Old Updates: The One Where we Talked About What we Were up to at the Beginning of Covid

Spring 2020

We planned for this update to go one way, continuing the idea of listening and the importance of sharing our testimony’s with each other. However with the virus hitting the world this will have to go another way — it feels disingenuous not to. 
 

Ministry and a Global Pandemic: What do you do when you can’t leave your flat?

 
We have been practicing social distancing (for about 3ish weeks at this point) and except for groceries and occasional walks we are enjoying our flat. As with most of you this is a really new experience for us and it is taking some time for us to process and develop new habits. Thanks to Zoom and various messaging apps we are still able to connect with partners and our team. 

 
On the Business as Missions side:

We are writing the business plan for the bakery

The “break” is meaning we are getting a little more freedom to explore the bakery and the different areas around it which has been really insightful. 

The Business as Missions team has a new hire (a Hungarian from north of Budapest). Who knew that it would be so helpful to have someone who speaks Hungarian when trying to work through Hungarian business laws?!

The English preschool is progressing well, and Amanda especially, is helping to develop a marketing package to share information about it with more people.

On the Discipleship side:

Zoom meetings have been the name of the game during this time.

The discipleship/community impact teams have been working through our process and how we can best connect and serve the church.

Pre-virus Daniel was able to participate (answer questions and provide material while others gave the full presentation) in some presentations to Hungarian pastors and lay-people on intentional discipleship.

Participation in organizational discipleship conversations have born lots of fruit on new ways to think through things in Hungary and some best practices of that, which is exciting!

 
As we said before this is a weird time, and we are all having to figure out life in new ways.

So for our “call and response time,” we would like to know what is giving you life now?
In what ways are you connecting to people, what are you enjoying, etc.?
And if you sent us prayer requests from last time please follow up and share how they are going.  
 

What is giving us life?

For Daniel being able to take more time for breathing space is really nice. Things are moving slower now so being able to think through and ruminate about things is refreshing and cooking and trying my hand at making different things has awoken some old creativity in me.
 
For Amanda discovering a newfound love of houseplants has been a nice intentional 

activity. Up until this time I would have called my thumb a bit more black than green, but I have found so much joy in taking care of and propagating new plants while we have this extra time at home 
 
 Our next letter will be around testimonies and the importance of sharing what God has done in our lives in the past give us hope for the future and the present struggles. But until then please be praying for the virus and the effect it is having on people’s mental health and how it will affect people after it passes.