After a few days of immersing ourselves in Hungarian culture, making new connections at the Debrecen Baptist Church, and familiarizing our ears to the sounds of the Hungarian language, our team has now spent several days in the classrooms of Eastern Hungary. This is the primary function of our mission team: to help the Hungarian students with their English language studies.
Hungarian is a rather isolated language. The entire nation of Hungary is comparable in size to the state of Illinois. Hungarian is not generally spoken beyond this country’s borders. So in order for the Hungarian children to interact with their European neighbors, English has become the common language of academics, medicine, and business in this region of the world. In this age of global commerce it is, therefore, vital for the Hungarian children to learn English in order to interact with their nearby peers across Europe and elsewhere around the globe.
Over the past several days our team has visited several schools in the small towns and villages surrounding Debrecen. Some of the students we’ve worked with know the names of basic domestic animals or basic colors in English. Others are nearly fluent in conversation. All are eager to learn from and practice their English with native English-speakers. And they’re all especially grateful that a group of Americans would make this trip to help them in their studies.
The teachers are also expressing their appreciation. One English language teacher even made homemade pastries for our team. The teachers at the schools in Polgár and Tiszagyulaháza were especially thrilled to receive gifts of American footballs and baseball equipment. The students in these villages loved telling us about their favorite sports and leaning more about life in the United States (all while practicing their conversational English). At the middle school in Berettyóújfalu, the English teachers gave hugs and kisses in appreciation for our team’s visit.
But the greatest thrill for our team is seeing the joy on the faces of the children when an English-speaker says to them, “Yes, that’s right. Your English is sounding very good!” Some of the children are timid to speak, fearful they’ll mispronounce our words or make grammar mistakes in English. A little encouragement and support goes a long way in boosting their confidence in their English studies.
In the American Baptist Churches we believe that we serve God by serving others. When we see the blessed image of God in another human being, and then give that person our time and attention, memorable connections are made. We may not be talking about our faith or our love for Jesus (although sometimes we are!). But the love of Christ indeed shines through us when we give of ourselves in service to others.
The stories of our interactions with the students are too numerous to share – almost as numerous as the smiles we see on the faces of the students we’re fortunate to spend time with. Some of these moments have been captured in photograph, but most will remain deeply embedded on our hearts. It is a divine thing indeed to make so personal a connection with a stranger. The members of our team are continually humbled by the resilience and hospitality of the Hungarian school children. Time is our most precious and non-renewable resource. Being here in Hungary with these children is indeed time very well spent.