Saturday: Children and Business Conference

The Business Conference was today and Bonnie was with Judith Kovacs again in her home for a neighbor children's meeting. She had a great time with the children sharing about our Tanzanian work, showing animals, and teaching on God's creation.

The Business Conference began at 10 AM. In the morning sessions, Kip taught on Vision, Mission, and Values as Christian business persons. He used Eastern Industrial Supply as , the company that he leads in Greenville, SC, as an example. He shared with the participants about how to develop a ministry plan for their business. The last session of the afternoon used Crown Ministry's DVD, Business By The Book, session 1: Ownership and Purpose as the basis of discussion. Overall about 35 participated in the conference. Business persons from as far away as Budapest came to the conference. The business persons came from several different towns and cities in northwestern Romania. The Satu Mare church provided some delicious snacks for break time. The lunch was great with a meat ball/vegetable soup, mashed potatoes, chicken snitzel, pickled beats, and a hugh piece of torte (cake). Everyone was full when lunch was over. Pictured are Attila and Kati who served as hosts. Many of the Satu Mare church family helped (the ladies preparing the meal)and as usual they did a great job. They have done a great job preparing special meals over the years and proved again this year that they still have the touch.

Friday: Satu Mare

Friday was a great day as Zoltan arrived home from the hospital. We were able to visit with him in the comfort of their home. Kip and I walked in the city. Bonnie spent the afternoon with Judith Barna (Child Evangelism Fellowship and Satu Mare church Children's leader) sharing in two children's meetings. She taught on Creation and showed them pictures of our trips to Tanzania and Kenya. The first meeting was in Sanderhormok for a great return visit. The second meeting was in the village between Satu Mare and Sanderhormok in Lazuri. Friday Evening Kip and Floyd taught at the Satu Mare church on the Biblical Teaching on Wealth or the Believer and His/Her Wealth. This was the beginning of the Business Conference (unofficially). Just a note: Many of the messages and teachings at the Satu Mare church will be available on their website http://www.baptista.hu/szatmarnemeti/

Thursday: Kip Arrives and Sandorhormok

Kip Miller arrived safe if late to Budapest, Zolt (a young man and friend in the Satu Mare church)and I picked Kip up, and we delivered him to the Vekas Hotel/Satu Mare Hungarian Baptist Church. We began our journey at 5:30 AM and arrive back in Satu Mare at 4:30 PM. After a quick "lunch" Bonnie, Peter Hovis (Translator), Mihaly Nagy, and Arpad Lengyel went to Sanderhormok to worship with our friends there. The Sanderhormok church is another one that Teleios Ministry has been a part of since the beginning. They are a special group to us. Gifts given to honor Floyd's mother and father, James and Myra Parker, were used to assist the Sanderhormok church.

We had a great time of worship. We were reminded of our first visits to Sanderhormok with different Teleios teams before the church was built. Bonnie shared about the grace of God. We (Floyd and Bonnie) sang Amazing Grace (English) without translation.

Wednesday: Tiream

Bonnie and I enjoy so much worshiping with our Gypsy (Roma) brothers and sisters in Tiream. We have watched them grow over the years to a spiritually strong group. This week they are going house to house and praying. They are taking turns fasting. Their prayer and fasting is in response to the lack of work for them this fall. With winter coming, most of the members of the church will be in serious condition. They usually work in spring, summer, and fall as migrant, casual labor to have enough to last them through the year. But this year, the economic crisis has had a serious, devastating effect on the Gypsy people of the Satu Mare area.

Even with the hardship, the Spiritual atmosphere in the church was truly a blessing. Every time Bonnie and I are in Tiream we are blessed by their Spirit. We were partners with the Satu Mare church in the development of the church. Please pray for the Tiream church and the Gypsies of area for God's provision during the winter. A partnership between Teleios Ministry, the Satu Mare church, and ACTS Fellowship, Greenville, SC will provide relief help as needed during the winter.

The Tiream church sends this greetings to all their brothers and sisters in Christ from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28: 1Th 5:25 Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I urge you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Monday and Tuesday

Monday and Tuesday proved to be good days to slow down, catch up, and visit with Zoltan and Elizabeth. On Monday night, we shared with the Satu Mare church about Teleios Ministry's current partnerships. The Satu Mare church is one of our oldest ministry partners. This was a great evening for Bonnie and I as we could express our appreciation for their partnership in many areas and their prayer support for almost 10 years.

