Kool News Of The Karoli - 10

Kool News of the Károli – 10 New Signs of Life from Central and Eastern Europe by Anne-Marie Kool

Volume 3, issue 3

Email: [email protected] Skype: amkool

'Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.' Psalm 103:2 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' Philippians 4:6, 7 Budapest, 27th June, 2009 (sent on August 21). Dear Friends, Fortunately I can again write my newsletter myself! My health condition has greatly improved and I am more and more able to resume normal life, and so I would like to start by thanking everyone for the compassion and love which I experienced in the past half year. The many cards, telephone calls and letters with just as many good wishes and expressions of kindness arrived in Budapest. I greatly enjoyed receiving many messages and I felt and feel born up by your prayers. I received hundreds of cards, and many many emails from all over the world.

1. Tokens of concern. The books aren't visible anymore!

The many months at home in bed and the two periods in hospital were a very new experience. Becoming acquainted with the Hungarian health care system is a journey through a hitherto totally unknown world, which requires a whole new vocabulary. When the physiotherapist is trying to explain to me which exercises I am supposed to be doing, I often have the feeling that she's speaking 'Greek' to me. Doctors and nurses, who do their work with much love despite all the problems, were often curious about the woman who spoke such good Hungarian but came from the Netherlands, was a professor and 'had something to do with God'. It has also turned out into a time of personal spiritual renewal, the main lesson being that despite of or even because of our weaknesses the Lord can use us in surprising new ways. It’s a important lesson the Apostle Paul also had to learn. God’s strength in our weakness, so that all the glory is the His! Very many conversations with fellow patients, doctors and nurses took on another dimension. Questions about faith in God and the meaning of it in your daily life quickly became a subject of conversation. Fellow patients who had heard about the “good God”, and at most had some sort of connection to the faith, but now ... often fatigued by life, and by the economic and political situation in Hungary turned out to be eagerly seeking for a new understanding of God’s reality in their lives. Mission - as became clear again now - is not a matter of “overseas”, of far away, somewhere in a distant country where the Bible is not known. Issues of life and faith are relevant also in our own neighbourhoods. Even in Europe! Or rather, precisely in Europe! The past period for me was one in which I was again made aware of the assignment and calling for which the Lord placed me here in Central and Eastern Europe: to help the churches to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a holistic, relevant way in

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their societies, also among minorities and to help people in their search for God. In my normal daily work these are mainly students, but in this past period, also many others were placed on my way. Often I had the feeling that I was on a kind of field assignment in order to get to know Hungarian life at grassroots level in a new way. My conclusion: there is a deep sense of hopelessness and at the same time a great openness for the Gospel. Many people are searching for God, and for new meaning in their lives. As you will understand, in this period I constantly needed help from others. This opened many doors! My thoughts turn to Lilli, the chiropodist who came to my house a few times. Being from Bulgarian background, she belonged formally to the Orthodox Church, but that she no longer felt at home there. She was full of questions about the Bible and about the Christian faith and asked one question after another. A few weeks ago, we read John 15 together and we prayed. She borrowed my Bible in order to read it. Last Sunday, she came to our Church for the first time. 'Majd én' - Let me do that I also became aware of the fact that I am not the one who can or should have control of everything... Illness meant to me learning in a new way to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and doing His will. In other words, allowing Him to use us! Ica, a sister from the Gazdagrét Church who helped me a great deal, was constantly saying, 'Majd én', Let me do that! as I kept wanting to pick things up or quickly get hold of something (which I was not allowed to do by the doctors). To let Christ do His work in and through me is the challenge!! Of course, our conversations were about being ill and about the next trip to the doctor's and about ordinary everyday things like decorating her flat, but also about the meaning and growth of faith in our everyday lives, about life issues and about how the Lord speaks to us through His Word and what He wants us to do.

2. Ica In all the months when I was at home, I have needed help. This help was offered in abundance by my local congregation. The fridge and freezer were constantly stuffed with food in case it was needed, and visits in hospital were a matter of course. What a privilege to be part from such a true spiritual fellowship. Perhaps there are not even any Hungarian words for this, but people simply do it. If it is necessary, you come several times a day, stay to help, cook or bring food with you.

