be generous because during our time in Hungary they have consistently demonstrated a generous spirit. However, none of us expected what happened next.

When the final tally was announced, I was stunned! This small school of 50 students from 12 nations had pledged almost nine thousand dollars to help us reach children around the world for Jesus. Praise God!

I immediately began to wonder what could be done for world missions if Christian colleges in the United States held a mission's conference and did an offering or faith promises for different ministries. If you are a college student or a college professor reading this email, please prayerfully consider what these young people and adults did this weekend. Their faithfulness has really challenged me!

THE CHILDREN OF HUNGARY

The hearts of the children of Hungary are under attack. Like children anywhere else in western countries, they watch too much TV. The average is 4 to 6 hours a day, with some children watching much more.

Our friend presented many clips from 1 of the most popular cartoons in Hungary. There is a disclaimer at the beginning of it that says it is for those 18 years or older, but all of the children watch it. I was shocked at the images that he showed us. Even by American standards, they were extremely violent, horribly graphic, and not even appropriate for adults to watch.

Our friend also went and bought teen magazines. He found out that everyone reads the magazine that is for the next age group, not the one recommended for them. It is the same in America. He was shocked to discover that very young teens were reading columns giving sexual advice. He asked why any teenager would need to read such things. Think about it- Do you know what your teenagers are reading?

Our friend finished his talk by making the following statements. He said "If children learn things that go against the will of God, they will also learn to stand against God." Please pray for God to protect the hearts and minds of the Hungarian children.

FUNNY ANIMAL SOUNDS & ICE CREAM

I am always entertained by the differences that we discover as we travel. Children make very different sounds for animals than the children in America would make. Here are 5 of my favorite Hungarian animal sounds:

NEW WORDS

I am not doing well learning Hungarian, but everyone else has learned some words. Billy can say please and thank you. Calah is also learning new words but Silvana is definitely the most gifted in language. Sam and I are struggling. Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn as it is not like any other language.

However, the other day we both learned some very interesting new words.

If I want to show respect to Sam, even though he is a younger man, I could say Sam Bacsi (pronounced bochii.) The way a younger person could address me is to say csokolom (pronounced choke-a-lom), which literally translates "I kiss your hand." Hungarian is an amazing language!

A CHILDREN'S SERMON

We have all been so encouraged by our time here in Hungary and the other night was a special blessing. Our friend Dave James spoke on Matthew 18:1-6 where Jesus' friends, His disciples, were arguing about whom would be most important in heaven. Jesus invited a child to stand in their midst and said, "Who ever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven." Then Jesus said that if you receive a child in His name, you really received Him. Neither Sam nor I could remember another sermon that we had ever heard expressly devoted to the concept of child evangelism. Please pray for more people in Hungary, Ireland, America, and around the world to devote their lives to reaching children for Christ.

COUNT THE COST

Hudson Taylor was a pioneer missionary to China who understood what it meant to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. Our friend Al Konya, Director of WOL HUNGARY, told a large meeting room full of young people and adults about Hudson Taylor's suffering and everyone was listening. He told us that as an old man, after enduring the death of his first wife and 4 of his 8 children, Hudson Taylor received the worst news.

The Boxer rebellion had swept across China. Of his fellow missionaries, 58 were dead, along with 21 of their children, and 23,000 Chinese believers. He said, "I can not read, I can not think, I can not pray, but I can trust." We are all so overwhelmed by the great need that we see among the children of Hungary and there is so much that we can not change, but we trust that the Father will call many to faith. I beg you to pray for these children, many of whom have no one to pray for them.

WE ARE STAYING IN A CASTLE

In 1989, Word of Life signed a 10 year lease agreement with a then Communist government for a castle in the village of Toalmas. If you looked at the pictures that we posted the first day, the large yellow house in the snow is the castle. The Communist's required them to give a free week of summer camp to 400 Hungarian young people. Remember, all of this is happening before the wall ever came down, and before Hungary enjoyed the freedom it has today. Since then, they had bought the castle and done a lot of renovation. The buildings they have added to the property are simple and functional, but the castle is impressive. I confess to you that all of us are delighted that we have the amazing opportunity to stay in such a special place with a wonderful history. I'm sure the Count that built this as his summer home never imagined that it would be use to reach thousands of young people for Christ.