On Tuesday, we spent part of the day visiting with Zoltan. The medical care system in Satu Mare was a new experience for us. Due to a shortage in the hospital lab, every morning Elizabeth had to take a blood sample to a private lab to analyze and then just before lunch we would go together to pick up the results and visit with Zoltan. On Friday he had a echogram on his leg. He was taken from the hospital to a private clinic for the test. He used his own blood sugar testing kit and blood pressure cuff in the hospital. He had to bring some of his own medicines.

We did learn about how important foundations and Christian organizations were and are to the Romanian medical system. Zoltan was in the intensive therapy unit. Most of the equipment was a gift from a Dutch foundation that Zoltan connected to the Satu Mare hospital. The gracious gifts of many in Europe has provided for much better care for the citizens of Satu Mare and Romania.

Tuesday was a good day to relax and enjoy our friendship.

Sunday: Worship with Satu Mare

Bonnie and I enjoy so much worshipping with the Satu Mare Hungarian Baptist Church. The morning began with a 9 AM prayer service followed by a Bible Study. Both were excellent. We really like the interaction and involvement of all the people in prayer. The Bible Study also had a lot of interaction (considering all the adults were in the sanctuary for the Bible Study). The singing is always a highlight of worship in Satu Mare. They have a wonderful choir and often sing A Cappella. Floyd preached during the morning service. The sanctuary was full of people--the main floor and the balcony--there were many new faces which was a joy for us.

In the afternoon service, the choir sang, a children's teachers choir shared testimonies and sang, former members from Hungary were home visiting and sang, the brass band played several numbers, Bonnie shared a brief message, and Floyd preached. The worship service was a moving experience of God's presence. We missed Zoltan leading the worship. He remains in the hospital and we will visit with him tomorrow. Tomorrow night we will share with the Satu Mare church about Telelios Ministry and our partnerships. This will also be the time for the weekly prayer service.

Saturday: ACAS Gypsy Women's Conference

How do you describe an absolutely beautiful day in which the Spirit of God was so real, love was so evident, and the worship so powerful? The ACAS Gypsy/Roma Women's Conference was all of these and more. Somewhat official count was 267 women and around 30 men (we know that over 300 were served lunch). Rain was predicted but the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.

Bonnie taught on how women who loved the Lord should and should not use their eyes and ears,(using biblical examples of seeing and hearing in serving the Lord and practical issues related to daily Christian living). Elizabeth Fekete used the feet (how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the gospel). Elisabeth Vekas used the tongue (voice) and hands in serving the Lord. Several of the gypsy women shared their testimonies. These were powerful examples of Jesus' life changing power through forgiveness, removal of shame and guilt, restoration of families, and healing. One of the women shared that she decided to follow Jesus Christ at last years conference.

The music was powerful and moving. The gypsy women sing with such emotion, enthusiasm, and true sense of worship of the Lord. This was a great day in the Lord for the women.

The Satu Mare Hungarian Baptist Women prepared and served the lunch meal and snacks between sessions. As always the food was great and the fellowship is always a very special time for the ladies.

Anna Borzasi served as a translator for Bonnie. Pal Borzasi taught the men in a study during the women's morning session. Pal also translated for Floyd during the evangelistic message that concluded the day.

Friday Tomrrow Big Day

Long time no blog. We traveled to Zalau and had two great days with Arpi,Magdi, Geza (baby who stole our hearts) Suto and stayed with two of the greatest hosts Magdi and Geza Pap (Geza who stole our hearts grandparents). Pictures will be added tomorrow night.

Today, we arrived in Zatu Mare. Zoltan Vekas is in the hospital with a blood clot in his leg. The doctors say it is better and the swelling in the leg is greatly reduced. Zoltan will probably come home on Monday. Elisabeth is with Zoltan at the Hospital. Benjamin and Blanca are working at their jobs. Bonnie and I have made ourselves at home.

This evening we worshiped with the Satu Mare church. I had the opportunity to preach and pray with the church. Bonnie and I enjoy so much being in Satu Mare with this great mission body of Christ.

Please remember Bonnie as she speaks at the ACAS ROMA (Gypsy) WOMEN'S CONFERENCE (Elizabeth Vekas and Elizabeth Fekete will also be speaking.) Please pray for the women who participate in the conference and the movement of God's Spirit. This is always a special time. Following the conference, in the late afternoon a community worship will take place and Floyd will preach. Depending on the weather, as many as 275-300 women could attend. The conference is always a blessing to Roma churches.

