Winckles Family Update

Weekend in Columbus, Ohio

We traveled to Columbus, Ohio on Friday to spend the weekend with our friends, Wes and Cheryl Rohrer and to speak at their church -- the Living Hope Free Methodist Church. That also happens to be the church where our daughter-in-law's parents attend, so Andrew and Christy killed two birds with one stone and came down to spend the weekend with both sets of parents! This also happens to be the church where Andrew and Christy were married.

We did a lot of talking, laughing, and catching up and on Saturday we went down to the German Village, where we had to take a picture of the Kossuth Street sign. This street was named after the Hungarian politician and statesman, Lajos Kossuth, who toured the United States in 1849 following the failed Hungarian Revolution, trying to gain popular support for American intervention in Hungary, which did not happen. Nevertheless his speeches resonated with the American people and when speaking in Columbus the city decided to name a street in his honor. [This paragraph is mostly for the benefit of our Hungarian friends who read this blog!]

On Sunday we had the opportunity to share both in the morning fellowship hour as well as during the worship service. Much as we have done in other stops this winter, we gave our Hungary Quiz and our Tree of Life presentations. The Living Hope Church has a new pastor, Jeff Hanna, and we were delighted to meet him and his wife, Nancy. We were also surprised to see the Hungarian flag flying outside the church on the flagpole!

We are thankful for our partnership with this congregation and for their ongoing support of the work in Hungary!

Warm winter Sunday in Jamestown, ND

 

This week we traveled to Jamestown, North Dakota to visit Larry's family. Last year it was bitter cold and there was lots of snow. This year there it is relatively warm (in the 30's and 40's Fahrenheit) and there hasn't been much snow (only about 5 inches total for the season, when the seasonal average is usually 66 inches).

 

Larry's sister Linda and brother-in-law Joel recently adopted two siblings, Tyler (6 years old) and Katelyn (4 years old). These kids are highly verbal and highly energetic! They've compeletely changed Linda's and Joel's lives. We volunteered to help give them a chance to get away for a long weekend by watching the kids for them. We've enjoyed this time getting to know our new niece and nephew. We are so happy that they've finally found stability in a loving and supportive home. 

This afternoon we went over to Grandma Winckles' apartment to visit her and Aunt Nancy. We had a lot of fun reading the storybook "Mrs. Pig's Night Out" with Aunt Nancy. 

Great Sunday in Battle Creek

 

Cornerstone Community Church

We traveled to the Cornerstone Community Church in Battle Creek, Michigan this morning to take part in their Sunday School and morning worship services, as well as enjoying a potluck lunch with the congregation. We took advantage of the opportunity to speak in the Sunday School by presenting our Hungary Quiz, checking to see what the people already knew about Hungary. The did well! It was obvious that some of the people had been doing their homework by reading the World Mission People magazine and checking our blog.  We were also asked some very good questions, including a question about Bled, Slovenia that, surprisingly enough, we were able to answer!

Morning worship at Cornerstone

During the worship service we shared our 2012 Tree of Life presentation, tweaked a bit for the Battle Creek group, as it has been three years since we last visited the congregation. We enjoyed a very warm and friendly reception from everyone, and we can attest the the people of the Cornerstone church are very good cooks! Larry was especially pleased to find homemade eggnog available on the beverage table!

Pastor Eric and Kari Perry

We are thankful for the faithful support of the Cornerstone Community Church and their pastor, Eric Perry. We were also happy to meet Eric's new wife, Kari. Eric lost his wife several years ago and remarried this past November. Their blended family now contains nine children, ages 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 13 and 13! We pray for God's blessing on their new lives and ministries together!

 

Southern Michigan Conference Pastors and Spouses Retreat

 

We feel privileged to be able to participate in the 2012 Pastors and Spouses Retreat, which is held each year in February at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, Michigan. We are thankful for this opportunity to connect with people from many of the churches that we will be unable to visit during our short visit to the United States.

 

The theme for the retreat this year was "The Color of Happiness" and is directly connected to the Chinese New Year. Superintendent Thomas Ramundo and his wife, Noni, always go all out in order to make the retreat a welcoming and relaxing event. They gave out Chinese themed gift bags to everyone upon registration and had Chinese New Year themed decorations.

The speaker for the retreat was Rev. Dale Shinabarger, retired superintendent of the East Michigan Conference. He spoke on "Four Habits of a Healthy Leader" and "Connecting the Chaos." Pastor Dale is a highly energetic motivational speaker who has a lot of practical advice to offer to younger pastors and church leaders. 

We enjoyed some great conversations with Pastor Dave and Dottie Mathis from the West Unity FM Church, Pastor Mike and Andrea Ortell from the Pulaski FM Church, Pastor Jason and Amy Engle from the Jackson FM Church, as well as a number of shorter conversations with many others. Other highlights included playing Seven Wonders with Pastor Mark

Van Valin, seeing Supt. Ramundo play guitar with the worship team, and seeing Supt. Shinabarger's color changing ball.

 

A Day in Spring Arbor

 

 

Pastor Mark makes a point.

The Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church is one of our major partner churches, and we try to make connections there as often as possible. We spent this past Sunday there, taking part in the two morning services and spending time talking with many friends and supporters. February is always their global outreach emphasis month, and the morning services began with Colossians 1:27 (their theme verse) being read out in 10 languages (Finnish, Japanese, Portuguese, Arabic, Dutch, Cantonese, Spanish, French, Aramaic, and English).

"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

During the evening service we were able to share about recent events in the Budapest church, including a report on the Runyons' seminar, the Madrid Church Leaders Conference, the recent baptisms, as well as giving an update on the new church law.

Pastor Mark Van Valin has been a strong advocate and good friend over the years. His thoughts about missional living have influenced a lot of what we have done in Budapest and what we have shared with other partners. On Sunday morning he presented some of his current thinking about missional living, which resonated greatly with us. He envisions growing in Christ the end result of three complementary processes taking place -- worship, connection, and service.  These three things address three deep-seated needs that everyone longs for -- transcendence, community, and purpose.