Team Hungary's Day 4 - A blessed full day!

By Kim Rairdon

What a long and beautiful day!  Today began early and finished late and was filled with so many awesome experiences in between.  We met at the church in Kiskoros to do a devotional and get a more in depth tour of the church building and a bit of history behind it.   Then we made our way to the first out reach of the day, a visit to the Human Service Center - Hungarian Baptist Church Filadelfia Integrated Social Institution.  We began our visit with some worship songs, followed by a message from Mr. Hannan and then testimonies shared by Jack, Christy and Emmi. After that we spread out among the home and did different activities.  Nolan, Jack, Tom and Kim were in the dexterity and physical therapy skills room where we interacted with the residents to work and play fun games with hula hoops, building blocks and ping pong paddle/balloon relays.  The residents were full of joy participating in the games with the guys.  Across the hall Christy, Andrew, and Ben were being crafty and doing some paintings with some of the elderly residents.  Towards the back of the building, Dylan and Josiah were playing a game similar to the board game “Sorry” and Emmi and Emma were being taught by the residents a new type of card game.  Finally, Mr Hannan, Mrs. Hannan and Mathias were taking on some of the most intense Hungarian rummy players in the building.  Everyone left with smiles and enjoyed their time there immensely.  

After that we walked/drove to another elderly home where we were served a delicious lunch.  Here our group began with more hymns, and this time, ones that were familiar to the residents.  You could hear them singing along in Hungarian while we sang in English.  It was such a cool experience.  Then Josiah did an awesome job presenting a message on Isaiah 6:5. We had testimonies shared by Andrew and Mrs. Rairdon and finished with Amazing Grace.  We got to walk around and visit with the residents while they finished their lunch and spent time with some of the sweetest ladies and gentlemen.  Afterwards, we met with the director of the elderly home and learned about the different services their organization provides.  It was fascinating to hear how they help the homeless, working to get them off of the streets and giving them meaningful work on the farm they run.  

With our hearts full, we took a cultural exploration break exploring Tesco, a large store similar to a Walmart.  Students were able to grab Hungarian snacks and treats to enjoy now and bring home for later. 

From here we were joined by members of the Kiskoros youth group and drove to a nearby town named Kalocsa.  Here we were able to walk and explore around the town a bit before helping Nimrod to host an American Cultural night event for a new church plant in this town.  The students prepared some slides about their lives and NH.  We also played a Kahoot quiz game which the group seemed to really enjoy.  The groups played some UNO card games and then some Hungarian vs American information games that capped off the competition with arm wrestling.  The Hungarians had their ringers sent in for the arm wrestling portion of the competitions but the American group sneaked out a close victory.  It was such a fun night! There was a great turn out of visitors here and we are praying that many of them will come back on Wednesday for the evening church service.  

Overall it was a wonderful day.  The group is doing well.  It’s great to see the Hungarian and American friendships continue to grow between the two groups.