Travelling light

You would think after having lived overseas and travelled so much to so many different destinations that I would have the packing thing down to a science. Well, on our trip to Ukraine, I travelled like, well, like a tourist...and in the process, decided that I would NOT let that happen again. I'm not quite sure how it happened; I sort of knew what to expect, what kinds of clothes we would need, etc., but it seemed like the bag just kept getting more and more full. Til finally, I had so much stuff, that I needed help carrying it all...

Isn't it funny how life is sometimes like that; we can at times let stuff accumulate, thinking that "this is a necessity" or "that is essential", when in reality, God is saying, "Let it all go! Seek Me and I will show you what is necessary and essential, and that burden is light!"

Gypsy church

They'd cleaned up the public pathway leading to the entrance of the one room church, so that we didn't have to step on broken bottles and animal excrement. The room holds about 50 people, maybe, and on the walls are pictures of church life! We had the privilege of meeting with the women in the church. As we came in and I tried to strike up conversations in Hungarian with some of the younger girls, I learned a lot. One 16-year old has a 2 year old child and one on the way. Another 15 year old is pregnant with her first child. It's a church of many generations as we had what seemed to be about a 3 or 4 year old up to an 80 year old woman! Their openness to the message of "Forgiveness sets the forgiver free" was astounding! As personal ministry took place, God gave me the ability to come up with simple songs, in Hungarian, that we could all worship God with together...He's always so good to provide! We could have stayed all night, and these women probably would have too. It's always so interesting how you think you are going to bless, but you come away BEING blessed by them!

Holocaust survivor

We had the unique privilege of attending a Shabbat on the Friday night we were in Ukraine. There is a Christian ministry there of women who are reaching out to, loving and serving holocaust survivors and their families. They graciously invited us to take part in the Shabbat and we were amazingly blessed!

One of the Jewish men there is named Laci. He's Hungarian, speaks about 7 different languages and when I asked him if I could ask him a difficult question, he said, "Sure!" I asked if he had been in a concentration camp during WW II and he replied, "Yes, I was in Mathhausen, and there I learned some English, so when the Americans liberated us, and we were taken to Vienna to the hospital, I served as a translator for the doctors there!" This 88 year old wonderful, energetic, funny man blessed us so deeply during our short conversations with him. I don't know if he knows Jeshua as his messiah, but I pray God reveals His Messiah to Laci bacsi soon!

Divine encounters

"Zenész vagy?" (Are you a musician?)

"Igen!" (Yes!)

That's how our divine encounter began with Zolan and Marta, two young Christian believers who are volunteering for a year, each serving in different venues in Ukraine. Zolan had his guitar slung over his shoulder and mine was on my back, and after our greeting in Hungarian, he offered to help us get our luggage off the train. We then struck up a conversation with both him and Marta and learned about their work in Ukraine. Zolan, who is Romanian, teaches at a gypsy school in a village outside the city of Uzhgorod; Marta, who is Hungarian, teaches and lives at an orphanage which houses 67 girls, most of whom are handicapped, and all of whom speak Hungarian!

We could have stayed and talked with them all day as they were as curious about us and our work as we were about them and theirs. But after exchanging phone numbers and email addresses, we parted paths, hoping that we might meet again.

As it happened, our fearless leader, Mary Jill, had worked in just enough "gap" time in our week-long schedule to make a trip to the orphanage where Marta serves. She was thrilled to see us arrive and proceeded to show us the building and grounds and explain the history of the orphanage. We had arrived just as Marta was finishing up Bible study with a room full of girls, and when she cut it short, some of the girls became very sad; we asked why...she said, "They are quite heart-broken because we cannot finish Bible study!"

The orphanage was funded and built by a Danish Reformed Church and now employs people from the neighboring village in its fields and daily workings. The girls are well taken care of and we heard of their wonderful love for each other: there are a few girls who are completely bed-stricken, and on nice days when everyone goes outside, the able-bodied girls carry the bed-stricken girls on their backs outside so they too can enjoy the activities!

I left part of my heart at this orphanage........

