Two Churches Miles Apart
We enjoyed worshiping with two different congregations yesterday.
In the morning, Mike preached at the House, the International Church, in Debrecen. We have a long history with the House. This is the church we attended on Saturday evenings for the first couple of years we lived in Hungary. The services are in Hungarian and English, so we were able to worship in English while we were learning Hungarian. We were also able to attend the Hungarian services at the Open Bible Church on Sunday mornings. A couple of years ago the House moved their services to Sunday morning, so we visit only occasionally, but enjoy being with this wonderful congregation.
Yesterday, we joined Hungarians and university students from Nigeria, Liberia and other places for worship. One of our former language tutors, Mirjam, visited the service, too. The worship team included two Hungarians and six Africans. Mike's sermon was well received.
Later we received a phone call from Mirjam. She said that the night before, she had had very little sleep. Her neighbors in the apartment below her threw a party that lasted well into the night. Twice, once at 1 a.m. and again at 3 a.m., Mirjam went downstairs to ask them to be quiet so she could sleep. She said she had been so angry after the second time she spoke to them that she couldn't fall asleep. During Mike's sermon, though, he talked about bringing the Kingdom of God to our neighborhoods by praying for our neighbors and being kind to them. Mirjam decided that she needed to do something for her noisy neighbors. After church, she made some Hungarian crepes and took them to them. This led to a conversation in which some difficulties were sorted out and a better relationship began to be built. Mirjam said that after she went home she could finally relax and rest. Praise God!
After the service at the House we had time for a quick bite to eat and then met Sandor who took us to Kemecse. Kemecse is a village of 5,000 people about an hour and a half from Debrecen. The church here was begun by our INSTE students, Géza and Gizella Balog last September. Since then over 100 Gypsies have been saved. The church meets in a house donated by one of the members and is packed every service. There is space for about 40 seats, but at least twice that many people attend the services, so many people stand the entire time. We heard testimonies of healings and transformed lives. One man said he had been a very angry, violent man and many people feared him, but God has changed him and he is no longer angry or violent but is growing in his faith every day.
The worship included many now-familiar Gypsy songs. Before Sandor preached the message, he asked the two of us to give a short greeting in Hungarian. After the sermon, we were asked to join in praying for people. One lady was healed of a persistent headache and many more were touched by the Spirit of God. When the service was finished, we were surprised that it had lasted four and a half hours. It didn't seem nearly that long. And no one complained of standing for a long time, either!
The pastor told us that the mayor's office had called him last week to talk to him about a question he had. They had noticed that quite a few Gypsy couples had come to the city hall over the past few months to request civil marriage ceremonies. Gypsies do not usually get married legally, preferring just to live together, so the mayor was curious what was happening. The Gypsies he had talked to said that Pastor Géza could explain. When Géza told him how God was changing the lives of so many Gypsies that they wanted to live God's way and get married legally, the mayor was surprised there was even a church in that area. He said, "But even the police don't go to that part of town without commando gear!"
Praise God for how He is working in Hungary!
In the morning, Mike preached at the House, the International Church, in Debrecen. We have a long history with the House. This is the church we attended on Saturday evenings for the first couple of years we lived in Hungary. The services are in Hungarian and English, so we were able to worship in English while we were learning Hungarian. We were also able to attend the Hungarian services at the Open Bible Church on Sunday mornings. A couple of years ago the House moved their services to Sunday morning, so we visit only occasionally, but enjoy being with this wonderful congregation.
Yesterday, we joined Hungarians and university students from Nigeria, Liberia and other places for worship. One of our former language tutors, Mirjam, visited the service, too. The worship team included two Hungarians and six Africans. Mike's sermon was well received.
Later we received a phone call from Mirjam. She said that the night before, she had had very little sleep. Her neighbors in the apartment below her threw a party that lasted well into the night. Twice, once at 1 a.m. and again at 3 a.m., Mirjam went downstairs to ask them to be quiet so she could sleep. She said she had been so angry after the second time she spoke to them that she couldn't fall asleep. During Mike's sermon, though, he talked about bringing the Kingdom of God to our neighborhoods by praying for our neighbors and being kind to them. Mirjam decided that she needed to do something for her noisy neighbors. After church, she made some Hungarian crepes and took them to them. This led to a conversation in which some difficulties were sorted out and a better relationship began to be built. Mirjam said that after she went home she could finally relax and rest. Praise God!
After the service at the House we had time for a quick bite to eat and then met Sandor who took us to Kemecse. Kemecse is a village of 5,000 people about an hour and a half from Debrecen. The church here was begun by our INSTE students, Géza and Gizella Balog last September. Since then over 100 Gypsies have been saved. The church meets in a house donated by one of the members and is packed every service. There is space for about 40 seats, but at least twice that many people attend the services, so many people stand the entire time. We heard testimonies of healings and transformed lives. One man said he had been a very angry, violent man and many people feared him, but God has changed him and he is no longer angry or violent but is growing in his faith every day.
The worship included many now-familiar Gypsy songs. Before Sandor preached the message, he asked the two of us to give a short greeting in Hungarian. After the sermon, we were asked to join in praying for people. One lady was healed of a persistent headache and many more were touched by the Spirit of God. When the service was finished, we were surprised that it had lasted four and a half hours. It didn't seem nearly that long. And no one complained of standing for a long time, either!
The pastor told us that the mayor's office had called him last week to talk to him about a question he had. They had noticed that quite a few Gypsy couples had come to the city hall over the past few months to request civil marriage ceremonies. Gypsies do not usually get married legally, preferring just to live together, so the mayor was curious what was happening. The Gypsies he had talked to said that Pastor Géza could explain. When Géza told him how God was changing the lives of so many Gypsies that they wanted to live God's way and get married legally, the mayor was surprised there was even a church in that area. He said, "But even the police don't go to that part of town without commando gear!"
Praise God for how He is working in Hungary!
posted by Mike and Nancy Juntunen @ 4:39 PM
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