Wow. I've already been in Budapest for six days! It's hard for me to believe that a week ago I was leaving Chicago to go to a completely different place with a culture that is very different from our own. Looking back on these past five days of English camp, it's clear to see that God has been working in the lives of the students. Not only have the kids become more proficient in their English knowledge, but they have also been taught about several important questions about Christianity. In the end, I look at this week as a great success because of the way God has been involved in helping the team minister to the Hungarians.
This year, I entered the trip with a greater sense of excitement and anticipation. Since I was privileged to go to Hungary last year, I had a good idea of what to expect this time. Many of the uncertainties that I had last time were gone, allowing me to spend more time thinking about how I would make an impact in the students' lives. Entering the trip, I felt a better grasp of the personalities of the students as a whole. Knowing that the students require a great deal of relational development before being open to spiritual conversations, I was aware of the challenge of understanding their core beliefs. In the face of this challenge, I knew that I needed to fully rely on God to provide me with the words to speak when the right moment came.
Today brought about an end to the first camp week. After a quick word from David's devotional, the team was notified of many students who would be leaving after the day. For various reasons, there are some students who only participate in the first week of camp. After that, we welcomed the kids with playing a game called the "pushing game" where two people try to knock each other off their feet. For me, it was very enjoyable to easily win against kids who were half my size! After starting off with that, the English lessons began. I teach the lowest level class along with Gina, so we rallied our seven students off to class. Today, we taught them about fruits/vegetables with no shortage of magazine pictures to illustrate our vocab words. To make things a little more exciting, our students played "catch phrase" with another class. Our class had a great time, and it was funny hearing the descriptions that they came up with! With the end of class came chapel, where we sang one of my favorites called "Your Everlasting Love" which manages to get everyone off their feet. With a quick message, small group, and fun game of ultimate frisbee, camp came to a close. But even though camp was over, I had more to experience today.
As a tradition on this trip, our team is split up into groups and goes to different houses where different students live. I, along with Tom, Violet, and Jordan went to a student's apartment. We had a nice dinner containing goulash, a zucchini casserole, and strudel of various flavors. We also had a good time playing a Hungarian card game with cards that were very different and much more confusing than American cards! Overall, it was a very pleasant time, and I was amazed at the generous hospitality of the family. It was a good opportunity to get a more thorough look into the lives of the Hungarians we got to know.
A highlight of this week was the thoughtful messages and small group discussions. Tom and Robin were the alternating speakers who brought forth important questions that really challenged the kids to think seriously about their beliefs. Students were taught about who Jesus really was in addition to the sinful state of man and the true meaning of the church. The messages were clear and forced the students to think about their lives. Thankfully I was able to help some students think deeper about Christ in a small group. Even though the first two days were difficult with a lack of participation, the latter part of the week contained more fruitful discussions. Throughout the week, I'm glad that this small group has driven me to trust in God for guidance in speaking His words. Also, I have had a growing burden on my heart for these kids to know Christ, because I can see just how needy they are in how they respond with questions. As I look forward to more discussion, I pray that God will really work in their hearts as Jordan, Christina, and I share the good news of Christ with the students.
Looking ahead to next week, I pray that God will continue to work mightily in the students' lives. I feel privileged to be here on this mission, and I'm excited to see what will happen! Please keep the team in your prayers!
Arne
No comments:
Post a Comment