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2008-05-14T10:30:00.002-04:00

All, you will never believe what I received today. Hanna sent me a letter and included a four-point tract. She had her personal testimony printed inside! I immediately wrote to a friend in Hungary and asked him to translate it for me. He sent it to me today and I was almost in tears when I read it. I went through this whole process with her (I am the Christian girl that she mentions meeting at the camp) and was overjoyed to read it from her point it view. Please enjoy and let it warm you heart like it did mine.

I grew up in a Christian family. I have known of God since my youth, and I knew many Bible stories, thanks to my parents. Yet I still wasn’t a Christian myself. How is that possible? I simply didn’t have a personal relationship with God. I didn’t know Him.

When I became a high school student a new world opened up to me. New people. New relationships. I decided to change. I no longer wanted to be a quiet student. I wanted to be the center of attention. Within a month I knew the entire school and everyone came to me if they wanted to know someone’s name. I enjoyed this position…for awhile.

There was only one problem. I didn’t have friends. What I mean is, I didn’t have real friends. I was a very surface-y person and didn’t try to get to know anyone.
Anyone I called a friend was really just an acquaintance. I didn’t have a true friend to whom I could tell anything. From whom I could ask for advice. I didn’t think of Christianity as a solution until the summer of 2006.

At the end of my freshman year I attended a Christian English camp. There something changed within me: I began to inquire after God. Because this was a Christian camp they talked a lot about Jesus and faith. Yet the biggest impact was the positive, radiating, easy attitude of my the camp leaders. I could see that they really loved one another and they loved the campers too.

I was sure that this kind of love only came from above and I wanted to experience it. I decided that I wanted to be a Christian. I wanted to belong to God’s family.
I still didn’t actually trust Christ in the camp, however. How is this possible? Why did I hesitate? The main reason was that I somehow didn’t feel that it was the right timing…I didn’t feel anything unique yet.

I began to meet from the fall onward with a Christian girl who I met at the camp. I began to talk about much with her regarding a relationship with Jesus and Christianity began to become more clear to me. Yet I still waited. I didn’t know why. I was waiting for something unique to happen to prove to me what should happen.

On a February afternoon we sat down to talk and I learned something that was an important goal in my life: there is no particular unique sign to look for when making this decision. It’s not an emotional reaction. I needn’t experience any unique feeling to accept Christ. I just needed to believe. Therefore, as all of my doubts had been erased, on that Saturday afternoon I prayed a prayer to God and He came into my life. I didn’t feel different, but I knew that that decision was the biggest and best of my life.

Since then I have much changed and many have noticed. I notice ever more frequently God’s change in my life, as he is changing me. Thanks to his endless love and grace that surrounds me, I am capable of deep, sincere love. I am no longer so surface-y.

Of course there are many things to still change, but what Jesus has already done…to that I can only say: I am truly grateful and I can’t wait to get to know Him more.

Hanna

2008-05-13T10:51:00.002-04:00

I would like to share an exciting ministry opportunity with you. During my first summer in Hungary, in 2005, I had the joyful opportunity to room with Jen Cassel. She and I have become wonderful friends and I was honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding last year. Jen and her husband, Joe, are a committed Christian couple whom God has called to work with Campus Crusade for Christ.

There are 110 million college students in the world who need to hear about the Lord. Joe and Jen’s vision is to turn lost college students into Christ-centered laborers. Their outreach will be in Albany, New York reaching out to 65,000 students at 23 colleges and universities.

I believe that God will greatly use them to touch the lives of many students with His love and forgiveness. Like many other missionary organizations, Campus Crusade staff members have the responsibility to develop a team of financial partners who provide the necessary finances for their outreach, including salary and business-related expenses. Currently, Joe and Jen are developing their support.

I would love for you to join me in supporting this committed young couple who is doing the Lord’s work. Please prayerfully consider joining their support team. Contact me if you would like more information on the Cassels or on supporting them. I would be happy to put you in contact with them.

Thank you again for all of your prayers. God is doing amazing things here in America, and around the world!

~Lauren

2008-05-13T10:46:00.003-04:00

My Dear Friends,

One year ago today, I left Hungary and came back to America. Sometimes it feels like I just left, and sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago. During this past year, I have done my best to keep in touch with the wonderful students I got to know so well while I was over there. The one I talk to the most is Hanna.

Hanna is definitely one of the reasons God took me to Hungary. She became such a dear friend while I was there and I miss meeting with her very much. I have had the pleasure to talk to her often over the internet and even a few times on the phone. I want to share with you the amazing things God is doing in her life.

First of all, Hanna was baptized in the town of Vajta through her new church last fall. She is so happy to be a member of a church and to be in fellowship with other believers. She told me that she has learned so much about evangelism from her new friends and through her involvement with FÉK (Fiatalok az Élet Küszöbén, the Campus Crusade organization that I worked with). Hanna recently led her sister, Lydia, to the Lord! Praise God! (The picture above is of Hanna and Lydia.) After that happened, she told me the following:

I decided that I wanna do missions! Everywhere I am! I am getting so passionate. It’s so great that we have the honor to share the gospel and give the chance to other people to get to know GOD! I know hard times will come, and I really just wanna strengthen my faith. Right now it is like incredible! GOD IS INCREDIBLY BIG! I couldn’t imagine such big things in my life!

It warms my heart to hear Hanna so on fire for the Lord. She is going to be on staff at SpeakOut this summer. And she has asked me to help her find a mission project that she could work on here in the DC area so she could come visit me and some of her other American friends as well. She will graduate from high school in a year, so I pray that she can come next summer.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Hanna (and all of the other FÉK students in Budapest). Please pray that her passion for the Lord and for evangelism would continue. Please also pray that she and I can continue to keep in touch so that we may work in each other lives for months and years to come. I am so blessed to have Hanna as a friend.

