Christian Vögeli is one of the students of the first MTh in Missiology (MATHEM) program at KRE-CIMS, offered in cooperation with the University of South Africa (UNISA). He is from Switzerland but has been living in Albania for more than 20 years. His love for Albanians started in 1991 after meeting thousands of Albanian refugees in a mission trip to South Italy. God has been using Christian for great things: as a fruit of his work the first Albanian Bible translation was published in 1994. After completing and publishing the Albanian Bible, Christian has developed a twofold ministry in Albania. On one side he is working in supporting the church, on the other hand he has set up a development agency to help in crucial social issues. They see the need for better health-care, social care and life-long education. Presently they are working on establishing an rescue service network, which does not exist in Albania.
Sharing about his ministry, Christian admitted: „I have been reevaluating the understanding of mission and evangelism for the last 10 years. We do not do social work to buy people for conversion. Instead, everything we do in health care and social care and in education is the fruit of the love we have for people. We try to improve the health system, to improve education to give the children a future by developing their talents, and providing opportunities for life-long learning. Whatever I do, I do it without a hidden strategy behind. I have to do it, because I love them.”
Christian Vögeli heard about the MATHEM program at a Consultation for the European partners of the Reformed Mission League (GZB) in Budapest. There he met Dr. Anne-Marie Kool, who was hosting the conference. „We understood what was going on in each other’s mind. I felt this is the time for a program.” Christian sees it as a gift from the Lord that he can study in the MATHEM program. „With my application was l late so I prayed ’Lord please show me if this is the right time for my application.’ And the door was opoened, my application to the course has been accepted.”
For Christian the program is more than a mere study course. „My aim is not only to study or to do research but that my studies have an impact not only in my own life but also in the context where I live. One of my aims with the MATHEM program is to help me to reshape my thinking on mission. Before the program I had more then ten years of brainstorming on mission thinking about questions such as: What is the role of the home church? Are newly planted churches in the mission field depending from so-called sending churches? How should mission be in the context of today's society? How to interact with non Christians? Should churches be involved in social actions and if yes, how? What is mission all about. Often I could recognize that people from the Western world, including myself, have a certain mentality in thinking that we have the solution for everything. But during years in mission I learned that all people are cooking with water. Much more I understood that I can learn a lot from my dear Albanian friends and often they are doing much better than I do...”
As a result of the MATHEM program Christian has found out that he was not alone with his huge questions. Other people have also struggled and deeply thought about these issues and have gone further with some proposals. He admitted: „By studying in the MATHEM program I am developing a synthesis of experiences in mission and knowledge, and it helps me to understand and evaluate what my mission has been so far.”
For Christian the distant learning setup of the course is challenging, since he has had lot of challenges in his context, which made him reorganize his time. However the intensive consultation weeks are very precious for him. „Without these intensive weeks it would not be possible for me to complete the course.” (Interviewed by Rev. Zoltán Ruzsa-Nagy, staff member CIMS)
For the MATHEM brochure see: http://www.scribd.com/doc/84123442/MATHEM-Brochure-2012-final
Showing posts with label Student Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Interview. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Interview with Mogi Tsetse -- Cindy Ippel
C: Tell me your background.
M: I was born in Mongolia. I was 12 years old when my family moved to Hungary. We moved because my parents wanted their children to grow up in a European country. They saw that there was the possibility of a good life, good standard of living in Hungary. In Mongolia life was very hard. I don’t know exactly why Hungary is where they ended up except that there was the opportunity to come to Hungary. They came with a Mongolian group to a small village not far from Budapest. There was work there for both my dad and mother in a factory.
C: Do you remember Mongolia?
M: A little bit. My grandmother still lives there and my mother’s and father’s brothers and sisters still live there. But I have never been back.
C: When your family came to Hungary were they Christians?
