We pray that this Easter time God would humble our hearts, and set us on fire again with passion to live for Christ, proclaim Christ and suffer for Christ until we meet him in glory.
​
We also wanted to thank you for your prayers over the past month, but particularly for the joint winter camp. It really was a blessed occasion. I won't say too much as the official Acorncamps Newsletter should be arriving at your door or inbox soon. [Please email us if you don't receive this and would like to] That contains a full 2-page spread on the weekend with great praise and thanks to God for all His work, love and grace.
​
Easter Weekend 
We also wanted to let you know of our planned whereabouts over the Easter weekend in case you are in the area and would like to say hello, we'd be delighted to see you there. 

Maundy Thursday:

• 19:00 Agape Meal                 @ Christ Church Fulwood (A&Zs)

Good Friday:

• 15:00 An hour round cross   @ Christ Church Fulwood (All family) 

Easter Sunday 

• 10:30 Family Communion     @ St. John's Chapeltown (All family) 
• 18:30 Easter Celebration       @ Christ Church Fulwood (probably A&Zs) 

Here's a couple of prayer and praise points to fuel your prayer - and do sign up to Acorncamps prayer feed via prayermate if you'd like to receive the daily pray requests.
Praise God for … 
Personal

• Réka and Zsófi really enjoyed their special time at the Mums & Daughters weekend at The Oakes
• Evangelistic evenings for friends (1st March) went well. 3 of Andy's friends enjoyed eating, drinking and chatting about suffering. Important issues were discussed and praise God for open and honest conversation. 
• The book of Revelation ... even if it is not the easiest book to read as family quiet time! 

Acorncamps:

• Great, blessed winter camp with 100 people
• Encouraging feedback from Andy teaching at Youth leaders conference and more people joining the Biblical-teaching workshop
• Very encouraging Langham Preaching Conference and exciting plans for development in this area with Andy getting more involved

Please pray for …  
Personal: 

• Ongoing safe travels and good time as we enjoy being here in the UK. (22 March - 5 April)  
• wisdom with the idea of repeating our 'street Party' on 1st May as a way of building relationships with our neighbours.
• David, Réka and Emily to enjoy, feel more a part of and more at home in the British culture

Acorncamps: 

• Clear communication with Hungarian churches regarding finalising summer camps, and for all UK teams to be filled and flights to be booked asap! 
• Andy prepping four talks for national youth weekend for the Brethren Church in Hungary over the Pentecost weekend (19-21 May)
• Five-year vision: Pray for wisdom as we prayerfully consider how to focus our time, gifts and resources to best equip and serve the Hungarian church. 

Please click here to subscribe to Daily prayer items (via Prayermate) for ACORNCAMPS.
 
Peeking into April ...  
Lots of prep for the summer camps & Brethren weekend  plus:
8 Andy preaching at Anglican Church Budapest
10, 17, 24  Expository Bible-teaching workshop 
13, 14 Andy leading youth groups with two churches
17, Andy facilitating Langham Preaching Group for pastors in Budapest
20-22  Acorncamps Mission Week Training week in Sheffield

and thank you so much for your prayerful support  ​

Here's a few things to praise God for and pray for ... thanks as always for praying.

Please pray for …  
Personal: 

• Quality family time and a proper rest as we enjoy again the wonder of Christmas.
• Fun times when Louise, Jack & Ava come to stay between Christmas & New Year. Pray for them all as they adjust to Christmas without dad/husband. 
• Building relationships with friends and neighbours and helping them realise the truth of the Christmas message - God coming to be with us, to save us. And that people would come to Thursday evening open discussion evenings we host.

Acorncamps: 

• Planning for 2018: Pray for wisdom as we put things in the diary for the whole year. Pray we would make the most of our time and resources 
• Financially As the work increases so does the need to support, pray for wisdom in making needs know and for God to provide more people to support the work in this way
• Winter camp (Feb 23-25) For teenagers to apply, team to prep and God to use the occasion.

