Calvin Synod Herald, 1997 (97. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1997-07-01 / 4. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- 7 -AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

OUR VISIT TO KÁRPÁTALJA

by Rev. Frank Endrei

Frank and Ardie Endrei

When that very wise and devoted Hungarian Reformed Church Bishop Lajos Gulácsy of Kárpátalja was here in the USA last fall, he impressed upon us the need to spend some time in his region teaching medical doctors the English language, so that they could maintain better communications with doctors in the west. So, my wife Ardelis and I volunteered to spend a month there teaching English in Kárpátalja, or Transcarpathia, which is the North Eastern region of historic Hungary that was not only occupied by the Russians toward the end of World War II, but also made part and parcel of the Soviet Union itself at that time. That region is now part of the Ukraine.

On April 21st we flew together with Rev. and Mrs. Stephen Szilágyi, Chief- Elder Edward Szabó and others, a group of 17 men and women, church officials and health professionals, to Budapest and then continued on a church bus all the way to the city of Beregszász in Kárpátalja. Under the leadership of Rev. Szilágyi our group delivered a used kidney dialysis unit there as well as numerous smaller pieces of medical equipment ranging from IV needles to used diagnostic instruments. It took several days for our group to place the materials it brought and then to visit the very fine institutions of the Hungarian Reformed Church

there. Meanwhile, my wife Ardelis and I began to teach English in a diagnostic medical clinic and also in a Hungarian public school in Munkács for another three days a week, all this for a duration of four weeks. Our students, so eager to learn English, included Hungarian as well as Ukrainian speaking doctors, nurses and also school age youth and children. There were also numerous opportunities to preach the world of God in many churches there.

We found that during the decades of the Soviet era our church had undergone great persecution there. 16 Hungarian Reformed ministers spent years in forced labor camps, including Bishop Lajos Gulácsy. From 1947 to 1989, confirmation of youth in our churches was strictly forbidden by the Soviet government. Young people attending church were threatened by their school teachers. I preached in the Beregardó church, which had been shut down by the Soviets and turned into an atheistic museum. I also preached in the Bucsu church on the outskirts of Beregszász, which the Soviets had turned into a warehouse. Both buildings are now functioning as beautiful churches. In the case of the Bucsu church, very extensive renovation was needed. Seminary training for new ministers was forbidden by the Soviets, so the Reformed pastors themselves proceeded to train the new generation of ministers there. Presently, 35 ministers are pastoring the 90 Hungarian Reformed congregations in Transcarpathia, however, 48 ministerial students from that region are now studying in our seminaries in Hungary, making the outlook much better for the future.

The big problem in Transcarpathia now is the collapsed economy of the entire Ukraine. Most of the industries have shut down, and the fields of wheat are a thing of the past due to the inability to pay for the fertilizers that would be needed, so the unemployment rate is extremely high, and those who have a job have to put up with several months of delays in getting paid. Then, if paid, 60 dollars a month is what people can expect. Most people work on a garden around their house to grow their own food, but in the cities this is difficult to do.

In the midst of this economic disaster, God has provided significant help from the Reformed Church in Holland, also some help from Germany, Switzerland and the U.S. So since 1990, members of our Hungarian Reformed congregations in Kárpátalja have built seven churches (including two Gypsy churches), 15 parsonages, an orphanage, have purchased a school and converted it into a center for providing relief to the needy and for housing visiting groups. Having 90 congregations in Kárpátalja, the Hungarian Reformed Church there now operates three high schools and a school for training young men and women for missionary outreach within that region. Recently they have purchased yet another house to be used as a second orphanage and are planning to renovate a mansion they received so it could be used as a home for 50 elderly people. Their summer youth camp program stretches over 5 weeks starting on June 30th, offering 5 one-week long camps. Total attendance has been around 1,000 young people and they are cordially inviting our young people from America to attend there. The Hungarian Reformed Churches are very well establishing new congregations, among them three congregations made up of Hungarian-speaking Gypsies.

The church is alive and well there and that in the midst of an economic crisis. In this situation, a lot of help is going out from the church toward the needy. The relief center operated by the Reformed Church in Beregszász distributes 65 good cooked meals to the needy daily for four days a week; one of those days the meals to a T.B. hospital. We have seen them distribute potatoes and also shoes U.C.C. congregations and Bocskai Kör sent them from America. Using medications received from Holland, at least 2 churches operate relief pharmacies as well.

We came away deeply impressed by the depth of the spiritual life of our Hungarian Reformed people their in Kárpátalja - a spiritual life which is seen in their living faith in our Lord, in their hard work to rebuild their churches and institutions, and their commitment to reach out to their fellowmen in the name of Christ.