March 28, 2006

Dear Friends in Jesus Christ:

Aldas Bekeseeg! We greet you with the Hungarian Reformed Church’s (HRC) official greeting, which means “peace and blessings,” in the love of our Lord, Jesus. It is almost the end of March. In Hungary, the weather is wetter and warmer than it was this winter, when we had lots of snow, and it was cold and gloomy. For the poor, and especially for the Roma, a cold winter is the hardest season to get through.

But during this severely cold winter, warm news was delivered to us—an invitation to a wedding from Janos. Some of you may remember Janos. He received your support while he was in high school, but last fall he had to quit due to his responsibility as a householder. Of course, we happily attended Janos and Zsanett’s wedding on December 29, 2005, in Tiszasuly.

Usually, the Roma are not able to have an official wedding ceremony and never dreamt of a wedding done by a Hungarian pastor.

While the Reverend Joszef Csonka, pastor of the Hosszupalyi Roma faith community, was preaching during the ceremony in the room at the Tiszasuly city hall, our memories ran back to Gyula’s and Aranka’s wedding ceremony held a year ago in Debrecen. Gyula (you can meet him in our previous newsletter) and Aranka have lived for years without either a wedding ceremony or a marital document. Gyula, and especially Aranka, wished and prayed for a wedding ceremony in a church sanctuary.

By the way, work on repairing and renovating the Roma mission center in Debrecen hasn’t started yet due to cold weather and lack of funds. Would you remember this matter in your prayers, too?

During our Lenten journey toward the cross and the resurrection, we send you our thanks.

In Jesus’ love

Stephen and Kaeja

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