On New Year's Day, I caught a train to Croatia to visit my friend Paul, an RCA missionary who has been living and sharing the Gospel among young people there for about 12 years! He helps lead a church and befriends plenty of kids who share his interest in adventure, exercise and dog tricks.
The following week found me back at work in Nyirtelek and Gorogszallas in the Childrens' House. There still seemed to be a problem attracting parents and children, so one day the leaders of the program and the pastor sat down and had a long meeting to brainstorm ways to interest the community. So far, two concepts have really started bearing fruit. At least twice a week for the past couple of weeks, a leader in the congregation here who has a job running errands for the people in Gorogszallas has driven a van-load of parents and children to spend a few hours at the Childrens' House. This eliminates the need for parents and kids to walk longish distances (sometimes .5 - 1 mile) in the cold. Another idea that I've really grown to appreciate is the cooking that takes place on those days! When the families come, they know that their kids will be able to enjoy some fresh palacsinta (crepes) or hungarian hashbrowns. They're delicious! As a result of these ideas, we've gotten considerably busier; yesterday, I counted 12 kids at one time!
Now, for a look at my usual week. Mondays are typically my longest days. I usually meet Istvan (the leader who helps run errands) at the church at 7:10 for the 15-20 minute ride to Gorogszallas. I start the fire in the fireplace (the wood-burner heats water, which runs throughout the building) and usually help with some light cleaning. Shortly after 9 o' clock, families may start arriving. If you've ever done nursery duty at church, then you know what my days are typically like until 1pm or 1:30. In the down time, I'm free to practice my Hungarian and talk with the other workers at the Children's House (there are usually 2 or 3 other adults there), or I can read, or whatever.
Around 4 o'clock on Mondays, people start arriving for Monday night events. I offer to tutor anybody from the community in English (usually I get at least one taker a week, but if it's a local kid he or she has already had a long school day, so we usually only study for a little while before switching to drawing or chatting). Sometimes, there are guitar lessons from my friend Peter for the locals. There is also a Bible study that at least 3 or 4 people regularly attend. Before splitting up into these different activities, we have a group hymn sing (on this past Monday, there were probably 15 people there, playing whatever instruments they brought with them!). After these activities, I usually arrive home at around 7pm. Dinner. Cooldown time. Bed.
Tuesday, I do the same thing over again, but I return to Nyirtelek around 4. Wednesday is the same, except that from 5-6 on Wednesday nights I offer English lessons in Nyirtelek at the church. A wide variety of people come, from adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, to kids in the first and second grade (though sometimes, these kids know more English than the adults :D). Attendance varies based on the weather. Sometimes, a lot of people show up (I think the most we had was around 15). And then, other nights when it's snowing and slippery and cold, no one shows up at all (oh well, gives me time to update you all!).
Thursday mornings I spend with Peter at the church, preparing our lesson for afternoon in Rakamaz. I get to have a warm lunch at noon back home with Aunt Suzie, and Peter and I take off around 1pm for the middle school in Rakamaz. The program we have there is called KEBI (accronym for Christian Ethics and Bible Study). After quite a few weeks of low but consistent attendance from some regulars, Peter had a great idea. He would see if the school would allow us to play some soccer in the gym beforehand! This has proved to be really attractive to many of the young guys at the school. After we play for 45 minutes or so and are good and tired, we take a break to talk about Christianity with the kids who choose to stay. We don't force the kids to stay; if they like, they can simply play soccer for a while and leave. But there are an increasing number who choose to stay and listen to Peter's often fun and interesting Gospel lesson. They even get to hear from me too, though Peter is still my mouthpiece (let me tell you, this language does not come easily!).
Fridays and Saturdays are usually free for me to use as I please. The leaders of the Children's House go for more training on Fridays, so the building is closed. I often find some way to keep myself occupied, whether by trips to the nearest big city (Nyiregyhaza, between the size of a Holland and a Grand Rapids, for those of you in West Michigan), or whatever event presents itself (and in Hungary, it is not unusual for the pastor to come up to me and say, "Oh, didn't you know? We're going to Kisvarda today!"). On Sundays, we have church in the morning, and I am usually free to use Skype with my family on Sunday night.
There is one more opportunity I have had recently that I would like to share with you. Last week, I was told that there was a young couple from Nyirtelek who would like to meet with me to practice their English on Saturday mornings. I'm usually free then, so I agreed. So, this past Saturday, the young woman showed up (her husband was occupied with something), and we had a nice, slow chat in English for a while. As her time wrapped up, she said that next week she would like to talk about something that I'm interested in. "Ok," I said, "I like talking about Christian things, and friends, and family, and relationships, is that alright?" She said that was fine, but that she would be honest, she had never read the Bible before. So, then she proposed that next week, she would read one chapter from the Bible and we would talk about it! Talk about an awesome opportunity (and responsibility)! We agreed to start in the Gospel of Mark. If you could, I would really appreciate prayer in the coming weeks for this young woman (her name is Erika) and her husband (Ferenc) and the time we will spend together.
