Winckles Family Update

Whit Monday at the Lágymányosi Inlet

Whit Monday (Pentecost Monday) is a holiday in Hungary, so today we planned an outing for folks from the church and the English class. A new park/recreation area is being developed around the Lágymányosi Inlet, just slightly downriver from the Budapest city center.

The weather was gorgeous and everyone had a very relaxing time. Believe it or not, Larry taught Ákos, Ádám, and Misi how to throw an American football!

Happy Mother's Day!

For a Mother's Day treat Katie asked to go to get a waffle cone at Gerbaud.  Good choice, Katie! The cone was home-made and still warm!

Photo Album Links

Larry has been told that no one in their right mind is interested in seeing all his photos from the missionary retreat.  Knowing that there may be a few people like him out there, below are links to all of his on-line retreat photo albums.

Retreat Album 1 (56 photos, Saturday arrival)
Retreat Album 2 (143 photos, Sunday in Chamonix)
Retreat Album 3 (133 photos, Monday in Annecy, chocolate competition)
Retreat Album 4 (127 photos, Tuesday hikes, Family Feud)
Retreat Album 5 (188 photos, Wednesday trip to the glacier)
Retreat Album 6 (36 photos, Wednesday auction)
Retreat Album 7 (124 photos, Thursday trip to Aosta)
Retreat Album 8 (45 photos, Thursday night and Friday)

"Best of Retreat" Album (221 photos)

Missionary Retreat - Review in Photos

Missionary Retreat - Thursday and Wrap Up

Thursday was the final day of the Europe Missionary Retreat.  Marcie Huson was the first to leave, and a number of people traveled with her to the airport and then went on to tour Geneva, Switzerland.  They took a tourist train to get an overview of the city, and visited the Reformation Wall. At the same time another group traveled through the Mont Blanc Tunnel into Italy, to visit the town of Aosta. It was a quaint town that was quite interesting.  We discovered a Methodist Church in the town center and had the opportunity to enjoy Italian gelato and Illy cappuccino.

When everyone returned from their excursions, we gathered together to hear one last message from Mark VanValin. Mark challenged us to consider that at the root of forgiving sin was the concept of bearing the sins of another -- as best demonstrated by Jesus. He recognized that the missionaries gathered together there were bearing many heavy burdens for the people with whom the minister, and noted that this was to be expected.

We spent a considerable time in prayer in small groups for our ministries, and then gathered back together for Holy Communion and bread-breaking.  With this, the retreat came to a conclusion. Departures occurred throughout the day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

This retreat was an important time of refreshment and renewal for the missionaries serving in Europe. People were able to share their challenges and struggles with one another, and to pray for each other. We often face loneliness and discouragement, and it was helpful to be able to know that we are not alone in our work.  By strengthening the connections between our missionaries, we are able to build up a support network of people that truly understand what we are going through.  It also provided a great opportunity for the missionary kids to get together.  You can see that they had lots of fun with each other!

Many thanks to Jerry Coleman for finding funding for this retreat, to Marvin and Lisa Klein who were the on-site coordinators, to Julie Allman for leading worship, to Mark VanValin for his ministry to us, to the people of the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church for allowing him to come, and to Al Mellinger for his extraordinary cooking!

 

Wednesday

The main daytime activity on Wednesday was a trip on the MontenversRailway to the Mer de Glace glacier, the largest glacier in France. The views were spectacular!

We had the opportunity to walk in the snow, and at one point both Larry and Julie Allman stepped knee-deep in some soft snow.  Others hiked higher up the mountain, and Paula Dunn even received a business call from Indianapolis!

The evening activity was an auction of hard-to-find items that everyone brought to share. Jan Coleman was the auctioneer, and we used "Jerry bucks" to bid on the items.  Popular among the teenagers were Reese's pieces, Reese's peanut butter cups, Oreos, and Pop-Tarts.  There was fierce competition among the adults for baking supplies, peanut butter, and even a seemingly innocuous tin of French biscuits.  Hopefully this seemingly fun activity didn't generate too many hard feelings.

