Calvin Synod Herald, 2007 (108. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 11 They thanked us for the food packets. On the way home, I was thinking about how much joy we seem to bring to these people simply by visiting them. It meant a lot to them to have somebody to talk to and to tell their problems to. I feel it is very important to do this because I can see the good results. And I can only think of doing this mission better every day. June 7-8, 2006 Although we had exams, we organized the June homeless mission. We had to learn a lot at the Seminary and everybody was very busy, but we hadn’t forgotten the importance of this mission. As usual, we met in the basement of the church. Because the week before was Pentecost, we thought that we should tell them about this. For illustrative material, we used the “Fruits of the soul.” We bought a banana and an apple for each person and, by Galatians 5:22, we named the fruits. After that, we gave the fruit to everyone to eat. Then we read together the Pentecost events from the Bible and I explained it to them. It was very good to see that they really joined into the conversation, they used the Bible, and they asked questions. After praying, we sang many songs. Although there were fewer of us than last time and our cantor/choir master didn’t come, they were happily singing from the bottom of their hearts. Then we ate the sandwiches. During the meal, I had time to speak to each of them. After the blessing, we stayed indoors and talked because of the big storm outside. Thursday afternoon, we prepared the food packets, but because of the terrible weather, it was very hard to deliver them. For example, without gumboots, it was impossible to go down to see Kuti István. The little river grew to such an extent that the water was up to the knees everywhere near it. For this reason, they came up to the road to meet us and we gave them the food packet there. Besides this, we also bought them a bed. They were very happy. Laci was waiting for us too. He was a little sad because the heavy rain had damaged the vegetable garden he had planted with Pavel. Nothing could grow properly. The green onions broke down, and the tomatoes were very weak. But they really hoped that the sunny, good weather would come and everything would improve. We stayed longer with Mr. Csete Sanyi too, and we spoke a lot about Mrs. Silvia. I wrote earlier that the doctors had discovered that she had throat cancer. Since then, very big swellings appeared on her neck. She cried a lot because she knew that she would soon die. I tried to comfort her, but it was very hard. I felt useless to her because I couldn’t do anything to help her. After I finished delivering the food packets, I thought about her a lot. I could do only one thing: pray for her. With every day that passes I feel closer to these people. Hunor Nyíri, IV Year Student TRAC Diaspora Mission to the Eszteny Valley “My trip to Mezoseg” - May 3, 2006 Early in the morning, when the sun was about to rise, we started our travel to the Mezoseg. The day started out a little bit hard for me because my shirt tore and I had to sew it. Like most men, I couldn’t sew, but I had to do my best because David was waiting for me. (David was the driver, but I could say he was also the mentor of a freshman.) As we traveled out of town, I started to feel uncomfortable because I wasn’t in my own group between the elder students. I worried that the people wouldn’t treat me properly. Thanks be to God, though, I was “positively” disappointed, and the whole day turned out to be very good. We left behind us Kolozsvár with all its beauty and the historical view of this town. On our way, I tried to concentrate on the point of view of the changing proportions between Hungarian and Romanian nationalities. I realized, disappointedly, that in the area more people are Romanian, but I was glad to find out that there were also a few Hungarian people where we were supposed to go. On our way to the destination, a police officer stopped us, but it seemed that it was God’s will for us to get to the Eszteny Valley as soon as possible. I say that because the officer let us go without any problem. I think it was God’s intervention so we could arrive at the village in time. I was very surprised when we arrived. Mud, puddles, and Romanian flags were all over! I was wondering - how can a Hungarian man survive in these conditions? I surely couldn’t. And yet, God’s ways are unknown. The Hungarian has to survive these conditions to testify that we still exist. As a great poet of ours, Mihály Vörösmarty, said, “Diminished, though not broken yet, lives this nation, my land!” I have seen that the soul of people overcomes the wickedness, and the faith of God gives strength to the embittered Hungarian people. I have seen that faith is stronger than anything else. It would be a serious problem if there were not a pastor for these people and if this group of students did not take God’s Word to these people. They really need to feel that someone takes care of them, especially the theology students, and I think God works through us. Of course, they would need the material support too, because in these times, the Hungarian Calvinist does not have enough for daily living. They were very enthusiastic; I could see the joy in their eyes to see us. It was gratifying to see that. You know why? Because my greatest dream was to do something for my nation, for my people, and then, there in the small congregation in Eszteny, I knew I was doing the right thing. I was realizing my dream. It was a very good feeling. I cannot thank God enough for those moments in my life! After the service, the chief elder invited us to lunch. We had a good lunch, and we started to go back to pick up the others from the villages. We visited the old churches I had seen looming and I met a lot of nice people. Even if they have a hard life, on that day, they were celebrating - because they believe! I would Continued on page 12
