Learning to Loving: Speak Out Hungary (Part 1)

So far our trip to Hungary is going great! I apologize for not posting a blog sooner, but we have been sooo busy! It has been an amazing blessing to see what God is doing here. I have way to much to say to fit it all in this blog, so for now I'm just going to focus on our first week here. I'll try to post another blog soon about our first camper week.

The trip over was very tiring as we spent about 22hrs traveling between plane travel, airport layovers, and a 3hr bus ride. When we finally made it to Keszthley, Hungary we were exhausted! We then spent the next few days recovering from jet lag as we are 6hrs ahead of Eastern time in America here. It was really tough, but they kept us really busy, so we eventually got so tired that our bodies had to adjust to it. Originally, I thought I was coming to a conversational English camp... but I quickly realized that was only the tip of the iceberg! Our project “Speak Out Hungary” is like a mission control center for all sorts of outreaches in Eastern Europe. Speak Out is an English camp where campers come to speak conversational English and learn about God. However it doesn’t stop there... throughout the years many Hungarians have come to know Christ though this project. Many of those are now back as staff. We Americans teach English to non Christian Hungarians students... however, the Christian Hungarian staff members are sent out to do evangelism in the surrounding areas.

Our first week in Hungary was training week where we practiced evangelism tools, teaching techniques, and really just got our hearts and minds prepared to do ministry. After that, we had groups sent out to Slovakia, Albania, Transylvania, Macedonia, and also many cities around Lake Balaton which is one of the largest lakes in Europe. Many are still here with us working with the campers and going out to the beaches here in Keszthley too! It has been awesome to work along side them worshiping God, learning about Hungarian culture, and reaching out to both campers and the surrounding areas! I had no idea how well structured Speak Out is! Our American high school and college students teach English by sharing the Gospel in several different ways encouraging conversation on spiritual topics. Hungarian high school and college students help us and go out to the beaches to share their faith. Then Brad, Katie, me, and other Cru staff both American and Hungarian lead and guide them through discipleship and Bible study groups so that they are challenged to grow in their own walks with Christ as well as lead others to Him.

Overall, I have learned how ignorant I was that not everywhere is like America... I mean everything is different here! Electrical outlets, toilets, food, language, currency, etc... sooo different than I am used to! I am slowly learning important Hungarian phrases like “Where’s the bathroom?” or “yes, no, and thank you” but overall I am still totally lost... I cant read simple signs, menus, and even food labels or ask simple questions since most people have very limited English outside of the project. Needless to say, I have gotten very good at hand gestures and pointing at the foods I want! Another thing is, of the people who do speak English, it’s still not like Americans. I have to say things very slowly and clearly... I have learned to not use big words if I can avoid it and try to say most things with 4 or 5 letter words. It has been a challenge, but a blessing! I have a lot of cool stories from our first camper week too, but that will have to wait a few days because this post is already long enough. For now, here are a few pictures, and I hope to write again soon!

Can you guess this song even in Hungarian? So cool to worship God in two languages at once!

The first full day we were here, we were all tired from the trip, so we kept the meetings short and just spent time getting to know each other, the area, and the town. This is a huge palace here in Keszthley.