Hungary - Romania Outreach 2009
(Updates by Geoff Ila)

BOOTCAMP HAS BEGUN!!!

The Beginning Sunday, 21st June

Colorado West Christian School our bootcamp site

Bootcamp has finally started and as usual with a bang. Eighteen young people from various places in Colorado arrived ready and raring to go. Our evening started with orientation and worship. The young people were introduced to the staff and assigned to their individual flock groups. After that we celebrated. We celebrated Charity Mervin's 16th birthday and Father's Day. We dined on angel food cake, chocolate cake, strawberry's and whipped cream, played on the playground and after showers and getting cleaned up we settled in our rooms to bed.

Charity and her mom Amy ...........................Charity's 16th Birhday Celebration

Da Girlz in their digs............................................................Da Boyzjust outside their digs

Team Bonding

There is a definite sense of excitement and anticipation for what God has for this team. Please pray that we will all be at the place God requires us to be so that we can receive from Him in the fullness therein.

DAY 1 Monday, 22nd June

Our day started at 6:00am in the morning, with work duties for some and showers for others. Since there are no showers onsite, each Flock group can take showers at allocated places here in town. Parents don't worry, we are making sure that your children shower at least once a day...(smile)!!! Kathleen Tabor took both our morning sessions after breakfast teaching on "Spiriual Warfare" and the "Father Heart of God".

Flock groups and work duty schedule

After our teaching sessions, Megan Ila our choreographer taught us our first song. An oldy but a goody, "Joyful Joyful". For all you Ao1 alumni, that song should bring back alot of memories. We were very pleased with our progress today and how fast it took the kids to learn.

Practicing "Joyful Joyful" with joyful hearts of course

WIth dance practice over, that left us time to have lunch and tend to our work duties which include cleaning toilets and bathrooms, picking up rubbish on the school grounds and preparation of meals to name a few. We have also started regular prayer times for the outreach and various other things that the Lord lays on our hearts to pray for.

Work duties ...........................................................................Prayer time

The return from a shower run

Home made burgers were on the menu for dinner. We also welcomed the Troutman family and the Weaver family who joined us for dinner. Parents, family and friends, our evening sessions here at bootcamp are open so you are more than welcome to join us but please let us know if you will be coming so that we can expect you. Our evening sessions begin around 7:00pm and end at 9:00pm. If you would like to join us for dinner before the teaching session please call our kitchen lady Mrs.Deb Martinez at 209 2518, David Tabor at 209 4669, or Geoff Ila at 209 5133. Dinner starts at 6:00pm so call at least 2 to 3 hours ahead of time.

DAY 2, 3, 4 Tues 23rd, Weds 24th, Thurs 25th

My sincerest apologies parents and friends for getting behind in my updates. There was a trip to Denver which took a couple of days and Night Vision business that needed urgent attention. It has been an incredible three days nonetheless. In these last three days we have seen the release of about $3,000.00 which will decrease our need of $28,000.00 to $ 25,000.00 for ground fees. Please continue to pray for our financial need. We are coming to an understanding in our team that God trusts us to carry this burden in order for Him to receive all glory and honour. Apart from finances we have also been blessed with having our bootcamp facility Colorado West Christian School free of charge. We have also had generous food donations from Christ's Kitchen a local ministry here in Montrose, which we are indeed grateful for. "PRAISE THE LORD"!!!

Please also keep me in your prayers. I will receive my Hungarian visa three days before we leave for Hungary and I will have to go to the Romanian Embassy in Hungary to obtain my Romanian visa which should take two to three days. The team will depart from Hungary to Romania upon arrival in Hungary, so I wil be two to three days behind the team.

There has also been an incredible move of the Holy Spirit in the area of openness and brokenness. Our young people are realizing their need to be all out for Jesus not only when they think it's appropriate but to be all out for Jesus "in season and out...". Parents your children are truly incredible individuals because their hearts are so open to the things that are on God's heart. It really is a privilege for us as staff to have this opportunity to glean from your children. The unity in this team has been nothing short of amazing and we have narrowed this down to the fact that our young people, your children, have chosen to be wholehearted for God and not settle for anything less.

Another praise report is that we have a wonderful addition to our team. Nathanael Gross who was initially doing the bootcamp only, is now coming to Hungary and Romania with us. Kathleen Tabor led a prayer and offering time for Nathanael on Tuesday evening this week. Between the team and Nathanaels family he received a grand total of $1,381.49 in offerings. This will go toward his airline ticket an passport costs. What an absolute miracle and testimony to the Father heart of God and His neverending faithfulness to us as His children. YAY GOD!!!