Following the auction Mark VanValin continued his message to us, focusing specifically on the particular and individual needs of missionaries -- who often are so focused on the needs of others and on their ministry that they neglect their own needs and those of their family.  Mark showed us Rublev's painting of the Trinity as a means of inviting us all to take our part at the table, and helping us to see that we are loved for who we are and not for what we do (or don't do). We then broke up into small groups and prayed specifically for each other.

Everyone seemed to be quite tired, so many people went to bed earlier than the previous nights. Unfortunately, because of this there weren't any late-night board game sessions.

Tuesday - Part Two

Following another fantastic dinner cooked by Al, we gathered together to take our official group photo (see separate posting, below). Then we moved into an extended time of praise and worship, which included people giving specific words of thanksgiving. Mark then challenged us with a message based on Genesis 33, in which we were challenged to earnestly seek God's presence in our personal lives and ministries.

During one of the sharing times Larry recalled an old song that he learned as a child from Floyd and Bessie Seiter, when they lived in Monroe, Michigan.

"I've been on the mountain,
I've seen the other side.
I've been on the mountain,
and my soul is satisfied.

"There's no use denying,
the valley's dark and drear,
but I've been on the mountain
and I know my Lord is near."

After the meeting Todd and Deann directed us in a game of Family Feud. They had previously surveyed all of us on several different topics and had compiled the answers to use in the game.  They did a wonderful job of organizing and hosting the game!  The competition was fierce!  The Eastern Europeans comprised one team, and the Western Europeans (plus Greece) made up the other team.  Questions included "Name something you miss from the USA", "Name something you don"t like about home assignment", and "Describe Jerry Coleman in three words."

The Western Europeans had an early lead, but the Eastern Europeans (aka the Comrades) made up for lost ground in the later rounds and came out with the win!

During this time Josh Fajardo prepared wonderful Spanish hot chocolate for us to enjoy (spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg). Paula Dunn was in her glory!

The night ended with more conversation and games.  This time Kali Long was the winner in Aquaretto.

Europe Missionaries

2008 Europe Misionary Retreat participants.

Tuesday - Part One

Tuesday morning Al got up bright and early in order to fix biscuits and gravy for everyone.  Scott Dunn was the first to sample this decidedly American delicacy, and when asked for his opinion he declared them to be "terrible" and said that he would just have to eat it all himself in order to spare the rest of the group!  You can see that Scott really enjoyed his breakfast!

Later in the morning Jerry led us in a group discussion about issues and concerns that the gathered missionaries had.  It seemed to be a good discussion and a number of good ideas and observations were shared.  Mark VanValin listened to the whole discussion, and afterwards commented that he wished that every pastor could have had the opportunity to listen in.

After lunch the girls convinced Larry to take part in a game of Aquaretto (it didn't take much convincing).  Lydia Dunn managed to win her second consecutive game, much to Caty's chagrin!

Everyone had free time for the rest of the afternoon, with some people going shopping, others going hiking, and others resting. Larry used the time to catch up on his blogging, in perhaps the most scenic location he's ever been able to blog in!

Monday Activities

During the day on Monday our group traveled to the town of Annecy,  Switzerland, which is located in a spectacular setting beside an extraordinarily clean lake and the mountains. We enjoyed the afternoon strolling throughout the quaint streets and walking alongside the canals and the lake.

Upon our return to our lodgings it was time for the World's Greatest Chocolate competition.  Each missionary brought one bar of dark chocolate and one bar of milk chocolate that was made in their country of ministry.  Two panels of four judges evaluated each chocolate according to aroma, texture, taste, and aftertaste.  The women took their work very seriously!  The teenagers helped Larry get everything ready for the competition. Here are the results:

Best Dark Chocolate:
The competition for this title was very fierce, but in the end the Primola chocolate from Romania beat out Cote d'Or from Belgium by one point!  One point behind the Cote d'Or was the Roshen 56% chocolate from Ukraine.

