No longer the pretty yellowish
ducklings any more, the fowl are growing large and fat. You can
imagine how happy we were laughing, singing, and praying hand
in hand.
The second group was made up of 60 members of the choir from
Kyung Dong Presbyterian Church (PROK) in Seoul, South Korea, who
had come to Debrecen to give a concert. Not only Hungarians but
also the Roma were invited to the concert. Almost 40 Roma were
able to go to the concert thanks to an effort by Dr. Karolina
Kosa, an elder and a member of the medical faculty in the University
of Debrecen. Karolina loves the Roma and works as a mentor for
the Debrecen Roma community. For the Roma, this was the first
time they’d ever attended a concert with Hungarians.
The choir then visited the Debrecen Roma village with Karolina
and Rev. Eniko. Even though the meeting hour was really short,
our visit with the Roma will be a precious memory for a long time.
We especially remember Gyula Balogh’s—a leader of
the Roma community—speech. He said, “God so blesses
you that you have a chance to travel abroad. Thank you for coming
a long way to meet us. And God also so blesses us that we do not
have to travel a long way to meet you. We thank God for this.”
If we were so poor that we could neither travel nor even dream
to travel, then could we speak like Gyula? Would we have the kind
of faith that Gyula has?
The leaders of Debrecen Synod and the HRC have decided to develop
a mission for the Roma in Debrecen and have donated one old house
to the effort. But the old house has to be repaired and renovated.
We ask your prayers for this matter. Some funds were approved
by the Self-Development of People for a project for this communityj.
We attended the General Assembly of the HRC, where Rev. Irene
reported on the mission for the Roma and was accompanied by Jonas’
song. The delegates were happy to hear about the Roma mission
and enjoyed the photo exhibition on the lives of the Roma that
was hung on the wall of the fellowship hall.
All the Roma students who have been supported by you are well.
Jonas receives the highest scholarship from the Hungarian government.
He is excited to be starting his first semester at the college
of the HRC. This miracle was made possible by your prayers and
helping hands. Janos is not yet able to go back to high school
due to his responsibility as a householder. Jonas’ three
younger sisters, Orsy, Anusika, and Szandi, are studying in the
elementary school. We hope and pray that they will not go the
way of their older sister—marrying as a young teenager—but
that they continue to study after elementary school and be leaders
for the Roma. Would you remember them in your prayers?
Once more, we are sending you our thanks and we wish you a happy
Thanksgiving!
In Jesus’ love
Stephen and Kaeja
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
180 |
