March 28 2024 Boumans by the Danube

 Dear friends,

Today is Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, the day we remember the example Jesus set by washing the feet of his disciples. It’s a challenging image, that of a leader humbling themselves in service. I’ve seen my share of good examples who have taken this seriously as a leadership practice, thanks be to God, and unfortunately, I have also seen the opposite – so-called leaders putting themselves above those who follow them – not only have I seen them, I have been them. So today we give thanks for this holy image, and we commit to this new commandment, to loving one another as Jesus showed us how. May God bless our efforts, great and small. Here in Budapest we will be gathering tonight with our church community and the young adult fellowship for a service of remembering and communion.
 
This Lenten month has been full of blessings, and challenges.

Resonate Europe team retreat
The Resonate Europe team retreat was one of the blessings. We spent four days together with about 35 colleagues (including several kids), at a Waldensian retreat center, Casa Cares, in the Tuscan region of Italy. We were very grateful that our good friend, and former pastor Rev. Ruth Boven was able to join us as a facilitator and leader of our growth in spiritual practices - Ruth introduced us to several, including the practice of noticing others. We were encouraged to pick a person from our everyday lives, someone we don’t know, but someone we might see with some frequency, a store clerk, a gas station attendant, anyone, and to imagine their actual lives – their hopes, concerns, background, future dreams, to really try to see them as a person, a human made in God’s image. This person has no substitute, Ruth said, they are irreplaceable. I was moved by this thought, and I was convicted at how often I fail to see others through these lenses. She went on to introduce us to a recent book by David Brooks, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply, and Being Deeply Seen, in which Brooks identifies two kinds of people, “illuminators” and “diminishers.” According to Brooks, illuminators ask good questions, and then they really listen to your answers. Diminishers, on the other hand, don’t ask about you because they are worried about themselves, living in a kind of protective fear driven by ego. We were offered the gift of a list of several questions to keep in our back pocket, to pull out in circumstances when we might want to offer someone the chance to be seen:
 
What crossroads are you at?
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is it about?
Can you be yourself where you are, and still fit in?
What has become clearer to you age?
 
Ask these questions, and then listen, be present, show up for the person you are with. I think this is a form of washing someone else’s feet.
 
Cohort Europe update
Thank you for the many ways you responded to our last letter, a request for prayers for our informational session on Cohort Europe for next year. We currently have several young adults in the early stages of applying to participate in the 2024-25 Cohort year, and we are encouraged by the number of responses. There is still (a little bit of) time! If you know someone who might benefit from a year of ministry and learning, please point them our way soon!
 
Next week, April 1-7, the current Cohort Europe volunteers will gather for their visit to LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania. We will be learning about Lithuania’s unique history, the amazing story and mission of LCC International as Christian university in Europe, and we will take time to listen to and support each other, to worship together, and to observe the uniqueness of this institution in God’s kingdom. Prayers for safe travel, deep learning, and team building are appreciated.
 
Partnership update
The visits, Zoom calls, texts, cards in the mail, and other forms of keeping in touch remain very important to us – thank you for your partnership and friendship with us in this journey. As we approach the 75% mark of the financial year, we have reached approximately 60% of our fundraising goal. You can join us in partnership by clicking over to our Resonate information page here. And we are approaching summer, and a reminder that from mid-June until late July we will be in the US on ReConnect, with the explicit purpose of meeting with as many of you in person as we can. Please reach out if you are interested in a visit, formal or informal while we are there.
 
Julie to the US in April
Julie will be headed to the US next week to spend a few weeks with her mom and her sister Kristy’s family. Joyce is recovering nicely from her stroke in February and later surgery in March, but there are on-going questions and challenges related to living arrangements and treatment going forward, and Julie is eager to walk alongside in the process of providing the best care possible for mom.
 
Challenges in Hungary, and the world
In February a major scandal emerged in Hungary, and the fallout for the church has been heavy. In brief, a clemency (pardon) case became public knowledge that involved a staff member at a children’s home who had been convicted, then later pardoned by the Hungarian President. The key leader of the Reformed Church in Hungary was involved in the case, and there is deep division on the question of how the Church should respond to its culpability in such a tragic swerve from its values of safe-guarding and protecting children. We’ve been engaged in many conversations with friends and colleagues who find themselves deeply disappointed in the church. In addition, the violent conflicts happening in Ukraine, Gaza, and other places continue to occupy our minds and our hearts as we wait for the coming King to bring peace, with justice.
 
Refugee ministry updates
Colleagues in the refugee ministry continue to provide care and resettlement for both Ukrainian and other refugee communities in Hungary. In February and March, I participated in a couple of gatherings with these colleagues; one to listen to reports on how dozens of micro-grants were utilized over the past year in creative communities all over the country; and another to help decide which of the fifty-plus applicants for another round of those grants would receive the funding. It was a time of affirmation that there are many hard-working and creative Hungarians and Europeans who pour themselves out to fulfill the commandment to “love one another” and to “welcome the stranger.”
 
Visitors and hospitality
Our place in Budapest continues to be a place for visitors – in March we were happy to host a former student, Ben Van Haitsma, who is also serving with Resonate this year in Oman with the Al-Amana Center – and Ben’s parents Mark and Glenda came as well to meet up with Ben for his spring break, all the way from Olympia, Washington. Overlapping with Ben’s visit was a former student, Kimberly, currently working in Germany, here for a second visit! In addition, we hosted guests currently living in London, as well as a friend of a friend who is a Ukrainian currently serving as a missionary providing member care in Mauritius. And we continue to host our International Young Adult Fellowship most Thursday evenings.
 
Academic commitments
The class I teach on the Civil Rights movement at Károli university is going well, with another group of about 14 mostly Hungarian students learning about this element of American history; and in early May I am excited to serve on the dissertation committee of a former student who is now completing her PhD studies at Azusa Pacific University.
 
There’s so much more to report, but we’ll stop here for now and get this in the mail. Again, thank you to so many of you for the occasional notes of greeting – we would love to hear from more of you, just a short hello, what are you doing for Easter, or a brief update on your life – we enjoy keeping in touch.
 
Meanwhile, may the peace of the risen Christ walk with you, whose Spirit helps us love one another.
 
Peace, friends,
 
Jeff and Julie Bouman