September 13, 2006

Dear friends in Christ,

Kaeja and workers talk at contruction site of Roma Mission Center in Debrchen

Aldas Bekeseeg! Warm greeting from Budapest in the love of our Lord, Jesus. We had a really hot summer, but the weather in Hungary is so good now. Since we sent our previous mission letter, good things have been happening in our lives, so we are happy to share with you.

First of all, we held a special service of worship and celebration on May 17 as we began renovation of our Roma mission center. The Great Hungarian Reformed Church in Debrecen donated an old house for the Roma mission center about three years ago, but it was not possible to do the necessary repairs due to a lack of financial resources. Bishop Gusztav, Rev. Zsigmond (pastor of the Great HRC), and Rev. Irene wrote letters to their sister churches, PC(USA) and PROK (Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea) for the purpose of seeking ways to solve the problem. Your prayers, concerns, and support made it possible! The construction work started in the middle of May. The work is almost complete—the final part of the project is the construction of a retaining wall in the downstairs portion of the building to prevent the flooding. We are waiting for the materials to arrive, since they are not available in Hungary. The center will be used as multi purpose meeting place for the Roma. It will also offer a place of internship for seminarians of Debrecen Theological Seminary. The center is located near the downtown of Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary. Debrecen is like a Mecca of the reformed in Hungary. Debrecen is 220km east of Budapest.

Secondly, we’d like to share with you our Roma summer camp. The camp for the Roma was held from August 14 - 25 at a small town’s college dormitory near Debrecen. The camp was just as other summer camps. It started with prayers and breakfast and lots of activities such as singing songs and hymns, dancing, beads class, health class, and Bible studies. We did all these activities while laughing, talking, discussing, and praying. There were 70 Roma participants and 24 volunteers—10 English volunteers and 14 Hungarian volunteers from the Reformed Church. We really thank God for sending volunteers who have loving hearts for the Roma. God has added Hungarians who love the Roma and willingly share their time and energies; they were Kati, two Agis, three Noemis, Rozsa, Petra, Zsolti, Szuza, Judit, and Diana. And we’re so proud of Jonas who was one of the leaders.

We are sending our love and thanks to you all who love the Roma. With your prayer and support, God’s Kingdom is still expanding. Thank You and God bless you!

In Jesus’ Love

Stephen & Kaeja

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 181