The so-called "Andrassy Castle" is really a large mansion that was once owned by the brother of a famous Hungarian Count named Gyula Andrassy. The Count that owned the castle was an avid horticulturist. Today there are a number of plants and trees growing on the 78 acre property that can be found no where else in Europe. In almost 2 decades of working with children, I have never stayed in such a nice place!

In Jesus,

Linda for a very tired, but happy Hungarian Team

January 30th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

HANDICAPPED CHILDREN AT AN ORPHANAGE

This morning we will leave at 9AM to travel to our last show in Hungary. It is at an orphnage for mentally and physically handicapped children. We really need you to pray that we will be wise in the way that we share with these children. I have done so many shows in places like this, but I am always keenly aware that we need to have people praying for us. I know that these children need to know about Jesus and I believe that there is so much more they can understand than we know. I want them to see the Father's love for each one of them! Please pray!

A VERY SPECIAL DAY!

Sometimes, when we are doing the programs for the children, everything goes right. They have fun and they really listen. Yesterday was that kind of a day!

The first show was at a Christian school, but not all of the teachers were believers. Some were clearly unhappy as I began to tell the children about Jesus, but their displeasure did not affect the children. We heard them praying. Afterwards, I went and talked to a group of little boys. One was especially enthuiastic about his new faith. He had the biggest smile! Many people here claim a church, but too few of those often really know Jesus Christ personally. Please pray for the new faith of all of these boys and girls!

Late in the afternoon, we shared in a village. The crowd was more than 2 times as blg as they expected and still more children came. Their homes were broken by alcoholism and poverty. The children were really having a hard time, so it should not surprise you when I tell you that again we heard children praying out loud to receive Jesus as their Savior. All of the bad things in their lives made it easy for them to see their need. Please ask the Lord to give them great faith!

OUR LAST DAY

Today, begins our last day in this wonderful place and we stand in awe of all we have seen God do. Tonight, we teach our last class, hand over the equipment to the new team, and enjoy one last time of fellowship with the students! About 2AM, we leave for the airport. I doubt that we will sleep tonight!

Hold this day before the throne!

In Jesus,

Linda for
Sam
Silvana
Calah
Billy

January 30th, 2008 Hungary

Dearest Friends,

OUR LAST DAY

Thank you so much for praying for the orphanage that we visited today! Mentally and physically handicapped children filled the building. The first thing that we noticed was the smell as we entered. Through the years, I've been in many of these places, but I'm always broken by how difficult it is for the children. There was a teenage girl in the audience who had a hair-lip and a clef pallet, but she had never received surgery. She had lived all of her life unable to eat properly, with a very painful birth defect because there was simply no medical care available for her. Her mind was sharp, but she had never received any education.

There was another little girl on the front row in a wheelchair who never smiled, not once during the entire program. She was so small and I wanted so much to see her smile. Finally, when the big bear puppet came up in the stage, she began to smile.

Many of the children and young people were so much smarter than people believe them to be. When we asked the director if we could do the program, she told us to plan for only 20-30 minutes. She did not think that the children could listen but for a very short time. When they were still listening after 30 minutes, then 40 minutes, she agreed that we could go ahead and do all of the program that we had planned. They listened for an hour and they really paid attention. As soon as I mentioned the name of God, they began to shout out the name of Jesus. They smiled, and laughed, and were especially grateful for the animal balloons that we gave them at the end of the program.

Only God the Father knows what these children can really understand. I believe that they can understand much more than they are given credit for by their teachers. Please pray for these children. Ask God to grow the seeds of the Gospel that were planted in their hearts today.

HOME

We leave in just a couple of hours to begin the trip to the airport. As they say in Ireland, please pray us safe home.

Love in Jesus,

Linda for

Sam Shaw- Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Calah Sager
Billy Salinas