Ministering to Africans

Last Friday night and Sunday morning we had the privilege of speaking to New Covenant Church on the university campus here in Debrecen. The church is made up primarily of medical students from various countries in Africa. The Friday night service was about half an hour late getting started because many of the students were still taking an exam at 7:30 p.m.! But they came as soon as they could. We were asked to speak on discipleship to this very receptive group. We especially enjoyed the worship, dance and special music presented on Sunday morning. Most of these students plan to return to their own countries to practice medicine. Just think of it, we were able to reach an entire continent in one weekend. Pray that this church will catch the vision of INSTE and that the students will find the time and funds to commit to INSTE even though their schedules are already full.

Humbling Myself

This morning I (Nancy) read in Matthew 18:4 "The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child."(Good News for Modern Man Bible) It is comforting to know that being humble is a good thing. I am not always humbling myself, though. Here in Hungary I am subjected to being humbled every day. Like last Monday at our friend's Easter dinner. It was humbling to stand in the kitchen, watching the two other ladies work and not being able to pitch in and help. I did get to carry a few things to the table, but I didn't know how the dishes were being prepared or what to do. When I did ask how to help, our hostess just told me to enjoy resting. It was easier for both of us, I guess, for me to get out of the way than for her to try to explain how I could help.
Even shopping can be humbling. I had to hold out change in my hand the other day so the clerk could take the coins she was asking for. I misunderstood what she wanted and it was easier for her to just take what she needed.
Then there is language class. Why is it that I know exactly how to respond to the teacher's questions until it is my turn? Our teacher is very interesting and we are learning a lot from him. He does get tickled sometimes, though, at the way we mispronounce or misuse some words. He just loves to have us Americans say the word "hamburger." It is so natural for us to pronounce it in the American rather than the Hungarian manner since it is spelled exactly the same way.
Well, being humbled is not such a bad thing. It helps me realize that my relationship to my Heavenly Father must be one of humility. How many times does he ask me just to sit there and wait for him to do something I want to do but couldn't do his way (the best way)? How often does he listen to me and smile at my attempts to master what he is teaching me? But through it all he totally loves and cares for me, his little child.

Húsvét

We just experienced our first Hungarian Easter. Many things are the same here--there are chocolate Easter bunnies in the stores, special services are held in many churches, and the Easter Sunday morning service at church was as special as the ones back home. Some things are different. Easter is called Húsvét. Our language instructor told us it is from two words meaning meat (hús) and to take (vesz) and literally means "to take meat", that is Easter is the end of the fast of meat during Lent. We didn't see or hear of any Easter egg hunts, but eggs are often decorated and hung on little trees in houses. The Húsvét holiday celebration lasts two days here. Easter Monday almost everyone is off work and shops are closed. We were invited to the home of some friends from church to celebrate our Risen Savior. Their apartment was on the fifth floor with no elevator, but it was worth the climb. We enjoyed a huge meal with three meat dishes, three salads and several other dishes followed by coffee and two rounds of desserts. It was yummy! When we struggled to follow the conversation, our hosts, who speak English, translated for us. Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Tavasz

Welcome spring! I was out in the yard this morning hanging up clothes and the neighbor lady gave me this beautiful bouquet of flowers from her garden. We can see these flowers from our window and now their fragrance is filling the room. Boldog tavasz! (Happy spring!)

March 15 Celebration

Today was a Hungarian national holiday. It was on this day 160 years ago that the Hungarians began a revolution against Austrian rule under the Hapsburgs. They were not successful in gaining total independence but, with the help of Russia, they were allowed some autonomy. This became known as the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary and lasted until the end of WWI. For all you history buffs, when the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, the Hapsburgs declared war on Serbia. This event helped to propel Europe into World War I, and eventually put an end to the Hapsburg Empire. So, even though Hungary did not win their battle for independence at that time, they still celebrate the day the revolution began on March 15, 1848.

Below are some pictures of the celebration in the piac (downtown) in Debrecen. There were speeches, colorguards and horsemen (and women) in traditional outfits, dramatizations, the laying of wreaths, and children would bring home-made flags and put them around the statues throughout the city.

Official Residents!

We are now officially residents of Hungary! This morning we received our resident permits, good for two years. It has taken us six months of time, the filling out of many papers, fees paid, and requirements met, but we have our residents permits. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us. Praise the Lord!