As for me, things are going so well right now. I have been working for the past nine months at a software firm in Reston, doing technical writing. I will be at that job for two more months, before I leave to go to Denver. There I will attend the Publishing Institute at the University of Denver for four weeks. I will be in workshops every day from 9-5 that will teach me more about editing, marketing, production and design, and all other things having to do with the publishing field. The teachers of these workshops are professionals in the industry. I will meet and work with people who are in the publishing field and who will, hopefully, help me make further contacts to get a great job back here at home.

After I return from Denver, in August, I will begin study toward a Master’s Degree in English, with a concentration in Professional Writing and Rhetoric from George Mason University! I’m very excited about the opportunity to study in my chosen field and hope that this, as well as my experience in Denver, will lead me to a career in publishing. I also look forward to getting involved with the Campus Crusade team at GMU. My time in Hungary has given me a great passion for reaching the lost and I hope to continue that while I’m in school.

Please continue to pray for me as I enter this new phase of my life. I’m very excited for what is to come and excited to see what God has in store for me!

Thanks for everything!

All my love,

Lauren

2007-04-15T05:26:00.000-04:00

Well, a lot has happened over the past few weeks since I last updated. Here's a short synopsis and some pictures :)

First, BATTLE OF THE BANDS was a great success! We had over 500 students attend and 15 bands competed. There were rock bands, punk bands, psychadelic bands, and lots more. 3 of the bands won prizes voted on by the crowd. We had an American Christian band sing in between the student bands and in the middle of the night, the lead singer shared his testimony and we were able to pass out comment cards and get students' opinions on spiritual topics. We used the cards to get new student contacts. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and we only had one bloody nose from the mosh pit! :p It was a fun night :)
To advertise the event, my team members and I spent two weeks speaking in English classrooms. Through these two events, I have been able to meet with four new girls and share my faith with them. The Lord is doing a lot through the FEK program to reach out to new students.

Check out BoB pictures here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558622537ZsgYWY

2. The Opera!
On March 17th, the day after BoB, Ashely treated me to a night at the opera. We saw La Cenerentola at the Budapest Opera House, which is absolutely beautiful. The show was a little hard to follow, as it was in Italian, but we really enjoyed it.

Check out opera pictures here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558666501zpmhxC

3. Statue Park
A couple of weekends ago, my roommate Kirstin and I went with the girls in our Friday afternoon Bible Study to Statue Park, or in Hungarian, Szaborpark. This is a big lot of open space in the outskirts of the city whre the government has placed all of the communist statues that stood at one time in the squares of Budapest. There are some huge and also strange statues in this place and you can pay $3 to see them all. So, the seven of us went and took some crazy pictures on a beautiful Saturday afternoon :)

Check em out here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558621656hjkOyp

4. Prague!
Last weekend, Kirstin and I decided spur of the moment to travel to Prague for a couple of days. We left Saturday evening and took the night train. We arrived in Prague about six a.m. and stayed there til 3 the next afternoon. We had a great time. Prague is a beautiful city!

Check out the pictures here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558624883BENLCL

5. Finally, Kecskemet.
We've just arrived home from our Spring retreat in Kecskemet. This was a time for the Christian students involved in FEK to spend time together in worship and fellowship. The topic was hardships and we had some great discussions about personal, physical, emotional, and spiritual hardships. I had a great talk with Hanna about the kind of hardships Christ went through. It's so great to see her learning!

So, it's just four weeks from today that I return to the states. I'm feeling anxious, excited, nervous, scared, sad, and totally ready all at the same time. It's a whirlwind of emotions. Mostly right now I'm just starting to say goodbye to people, pack a bit, and focus on the relationships that I've formed this year. Please pray for our next few weeks of work. Ashley and I are taking a weekend trip to Milan just before we leave, and I have a few weekend trips to villages to visit girls planned before I go. Please pray that I am dilligent in my work and really get to say goodbye to Budapest properly.

Love to all!

Lauren

March Prayer Letter

2007-04-03T06:21:00.000-04:00

Hi! This month I would like to tell you about two students that I have been working closely with.

This is Hanna. (I have mentioned her in two previous prayer letters.)
Hanna and I met at SpeakOut last summer. We have been getting together several times a month since September and have formed a very close friendship. Last week, Hanna told me that she has recently prayed to receive Christ! Praise God!

This is Meli. Meli became a Christian last year and has been regularly attending Fék programs and retreats. She joined our girls Bible study this fall and has really been growing in her faith.
Meli and I have been meeting regularly for the past several weeks. We have begun doing initiative evangelism and accountability together. She will be applying to join the SpeakOut staff this summer!

Please pray for these girls. Hanna is very excited about her new relationship with God and is eager to learn. Meli is very excited to share her faith with people and grow in her walk. I have started doing a Bible study with these girls individually and we continue to meet regularly. I know that these girls are two reasons that the Lord brought me to Hungary and am so honored and blessed to have them in my life and to be a part of theirs.

Battle of the Bands!!

On Friday, March 16, we will have a huge outreach at our Fék weekly meeting. Student bands from all over the city have signed up to compete in this annual amateur music competition. We on the Fék staff have been going into classrooms every day to promote the event. A group of American Campus Crusade staff and students are coming the second week of March to help us advertise. We will collectively speak in nearly 20 different schools throughout Budapest. Last year we had over 700 in attendance and are hoping for even more this year!

Prayer...

Please pray for Meli, Hanna, and all of the other students that I am meeting with individually. Pray that I would be faithful to the Lord’s calling and have a servant’s heart when it comes to serving these girls.
Please pray for our “Blitz” week, as we spend our days in classrooms. This is a very busy and tiring time and I would ask you to pray for strength and endurance.
Pray for Battle of the Bands. An American Christian Band is coming to play at the event and one of the band members will be sharing the gospel. Pray that the hundreds of students would be open to what they’re hearing and that we would see many souls won to Christ!

Thank you very, very much for all your encouragement and support! All my love, Lauren

2007-03-12T13:26:00.000-04:00

Hi!

