FALL | 2013

So here we are, one half year later. The difficulty at this point is simple: keep it brief so that you, the reader, will remain engaged, while adding enough detail to make this update meaningful.

Lola wanted her picture taken, too

Spring semester here at CCBCE was really a joy. Our great staff and interns served so faithfully and we were able to watch so many students grow in their personal walks of faith with Jesus. I had the privilege of teaching Romans and Biblical Theology. Both had their fair share of challenges and blessings. Most certainly, the blessings outweighed the challenges (and were birthed from them as well)!

Mikayla: our baby girl is eight years old!

This summer kept us busy in many ways. Our summer discipleship school, A Vision for Life, saw 32 young people come and go. The teaching rotation kept me busy and I really treasure the time I had with this group of young people. I was able to take a trip to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale in August just a couple days after returning from Sweden. Sweden? Yes, Sweden. Christi and I went to Sweden to share at the All-Calvary Chapel Scandinavia Conference. It was my second time as a guest speaker there and I was honored to share the Word of God with so many dear friends. Christi helped with many of the worship times and she had a blast getting to know the saints from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. The Fort Lauderdale trip was a gift (literally); I was given a week to go and seek the Lord Jesus a bit. While South Florida is HOT in August, the times with the Lord were truly refreshing.

Christi and I taught a marriage conference for Calvary Chapel Vác here in Hungary this past spring. Lots of laughs to be sure. I mentioned this in the last newsletter as well, but I was given the chance to share a seminar on How to Study the Bible at Calvary Chapel Subotica, Serbia. Such a rich time with the Serbian brothers and sisters. We love those folks so much. The blessing was all ours.

The big news, of course, was the answer of "No" we received concerning adoption. The process was long and complicated (triple continental adoption) and - long story short - we ran out of time. I was reminded that the words "hopeless" and "helpless" can never be used to describe the life of a child of God. The boy we were hoping to adopt knows Jesus, and so we're grateful that he's in very good hands. Thanks so much to all of you who were praying alongside of us through this entire process. To say that it was "heart wrenching" to find out that it wasn't going to work seems an understatement. "Painful" is more accurate. And yet, we really felt at peace with the whole thing knowing that our God remains sovereign. He is eternal and He is eternally good.

Foster children getting bigger and BIGGER

This fall arrived quickly (which, after 9+ years of serving here in Europe) shouldn't have been a surprise. Psalms and Synoptic Gospels are my classes through December. Those, alongside of running the internship program here on campus bring me such joy. 

Christi and the kids stay busy with homeschooling this year again. With no on-campus school for the kids like we used to have, we're trying to give our little monkeys the best education we can give them!

We would most certainly appreciate your prayers on a number of fronts:

• Ian is set to have surgery at the beginning of November (hernia). He has a cold and cough that do not seem to want to go away; the surgeon cannot operate on him if his health doesn't improve (the surgery has already been postponed twice). 
• Provision: we will give you more information next month, but we could use God's hand of provision in the near future.*
• Calvary Chapel: as many of you know, Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (CCCM) went to be with the Lord on October 3rd. Please pray for God's hand of mercy and comfort for our beloved pastor's family, CCCM as a church family, and for the 1,600+ Calvary Chapel churches around the world that have been impacted by Pastor Chuck's life of faith.
• Salzburg: we are trying to schedule a visit to Calvary Chapel Salzburg, Austria in the near future. With a busy semester schedule and Ian's impending surgery, we're having trouble nailing it down. I've been invited to teach a couple Bible studies and really want to make it out to them. Please pray that God will put it all together!
• Homeschool: anything your can think of to pray for this would be appreciated! 

Thanks again for the love and support! We hope this update finds you and yours doing well!

Jeremy and Christi and the kids



*Missions Support - there's a link to the left if you're interested in praying and giving