Monday, March 28, 2011

Thinking about the past and the future...

Miklósfalva (Romanian: Nicoleşti) is a little village in Romania, the sweet home for approximately 150 Hungarian people. It is located around 5 miles from Székelyudvarhely (Romanian: Odorheiu Secuiesc) where Hodos and Szőke creeks meet. It is surrounded by three other villages in a 3 or 4 mile radius, that is why the village has 3 parts called Alszeg, Felszeg and Kányádszeg depending on the closest neighbour village.

The village is first mentioned in a document dated from 1332. Until the Treaty of Trianon (the peace agreement signed in 1920 at the end World War I) Miklósfalva belonged to Udvarhely county, and after the second Vienna agreement it belonged to Hungary again for 4 years.

The population is entirely Hungarian and it is mostly Protestant (Calvinist) by religion.

The church of the village was built in 1882 and today there are two monuments in front of it in the memory of the villagers who died during World War I and II.

The sense of a long history and the religion of the forfathers is very strong in these people. They love their families and they work hard for their living. Agriculture is still strongly present, and the older generation together with the young work the fields, traditional and modern methods living side by side. It is common to see a horse and buggy and at the same time hear the noise made by the machines on the fields.

At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century there was a spiritual awakening in Transylvania in the midst of the Protestant and Catholic churches. Some people realized they needed to study the Bible for themselves because they needed answers to their desperate questions. They needed God instead of the theories of the eloquant sermons, a God who would speak to them personally and would change their lives. Some people came home from abroad after Christ had found them there in miraculous ways and became missionaries in their homeland because they saw the need for it.

This is how my great grandparents came to Christ and decided to depart from the old ways of their lives: they decided to study the Bible, pray, meet with other believers, praise God with songs, and lead a pure lifestyle starting from the inside out. They didn’t want to drink in bars any more, they didn’t want to dance, they didn’t want to work on Sundays, etc. They obeyed God and followed Christ’s example in baptism, too (the Protestant and Catholic churches practiced and still practice child baptism), which became the most obvious and disturbing dividing line, which caused the believers to be the outcast of their family and society.

The economical crisis of the 70’s made life in the city with its opportunities become a lifesaver. Many young people and families moved to the urban areas with hope in an easier life (with running water in the house, washing machine, regular monthly salaries, the promise of a pension for the old age, etc.). First my parents around the age of 17, then later my grandparents did the same. My parents still worked the fields in their spare time, they kept the old house in Miklósfalva, but they lived in an apartment in the city, in Székelyudvarhely.

It took some 25 - 30 years for the city people in Transilvania to realize that city life can become too materialistic and busy, or even unhealthy...So, those who more accomplished financially, built houses in the suburbs or just outside the towns, and in the country. Some people moved into a village, because they couldn’t afford the city. Others still thought of the village as a thing from the past, not advanced enough.

If we visited Miklósfalva, we would see people at all ages, from all walks of life. The common thing most of them share is that they don’t know Jesus as their personal Saviour. They need somone who would be willing to share their lives, not only on Sunday, but every day.

This is our family’s plan: to live our Christian life this Hungarian village for all to see. Hoping to be instruments in a unique way.

My grandparents are in heaven. Their house is still standing. J Some of their land is still in the possession of my father, my aunts and uncle.

Stepping out in faith

The first time I heard this expression, I was in a small historic town of Transylvania, in Segesvár, showing my distinguished guest around in its beautiful castle.

(After 6 months of conversing and not meeting face to face, we had the blessing to spend 3 weeks together in the midst of my Hungarian family and friends... )

To return to my original thought, Murray uttered these words in the context of a sermon he had heard at Good Shepherd which had been his church for 5 years or so.

The powerful message of these words made my future husband decide to quit being a bench warmer and actually do something to be part of God's work. This is how he went to Africa, to Mexico and finally to Romania.

We both stepped out in faith when we got married in Romania in December 2008.

We have seen God at work ever since in ways I never imagined it possible.

When Murray returned to US with me in 2009, we left all the security of our new life behind in Marosvásárhely. We were not sure how God was going to work things out for the birth of our son and for our life.

Family and friends were praying for us... My sister-in-law said goodbye with the encouragement of Israel's story when they came out of Egypt and crossed the Red sea without being harmed, having been received this word of God specifically for our move to US in October 2009.

The long journey in itself (25 hours or so) was presented as a trial. ... My concerned aunt who was also praying for us had a dream that angels were surrounding us during our trip, and exactly that was happening by God's grace!

Our faithful and loving family and friends from Good Shepherd and AA were used by God to help us settle down in Gresham and have our baby in the best circumstances possible in November 2009.

17 months have passed and looking back we see God's hand everywhere.

In November 2010 Kaleb and me went to Romania for a short visit. It was a miracle and a huge gift to be able to do so! We were blessed to reunite with my family again and let my parents be blessed by allowing them to see and love their youngest and 5th grandchild.

We would like to thank God, both our family and friends for blessing us in so many different ways and for giving us their friendship!

NOW, March 2011, we see a vision to follow again. We believe God has been gently guiding us towards a drastic change in our lives, which requires sacrifices but will also provide us with the necessary tools for reaching the goals we set before us as a family. We would like to move to Alaska possibly in May.

The first practical steps we took for this end were provided by God's special providence: we bought a trailer and a bigger pick up truck.

Right now we are building up funds for our travel through Canada to Alaska and for our relocation there.

In the meantime our desire is to be connected to our family and friends here, using the time at our disposal wisely.