First, my apologies for such a long interim between updates. I can't believe it's been two months since I last shared with you. Please know that I am thinking about you all and praying for you regularly. The good thing is that I'm busy... SO busy and I just haven't found the time to update regularly.

This week we are in our spring blitz. We're spending all of our days March 5-12 in classrooms, advertising for our big outreach, Battle of the Bands, on March 16. We have a project team here from Orlando this week helping us with classroom talks and evangelism.

The last couple of months have been so busy. I've been doing a lot of initiative evangelism and I've had a lot of personal appointments with Hungarian girls. I've really been able to get into some deep conversations and relationships with students. It's really helped my emotions; I enjoy being here and that makes the time fly.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks:

At the end of January, my friend Lorraine invited me to go to Romania. She has missionary friends in Arad and ended up with two extra train tickets to visit them. My roommate Ashley and I went with her for the day. We were able to visit the church that they have built there, as well as an orphanage that the church supports.

Here is Lorraine with one girl. A lot of the orphans in Romania actually have families and know them or see them regularly; but their families simply cannot afford to take care of them. It was really sad.
I got to play with another dog! This dog lives at the church and was so excited to get petted. I loved her!
Here I am in front of one of the church buildings.

In mid-February, I went to a town near the Slovakian border with my friend Juli to visit her family for the weekend. I met Juli in the summer of 2005 at SpeakOut, we kept in touch all last year, and now we meet every few weeks to talk and hang out. It was a wonderful weekend filled with good family times and good food! No one else in Juli's family speaks English, so it was a bit of a struggle, but we had fun :) Here I am with Juli's parents. They were so wonderful!

A few weeks ago, my roommate Ashley was invited to sing at a local Rec center. She does the music at our Friday night programs and one of the students that comes told her father about Ashley. He runs the music program at the Lighthouse club and asked Ashley to perform. I went with some of our regular students to support her.

Here is Ashley and our friend Andrew accompanying her:

Hanna, Lilla, and I had some fun before the show started :)

Here's what they normally look like! :p

Ashley got in on our picture :)

So, hope you enjoyed the pictures and I'll try and update again before two months go by... !

Take care, all my love,

Lauren

2007-01-15T06:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend I went to a town called Kalocsa to visit my friend Flora. We traveled to her grandparents town, called Faisz, and attended her family's annual Disznóvágás, translated as a pig killing. Luckily, Flora and I arrived after the slaughter, but not late enough to miss all of the meat being prepared. We spent the rest of the day helping to cook and clean, and then had a big feast.

One good part of the day was that I found a dog to play with. Dogs aren't always very friendly here in Hungary - they are used mostly for guarding - but this dog wanted to jump and play and be petted, and I was very much obliged :)

This picture is of Flora and me standing next to the table where all of the large slabs of pork were being prepared :O!!

I don't know what that was hanging on the fence, but it was the first thing I saw when we pulled up in the car and I have to assume it's some kind of fat. It was being dried in the sun and man did it smell bad!

Here I am in the smokehouse. It smelled bad in there too. But it was pretty funny to be surrounded by rows and rows of sausage. Flora and I had a good laugh :)

Here is me and Flora, waiting for the feast to begin :)

Okay, be prepared that the rest of the photos are kind of graphic and pretty gross...

This is Flora's dad, pretty pleased with his efforts... ;)

Here is one of the men working hard...

These women were taking the meat off the pig from the men and preparing it... We didn't spend much time out here ;)

So, that was my Saturday. We got back to Flora's house around 9 pm, all took showers, and had something to settle our stomachs from all the meat we ate. It was something I'm sure not to forget for a long time!

2007-01-15T03:31:00.000-05:00

January Prayer Letter

DECEMBER
December was a great month. We had our annual Christmas party with the Friday night outreach on the 8th. Csaba, one of the University staff members, shared the gospel with the whole group. We passed out cards and asked for the students’ responses. Over 150 students attended the party and several indicated that they had made a decision for Christ! We staff members will be following up with those students this semester. It was a great night and big step for the ministry.

In December I had the opportunity to travel to Italy! My roommate, Kirstin, and I traveled to Florence and Tuscany for one week. It was an amazing trip and a beautiful country.

This is a picture of me and Kirstin chowing down on Italy's famous gelato. I'm eating Walnut and Kirstin has pistaccio. Let me tell you that those things were gone in a flash. Italy sure knows how to do it!

This is a picture of me in front of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence :)

On the 24th, my family flew into Budapest! We got to spend a week together here and it was wonderful to spend time with them and share with them where I’ve been living :)

JANUARY

In January, we are spending a lot of time going to schools to meet with teachers and telling them about the FÉK Program. We are planning a lot of speaking engagements and hope to meet a lot of new students.

Another thing that we are telling teachers is that in the spring, FÉK (Fiatalok az Élet Küszobén, Youth on the Threshold of Life) will hold a teachers’ symposium. This will be an event for teachers to learn about the FÉK program and all the opportunities to have members of our team come and speak to their students, both in English and Hungarian. All of the teachers we are meeting in the next few weeks will get an invitation to attend this symposium, Please pray that we would be diligent in visiting as many schools as possible in January and that hundreds of teachers would be able to attend this event and learn more about FÉK.

On January 27, the FÉK program will hold a guy/girl day at our area office. This is a seminar day for Christian high school and college students. It will be called “The Color of Relationships”. Here they will participate in small and large group discussions, hear from a panel and talks about what the Bible says about relationships. This will be a great way for young Christians to learn about what the Lord intended when he created the relationship between a man and a woman. Please pray that many of the students we have been working with will be able to attend and that we can present a fun and informative day for them.

PRAYER AND UPDATE

- I have been praying for several months about how long the Lord would have me stay here. I do not feel Him leading me to participate in a third SpeakOut camp this summer, and therefore, I have decided to stay only through the end of the school semester and return to the States in mid May. This is a very big decision and I would ask that you please pray that the Lord continues to honor this choice that I have made.
- Please continue to pray for my health. I am having regular trouble sleeping and this is definitely affecting me. I feel weak and tired most of the time. Please pray that I can get medications all worked out and start feeling 100% again soon.
- Thank you for all the encouragement and support so far, and I ask that you would continue to pray for my spiritual strength. Ask the Lord to keep himself present for me. I feel a little weary thinking about starting a new semester, but I know the Lord will enable me through the next four months and when I return home.

