Calm after the storm

Well things have settled down a little bit here. I'm not sure if things have been calmed completely or whether people are seething quietly. Following the riots on October 23, everyone was pointing their finger at everyone else seeking those responsible for the violence and the police reaction.

It took me a few days to recover from the shock...really. I was upset at how the government and the left wing media was distorting facts.


Back to work, I traveled to Voijvodina (Vajdaság), Serbia to continue preparations for the Womens' Societies' Prayer for the Reformed Church in the Carpathian Basin. It is an initiative to encourage prayer for the church and for the region. By focussing on one church district each year, people can get to know eachother and learn to pray for eachother and thus strengthen the church. The focus this year is on the Danube Church District (Dunantul)

In Voijvodina, we held a meeting among women of the Reformed Church of Voijvodina, telling them about the Danube District. Sharing its history, culture and challenges. My job specifically was to meet with the women in attendance and make connections so that I can get a sense of the church in the area and make contacts to obtain information in the future.

I was encouraged by what I saw and heard. The area, has its challenges not unlike the challenged in the churches in Transylvania, Slovakia and Croatia. The young professionals have left the smaller towns and perhaps even the country, for better futures in Hungary or abroad. Many young people have married non-Hungarians and the next generation no longer speaks Hungarian. But, we were encouraged by the news of a beginning congregation in Belgrade. It is small, the members reported, but the members are enthusiastic. There are also several non-Hungarian students who attend and they are genuinely interested in matters of faith. It was good to hear.

We also heard of the church in Szabaka (Subotca). They are a rather large congregation which is active with many programs, diakonal ministries, young people. The members told of the phenomenon where in mixed marriage situations, the children in the mixed marriage are often taken to church by their grandparents because the Reformed churches offer more than the Serbian Orthodox churches do.

These were important contacts.

We stayed with a young family with 7 children. That was a busy blessing to us. The family was lovely.

A few days after visiting Serbia, I traveled to Szombathely at the far west side of the country to attend a rememberance of Maria Molnar, the most famous hungarian missionary. She served in Papua New Guinea until she was martyred at the end of the Second World War. It was a day of lectures and presentations on the culture of Papua New Guinea. It was very interesting.

In the past few weeks I was blessed with visits from friends from Kolozsvar at various times. Some stayed overnight, some just visited for a meal. It was good for me to meet with them. Cathartic and also comforting and blessed that I could still maintain friendships with them. You know, how sometimes, when circumstances change, you may find that you no longer have anything in common with the people you were with amid those circumstances. I think it's somewhat different as Christians because there is always your faith to share.

It was also wonderful provision from God that on the weekend that one of my Kolozsvar friends came and transported my things left in Kolozsvar, mostly my warm clothes, that was when the weather became cold.

I am liking being here but I find it a challenge to really discover how I can serve God on a day to day basis. It may sound strange for me to write this but I feel in my heart that the common people on the street need to hear about Jesus. There are so many needs. But where do I begin and how? This is my challenge. I have been praying for God to show me what to do and what to say.

In the next week, I will start a small group in my home for the refugees. I think they need to be given the opportunity to talk and share and the grow around God's word. I hope they will come and that it will be good. My work with the refugees is slowly picking up now. I have been helping with the school integration programme by helping to tutor the teens. I have to tutor them in MATH of all things! I also help with a Hungarian Language class for young adults. This too is difficult because I have never learned Hungarian Grammar nor is my Hungarian perfect but I am learning and I enjoy it.

I discovered a while ago that a Christian couple live in the apartment below me. They actually work for the church. I have met with them a few times and they have offered to help with anything I needed. I thought that too was wonderful of God to provide. I have been helping the wife with her English studies. It is great.