Prayer Week in Budapest

As many of you know, Joe, Sarah, and I spent 24 Jan-29 Jan at the Prayer Week in Budapest. The Prayer Week is an annual conference with all the AG missionaries and national indigenous leaders who do University campus ministry throughout Europe. It was SO awesome. I love my new missionary family!! We mainly just prayed our guts out, and gave reports on what's happening in our campuses/ministries, and had lots of discussion about the different challenges and facets of pioneering campus ministry, exchanging ideas and planning events. We also shared in lots of awesome fellowship -- long meals, late night card games, and plenty of sight seeing. It was fantastic in every single way.

I have so much I could tell you about the conference. Way too much to write, but I'll try and give you a little synopsis. I will be writing and posting more photos later, but let me just get out what's fresh on my heart. In a word, it was overwhelming. Overwhelming to see/hear about the need for campus ministry throughout Europe. It makes me want to do this for the rest of my life. Honestly, I don't know how I could ever walk away from a need like this. I couldn't sleep friday night. I kept waking up and thinking about the hundreds and hundreds of campuses in Europe (representing MILLIONS of students) that have no Gospel witness. It's just wrong. Of all the countries in Europe, we have the most campus ministries in Germany. But look at this photo to the right. The white map shows the twelve universities where we have campus ministries in Germany. The blue map shows all the campuses that still have no Gospel witness. There is so much work to be done! And that's just in ONE country! We spent the entire day on Friday in prayer. Each missionary talked about their country and the campuses they are ministering on, sharing about progress that has been made, challenges they are facing, and dreams they have for the future. After their presentation, we gathered around them, laid hands on each missionary and the map of their country, and cried out to God for a sovereign move and salvation of University students. So as I said before, it was overwhelming to hear about the need all throughout Europe and the variety of battles my fellow missionaries are fighting. The darkness and oppression have so many layers. To hear the other missionaries tell their stories would rip your heart out. No, seriously: heart = ripped out.

BUT, it was overwhelm- ing in other ways as well. After hearing the depth of the need (which seems to be an endless pit) I was very much reassured that God's love and power is deeper and more far reaching. There is so much hope. HOPE. That's what we have because God's power has no limit. God spoke, and I believe that He desires salvation, deliverence, and restoration in European University students more than all of us combined. He is good and He is omnipotent. There is HOPE. *sigh.....

Brett & Cortney Heerwald and Kelly Larson, pioneering campus ministry in Norway with Chuck Haavik. They know of no other missionaries of any sort in the entire nation.

Jose (on the left) is one of our indigenous leaders in France, leading the campus ministry.

Right to left: Brent Enget, pioneering campus ministry in Limerick, Ireland. Martin Didio, one of our indigenous leaders from Germany who is serving in Austria. Jon Ziegler, MAPS worker in Berlin. John Koeshall, Belgium. And Joe Zickafoose, pioneering campus ministry in the UK.