Thank you for everything. All my love, Lauren

(Check out my webshots for more pictures - www.community.webshots.com/ldmathews )

November Prayer Letter

2007-01-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I would like to first thank you for all of your prayers and support. I have been going through a major struggle and spiritual battle and the amount of encouragement and support has been wonderful. I have received so many letters, phone calls, and emails. It uplifts me so much knowing that you all are thinking of me and praying for me.

UPDATE

Right now, the ministry is going extremely well and we are getting ready to wrap up our first semester. Our last Student Leadership meeting will be December 5, and our last Friday night meeting will be December 8. Both nights will have a Christmas Party. Our Student Leadership party will be an intimate time of sharing and fellowship. Our Friday night Christmas Party will be a large outreach. We will go into the schools all day, every day like we did in October, for the first week of December to advertise for the party. Hopefully, we will get a large turn out, as the students will have the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Since Mid-October, we have had solid, standard work weeks. My days consist of occassional classroom talks and meeting with students in the afternoons. I spend every day after 1 pm in evangelism. I have met some interesting students and learned a lot about what is important to Hungarian young people. If I don’t have any appointments set up, my colleagues and I will go out with surveys to do initiative evangelism. This has been one of the hardest things I have had to do, but God is teaching me a lot about my boldness with the gospel in accordance with His will.
Please pray for the last four weeks of our semester. December 14th is our last work day, followed by two weeks of vacation. I am planning to do some travelling, as well as have my family visit for Christmas!
The month of January is a slower time for the ministry, as we will not be having our Friday night, Student Leadership, or staff meetings. We will still be meeting with students as they are available and everything else will start up again in February.

PRAYER

Thank you again for all of your prayer and support throughout this extremely difficult time in my life. I am adjusting slowly to being in Hungary and being involved with this job, but the Lord is using me and teaching me in incredible ways. I am not sure what the Lord has planned for me in the future, but for now I will stay focused on and committed to the fact that I am here through this school year. I will remain faithful and obedient to His calling and pray that He will show me incredible things through my time here. As for now, my depression has lifted and I seem to be much happier lately J
Please, please continue to pray for me. I am always in need of God’s guidance and your encouragement. Pray for a daily and consistent time in the word, as this is a big struggle for me, as well as for my being bold in sharing the gospel and meeting and talking with students. I am also praying for friends right now. I am asking the Lord to provide me with some solid Christ-centered friendships. Being with fun people also makes the time go by a little bit easier J
Continue to pray for the girls I am meeting with, especially Hanna (pictured above). I can see the Lord working through her and I pray that she would accept Christ very soon! Pray for community among our team and especially in our apartment, and please keep Zach and Julie, our team leaders, and Dan and Kelly, our directors, in your prayers as they are all in new positions this year and are still adjusting to that.
Thank you all again so much for everything you do for me as a support team. I couldn’t be doing any of this without you, and for that I am eternally greatful!

All my love,
Lauren

2006-10-30T03:05:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a story with you.
Last Thursday, my roommate and I were out doing some initiative evangelism in the city. We went to a park nearby called Deak. We walked around to the fountain part of the park and found these two girls. They had just sat down and looked like they were really going to get into a conversation, but we beat them to it :)
Usually, what I do is ask if they speak English; if they do, I tell them that I am working with a Christian organization and we're interested in getting the opinions of students on life and faith and could I take a few minutes of their time to fill out a survey. So one of the girls was very eager when she heard I was a Christian, and the other girl couldn't really have cared less. But I got through the first five questions, which are somewhat generic, and then Ashley had to leave. I got back to the girls and the next question I asked was, "What do you think happens after death?" The one interested girl, Sini, started crying and basically told me that she's been thinking about this every day for the past month and just today she decided that there must be something after death. I asked her what she had decided. She said she didn't know, but that there had to be something bigger than her out there. Something watching out for her. So I asked if she believed in God. She told me that she didn't know what to believe in, but that she was searching, searching. I said, "Well, can I share with you what I believe about God and what happens to us after we die?" She went, "Yes! Please!" So I shared the gospel with her and she was tracking with me the whole time. She was crying through some of it and just seemed to be really affected by what I was saying. I showed her the prayer in a tract I had and she said this maybe expressed the desire of her heart, but she didn't want to pray it right there. So I encouraged her to go home and read through the whole booklet and to really think about it and that this would be the most important decision she would ever make in her life. I said maybe it wasn't an accident that we met each other that day. She started crying again when I said that and just went, "yes, yes". I left her my email address and thanked them for taking time to talk to me. Then I told Sini that I hoped she found what she was looking for and I left.
I looked back after I had walked for a while and I saw her hugging her friend, just crying. It was a really moving sight and I stopped right there and prayed and praised the Lord for what He had just done. I hope this girl realizes that Christ is what she's looking for.

Please pray for Sini. Pray that she will come to the Lord if she hasn't already.

The state of Hungary

2006-10-24T15:32:00.000-04:00

This is an important time in the history of Hungary. 50 years ago there was an uprising among the people that resulted in a huge revolution. Although it took more than 30 years to bring down communism, this was the beginning.

As you probably know, the political state of Hungary has been in uproar over the past month. The Prime Minister has made his people very angry by lying, and there have been many demands for his resignation. There have been protests and demonstrations all over the city for several weeks.

Usually, October 23 is a holiday filled with celebrations and memorials. But yesterday, the protestors took the opportunity to make their voice louder. There was violence all over the city.

