花季传媒

Moldova Hungary

Written by Riley Williams

God is working in Moldova through the faithfulness of the church. Our goal for the trip was to mentor a core group of older kids ages 13-17 who were either fostered, orphaned, or extremely impoverished living in children's shelters around the country. At the shelters, our team would love on children with the love that Christ has bestowed on us. Our daily mission was to conduct a vacation bible school type program and help repair structures like playgrounds at the shelters. Some of the children had never even heard of Jesus or the story of his great love for us. Our team served many children including a shelter specifically for the disabled.

The older kids, that were also in foster homes or shelters, who we mentored, were provided with a picture of the responsibility of the church. They came along with us to every shelter and helped with every program. At the end of the week we presented them with a 'dream board' which was a poster with magazine clippings of pictures and words that described them and the careers they told us they wanted to pursue. This was important because it instilled confidence and hope for a future. When our team presented our mentored kids with the boards, there was not a single dry eye. Though our trip was short, God used the faithfulness of the church to work justice through love and community. The faithfulness was greater than just our team; it extended from the donors and sponsors to the social workers who weekly check in on the disadvantaged Children in Moldova. I pray that the church wouldn't let the orphans of Moldova or the world be forgotten, but through faithfulness, extend God's grace to all people.

Written by Christine Lockridge

As a senior at WBU Baptist University working toward a double major in intercultural missions and communication studies, I am required to go on a mission trip to complete my degree. This year, the Mission Center put me in contact with an organization called International Commission (IC). It is through this partnership that I was invited to travel to Teglas, Hungary. Hungary, is a unique and exciting mission field because the government is looking for Christians to instill Christian values into their young people. This opened many doors and allowed me the opportunity to teach English and Bible in a Hungarian public school. Though this was only my first year partnering with IC, this was the seventh year IC has worked in this school, and I was blessed to see seeds sprouting that had been planted over the years. Hungary is predominantly atheist in belief. The school I was invited to come and teach at was no different. However, the Headmistress runs one of the top schools in Hungary and proudly credits the summer Bible program as a key to the success of her students. One night, we had a Hungarian Christian singer come and put on a concert for the kids. I stood next to the Headmistress who was crying and she told me how the song is about how Jesus writes our sins in the sand to blow away. I was amazed to see how Jesus is not only working on the children but softening the hearts of the staff as well.

In my classroom, we would study the Bible in the morning and work on English in the afternoon. We would start by standing around a table making bookmarks for the Bible story of the day. After the Bible story, I would break the students up into stations related to the story. At one station, the kids were to color a page of a toucan named Beacon who said, "When you worry, God rescues!". As the kids colored, I told them about giving their worries to God. When I was done, one of the girls asked me if beacon is the same as bacon. (Hungarians love bacon). Beacon is one of those words you know as an English speaker but never stop to think about how to define it. As I was thinking about the difference between a beacon and a light, I realized that a beacon is a bright light that penetrates the darkness and leads you to safety. I told this to the kids, and it was as if God had walked into the room and introduced Himself to them.

These are only two ways I had seen the Lord more, but there were many movements of God that week. Great things are happening in Hungary as the Lord continues to plant seeds in the hearts of Hungarians.

 

听