Calvin Synod Herald, 2007 (108. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-05-01 / 5-6. szám
back to the adults where the children received sandwiches and told their parents what they had done in the Bible class. For me it is a joy to help these kids. By helping, I mean I am spending a part of my free time with them. We learn together, we draw together, and we discover the word of God. It’s a great feeling when I see that they are doing their “jobs” so faithfully and come to the Bible class. Melinda 7 February 2007 A homeless man, named Steven (István), said at our regular Wednesday evening service: “I’m very happy we are meeting again. I really missed you all.” How true that was. I really missed these people. That’s why I went to the mission this week. I hadn’t been there for a long time; but they didn’t change much. This time I met three little children, two 4-year-old boys and an 8-year-old girl. One boy has two first names: Mircea István; the first is Romanian and the second Hungarian. This boy has to get injections to grow a little. He’s too small for his age and so slim. He likes Jenő Lako, the “leader” of this mission, very much. He takes Jeno’s hand and doesn’t let it go. He likes to play and talk with him. Whenever someone puts the question why did Jesus come to this world, Gabriel, the other 4-year-old, answers loud: “He came for us to be not sinners anymore!” For me it was a great feeling to be together with these people again, and take part in their service, which was led by Elod Martons, a 5th year student. He spoke about Onesimus, an escaped slave (Philemon). It was not an ordinary service where we would wear a black suit and so on. We just sat round, prayed, sang (with the learning of a new songs), and after Elod finished speaking about the slave, we discussed some questions relating to freedom. We spoke about the meaning of real freedom. Onesimus wanted so much to escape from slavery. This is freedom; when you are not in somebody’s authority, you are not a slave, but can do with your life whatever you want. Still, the real freedom is when you are free inside, when you don’t have anything in your soul that hurts you, or causes you “white nights.” Real freedom means getting away from sin and being clean and dependent alone on God, who is Love. After this evening I had to ask myself what kind of freedom I have, and I pray to be really free, inside of me. 14 February 2007 I think this mission was the first time I had seen such happy homeless people. We sang a lot and we tried to create the proper atmosphere for the service. The text was Psalm 37:1-5. It speaks about richness and poorness. Our world’s big question is: “Why do some people have such a good life and others sometimes don’t have anything to eat or anywhere to sleep?’ People usually ask why is life in this world so unfair? The psalmist says life goes by so quickly that even riches are like the grass or plants that are cut down. The most important “job” for men is to believe in God, to put everything in God’s hands, and be assured that He takes care CALVIN' SYNOD HERALD_____________________________ of this world. It was nice to see how happy the poor man could be. After the service when we gave them sandwiches and drinks, an old woman whose daughter had a birthday gave every one of us a chocolate. We had new members on the mission. Pavel’s friend came. He’s a Russian and he wasn’t allowed to go home a few years ago. Another homeless person was a young Romanian woman. When she introduced herself, she gave her name, age, and said: “I’m a poor woman, but I also help the other poor people. I believe in God and everybody should do the same.” The main idea/message of the whole service was: “Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help” (Psalm 37:5). I prayed that this text would be a lesson for all people to learn: to trust in God with all our heart. He knows very well what we need to do. Emese Nagy, 3rd year student 28 February 2007 It’s always an experience to go on the homeless-mission; but at the same time, it always makes me think about my own life. Everything changes inside of me, so that my cries and my anger disappear. It’s a totally different world with these people. It’s quite an experience to look and listen to them as they tell their stories - how they survive in everyday life with God’s help. It’s sad too. For us it is natural to think that if you are homeless, you have a miserable life; but not for them. This time I entered the room surprised to see all those tired faces and poor clothes; but when we started to arrange the room, to put the chairs in order, etc., I felt how glad they were to help us. They waited so much for this occasion. We sang the old songs, a little sadly but sincerely: “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” The one who led the service spoke about the darkness inside of a man, which only God can take away. He is the one who can take away our fears, hopelessness, just ask this with faith and obey the Lord. There were tears in the eyes of people. They felt it was about them. I felt that they really understood what it meant to fear the darkness. One of them told us that he slept with one single blanket, and he woke up several times in the night because he was cold. Somebody had stolen his mattress and other blankets. They really know how bad the darkness is, and how cold the nights are in February. Inside I prayed for them to see that the darkness inside the heart, the life without God, is as miserable as their poorness and needs. I find it nice that this group of singles and lonely people have become a small community, a ‘congregation’ at the mission. They listen to each other, ask about each other, and take care of each other. For example, if someone is missing they put away sandwiches for that person, and for the children too. This mission helps to know better both God and other people who have the same problems as I have. Marta Mihály, 2nd year student ____________________________________________________U Continued on page 11