We will try to have a full report tomorrow night.

Tuesday Apalina

Editorial note: All misspellings, partial sentences and other things that do not make sense or sound right are exclusively the result of Floyd's writing.

Today we started slowly after several very long days. Attila and Floyd went to Sovata just under an hour a way for a meeting with Titus Pastean on the Business Conference scheduled in Satu Mare for October 30-November 1. Titus works with Big-Impact in Romania (www.big-impact.ro). They had books that were needed for the conference translated into Romanian (non were available in Hungarian). Titus works primarily with business leaders and organizations assisting Christian businesspersons to live out their faith in the marketplace. This was a great meeting and has the potential for future work together.

Even though the rain was falling the trip to Sovata at the edge of the mountains was beautiful. Attila and I visited a young couple that we met at the Saturday conference. They gave us some purple onions grown in the area.

We had lunch at a restaurant near Attila's house. The special was a large bowl of Translyvania soup, Chicken snizel, mashed potatoes, cabbage slaw, and a drink for less than $4. The food was very good and served on real china. What a deal!

Tonight we worshiped with the Apalina church and said goodbye. They are very special to us. Bonnie and I shared words of encouragement with them from the scriptures. Bonnie had to have special goodbyes and pictures with her children from the children's camp. The Apalina church is growing in faith, love, and hope in Jesus Christ. What a joy to be with them! Remember to continue to pray with them.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Zalau to vist Magdi and Arpi Suto. Then, we will go to Satu Mare on Thursday. Attila is so excited that he is going to a Gaither concert in Debrecen, Hungary. "This will be great!"

Monday

Today, Attila, Bonnie, Floyd, and Josica (a builder from the Peris church traveled to Sibiu to meet with the owner of the property that is used for the Gypsy Children's summer camps. Mimi is a pastor's wife with a great vision for reaching others in Jesus Christ especially ministry to children and family. The past two years she has made property available for the children's camps. The Lord truly blessed us with our trip as we talked about the future. We were excited by her vision and continued openness to the Gypsy Children's Camp. If you are interested in being a part next year, please let us know. We may need a construction group as well as the usual need for summer camp help.

When we returned we had a great visit with our great friends the Kalanyos family: Istvan, Dora, Lala, Ester, Ishti, zozo, and Dora's mother. Bonnie and I had the privilege of participating in Ester and Lala's wedding last year. They are expecting anytime this year. A Monday night Roma (Gypsy) worship takes place in their home (actually it is Lala and Ester's part of the house). They served us a great meal--Istvan really does a great job preparing any kind of meat. Dora makes really great desserts. We had our first cabbage rolls of the trip. I, Floyd, love these.

The worship is always so enthusiastic and enjoyable. You could feel so strong tonight the presence of God's Spirit among us. The prayer time was a special time.

After the worship, one of the new Gypsy believers, Eddie, asked for special prayer. His wife miscarried with their first child. She is not a believer and this is a big struggle for them. We prayed with them and ask your prayers for them.

Sunday: Thanksgiving

Gornesti church celebrated their Thanksgiving day with prayer time, a special time of the Lord's Supper, a meal together, and a afternoon Thanksgiving time. A great and new tradition for this young church is that the church families bring baskets of fruit, vegetables, and even bread to the church. They were beautiful. Zozo led the prayer using the story of the ten lepers and the one who was thankful. Floyd spoke on what is Thanksgiving? The morning service was followed by a fellowship meal of "hotdogs"--a type of sausage and bread. We had home cakes. In the afternoon service the children sang, the youth sang, and Zoltan (Zozo), Anika (sister), and Lala (brother) sang. There were testimonies. It was a great time. Following the afternoon worship time, the church gathered and ate the fruit, shared the vegetables and bread with each other. This was great.

We then hurried to the Reghin church for the afternoon service. This was a special time of being with the mother church of the area. The church is older but has a warm spirit--they are are people of prayer and encouragement for the work in Apalina.

The day ended with a great time of singing, praying, and preaching at Apalina. They are so loving toward us. Please pray for the believers and the church. The community has serious problems with spousal abuse and other family issues. Because they are new believers in a very difficult environment they have a very hard time. Attila spends a great deal of time working individually with families and the issues in Apalina.