This weekend I went to a town called Kalocsa to visit my friend Flora. We traveled to her grandparents town, called Faisz, and attended her family's annual Disznóvágás, translated as a pig killing. Luckily, Flora and I arrived after the slaughter, but not late enough to miss all of the meat being prepared. We spent the rest of the day helping to cook and clean, and then had a big feast.
One good part of the day was that I found a dog to play with. Dogs aren't always very friendly here in Hungary - they are used mostly for guarding - but this dog wanted to jump and play and be petted, and I was very much obliged :)
This picture is of Flora and me standing next to the table where all of the large slabs of pork were being prepared :O!!
I don't know what that was hanging on the fence, but it was the first thing I saw when we pulled up in the car and I have to assume it's some kind of fat. It was being dried in the sun and man did it smell bad!
Here I am in the smokehouse. It smelled bad in there too. But it was pretty funny to be surrounded by rows and rows of sausage. Flora and I had a good laugh :)
Here is me and Flora, waiting for the feast to begin :)
Okay, be prepared that the rest of the photos are kind of graphic and pretty gross...
This is Flora's dad, pretty pleased with his efforts... ;)
Here is one of the men working hard...
These women were taking the meat off the pig from the men and preparing it... We didn't spend much time out here ;)
So, that was my Saturday. We got back to Flora's house around 9 pm, all took showers, and had something to settle our stomachs from all the meat we ate. It was something I'm sure not to forget for a long time!
January Prayer Letter
DECEMBERDecember was a great month. We had our annual Christmas party with the Friday night outreach on the 8th. Csaba, one of the University staff members, shared the gospel with the whole group. We passed out cards and asked for the students’ responses. Over 150 students attended the party and several indicated that they had made a decision for Christ! We staff members will be following up with those students this semester. It was a great night and big step for the ministry.
In December I had the opportunity to travel to Italy! My roommate, Kirstin, and I traveled to Florence and Tuscany for one week. It was an amazing trip and a beautiful country.
This is a picture of me and Kirstin chowing down on Italy's famous gelato. I'm eating Walnut and Kirstin has pistaccio. Let me tell you that those things were gone in a flash. Italy sure knows how to do it!
This is a picture of me in front of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence :)
On the 24th, my family flew into Budapest! We got to spend a week together here and it was wonderful to spend time with them and share with them where I’ve been living :)
JANUARY
In January, we are spending a lot of time going to schools to meet with teachers and telling them about the FÉK Program. We are planning a lot of speaking engagements and hope to meet a lot of new students.
Another thing that we are telling teachers is that in the spring, FÉK (Fiatalok az Élet Küszobén, Youth on the Threshold of Life) will hold a teachers’ symposium. This will be an event for teachers to learn about the FÉK program and all the opportunities to have members of our team come and speak to their students, both in English and Hungarian. All of the teachers we are meeting in the next few weeks will get an invitation to attend this symposium, Please pray that we would be diligent in visiting as many schools as possible in January and that hundreds of teachers would be able to attend this event and learn more about FÉK.
On January 27, the FÉK program will hold a guy/girl day at our area office. This is a seminar day for Christian high school and college students. It will be called “The Color of Relationships”. Here they will participate in small and large group discussions, hear from a panel and talks about what the Bible says about relationships. This will be a great way for young Christians to learn about what the Lord intended when he created the relationship between a man and a woman. Please pray that many of the students we have been working with will be able to attend and that we can present a fun and informative day for them.
PRAYER AND UPDATE
- I have been praying for several months about how long the Lord would have me stay here. I do not feel Him leading me to participate in a third SpeakOut camp this summer, and therefore, I have decided to stay only through the end of the school semester and return to the States in mid May. This is a very big decision and I would ask that you please pray that the Lord continues to honor this choice that I have made.
- Please continue to pray for my health. I am having regular trouble sleeping and this is definitely affecting me. I feel weak and tired most of the time. Please pray that I can get medications all worked out and start feeling 100% again soon.
- Thank you for all the encouragement and support so far, and I ask that you would continue to pray for my spiritual strength. Ask the Lord to keep himself present for me. I feel a little weary thinking about starting a new semester, but I know the Lord will enable me through the next four months and when I return home.
Thank you for everything. All my love, Lauren
(Check out my webshots for more pictures - www.community.webshots.com/ldmathews )
November Prayer Letter
Hi everyone! I would like to first thank you for all of your prayers and support. I have been going through a major struggle and spiritual battle and the amount of encouragement and support has been wonderful. I have received so many letters, phone calls, and emails. It uplifts me so much knowing that you all are thinking of me and praying for me.
UPDATE
Right now, the ministry is going extremely well and we are getting ready to wrap up our first semester. Our last Student Leadership meeting will be December 5, and our last Friday night meeting will be December 8. Both nights will have a Christmas Party. Our Student Leadership party will be an intimate time of sharing and fellowship. Our Friday night Christmas Party will be a large outreach. We will go into the schools all day, every day like we did in October, for the first week of December to advertise for the party. Hopefully, we will get a large turn out, as the students will have the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Since Mid-October, we have had solid, standard work weeks. My days consist of occassional classroom talks and meeting with students in the afternoons. I spend every day after 1 pm in evangelism. I have met some interesting students and learned a lot about what is important to Hungarian young people. If I don’t have any appointments set up, my colleagues and I will go out with surveys to do initiative evangelism. This has been one of the hardest things I have had to do, but God is teaching me a lot about my boldness with the gospel in accordance with His will.
Please pray for the last four weeks of our semester. December 14th is our last work day, followed by two weeks of vacation. I am planning to do some travelling, as well as have my family visit for Christmas!
The month of January is a slower time for the ministry, as we will not be having our Friday night, Student Leadership, or staff meetings. We will still be meeting with students as they are available and everything else will start up again in February.
PRAYER
Thank you again for all of your prayer and support throughout this extremely difficult time in my life. I am adjusting slowly to being in Hungary and being involved with this job, but the Lord is using me and teaching me in incredible ways. I am not sure what the Lord has planned for me in the future, but for now I will stay focused on and committed to the fact that I am here through this school year. I will remain faithful and obedient to His calling and pray that He will show me incredible things through my time here. As for now, my depression has lifted and I seem to be much happier lately J
Please, please continue to pray for me. I am always in need of God’s guidance and your encouragement. Pray for a daily and consistent time in the word, as this is a big struggle for me, as well as for my being bold in sharing the gospel and meeting and talking with students. I am also praying for friends right now. I am asking the Lord to provide me with some solid Christ-centered friendships. Being with fun people also makes the time go by a little bit easier J
Continue to pray for the girls I am meeting with, especially Hanna (pictured above). I can see the Lord working through her and I pray that she would accept Christ very soon! Pray for community among our team and especially in our apartment, and please keep Zach and Julie, our team leaders, and Dan and Kelly, our directors, in your prayers as they are all in new positions this year and are still adjusting to that.
Thank you all again so much for everything you do for me as a support team. I couldn’t be doing any of this without you, and for that I am eternally greatful!
All my love,
Lauren
I don't know what that was hanging on the fence, but it was the first thing I saw when we pulled up in the car and I have to assume it's some kind of fat. It was being dried in the sun and man did it smell bad!
Here I am in the smokehouse. It smelled bad in there too. But it was pretty funny to be surrounded by rows and rows of sausage. Flora and I had a good laugh :)
Here is me and Flora, waiting for the feast to begin :)
Okay, be prepared that the rest of the photos are kind of graphic and pretty gross...
