CEE Story From The Mission Field
Students Leave Their Hearts in Hungary
August 7, 2008
by Lisa Watson
For Erik Olsen, a recent trip to Hungary was “the greatest experience of my life.” The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) student traveled March 13-21, along with six other students and five leaders, to minister in the Hungarian city of Debecen.
“I have never felt so much at home and so much in love with a place,” he shares. “The people, the culture and the cities were amazing and beautiful.”
Working with Gary and Carolyn Miller, veteran International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries, and Holly McMickle, an IMB journeyman, mission team members concentrated their work at the University of Debrecen (UofD), which has an enrollment of about 25,000 students.
The team’s main responsibility was to collect names and addresses of students they met on the UofD campus, says Tracy Reed, UAM Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) director and Hungary mission team member. “While we were there we helped lecture in English classes and answered any questions the students had about American culture,” he continues. “We also had meetings in the coffeehouses with the students.”
At first, David Mitchell, Bartholomew Association missionary and Hungary mission team member, says the team had planned to send the students into classes with Hungarian students they met. But instead, they providentially met a Hungarian professor who had received his Ph.D. from Texas Christian University. “He gave us two full days in his classes,” says Mitchell.
Because the classes were conducted completely in English, the UAM group was able to spend their time discussing a number of topics including American culture, politics and religion, says Mitchell. They also invited the students to a coffeehouse on campus during the evenings to continue their discussions.
“We were the bait,” says Mitchell, with a laugh. “We wanted to get to know the students, to draw them in, sit and chat and let them get acquainted with Holly,” he continues.
The team’s hope is that McMickle, who has only been on the field a few months, will be able to connect with the students they met to build a student ministry at UofD, says Mitchell.
Ongoing relationships
Team members hope to continue the relationships they built with the students. “We exchanged IM (instant message), Facebook and My Space accounts so that we would later be able to communicate to them back in the U.S.,” says Olsen.
They were also able to have spiritual conversations with some of the students at a coffeehouse/internet cafe on campus.
Olsen met a young man named András, who wants to know more about being a follower of Christ. Since returning to the states, Olsen and other team members have continued to share the gospel with the young man.
“Hungarians take a long time to think things through and they don’t rush into decisions,” says Olsen. “András is thinking about making a decision to accept Christ into his heart.”
Another UAM student, Julie Nolan, has continued to witness to András as well. She was also able to talk about spiritual matters with two women she met at the coffeehouse. She gave one of the women a Hungarian Bible and the Book of John in Hungarian. “They were so appreciative,” says Nolan.
Candy Reed, wife of Tracy Reed, has also continued talking with two of the students she met while on the trip.
Singing the hymn “Amazing Grace” during a Hungarian worship service was a very moving experiencing for many of the team members. “Even though we didn’t use the same language, we were singing the same thing,” says Tracy Reed.
“I think the thing that stood out to me from this trip was that God is bigger than we think,” says Tracy. “When we go overseas we are reminded that Jesus died for all, not just Americans.”
Olsen was very impressed with the missionaries. “They are all amazing people who showed me how a missionary is to live and taught me much about the Hungarian culture,” he says.
The group has been invited to return to the campus again, says Mitchell.
The trip was a partnership between the UAM BCM, Bartholomew Association and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.
Mitchell wanted to help sponsor the trip to give the UAM BCM students a chance to experience missions firsthand.
“We’ve got kids in BCM who’ve heard about missions ... and possibly some of the kids might want to pursue missions,” says Mitchell. “The best thing we can do is to expose them to missions ... to see who is willing to let God work in their life and listen to the Lord’s call about missions.”
Olsen says God used the trip to confirm his missions calling. “When I left, a part of my heart stayed there in Hungary.”
To find out more about work in Eastern Hungary and how you can partner with missionaries on the ground, visit the team website.