Ippistle 40

Ippistle 40

May 15, 2012

Dear Family and friends,

Until living in Budapest, we had never lived in a big city before. There are lots of positives about living in a big city; a great transportation system that allows us to travel without having to own a car, many great restaurants to choose from, lots of cultural things to experience quite inexpensively, and so many new friends to connect with. But one of the biggest negatives of living in a big city is the air and the smells that go with it: cigarette smoke that is almost always present wherever we go; a bad sewage smell that seems to be present as a kind of undercurrent to all other smells in some parts of the city; the body-odor of lots of sweaty people packed into the busses, trams, or subways.

“Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2) We have come to realize that this is what we are called to do—follow Christ's example; that our lives will be sweet smelling to God and to those around us; that people we meet would, in a sense, stop and ask “Hmmm, what's that smell?” and be attracted to the fragrance of Christ that is evident in our love of God and others.

With this in mind, we ask for your prayers that God's love will be evident in what we say and do.

• Pray that as we host students in our flat for pizza parties and pancake breakfasts in the next weeks, that God will use our words and actions to spread His love.
• Pray that the Bibles Jack will be giving his graduating students will be received well, and that God will give the students the desire to want to know Him.
• Pray for our friends Dori and Zoli as they are united in marriage this coming weekend.
• Pray for new friends that God has put in our Bible study, that they will continue to seek Him and grow in their knowledge of Him.
• Pray for us as we reapply for our residence permits for the coming year, that the process will go well.
• Pray that Jack's last four weeks of school go well, and that he can engage the students right up to the end.
• Pray that the right candidates will come forward to fill two TeachOverseas teaching positions in Hungary.

Thank you again for encouraging us through your financial and prayer support. We look forward to connecting with many of you when we're home over the summer.

Blessings,

Jack and Cindy Ippel