My roommate Kirstin and I went out yesterday to do some evangelistic sharing around 2 o'clock. We were surprised to find very few students out on the streets, as they had the day off of school. There were many demonstrations and parades, but they all were very small. We went to two parts of town, Deak and Astoria, but found nothing of interest and didn't stay long, as we couldn't understand most of what anyone was saying. Later that evening, we saw some terrible footage from Deak and Astoria on the news. Police and protestors were fighting against each other and there were several injuries.

Please read this news article from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/24/hungary.clashes.ap/index.html

Please take a moment right now to pray for Hungary. The state of this country is very sad and the people seem to be hopeless. Their leader is lying to them, and there seems to be nothing they can do about it. Please pray for a peaceful end to all this political unrest.

Right now, we are safe. Our apartment is far from all the main demonstrations and we do not know of anyone that has been significantly involved in the action. Please pray that this remains the case and that we can stay away from any danger.

Thanks for all your prayer and support :)

All my love,

Lauren

2006-10-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

This is a copy of my latest prayer letter. Please check your mail (email or snail mail) for the real thing! Thanks!

Update -
October 2 – October 13 was our Classroom Blitz. The past two weeks have been incredibly busy with advertisement for our Fall Outreach, Winner Take All. Monday through Friday for the first two weeks of October were spent in the classrooms, meeting with and talking to students. We shared with them about ourselves, where we are from, some American Culture, as well as some deeper topics such as politics, media, how people act towards each other, life after death, and of course, religion and God. The team went to 10 different schools and spoke in front of over 1,000 students. We met so many students in classes and after school and were able to share the gospel with a few of them.
On October 13, we had Winner Take All. This is a huge outreach that the ministry has once a year. The event is similar to a carnival, with several different games the students can participate in. They can win tickets for playing the games and the tickets go into a drawing for many different prizes, the top prize being an MP3 player. The games this year were great; there was a bowling game, a long jump and high jump, a popcorn toss, a fishing game, a spinning soccer game, a ping-pong-ball-blowing game, sumo wrestling, and a baptism-pool balloon launcher game (since the event was held in a church)! Over 150 students attended Winner Take All and they all seemed to have a great time.
At the end of the evening, the students were gathered into the main room for one last group game and then the gospel was presented. Galambos András, one of our Fék team members, shared the gospel with the group and then response cards were passed out. So now, we have 150 new contacts for the team, several of which indicated an interest in talking more about spiritual issues. Please praise God for a successful outreach and the opportunity to meet so many students.

Prayer -
Please pray for the rest of the fall semester here in Hungary. We only have 9 more weeks until we break for Christmas. Please pray specifically for the following regarding the team:
- That we are able to reach and connect with the new contacts from Winner Take All.
- That we are able to continue meeting with the students that we have already formed relationships with this semester.
- That the student leadership team is faithful in evangelism and in attending the weekly meetings.
- That we would see souls won for Christ this semester.

Please pray specifically for me:

- Pray that I am able to begin meeting regularly with Erin and Aline, two missionary kids here in Hungary that I will be discipling. They have been involved with student leadership and now I will begin doing evangelism training with them as well. I am meeting Erin for the first time on October 17 and Aline on October 24. Pray that we are all bold in evangelism and that they open up to me as a discipleship leader.
- Pray for Hannah, C. Juli, T. Juli, Györgyi, Paloma, Krisztina, and Agnes. These are Hungarian girls that I have been meeting with on a regular basis. Pray that they would be open to me and open to Christ. Pray specifically for Hannah and T. Juli, as I believe that they may be very close to having a personal relationship with God.
- Pray for strengh, health, and physical wellbeing for me to make it through the next few weeks. I have been sick twice since I have been here and am having serious sleep problems. Please pray that the Lord would heal me and give me rest.

I also have a very seriosus prayer request. As my support team, I need you to know what I am going through so that you can pray for me specifically. As you may have seen on my online journal, I am struggling here in Hungary. I am going through one of the biggest trials I have ever experienced in my life. I need prayer now more than ever.

The ministry here in Hungary is very different from what I expected and I am having a hard time finding my place on this team. I have had frustrations with this ministry since I arrived in Hungary and have really struggled to figure out why the Lord brought me here. I have been severely depressed for the past 6 weeks – basically since the school year started. At first I thought I was just homesick, but I know that my feelings have moved way past that and I am really crying out to God right now. I am asking the Lord to show me how I can be used when my idea of ministry is very different than the team I am working for. I am trying to focus on evangelism while not forgetting that having a relationship with God is a process.

Please, please pray for me right now. I need guidance from the Lord. Please ask the Lord to show me how long he wants me here and how I can be used.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

All my love,
Lauren

2006-09-30T06:17:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I'm taking things one day at a time. I am praying every day for the Lord to show me why He brought me here. I am struggling to find joy in anything and having a hard time getting used to the ministry.

During the next two weeks, I will be spending all day everyday with my team mates in English classrooms all over the city. We will be advertising for "Winner Take All", a huge evangelistic outreach on October 13. Please pray for the team, that our talks would be effective and that we have a big turn out for the event. Pray for Andras, who will be sharing the gospel that night, and pray for the ears and hearts of the students who will be hearing the gospel that night.

Please pray that I continue to be faithful and obedient to the Lord. I'm struggling with my role here, but I am trying to lean on the Lord as much as I can and continue to do what I am asked.

Thank you for all of the encouraging emails and letters. It's wonderful to know you are thinking of me.

All my love, Lauren

2006-09-20T14:32:00.000-04:00

Hey All!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the prayers that I know have been in my name in the past two days. I know they're happening because I am seeing the results. I am obviously still struggling with my role here, but God has done an amazing job of placing encouraging, supportive, and challenging people in my life recently. Thank you to those of you that have sent a reassuring email lately. Those were exactly what I needed to see. God is teaching me lots of things right now and I am doing my best to not only figure out what he has for me, but also to just be obedient. So, thank you and please keep it up!