Best Milk Chocolate:
There was a tie for first place in the milk chocolate competition, shared by Ion chocolate from Greece and Hershey's chocolate from the USA.  Tied for second place were the Primola chocolate from Romania and the Cote d'Or from Belgium!

Spring Arbor University, Roberts Wesleyan College, Greenville College, Heritage Ministries and Health Care Center generously donated promotional items that were distributed to all retreat participants.  Here are the teenagers displaying their Spring Arbor University t-shirts!

Following the activities we settled down to a time of praise and worship, led by Julie Allman.  Mark VanValin then spoke to us from his heart, sharing of his own need for renewal and inviting us all to join him.  We concluded with an extended time of prayers of thanksgiving and praise.

In the afterglow time Larry, Mark, Stephen, and Caty played a very fierce game of Settlers of Catan.  We discovered that everyone had their own home rules, but we worked it out and in the end Caty pulled off a stunning victory!

Marcie Huson arrived in the late afternoon and was able to participate as one of the chocolate judges.  Josef, Lynette, and Simon Sykora arrived during the night, having taken an late-night flight from Budapest.  It is great to finally have the entire group together on site!

Photo of the Week: Mont Blanc

This is the peak of Mont Blanc, often  shrouded in mist.  You can see the supports for the first lift, from that plateau there is another lift that goes all the way up to the peak.

Sunday in Chamonix

Mark Van Valin arrived on Sunday morning, after experiencing a few delays en route. Our group traveled to the town of Chamonix in the afternoon and then joined together with the English-speaking congregation of the Chamonix Reformed Church.  Julie Allman led a time of singing, accompanied by Jan Coleman. Mark then addressed the combined group, giving a message on renewal and restoration. Following the service we had a time of fellowship with the congregation.

The church is the only Protestant congregation in the area. It meets in a historic building, built in 1860 by the British.  At that time it was out in the countryside, now it is in the heart of a booming tourist town. 

The entire congregation was thrilled to have us join in with them, and asked us to come back again!

Chef Al

Chef Al Mellinger will be preparing our meals this week.  Here he is getting Sunday breakfast ready for the group.  Al is in his glory!

Europe Missionary Retreat Begins

Almost all of the Free Methodist missionaries working in Europe began gathering in Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France, yesterday for our first-ever Europe Missionary Retreat.  Participants will continue to gather throughout the day today and tomorrow, with our full  complement being realized tomorrow night when everyone will be here except for the Hendricks (who are in the States for their daughter's wedding).

Participants are:
Michael and Maria Long and girls - Greece
Al and Diane Mellinger - Bulgaria
Scott and Paula Dunn and kids - Romania
Larry and Katie Winckles - Hungary
Jerry and Jan Coleman - Hungary
Josef and Lynette Sykora and Simon - Slovakia
Julie Allman - Ukraine
Marvin and Lisa Klein and Amelie - France
Todd and Deann Miller - Belgium
Michael and Carrie Hamley - Spain
Josh and Susy Fajardo and girls - Spain
Marcie Huson - UK

plus Pastor Mark VanValin from the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church, who will be ministering to us this week.

Watch for reports throughout the week!  (Yes, we have wireless Internet.)

Welcome Gabi!

Our dear friend Gabi Józsik came to Hungary yesterday for a short visit.  Gabi is currently attending Bible school in England, as well as working a couple of part-time jobs. We always make sure that Gabi gets some good Hungarian food whenever she visits, and this time was no exception.  Katie made one of Gabi's favorite dishes, túrógomboc (fried sweet curd cheese balls), and we all enjoyed rakott kelkáposzta (layered savory cabbage) for lunch today. We've stayed in close contact with Gabi since she's been away, and it is thrilling to see how God is working in her life. Welcome back to Hungary, Gabi!

