{"id":264699,"date":"2024-09-02T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=264699"},"modified":"2024-10-22T09:05:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T15:05:35","slug":"from-hungary-to-new-zealand-how-the-lord-is-moving-through-iedge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/from-hungary-to-new-zealand-how-the-lord-is-moving-through-iedge\/","title":{"rendered":"From Hungary to New Zealand: How the Lord is Moving Through iEDGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A few years ago, Sabrina Tuell<\/a> was discipling her friend Michelle Kuwahara<\/a> while serving in San Diego with a program called EDGE Corps<\/a> (a Navigator campus internship program for post graduates). Sabrina prayed that Michelle would catch the vision of what it means to share her faith with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sabrina (left) and a group of students being discipled in Budapest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, Sabrina and Michelle’s hearts have multiplied on a global scale, moving the gospel to another generation of disciplemakers. The two friends moved overseas in 2022 on staff with iEDGE<\/a> (international EDGE Corps) to boldly step into the unknown and disciple college students abroad \u2014 in Budapest, New Zealand, and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabrina: iEDGE in Budapest, Hungary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Sabrina, it felt natural that she would one day do ministry across the world. With a mother from Thailand, she was always curious to learn more about other cultures, and a trip to the Philippines in college was a defining moment when she decided to go all in for Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After serving on EDGE Corps at the University of California, San Diego for a couple years, she felt that the Lord was calling her to join iEDGE. Though she originally expected to go to Asia because of her background, she was surprised that she felt led to go to Hungary instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think Hungary was where I was going to go, but it made more and more sense,\u201d she remembers. \u201cHungary is predominantly atheist with a deep avoidance of religion, and that\u2019s similar to my background. I felt like the Lord was telling me that this is where I was supposed to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabrina started her work in Budapest in November of 2022, and she has spent the past two years organizing student events, growing in her own walk with the Lord, and intentionally meeting students for Life-to-Life\u00ae <\/sup>discipleship<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One student that Sabrina has built a trusting relationship with is Sera*. Sera was invited into The Navigators high school community in Budapest, where she first became a believer after attending a summer camp. When Sabrina arrived at Budapest, the two clicked instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Sabrina has discipled Sera, she\u2019s been encouraged by how much Sera has grown in her faith. From praying out loud for the first time at a retreat to reading the Bible consistently and memorizing Scripture, Sera has grown into a believer who is ready and willing to share her faith with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s continued to invite her brother into the community, and now he\u2019s a big part of the group and is slowly starting to come to faith as well,\u201d Sabrina says. \u201cShe\u2019s catching the vision for disciplemaking, which is the first time we\u2019re really seeing that in our unique community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle: iEDGE in New Zealand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Michelle was graduating college, she was dead set on going straight to graduate school to get her degree in speech therapy. However, God had another path for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was softening my heart to the idea of doing ministry, laying down my plans I had for so long,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBefore then, I had realized that I never asked God what He wanted me to do after college, and iEDGE is where He led me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Michelle considered where she wanted to go overseas, she felt called to New Zealand because of what she had learned about its culture \u2014 that it is easy for Kiwis to not share their emotions and stay on the surface \u2014 and related to that mentality as something she struggled with in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up, I stuffed my emotions,\u201d she says. \u201cBut then I learned how to be open and vulnerable, and when I invited God into that, I experienced gospel transformation in my life. That\u2019s what drew me to New Zealand, feeling like God could use me and my story to impact students here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having lived in New Zealand since December 2022, she can now see how the Lord has used her to impact students\u2019 lives, from hosting Bible studies to cooking for events to discipling other women like Becka*.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle first met Becka through a New Zealand EDGEr. As Michelle met with Becka, she could sense that Becka was curious but hesitant about faith. However, throughout their discussions, Michelle has seen the Lord slowly start to work in Becka\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe thought she was beyond salvation,\u201d Michelle says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working through that, and she is starting to realize that she doesn\u2019t have to be all put together in order for God to meet her where she\u2019s at. She\u2019s started to identify that God is the answer to her deepest fears and anxieties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Becka is still on her journey to knowing Christ, she has come a long way from believing that she doesn\u2019t need God to now considering what it would look like to give her life to Him. For Michelle, Becka\u2019s story and growth is a testament to God\u2019s faithfulness and timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod has been faithful to answer the prayers I had coming in, desiring my girls to be vulnerable with me and seeing the gospel move in their lives,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes it feels like I\u2019m stepping off a ledge, and I can\u2019t really see where He\u2019s leading. But instead of a big ravine, His hand is right there, carrying me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can join us in praying for Sabrina and Michelle\u2019s ministries as they continue to further the gospel in Hungary and New Zealand, that the Lord continues to soften hearts and grow up disciplemakers to the ends of the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Names changed for privacy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discipleship Tip:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Both Sabrina and Michelle listened carefully to where the Lord was calling them to go, and then they obeyed. Think \u2014 how have you been listening to the Lord lately? Do you feel like He is calling you to new places or people, or asking you to be present where you are? Take a moment to be still and intentionally listen to how God may be moving in your life.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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Learn More About iEDGE<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Sabrina and Michelle have seen the Lord work in powerful ways through their time abroad with iEDGE, serving international students and helping them know Christ. Discover more about The Navigators iEDGE program and how post grads are diligently serving God\u2019s kingdom overseas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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EXPLORE iEDGE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through The Navigators iEDGE program, Sabrina and Michelle are making disciples through student ministry in New Zealand and Budapest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[57,1061],"topic":[44],"class_list":["post-264699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disciplemaking","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-navigators-edge-corps","mission-navigators-iedge","topic-discipleship"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/09324-Article-Web-iEDGE.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264699"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264929,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264699\/revisions\/264929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264699"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=264699"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=264699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}