We have spent much of the past two years observing, reflecting on, and trying to understand the
experience of people who find themselves displaced from their homes and countries - people
who often have huge parts of their identities stripped away. Some are officially refugees, but
often we meet people who fall into other, more complicated categories. Our learning takes place
in several ways: by observing clients with the refugee ministry here in Budapest; volunteering at
the Scottish Mission Food Bank for refugees; and through interaction with staff colleagues who
are themselves displaced from their countries of birth, and who are making their way as adults
in a country they were not born into, which they were brought to as children or adolescents. We
have met numerous people whose national identities are in a kind of limbo as they await either
citizenship, or opportunities to continue their journeys to western Europe, or even in some
cases, to go home. And we, ourselves, also find ourselves living in a different country, with a
different language, and culture – in our case it is by calling and by choice, but we experience a
few of the same challenges having to do with wondering about the concept of “home.”
“We drift from the safe places of our childhood. There is no going back. Like stories, villages
and cities are always growing or fading or melding into each other. We are all immigrants from
the past, and home lives inside the memory,where we lock it up and pretend it is unchanged.”
Dina Nayeri, The Ungrateful Refugee, 346
This fall I (Jeff) read Dina Nayeri’s 2019 book, The Ungrateful Refugee. It was an opportunity to
see into the often-overlooked parts of the refugee story; the constant waiting, the having to
prove one’s story over and over again, the uncertainty, fear, grief, all while on the run, on the
move, looking for a place to belong again. It leads to a temptation to despair, knowing that
upwards of 100 million people worldwide are displaced, and efforts to provide welcome fall far
short of what is needed to overcome the challenges. While we could (and will) give witness to the
laudable efforts of many to step into this enormous gap, the season of Advent provides a chance
to also sit for a while in the despair, the hopelessness, the impatience of it all. My friend and
former colleague Debra Rienstra named this feeling well in a recent blog post,
“I propose that Advent is the time when we are allowed—even encouraged—to
be honest about our disappointment, our sadness, our cynicism. We soberly
mark the vast distance between God’s redemptive purposes, the promises and
visions held out for us to cherish, and the state of the world as it is. And we ask
why. What are you waiting for, God? How long?”
“Advent in the Wasteland” Reformed Journal blog, December 10, 2022
Since our last letter in late October, we have observed All-Saints Day, reflecting on our
mortality, and then watching the days get shorter, cloudier, and colder. Because of the severe
energy crisis in Europe, city leaders in Budapest have decided against many of the traditional
light displays that normally provide respite from the darkness – even the annual Christmas tram
is trundling around this year without the normal festive lighting. But the news isn’t all despair.
As promised, I can report with thankfulness that we have also had the opportunity to work
shoulder to shoulder with colleagues and fellow volunteers providing creative hospitality to
refugee families who find themselves in Hungary, either for short- or long-term stays.
Below are some figures I have helped colleagues in the Ecumenical Office of the Reformed
Church in Hungary put together about our work over the past 8 months of war:
From the Reformed Church in Hungary report to donors, December 2022
Service Provided in the Aftermath of the Outbreak of the War in Ukraine
• 180,852 refugees provided with care in Hungary
• 84,725 refugees provided with orientation and information in Hungary
• 111,985 refugees provided with food in Hungary
• 11,524 people provided with accommodation in Hungary
• 43,447 cases in which hygiene equipment supplies were provided in Hungary
• 3,300 refugees provided with one time ‘cash assistance’ of around 80 EUR
• 60 local communities/parishes hosting refugees/IDPs provided with ‘group support’ in a
total value of 300,000 EUR
• 4,301 volunteers registered with HRCA
• 856,116 tons of supplies provided in total (including in Hungary), from which 509,515
tons were delivered to Ukraine (Transcarpathia and beyond) [“supplies” includes in-kind
donations, food, clothing, hygiene and medical equipment]
• 704,039,451 HUF, or 1.7 million Euro total financial support for HRCA, from
which 380,000,000 HUF (925,000 Euro) came from international donors
• 220,000 HUF (540,000 Euro) in Solidarity Fund donations for Transcarpathia, from
which 160,000,000 HUF (390,000 Euro) came from international donors [the
Solidarity Fund is a program from March 2022 through December 2023]
• Over 10,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) provided service, housing, and
provisions in Transcarpathia, Ukraine
‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in’ (Matt. 25:35)
We are proud to provide assistance to these efforts to deliver life-giving service in a time of
severe regional crisis.