Second, I wanted to tell you all about the day I had! This morning, my roommates and I traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia in order to apply for our residence visas. One of the Hungarian staff members is helping us through this process, so he drove us and spent the day with us abroad. We left around 6:30 am and arrived in Bratislava around 9 am. The Hungarian Embassy was just opening and we spent the next two hours filling out papers for our application. Once we were finished, we were told that the director of the office would be back at 3 clock and we could have our passports returned then. We took this 4+ hour lapse as an opportunity to explore this beautiful city. We ended up taking a historical walking tour, having a nice long european lunch, and of course, we did some shopping. Bratislava is pretty small, and our afternoon was the perfect amount of time to see the sights. Please, please look at the pictures I put on Webshots:

http://community.webshots.com/user/ldmathews

In case you don't have time to check out all the pictures, you have to at least see the adorable salt and pepper shaker set I bought today!

Isn't that the best?! I was also able to buy some gifts for birthdays I know are coming up. The little shop we found was so great.

Please also pray that the rest of the visa application process goes as smoothly as it did today. If all goes well, we should have the final stamps in the next week or two.

So thank you again and please know that I am also praying for all of you and am so greatful to my team of supporters :)

With love, Lauren

2006-09-13T11:06:00.000-04:00

Dear, Dear Friends,

I need your prayer right now. These past few weeks have been very hard for me and it would really help to know that my loved ones from home were thinking of me.

I am struggling here in Hungary. I am incredibly homesick and really having a hard time figuring out why God sent me here. I am sad all the time and can really feel the devil attacking me. I feel inadequate in my work and am having to really fight the urge to quit.

Please pray for my strength. I am really, really doing all I can to lean on Christ right now. But it is so hard when I feel like this all the time. Please pray that I remember that all I need I already have in Christ. I need to be strong in Him.

Also, please be in prayer for friendships. It's hard for me here in Hungary without my trusties and I pray that the Lord would bring new Christ-centered relationships with people here in Hungary.

Thank you for your prayers. They are more precious to me than you could know.

All my love, Lauren

2006-09-01T09:22:00.000-04:00

These past two weeks have been very revealing, and there is a lot to share.

On Wednesday, the 23^rd, we traveled down to a town called Révfülöp for our National Staff Conference. All of the Campus Crusade (Timoteus Társaság in Hungary) staff in Budapest came together for a time of fellowship, administration, and teaching. Révfülöp is on the Balaton, the largest fresh water lake in Central Europe, not far from Keszthely, where we held the SpeakOut camp. It’s a good thing that we were busy with meetings all week, because Révfülöp is quite small, with not a lot to do. It also rained a lot, so when we did have free time, we were restricted inside. One day was nice, though, and Julie and I hiked up the local mountain.

The meetings were long, and somewhat tiring, but were overall very effective. We discussed many Campus Crusade global documents and priorities, as well as administrative and scheduling details. We also got to hear from Don Mansfield, a very involved senior Crusade Staff member, who has served in several countries, including England and Macedonia, and as the Country Director of Albania.

We read through 2^nd Corinthians and discussed our calling and roles. Here are some verses concerning the ministry that stood out to me this week:

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphant procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” 2^nd Cor. 2:14-15

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” 2^nd Cor. 3:6

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy, we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” 2^nd Cor. 4:1

God has called me to Himself, and to the people here in this specific place and I am so excited to see where He leads me now that I am here. I am looking forward to and praying for growth in the Lord this year. I hope that you are praying for that as well. The closer I am to the Lord, the more apt I am to go out and try to win people for Christ!

Another exciting thing that happened at the conference is that the High School Fék (Fiatalok Elet az Kuszobén, Youth on the Threshold of Life) team came together for the first time and had our first meeting! Our team consists of the three STINTers: Me, Ashley, and Kirsten, a Bulgarian couple, Jordan and Villi that are working with us this year, András and Timi, tow Hungarian Fék staff members, and Zach and Julie, our ministry directors.

I am so grateful for each person on this team and so excited to see God use us all together for His glory.

This was also a hard week, because we were without our fourth STINTer, Kenzie. We found out that due to unforeseen circumstances, she will not be joining us in Hungary this year. Please pray for her as this is a hard thing to deal with; and pray for us, as this was unexpected news to hear and we will have to adjust the ministry, as well as our living arrangements.

Now that we’re back in Budapest from Révfülöp, our ministry year is beginning. Our first student leadership meeting was Tuesday night. We all gathered together and sent emails, text messages, and made phone calls to students that have either been involved or are interested in getting involved with our Friday night ministry.

Our first official weekly Fék team meeting was Wednesday morning. We were together for several hours, discussing details and expectations for the year. We also received a list of names of students that we will specifically be working with individually.

Our first Friday night meeting is tonight. We are meeting in a large park next to the coffee shop where we usually meet. It will be a fun first night of games, food, and getting to know one another. Please pray for good weather, and that lots and lots of students would come to this first meeting.

Please also pray for our team and the local students that we’ve invited to a part of the leadership ministry.

Thank you all so much for your prayer and support. I’ll update again soon J

2006-08-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

Boldog Szent István ünnep! Or, Happy Saint Stephen's Day!

Today is a national holiday. It's the birthday of the first Christian king of Hungary and when we celebrate the founding of this country. Tonight we had a special bar-b-que at Zach and Julie's and then went down to the river to watch the fireworks. We were going to go to a friend's apartment who had access to the rooftop, so we could get a good view. But the streets were all blocked off around the river, so we couldn't get close enough. We ended up going back to the square near our flat and watching the fireworks through the buildings. The weather had been cooling down and there was lightening in the distance. But about 10 minutes into the show, a storm showed up. A huge wind came out of nowhere and it started to rain a little. We got up to head back home (about 3 blocks away) and then it just started POURING! We started running, but not before we got absolutely soaked. It was a fun night, and we just laughed about it when we got home.

Here's some pictures of the night...

This is me and Ashley (one of my roommates and fellow STINTers) after we realized that the streets were blocked off and we couldn't get to the roof...

Here we are watching the fireworks from a distance...

And then here we are in the lobby of our apartment building (with Kirsten, our third roommate!), drenched from the storm...