We also welcomed the arrival of Daniella Tabor and her children Jasmine 9, Natasha 6, and Tyrone 2 from Colorado Springs. Daniella will be here for the next week to help Megan with choreography. We are especially blessed because she is family and we look forward to spending quality time with her and her babies.

DAY 5 Friday, 26th June

Our day got off to a great start. In our time of worship God revealed His heart for each and everyone of us on the team.Kathleen took the morning teaching session whilst the staff tended to their various responsibilities. We are almost midway through our bootcamp and things are going very well for us. We have had no injuries in our practice times and our teaching times have been awesome as well.

Today we celebrated my neice Natasha Tabor's 6th birthday. We were all excited about her rice crispy Horse cake. Her mum Daniella did a great job, which showed when at the end of the celebration there was nothing left. Thank God for camera's...!!!

The rice crispy "Horse" birthday cake........................Worship

DAY 6 Saturday, 27th June

Another day, another celebration. My beautiful wife Megan Ila celebrated her birthday today. It seemed that we took every opportunity to celebrate her birthday at all three meals. We had family come in and join us for dinner which just added to our celebration. Megan is so appreciated by the young people. We held an affirmation time for her and several of the young people responded, some in tears.

Parents, once again your kids are doing great... The practices are running smoothly and the young people are picking up the dances with ease. Gage Morse and Corrine McCay have done very well being the "New Kids on the Block". Dustin Cooper one of our seasoned AO1ers has juggled his swim practices and swim meets with our AO1 Bootcamp this year and he is doing well. He is competing in his last summer swim meet in Grand Junction this weekend so we are keeping him in our prayers.

Please continue to pray for our finances. We are still needing around $ 25,000.00 to $ 26,000.00. We are also needing prayers for a Romanian visa for yours truly as well as prayer for Night Vision next weekend.

DAY 7 Sunday, 28th June (DAY OFF)

Ouray Cascade Falls

Ouray Hot Springs.........................................................Dinner at Taco Bell

DAY 8 Monday, 29th June

The team is doing well despite dragging a little from being tired after a day off. We experienced yet another powerful move of God as our morning session consisted of just simply waiting on Him. God spoke clearly and concisely regarding the battle we're in as a team on behalf of the nation of these United States of America. This nation is truly blessed but the enemy has entrenched himself in areas of influence bringing confusion and fear amongst the people. The team has been amazing in their responses to what God is requiring of them individually. Our prayer and worship times are phenomenal to say the least and God is being lifted high on His throne.

DAY 9, 10, 11 Tues 30th June, Weds 1st July, Thurs 2nd July

Parents I hate to do this to you but this is probably is the most busiest bootcamp we have ever had in Ao1 history to date. You see we are currently transitioning into outreach mode and that is not normal. We usually spend the whole two weeks in bootcamp mode but since we are involved with Night Vision in Olathe this year, we have had to cut our bootcamp two days short. SRFM's worship team "Solid Rock Worship" is also involved in Night Vision this year so we have two ministries under SRFM participating. This has taken a lot of my time away from the team so I have had to post reports for two to three days at a time.

This team is pretty phenomenal in its make up. It is the smallest team we have ever had number's wise but it is also one of the most spiritually mature teams we have experienced. There has been a challenge that God has laid before these young people, and that is to be set apart for Him and His purposes. The revelation that has been perceived is that being set apart for God will sometimes require you to draw nearer to God and increase the level of intimacy with Him, and that can be a very lonely place at times.

We took time to celebrate David Tabor's birthday on Wednesday. We are very thankful for our leader who represents the Father heart of God so well. A lot of reason why our logistics and team stability remain intact is because of this man and his servant heart. I don't think David Tabor has missed an outreach since he and his wife Kathleen started taking teams out back in the early 80's.

Today (Thursday), we started winding down our bootcamp phase, packing up the kitchen and getting bags packed. We will be in Olathe for the next two days participating in Night Vision. Audience of One will be performing on the Worship Stage and the Kids Stage. Below are times sheduled on both stages as well as Night Vision's website address for more info:

Friday, July 3rd
Worship Stage:- 1:35pm - 1:50pm
A Little Light Kids Corner Stage :- 4:00pm - 4:15pm

Saturday, July 4th
Worship Stage:- 12:05pm - 12:20pm
A Little Light Kids Corner Stage:- 4:00pm - 4:15pm

Website: www.nightvisionphm.com

DAY 12 & 13 Fri 3rd July, Sat 4th July

All I can say is these two days were probably the funnest (If that's a word) busiest days we've had as a team. You'll get mostly pictures because they say one picture can say a thousand words. So get ready for a cazillion words.

