Ippistle 25

Ippistle 25
Jack and Cindy Ippel
September 10, 2010


Dear Friends and Family,

We are very happy to be back in Budapest for another year. It has not even been two weeks, but we are each back in the groove of serving in our respective places. Jack’s schedule is nearly finalized as room assignments are still being adjusted. He is meeting twenty-two classes each week, made up of eight different groups of students in 9th through 13th grade. All of the classes are English conversation classes. He is getting some of the same students that he had the first year, which has been good to continue those relationships. He also has several new colleagues who have joined the English department. Please pray for his continued development of the old and new relationships at school, and that God will continue to open doors for Jack to share the Hope that he has. Many of you have asked about Chris. Jack has had brief conversations with him and plans to have him join us for church next week.

Cindy has resumed her office assistant role at the Mission Institute of Karoly Gaspar Reformed University, and yesterday came home reporting that it’s good to be back with her colleagues there and to feel their appreciation. She will work there two days a week and also in a new volunteer position two additional days at EDYN (Ecumenical Diaconate Year Network). In both places, her role is to come along side the existing staff as an organizer and supporter. She is already feeling appreciated and valued for her perspective and what she has to offer. EDYN is a multi-national organization that networks 17 various Christian volunteer organizations from 14 different countries. Because of this, all the training and promotional materials need to be in English. Since Cindy is the only native English speaker in the office, she is especially appreciated for her ability to proof read and edit texts that have been translated from Hungarian to English and then make them more readable for an English speaker.

We have mentioned earlier that we have a new teammate, Justin. We are really appreciating the gifts that he brings to this team. He’s the same personality type as Jack (so think Jack just out of college ☺). So Cindy has her hands full! We really are enjoying the fun and the serious times that we have been having together. Justin has had a good start as well in building relationships with the students and colleagues at Trefort. This can’t help but enhance the work that we’ve begun. It will be exciting to see how God will use this in the coming year.

Our lives are about to change drastically here in Budapest as Orsi and Zoli are leaving tomorrow for their new home, new work, and new life in the United States. They will be living in Wauseon, Ohio, where Orsi will work with children and adults who live with cerebral palsy or similar designations. Her new place of employment is called Sara’s Garden. Zoli hopes to find work soon, so he does not “go crazy” (his words). We will definitely miss them, but this is such a fantastic opportunity for them to begin a career in the US. Please continue to pray for this time of transition for them. Pray that they will find a community of believers that they can feel comfortable with.

We have our beginning of the year TeachOverseas retreat this weekend. All 17 of us, nine teachers in Hungary plus spouses and children, will have an ice-breaking get-together tonight. The teachers from Miskolc and Sarospatak will be staying at our flat along with our field director from Prague. Then tomorrow morning we’ll host the group for paliscintak (Hungarian pancakes) for breakfast, followed by a worship time and more informational sessions. After lunch together, we will be joined by several other TO teachers coming to Budapest from the Czech Republic for the annual wine festival. Besides featuring lots of Hungarian wines and foods, the festival has a stage where lots of traditional dancing will be performed. Hopefully the weather improves tomorrow; today we have had heavy showers and sixty degrees, not too nice for an outdoor festival.

One reason for our gladness in being back in Hungary is that we have made many friends here. We understand well that God continues to place people in our lives for various reasons. A new friend that we have made, Anne, is a young single woman from Germany volunteering for a year at EDYN. Since she knows no one in Hungary, we have tried to include her in various activities. We have had her join us for a meal twice now, and she also went to church with us last Sunday. It is fun watching her make new acquaintances and having new cultural experiences.

Well, it is time for dinner and we really want to get this out before the busyness of the weekend. We thank you for your love and care!

Áldás és békesség! Blessing and Peace!

Jack and Cindy