Dear Friends,

Aldas Bekeseg! This is an official greeting of the Reformed Church of Hungary (RCH) which means "peace and blessing." This is our 11th newsletter but, sorry, the first one in English since we’ve been in Hungary. From now on we’ll send you a newsletter in English every four months and in Korean as well.

Roma mission

Beginning in November 1999, a new church development for the Roma (sometimes they were called the Romany) has been developed at a small town named Hosszupalyi, 250 kilometers east of Budapest, with a population of 5,500, of which 20 percent are Roma. Some of you already know the Roma by the pejorative term "Gypsies." We have learned that the Romany people are believed to be descendants of immigrants who travelled from India about one thousand years ago. Officially, the Roma people make up a tenth of the population of Hungary (about 10 million people), but unofficially they are about a fifth of the Hungarian population. The culture that surrounds them does not welcome them. They are treated like "untouchables." They often lack adequate food, shelter, basic health care, and access to education. This new church development for the Roma is the first Roma congregation of the RCH.

Although they average between 60 and 100 attendants at their Sunday worship service, the Hosszupalyi Roma fellowship does not have its own church building and facilities. For now, they gather at the park or in a member’s yard in summer and in a hall of the community center during winter. For two or three hours during worship, the hall is full of children, youth, adults, babies, joy, thanksgiving, praise, hymns, songs, laughter, and the welcoming of newcomers. They sing so beautifully that we think the angels from heaven are joining with them to sing and praise God. And it is our happiness and pride that the presiding bishop of the RCH, the Reverend Gusztav Bulckei, and the ecumenical officer, the Reverend Bertalan Tamas, give their full support to establishing the faith community for the Roma at Hosszupalyi.

Future Leadership Development for the Roma

Nineteen Roma and youth are provided scholarships by congregations affiliated with the PC(USA) and the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (PROK). We’re praying for their future roles as leaders of their own people and their community as well. They are Angi, Orsy, Jonas, Janos, Tamas, Erno, Cilla, Eva, Niki, Judith, Joszef, Sandor, Adel, Betti, Noemi, Juli, Beata, Gabor, and Lajos. We regularly visit their homes and schools. Angi is one of our future hopes and is also a present joy for us. She is the eighth child of 12 siblings and from one of the poorest families. Now in the fourth grade, she is pretty, with her beautiful smiles and beautiful black curly hair. We visited Angi’s school on Ash Wednesday and met her principal and her teacher. Her teacher asked us not to bring things for Angi to her house. We used to bring things such as pencils, notebooks, crayons, clothes, shoes, socks, and groceries for her house. We were shocked to learn from her teacher that Angi’s mother has never worked, has heart and mental problem, and has been exchanging for cigarettes and alcohol the present we intended to help her daughter. This is one of the realities with which the Roma children of Hungary must live. Please pray for Angi and other Roma children.

Other Activities

We’re busy in December 2000 due to the activities related to Christmas, such as RCH’s Christmas party, the Roma youth Christmas gatherings, home visits, and the Korean-Hungarian missionaries’ Christmas gathering. They were all in joy and happiness.

Aldas Bekeseg!

Stephen & Kaeja Cho

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 86