Nightvision 2009

..."Catch A Fire" on the worship stage..............................Ila and Rediger kids enjoying the Kids Corner

...Solid Rock Worship with Shachah on main stage....."Let it Roll" worship stage

Rock Starz back stage

....Nightvision Night life......................................................"Everything" on the worship stage

...Jordan Perez with KJ52.................................................Yours truly with his Significant other

Solid Rock Worship groupies

...Britt Nicole main stage....................................................More Night life

....The Katina's mainstage.................................................David Crowder sound check main stage

Jamming out back stage

....Are we cool or what.........................................................Nathaniel and Nathanael

"Joyful Joyful" worship stage

DAY 14 & 15 Sun 5th July, Mon 6th July

Our day started pretty early. We finished the rest of our packing and started cleaning our rooms soon after breakfast. We not only packed but also loaded a lot off stuff from the kitchen onto a couple of trucks to put in storage. Our bags were also packed and loaded into the trailer leaving us with just our carry-ons to take on our trip to DIA. Wiseman and Commander In Chief David Tabor shot for a 9:00 am departure time but after having the parents and friends of the team pray for us, it was about 9:30 am before we actually headed out. We were a four vehicle strong convoy loaded with excitement and anticipation for our trip ahead.

We decided to take Route 285 after Gunnison but had to stop short as we saw warning signs of an accident that happened between Gunnison and Monarch so we rerouted and went through Saguache. It was obvious that most of us had never travelled through that neck of the woods before but it made for a very enjoyable picturesque trip. Take a moment and try wrapping your mind around 30+ people queueing up for a potty stop in one of two Saguache fuel stations. There was a park a couple of blocks down the road that some of us visited much to the relief of the Saguache locals. I forgot to mention earlier that we also packed lunches somewhere between packing bags and vacuuming the carpet in the morning. So it was not only a potty stop in Saguache but also lunch.

Even though there was an almost an hour delay with having to reroute our course, we made very good time pulling into DIA at about 4:45 pm. Bags were quickly unloaded and each team member was allotted an extra piece of team luggage for check-in. Travelling as a peforming arts team with 30 people can be rather daunting and overwhelming for the team staff and the airline staff but we were well taken care of by the British Airways staff who went out of their way to accomodate our needs.

...Final farewells to the USA.............................................."Onward christian soldiers marching as to war..."

Gate A37 the second last door we pass through on our way out of the States

"HONEY!!! ARE YOU SURE WE HAVE ALL THE KIDS...???

... Smile and wave ladies, just smile and wave...!!!.......Romania here we come!!!

We took off at exactly 8:15 pm which is typically British of course and we were all the more eager to be on our way. Our flight went very well and the young people seemed very spritely to say the least after having had a very busy last two days.

I forgot to mention two very important things and that was 1) Our travelling buddy,intercessor, and Grandma for the team, Mrs. Marylou Luttrell had to step down from the trip due to her son Chauncey Luttrell having to undergo surgery last Friday on the 3rd. His surgery was a success but please continue to lift his recovery from surgery up in your prayers. And 2) Deanna Allen was not able to get her passport in on time which meant she was not able to travel with the team. She will be travelling with her mother Lucy Allen as soon as her passport gets in.

Our flight lasted approximately eight and a half hours. We also had to deal with the time change which has London seven hours ahead of Colorado. We arrived at around 11:30 am London time. Not a lot of us got much sleep due to the anticipation of things as well as personal on-board TV's that allow you the option of choosing your own movies etc etc. We did have dinner about an hour after we boarded our plane and a light snack just before we landed. We were rudely introduced to a "Real" security clearance check as we entered the transit lounge of the London Heathrow Airport. Two of our girls were body searched and a couple of us had some things confiscated, while there were some who had to have their bags picked with a fine tooth comb. Trust me, the US has nothing on the British when it comes to security clearance checks. After all the hoopla we went to our gate for our flight to Budapest, Hungary only to find out that it was delayed until 2:30 pm (London time) that afternoon.