Snap Shots working on this site

Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

Photo of the Week: Unusual Street Traffic

What a surprise to see a team of six Hungarian Grey Cattle pulling a cart through central Budapest!  This group of historical re-enacters were on their way to a participate in a festival.  They had a police escort, since they were traveling well below the minimum speed. As you can tell in the photo, many of the people in the street side cafe didn't realize what was going on around them!

Living in Peace and Harmony

We originally planned to have a church retreat this weekend, until we found out that Saturday was an official work day so that everyone can enjoy a long May 1st holiday weekend next week.  (Since May 1st falls on a Thursday this year, everyone that usually works Monday through Friday jobs worked an extra day this past week so they could also have next Friday off.)  So instead of having our retreat we scheduled a special day of teaching and activities for today.

Larry began a three-part teaching on Living in Peace in Harmony, which has at its root teaching about conflict resolution and living in community. Today Larry introduced the topic by identifying the ways that people usually respond to conflict (flight, fight, or peacemaking). Following his teaching we enjoyed a soup lunch together (Katie made minestrone and Júlia made tarragon turkey ragout). After lunch and a time of fellowship, we had the option of either watching a video (Evan Almighty) or playing table games (For Sale and Pickomino).

We had a very good turnout for this event, with seven people coming to our Sunday service for the very first time!  Please pray that those who heard the teaching today will return for the next two parts as well.

Congratulations, Júlia!

We've met many people from all walks of life through the English classes and clubs that we've held over the years at the 11th District Family Help Center in Budapest.  Today one of Katie's students, Júlia Deák, had her newest novel launched at the Budapest International Book Festival.  We were happy to buy one of the very first copies of the book, Pincebérlő, and have Júlia autograph it for us.  Congratulations, Júlia!  We hope your book is a great success!  [Reading the book will be our next challenge!]

Visitors

This has been a week for visitors.  On Wednesday Ron Sittig came into town for a few hours to see the Budapest Ministry Center and to talk about the possibility of his organizing a work team to come and help us with building remodeling in the fall.  It's been about five years since Ron was last in Budapest, so it was the first time that he's been able to see the ministry center first-hand. (Ron is in Europe visiting his grandson, Simon, who just turned one year old!  Simon lives with his mother and father, Lynette and Josef, in Bratislava, Slovakia.)

The Roordas also arrived in Budapest on Wednesday, on their way to visit their daughter Melanie, who has been ministering in Sighisoara, Romania for the past year. We had a delightful meeting with them at the Prague Coffee House near Calvin Square.

If you plan on being in Budapest sometime in the future, please let us know.  We'd be glad to meet you!

Photo of the Week: Storytime

Géza Gárdonyi was a famous author of Hungarian children's books, his most famous being Egri csillágok (literally The Stars of Eger, but given the English title of The Eclipse of the Crescent Moon). His statues stands near our apartment in Budapest, and at the base of the statue is a grandmother reading one of his books to her grandchild.  We frequently see others join in the storytime -- as this homeless man did in the photo.

Back in Budapest

Larry arrived safely back in Budapest today.  His trip to the U.S. was successful in that his family was able to make some hard decisions about the current and future care of his disabled sister, Nancy.  Please pray for Larry's mother and sister as they go through these changes.

Larry was happy to be able to spend most evenings with Andrew and Christy.  They are working hard, but take the time to enjoy their three cats -- Fig, Edmund, and Amelie.

Photo of the Week: Obstacles

UNESCO exhibition in Budapest, Hungary. This display entitled, "Who is concerned about those, before whom we set immense obstacles?"

A visit with Nancy

Larry has been in Michigan this past week, supporting his mother and disabled sister, Nancy, during a difficult time. As a bonus, he has also been able to spend some time with Peter, Andrew, and Christy.  On Saturday they all came to Monroe to visit Nancy. It was wonderful to be able to spend some time with them.

Larry begins his trip back to Budapest on Tuesday.

Photo of the Week: Metro Construction Continues

Night view of the ongoing construction of Metro 4 in Budapest, Hungary.