Please click here to subscribe to Daily prayer items (via Prayermate) for ACORNCAMPS.

ps. Rumour has it the kids are planning a children special prayer update for Jan 2018
 
Peeking into January 2018 ...  
2 Back to work 3 Kids back at school :( 
4 Evangelistic pizza, beer & chat for friends on suffering 
5 Winter Camp Planning meeting with Hungarian Church leaders 
7 Andy preaching at Brethren Church in Biatorbágy
13-18 Travelling to UK with 10 Hungarians to attend Good Book Youth Conference  
20 Trustee meeting (UK)
2, 9, 23 Andy leading Bible-teaching workshop 
5, 6, 26, 27 Andy leading youth groups with two churches
 With lots of love 

Andy, Zsófi, David, Réka & Emily

Halloween or the Reformation ​ 

Andy writes: I'm guessing for the majority of people in the UK Tuesday 31st October 2017 will be remembered for trick n treating, dressing up and having Halloween parties. Here in Hungary it's one of those times when I notice a huge difference between the two cultures. No-one knocked on our door and there's no need to organise 'light parties' as an alternative to Halloween, because of course it's Reformation Day, or the eve before All Saint's Day. It's true that a few pumpkins are around lighting up the streets and Emily received a Halloween party invitation - but she, together with David & Réka were a bit shocked and outraged.  Halloween just isn't a big thing here. 

This year all the protestant denominations put on events and we enjoyed an evening at our local town hall with a concert of music, psalms sung by our church choir and historic readings (see photos above). This is just one area where we notice the difference between a much more secular, liberal UK society and a more Christian based, conservative Hungarian society. Just this morning I heard on the national radio about more money being given to church schools, again a reminder of how the current government is actively supporting the growth of Christianity. An unusual occurrence in modern day Europe. 

And so with the Reformation celebrations over, we return to our work of training up youth leaders (see photos below), organising a large winter camp, setting up a Hungarian charity, planning for the summer and a trip to the UK for lots of Hungarian pastors to attend a large youth conference. We are delighted to be attending the Evangelical Forum here in Hungary which will be a three day conference for evangelical leaders. We continue to be encouraged by the training and I guess it's Andy's ideal day when he spends his Saturday's from  09:30-16:30 training up youth leaders and pastors, and then travels an hour to run a youth group in the evening. Training, and on-the-ground youth work.

So thanks for your ongoing prayers. We continue to struggle at times. The culture is so different - and  Andy commented how nice it was to attend two UK churches in October. We guess that's still what we're most used to, in terms of style and content of preaching and sung worship. Our kids have returned to school this week - together with their 8kg bags full to bursting. I'm sure they'd value your prayers and other pointers can be seen below. 

How the children grow up ... David, Réka & Emily 5 years on. (Plus little cousin ​

Praise God for … 

• Helping us through October: We returned for Chris' funeral which was a privilege for Andy to take, and a huge opportunity to talk to many about his faith in Christ.
• A good break: We enjoyed a week away from school and office work with the kids relaxing, clearing the garden, trip to the cinema, walks in the autumn sunshine and not having to set alarms. 
• Two good training days: We were very encouraged by the enthusiasm of the attendees at both Saturday training events (Sept 30 & Oct 21). People really are eager to learn about how to apply and teach the Bible faithfully - and the weekly Tuesday evening training sessions are an excellent complement and addition to the monthly training.

Please pray for …  

• Youth Leaders' Training Day (11 Nov) Please pray our last event would be well prepared and useful for those who attend. 
• Bible study group (Thursday evenings). We have begun to meet again weekly with our friends (guys one week, girls following week) and are planning to open it up once a month for our non-Christian friends to join. That evening would be a topical discussion on something related to Christianity. Please pray for wisdom in planning, courage to invite, and people to come.
• Time away at the conference (12-15 Nov) Please pray we would be refreshed, encouraged and it would be useful for networking and developing our work - and that our kids would be happy at home with grandparents. 
• Ongoing family bible times: We have just finished reading Matthew as a family. Please pray for us to keep up our regular pattern and most of all to put into practise what we read.  

teaching at the conference day for youth leaders 

Peeking into December ...  
1, 2, 15, 16 Dec  Andy speaking at various youth groups 
4-8 Dec  Planned reading/study week for Acorncamps
20 Dec  Kids' last day at school 
25 Dec  This year we'll be spending Christmas and New Year here in Hungary
​

Louise contacted us on Monday to say Chris was very poorly. Andy booked a flight that hour and arrived in the UK at 00:25 Thursday morning. The day was a long one and we are so grateful to God for allowing Andy to be there, both to say goodbye to such a friend and to support his family. In the irony of timings - on that very same day Andy celebrated Ava's (Chris & Louise' daughter) 8th birthday.

