Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1994 (86. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-02-01 / 2. szám
1994. február 7. oldal for 1994. I prayed that the year would be filled with peace and joy. While many of you are struggling with snow, rain, sleet and chilling weather, we are blessed with many days of sunny skies and cool weather. Bethesda has several visitors presently taking advantage of the accomodations available for guests. Recently, Mr. Louis Drescher was here for a brief visit. In February we celebrate the special day set aside for love, Valentine’s Day. Each year, each month, each week, each day, each hour, each minute, each second there is love. That love is the Lord’s love for each of us. That knowledge of His Love fills me with joy and carries me through each day. As Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myselö to him” (John 14:21). Melodee A. Dew administrator Contributions for December Mrs. George (Elizabeth) Balia$ 50.00 William Ballard20.00 Mr. / Mrs. Steve Forgács25.00 Mr./Mrs. Ernest Kish100.00 Mrs. Carlos (Rose) Newman25.00 Bethesda Baptist Church225.00 Chesnut St. Baptist Church100.00 Mrs. Julius (Ruth) Kish25.00 Total$ 570.00 In loving memory and in honor George Balia and Elizabeth Balia from Mrs. Elizabeth Lehoczky_________100.00 In loving memory of Paul and Theresa Smenyak from Martha Köves 50.00 In loving memory of Rev. and Mrs. Gabriel Petre from Gabriel Petre 500.00 Total$ 650.00 A testvéri közösség bátorít Apostolok Cselekedetei 28:11-15 A háromhavi máltai időzés mérlege: sok gyógyítás, de gyülekezet mégsem jön létre. Ez van Pál apostol mögött a közvetlen közeli múltban, és előtte a bizonytalan kimenetelű császári kihallgatás. Minden összejön. Nem csoda, ha elcsügged benne a lélek. Ám itt a mélyponton ismét megtapasztalja Isten segítségét. Nem angyaljelenésben, sem éjszakai látomásban, hanem Puteoliban találta és a Rómából eléje siető egyszerű testvérekben: „Amikor Pál meglátta őket... megtelt bizakodással” (15). Ha hullámvölgybejutsz, ne kerüld el soha a gyülekezetei, hittestvéreidet, mondván: „Majd, ha rendbe jöttem egy kissé, akkor majd megyek". Maradék erődet összeszedve, indulj az Úr házába, és megtapasztalod, gyógyulás, új erő vár megváltott testvéreid között. Győri Kornél (Áhitat) From Eastern Europe to Western Canada Victor and Anita Monus An Unusual Village Visit “Come with us,” coaxed the enthusiastic children of the village. “We’ll show you the river.” Anita and I my sister and her husband had just arrived by car in the tiny Hungarian community of Záhony, in the extreme easterm part of the country that bright sunny July afternoon in 1989. There before us was the Tisza River, marking the international boundary between Hungary and the neighboring (former) Soviet Union. There was a sense of enchantment in the air as we looked across the water that flowed past the border of the Iron Curtain. As a child I had a desire to see this historic land and meet some of its people. Little did 1 realize in those youthful years that I would actually set foot an the soil of the land of my forbears. But now it had become a reality. As we talked with the people in the homes and on the streets of this unique little willage, our paths eventually led to the local graveyard where we were soon to discover several impressive grave markers crafted in marble and bearing mute witness that indeed a goodly number of Monus family members had walked these streets and trails, had tended the cattle in its meadows, tilled the its fertile soil and traversed the banks of this peaceful river. One of those taking care of the cemetery turned out to be a distant cousin, a member of a Monus family. She shared with us that she had kept in touch swith a cousin in Western Canada over the many years they had been separated from each other. Occasional letters had been the only means of maintaining kinship ties with distant loved ones who had left for another continent to seek a new life there. As we entered the home of one of the villagers, the patriarch of the home, now nearing his mid-90s, reminisced with clarity, “I remember John Monus...” he recalled. (Was he referring to my grandfather or my father? I wondered since both were named John). Some of the family members had just returned from a trip across the Tisza to the city of Csap. Just a short time before we had stood by the same bridge and were not able to cross over beyond the former Iron Curtain since we did not have appropriate immigration documents. Hungarian soldiers, standing on guard there had cautioned us about using cameras. To the people of the village of Záhony there was no problem to go back and forth across the international bridge. Hallmarks of Christianity Quite naturally, the people of the village were equally eager to show us the unique architecture and historical paintings in the local church (templom). We even climbed the steep ladder that led up into the belfry of the “fatorony” (wooden steeple), where two huge bronze bells hung silently, reminding us that they had called the villagers to worship many times. The village children introduced to the lady in charge of visitors viewing the sanctuary. She took us inside, and there before us hung many historic paintings decorating both the walls and the ceiling. The paintings reflected the past history of the community. The lady proudly told us that the steeple had been erected in the 1700s. How we wished that we had had more time to take further steps back into history in the land from which my kinsmen had come. Our visit to this land of my roots was all too brief. Perhaps there will be another opportunity to go back and sit down with the people of that village and have share more about their history and about themselves. In Search of A New Land This was indeed the land from which my kin had come to Canada, searching for a new way of life. What had motivated my forbears to forsake the land of their ancestors? What kind of sacrifice did it mean for them to leave behind the land they loved? What kind of courage did it take to ‘pull up stakes’ and set out in search of a new and unknown world? How did they make the long sojourn to their adopted land of Canada? These were some of the thoughts racing through my mind during our brief stay and on many occasions since then as I reflected upon our brief experience in the village of Záhony. (To be continued)