2006-08-04T11:23:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone :) I am sitting on my new bed in Budapest, I have a lovely view of a sun shower from my window, I've got the sole fan pointed at me, and I can hear classical music coming from one of the apartments across the street. I thought this would be the best time to sit down and share with you what's been going on in the past few weeks.

I've been back from SpeakOut camp for just over a week. This summer was a great learning experience for me. We had three weeks of camp, which over 200 students attended. This year, I was a discipleship group leader and had the opportunity to disciple young American girls through their tutor times with Hungarians. I didn’t have my own individual tutor groups, but got to know many Hungarian girls through my discipleship group. Erin, Aline, and Hannah were the three American girls in my group and I couldn’t have been happier with the connections I was able to make with them. I was able to see both Erin and Aline lead three different girls to Christ.

I also got to lead a Bible study this summer with my girls. Our study was on the new Covenant and was very helpful in strengthening my walk. We learned so much about our identities in Christ, our purity, our disposition, and giving all the glory to God. I really enjoyed leading the study and connecting with these young girls on a new level. Being a leader this summer definitely prepared me for the upcoming year. I now have a better understanding of what it means to disciple and how I can really build relationships with the high school girls I will meet.

The past week and a half since camp ended has basically been filled with me getting to know my new city. The few weeks after SpeakOut ends and the school year starts is a down time for the ministry, so there's hasn't been work for me to do yet. I've been spending a lot of time with friends from camp, as well as Zach and Julie, the directors of the high school ministry, and exploring Budapest. It's been a little lonely, but once my roommates arrive in the next couple of weeks, things will start up and be really busy.

For now, thank you for your prayers and support. I'll update again soon!

All my love, Lauren

Greetings from Keszthely!

2006-06-29T05:57:00.000-04:00

Well! It's been over a week since I arrived and as you can see, we've been having some fun!

I arrived in Budapest on Thursday morning and Timi, the admin staff member in Hungary picked me up. We shoved my giant suitcases in her tiny euro car and drove to my new apartment. I got to spend a couple of hours with the girls that were living there this past year, getting used to how everything works. I left one of my suitcases at the apartment and we headed for the train station around 1 o'clock. Let me tell you, it can get HOT in Hungary. It was at least 90 degrees when I arrived. My suitcase was sooooo heavy and I had to lug it about 5 blocks to the tram, through a 10 minute ride and up two flights of stairs to the train track. After a sweltering 3 hours train ride (no windows and no AC), we finally arrived at the camp. By the time I got my suitcase down the street and up to the dorm room, I was ready to call it a day, but it was only 6 o'clock.

We spent the next 2 days setting up the camp and getting to know each other before the group of Americans arrived. They got here Saturday night and the next couple of days were a madhouse. Getting people settled, showing people around the town, playing get to know you games. There's 72 staff here this summer and it certainly takes a while to get to know everyone. Meetings began soon enough and Sunday through Thursday were filled with continuous meetings. How to share your testimony, how to share the gospel, the four spritual laws, how to walk in the spirit, Bible Study, Discipleship group meetings, etc, etc. It's been jam packed and not exactly a lot of fun this week, but we know that will all change when the campers arrive.

Last night, we had Braveheart night. We split into two teams and played war games, complete with face paint. The picture above is of myself, my new friend Karen from Arkansas, and Mikelle (or at least half of her!), who I got to get to know well last summer. Our team won, of course, and we had some good fun :)

Today is our day off. I slept in til 11 (at least 4 hours later than usual) and then we went to a great pizza place in town for lunch, Donatellos. Now, we're just relaxing, waiting for tomorrow when our campers will arrive and the summer will officially start. It's been close to 100 degrees every day this past week, but the Lord blessed us with a thunderstorm last night and it's much, much cooler today. It's supposed to be cloudy and cool for the next few days, we we're very happy about that ! :)

Thank you for all your prayers. I'm really loving my role as a discipleship leader and can't wait to see where God takes our group over the next three weeks. Continue to pray for the campers that we will meet this week - that their heart and minds will be open to the gospel and many will come to know the Lord this summer.

Thanks for reading all this and I'll try to update again soon!

With love, Lauren

2006-06-23T07:25:00.000-04:00

Written on 06/22/06 at 3:00 a.m. (Eastern time)

This picture is the view from my plane window - somewhere between Frankfurt and Budapest.

I am writing this blog from 30,000 feet above you. I’m on my flight from Frankfurt to Budapest. Only 30 minutes to go until I am officially in Hungary – ready to start my year!

It’s been a very, very long two days. I woke up Tuesday morning, intent on heading out early to complete my errands and tasks merely one day before my departure. My sister Clare kindly tagged along and by noon, I had finished purchasing travel sized items, CD cases, toiletries, and power converters. I then headed straight for my room, determined not to leave until I was completely packed and ready to go.

I left my room at two a.m., tired, stressed, frustrated, and all around ready to harm the bathroom scale that continually told me that my suitcases were too heavy. I decided that there was nothing more I could take out or put in (although the next morning, I did another major packing rearrangement) and called it a night. At 3 a.m. I was still awake and headed downstairs to try and combat my insomnia (aka nervousness) with some terrible middle-of-the-night television.

I didn’t sleep at all that night and finally got off the couch at 7 am to run some final errands (things I had forgotten the day before) and try and de-stress. A trip to Starbucks (which I have decided makes the world’s best bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches), target, and Barnes and Noble for the newly released Counting Crows live album, and I was set. A couple of last minute arrangements and tasks and all of a sudden it was time to go to the airport. My close girlfriends came by to send me off and we had a tearful goodbye in the driveway. That was repeated in the airport with my family, and before I knew it, I was alone at the gate, ready to begin my journey.
Praise the Lord that there were no problems with checking it, nor with my tickets, or my luggage. I got on both flights with ease and now I am just waiting to land…

The time is near...