My 200th post...wow...more about Ukraine

Have you ever connected with someone so quickly and so deeply that you wonder if it is a divine connection, designed since the beginning of time for such a moment as this? That happened to me during our recent trip to Ukraine when we got to visit an orphanage which houses 67 girls, most of whom are handicapped in some way. As we sat in a room listening to one of the volunteers there explain the history of this Danish Reformed Church sponsored orphanage, two of the girls who live there came bounding into the room. I struck up a conversation with one of them, Timea, and learned that she is an excellent soccer player, loves to dance, and can do the splits, both ways! Apparently, she is quite a "spitfire" in that orphanage and can be "challenging". No wonder...she is a "true" orphan, has no family, and when she arrived, had cuts all up and down her arms. Timea and I experienced this "divine connection" and as she asked me all kinds of questions, including, "when are you coming back?" my heart melted for this precious 13 year old. Who knows what God has in store for our relationship? He knows! (Timea is wearing the sky blue athletic jacket).

Teammates!

One of the greatest blessings of the last year has been that God has begun to bring "teammates" for me...certain women with a similar heart and passion for our Lord and for the advancement of His Kingdom! I was blessed to travel with two of these women to Ukraine and minister alongside them. Our giftings really compliment each other and God used each of us for His glory in that nation. MaryJill (on the right in the picture) is the compassionate, "fiery" organizer who knows EVERYBODY and makes all the necessary connections. Plus she is a gifted teacher and encourager! Jennifer (center) is the "electricity" in the threesome, teaching with clarity and compassion and ministering powerfully in the Spirit one on one with people too. I'm the "air" in the trio, worshipping with my guitar and voice and doing some teaching and some one on one ministry as well. We were definitely the perfect Three Musketeers in Ukraine, certain women following Jesus' lead into what He wanted to do in and through us!

Ukraine...what can I say?

It's been a long time since my last blog, but you'll be hearing more from me in the next few days as I process this past week two friends of mine and I spent in Uzhgorod, Ukraine. I'm finding it challenging to put into words all that happened...it was one of those "one week that feels like three awesome weeks" experiences. Suffice to say that my life will never be the same, which is exactly what should happen on a missions trip.

In this first entry, I'll start with the beginning of the trip. Jennifer and I traveled to Debrecen, Hungary from Budapest and were blessed to take part in a worship service at the International Church of Debrecen. There was such a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit there, and a fellow missionary, Edith, spoke a great message about the Lord's Supper. Pictured is Edith. The last time I worshipped with these brothers and sisters, there were maybe 20 people in the room; when Jennifer and I arrived, there were no seats available and at least 10 people standing! God is growing His church in Debrecen! More to come..............

It's Prom time in Hungary!

Today at my school, Deak, is a very special day for the senior class. It's "graduation pinning day"...that's the best translation we can think of...the 11th graders "pin" a ribbon onto the lapels of all the seniors. On the ribbon is written "2002-2006", commemorating their four years they spent in high school. From this day on, through the end of June, people will see seniors from all the different high schools sporting these ribbons around town as each publically "declares" that "I am graduating this year!"

However, tomorrow evening is the BIG event: Prom! They do prom here in February because in May, all seniors are taking exams which cover four years worth of material. Prom involves parents, relatives, friends, even neighbors, as they all come at the very beginning of the evening to watch special dances like the English Waltz, etc., danced by the seniors, who have been practicing these dances since November! Girls wear rented wedding dresses and boys wear tuxedos with tails for these special dances. Following the last special dance, each senior along with his/her advisor, who has walked with them through four years of high school, enjoy a glass of champagne together, toasting each other! All teachers are present at the prom, and following the opening dances, which typically last about an hour, students and families go to different classrooms to have dinner, and the teachers enjoy dinner together in the big staff room.

Then the dance begins...with a band or a DJ. Girls change from the wedding gowns into prom dresses, and guys into suits, and families either stay or leave, but teachers typically stay and dance with the students! After prom will take place at a local bar which the senior class has rented out til the wee hours of the morning.

Overall, I prefer Hungarian prom to the typical American prom. Here, no one has to have a date...everyone is welcome and there is no pressure to have a date. Families are involved and included. Teachers are welcomed by the students and not "avoided" as chaperones. In fact, the students WANT the teachers to go out and party with them all night long! The community feel is one I respect and have grown to love.