zara's dedication

a couple of weeks ago at our annual summer conference for the church, we asked a good friend of ours, Laci Németh, to dedicate Zara to the Lord. We see a Biblical precedence for this, as Jesus was taken to the Temple in Luke 2 to be dedicated to the Lord. This "ceremony" is simply a time of us giving thanks to the Lord for the blessing of our daughter.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward."

(Psalm 127:3 ESV)

church building

as many of you know, we as a church have been praying about looking for a new church building as the place where we are now (and have been for the past 8 years) is just becoming to expensive for us. In March I told our landlord of the situation and we began negotiations about a decrease in rent. at first he agreed then wanted to change things up a little bit, which we weren't comfortable with, and then at the beginning of this month I told him that we are giving him 3 months notice and we're going to be leaving. Well, when he heard that, he immediately began to say that he doesn't want to lose us and that if it's going to help us stay there then he will decrease the rent if we sign a 6 month extension, which would take us to June 2011. after much prayer, thought and seeking new places, the elders & I agree that the best thing for us would be to stay where we're at and the money we save now during the summer to put it away for the winter when we have to heat.

so I'm glad we're staying cause we're "established" here, now we're just going to continue to trust our generous Lord to take care of all the needs of His church.

10 years

this April is the 10 year anniversary of be being the pastor of Calvary Szeged. was a ready to pastor a church at the age of 23, probably not. but then again, it's hard to say if a man is ever ready to pastor God's people. the past 10 years has been an adventure to say the least.

yesterday at church I was greatly surprised that the church had been secretly organizing a surprise party for me to celebrate this occasion. it started by ordering pizzas for everyone, then the elders showed a slide show of the past 10 years. it really struck me how many people I've been honored to server and minister to. then they surprised me by having our good friends, Laci & Keri Németh come down from Budapest.

then the event culminated with a treasure hunt, after 3 clues, I was lead back to the pulpit where there was a gift for me. it appeared to be a book, when I opened it up and opened the book, much to my surprise there was an iphone in it. needless to say, I was completely taken back by this.

to see the love and generosity that the church has for me, completely humbles me & makes me so proud to teach & pastor the wonderful people of Calvary Szeged.

so I'm a blessed man and now I've got an iphone, look out!!

live from New York.........

for the first time ever, I'm in NY. I'm on my way back to Hungary after spending a week with my Dad in CA. I can't wait home to my girls, "skypeing" with them has been great but it's not the real thing.

my trip to CA was a surprise for my Dad. and was he surprised. I went to help him with some stuff & just to spend some time with him as his health isn't the best. over the course of the week we had a lot of good conversations not only about the near future and options for him but also about eternity. I got my Dad a Bible last week and he's gonna read a chapter a day in the hopes that "it'll help him think clearly". I know the Word of God will do it's work in His life.

I also gave my Dad a book I just read call "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller. It was given to me when we were in CA in January by Justin Southwick & it has really helped me to see the parable of the "prodigal son" in a whole different way. I gave it to my Dad to help him see the great love that God has for him in that He gave His Son for us. The parable isn't only about the "younger son" being lost, it's about the older son being lost too, but in a different way. But more than that, it's a book about God who, recklessly & extravagantly, spends all to show us His love & bring us to His feast. I highly recommend this book to all.

all in all the trip to spend time with my Dad was worth it, I pray there would be lasting fruit from it.

now it's time to get back to my beautiful family in Hungary & get ready to celebrate the most joyous day of the year this Sunday as we celebrate that Jesus is alive!!

Jesus is alive. anything is possible!

for Him!

kyle

2010 winter / spring update

we'd like to share with you briefly some things that have been going on here in our lives & the life of Calvary Szeged over the past few months.

church news

- last weekend we hosted a 1 day "winter conference" where we invited the Southern Budapest Calvary & a fellowship from Kiskunmajsa which is seeking to affiliate with Calvary here in Hungary. our theme was the role & the mission of the church in the modern world. many people expressed that they left encouraged and challenged.