M: No. When we came to Hungary our family was Buddhist. My mother’s parents were Buddhist and my mother was Buddhist but dmy father he didn’t really follow Buddha. Then when we came to Hungary by little sister was 9 years old and she met a girl who was a Christian. That little girl shared the gospel with my sister and she became a Christian. She started visiting a Christian church and began participating and accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior. At that time I was 14 years old. We saw the difference this made in my sister’s life. She was very happy. We asked her why she was so happy, always smiling and so joyful and she said that it was because she believed in Jesus Christ and was with others that loved Jesus. She was always praying and reading a black book-The Bible. My older brother and I were always laughing at her and telling her “What are you doing? You are Buddhist. You are not allowed to believe in a foreign God.” Then she would cry. But then some time later, I became really curious as to what my sister was doing in that church. She was always coming home from that Baptist church so happy. So out of curiosity, I started going to the meetings with her. It took me one year to really understand what Christianity is and why many people believe and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So when I was 16 years old I became a Christian. My sister and I then began praying for my parents and whenever we had an opportunity we shared the Gospel with them. My parents said it was OK for us to go to church but they told us not to speak about Jesus Christ because they didn’t want a religious war in the family. We had many idols on our walls because when you are Buddhist, you don’t have to go to temple you can just worship in your own house.
Then our whole church started praying for my parents. They prayed for three years for my parents. During that time my parents went back to Mongolia to visit and they asked us what gifts we would like them to bring back for them. My sister and I told them that we wanted no gifts only that they would go to a Mongolian Christian church and listen to the Gospel in Mongolian while they were there; that’s the only gift we wanted. So when they went to Mongolia they did what we asked and heard the Gospel in their own language and their hearts were ready and they understood and they started believing in Jesus Christ. When they came back to Hungary, they threw all their idols away and began following Jesus. After that Janet D. began discipling my parents.
C: How did they come to know Janet D.?
M: I had met Janet D. at the Baptist church I was going to and we became very good friends. I asked her to teach me English and she agreed. She also taught me many things from the Bible about God. I told her about my parents becoming Christians but that they knew nothing about Christianity, she agreed to meet with them and teach them. They didn’t even have a Mongolian Bible. So my pastor at the Baptist church got them a Mongolian Bible. Janet would teach them in Hungarian and then I would translate into Mongolian. My parents then began sharing their faith with their friends. They really felt that this was the real living God-very different from Buddhism. My parents invited their friends to a Bible study meeting. We had this Bible study group for one year, and then my parents prayed for a pastor to come from Mongolia to start a Mongolian church. We invited a Mongolian pastor to come who was a gifted evangelist. Many Mongolians came to believe in Jesus Christ through his preaching. But then the pastor needed to go back to Mongolia because he had his own church there. So then my father after being a Christian for only two years accepted the calling from God to be the pastor of our church. God told him that he had to lead this small Hungarian Baptist church. At first he worked in the factory and as a pastor. But God blessed us so now he doesn’t have to work in the factory but just as the pastor. Now both my parents are working together in the church. They are serving God and the Mongolians in Budapest. Our church is made up of all Mongolians and all the preaching and teaching is in Mongolian.
C: Tell me more about yourself. Why did you come to KRE? How did you get to know Anne-Marie?
M: I got to KRE through Janet D. and Anne-Marie. They both suggested that I take the course on climate change in the church but I don’t attend this university. I am at another technical and economic university here in Budapest. This is my last year in getting my bachelors degree in international communications. When I complete this degree, I would like to continue my studies and get my masters degree in international development. Eventually I would like to work with a non-profit corporation like Baptist Love Inc. They have 3 or 4 offices here in Budapest doing humanitarian work. This kind of work really interests me so that’s why I want to get a further degree in international development. But I need to reach a certain level in my exams so that I can qualify for a scholarship.
C: Tell me about the courses you took with AMK.
M: I really liked the course on climate change in the church because of the interaction within the class. It was more than just the normal lecture by a professor. There were about 20 people in the class. We had very interesting topics that were very practical for life. We visited the Chinese church and the Korean church and then discussed what our experience taught us and how it affected us.
C: How can others find out about the courses that we offer? Do you have any ideas about how we can advertise?
M: I think in many universities there are many Bible study groups. You could visit these groups and tell them about the courses or seminars. When I told my friends about the climate change course, they were very interested because the course was very useful to me. In that course I met a guy who had a stereotype about Chinese people until he went to the Chinese church and interacted with the other Christians there. There were Chinese brothers who were really kind and they invited the class to have dinner with them. Then this guy gained a better understanding of Chinese people. Before that he only saw Chinese people from the market or restaurant so his stereotype was based on that. But now he knew them personally and it changed his impression.
C: We are thinking of having a coffee shop. Do you have any ideas about this?