A Bus-y Day

What a day we had yesterday! It began when we decided to go to the immigration office to pick up our residence permits. (Praise the Lord! We received a call that our permits are ready to pick up! We will let you know when we have them in hand.) We were told we could pick them up any time the office was open. Anyway, we took the tram to the bus stop and took the number 19 bus to the immigration office. We walked the three or so blocks to the gate and realized that the office was closed to visitors. My mistake, I should have checked online! So, we decided to go to Cora, a department store in another part of town. We walked back the three blocks to the bus stop. Rather, we walked and ran since the bus arrived just before we did. We decided to get off at an unfamiliar stop since Mike's map showed a bus going close to Cora stopped there. When we looked at the bus schedule at the stop, however, it showed the bus only came in the early mornings and late afternoons. We walked back to the stop we had just left and looked for a bus that would take us to Cora. No such luck. We could have made a couple of changes and arrived at Cora, but that would have left no time for shopping and made us late for class.
After our language class, we made another attempt to go to Cora. I told Mike that the Cora bus (a free bus run by Cora to and from their store) stopped by the downtown tram stop. If we hurried, we would just make the 4 p.m. pick-up. We hurried and made it just in time, but the bus schedule at the stop said the bus came on the half-hour, not the hour. Oh well, there was a kiosk near-by so Mike had a coffee and we shared a pastry while we waited.
We finally made it to Cora, bought what we needed and went back to the Cora bus stop. When the bus arrived, we realized it was not the one that would take us back to our tram stop, but another one that would leave us another long walk from the stop. I said I was tired of walking and that we should ride the bus to the end of the line. I told Mike it would be an adventure. I thought the end of the line was the train station, very close to another tram stop. So we rode the bus past our regular stop into a north part of town we were unfamiliar with. Did I tell you it was dark now? Anyway, the bus didn't go back to the train station. We had to get off at the last stop in unfamiliar territory and walked several blocks to another bus stop where we again waited for a bus. Finally, one came that would take us close to a tram stop. We arrived home just before 8 p.m., hungry and tired, but we now know where the number 2 Cora bus goes!

Exciting Day

Today was filled with excitement. First of all, we learned that our boxes which contained a lot of clothes and personal items had arrived. We had them shipped in January when we left for Hungary, and after two months (almost to the day) they finally arrived! Zoli and Levente (Lord bless them for all the help they've been to us!) took us down to the customs office and after doing all the paperwork and paying the necessary fees and shipping costs, the boxes were delivered to our flat (apartment).

It was like having Christmas in March. There were moments of surprise because we forgot some of the things we had packed as well as a few moments of- "Why did I pack that?"

Then, we met up with Josh and Bethany (Brandt) Page (picture on the left) for lunch downtown. They were in the country for a wedding of a friend so they did the "tourist" thing also. And some of Bethany's friends joined us as well. In the picture below from left to right are Shalom who lives in Colorado, Frank from nearby Nyiregyhaza, and Sarah who is from England.

Afterwards we went home, finished unpacking our boxes, did some laundry and studied a little before heading for bed. The end of an exciting day.

Evangelistic Meeting

On Saturday, March 1, we attended a joint evangelistic service with the 3 Open Bible churches in the area. The churches in Debrecen, Nyiregyhaza and Nyirbogdany met in a school in Nyiregyhaza and ministered to the children and families who lived in the apartments (flats to use the British term they use here) nearby. This is a very poor area of the city.

They began the afternoon meeting with a special service for the children. There was a clown and puppets and special music (Sorry I didn't get pictures of that part of the service). Following was a service geared for the adults. Gusti, who is from Nyirbogdany, led the worship with songs that he wrote and which had a gypsy flavor to them (see top picture- Gusti is at the keyboard). Then, Laci Bakos gave the message and 9 people gave their lives to the Lord.

We praise God for these salvations. Now comes the task of discipling these new believers; helping them grow in their faith and become vital members of the body of Christ. This is where INSTE comes in, and this is why we are here.

Click on the video below to hear one of the songs played at the service. I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but it will give you an idea of the style of music here.

I am including the second video just because I like the enthusiasm of the man as he worships.

Hungarian church family

Here are some silly pictures of our new church family here in Hungary.

What do you do with your time?

Our kids asked us the other day, "If you have language classes only three times a week, what do you do with the rest of your time?" Other people might have the same question, so here's some of what we do.

Language classes are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, two lessons per class. We also study on our own two or more hours every day. Of course, for this year, language acquisition is our primary purpose, so we devote as much time as we can to this. We also get out among people every day to hear others talk and do our best to interact with them. This is the hardest part, but the most helpful part of learning to speak Hungarian.

We are working on getting INSTE classes started in September or October. We are setting up the office, getting up to speed on the files, books, computer programs, etc. We are also going to meetings of pastors and churches to establish relationships with people who will want to start INSTE in the future. Mike has already been asked to speak in churches, so this requires his time in sermon preparation.

We are doing what we can to become involved in the Open Bible Churches here. There is little we can do in the line of ministry with our limited language ability right now, but we are attending services, joining in prayer, and doing whatever else we can. Today, for example, we have been invited to participate in an evangelistic outreach in Nyiregyhaza. Our main contribution today will be prayer, but we will also be building relationships with people.

Much of our time is spent in doing daily living tasks. As we learn where to find things, how to communicate to get what we need, and how things are done here, it will take less time. For example, last week I wanted to make a simple potato soup. (I go three or four times to the grocery store since I walk and cannot carry a week's worth of food home in one trip.) At the store, I looked for butter and picked up a package next to a sign I thought said "vaj" (butter). The package didn't say "vaj" on it, but a lot of the products in the store have just brand names on them and/or are from other countries with other languages on them. When I was ready to add it to my soup, it wasn't butter, but some kind of cream cheese. Oh, well, the soup tasted good anyway, not what I had expected, but good.

God is good to us and we spend time with Him every day. It seems that we are not doing much right now, but preparation time is very important. We see what God has done and is doing to establish INSTE in Hungary and we are so happy to be a part of it.