Our flight to Budapest took about two hours and forty five minutes. This was a smaller plane we travelled in and those of us that didn't sleep on the first flight managed to get some sleep the second time around.

...I think Deb was watching movies on the 1st flight.....Cooper brothers ready for Romania

I think arriving in Budapest Hungary was a little bittersweet knowing that we had another 8 to 9 hour bus trip into Romania but also that the team would be split up once again with Geoff, Megan, Shae and Tayne staying in Budapest for Geoff to obtain his Romanian visa. We were met by two staff members of YWAM Hungary, Terry from England and Sam from the US. They were definitely a welcome sight as they organised a bus for the team to travel on. I must say we were lagging as we encountered another time change which put Budapest an hour infront of London, hence allowing jetlag to catch up with each and everyone of us.

Budapest Airport

...Ethan and Gage waiting for our luggage.....................On our way to the bus

...Job well done loading the bus......................................Ready for a long trip

Megan, Shae, Tayne and I bid farewell to the team and took a taxi to the YWAM base here in Hungary. The team reported that they ran into another accident between Budapest and Cluj Napoca before arriving at the YWAM base in Cluj at 3:00 am the next morning. Megan, Shae, Tayne and I were thankful that we didn't have to make that trip settling into hot showers and bed soon after.

DAY 16, Tuesday 7th July

Parents you have probably had updates from David via email so here is a short recap on the events that took place during this time.

In Romania the team arrived early Tuesday morning and took most of the morning to sleep in and get rested up. They also had an orientation time in the afternoon meeting with all the staff of the YWAM base in Cluj.

In Hungary Megan and I along with Shae and Tayne went to the Romanian Embassy to lodge my application for a Romanian visa. Eugen Petcaru a Romanian gentleman working in YWAM Hungary went as well on my behalf and did most of the talking. My passport was submitted only to find out that I needed smaller passport photographs and Euro$60.00. So that was the next mission of the day.

In Montrose Deanna Allen received her passport in the mail, and Lucy her mom experienced two miracles. Firstly, she was able to get Marylou Luttrells name replaced with hers on Marylou's ticket and they were able to fly out of Grand Junction to Denver on the Group tickets they had which is usually not allowed.

DAY 17, Wednesday 8th July

In Romania, the teams first performance got washed out by the rain which didn't end up being so bad after all, as they got to hang out at the mall instead.

In Hungary, Eugen and I got to the Romanian Embassy and submitted the passport photo's, and Euro$60.00 only to get a call a half hour later, telling us that the visa was ready to be picked up at 10:00am the following day. What a miracle, thank You Lord!!!

In Denver, Lucy and Deanna flew out and arrived in Budapest at 11:40 pm. Eugen and I were there to meet them. We bundled them and their luggage into a taxi and took off for the base around 12:30 am.

DAY 18, Thursday 9th July

In Hungary, Eugen and I got off to an early start getting money exchanged and train tickets purchased. Bags were packed and ready by the time Eugen and I got back and we left soon after. We enjoyed a tasty Hungarian meal at McDonalds (NOT) and Megan, Shae, Tayne, Lucy, Deanna and I got on the train. We did manage to sleep some which was great for Lucy and Deanna after their trip.

...Bedtime at the tailend of our 7hr train ride..................Sunflower fields are all over the countryside.

After an awesome trip on the train, we were met in Cluj Napoca by David Tabor and Alin Ciorogar who is the YWAM base leader in Cluj Napoca. Thank you Lord, we finally made it to Romania!!!

Day 19, Friday 10th July

It was a great feeling to wake up and have breakfast with the team. After breakfast we did laundrey by hand and finished our assigned flock group duties before getting ready to do our first performance for the Lord. Every year we give up an offering to the Lord of our very first performance in the nation we are in.

...A lesson in doing laundrey by hand............................The boyz cleaning up

First performance to the Lord

Our first performance was complimented by a nice sunny day. We went down to the mall and performed in the car park which overlooked a beautiful lake. What was special was the young people prayed before the Lord giving Him thanks for all He had done, was doing and was about to do in their lives. The car park had been cordoned off because the mall staff were preparing to build a stage for a concert that evening. The owner of the mall was gracious in allowing us the use of the car park. It reminded me of the last supper when one of the disciples asked the owner for the use of his room. All the disciple said was "The Lord has need of it" and it was given immediately. After our performance we headed to the mall for about an hour and then went back to the base.