We will never forget Chris. His friendship, his humour, his love of cars, his love of the Lord and his partnership with us in the work of Acorncamps. We were so excited when Chris and Louise agreed to move out to Hungary with us to establish the work of Acorncamps. God had provided us with the ideal family to partner together with us. Different to us in so many ways.  Complementing our weaknesses, but united in the vision, aims and way forward of serving Christ in Hungary. We planned, prayed, disagreed, visited Hungary, learnt so much from each other. Then in December 2010 Chris became seriously ill and all our plans changed.

We will never understand why this happened? Why would it be in God's plan that Chris' life would be shortened. But Chris always said that God knows what he's doing. His (and Louise's) faith and trust in our saviour has inspired us both (and many many others). We will never forget our times together over more than a decade: crying, laughing, just being there: at home, at the hospital waiting rooms, at St. Giles Hospice and at Briars Hill House. 

Chris would want us to pause and remember and reflect on his passing. He would want us to grieve, but not without hope. But then he'd want us to be back to business. The business of making sure young people in Hungary hear about our Lord Jesus Christ. We will aim to do that even more as we value the days God gives us all, and we will never forget Chris. 

Chris, you were a great guy! Although I (Andy) know that you'd say, "nope I'm a sinner who's found a great Saviour!" As was often the case ... of course he was right.​​

Praise God for … 

• Chris: For his life, service of God, love for his family and for us, and his partnership in the work of Acorncamps.
• Hope: That is there in the midst of grief, and the reality of how Jesus is so very real and present at times like this. Psalm 23 is incredible.  
• Providence: allowing Andy to be there with Chris & Louise on his final day
• the Christian family; for a number of Christians that God has put around the Harling family - who are real friends and continually there in the good days and the bad.

 
Please pray for …  

• Louise, Jack (10) and Ava (8) as they cry, talk, grieve and come to terms with Chris finally going to glory. Pray they would know God's peace and keep trusting in Him. 
• Us, as we cry, talk, and grieve the loss of such a great friend. 
• Us (Andy & Zsófi) as we travel to the UK for the funeral and particularly for Andy, as he is looking after the funeral. Please also remember our kids staying in Hungary at that time.

Other date & items for prayer ...  
Fri 13 Oct  Trustees meeting and AGM (Sheffield)
Sun 15 Oct. Andy speaking at St. Paul's Hadley Wood Mission Partner Service and then meeting with friends from Christ Church Mayfair at their evening service.
Sat 21 Oct  2nd of 3 Conference, Training days for Youth leaders
w/c 23 Oct. Andy & Zsófi taking annual leave to catch up on life and have a rest 
Sat 11 Nov 3rd of 3 Conference, Training days for Youth leaders
12-15 Nov Andy & Zsófi hoping to attend Hungarian Conference for Evangelical leaders (Hungarain ELF)
 With lots of love 

Andy, Zsófi, David, Réka & Emily

I will lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.... The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 121: 1,2 and 8
 
Dear Friends
 
Most countdowns end 3,2,1 but we are conscious as we enter the last five weeks of our time here that the best way to count down is by holding onto the promises of Psalm 121. We have just returned from a short break by the Lesotho border and as we looked over the beautiful Maluti mountains, we prayed together with hope for the weeks ahead. As we reflect on how God is watching over our going out and our coming in, we are particularly thankful for:

1. The wonderful provision of a home for us in Oxford
As we mentioned in our last prayer letter, we prayed one evening for God to provide more than we could ask or imagine in terms of a home in Oxford as we couldn't work out how to finance one. After praying with Joseph and Zoë, Glenn went to check his emails to discover that a house in an amazing location, with more space than we ever imagined we could afford was likely to be available in August and was ring fenced for someone doing international student ministry At the end of May we discovered we had been granted it. Alleluias could be heard around St. John's and JBC that morning.

2. The provision of a wonderful home for Ginger in Johannesburg
This may seem too high up the list for some of you, but re-homing our old loyal semi toothless hound had preyed on Lizzy's mind. A colleague of Lizzy's came over for some handover and he persuaded her to adopt him. He goes to live with Jenny and Dev at the beginning of August.