M: The first thing is that there are many foreign students coming to Budapest that are very alone and would look for a place to meet and have conversation with other students. I once saw a sign that said “You have opportunity to practice your English”. If you would advertise like this and open up an area where students could practice their English for free, I think there would be students interested in this. It would be good to have a nice comfortable atmosphere with coffee and a person to talk with; a place where students could feel at home.
C: What is your hope for the future of the church and for the future of Hungary?
M: My hope for the Mongolian church is that it reaches more Mongolian people here for God. There is a lot of movement between Mongolia and here. We have a dream that there will be Mongolians here in Budapest that will grow in their faith and that God will call them to go back to Mongolia as missionaries. My parents are open to God’s leading in their own lives in this direction. As for my future, I feel called to stay here in Hungary. I don’t know yet what will happen in my life. I have a Hungarian boyfriend who is not Mongolian. He is studying to be a pastor and we planned to get married. He comes from a Christian family and he is going to a Baptist seminary.
C: How did you meet?
M: This summer, I went to a Christian camp and he was a leader of a group. We had an opportunity to share our testimonies and I observed in him a wisdom and spiritual maturity. We met and we talked and I really saw his love for Jesus Christ. This attracted me to him. Then this past November we met again and he said “Mogi, I have been praying and fasting for 3 months and God has shown me that you will be my wife.” I was really surprised and said how do you know this? He said that he was 100% sure and that when we met he observed how I served the Lord and he was attracted to me but he wanted to be sure so he fasted and prayed for God to show him if I was the one to be his wife. God gave him some scripture and prophesy that showed that I would be his wife. He said that he wanted to give me time to pray about it but he was sure that God would lead me to him. So I agreed to pray about this but God had already been preparing me for this because a month before this my girlfriends and I had begun a prayer group to pray for our future husbands. I prayed for real peace about this and God has given me peace. Previously, I had written the attributes that I would want in a husband and my boyfriend has all these attributes. So God showed me that he should be my husband. So I called him and said what God has shown me, but first I need to get to know him better before we move on to marriage. So we see each other one day each week and talk to each other on the phone each night and email each day to get to know each other not just based on physical attraction but on who we really are. We are able to be much more objective and not just base it on our emotions.
C: Is there a traditional Mongolian way of finding a husband leading to marriage?
M: Traditionally parents choose for their children. My parents were chosen for each other; but now in Mongolia many children choose for themselves. It’s very important to me to have my parent’s approval. So right away I told my parents about what my boyfriend had said and I asked them for their prayers. My father and mother said that they have peace about my decision and when they met him they saw with their spiritual eyes that he would be a good husband for me.
C: Thank you for taking this time to let me interview you. Do you have anything else to say?
M: I would like to ask you if you hear of any non-profit corporation that I might get in contact with that you would let me know.
M: I was born in Mongolia. I was 12 years old when my family moved to Hungary. We moved because my parents wanted their children to grow up in a European country. They saw that there was the possibility of a good life, good standard of living in Hungary. In Mongolia life was very hard. I don’t know exactly why Hungary is where they ended up except that there was the opportunity to come to Hungary. They came with a Mongolian group to a small village not far from Budapest. There was work there for both my dad and mother in a factory.
C: Do you remember Mongolia?
M: A little bit. My grandmother still lives there and my mother’s and father’s brothers and sisters still live there. But I have never been back.
C: When your family came to Hungary were they Christians?
M: No. When we came to Hungary our family was Buddhist. My mother’s parents were Buddhist and my mother was Buddhist but dmy father he didn’t really follow Buddha. Then when we came to Hungary by little sister was 9 years old and she met a girl who was a Christian. That little girl shared the gospel with my sister and she became a Christian. She started visiting a Christian church and began participating and accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior. At that time I was 14 years old. We saw the difference this made in my sister’s life. She was very happy. We asked her why she was so happy, always smiling and so joyful and she said that it was because she believed in Jesus Christ and was with others that loved Jesus. She was always praying and reading a black book-The Bible. My older brother and I were always laughing at her and telling her “What are you doing? You are Buddhist. You are not allowed to believe in a foreign God.” Then she would cry. But then some time later, I became really curious as to what my sister was doing in that church. She was always coming home from that Baptist church so happy. So out of curiosity, I started going to the meetings with her. It took me one year to really understand what Christianity is and why many people believe and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So when I was 16 years old I became a Christian. My sister and I then began praying for my parents and whenever we had an opportunity we shared the Gospel with them. My parents said it was OK for us to go to church but they told us not to speak about Jesus Christ because they didn’t want a religious war in the family. We had many idols on our walls because when you are Buddhist, you don’t have to go to temple you can just worship in your own house.