...Teira collecting her laundrey...................Ian and Diana in one of their special times

After some rest and relaxation we headed to our next performance at a park outside of some high rise apartments in downtown Cluj.

...Heart prep time before our performance....................Performing at the park

As soon as we were set up we drew a crowd instantaneously and of course with every crowd you get the odd two or three that can get rowdy. It was amazing to watch our young people shared from their hearts and danced in worship to the Lord, the Holy Spirit fell and the foolishness of some in the crowd quickly dissipated.

...The kids enjoying the performance.............................Ian and Nathanael ministering to the kids

An elderly couple enjoying the performance

Alin the base leader had a neat encounter with a lady that attends an orthodox church here in Cluj. She was so touched that she approached him and asked im how she could share Jesus like the young people dancing. God did some awesome things in peoples hearts and we are anticipating more divine appointments.

DAY 20, Saturday 11th July

Today was work day all day. We had several different tasks that needed done which included, sorting and organizing, digging trenches and moving rocks, weed eating and mowing, and putting texture on walls and ceilings. Our young people worked from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. We were so proud of them and te staff here on the base were very impressed with their work ethic and awesome attitudes.

...David and Leanne mixing mud to texture walls........Chelise, Charity, Kara & Emma scrubbing floors

Ethan digging a trench

...Gage, Daniel & Corrine moving rock filling holes.....Tamara and Deb sorting costumes

Dustin & Nathaniel texturing

Jason and Dustin moving rocks................Lucy weeding

Tayne, Shae and Isabell working on their play day

We were ready for a meal after a full days work and we weren't disappointed. The base staff put on a first rate barbeque for us. We all worked very hard and I must say the team will slumber well tonight.

...Dinner prep crew..............................................................Barbequeing a special Romanian dish

Day 21, Sunday 12th July

After a good nights sleep we had breakfast at 8:00am and got ready for the day. This morning we attended Biserica Eclesia Church. I think we were a little intimidating with our numbers as we took up almost one half of the church but it made for a cosy time (smile)!!!

The International song (Cramp but cosy)

After the service we boarded the bus and headed home. Lunch was served and Kathleen completed a teaching she started ealier when the team arrived in Cluj. After the teaching we got ready to join the YWAMers in their local ministry to the poor. This involved delivering food to the poor and having the opportunity to pray for them. There were some neat testimoniesof what God did and how He not only ministered through us but ministered to us as well.

...A gypsy lady and her grandchildren.............................Waiting for the bus after delivering food

The gypsy lady in the picture above was selling watermelons. Her daughter and son in law got into a serious car accident and had to be sent to the hospital. This meant that she had to come into town from her village 6 hours away to sell the watermelons and also look after her grand children. She also had to sleep by the watermelons so that they wouldn't be stolen.

Guess who???

Day 22, Monday 13th July (DAY OFF)

Waiting for taxi's to the mall

Our day off was eventful. We started with a ten taxi pile up in the driveway as each taxi could only take four people per taxi. We then made our way to Iulius Mall and pretty much spent the day there. Most of us enjoyed the movie Ice Age 3D with our special glasses. David and Kathleen had the opportunity to speak with the mall manager and they gave us the go ahead to perform on Wednesday which is a huge praise report. We also received word that we are performing for a youth camp with 700 kids attending on Wednesday as well so Wednesday is looking quite full.

DAY 23, Tuesday 14th July

Once again our day started with breakfast at 8:00 am and then we spent the most part of the morning catching up on team laundrey. A quick praise report though, Diana Weaver one of our staff members lost her camera taking a nature walk yesterday afternoon. A couple of our boys including Ian Atha went up the hill again this morning and were able to locate her camera. Praise God!!!

Doing laundrey while the sewer is getting pumped

After laundrey we had an awesome lunch and met in the White House for a worship, teaching and much needed practice time. A lot of times on outreach we need the time just to brush up on things that we may be or not be doing. We then had dinner got into our uniforms and went to minister at another childrens park in the city.

...The Audience Of One banner hung for the 1st time. The crowd gathering for our performance

What also happens on outreach a lot is walking in and through spiritual warfare. This afternoon, not only did we forget to bring our microphones, we also blew a fuse in our power transformer. This caused about a half hour to forty five minute delay that we didn't quite anticipate. It was handled quite well and once things were resolved we got on with our program.

