"What is life gonna look like after I obey?"

"What is life gonna look like after I obey to God's command?"—a question probably occupied Abraham's heart as he followed God's command to leave his home and later to sacrifice the dearest to him. “How will we live in a foreign land? How will we live without the son who was promised to us?” We all know the end of the story, but when the command was given, Abraham didn't know it.
That question occupied our and our children's hearts and minds and it is amplified in these months while we are going through the details and insecurities of our transition. Our hope is strong, but God is stronger who writes his love story sometimes through storms. 

The month of May can be characterized with one word: monumental (probably because we have not lived through June yet :). Edina and I've spent 12 days in CRU's headquarters in Orlando going through some training. The best part was to meet with some wonderful, dedicated people who are following the Lord at all cost. (The pictures above are taken with some of them - each picture is a wonderful story of God’s redeeming work.) 
    After finishing the training Edina flew back to Hungary while I headed to Kansas City to prepare the details of our move. God has provided a place for us to live. We are thankful that we have a safe place to arrive to on June 20th. The amount of details that had to be and still needs to be done is monumental. Studies shows that international move is among the top 5 most stressful things in life.

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YTL IS COMING TO THE U.S.

While I was in Kansas City staying with our dear friends, Dave and Karen Robinson (with whom we co-authored YTL and served together 18 years in Hungary and now we are going to serve together again in a broader capacity), Dave and I had an opportunity to introduce YTL in two schools in Missouri. On the two pictures on the bottom left you see Dave and I with those two site coordinators who are door openers in those schools. As they've heard what YTL is about and how many countries are using it, they immediately opened opportunities for us to start teaching it from the fall. YTL had been taught in 62 countries and from this fall the U.S. is gonna be the 63rd. Leading YTL is only gonna be a portion of our broader ministry focus, but an important one. We can't reach the cities without serving and touching it's most influential infrastructures: the education domain.

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A RESOURCE TO EXPLAIN OUR TEAM'S FOCUS

So much more to tell about the incredible doors God is already opening for the gospel in our new ministry assignment. We are joining to a phenomenal team of 45 seasoned missionaries serving in 23 cities. We've created a great website to explain in details of our focus, and the strategies/tools we are utilizing. Also at this website you can see all the locations we are serving and helping to lead. Take a moment and visit: cityleadershipnetworks.com. We’ll share more details in our future letters and emails.
I'm writing this letter while I'm flying back to Hungary. The day after I get home the movers will empty our house, then we move to a friend's house for 3 weeks. Our two boys will graduate, our daughter will come "home" and than we will fly together to KC. 
Pray for our family that emotionally we would stay strong as we say goodbye and arrive to a new, empty home (3-4 weeks we will be without furniture). So much more to tell, but more importantly so much more to pray for!

We are thankful that you are “partakers with us in the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (Phil 1:7).

Advancing the Kingdom of God together,

 Gabor & Edina for the kids

Love is a profound risk

Anything we do out of selfless love for others, for God or for God’s purposes involves a profound risk and comes with a high cost. In 30+ years in ministry we’ve experienced this truth in many ways, but never to the degree as in our current transition from Hungary (from the well-known, secure, familiar, loved environment for us and for our kids) to the U.S. (unknown, insecure and unfamiliar). We go as Paul went, with “fear and trembling” not knowing how God will provide in every areas of needs, especially for our children’s future. 

“He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”

Ecc 11:4

Currently we are not only busy with packing and preparing all the details of the move  (the magnitude of details are unimaginable), but all 3 of our kids are graduating, taking exams and the meantime this Thursday Edina and I are heading out to Orlando for a 12-days-long training. The day after we'll get back from the U.S. our house will be emptied as movers will take our furniture while we move into a friend’s house for 3 weeks before the kids graduate and then we all fly to the U.S. where we’ll be arriving to an empty house as it takes 6-7 weeks for our furniture to arrive. While we are preparing for all of that, we still have a lot of ministry activities before we move: 

• Edina is training young mothers. She had been asked by a group of them to speak on child-raising.
• I’ll speak at a radio show tomorrow in the national radio in Hungary giving an hour-long interview about YTL and it's global future.
• We have multiple meetings in June with ministry leaders.
• We are preparing the translation of the YTL curriculum.
• AND in the meantime we already are part of our new ministry team of 45 missionary staff in 20 cities and working getting to know them and preparing a lot of things for the fall (very exciting opportunities that we will share with you later). 
• Also, I will be back in Hungary in July visiting SpeakOut Camp and officiating a disciple’s wedding as well as to go to our daughter’s graduation ceremony. 

If we focus on the winds and the clouds (as we read in the verse above) we will never get what God has planned us to have: reaping the fruits of the harvest. 

As we go through this life-changing transition, saying good-bye to the decades of rich ministry history while at the same time facing with more unknown then ever before, I admire my wife more and more! I know no other person who would be a more amazing faith warrior then my wife is! It’s amazing what she has endured and lived through over the decades with a joyful, smiling, hoping, loving, gracious, prayerful, flexible and thankful attitude! Just a few examples of her amazing faith:

• She has always encouraged me and the kids to walk by faith and believe the impossible even when we were all hopeless!
• She had faith to have our 3rd child when the doctors said it’s life-threatening for her to give birth after she almost died at the second delivery!
• She had faith to find solutions for the many unusual medical challenges our kids had while herself was struggling with significant medical issues as well!
• She found all the homes we have lived in and was willing to move 10 times in 26 years. She always created a warm, welcoming, safe, joyful shelter for our family!
• She always personally discipled girls (like the girls on this picture above). Over the decades there were more than 100 girls that she personally invested into.
• She encouraged me to take seemingly impossible challenges in the ministry, things that nobody else wanted to take while she knew that saying yes to this will take more of my time from her!
• She always trained new missionary staff.
• She always had been a welcoming host for the many guests at our home.
• She always supported me with my crazy, busy schedule and lifted up the value of ministry and work before our children.
• She always had been a caring, providing, loving, involved mom who loves her children, but never idol-worships them.
• When we had been burglarized she gathered the kids and taught them how to give thanks in the midst of losses and cast our fears onto Jesus.
• She never complained about financial challenges and insecurities.
• She always had been an active part of our ministry’s leadership team giving wisdom, doing hard labor, translating materials, help planting churches and organizing hundreds of different events.
• At this very strategic moment of our life, she again is joyfully willing to give up yet another home, leave behind friends and relatives moving to another country at our age when usually people settle in, to help our kids finding their ways, to create a new shelter, supporting me and the kids while we follow Jesus on un-walked, new territories!

I never saw her missing one day spending time with the Lord and praying! I know no other person who would be willing to give up so much, to be so adventurous, flexible and joyful risk-taker then her! I'm truly blessed to have her on my side as we seek to enter into a new, exciting battle field!

Please, remember us in your prayers!

Advancing the Kingdom of God together,

Gabor for Edina and the kids