Tuesday

Tuesday was like Monday in that we held English camp in the morning and met up with the kids at the sports playa in the afternoon. But Tuesday night we went to a Roma church. The Roma in Hungary (and throughout the world) have been despised and persecuted for a long time. They are mostly poor, living in incredibly small homes without electricity or running water and many do not have jobs. They have the reputation of being thieves and beggars and are physically segregated from the rest of society.

The church was very small and only had two rooms, a worship room a little bigger than my bedroom and a kids room the size of my bathroom. And when church started, it was packed full. We did worship in Hungarian and it was great. I could tell that the people were happy to be there and that we were there as well. After worship we put on a puppet show for the kids. It was the story of Zaccheus (which I played). The kids loved it and were laughing for most of the time. I’m not sure if they got the message (which was explained afterwards) but I’m sure they felt important and loved (which I’m told they don’t get much of that at home). It was kind of like being at the refugee camp—no discipline, every man for himself, and was kind of disheartening. These kids grow up in poverty and violence and are hated for just being Roma. They definitely need the grace and compassion of God in their lives, and many in this community have already given their lives to Christ. But a lot of work still needs to be done. Prayer for that community is greatly needed.