...Gage and Jordan in action.............................................Deanna, Corinne and Diana ready to dance

Day 24, Wednesday 15th July

As anticipated, our day started with a 5:30 am wake up and a 6:00 am breakfast. After cleaning up and getting ready we took a two hour bus drive to a church camp meeting of about 700 to 800 young people. Our performance was received with a lot of enthusiasm as our young people shared their testimonies and danced with added encouragement and excitement. It truly is a marvelous thing when you have a group of young people not dancing because their dances are choreographed, but dancing because their hearts are literally sold out to Jesus and all they can do is reflect who He is in their lives.

...Early Bus ride.............................................Church Youth Camp site outside of Cluj

...Joining in with Romanian worship................................A standing ovation for our team

...Lunch is served................................................................Updating the website

We spent most of the morning at this camp and the Pastor of the church that we visited last Sunday took us to his tent where we prepared lunch and met with some of his youth. We then hopped back on the base taking advantage of the two hour ride back, to nap. We did get back to the base to have enough time to get a real nap in which most of our young people did. For some of us it was making use of the time to get the website updated which I know is so important. I marvel every day at God's greatness in creating technology that allows communication to be accessible.

After our rest it was off to the Mall to do our last two performances. The performances went very well however, our testimonies were toned down. In other words, we didn't use the name Jesus or God very often and this was because we felt that God was using us to open doors for other christian ministries to have relationship with the mall management. We had dinner at the food court, went home finished last minute packing and went to bed.

Performing at the Mall

...YWAM Cluj Napoca Staff................................................At the Mall

The team with our favourite cook Mama Uka

We are so thankful to the staff of YWAM Cluj Napoca for their commitment to making our stay in Romania a most pleasant and memorable one. We will miss them all and thank God for their servant hearts. Thank you Alin and Gabi (Melissa and Julia), Aaron and Anna (Emma), Ana Maria, Cristina, Emma, Twila, Goldy (Isabella), Dave, John and Kendra. A very special thank you goes out to Mama Uka, Alin's mother who left her village so that she could come and cook traditional Romanian meals for us for our whole ten day stay. We love you guys!!!

Day 25, Thursday 16th July

YWAM Cluj Staff & Audience of One

After sharing some tears and alot of laughter we loaded up on the bus and began our journey from Romania to Budapest, Hungary. Our bus trip went smoothly however, we did come across another accident about two hours into our trip. We thank you for your prayers after watching some pretty daring drivers mostly bordering on stupidity weave in and out of lanes on the two lane highway we travelled on. Our bus driver by law had to make two mandatory stops. One was a fifteen minute stop before the border and the other was a half hour stop once we got in to Hungary. Although we had about a fifteen minute wait at customs we made good time arrivin at our destination in Budapest, Hungary by 2:30pm which would be 3:30pm in Romania.

...The Pitstop right before the border..............................Leaving beautiful Romania

Our bus driver did well to get us too the YWAM Budapest DTS Base where we will be staying for the next ten days. Upon arrival we got busy unloading and letting our hosts Misha from Bulgaria, Edyta from Poland, and Eugen from Romania direct us to our rooms. We had a good hearty meal at Burger King got back to the Base and called it a day.

Day 26, Friday 17th July

Today proved to be somewhat of a test on our attitudes and mostly our patience. In order to get around most big cities these days you require a prepaid pass that allows you to travel on all modes of public transport. Here in Budapest we needed photo ID's for a two week pass to travel on the bus, tram and train. Easier said than done, as all of our staff photo's weren't accepted by the Public Transport Bureau. So it took us almost three quarters of the day to retake photo's, get them printed and then pay for each individual pass as we submitted them.

We finally got our issues resolved and met with the YWAM Evangelism team with about six interpreters. Terry and Sam the two gentlemen that met us when we flew into Budapest are responsible for our program here in Budapest. After our orientation with Terry we left for Moszkva Ter for our first performance. I don't think we've ever experienced a hotter day on outreach yet until today. It was a scorcher but our young people held tight and persevered through the heat giving their all. They were rewarded with another hearty meal at KFC. For those of you parents that may be concerned, these fast food joints such as KFC, Burger King, MacDonalds, Pizza Hut etc etc, are actually full on restaurants. After enjoying the a/c and the free refills we got on our way home. We were pretty tired and after showers retired to our rooms quietly.

