Smile!

Hungary has a reputation for being a melancholy country.  Few people smile on the street.  In fact, we were told once that if someone is smiling for no apparent reason, they are considered crazy.  The attitude is, "if you knew how bad things were, you wouldn't be smiling." 

This observation came to mind when a national radio talk show aired a piece about the "Miskolc Smile" program.  This program is aimed at the hospitality industry in the city of Miskolc, encouraging employees who deal with tourists to smile when serving them.  They have a website that posts pictures of employees who have perfect records of smiling customer service.  The point of the program is to help visitors enjoy their stay in Miskolc and to come back again to the friendly city.

The leader of the Miskolc Smile program said they give classes that teach hospitality workers to smile when they serve customers.  She said it is not easy for everyone to learn to smile, since many Hungarians only smile when they see or hear something funny.  It is a new concept to them that smiling can make not only their customers' experiences better, but their jobs easier, too. 

Hopefully, this idea with catch on all over Hungary.  It would be even better if God would send revival to the country and many more people would come to know Christ. Then we all would have more reasons to smile all the time!

David Simmons Visit

Yesterday we said goodbye to David Simmons, an Open Bible minister from Sedalia, Missouri.  David came to Hungary to get a taste of missionary life and we did our best to give it to him.  David spoke at two home groups, visited a prayer meeting and a men's meeting, either preached or gave a short message at five churches, prayed for a lot of people, attended a cook-out, ate lots of Hungarian food, went with us when we went to the bank, the post office, food shopping and other places, and generally got a feel for missionary life in Hungary.

David praying for a young lady to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

We also made sure David got to experience a little bit of the culture and history of Hungary including short tours of Debrecen, Budapest and the Hortobágy National Park.

Mike and David in front of the Great Church in Debrecen's main square

Pastor David visited the Hortobágyi Pastor Museum (It has displays about shepherds, pigherders, cowherders and horsemen.)

David at Fisherman's Bastion, overlooking the Parliament and Budapest.

We thank David for visiting us and for all he did in Hungary.  May God bless his work in Sedalia!

Weekend with David Simmons

Relu (left) interpreted for David in Gherla

Last Friday David Simmons arrived in Hungary from Sedalia, Missouri. Saturday the three of us traveled to Gherla, Romania for the weekend.  Saturday evening David ministered at a gypsy home group.  Sunday, Mike spoke at the Gherla Open Bible Church.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship with our friends in Gherla.
Monday we were invited to join some friends from church for a Pentecost Monday cook-out.  Pentecost Monday is a holiday in Hungary.  We ate delicious grilled meats, creamy salads and yummy desserts.  We joked that we had only one meal, from morning to night.

Sitting around the table digesting and talking

Mike's Bible Study

This year Mike decided to practice Hungarian by inviting a couple of young men to join him for a weekly Bible study.  Bodó (left) and Sányi (middle) have met with Mike faithfully, spending a couple hours almost every week discussing with him their weekly topic in Hungarian.  By the looks of the picture, they spend plenty of time enjoying their treats, too. Thanks, Bodó and Sányi!

May Day Church Picnic

Sunday we enjoyed spending time at the park with our Open Bible Church family.  May 1 is Labor Day in Hungary and the Open Bible Church traditionally meets in the park for a picnic and outdoor service on the holiday.  Since May 1 fell on a Sunday this year, the regular service was moved to the park.  We ate a delicious meal of sour kraut and chicken cooked together in a large pot over an open fire followed by a variety of desserts brought by the ladies.  After lunch was a short service and the rest of the day was filled with conversation, relaxation, fellowship and games.

Judit Szabó, the worship leader, chose songs to sing for worship with her son Patrik. Judit's daughter and her daughter's friends made the pretty flower crown she is wearing.

One of the games the teenagers played is a school game similar to baseball or cricket.  They use a flat bat to hit a hard rubber ball.

Then they run around the bases which they must tag with their hands.  They must stop running when the pitcher/catcher receives the ball back.  

Happy May!  Happy spring!