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| Arriving in Budapest after a long week of training |
On January 30, my roommates (pictured above: Sam and Megan) and I arrived at our new beautiful home in Hungary. Why Hungary? Well, many of you might have been wondering why I choose to do missions in Europe and since arriving I have learned this:
1.10,000 churches in Europe have closed their doors since 1960
2. By 2020 another 4,000 churches will close while 1,700 new mosques will be built
3. France will soon have more mosques than churches
Just like the rest of the world, Europe is a very spiritually dark place. Although Hungary is considered a Christian nation, God is very distant in the hearts of most Hungarians.
Since we have been here I can say it has been amazing, crazy, overwhelming, and incredible all at the same time. I could not have asked for a better team than the one God has put me on. Hungary is very beautiful but also shows evidence of once being a communist nation. The building next to our supervisors home used to be a torture house where the elderly can tell you stories of hearing screams echoing off the walls. The Hungarian people are very closed off in a way but once they feel you're trustworthy, you'll be their best friend.
Hungarian is a very confusing language and there are many stories of me struggling trying to communicate. The second day in Hungary I went to the store to buy some grocery's and the cashier started talking really fast in Hungarian to me. I froze. Not knowing what to say I just stared at her with a very blank look. Finally, I said the only thing that popped into my head, "No, Nem, Nem!" She started laughing at me really hard and held up one of their coins. Supposedly I didn't give her enough money to pay for the grocery's. It was quite embarrassing!
My roommates and I are still adjusting but we know that God has great plans for His Kingdom while we are here. This past week we have already been introduced to tutoring students in English. Throughout the week I tutored three middle school students which turned out to be a challenge. With them not knowing a whole lot of English and me barely knowing any Hungarian leads to a lot of acting out and use of technology. Friday we had a game night at our flat which was a lot of fun! Starting next week we will use this time to conduct bible studies. On Sundays we spend most of the day at Paul and Tena's (Hungary missionaries) preparing for House Church. During House Church Paul will give a sermon, then worship through songs and prayer and eventually enjoy visiting with one another while eating dinner together.
Prayers:
-God will continue to relieve me of anxiety and equip me with boldness
-Learning the language
-For Friday nights pray that more students will show up
-God providing us students to tutor and opening their hearts to hear the gospel
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| My new beautiful home for the next 4 months |
Trinity Statue in Main Square. This statue was erected after the black plague hit Europe as a thanks to God for not allowing all of them to die.
Countryside in Hungary
Many statues of Jesus are placed along roads as a sign to God to provide healthy crops
Us girls enjoying time in a Kave shop
Enjoying the Fank Festival
Ez Finom! Delicious!
A Cathedral that was built right after the Black Plague hit Europe
Friday's Game Night
Boat Lake. It was very cold and windy that day.
Remnant of WW2 and the Communist regime are still very prevelant in our city.
Playing Uno at House Church
Enjoying dinner at House Church
Playing the violin at House Church
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