...The Tram...........................................................................Waiting for the train

....Sam (USA) and Terry (England)..................................Orientation with Terry

Jordan Perez must be boiling in that gear

...Jamie Ila giving her testimony.....................................David keeping the drunks at bay

Literally catching a fire under the hot sun

Day 27, Saturday 18th July

Today started out hot once again. After our outreach yesterday we opted to start our outreaches around 4:00pm instead of 2:00pm when the sun was blazing. David being the awesome leader that he is bought each of us a litre and a half bottle of water for our outreaches but also so that we can refill them and have enough water for the day.

Our outreach today took us to the underground station at Nyugati. I was not able to be there personally as my daughter Shae had a fever. According to reports it was one of the best outreaches that the young people enjoyed. Here are a few encounters the team experienced after their performance. One was with Diana Weaver and a lady who seemed to have had a little to drink. She conveyed to Diana how deeply touched she was as she watched and that she had made a genuine commitment to follow God earlier in her life. She said that our young people brought encouragement and challenge for her to get back on track. David and Megan met with Buddhist Monk who approached them very excitedly. David explained that he was so enamored with the life that our young people projected. We came to find out that he teaches Buddhism in and around Europe. He was so excited that he asked where our next performance was going to be. The other encounter was with a group of boy and girl scouts travelling from Ireland. Some of our young people spoke with them. They were actually being a distraction at first yelling and mocking the team but once our young people started to share their testimonies they were instantly drawn to us.

The team returned home around 9:00pm. The other great news is it started to rain this evening which has cooled everything down. After the team left I got into my swimmers and enjoyed some time out in the rain. I'm sure there is some picture footage that I can track down of the outreach but until then this is it for now.

Day 28, Sunday 19th July

We decided today that we should have everyone get dressed in their Sunday best and have church and communion. What an awesome time, worship the sermon and communion. The message bordered around King Herod and his need to be personally satisfied. His interest was not in anybody else but himself. He was a man that wasso enamored with himself that he was intimidated by a baby boy receiving more attention than him. We also focussed on the lady who danced for Herod. This challenged us to be more intentional about not performing but dancing or should I say worshiping Him.

Communion

Getting ready for church

"Catch A Fire" on Margit Island

Our performance on Margit Island was awesome. We did have the Irish girl and boy scouts out in full force today from the day before. What was neat was that it seemed that God had set up a personal performance, in fact two personal performances just for them with testimonies and all. Today they were a litte more respectful than what our young people experienced from them the day before. We also had a great opportunity to sit and talk with them on a more personal level.

With the Irish girl and boy scouts

G'Pa and Taynee Boy

Well you guessed it. MacDonald's for dinner. This was had a little historic value to it though as this was the first MacDonalds ever in Budapest over twenty, maybe forty or even fifty years ago. We weren't even allowed to take photo's inside so the building itself must have been over a hundred years old.

Day 29, Monday 20th July (DAY OFF)

Rise and Shine, it's our "Day Off"

We welcomed our day off sleeping in until about 8:30am, 9:00am. We had a quick breakfast and were eager to get on with the days proceedings. We had several options available to us. Going to the mall/ shopping, doing the two and a half hour sightseeing bus tour or three hours at the water park. Since I had suggested the water park as an option because of my five and seven year old, I paid the consequence of chaperoning the whole team to the water park. However, I did have some welcomed support from Ian, Diana and Nathaniel Lewko. We also had the privilege of our translator Viktor with us. The other staff members including my ever faithful wife Megan left me for dead and took the opportunity to pursue the other options (HUGE smile).

Viktor our trusty translator

...Waiting for the bus after the water park experience...

Day 30, Tuesday 21st July

Ian Diana and I decided to take advantage of David and Kathleens 24 hour sightseeing bus pass and catch the sights before our outreach at Blaha Luiza Ter in the afternoon. Budapest is probably one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen, with countless historical land marks and the Danube River flowing right through the middle. Here are some sights to be seen:

...A good looking couple I found on the bus....................Hero Square

Budapest by day

...Yours truly taking in the sights......................................Coming out of the tunnel

Our next performance took us to another underground venue called Blaha Luiza Ter. We had a mixed crowd of sorts with a few drunks, loads of passers-by, a television crew who stayed and interviewed Kathleen and many who were very curious to know who we were and why we were doing what we were doing. Sam and Terry our hosts from YWAM showcased their talents for us as well which made for some great entertainment.

...Catch A Fire......................................................................Catch A Fire

Some of the crowd looking on intently

....Let it Roll...........................................................................Sam carving it up on the electric

Our resident babies enjoying the outreach

...Yet another talented Weaver girl..................................Wonder

Some of you might remember Ted Mackenzie from our outreach last year. Well his sister Marie is here on staff with YWAM Budapest.

