December 10, 2021
"And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together."
December 2021
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:1-6
Dear friends, family,
and those who join us in watching and waiting for the Day of the Lord,
Advent here in Budapest is a very interesting landscape of many public reminders of advent. Our local park has a large Advent wreath with 4-ft high electric candles that get lit up on the appropriate Sunday, and most other public squares have similar religious symbolism reminding us of the season. At the same time, while the country has historically been a predominantly Catholic country, with a noteworthy percentage of Reformed Calvinist Protestants, it is also a country that in practice is essentially post-Christian. Only 14% of Hungarians surveyed by Pew between 2015-2017 reported that religion is “very important” in their lives; and only 17% reported attending worship services at least monthly. The Hungarian government is regularly in the news presenting their Hungary as one of Europe’s final defenses against those who would destroy Christianity. It’s a complex landscape we are getting to know here in Budapest, and despite the odd juxtapositions, we are still grateful for the public reminders of our season of waiting.
We waited eagerly this week for the arrival of our daughter, Bea, and she will stay here with us through the holiday. We waited for the Christmas markets to open (even with Covid restrictions), and they have, requiring proof of vaccination to enter. Now we wait with the rest of the world for the scourge of Covid to abate; and for divisions to lessen in our governments, our churches, our families.
While we wait, Julie and I remain actively pursuing the development of our skills in Hungarian. We are (especially Julie is) in the B-1 range, within sight of the end of our exposure to the many different complex grammars. Our teacher has given us the metaphor of a Lego set to describe the way you have to know how to attach many many prefixes and suffixes, and sometimes prefixes that move to the “post position” if the negative or imperative form is being used… (Wait! Why isn’t that a suffix then?!!!) … yet, it does somehow make it more fun to think of it as kind of like building something with Legos.
In our other work, we are pleased to report a major development in the area of the refugee center, Kalunba Social Services. About a month ago we learned that a new director has been hired, and I (Jeff) have had the chance to meet with him several times. I feel confident that Laci has the experience, skill set, and clear-sightedness to steer Kalunba back on track after a rough transitional season. We are hoping to help with a major office move to a new location in the next few weeks. We also continue to host a gathering for international students on Thursday evenings in our apartment. Our group ranges in size from 6 to 16, and we see students mostly from African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia); as well as the Middle East (Pakistan and Jordan). It is a lively and fun group, and we provide a setting for support, learning, good food and a warm place to feel known and loved. This week with the group we gathered to share updates, and to make homemade Christmas cards that our church will distribute to families with children in our congregation and neighborhood.
The class that I am teaching at Károli Gáspár University will end this coming week with a presentation by my one student – her task is to bring together writings by philosophers, poets, academics, and artists, on the purpose of higher education, with hypothetical suggestions to improve her own university with the practice of service-learning. It has been a joy to be back in the classroom, especially with only one very engaged and eager student. I have also been asked by the university to help them develop a program specifically for students at Károli who are not from Christian backgrounds, who are primarily Muslim. I’m eager to put to use some of the things I learned in helping Calvin University develop a similar group over the past several years. I also continue to meet with the campus pastors, and with one of them I am regularly providing feedback as she works to develop her ability to speak and write on theological topics in English.
A final project I am working on involves meeting with Hungarian church and non-profit leaders who might be interested in hosting American young people for a year-long cohort program. If you think of yourself as a young person (or if you know one), and you have any interest in talking about spending a year in Budapest, please let us know.
Julie continues to tutor a high school student in English once a week in our apartment, and also to volunteer twice a week in a local high school. A few weeks ago, she was asked to provide a lecture on young learners in a developmental psychology class at this same school.
We’ll be staying in Budapest for Christmas, missing family and friends in the US, but we're also content with our calling where we are.
We are so grateful for our support network. As we anticipate the end of the year, and the six-month mark of our fiscal year, our account with Resonate is showing that we have received to date about 30% of our annual need. A strong end of the year from those of you able and interested in partnering with us financially would be a wonderful gift. You can find information on how to support us here, where you will find a new Resonate website. If any of you belong to a church that is not already supporting us, and you think there might be interest in your church joining our support network, please let us know, and we will be happy to reach out to the appropriate contacts to inquire about developing a partnership.
In joyful expectation,
Jeff and Julie Bouman
A cup of mulled wine at the Christmas markets hits the spot.
Morning bike rides still regularly provide moments of awe. Liberty bridge at sunrise.
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