I've sat down several times to write this update on the Scripture distribution in Nádudvar, but I just can't seem to find words to describe to you what happened (without writing a whole book about it!) It was truly amazing...I really shouldn't be surprised, because I know God is totally able to do above and beyond anything we can imagine. He is so good!
First of all, we weren't working alone...we had the help of Hungarian believers from three different churches: Istvan from our church here in Debrecen, Pastor Tibor from Hajudszoboszlo, and Janos from Puspokladany. We got to Nádudvar at 5:45 and set up while it was still dark. We had a great location in the market, right next to the entrance.
Janos, Istvan, Pastor Tibor and Gary
We had been concerned about the weather since the forecast had called for snow, but although the streets were slick when we got there, when the sun came out it melted off and was a beautiful (though chilly) day.
The first Bible we gave out was to one of the vendors who had seen us before at other markets. After we set up our table, Gary began to prayerwalk through the market, praying for the other vendors who were preparing for the day. As he was walking by one couple setting up their booth, the man greeted Gary and asked, "Do you still have any of those Bibles?" Gary said that's what we were there for--we were having another Bible distribution. The man said, "I'd like to get one this time." He went on to say that he'd tried to read the Bible before. He said he got up to the point of Noah and couldn't understand why God wiped out the whole world, which triggered a discussion on the sinfulness of man. The man was full of questions; things like, who was Noah anyway? Why did God choose him? Why was he special? After talking with the man for a while, Gary went and got the Bible. He and Pastor Tibor went back to deliver the Bible and to see if he had further questions. The man just greeted the Hungarian pastor...he had already used up all his hard questions on the American missionary, and all he had left for Pastor Tibor was, isn't the weather nice?
Among the first people who received a Bible at our booth was a lady who accepted it in wonder and disbelief, saying that she'd always wanted one; she left hugging it to her chest lovingly as if it were a little baby. That encounter alone made the whole thing worthwhile! Here in the town that everyone had been calling a "tough nut" because of the strong communist influence, person after person happily accepted a Bible and promised to read it. There were some who passed by with bitter words of rejection, but they were very much in the minority. In fact, the response was so fantastic that by 10 a.m. we had run out of whole Bibles and had only New Testaments left to distribute.
Pastor Tibor talking with a man who had a lot of questions. The little girls in the background are eating langos [LAHN-gosh], a delicious, puffy, greasy fried bread with your choice of cheese, sour cream, garlic, or all three. Gary had garlic and cheese, so the Hungarians told him he couldn't talk to the people after that. I was very restrained and spiritual, however, and had only cheese!
Pastor Tibor and Janos in conversation with another man who had interesting and strange questions and comments about the Bible. Even here in this small town there is influence from the cults and other religions. I was so glad we had Hungarian believers there with us who could deal with this so much better than we could as foreigners!
One man signs his commitment card to try to read the Bible through, while another man chooses which Bible he would like to take home.
We had asked people to pray that we would be able to give out all of the Bibles, and the response from the people went above and beyond what we had hoped. After we ran out of whole Bibles we had more people stop by who really wanted one, so we came home with several names and addresses; we'll be either mailing or taking one to them as soon as we can. In all we gave out 194 whole Bibles, 65 children's Bible's, and 65 New Testaments, for a total of 324. Praise the Lord, that's the most we've given out in a day's time all this year! As we close out the Year of the Bible in Hungary, we are still amazed at the power of God, at how He loves each of us and wants us to know Him and live in relationship with Him.
Special thanks to those who give to the
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the
Cooperative Program, which provide the funding that keeps us here on the field; we also want to express our appreciation again to those individuals and churches who gave special gifts to make the purchase of the Bibles possible--you gave above and beyond what we had prayed for, and the Lord used it to multiply the seeds of Scripture that we have sown all around the area this year!
And last but not least, thank you to all of you who have been praying for the Hungarian people, and for us as we serve here in eastern Hungary. God bless you, and Merry Christmas!
On my way back home from taking care of some business, I plopped myself down on a bus stop bench to catch my breath while waiting for the #22 to arrive. An older gentleman took the place next to mine, and we exchanged a polite greeting...I searched in my mind for how to continue the conversation. As it was already past the bus's scheduled arrival time, I commented that it looked like it was going to be rather late. He laughed and said the bus is often late, but that's OK since it would give us time to talk. Apparently we were both looking for a chat!
