To God be the Praise

Dear Friends,

God is a good God and He certainly hears and answers prayer.

I just returned from one incredible Festival with Franklin Graham and team in Budapest Hungary. The churches were united, the prayer covering was in place and people were standing in faith waiting for a mighty move of God. God heard all our prayers and as a result 2,727 people gave their hearts to Jesus. Can I get an Amen 🙂

My first visit to Hungary was in 1988 with Dr Ed Thompson and the Judson College choir. At that time Hungary was a communist nation. I remember Dr Ed talking to us about what we could say. He knew saying the wrong thing could have resulted in us being arrested.

Hungary has seen many dark days but this weekend the light of Jesus brightened the nation and many lives were transformed.

Looking over the beautiful Danube River is incredible even though it reminds us of all the atrocities that took place there. There is a memorial of shoes that dot the bank of the river. This memorial honors the memory of the Jews who were killed during world war 2. They were ordered to take off their shoes and shot at the edge of the water so they could fall in the river. Only Jesus can change the heart of man to make sure this never happens again.

After years of being under communist rule freedom finally came in 1989.

Music History
Hungary has a rich musical history and some of the finest musicians in the world. At the Festival we were blessed to have a 1200 voice choir and a 50 piece orchestra. They were simply incredible.

Franz Liszt the incredible pianist and composer was born here. All pianist will tell you Liszt is one of the most difficult composers to play. I can give testimony. On my graduate recital at Northern Illinois University I played his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 By God’s grace I survived 🙂 truly one of the most difficult pieces I have played. I was also able to visit the Liszt museum. They allowed me to play one of the pianos which was quite a treat for me.

Prayer Request
The Hungarian constitution was recently rewritten as a result there is a new definition as to what constitutes a church. This new law has affected many churches. I ministered in one such church and the Pastor had to lay off the majority of his staff. He told me of the hardships they are facing as a result of this new law and they would be grateful for all our prayers.

Please also keep guitarist Dennis Agajanian (a member of the team) in your prayers. He fell at the hotel and severed his fourth vertebra. He had surgery and we give God thanks for a successful surgery. He will have to remain for another week or so.

Future Plans
We are making plans to return next year. We are also planning concerts for Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Finland, Austria and Romania. In Serbia and Croatia the healing process from the recent wars is still on going. With God’s help we plan to use music as a vehicle to be a part of this process. We know the ultimate healer is Jesus so we want to point people to Jesus. Please keep this in your prayers.

Videos
Here are a few video clips from the Festival. This first video is my favorite this is what it’s all about.

Thanks for all your prayers they are making a difference.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-iur99Rtd8[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYw6cXshtRg[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEwbvrYsDLY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjlhRCdCg6M[/youtube]