Then our whole church started praying for my parents. They prayed for three years for my parents. During that time my parents went back to Mongolia to visit and they asked us what gifts we would like them to bring back for them. My sister and I told them that we wanted no gifts only that they would go to a Mongolian Christian church and listen to the Gospel in Mongolian while they were there; that’s the only gift we wanted. So when they went to Mongolia they did what we asked and heard the Gospel in their own language and their hearts were ready and they understood and they started believing in Jesus Christ. When they came back to Hungary, they threw all their idols away and began following Jesus. After that Janet D. began discipling my parents.
C: How did they come to know Janet D.?
M: I had met Janet D. at the Baptist church I was going to and we became very good friends. I asked her to teach me English and she agreed. She also taught me many things from the Bible about God. I told her about my parents becoming Christians but that they knew nothing about Christianity, she agreed to meet with them and teach them. They didn’t even have a Mongolian Bible. So my pastor at the Baptist church got them a Mongolian Bible. Janet would teach them in Hungarian and then I would translate into Mongolian. My parents then began sharing their faith with their friends. They really felt that this was the real living God-very different from Buddhism. My parents invited their friends to a Bible study meeting. We had this Bible study group for one year, and then my parents prayed for a pastor to come from Mongolia to start a Mongolian church. We invited a Mongolian pastor to come who was a gifted evangelist. Many Mongolians came to believe in Jesus Christ through his preaching. But then the pastor needed to go back to Mongolia because he had his own church there. So then my father after being a Christian for only two years accepted the calling from God to be the pastor of our church. God told him that he had to lead this small Hungarian Baptist church. At first he worked in the factory and as a pastor. But God blessed us so now he doesn’t have to work in the factory but just as the pastor. Now both my parents are working together in the church. They are serving God and the Mongolians in Budapest. Our church is made up of all Mongolians and all the preaching and teaching is in Mongolian.
C: Tell me more about yourself. Why did you come to KRE? How did you get to know Anne-Marie?
M: I got to KRE through Janet D. and Anne-Marie. They both suggested that I take the course on climate change in the church but I don’t attend this university. I am at another technical and economic university here in Budapest. This is my last year in getting my bachelors degree in international communications. When I complete this degree, I would like to continue my studies and get my masters degree in international development. Eventually I would like to work with a non-profit corporation like Baptist Love Inc. They have 3 or 4 offices here in Budapest doing humanitarian work. This kind of work really interests me so that’s why I want to get a further degree in international development. But I need to reach a certain level in my exams so that I can qualify for a scholarship.
C: Tell me about the courses you took with AMK.
M: I really liked the course on climate change in the church because of the interaction within the class. It was more than just the normal lecture by a professor. There were about 20 people in the class. We had very interesting topics that were very practical for life. We visited the Chinese church and the Korean church and then discussed what our experience taught us and how it affected us.
C: How can others find out about the courses that we offer? Do you have any ideas about how we can advertise?
M: I think in many universities there are many Bible study groups. You could visit these groups and tell them about the courses or seminars. When I told my friends about the climate change course, they were very interested because the course was very useful to me. In that course I met a guy who had a stereotype about Chinese people until he went to the Chinese church and interacted with the other Christians there. There were Chinese brothers who were really kind and they invited the class to have dinner with them. Then this guy gained a better understanding of Chinese people. Before that he only saw Chinese people from the market or restaurant so his stereotype was based on that. But now he knew them personally and it changed his impression.
C: We are thinking of having a coffee shop. Do you have any ideas about this?
M: The first thing is that there are many foreign students coming to Budapest that are very alone and would look for a place to meet and have conversation with other students. I once saw a sign that said “You have opportunity to practice your English”. If you would advertise like this and open up an area where students could practice their English for free, I think there would be students interested in this. It would be good to have a nice comfortable atmosphere with coffee and a person to talk with; a place where students could feel at home.