3. Heartfelt goodbyes at JBC
Glenn finished lecturing at JBC in the first week of June. There was a sense of the closing of a chapter and the opening of a new one in Soweto when on June 15th they had a vision and prayer evening for the campus that is being built in Soweto. God has generously provided nearly all the funding for the new site and there are weekly developments on the site.

4. Expectation and excitement at Emmanuel Christian School
On June 16th Lizzy led the staff inset via Skype on next term's theme, 'Detectives' and last Monday presented her vision for the year ahead to the association. The body of a well-resourced library has been provided and there is a tangible sense of excitement about the new opportunities September will bring.

As we look to the hills ahead of us, please pray particularly that:
1. God will provide a buyer for our house
We have repeatedly told the children that during our married life, God has always provided generously for us at just the right time, but this is going particularly close to the wire. We thought we were close to an offer last week only to discover the 'buyer' was a hoax and while he gave his details to put in an offer, his friend stole Glenn's laptop. Please pray for a more than we can ask or imagine provision. The movers arrive on July 12th and pack the container on the 13th. We fly on the 7th August.

2. God will enable Lizzy to end well at St. John's
School continues to be a sad place where many staff are disillusioned by a legal process which has been pursued against a colleague which appears to be a cruel and manipulative abuse of power. Please pray for Lizzy to know when to speak and when to stay silent, and particularly that her leaving speech would speak hope into a very painful situation.
3. God will give us strength as we say goodbyes
All of us process change differently. Zoë is convinced she is going to live with us until she gets married and then only move around the corner. So as long as she is with us, she is joyful and excited about the future. Joseph is more circumspect and processing particular losses more deeply. Both Glenn and Lizzy find tears tiring! Please pray for all of us to say goodbyes which will bless and encourage those we have worked with, played with, and shared life with.
We look forward to being in touch when we land in the UK with stories of God's 121 countdown. In the words of one of our favourite hymns:

So Spirit come, put strength in every stride
Give grace for every hurdle
That we may run, with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
With much love
Glenn, Lizzy, Joseph and Zoë
 
 
--
Glenn B Nesbitt
11, First Avenue
Melville
Johannesburg
South Africa
2092

(h) 011 7266250
(w) 011 8300820
(m) 072 8833244

Summer's coming ... it's warming up!  ​

Please pray for …  

• Kids (& Parents) as they study hard for the last two weeks of school and sit lots of exams. Pray that the Biblical knowledge they learn from home and church/school would go deep in their hearts.
• a relaxing time away as we try to have a short family holiday (16-21June) before the camp season begins.
• Camp preparations - particularly that teenagers would apply to come on camps (some churches are reporting low numbers!) and team members would find time to prep well. This includes Andy team leading and doing talks, Zsófi liaising with all the Hungarian pastors and teaching English on camp. Please also pray that the kids would enjoy the camps.
• June 24th - July 2nd AC Wk 1: Attending Tahi Camp as a family, (Andy doing the talks and preaching on the first Sunday).
• Wisdom as we continue to try and set up a Hungarian Charity, and purchase a vehicle for Acorncamps before the summer. 
• Relationships with neighbours: We now have two new neighbours and are hoping to organise a street party on June 4th to get to know each other a bit more. Pray for opportunities to share our faith.

Peeking into July & August ... 

3-7     July  Kids attending, Zsófi serving on our local church's kids camp
8-16   July  AC Wk 2: Family attending Reformed camp, Andy doing talks
16-21 July  Andy in Keswick as part of the Youth Team. 
22-30 July  AC Wk 3: We are visiting and spending time with different camps.
4-13   Aug  AC Wk 4: We are setting up the camp in Nagybajom on the weekend pre-camp
10-29 Aug   Holiday in England, seeing family and friends

We're now off school which is really nice and mummy and daddy aren't working too. We're going to an International church service this evening, then having a walk with family tomorrow (Sat) then a big Sonka Vacsora (Ham meal) in the evening. This means we eat lots of different ham with eggs, salad, and mayonnaise / mustard. Then on Sunday we will go to a different Reformed church because Daddy's friend is getting confirmed. Then on Monday we go to our normal church too. Lots of going to church! I'm happy at Easter to remember what Jesus did for us. Then on Wednesday we're going to Balaton to stay with Tünde mama and Péter papa cos mummy and daddy are going to England. 
Thank you for praying for us ​

