January 2003

Dear Friends,

It was a cold and snowy Christmas this year in Hungary. Christmas eve temperature was -18°C (0°F). Joe and I arrived at the refugee camp in Debrecen, Hungary, at about 11:00 a.m. to invite the refugees to a Christmas worship service that afternoon.

Our first stop was on the hallway of people from Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Chechnya. Some were awake but some were still asleep. Some had begun to walk to the cafeteria building to eat their meal, or to bring it back to their rooms. The hall was cold since the door to the outside at the end of the hall was missing. We invited them all, and they promised to pass the information on. We did not see any of the people we were looking for, however.

Next we stopped on the third floor of a large dormitory where a Mongolian family had been staying. That room was now occupied by six young men from Afghanistan. They invited us in for tea, a very hospitable gesture in their culture. We accepted and talked for 15 minutes. They were unhappy because they were stuck in their room until they could get their official papers. This is a normal procedure when new people arrive. During the first two weeks they are screened for health problems and security issues. For these men, the wait was frustrating since they had been traveling for six months across Iran, Turkey, and the Baltics, and they had finally arrived in Hungary. The one who spoke the best English explained that he was heading for the UK where his older brother was in college. He hoped to go to school some day too. We wished them well and thanked them for their hospitality.

Our next stop was on a floor of Iraqi refugees. The first family we met was Muslim, with three little girls. I had some candy in my pocket that I shared with them. They knew some of the Iraqi Christians and brought them to us so we could invite them to Christmas worship. We still had not found the family from Mongolia or the man from the Congo we were looking for. A man from Serbia who spoke good English offered to help us locate the Mongolian family, since they were friends.

We finally spotted the man from Congo, Gilerme, in the cafeteria. Our son who was visiting for Christmas had brought an English/French dictionary that Gilerme had asked for so he could begin to speak more fluently with the refugee camp officials. We could not find an English/French dictionary here in Hungary. Gilerme arrived in Hungary in February 2002 and was dropped off near the northern border by a smuggler.

He was not dressed for the weather since he was coming from Congo. His feet froze and all of his toes were amputated. He now hobbles with a cane. Gilerme was quite excited about the Christmas worship service and told us that he would come and bring friends.

At 2:00, I dropped Joe off at the camp to collect the refugees and ride the city bus with them. I went on to the church to meet with the seminary student who would be leading worship.

Several weeks ago, I was invited to lead a series of Bible studies for students at the Reformed Seminary in Debrecen. Following one Bible study, a third-year student, Isabella, asked if she could lead a worship service for the refugees. We chose to have the service at the Great Church rather than the refugee camp since the minority Christians feel more comfortable there, especially those who were persecuted in their home countries. Isabella invited friends from another Bible study group to host a small reception after worship and to help her in the service.

At 3:05, Joe and 18 refugees came walking across the central square to the large yellow church where Isabella and I and the Bible study group were waiting. The organist didn't arrive so we sang Silent Night a cappella, one verse between each section of the service. The Lord's Prayer was prayed in many languages. We celebrated the Lord's Supper as one extended family.

At the beginning of the reception, we introduced ourselves. We were six young adults from Hungary, three from Sudan, three from Iran, one from Turkey, one from Congo, four from Slovakia, three from Chechnya, two from Ukraine, one from Belarussia, and two Americans (us). Twenty-six members of the family of God! What a wonderful family! During the reception, we were asked for Bibles in six different languages. We are hunting for them now.

To our friends and family—thank you for your prayers, support, letters and emails. We depend on them as we deal with the daily challenges in ministry, and to help us stay connected with "home." We are well, healthy again after a bout with the flu. Our six young adult children seem to be well also though we are hoping one son does not get deployed to any hostilities in the Middle East. We continue to pray for peace for all.

Kathy returns to Malawi to do three weeks of staff care and training for the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance project there. Joe will continue to work at the refugee camp and with Hungarian Interchurch Aid.

God be with you all,

Kathy and Joe Angi

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 88