C: What is your hope for the future of the church and for the future of Hungary?
M: My hope for the Mongolian church is that it reaches more Mongolian people here for God. There is a lot of movement between Mongolia and here. We have a dream that there will be Mongolians here in Budapest that will grow in their faith and that God will call them to go back to Mongolia as missionaries. My parents are open to God’s leading in their own lives in this direction. As for my future, I feel called to stay here in Hungary. I don’t know yet what will happen in my life. I have a Hungarian boyfriend who is not Mongolian. He is studying to be a pastor and we planned to get married. He comes from a Christian family and he is going to a Baptist seminary.
C: How did you meet?
M: This summer, I went to a Christian camp and he was a leader of a group. We had an opportunity to share our testimonies and I observed in him a wisdom and spiritual maturity. We met and we talked and I really saw his love for Jesus Christ. This attracted me to him. Then this past November we met again and he said “Mogi, I have been praying and fasting for 3 months and God has shown me that you will be my wife.” I was really surprised and said how do you know this? He said that he was 100% sure and that when we met he observed how I served the Lord and he was attracted to me but he wanted to be sure so he fasted and prayed for God to show him if I was the one to be his wife. God gave him some scripture and prophesy that showed that I would be his wife. He said that he wanted to give me time to pray about it but he was sure that God would lead me to him. So I agreed to pray about this but God had already been preparing me for this because a month before this my girlfriends and I had begun a prayer group to pray for our future husbands. I prayed for real peace about this and God has given me peace. Previously, I had written the attributes that I would want in a husband and my boyfriend has all these attributes. So God showed me that he should be my husband. So I called him and said what God has shown me, but first I need to get to know him better before we move on to marriage. So we see each other one day each week and talk to each other on the phone each night and email each day to get to know each other not just based on physical attraction but on who we really are. We are able to be much more objective and not just base it on our emotions.
C: Is there a traditional Mongolian way of finding a husband leading to marriage?
M: Traditionally parents choose for their children. My parents were chosen for each other; but now in Mongolia many children choose for themselves. It’s very important to me to have my parent’s approval. So right away I told my parents about what my boyfriend had said and I asked them for their prayers. My father and mother said that they have peace about my decision and when they met him they saw with their spiritual eyes that he would be a good husband for me.
C: Thank you for taking this time to let me interview you. Do you have anything else to say?
M: I would like to ask you if you hear of any non-profit corporation that I might get in contact with that you would let me know.
Interview with Adalbert Biró -- Cindy Ippel
Interview with Biro Adalbert
C: Tell me about yourself.
A: Right now I’m attending two schools. One is Karoli and the other is ELTE. I started my B.A. in English this year. I decided to immerse myself in English. I enjoy talking and practicing the language. I enjoy talking because written language is a sort of dead language.
C: What do you hope to do with this degree?
A: I chose this degree to reach a proficiency level in English and I am also getting my masters this year at the faculty of theology. I’m going to parallel universities. Once I get my degree, I don’t want to start my pastoral career; not really a career but a calling from God. I’m not really sure that I want to be a pastor, that’s one of the reasons I started this other degree in English. I don’t really fit into the context of the traditional reformed church pastor.
C: Can you tell me about your background?
A: I was born in another region so I’m not really a Hungarian citizen but my ancestry is 100% Hungarian and I am really proud of it. Basically I was raised in the western region of Ukraine. It was settled by many different minorities, one of them being Hungarian. 160,000 Hungarians are there surrounded by Russians and Ukrainians. So we were a minority. But the place where I was born was 100% Hungarian so I grew up speaking Hungarian. Our village was a village of 3,000 people. I lived there all my growing up years until I was 18, until I graduated from high school. Then I came to Budapest to go to the university. I had two choices to make. I could have started my studies in the Ukraine but it is a corrupt system. Once you get in you have to pay a kind of bribe for each exam. It doesn’t matter what you know. There is a rate and if you pay it, you pass. It depends on how valuable the exam is how much you have to pay. You can study but what really matters is if you paid the amount needed to get a passing mark. So I didn’t want my parents to have to pay into this corrupt system so instead I applied for a scholarship. There are 25 scholarships available to students in the Trans Carpathian area provided by the Hungarian government. I was chosen to receive this scholarship based on my points on the entrance exam. So that is why I am studying here. This is now my sixth year studying here and I will graduate this year in theology. But I plan to study English at the other university and I hope to be able to go to the U.S. to really learn English and become a proficient English speaker.
