December 16, 2008

Dear friends,   

Greetings from Denmark! We finally made it to our new home last Tuesday, after our share of obstacles during the past weeks. After being stuck in Shenzhen, China, unable to return to Bangkok, Thailand because of the political conflict that left the airport closed for 10 days, we finally made it in time for our teaching engagement at the PCYM school in Bangkok, by taking a bus to Hong Kong, a flight to Phuket and a 12-hour bus-ride up to Bangkok. The airport re-opened just in time for our return flight to Copenhagen, Denmark, but when we came to the airport to check in, we were informed that our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. We were re-routed with Thai Airways to London, and after a 4-hour layover finally made it to Copenhagen 6 hours delayed… and quite exhausted!    

Shenzhen, China 

Bangkok, Thailand 

In Thailand we taught for a week on a YWAM training school for children & youth workers. Most of the participants were Thai, but there were also some from South Korea, India, Malaysia and Holland. Also here we taught Human Development. Many commented afterwards, that they were expecting to learn how to better understand and deal with young people, but that they were surprised how personal the teaching was and how it brought up issues in their own lives of past hurts & unmet needs. We talked about how to experience freedom from those things, and saw some incredible breakthroughs in their lives. Each day more and more people showed up in the classroom, as they were bringing their spouses and friends. KKI Thailand wants us to come back for a bigger seminar for the local Churches of Bangkok next year.    

New temporary home 

It’s been 6 weeks since we left Arizona, and it is wonderful to finally be settling into our new home here at the YWAM center, and to be in one place for a while. The YWAM center is 4 hours drive from Copenhagen and is located in the countryside with lots of fields and forest around. Some good friends of ours are currently looking for a car for us, as we are quite isolated out here without one, and in the meantime they let us borrow theirs. We plan to live here at least until next summer, at which time we hope to move back to our house in Budapest, Hungary. However, only God knows the timing. We don’t think we will move anywhere until I am completely healed. It is both nice and strange to be living in Denmark again, after 13 years in Hungary and America! While we live here, our responsibilities in Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia will remain the same as before. Although we would like to live in the field in which we work, the nature of our leadership roles allows for us to live virtually anywhere.    

“How on Earth do they do it”?   

Some people are asking “how on Earth can they travel the way they do, considering Peter’s health.” It’s a valid question. Let me try and explain:

• The short answer is “the grace of God.” It may sound like a standard religious answer, but I believe it is the answer and I sense the grace of God like never before in my life.
• I believe that when God asks you to do something, He also gives you whatever you need to complete it (including strength, wisdom, etc.).
• On the practical side, I actually feel better when I am “on the go” and when focusing on the needs of others, rather than sit at home and focus on my own problems and pain.

That being said, I am not trying to tell you that it is easy. It is tough and tiring to travel and do full-time ministry when you don’t feel well, and especially when you don’t get enough sleep. But God is constantly good and faithful, and even in my weakness He finds ways to use me. I am thankful and blessed!    

“How can they afford it”?  

• The nature of our job in YWAM requires us to travel a lot. We coordinate the ministry of KKI in a large region (28 countries) and it is part of our job-description to visit our teams and to invest our efforts in pioneering new ministries in places we don’t work in yet.
• We are also part of various YWAM & KKI leadership teams that meet throughout the year in different places.
• We are occasionally invited to teach around the world; mostly in Europe but also in places in Asia and Africa.

Who pays for it? After housing, travel is the biggest item on our budget. Most of our travel we pay for ourselves. However, occationally YWAM/KKI will pay for us to attend some of the required meetings we have to go to and sometimes the YWAM school or Church who invited us to teach will cover our travel expenses. My estimate is that we cover 75% of our travel expenses ourselves and that 25% is covered for us.    

2009 plans  

We are not planning to travel anywhere the next 2 months, and right now that is actually a very nice thought. The following are our plans for the first half of next year (subject to change depending on my health):   

Feb. 2 - 6                      YWAM Europe Leadership Forum, Berlin, Germany.

Mar. 23 - 27                   Teach at PCYM school, Mombasa, Kenya.

Mar. 29 – Apr. 3            KKI Leadership Team meeting, Mombasa, Kenya.

Apr. 13 - 21                   Teach at PCYM school, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

May 1 - 4                      YWAM Eastern Europe Leadership Team meeting, Kiev, Ukraine.

May 11 – 15                  Teach at DTS, Tbilisi, Georgia.

May 26 – Jun. 1             YWAM Central Europe conference, Budapest, Hungary.

Jun. 8 – 12                    Teach at PCYM school, Holland.   

New address:   

Peter & Shanie HingeC/O UMORandersvej 1958544 MorkeDenmark    

Health update  

Every day I get emails from people asking how I’m doing. And it’s hard to answer because there really isn’t much new to tell. I feel pretty much the same; no worse, no better. The itching is still terrible and keeps me up most of each night. Next to complete healing, praying that the itching would stop (or at least lessen) is the biggest prayer request. I plan to have another scan in January; this time a PET scan. This year I’ve had 3 CT scans (the last one in July), but apparently the PET scan shows more details. We are very anxious to know the result of this next scan, as well as other tests I’ll have done.  We are extremely thankful for your friendship, prayers and support during 2008. We have a tremendous sense of gratitude in our hearts towards our friends. Thanks for standing with us during this very challenging year, which has been both the best and worst year of our lives. In those most difficult times, we were strengthened by your prayers, encouragement and friendship.  

We wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!   Thank you,