A few other updates from recent weeks:
EDYN 2022
From November 8-11, I (Jeff) attended the annual meeting of a European volunteer
collaborative, the Ecumenical Diaconal Year Network in Vendrynê, Czech Republic. A group of
around thirty Christian volunteer leaders from all over Europe gathered to collaborate and share
ideas around programming year-long volunteer opportunities for young adults in Europe.
Thanksgiving 2022
On November 26, we gathered with a total of 9 Americans for Thanksgiving in our apartment this
year, including our two interns Abby and Michal, Abby’s mom and brother, and several other recent
Calvin graduates.
Károli Gáspár University – Teaching and Ministry
In my English teaching at the university, I have been introducing my students to interesting
Americans like Walter Brueggeman, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Wendell Berry.
Brueggeman is a theologian with an expansive vision related to the importance of poets and
prophets, and he points to MLK as one of the best examples in recent history of this vision in
practice. It has been rewarding to see the students enjoy their exposure to American English
through the use of these and other key orators and visionaries.
“I think we think in terms of systems and continuities and predictability and
schemes and plans. I think the Bible is to some great extent focused on God’s
capacity to break those schemes open and to violate those formulae. When they
are positive disruptions, the Bible calls them miracles. We tend not to use that
word when they are negative. But what it means is that the reality of our life and
the reality of God are not contained in most of our explanatory schemes.”
Walter Brueggeman “The Prophetic Imagination”
On Being Podcast interview, 2011
Cohort Europe Progress
Michal and Abby, the two Resonate volunteer interns have helped make good progress toward
our goal of a European Cohort program in the coming years. They are both very active in various
roles with the RCH Refugee Ministry, as well as the Scottish Mission Food Bank program. But
several hours per week they are also communicating with potential future partners, setting up
meetings with Resonate colleagues with experience in Cohort programs, and thinking through
the various administrative challenges such a new program will bring. Working with them is a
source of good energy for our work this year, and we are grateful to they are both here with us.
Refugee Ministry Update
Since June the HRC Refugee Ministry has hired over 25 new staff, and taken on at least 3 longterm volunteers.
This is enormous and rapid growth for such a small organization. After months of suggesting, cajoling, and hoping,
on December 7, we were able to organize a half-day of training and team building for this group. In addition to
lunch together, the group learned a little bit about each other, identified areas of pride in the organization,
and had some exposure to resilience tools and techniques that can help in dealing with situations of stress and
trauma.
Financial Update
As we approach the end of 2022, we immensely grateful for the enormous network of support
we have from those of you able to send one-time, monthly, and annual support. We know it is
not always easy to send month after month, and we are thankful to have you as partners as we
go. The end of the calendar year is the half-way mark of the fiscal year, and December is
typically a month to make up for some shortfall in other months. Our current trajectory of
support for the 2022-23 fiscal year is at around 70%, which provides room for additional
partners or increased giving. If you have the capacity to give a year-end gift (or a new monthly
pledge), you can find your way to our Resonate giving page, or use the clip and send information below. And if you have any ideas or information about potential church partnerships, please feel free to reach out and let us know. Thank you!
Christmas in Michigan
Finally, we are eager to spend about a week in the US for the holiday this year. We will be away
from our Budapest home from December-31, and we are eager to spend holiday time with family
while we are there. As we ponder the birth of Jesus, and wait for his return, we often sit in mystery, and hope
doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes we need others to hold the light for us. And sometimes we
are called to hold the light for others.
Peace to you, friends, as you wait in hope, acknowledging the sadness and darkness, may you
live in the light.
Jeff and Julie Bouman