C: Tell me about your family background.
A: I was born in a traditional Hungarian Reformed family. My parents and grandparents would take me to church since the age of three. I found it really boring and I really didn’t understand what it was all about. As I grew up, I gained knowledge and I began to question things in church. Why do we baptize children? Why do we have confirmation? I was trying to get at the root of these things in the Bible. Then when I was in high school I went to a Reformed high school; one of four in the Trans Carpathian region. It was the best of all the Hungarian schools. 98% of those that graduated went on to a university.
Before I went to high school, when I was 14 years old, we had a week of camp as a part of confirmation. At the camp there were other Christian children and we learned about God and the Bible. I sensed something transcendent. That was a point when I really felt that I met Jesus. After that I went home and I sensed that the way I was living my life was not the way God wanted me to live. That was a kind of turning point where I thought about moving forward toward high school and then university.
Then in high school, I received even more knowledge through my church education. We had to learn the catechism by heart. I recognized that before this that I was just repeating these things without really having any real knowledge. Then in high school it started to make sense to me. I began to pray to find out what God wanted me to do. I found the passage in Isaiah 49:6 “I will make you a light unto the Gentiles”. Through this verse I felt God calling me to be a missionary.
Before I started my theological studies, I felt God calling me to be a missionary and maybe that is still what God is calling me to do. I’m not sure what and where God wants me to do ministry. I’m not sure if he wants me to be a pastor. That’s why I’m not going to start my ministry right now. When I graduate I should start my ministry but it doesn’t feel right for me right now.
C: So what are your plans now?
A: I know that I am a Christian and that God has used several things to have an impact in the direction my life is taking. There was a new rule that every student had to have an intermediate language certification by your 7th semester before you were allowed to go on. So I went to the U.S. for three months and that really broadened my perspective on life. When I came back I started working for a multinational Dutch company here in Budapest for several months. I found many people there that would confide in me about their spiritual lives. I was doing a bit of spiritual counseling there. I found that I am interested in much more that theology and Greek and Hebrew and Latin. I want more of the real life.
C: Can you tell me about the courses that you took with Anne-Marie?
A: I took the “Climate Change in the Church” course and a course on Missiology. What I gained from those courses: AMK teaches her courses in a different way than the western education system. She requires a lot of reading and response. She requires response not only to her questions but also to what you have learned and how you will apply it. It’s much more practical that theoretical. It was much more challenging that the other theology courses where you aren’t required to do much research but just go to class and listen. What’s really good about the AMK courses is the amount of dialogue between students. She is more of a coordinator. It’s not just a conversation between her and the students but with all of us from different faculties in the university dialoguing together with her moderating. These dialogues really caused us to challenge our world views. I found it very engaging. Dr John Brouwer’s course is more interactive in the same way. These courses allow us to share our own opinions and then to form conclusions together. I would really recommend these courses. AMK really makes me think. She pays more attention to her student’s questions. The way she teaches and the way she treats her students is very different. It’s a completely different type of teacher –student relationship.
C: What courses would you recommend to be taught again?
A: Reconciliation is a topic that is worth repeating over and over again.
My thesis will be about foreign conditions in Hungary. It’s important for Hungarians to realize that our world is really diverse. The phenomenon of racism is very much prevalent here. Even though I am Hungarian, but because I was born in the Ukraine, Hungarians are not very welcoming. I’m discriminated against. It makes me feel like a stranger everywhere. In Hungary, I’m Ukrainian: In Ukraine, I’m Hungarian. So reconciliation is an important topic for everyone.
C: Are there other courses that should be offered by KMTI?
A: Missiology
C: How would you recommend that we advertise KMTI and the courses we offer?
A: Use the Neptune system. Have links on other websites like Gazdagret. The university has a website and so does our faculty. It would be good to have a link from there. Also put posters up. Create eye catching posters and get them to me, I will see to it that they get put up in appropriate places.
C: Any other thoughts?
A: AMK courses are about real life. They are more demanding but worth it. Many students are afraid of AMK courses because she requires so much. But at ELTA the courses are even more demanding. At KRE students just don’t expect such demanding courses. Many students are critical of her grading system but I have learned not to go to courses for grades but for the real life value.
