Activities Update

Thank you all for your moral, financial, and spiritual support for this mission trip!  It has been a very exciting 3 and 1/2 weeks so far!  I have mostly been staying in the city of Szolnok.  I also will be serving in Budapest, Eger, Vajta, and other cities this summer!  I have been serving on the Worship Team and in the Children's Ministry at the church.  We have been having a lot of Bible Studies, Fellowship, as well as doing Street Evangelism.  We are preparing for the upcoming English Camp and other activities.

Almost every day I am able to walk around town with Shane, Marianna, baby Emily.  It is so interesting staying in another country for an extended period of time.  After visiting the museum at the beginning of my trip, observing people, and talking with Hungarians it is very interesting to learn about the history and culture of the country.  Common activities such as walking around town and going to the store are such different experiences than in the U.S.  There are some great cute little shops to buy bread and common items, and there are also big stores like Costco that I have been to a few times when we buy food and other essentials.  It is great to be involved in the day-to-day lives with missionaries, seeing how the ministry is constantly on their minds and hearts.

The last few days have been a time of preparation for upcoming English Camps, Conferences, and other ministry activities.  It is an honor to be a part of the preparation for these events.  My Senior Project for my BS Degree that I just graduated with last month was doing an event, so it is neat to be helping with events right away.  In doing research for the camps, I am also implementing tools and knowledge that I learned while obtaining my degree from WJU.  In the Bible, Genesis 22:14 (NKJV) says, "And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided."  The Lord equips us to do the work that He has called us to do, whether it is on a mission trip or at home.  I am excited to see what will happen this summer in Hungary, and what will happen in all of your lives this summer as well!  This mission trip to Hungary has been very rewarding so far, as I have been able to serve, learn, and participate in ministry in a variety of ways!   I look forward to sharing this journey with you as God feeds your hungry hearts and my Hungary Heart! <3

Pictures!

Foundations

Hi everyone!  I have been in Hungary for about 3 weeks now, and things are going very well!  I just got "home" to Szolnok from Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe (CCBCE) in the city of Vajta, Hungary!  I also was able to visit Budapest the first couple of days here in Hungary, and I have been all over Szolnok as well.   I was at CCBCE for a week long leadership conference called the Foundations Conference.  For the first 2 weeks in Hungary I stayed in the city of Szolnok with my friends Shane, Marianna, and their baby Emily. Vajta is about 2 hours away from Szolnok.  I am staying in the school dorms, but the dorms are in a real castle!  I guess, as Christians, since we are children of the King, sometimes we are fortunate enough to stay in a castle! :-)  It is very cool!

CCBCE is a four-semester Bible College, and is soon to be accredited.  They have programs on campus and online.  I know people who have attended this college in Hungary, and I know many people who attended Calvary Chapel Bible College in Marietta, California.  I even took a class through their extension campus in San Jose, it was fun!  I was blessed to have just graduated from a Christian university in San Jose, William Jessup University, and I loved it!

I went to the "Foundations Conference" which is aimed to "build up, equip, refresh, and encourage ministry leaders".  There were people from all over the world there, including countries such as: Hungary, USA, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Kosovo, Kyrgystan,  Moldova, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and more!  It is fun to talk to so many people and and hear all of the different languages around me.  There also were amazing speakers and worship!  I attended multiple worship workshops, which were great!

It has been so exciting to meet new friends and see old friends from Hungary in person!  Here in Hungary I have my friends Shane & Marianna, and their baby Emily.  I also know another couple named Nick & Rosemary, with their kids Nate & Felicia.  There are also two other friends, Scott and Balazs.  I also have met many other people from the extended families and espescially from the churches from the cities of Szolnok, Eger, and Debrecen in Hungary.  I have been praying for them, as well as I have been penpals sending packages back and forth with all of the ones that I named, for so long.  God has put them all strongly on my heart, and it is amazing to finally meet them in person and be spending time with them! 

