A New Creation

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over.  It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was on the airplane in San Jose, CA heading to Hungary.  I was not sure what this summer would be like, but I was excited because I knew God had called me to Hungary.  I said “good bye” to life as I knew it and ventured off into the unknown.  It was exciting and scary at the same time.  I was going all by myself.  I had only been on one other mission trip in my life, which was only for 10 days, and I was with a group.  Now I was going out all alone, away from everything and everyone I knew for 84 days!

 

Now that my mission trip to Hungary is wrapping up, I am going home on Tuesday, I have been thinking about what I have learned over the summer.  I have learned many practical things from living with “roommates”, meaning with people other than my parents/family for the first time.  I tried some things I was too afraid to try in the past, like ride a bus all by myself or talk openly about my feelings.  I have learned communication skills on a personal level, rather than only a formal level.  I learned about the culture and people of Hungary.  I have observed that Hungarians are proud of their heritage and their country, as they should be!  This is an amazing place; I have loved my stay in Hungary!  

I have learned that all people are the same in many respects, such as I can communicate with people who do not speak the same language as I do through body language (like pointing) or facial expressions.  More than once I have been able to answer questions that people have asked me in Hungarian, essentially translate without an interpreter, and I am still not sure how I was able to do that!  

I also learned a lot about myself and a lot about God.  There is something about leaving everyone and everything you know and coming to a new place.  It can be overwhelming and even scary at times, but I think being out of your comfort zone provides a great opportunity to grow.  I felt like for me, this summer was about going back to the basics of life, especially of the Christian life.  For example, although I have always been taught this, I learned for myself this summer that reading the Bible, prayer, and fellowship are all vital to grow as a Christian.  Without these three things, the Christian life can become routine and not seem as real.

The most significant lesson I have learned is how much God loves me.  I have always believed that, but this summer this truth has become very real and evident to me.  I think possibly the most important thing I have learned, other than how much God loves me, is that there is freedom in Christ.  I think I was caught up in a “works” mentality (legalism) without realizing it.  I think I was only able to truly comprehend God's love for me because of all of the experiences I have had leading up to this trip and on this trip to Hungary this summer.

Today was a very important day, as I rededicated my life to the Lord.  I have always heard that when people go on mission trips they come home a changed person.  This is true for me as well.  I am sad to leave my friends in this wonderful country of Hungary, but I am excited to be going home to my family and friends in the U.S. in a few days.  Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers for this mission trip to Hungary this summer.  I believe that I have been able to make an impact to the people here in Hungary, and I know that I have a much deeper understanding of God and I am leaving Hungary a changed person, a new creation.