Hello Special Friends,
So many of our friends and people that partner with us know us from the e-letters, or newsletters or maybe heard us speak in a church at one time or another..
We both are very much relationship people. We love sitting down in peoples homes or at a coffee shop and just getting to know people. So many times this is where the greatest ministry is done. Getting to know people beyond the surface and hearing about their families, their histories, their challenges and all that life brings all of us.
I, Jim, love to travel over here and visit pastors and Christian leaders and just spend time with them. In the coming days I will be in northern Poland and Slovenia visiting and planning with long time fiends that are reaching their nations with the gospel. I love to do this.
Brenda sometimes travels with me and loves it when she does. But sometimes her greatest relationships are with the people she meets at random times here in Budapest.
This past week one of her long-time friends passed away. She was a 96 year old Jewish lady she met in a park here in Budapest. She met her so many years ago and became friends. The lady called Brenda her “Amerikai Barátom”, Hungarian for “My American Friend.”
When Brenda got to know her, she found out she was a survivor of the Auschwitz Death Camp from WWll. She had an amazing story. Everyone does when we get to know them.
Sometimes I wish we could get to know so many of our friends and partners that have helped us for all these year. We would love to hear your stories too.
You may enjoy getting to know more about us below.
Brenda
She grew up in Lakeland, Florida and went to the Southern Baptist Church. Her grand-father was a southern Baptist minister for
over 60 years and she is very close to her family.
- She was born in Lakeland, Florida.
- She reads or listens to the Bible Everyday, Everyday, Everyday.
- She ALWAYS has a positive attitude (Well, Almost Always).
- She meets new people all the time here in Budapest.. All the time…
- She told the Lord as a small child that she would serve Him anywhere in the WORLD, as long as the place did not have COLD weather. (It gets cold in Budapest sometimes)
- She doesn’t like to shop.
- She was a bit rebellious in Jr High School.
- We have four children and four grandchildren.
- She loves and needs relationships with people.
Jim
- Jim grew up Catholic on a dairy farm near Wausau, Wisconsin till he was 11. Then moved to Colorado. (Still loves the smell of a farm and cows)
- Was arrested and spent three hours in Jail in Thornton, (Denver) Colorado in High School for theft and drugs (Two years
probation). Record cleared.
- Then received Christ through an organization called YOUNG LIFE as a Senior in High School in Lafayette, Colorado.
- Left Colorado to go to Bible School in Oklahoma because a girl from church was going there, then met Brenda a few months later at the same Bible School.
- Likes Romance Movies and Spy Movies. Loves most HALLMARK Movies.
- Reads books…Lots of books on Amazon Kindle, downloaded from Libraries. Historical Fiction, Spy Novels, Biography’s.
- He’s got four brothers and three sisters. They live in Colorado, Oregon, California, South Dakota and Alaska. But we still all get together every two years in Colorado.
- Loves to watch NFL Football and Major League Baseball and sometimes Tennis.
- He never even thought of being a missionary until the end of the one year Bible School he attended in 1980. One and a half years later he and Brenda moved overseas.
- Hasn’t watch NEWS on TV in many years. Still follows some news on the Internet. But never TV News. (It used to make me angry watching it, I had to stop.)
Serving and Amazing God,
Brenda and Jim
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