​Please pray for …  

• That we (David, Emily and me) have a nice time with Tünde mama & Péter papa (19-23) when mum n dad go to England for the camp planning weekend (21-22). We wish we could go too! Oh and please pray for that weekend in Sheffield. I'm sure it's important.
• That we could have more family time. Mum and dad work too much! 
• Jasmine, a new girl who joined my class. Pray that I could help her make friends
• Emily doesn't really have a best friend which is a bit sad. Please pray for her. (she does like going to school though and likes most people)
• Daddy's preaching at some churches - He does it in Hungarian which is good, but he gets a bit stressed preparing.
• Mon 24th - we go back to school :( and Daddy says please pray for the Acorncamps trustees meeting in Sheffield.

Peeking into May & June ... 

7 May - Mothers day in Hungary and then 12 May Mummy's birthday. I like my mummy.
21 May Daddy preaching at two churches Székesfehérvár & Kelenföld 
28 May Daddy preaching at Anglican church
15 June It's our last day of school - yippee 
10 Aug We fly to England - supppeeeee 

Keep going!  ​

Please pray for …  

• planning for the Tahi-Vác winter camp (Andy doing 3 talks)
• wisdom in how to support families through the work we do- particularly the relationship between parents and teenagers
• 10th Leading Anglican youth group 
• 17-21Safe travels and good time for Andy's family coming over for his birthday
• Health for all of us (there was a near flu-epidemic this month in Hungary, David was off school last week, and currently Emily is at home.)

Peeking into March ... 

3-4 Vác-Tahi Winter Camp (& another AC Winter Camp in Szarvas) 
26-29 Andy possibly speaking at evangelistic week for one of our partner churches
General: Planning for summer camps, starting a mentoring programme with Hungarian youth leaders 
Réka was again disappointed not to be writing this edition ... so look forward to a March special.

Dear Friends

On New Year's Day, Glenn preached on this passage at church and it was particularly pertinent for us as a family. 2017 will be a year of change. Our time in South Africa since 2008 has been filled with opportunities to serve the gospel for which we are really grateful. Glenn has been stretched and fulfilled in his teaching at JBC and we have been blessed with the arrival of Joseph and Zoë who have brought life and joy to our home. Lizzy has had many doors open for Latin teaching and staff development at St John's College. We have no doubt that our fruitfulness has been fuelled by the prayers of faithful supporters in the UK.

During our time in the UK in August, we reflected on what God has done through us in South Africa. But, as you know, life has chapters and we also wondered whether it might be time to close the chapter here and open a new one in the UK. As we were praying and talking through our various thoughts with friends, Glenn was approached about the possibility of leading the graduate student ministry in Oxford at St Ebbe’s Church. Close to 50% of Oxford's students are graduates, coming from all over the world. While the role would be different in nature to JBC, it would be an equally exciting use of his gifts and passions for Bible teaching and serving people from other cultures. When we investigated a possible school for the children we discovered that they were looking for a new principal to focus on staff development, training and vision, exactly the areas Lizzy has been working on at St John’s. We have had interviews for these respective roles and have accepted them.
 
Oxford is the closest place we have to ‘home’ in the UK and we have a number of good friends there. It also has the benefit of being between Lizzy’s parents in Cheltenham and siblings in London. Glenn’s post at St Ebbe’s and Lizzy’s at Emmanuel Christian School start properly at the beginning of September so we would aim to finish our work in Johannesburg at the beginning of August. 
 
As you can imagine, we have a whole range of emotions about leaving: gratitude as we reflect on a very blessed season of life; hope as we look forward to what God has in store for the future; sadness as we uproot and say goodbye to good friends and a familiar world. On New Year’s Day we reflected that there is a time for everything in its season, including 'a time to plant, and a time to uproot' so we are trusting God's sovereignty in leading us to this point. We are confident that what God has accomplished through us at JBC will endure, and that He will continue to prosper the work of JBC and bring fresh Christian influence to St John’s.
 
We are very grateful to all of you who have supported and prayed for us here. Our time is not over yet! We hope that our partnership can continue until the end of 2017 as we serve in South Africa and then navigate the challenges of relocation to the UK. We are conscious of our need for prayer as an intense year of change looms and will keep you posted as different needs arise.
 
With love and thankfulness for your partnership
 
Glenn, Lizzy, Joseph and Zoë