3. Glass jars in which the most delicious meals were brought as signs of God's provision Open house After the operation on a herniated disk and my return from hospital in May, a new phase started - a phase in which my condition slowly improved, and a phase in which various people called in with a certain regularity. I was busy being ill! There was time for discussions with Krysia, a Polish student studying at the Károli with a lot of questions about being a stranger or particularly about being viewed as a stranger in Hungarian society. Also time for discussions with Zsuzsa, who recently lost her job as a professor at one of the

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Hungarian universities. She came to help, but we also talked a lot about faith and Church, all still very new to her. A year ago, she came to the Church for the first time following the death of her father. Since then she has not missed Church once. In May she was confirmed. Adalbert, one of my students who graduated this week in a missiological subject (the task of the Church among refugees) regularly called round. Dorottya spontaneously took over my task of supervising his Master’s thesis. Where possible, I tried to help him. It is particularly gratifying that he graduated cum laude. Eszter Dani, one of the ministers of the Gazdagrét Church, faithfully pastured this sheep of hers. She was also a regular visitor - sometimes just for a cup of coffee, more often to study and to talk about the task which she has in the Church. Sometimes she came to do some small chore such as emptying my bin. Being a missionary Church for the neighbourhood and also for the Romany is on her heart. What’s up next? Being ill for more than six months also means being absent from the everyday affairs of the university. Step by step I am trying to pick up the threads again, even though I am constantly being confronted with the fact that I still have severe limitations. I try faithfully to do my exercises, and slowly I am getting back into the swing by working at home.

Anne-Marie's Guest Book

For some people, being hospitable is a matter of course. Anne-Marie is someone like that. There are certain readers of this newsletter who can whole-heartedly confirm this. A number of you have experienced this recently. It is part of her and also of life and work in Hungary. When you talk to Hungarians about the difficult years of the Communist period, you always hear something about how inventive people were in providing food for the family. Baking themselves, preserving fruits and vegetables in various ways are basic skills which could then be put to good use and are still practised daily now. What does this have to do with AnneMarie? And with her task as a professor of missiology? Is this not a private matter? Did someone not once say that the best spiritual discussions take place around the kitchen table? And do not many enjoy a moment together while cooking or doing the washing up? Anne-Marie has been working in Hungary for a good many years and in all those years, has received many guests. People who are visiting the university or a local Church, students and colleagues from all around the world. People from far away

and from nearby. Not only geographically but also with regard to their Christian views. There is always something ‘on offer’: something to eat or to drink and especially an open ear. Inspiring conversations and things to reflect upon: a reference to a book, an article or a special experience. No airy chatter, but talk of what matters most! The guest book speaks volumes. Mineke Hardeman Do not be anxious about anything The consequences of the financial crisis can be clearly discerned here too. From one day to the next, colleagues find themselves on the streets, and programmes planned cannot take place. Sometimes it seems to be a panic reaction. Reports of this kind grip you, particularly if they are colleagues from your own field of expertise who are very close. Then the call of the apostle Paul, 'Do not be anxious about anything' is put in a different light. Accounts of students In recent times, a number of students were interviewed by Cindy, one of the members of staff of the Missions Institute, sharing their stories about where they come from, and what the courses at the Mission's Institute have done for them. These stories will be put on my blog: www.annemariekool.org. Update After a holiday with my friend Martha I started a three week rehabilitation program at the beginning of August in the Gellert Spa in Budapest, which involves a daily program of physiotherapy, exercises, aqua fitness and gymnastics. The Hungarian health insurance provides for this program. The surroundings are beautiful (www.gellertspa.hu), the program is tough, but I really feel improvement. I hope to pick up my work in the beginning of September. Pray for wisdom in setting priorities in picking up the 1001 issues, and for physical strength to daily make the trip up the many stairs to my office on the 3nd floor, with as yet no elevator available... ! Yours in Christ,

Anne-Marie Kool

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4. Picture of three weeks ago Anne-Marie Kool is seconded by the Reformed Mission League in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (GZB) in 1993 to the Reformed Church in Hungary, with the assignment to establish the Protestant Institute for Mission Studies (PMTI) in Budapest. Since 1 September 2006 she is Professor of Missiology at the Gaspar Karoli Reformed University and director of the Central and Eastern European Institute for Mission Studies. She is also actively involved in the Reformed Church in the high-rise residential area where she lives (Gazdagret, Budapest). CIMS is still fully dependent on outside funding. For more than a decade your tax-deductible donations could be channelled through IDEA Ministries. We are sorry to let you know that as from 15 July 2009 it is NOT possible anymore to use this route. We are looking for new ways for you to send us your donations. We will keep you informed on new developments. The Karoli Gaspar Reformed University / CIMS, Kalvin ter 7.II, P.O. Box 73, 1461 Budapest, Hungary. Tel. +36 1 216 20 54/106. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].