2013 Newsletter Update

Jared's 2013 Newsletter Update Greetings from Vajta, Hungary! It has been awhile since I last sent out an update.  I am still serving in Hungary at Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe.  It is hard to believe that I have been serving there for nearly seven years now.  It has been a huge blessing to be able to serve the Lord on the mission field all these years and I am looking forward to serving many more there if it be His will for me. This last year has been a hard year and a great year at the same time.  There have definitely been some stretching events and times but I feel like I have grown a lot this year.  It has also been a very busy year both in work and other things.  One of the main reasons for it being so much busier was because starting in the spring semester I began working on my bachelor’s degree.  It was interesting trying to balance doing both classes and work and it made for some very busy times when assignments and finals came due.  That said though it was a super huge blessing to get back into the classroom again and to spend some more time studying the word than I had in quite awhile.  I have never enjoyed homework much but homework when it comes to the bible is certainly fulfilling in the end of things.  I just have three more requirements to fulfill and then I can work on my thesis.  I am both looking forward to and dreading my thesis at the same time.  I have never been very good at writing things but I am also very excited to spend a lot of time studying my topic and through the entire experience learning more about the Lord and growing closer to Him through it. Work itself was good this year, not too many crazy things happened and thanks to the help of a former student and good friend we were able to do some much needed upgrades to the servers on campus that handle the internet connection, web services, and other things.  I am looking forward to the coming year being able to finally finish up some other projects I have been working on and hopefully Lord willing a major internet upgrade on campus to fit our growing needs for a faster and more robust internet connection. Right now I am home visiting my parents in Oregon for five weeks, I will head back to Hungary in mid January.  It is good to visit with them and to get reconnected with the church back here at home.  I will also get a chance to visit some of my extended family while I am back and I am really looking forward to seeing them as it has been a couple years since I last saw some of them. Thank you for all of your prayers and support and may you have a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year.  May this time of the year be a great reminder of the many blessings our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has given to us! Prayer Requests: Wisdom in balancing my work schedule with my studies Concerning some decisions I have to make in regards to health insurance, a new sending agency I am applying to, and some other financial decisions.  That I wouldn't let these things get to me but that I would trust that God has a plan in mind and He will see it through. Safe travels while I am here stateside and when I go to head back to Hungary in January Wisdom for decisions I have to make at work and what projects to focus my time on.  Sometimes it can be hard to balance so many different areas of the technical aspects here and knowing what to devote time to when can often be a big challenge.