That quote might imply something had gone terribly wrong. But, in the context in which it was said, I could hardly have thought of a better term to describe the adventure of trusting the Lord on many fronts. A group of 20 ME Partners and Friends chose to spend 7 days together considering the needs and opportunities to help reach influential European leaders while cruising down the Danube River together. Due to a Europe-wide drought that left the Danube too shallow to navigate eastward from Budapest the itinerary was rearranged and we cruised westward to Slovakia, Austria and Germany. A different itinerary but the same result: meaningful new relationships built among ME participants and a great sense that God’s time has come for Europe.
This cruise was just one week during October 7th – 25th when 28 Momentum Europe participants came together for a series of events in Europe to be a blessing and, as it turns out, to be very blessed in return. Not everyone participated in every event but all told they represented the Lord in Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Romania and Albania.
It’s hard to put into words the impact that Central and Eastern Europe’s first true “Rendezvous” type event (called “Impact 2018”) had on everyone. From Oct 11 -13 in Budapest, Hungary just over 100 participants gathered to consider what it means to truly invest your L.I.F.E. in the Kingdom. The largest single block of participants was business men and women – influential leaders – from 7 countries in CEE. I think it’s safe to say that for them, Impact 2018 was a vision-filled weekend perhaps unlike anything they’d ever experienced.
More importantly, Impact 2018 was a Spirit-filled weekend. The times of worship – led by Cru’s classical music ministry known as Crescendo – were deeply moving. The testimonies of presenters that focused on God’s provision in the midst of faith steps were inspiring. The videos and plenary speakers touched people’s hearts. And the event served as a launching point for many new ministry initiatives to come.
Before, during and after Impact 2018, this year’s Impact Tours included various outreach events in Poland, Hungary, Albania and Romania with close to 1,300 participated, thus becoming ME’s largest tour to date.
It will take a few weeks to put together the full report of how God worked through the 28 participants who gave of their time, talent and treasure to share God’s love with those in Europe. But since many of you were aware of the scope of this October series of events, I wanted you to have a quick report on the “grace-filled chaos” and the impact of so many people coming together for such a dynamic 19 days.
I can’t wait to get the full report sent to you in our next Connections newsletter. In the meantime join us in thanking the Lord for His incredible hand of blessing on Momentum Europe and our ministry partners across that continent.