February 2002

Dear Friends,

Can you imagine what pushes a person to the decision that they must abandon their home, their friends and family, their country? How bad must things get before a person knows that though they don’t know what the future holds, it cannot be worse than the present. How difficult must a situation be for a person to become a refugee?

Responding with compassion to people who are refugees is a mission direction chosen by the Reformed Church in Hungary. Within Hungary’s borders are as many as 3000 refugees in temporary camps at any given moment. People wait here for coveted asylum status or visas to a country that will accept them, giving them a desperately needed new beginning. The wait can be for weeks or years, living in a legal no man’s land that does not allow them to have jobs, pursue an education, or travel freely.

This period of waiting is the focus of the church’s ministry. How might the church reach out to fellow human beings while they wait? What resources do the people of the Hungarian Reformed Churches have that might be shared with these visitors to their country? Many people in Hungary are themselves struggling to move beyond basic survival living. Often pensioners must find jobs to keep the lights on, and university students are often working two jobs to support themselves through school. What do these people have to share—and when do they have time to do so? How could local people in local congregations be a part of this ministry given the constraints of their lives?

Involving lay people in mission is a new direction for the church here. During the years of communism, church membership often precipitated harassment, and church activity was actively suppressed. As the church emerges from this history, the memories still linger and interfere with the present and future life of the church. These challenges are the challenges of the church that Bishop Bolcskei shared with us when he asked Joe and me to help them develop their mission program to refugees.

Friends, as you read this newsletter, please pray with us and for us. Pray with us as we listen for God’s leading. Pray with us as we try to imagine beyond our experience—to how God might use us. Pray for us that we find the courage to try and the strength to overcome obstacles within us and before us.

In partnership,

Kathy and Joe Angi