Budapest Outreach

Last weekend a team of 9 students from CCBCE headed into Budapest to work with another homeless ministry there that is in conjunction with Calvary Chapel Budapest. We had originally planned on leaving Friday afternoon so that we could work with the youth group there that evening, however God changed our plans. We had decided to prepare some dramas to share on the streets during our day of outreach, and had been practicing on Thursday eveing when our missions director, Lisa, came in and asked if we would be around to help out with the kids outreach in Vajta on Friday. There had been a team from Florida that was suppose to be coming in to do that outreach, however Delta nad American Airlines grounded hundreds of flights due to a mechanical recall, eliminating their flight and leaving us with a hightly promoted outreach with no one to run it! God is so faithful. Because the youth ministry had been cancelled for our team going to Budapest on Friday night, we were able to head into the villiage and work with the kids there! I love watching Him work!

When we got back Friday night, a few of us felt like God wanted us to see about preparing a different drama to share in budapest the next day. So, at 8pm Friday night we began to work onthe drama "Doors" - so powerful! We practiced for an hour and God gave us so much grace.
As we headed to bed that night, one of the girls from the drama felt really sick and didn't think she was going to be able to join our team. Since she had the music, I quickly tried to download the music, which game me so many problems! At 5:15 the next monring, 15 min before we were ready to leave for the train, I finally got it downloaded and we headed off.

After getting to the shelter and grabbing some food, we prepared lunches to hand out on the streets and heading into the metro areas to talk with some of the homeless. We split up into pairs with a translator. While the streets had been filled with homeless the day before, that day the police had been pertolling in an effort to keep the homeless from congregating in public places. Still, God gave us some amazing long conversations with several homeless people who seems to be starving for conversation and love. One Hungarian grandmother was selling little trinkets, and when we met her she told us that she loved Jesus - and you could see it all over her face. We encouraged her and then I just felt so compelled to hug her. She wrapped her arms around me and we kissed each others cheeks...it was such a blessing! Another man my friend Adriel and I met, seems to know the truth, but is in the place of discouragment by his circumstances, and feeling the need to steal to provide what he is lacking. We encouraged Him to trust the Lord, to continue to seek Him, and to place His hope in the life that is to come. We prayed with Him, but felt the weight of the reality that these men and women live with every day. It was hard.

When we returned to the shelter, we had lunch and then prepared for the evening dinner that many homeless come for at the shelter. Those of us inthe drama decided to practice one more time. Interestingly enough, my Zune, which had FULL battery when I left the college had NONE when i turned it on! So we prayed! Prayed for God to show us, to allow us to be flexable, to use us to glorify His name. When we finished praying, Abby felt like we should listen to another song by Under Oath that really meant a lot to her. We listened to that song and it fit 10 times better than the original song. We practiced it once and the cues were all there...it was beautiful. When we preformed it, God moved and it brought tears to the eye of grown men there! Abby shared her testimony and then we just had a time of sharing. One 71 year old man said that it "felt like home" there that night! How amazing is our God that He allowed us to be a part of that. That He used US to be the extensions of His love to these people!

The next day the Lord gave me Psalm 72 in my quiet time:
"He will rescue the poor when they cry to Him; He will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and will rescue them. He will save them from oppression and from violence, for their lives are precious to them."