- we continue to be blessed my our "multi-national" worship team on Sunday mornings. Our worship team is made up of 1 Hungarian, 1 Romanian, 3 Nigerians & 2 Indians, it's a real reflection of our church & our city, as Szeged is filled with many students from all over the world who come here to study or do research. It's a blessing that they are singing in Hungarian & English, so everyone who joins us on Sundays can worship Jesus.

- also our small group Bible study continues to be a blessing to those who attend on Friday nights as they have the opportunity to open up to each other a lot more.

- in the midst of the current world economic crisis, we've started a food pantry at our church to help those in need with some food basics. this ministry is just getting off the ground but we hope that it will be an effective way to help minister to practical needs people have as many people are losing their jobs or taking a drastic cut in pay.

- because many people's work situation has changed, the giving in our church has dropped drastically, to the point where we are praying about where Jesus would lead us. I recently talked with our church landlord and in principle he's agreed to a $130 reduction in rent. there are still a couple of details that we need to work out. we've been in our current facility for almost 8 years and he really doesn't want to lose us especially in this economy. In spite of this "good news" with him, we are still going to be looking and praying if there might not be a better place for the church to meet. so please join us in prayer about this situation.

- the elders & I have been meeting every Monday morning for prayer and it's been good for all involved as we get more time to seek Jesus' heart for the church.

- in today's local paper I read an article that the wait lists for parents to get their kids into a pre-school is over 18 months in some places but with an average of about 12 months. there is a great need for pre-schools here in Szeged & this is something we still want to do, so we will be pursuing this opportunity in the future, even though last year the city said they don't have a place for us to operate a pre-school, we're gonna keep seeking, keep asking, and keep knocking & see what Jesus does!

family news

- yesterday (March 5th) Zara turned 6 months old. it's amazing how time has flown! she brings so much joy to our lives every single day & we are so thankful that so many of you prayed for her over the years.

- late winter, early spring celebrates 2 milestones for me (Kyle), February 21st was my 15 year anniversary here in Hungary (I thought I was only coming for 1 year but God had different plans) and April celebrates my 10 year anniversary as the pastor of CC Szeged. I know I haven't done everything right, but Jesus has been so gracious to us & the church over the years. I think the thing that blesses me the most is that now in Hungary there are 2 Calvary Chapels that are being pastored by men who came out of CC Szeged. We are humbled and honored that Jesus would use us in His church to bless & build up His people. We look forward to whatever Jesus has for us in the future.

- Odi recently restarted the women's fellowship, with more of an emphasis on fellowship, prayer & sharing life together.

- again, the economic crisis has hit us very hard as far as our support goes. so please pray that the Lord would either raise more support for us or provide more opportunities for work. For those interested in supporting us financially, there is a link on our blog (www.kyleodi.blogspot.com) where you can give a tax deductible donation through Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. you just need to scroll down on the drop down tab to find my name and fill out the rest.

prayer requests

- for continued wisdom for Kyle to lead the church.

- for Jesus' direction in where we should go as a church, if we should even go at all.

- for open doors to open & operate a pre-school here in Szeged.

- for financial provision for both the church & us personally.

- for continued strength & health in our family.

for Jesus' fame,

kyle, odi & zara

it's been a long time

15 years ago today, I arrived in Hungary with my friend PJ. we came to Baja to help in the Calvary Chapel there. for both of us it was a 1 year commitment. had you asked me at that time how long I'll be in Hungary, I probably would have told you 1 year, maybe 2. today I'm celebrating 15 years of serving Jesus as a missionary / pastor here in Hungary. it's been an adventure, learning another language and culture. the best thing that has happened is that Jesus gave me the most amazing woman to be my wife & now blessed our home with a beautiful daughter.

what the next 15 years will bring, I have no idea, but whatever happens me & my house will follow Jesus. cause following Jesus is a journey, not an arrival.

to all those reading this, thank you. thank you for not forgetting about me in the past 15 years & thank you for joining with us as me & my family serve Jesus here in Szeged.

for Jesus' fame

kyle

baby swimming

zara's pediatrician recommend that we take her to baby swimming to help in her development. so yesterday was our first baby swimming and it seems that zara liked it. here's some video