...Gage Morse preaching the gospel...............................Kathleen, Shae and Marie Mackenzie

We returned home a little tired from the days proceedings and had dinner. We also bid a sad farewell to our trusty translator Viktor. Viktor is actually leaving tomorrow for outreach with his dance team. We really hope to see him again in Colorado.

Day 31, Wednesday 22nd July

Well today our performance was at Moskva Ter the venue we danced at in our first performance here in Budapest. We certainly learned our lesson performing at around 5:30 pm in the afternoon rather than 2:00 pm. This proved to be a wise decision as there seemed to be an extra burst of energy for our young people. Mind you they give everything they have at each performance so it wasn't that much different by any means.

On the way to Moszkva Ter

Terry our host ministering to the lost while David looks on

Captivated by the joy of the Lord

"Let it Roll" and "Everything"

We had three sick Ila babies today, Jamie, Shae and Tayne and one sick Lewko, Daniel. Please keep us in prayer as we near the end of our time here in Budapest. We learned today that 1% of Budapest is christian so you can imagine the battle we're in. The question we keep encountering after our performances is "Why are you doing this"???!!! Just so you know we are ministering and breaking mindsets right across the board. From giving children and young people a voice to simply just obeying God's word to come.

Day 32, Thursday 23rd July

Parliament House

Today after our staff meeting we sensed that we were not to perform today. So today we did take time to take some much needed rest and recuperation. This was a direct response to the word of the Lord. So many times in ministry it's easy to go, go, go without stopping to listen to what the Lord requires. I have experienced many times that it is better to obey than sacrifice and God always moves powerfully through our obedience.

Budapest at sundown

Day 33, Friday 24th July

We are about to head out for our final performance at Moszkva Ter. We received a word today that we were to "Go out with joy"!!! We sure could use your prayers. It is about 3:00 pm in the afternoon which is about 7:00 am in Montrose, so we are asking that you get the word around and pray for us during the next 3 to 4 hours. I'm looking forward to getting back to report on our awesome time.

...Kathleen and David waiting to go.................................The girls goofing off yet again

David and Shae going up the escalator

The team outside the YWAM office downtown Budapest.

Our last performance was a total blast. We worshiped for about 15 minutes and let loose in our performance. Our young people let loose, just worshiping God with all their hearts. God revealed a strategy for our time today which was worship and intercession, hence the worship. In our intercession time God showed each of the young people which dance they were to sit out and join Kathleen in prayer over the nation. I believe God was most ministered to today more than anyone of us which confirmed that He truly is our Audience of One.

....Catch a Fire for the last time in Hungary....................Jamie and Chelise in front of the homeless

...Joyful joyful.......................................................................Catch a Fire

Everything when Jesus throws off the enemy

Deanna, Jamie and Megan

After our worship and performance time, we headed to KFC and MacDonalds for dinner. After dinner the 14 year olds and younger went with David, Kathleen, Deb, Tamara and Lucy back to the base while Megan, Diana, Ian, Nathaniel and I took the 15 year olds and older to the YWAM coffee house and then for a walk on the river front.

Enjoying Budapest at night outside the Basilica of St Stephan

Jumping off the curb just being teenagers

...Kara and her friends.................................The Basilica in downtown Budapest

Day 34, Saturday 25th July

Wow!!! Can you believe that this is our last day in Budapest. I can hardly believe it but the end has finally come. We are very much looking forward to coming home but it will be an early start as we leave the base packed and ready to go at 4:45am tomorrow morning. Most of the morning today was made up of packing and cleaning. After lunch we headed into town. Some of us went to an old fortress that overlooks the Danube River while others finished up on some last minute shopping. Still some others were content to sit in Burger King sipping on ice cold sodas and kicking back. After our time in town we got back to the base and prepared for our "gulyas leves" (Hungarian for goulash soup) love feast. We had a great time and most certainly enjoyed our meal.

Cleaning gets underway

...I'm not sure but I think they did something???.........Nope, definitely not cleaning

The Fortress

...David and Megan get some father/ daughter time....Charity, Alli & Kara

Grubs up!!!

"Gulyas Leves" The real deal

................................................................................................Eugen Petcaru our chef and awesome brother

WE'LL SEE Y'ALL REAL SOON!!!

Feel free to contact us at ao1@solidrockfoundationministries.com