2006-06-07T07:26:00.011-04:00

In exactly 14 days from today, I will be boarding a plane for Budapest, Hungary. Or that's the plan at least. Yesterday I received a call from the project director informing me that since I have a one-way ticket, I am going to have trouble leaving the States. Apparently, once I get on the plane, I am free and clear. With a valid passport, Hungary will let me into the country for three months on a "tourist visa" (nothing). But without a valid residence visa, or documentation explaining why I don't have a return ticket or a residence visa, America will not let me leave. The reason I don't have a residence visa is that I can't get one until I get there. The Hungarian government will not allow me to apply for a residence visa until I sign a contract and establish a residence. I can't do that until I get to Hungary, but America won't let me leave without it. Do you see the Catch 22 I am in?

This afternoon I plan to spend on the phone with the airline, figuring out exactly what kind of documentation is required to replace a visa. Campus Crusade headquarters will provide me with some of what I need, but I may need to contact the embassy in Hungary as well.

Please pray for me in the coming days. I only have two weeks left to get ready for Hungary, and now I have worry on top of it. I explained my frustration to my parents last night and my dad said, "Well of course you would run into something like this. Satan doesn't want you to go!" He is absolutely right, but I will not let the devil get me down. God has blessed me too much and I have worked too hard to let one little problem get in my way.

Pray that I can explain my situation clearly to the airline and that they are honest and helpful with me. Pray that I can work this out by the end of the week so that I can enjoy my weekend and begin packing!

Support wise, I am feeling great. I have over 100% of the special need donations and over 80% of my monthly need. I know what you're thinking: "She only has two weeks and she still needs 20% of her support?!" Yes, that is true, but trust me when I say that that is enough time to raise $300 a month and I am confident in my Lord to provide what I need. Pray that I am diligent over the next two weeks and can leave for Hungary with 100% of my support.

Thank you so much for all of your love and support. The encouragement I feel when I speak to you just warms my heart. I will be sending out a prayer letter just before I leave with a prayer calendar, my itinerary, and contact information. After that, all of my letters will come from Hungary!

God Bless and thank you again :)

With love, Lauren

Please direct any and all comments and/or questions to LDMathews@gmail.com

2006-05-11T07:39:00.000-04:00

I arrive in Hungary six weeks from today! I can't believe that this time has flown by and that I'm actually preparing myself to leave. I have my suitcases, my plane ticket, my passport, and I've sold off all my stuff. All that's needed is the last third of my support.

I have all of my launch support raised and 67% of my monthly support raised! God has been so amazing. I've seen Him work in the heart of those around me and in myself too! He has truly blessed me with the people that I've met with and the new friendships I've formed. I have the most wonderfully uplifting team of ministry partners. The more people I tell, the more excited I get to start the Lord's work in Hungary!

I thank you so much for your prayers. I would ask right now that you pray for my leaving. I have grown extremely close to a group of girls here in Northern Virginia and I am going to be very sad to leave them. I didn't expect to get close to anyone in the short time I've been here, but God completely blessed me with old friends and new friends and now I have to say goodbye to them for at least a year. Pray that we are diligent with keeping in touch and that our friendships will grow even stronger through the distance.

I hope you all received my latest prayer letter (if not, don't worry - it's in the mail!). I will try to send out one more before I leave and then on a regular basis once I arrive in Hungary!

Thank you all, so much, for your prayer and support. It means so much to me that I'm not going through this alone, but with you :)

In Christ,

Lauren

Please direct any and all comments and/or questions to ldmathews@gmail.com

2006-04-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

Well, the process is in full swing.

Every weekend and almost every weeknight in the last 3 months has been filled with support calls, support meetings, or just thinking about all that I have left to do in just a little amount of time.

June 21st is quickly sneaking up on me - it's just over 2 months away! Every day I get more and more excited about getting there and going to camp and getting to live in Hungary for a whole year. But I try not to get too excited because there's still a lot of work to do before I go. I still need two large suitcases, a new passport, more summer clothes (as well as winter ones since I have to pack for a whole year!), and of course, prayer and money.

Right now, I am just under 50% of my needed monthly support and up to almost 75% of my one time donations. If you are still considering joining my support team, I would ask that you prayerfully consider joining it for a year. Right now that is much more of a need. I am so thankful to those of you that have already donated. It's been amazing to watch God work in ways I never thought possible. He is my rock and my salvation and I can do all things through Him.

Right now I would ask you to pray for my finanacial needs. I have laid my fleece for the Lord and I am waiting patiently for Him to provide. Also, please pray for the Lord to prepare my heart for the people that I am going to meet and have an opportunity to witness to. I am so excited about the girls that I am going to get to build relationships with. Pray that they see Christ through me and these girls can see the love and power of our Lord.

Pray also for the camp that starts in June. We still need some American students to sign on to come over for the summer. If you know anyone high-school aged and up that would be interested in ministering in Hungary this summer, please let me know. Pray for the American and Hungarian staff that are heading to camp - pray that they are willing and able to open themselves comepletely to the campers. And pray that the campers have their ears open and are willing to accept the free gift that Christ is ready to give them. Last year we saw 54 Hungarians come to Christ. Pray that the Lord doubles that this year!

Thank you for your support - both prayer and financial. I couldn't be going on this journey without you and I am truely greatful.

With all my love,

Lauren

Please direct any and all comments and/or questions to ldmathews@gmail.com

2006-04-05T16:50:00.000-04:00

Hi! Welcome to my blog :)

I started this in order to share with you on a regular basis what is happening to me while I prepare for and eventually arrive in Hungary to work with Campus Crusade for Christ.

I am praying to leave June 21 and be in Budapest for at least a year. The ministry I will be working with promotes an abstinance based AIDS awareness lifestyle for high school students. I will spend most of my days speaking in classrooms and meeting with teens one-on-one to share with them the love and grace they can receive from our Lord and Savior.

I hope to update this page regularly with prayer requests, pictures, and stories about what is happening in my life as I begin this process. Enjoy the ride :)

Please direct any and all commentt and/or questions to ldmathews@gmail.com