While in Szolnok, I have been able to go to some fairs, and even shoot a real bow and arrow!  As far as ministry events, I have been practicing with the worship team singing and playing jimbe on Sundays, and running the power point for the sermons.  To get ready for the upcoming English Camps, I have been doing research finding videos, helping think of craft ideas, and more.  We also have been having devotions and meeting every night to discuss the Scriptures and pray together, which has been very encouraging!  At the conference I heard speakers, experienced worship, attended workshops, and had great fellowship!  I am having an amazing summer so far, soaking in the culture and serving the Lord!  Please keep me in your prayers!  I have been praying for all of you, I miss you and will see you in a few months!  I pray that the Lord speaks to your hearts this summer, and to my Hungary Heart!  <3

Arrived Safe & Sound in Hungary!

Hi everyone!  Sorry that it took a few days to update my blog, when I first went to this webpage it was all in Hungarian so I could not sign in! :-)  I have been trying to learn Hungarian, but I know very little Hungarian so far.  Shane helped me to get the page up in English.  Thanks, Shane! :-)  A picture of the Hungary flag is above, I am so glad to be here!  I am here with Shane, Marianna, their baby Emily, and Shane's mom.  Shane's mom is also visiting from California, it has been fun to get to know her.  The 5 of us have been having a great time!  I landed in Budapest, which is about 2 hours from where Shane & Marianna live in Szolnok.  Since they have baby Emily, doing a total of 4 hours in the car in one day is a bit much, so the 5 of us spent the night at Calvary Chapel Budapest.  There is an apartment above the church that we stayed in.  It was fun to see the church, and spend some time there.

While still in Budapest, the five of us went to some fun and interesting tourist spots to learn more about Hungarian culture.  There is a great article about learning about the culture on a missions trip.  A quote from the article is "It is imporatant to take the time to get to know people and their culture. Try to find out who are the important and respected figures in the community, and learn about the protocol to follow in approaching community leaders. Try to learn how people celebrate special events such as weddings, funeral, etc. By taking the time, and showing genuine interest in people and their way of life, the missionary will not only gain valuable insights on how to minister to them in the most effective way, but often gain people's respect, which is what opens doors for the Gospel." (http://www.bible-teaching-about.com/missionarytraits.html)  I am trying to learn as much about the Hungarian culture as I can, and living with a married couple Marianna (a Hungarian) and Shane (an American) and learning about Hungary history from both perspectives has been fascinating.  I am having a great time absorbing all that I can so that I can be an effective witness for the Gospel while I am here.
Some of the fun things we did to learn about the culture are that we saw a castle, a beautiful historic church building, a modern government building (like the White House for Hungary), and more!  The most interesting was a museum called the "House of Terror", which was a Historical museum all about Hungary.  I learned that when Hitler was in charge of the Holocaust against the Jews in Germany, it was going on in Hungary too.  Not only were so many Hungarians being killed by Hitler's army, but there also were other wars happening that Hungary was involved in at the same time.  It was very sad, because much of the Hungarian population was wiped out at that time, almost an entire generation.  The tone of the museum was somber, but it was well done.  The House of Terror very interesting and educational.  I am glad to be learning more about Hungary's history and culture.  A link to the home page of the museum is below:

http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/museum/about_us.html

We spent June 8 & 9 in Budapest, and today we were at Shane & Marianna's house in Szolnok.  I love the neighborhood they live in!  Marianna, baby Emily, Shane's mom, and I took a walk around the neighborhood for a few hours today.  As we were going around the neighborhood, Marianna filled me in on the culture and specifically about the area where they live. I also met some of her neighbors and friends.  She also talked with me about some of the ministry opportunities for this summer.  I took lots of notes, there are many events and opportunities planned!  I am very excited to be on this mission trip, and I look forward to sharing the journey with you on this blog! :-)  I miss you all, and I am praying for you.  Please keep me in prayer this summer as well, that God fills all of our hungry hearts and my Hungary Heart! <3