Wedding, Children's Program, Church!

Beautiful flowers in the park in front of the Debrecen Open Bible Church

We had a wonderful Sunday yesterday.  It began with worship at our home church in Debrecen.  At the end of the service there was a "házasságkötés," literally translated "marriage tying." A few weeks ago, one of the newer couples in the church who had been married earlier in a civil ceremony asked Pastor Misi Gulyás if they could have a church ceremony.  He was delighted to say yes, so Sunday morning the congregation witnessed their exchanging vows to with other before God.  Then we were all invited to a lunch they had provided.  What a great start to the day!

A young couple saying their vows at the "házasságkötés" in Debrecen

 Then that afternoon we drove to Ibrány for Mike to preach at the Open Bible Church there. Misha Tovtin came with us to interprete for Mike. The service was a little longer than we expected because the children gave their Easter program, but was fun watching and listening to them.  We especially enjoyed hearing a couple of the older ones pray the Lord's prayer in the Gypsy language.

Boys from the church in Ibrány praying during the children's Easter program

We were treated to our second Hungarian meal of the day after the service.  That gave us time to talk with the INSTE students from the church who are part of the Level Two pilot group.  We are so thankful to them and to the pilot group students in Debrecen who are helping us work out the kinks in the new translation and Level Two procedures.

Spring is Here!

Spring has arrived in Hungary!  The "golden rain" bush outside our office window is beginning to bloom.  We had a mild winter with lots of rain, but it's been dry recently so the blooms are a little droopy.  But spring is here!  Temperatures are getting warmer and the sky is a beautiful blue.  We are looking forward to celebrating Easter!  He is risen!

Closed on Sundays

We rarely comment on political news here in Hungary, but Sunday was the first day a new law went into effect.  All stores except the smallest, family owned and run stores, are now closed on Sundays.  The stated reason for passing the law was to allow families time to be together at least one day a week.  The law was passed in December and there was much opposition to it.  The international chain stores objected strongly, saying that their biggest shopping days are on Sundays and that they would have to lay off staff and close stores.  About two-thirds of the adult population objects to stores being closed on Sundays, many saying that Sunday is the only day they have time to shop.  But, having retail stores closed on Sundays allows for more people to be able to be in church. 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Left or Right?

In this last installment of our short series on differences between Hungarian and American culture that affect our life and work, we'll mention some little differences.

Hungarians do not generally drink their cold beverages with ice.  In the summer, they are served chilled, but in the winter a lot of people prefer them at room temperature.  When we have guests over in the colder months, we need to remember to keep some drinks at room temperature even though we prefer ours cold year round.  It is fun to visit McDonald's or KFC because we can get ice with our soft drinks there.

American culture is car-centered.  Many Hungarians, however, walk, bike or use public transportation.  Many people do not own a car or even have a driver's license.  With many people walking places, the streets are rarely deserted and it is safe even for women and the elderly to walk even at night.  Public transportation is readily available and it is possible to get around the city easily without a car.  In fact, we walk or take public transportation most of the time in town because it is often much easier than finding or paying for parking.

When we meet people we know on the street, it is polite to stop and greet them. Sometimes this can lead to a lengthy conversation.  Unless a person is on the way to work or to an important appointment, friends and family take priority.  People can be several minutes late to a meeting, even an INSTE meeting, if they meet someone on the way there.

Hungarian women often greet their friends by kissing on both cheeks.  In church, both men and women greet each other by kissing on both cheeks.  Kisses are given first to the left cheek and then to the right.  This can get confusing to us because in the US, when we give hugs, we generally go to the person's right.  So, please forgive us if we hesitate to give you a hug.  It's not that we don't want to, we've just forgotten which way to go!

Thank you for reading about our lives in Hungary.  If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you.

What's to Eat?

We are continuing our short series on cultural differences between Hungary and America that affect our lives and work.

One of our favorite cultural distinctions in Hungary is the food.  We enjoy Hungarian food.  From gulyás soup and fruit soup to stuffed cabbage and paprika chicken to eszterházi cake and poppy seed roll, Hungarian cuisine is delicious.  Most meals begin with soup of some kind and most main dishes contain paprika.  (Paprika is a spice made from Hungarian red peppers and can be either mild or hot.)  Desserts are usually less sweet than American desserts, but tasty nonetheless.

We eat Hungarian food at restaurants and when invited to Hungarian homes and events.  At home, we eat mostly American food.  Almost all ingredients for American recipes can be found here in Hungary.  Hungarians eat more chicken and pork than beef, so ground beef is not always available  prepackaged, but the butchers are always ready to grind meat to order.  Some ingredients are a little more expensive because they are in the foreign foods section.

We have found that Hungarians like most homemade American food, so when we have guests, we usually cook American.  Some favorites are three-bean salad, roast turkey breast, apple pie and oatmeal raisin cookies.

Eating together is a good way to build relationships with people, so, whether we eat Hungarian or American food, we enjoy being with Hungarians and getting to know them better.

So, How's the Language Coming?

We are continuing our short series on cultural differences between Hungary and America that affect our lives and our work.

Not long ago I (Nancy) was trying to say that I had made note of something and used the wrong prefix.  I said I had become engaged.  The friend I was talking to laughed and explained my mistake.  I am glad we are still able to bring joy and laughter to the Hungarians.

The biggest difference between Hungary and the US is the language.  We arrived in Hungary seven years ago and began studying Hungarian then.  It is said to be one of the most difficult languages for English-speakers to learn, but we have been plugging away at it, having taken many courses, still studying every day and meeting with native Hungarian speakers who help us with our conversation skills. 

It has not been easy, but we have made progress.  We understand almost everything we hear and we can make ourselves understood even if we don't always use correct words or grammar.  Conducting our personal business has become much easier, but we still use translators for legal business and probably always will. 

It is important to us to speak the language well because we work with Hungarian pastors and INSTE group leaders, most of whom speak little or no English. We want to help those who are doing INSTE and encourage those who might be interested to try it and experience the joy of getting to know Jesus and the Word of God better.

Please keep praying for us and for our language skills. And please pray for one or more Hungarians who will help us spread the word about INSTE, talking to other Hungarians as only Hungarians can.