I wanted to share a story with you.
Last Thursday, my roommate and I were out doing some initiative evangelism in the city. We went to a park nearby called Deak. We walked around to the fountain part of the park and found these two girls. They had just sat down and looked like they were really going to get into a conversation, but we beat them to it :)
Usually, what I do is ask if they speak English; if they do, I tell them that I am working with a Christian organization and we're interested in getting the opinions of students on life and faith and could I take a few minutes of their time to fill out a survey. So one of the girls was very eager when she heard I was a Christian, and the other girl couldn't really have cared less. But I got through the first five questions, which are somewhat generic, and then Ashley had to leave. I got back to the girls and the next question I asked was, "What do you think happens after death?" The one interested girl, Sini, started crying and basically told me that she's been thinking about this every day for the past month and just today she decided that there must be something after death. I asked her what she had decided. She said she didn't know, but that there had to be something bigger than her out there. Something watching out for her. So I asked if she believed in God. She told me that she didn't know what to believe in, but that she was searching, searching. I said, "Well, can I share with you what I believe about God and what happens to us after we die?" She went, "Yes! Please!" So I shared the gospel with her and she was tracking with me the whole time. She was crying through some of it and just seemed to be really affected by what I was saying. I showed her the prayer in a tract I had and she said this maybe expressed the desire of her heart, but she didn't want to pray it right there. So I encouraged her to go home and read through the whole booklet and to really think about it and that this would be the most important decision she would ever make in her life. I said maybe it wasn't an accident that we met each other that day. She started crying again when I said that and just went, "yes, yes". I left her my email address and thanked them for taking time to talk to me. Then I told Sini that I hoped she found what she was looking for and I left.
I looked back after I had walked for a while and I saw her hugging her friend, just crying. It was a really moving sight and I stopped right there and prayed and praised the Lord for what He had just done. I hope this girl realizes that Christ is what she's looking for.
Please pray for Sini. Pray that she will come to the Lord if she hasn't already.
The state of Hungary
This is an important time in the history of Hungary. 50 years ago there was an uprising among the people that resulted in a huge revolution. Although it took more than 30 years to bring down communism, this was the beginning.
As you probably know, the political state of Hungary has been in uproar over the past month. The Prime Minister has made his people very angry by lying, and there have been many demands for his resignation. There have been protests and demonstrations all over the city for several weeks.
Usually, October 23 is a holiday filled with celebrations and memorials. But yesterday, the protestors took the opportunity to make their voice louder. There was violence all over the city.
My roommate Kirstin and I went out yesterday to do some evangelistic sharing around 2 o'clock. We were surprised to find very few students out on the streets, as they had the day off of school. There were many demonstrations and parades, but they all were very small. We went to two parts of town, Deak and Astoria, but found nothing of interest and didn't stay long, as we couldn't understand most of what anyone was saying. Later that evening, we saw some terrible footage from Deak and Astoria on the news. Police and protestors were fighting against each other and there were several injuries.
Please read this news article from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/24/hungary.clashes.ap/index.htmlPlease take a moment right now to pray for Hungary. The state of this country is very sad and the people seem to be hopeless. Their leader is lying to them, and there seems to be nothing they can do about it. Please pray for a peaceful end to all this political unrest.
Right now, we are safe. Our apartment is far from all the main demonstrations and we do not know of anyone that has been significantly involved in the action. Please pray that this remains the case and that we can stay away from any danger.
Thanks for all your prayer and support :)
All my love,
Lauren
This is a copy of my latest prayer letter. Please check your mail (email or snail mail) for the real thing! Thanks!
Update -
October 2 – October 13 was our Classroom Blitz. The past two weeks have been incredibly busy with advertisement for our Fall Outreach, Winner Take All. Monday through Friday for the first two weeks of October were spent in the classrooms, meeting with and talking to students. We shared with them about ourselves, where we are from, some American Culture, as well as some deeper topics such as politics, media, how people act towards each other, life after death, and of course, religion and God. The team went to 10 different schools and spoke in front of over 1,000 students. We met so many students in classes and after school and were able to share the gospel with a few of them.
On October 13, we had Winner Take All. This is a huge outreach that the ministry has once a year. The event is similar to a carnival, with several different games the students can participate in. They can win tickets for playing the games and the tickets go into a drawing for many different prizes, the top prize being an MP3 player. The games this year were great; there was a bowling game, a long jump and high jump, a popcorn toss, a fishing game, a spinning soccer game, a ping-pong-ball-blowing game, sumo wrestling, and a baptism-pool balloon launcher game (since the event was held in a church)! Over 150 students attended Winner Take All and they all seemed to have a great time.
At the end of the evening, the students were gathered into the main room for one last group game and then the gospel was presented. Galambos András, one of our Fék team members, shared the gospel with the group and then response cards were passed out. So now, we have 150 new contacts for the team, several of which indicated an interest in talking more about spiritual issues. Please praise God for a successful outreach and the opportunity to meet so many students.
Prayer -
Please pray for the rest of the fall semester here in Hungary. We only have 9 more weeks until we break for Christmas. Please pray specifically for the following regarding the team:
- That we are able to reach and connect with the new contacts from Winner Take All.
- That we are able to continue meeting with the students that we have already formed relationships with this semester.
- That the student leadership team is faithful in evangelism and in attending the weekly meetings.
- That we would see souls won for Christ this semester.
Please pray specifically for me:
- Pray that I am able to begin meeting regularly with Erin and Aline, two missionary kids here in Hungary that I will be discipling. They have been involved with student leadership and now I will begin doing evangelism training with them as well. I am meeting Erin for the first time on October 17 and Aline on October 24. Pray that we are all bold in evangelism and that they open up to me as a discipleship leader.
- Pray for Hannah, C. Juli, T. Juli, Györgyi, Paloma, Krisztina, and Agnes. These are Hungarian girls that I have been meeting with on a regular basis. Pray that they would be open to me and open to Christ. Pray specifically for Hannah and T. Juli, as I believe that they may be very close to having a personal relationship with God.
- Pray for strengh, health, and physical wellbeing for me to make it through the next few weeks. I have been sick twice since I have been here and am having serious sleep problems. Please pray that the Lord would heal me and give me rest.
I also have a very seriosus prayer request. As my support team, I need you to know what I am going through so that you can pray for me specifically. As you may have seen on my online journal, I am struggling here in Hungary. I am going through one of the biggest trials I have ever experienced in my life. I need prayer now more than ever.
The ministry here in Hungary is very different from what I expected and I am having a hard time finding my place on this team. I have had frustrations with this ministry since I arrived in Hungary and have really struggled to figure out why the Lord brought me here. I have been severely depressed for the past 6 weeks – basically since the school year started. At first I thought I was just homesick, but I know that my feelings have moved way past that and I am really crying out to God right now. I am asking the Lord to show me how I can be used when my idea of ministry is very different than the team I am working for. I am trying to focus on evangelism while not forgetting that having a relationship with God is a process.
Please, please pray for me right now. I need guidance from the Lord. Please ask the Lord to show me how long he wants me here and how I can be used.
Thank you for all your prayers and support.
All my love,
Lauren
