When I began writing this blog I was borderline homeless:
I’m currently sitting in McDonald’s pirating Wifi, searching for a place to stay tonight while being serenaded by the familiar tunes of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in Budapest, Hungary.
That was yesterday, this is today:
I woke up this morning in awe of God’s provisions. Last night I had a homemade meal of corn chowder, a warm house to sleep in and enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower. I can’t help but smile.
Long story short, we’ve been in Budapest two short days. We’ve spent most of our time doing logistical stuff; emailing potential contacts and setting up meetings. We’d been in contact with a missionary couple that moved to Hungary in May from the states.
I guess I forgot to mention I’ve moved cities again, not much was happening in Gyor. We scouted the city but were unable to make contacts. After a few days of having no leads we decided it was time to move on. Enter Budapest.
After needing to find a place to stay we piled into McDonald’s complete with lots of stares. After four hours of sitting on the Internet and calling places, Bambi and Mike even walked in the cold and rain for an hour only to get lost and not find a hostel. There we were, still homeless and unsure of what to do. Ashley signed onto Skype and the missionary couple invited us no questions asked to stay in their home. Thirty minutes later we were loading our stuff into their van and invading their home.
I can’t help but wonder if I’d do the same, offer my home to seven complete strangers. It’s been a little hard for me to accept such hospitality. They have two little boys and their own lives and ministry to lead; yet they’ve opened up everything to us.
We spent most of the evening talking. They told a story of a girl they’ve been pouring into who doesn’t have much of a family and how when you become a Christian you’re adopted into a family. We discussed how true it was since we all have the same ‘Dad.’ I have to say one of the coolest things about traveling is meeting other Christians around the world. It’s awesome to hear how God is working through His children all around the world.
This new way of life can provide some entertaining situations. Some times I long for a plan, someone to tell me where to go and exactly I’m supposed to be doing, not having structure can be freeing and frustrating all in the same breath. But with structure, I’m sure we would’ve never ended up here, in Budapest, with this missionary family. Structure doesn’t always allow for God to lead fully and there’s certainly a lot of freedom in letting that happen, even in small aspects of life.
It’s still funny to me how I never planned to be here in Hungary. Something I’ve battled with since being here, especially in Budapest, is the spirit of sadness and depression here. Hungary has the highest suicide rate in the world. I have to admit it’s still a work in progress for me to think on a spiritual realm. Almost everywhere in the world, minus the U.S., recognizes spirits at work and while may sound like Hocus Pocus the Bible talks a lot about spiritual warfare. You can feel the spiritual darkness here, it’s thick.
Ephesians 6:12-For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Keep Hungary in your prayers. Our missionary friends have told us lots of stories of its history and people. Hungarians are in desperate need of hope, a hope only Jesus can provide. To really get through to Hungarians first they need your trust, so short terms missions aren’t always effective. However, they’re receptive to Americans because their desire to learn English from native speakers is great. Even more missionaries are needed here. Many organizations get discouraged after a couple of years and leave because they don’t create the same ‘numbers’ say Africa does. But God is jealous for Hungary, and I believe if He sent these missionaries to Hungary for one person it would be worth it.
So I ask for your prayers. Pray against the spirit of darkness at work here, for more workers in Hungary, for the missionaries already here, for more Jesus. Last but not least, pray for the contacts we’ve made and if this is a place The World Race can come back and bring some kingdom to.
We are planning on staying in Budapest through Sunday before heading to our last city, called Pecs (pronounced Paige…Hungarian is a crazy language). We will reunite teams, the other half of our team is still in Székesfehérvár, and in another week we will head to Bulgaria to meet all of K squad to get some preparation for the Middle East, then onto Turkey.
