Clista Adkins, member of First Baptist Church in Greenville, paints the face of a gypsy boy in Hungary.
Posted 10-13-06
FBC Greenville team works
with Gypsies in Hungary
From Tammy and Ralph Stocks
CBF Field Personnel in Hungary
With exuberant singing, joyous shouts of “Amen,” and delicious goulash, the Roma congregation of Kekcse dedicated their new building on Oct 8. Having quickly outgrown the small room in a local home, the Roma believers prayed for several years for a place of their own to worship.
God answered those prayers through a partnership with First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC. Working together, a house in the neighborhood was purchased and has become a place of refuge for the local Roma to gather for church services.
A team from FBC was present to add to the festivities by singing, face painting, balloon sculpting, and just being among the Gypsies of Kekcse. The children giggled while hearts or butterflies were painted on their cheeks and there was a crush of kids at the balloon table. One of the highlights of the day was FBC minister of music Glen Adkins presenting a guitar to Roma leader, Elek Balogh. Elek was moved and immediately began to lead praise songs with the treasured gift.
After the service the American and Roma men huddled off to one side to dream of the improvements needed to renovate the house and make it a beacon for all. We finished the day in the true Baptist way with a traditional meal of chicken soup, goulash, and great fellowship around the tables. It was truly an awesome day and God was praised.
Teaching English at Gandhi
What do you get when you mix 400 hotdogs, 50 bags of chips, 4 cases of soda, and more cookies than you count? It’s an American cook-out at the Gandhi High School in Pecs. This October a group of 10 native English speakers from FBC, Greenville, SC, traveled to Hungary for a week to assist the English students with conversation skills. In the classrooms you could hear students saying, “I’m going on at trip and I’m going to take…” or singing silly songs like “Pizza Hut, MacDonalds!” In the evenings the team sponsored a cook-out and two outreach events along with game nights. The competition was fierce in the three-legged race and the enthusiasm was high during musical chairs. Two of the programs featured the FBC team singing and being assisted by local Hungarian Baptists, the Gobl family, and three Roma Christian leaders from villages in northeast Hungary, Elek, Beci, and Viktor. It was a fun week with the English skills of the students being strengthened. More importantly, many seeds were planted as the Americans and Roma gave of themselves and shared the Good News.