January 4, 2006
Dear Friends and Supporters,
I apologize for not communicating more often about our lives
here in the mission field. We are taking the slow time between
Christmas and New Years to bring all of you up to speed. In addition
to this personal letter, there are several letters about our work
being posted on our home page.
2005 was filled with big changes that kept us very busy. The
first was our move to a new house. We had been living in a tiny
apartment (350 square feet) in Budapest for three years. On returning
from our furlough, the Reformed Church here had an apartment to
rent that was almost double in size and they would remodel it
for us. We were thrilled. Our office is in our home, and it took
two months to get our phone installed. In the meantime, we visited
Internet cafes daily and tried to continue working.
Change number two was the addition of our first full-time Hungarian
staff person, Kristina Costa. She began work in March and we continue
to be thrilled by the difference it makes to have a partner in
refugee missions that understands Hungarian bureaucracy. Since
Kristina has joined us, the refugee ministry has grown by leaps
and bounds.
Change number three was the arrival of a new car to replace the
car stolen 17 months earlier. Thanks to all who helped us to raise
the money for this. Our friends from Cincinnati who visited us
in February can attest to how time consuming it is to try to meet
with refugees, visit camps, work at the church and the national
office, and supervise the renovations on our house using public
transit! It is possible and certainly environmentally preferable,
but it’s definitely more time consuming, especially when
traveling outside the city limits.
Change number four was that our youngest son, Brett, was deployed
to Mosul, Iraq, in August. Any parent whose child is in a dangerous
situation knows that horrible feeling when you hug them goodbye.
Joe and I chose to make a trip back to the States in July for
three weeks to spend Brett’s leave with him before he shipped
out. I hope that the people of Iraq benefit from the compassionate,
gentle, young man that I know him to be.
Change number five this year was the explosion of activity in
the refugee ministry program. Much of this is covered in newsletters
on our Web page. In 12 months, we changed from a small program
run by two mission workers with a $2.000 budget to a ministry
with five programs, three full-time and four part-time staff people
plus volunteers and a $130,000 budget. This came about with a
lot of work. We had spent three years talking to refugees and
ministering to their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs
as best we could. Through many conversations, it became clear
we needed to work in four areas: jobs, housing, language acquisition,
and community building and support. We worked with Kristina and
the church leadership to develop a program that was then submitted
to the European Refugee Fund for funding. Our program was chosen.
Now, we are busy putting these dreams into action.
Change number six this year was the deterioration of Joe’s
parents’ health. Zoltan and Maria returned to Hungary, their
homeland, after living in the United States for 45 years. They
are now 81 and 79. In October, Maria broke her hip, which required
replacement of the ball with the ensuing surgery and recovery.
After 12 weeks, she is walking around inside the house with assistance,
but can do little to care for herself. Zoltan cares for her with
the help of a full time housekeeper/assistant. He also suffers
from deteriorating vision and rheumatism in hands, knees, and
a shoulder. This change in physical and mental functioning (memory
and confusion for Maria) had required much time on our part. They
live three and a half hours from Budapest and at the moment are
doing fine, but Joe spent six weeks with them following the break
before things smoothed out.
Our seventh change for the year was the birth of our newest grandchild.
Emily Moire O’Brien was born on November 30 and is beautiful.
The birth was difficult and required an emergency C-section but
Emily, mommy, and daddy are now getting along well. Joe and I
traveled home to be with Elizabeth and Brendan for the birth of
their first child. What a gift from God that we were able to do
so. I was able to hold her at one hour and sing to her and tell
her about how much she is loved. We had hoped that her uncle Brett
would also be home from Iraq for the event, but his leave was
bumped by someone with an emergency.
In addition to all of the above changes, I (Kathy) traveled to
Malawi in August, Jordan in September, and Geneva in October on
behalf of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The fall seems like
a blur of suitcases, passing Joe between trips and so many things
to share that I hardly know where to begin.
As we take this week of Christmas to draw a deep breath, sleep
in, and catch up with friends, I am stunned by the many major
events occurring during the last year. No wonder we have felt
dazed and confused at times and wondering where the time went!
I hope that you haven’t forgotten us. We haven’t forgotten
you and are grateful for your prayers and support. Please be in
contact with us. It is a treat to hear from you, and it also allows
us to respond to your questions or plan for visits.
In His name,
Kathy and Joe Angi
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
181 |
