Prayer Opportunities

The three biggest challenges that we have faced this year are w

ith our fam

ily, personnel, finances.

Family: O

ur aging parents have come to the point w

here they need som

e extra assistance. Pray that w

e might have w

isdom as w

e try to encourage, counsel, and support from

afar.

Personnel: W

e need people to help with children’s m

inistries, out-reach and evangelism

, English ministries, w

eb and technical develop-m

ent, and more! P

ray for people called to serve alongside us in Buda-

pest.

Finances: Contributions to both the W

inckles Missionary Support Ac-

count (Winckles M

SA) and the Hungary C

hurch Planting and Devel-

opment account (H

ungary CPD

) are in decline. This is due to several of our supporting churches having been closed and other churches redirecting their giving. The H

ungary CPD

, in particular, is experienc-ing a funding crisis! W

e are thankful that our home church in H

olland, O

hio shares this concern with us and has issued a challenge grant to

other churches. They will m

atch dollar for dollar donations made

to the Hungary C

PD m

ade by other churches, up to an overall total of $7500! If your church w

ould like to take up this offer, please contact Pastor Keith Sim

pson at keithsimpson@

hollandfmc.org or at

419-865-4640. You can make your donation online at https://

give.fmcusa.org/hungary P

ray that many churches w

ould accept this challenge grant and that the need w

ould be met in full.

Our partners

We are grateful for the m

any people who prayer regularly for us and

for the ministries in H

ungary. Prayer is essential! We are also grateful

for those who partner w

ith us financially, and for those who com

e and help serve. W

e look forward to our partnership w

ith you continuing in the com

ing year. Our support page is https://give.fm

cusa.org/winckles

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, a hope-filled Advent season,

and a joyous Christm

as! May you sense G

od’s presence and guid-ance each day!

With thankful hearts,

Larry and Katie Winckles

Serving in E

urope with Free M

ethodist World M

issions w

inckles@gm

ail.com

W

rite kwinckles@

gmail.com

and ask to be added to our weekly prayer em

ail list.

Winckles Fam

ily Update

Thanksgiving 2019

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!

For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117:1-2

Greetings once again from

Budapest, Hungary! As w

e approach Thanksgiving w

e thank God for how

he is working in lives in H

ungary and throughout Europe. W

e’d like to share with you som

e highlights from

2019 in thanks for your ongoing partnership in ministry.

“Redem

ption” by János M

any of you may rem

ember the story of

János, the homeless m

an who has led a

tragic life damaged by his alcoholism

. He is

now participating in a residential rehabilita-

tion program and has been alcohol free for

almost three years! H

e credits his turn around to the transform

ation that Christ

has made in his life, and his painting (at

right) represents his life before and after C

hrist. Prints of his painting are available to order at w

ww

.zazzle.com Search for

“redemption hungary”. W

e are thankful for the continued transform

ation of János’ life. The Budapest M

inistry Center

The Budapest Ministry C

enter is home

to the Budapest Free Methodist C

hurch and also hosts a num

ber of comm

unity-related program

s and outreach events. In the spring w

e found it necessary to replace the roof of this 125-year-old building. This w

as a costly undertaking that necessitated raising additional funds in order to com

plete the work. W

e are thankful that this w

as accom-

plished.

Family

This summ

er we received the good new

s that our youngest son, Peter, is engaged to be m

arried! We really love his fiancée,

Rachel, and w

e look forward to celebrat-

ing with them

next June in Madison, W

is-consin. O

ur oldest son, Andrew, and his

wife C

hristy are kept busy with our grand-

children, Goldie and W

illiam. G

oldie is active in dance, choir, and dram

a whereas W

illiam plays the cello and

is active in sports. It is always a joy to be able to visit w

ith them in

Adrian, Michigan.

General Conference 2019

One of the highlights of the sum

mer w

as attending General C

onfer-ence in O

rlando, Florida. While there w

e were able to connect w

ith m

any friends and share about the ministries in Europe. W

e were hap-

py that Pastor Péter was able to attend as w

ell and meet in person

many people w

ho contribute to his support and to the ministries in

Hungary through the H

ungary CPD

account. It was also at G

eneral C

onference that the Free Methodist Tim

eline game that Larry devel-

oped premiered. E

nclosed with this letter is one of the cards from

the gam

e, showing a particular person, place, or event from

Free Method-

ist or Methodist history. The gam

e is available for purchase at w

ww

.freemethodistbooks.com

Scroll down on the page and you w

ill find a link to the gam

e.

Other Events

Many guests passed through H

ungary in September and O

ctober. It w

as a blessing to show them

the Budapest Ministry C

enter and to tell them

about the work here in H

ungary. We are grateful that P

astor Eric

Perry from

Michigan and D

r. Mitch and Lynn S

ue P

ierce from N

ew Y

ork were able to help w

ith two

very special events in Septem

ber.

Gulyás cookout: First, w

e hosted a gulyás bean soup cookout at the hom

eless shelter where János

lives. At the cookout János organized other men

from the shelter to help w

ith the cooking, Pastors Péter and Eric played the m

andolin and guitar and sang, and they both gave short testim

onies. About 30 people from

the shelter participated.

Installation Service: O

n September 22 w

e held an installation service for the new

leaders of the Budapest Free M

ethodist Church, led by

Mitch P

ierce. Péter Tóth was installed as the

pastor and Zsuzsa Mecséri-M

cNam

ara was

installed as the part-time assistant pastor. It

was a privilege to turn over the leadership of

the church to Hungarians w

ho are called and w

ell-prepared to serve. Pastor Péter continues to use his m

usical talents to reach out to the com

munity around the Budapest M

inistry Center. This fall he not only

is teaching three faith classes at a local pre-school, but he is also leading a w

eekly folk music class for m

others and their young chil-dren. N

ow w

hen these children see him som

ewhere around tow

n they all run up to him

and greet him as P

éter bácsi (Uncle Péter)! Péter is

supported through the Hungary C

PD fund. D

onations to this fund may

be made at https://give.fm

cusa.org/hungary Pastor Zsuzsa is w

orking to complete her degree in social w

ork, as w

ell as coordinating the Set Free Movem

ent in Hungary. In Septem

-ber w

e traveled together to Bulgaria for the dedication of the St. John’s H

ome, a safe house for young w

omen w

ho are at risk of being trafficked. The hom

e is part of the Set Free – Bulgaria ministries. Zsu-

zsa is supported through gifts made to the H

ungary Set Free Coordi-

nator EMP. D

onations may be m

ade at https://give.fmcusa.org/

donation/hungary-set-free-coordinator H

ungary Church R

etreat: In early October w

e hosted a Hungary

Church R

etreat at Lake Ba-laton. People from

the Bu-dapest and G

yőr churches gathered together for this w

eekend of teaching, fellow-

ship, relaxation, and fun. W

e’re thankful that Pastor

Keith S

impson from

the Hol-

land, Ohio Free M

ethodist C

hurch and Marcie and

Clive P

otts from E

ngland served w

ith us.