C: Tell me about yourself.
A: Right now I’m attending two schools. One is Karoli and the other is ELTE. I started my B.A. in English this year. I decided to immerse myself in English. I enjoy talking and practicing the language. I enjoy talking because written language is a sort of dead language.
C: What do you hope to do with this degree?
A: I chose this degree to reach a proficiency level in English and I am also getting my masters this year at the faculty of theology. I’m going to parallel universities. Once I get my degree, I don’t want to start my pastoral career; not really a career but a calling from God. I’m not really sure that I want to be a pastor, that’s one of the reasons I started this other degree in English. I don’t really fit into the context of the traditional reformed church pastor.
C: Can you tell me about your background?
A: I was born in another region so I’m not really a Hungarian citizen but my ancestry is 100% Hungarian and I am really proud of it. Basically I was raised in the western region of Ukraine. It was settled by many different minorities, one of them being Hungarian. 160,000 Hungarians are there surrounded by Russians and Ukrainians. So we were a minority. But the place where I was born was 100% Hungarian so I grew up speaking Hungarian. Our village was a village of 3,000 people. I lived there all my growing up years until I was 18, until I graduated from high school. Then I came to Budapest to go to the university. I had two choices to make. I could have started my studies in the Ukraine but it is a corrupt system. Once you get in you have to pay a kind of bribe for each exam. It doesn’t matter what you know. There is a rate and if you pay it, you pass. It depends on how valuable the exam is how much you have to pay. You can study but what really matters is if you paid the amount needed to get a passing mark. So I didn’t want my parents to have to pay into this corrupt system so instead I applied for a scholarship. There are 25 scholarships available to students in the Trans Carpathian area provided by the Hungarian government. I was chosen to receive this scholarship based on my points on the entrance exam. So that is why I am studying here. This is now my sixth year studying here and I will graduate this year in theology. But I plan to study English at the other university and I hope to be able to go to the U.S. to really learn English and become a proficient English speaker.
C: Tell me about your family background.
A: I was born in a traditional Hungarian Reformed family. My parents and grandparents would take me to church since the age of three. I found it really boring and I really didn’t understand what it was all about. As I grew up, I gained knowledge and I began to question things in church. Why do we baptize children? Why do we have confirmation? I was trying to get at the root of these things in the Bible. Then when I was in high school I went to a Reformed high school; one of four in the Trans Carpathian region. It was the best of all the Hungarian schools. 98% of those that graduated went on to a university.
Before I went to high school, when I was 14 years old, we had a week of camp as a part of confirmation. At the camp there were other Christian children and we learned about God and the Bible. I sensed something transcendent. That was a point when I really felt that I met Jesus. After that I went home and I sensed that the way I was living my life was not the way God wanted me to live. That was a kind of turning point where I thought about moving forward toward high school and then university.
Then in high school, I received even more knowledge through my church education. We had to learn the catechism by heart. I recognized that before this that I was just repeating these things without really having any real knowledge. Then in high school it started to make sense to me. I began to pray to find out what God wanted me to do. I found the passage in Isaiah 49:6 “I will make you a light unto the Gentiles”. Through this verse I felt God calling me to be a missionary.
Before I started my theological studies, I felt God calling me to be a missionary and maybe that is still what God is calling me to do. I’m not sure what and where God wants me to do ministry. I’m not sure if he wants me to be a pastor. That’s why I’m not going to start my ministry right now. When I graduate I should start my ministry but it doesn’t feel right for me right now.
C: So what are your plans now?
A: I know that I am a Christian and that God has used several things to have an impact in the direction my life is taking. There was a new rule that every student had to have an intermediate language certification by your 7th semester before you were allowed to go on. So I went to the U.S. for three months and that really broadened my perspective on life. When I came back I started working for a multinational Dutch company here in Budapest for several months. I found many people there that would confide in me about their spiritual lives. I was doing a bit of spiritual counseling there. I found that I am interested in much more that theology and Greek and Hebrew and Latin. I want more of the real life.
C: Can you tell me about the courses that you took with Anne-Marie?
A: I took the “Climate Change in the Church” course and a course on Missiology. What I gained from those courses: AMK teaches her courses in a different way than the western education system. She requires a lot of reading and response. She requires response not only to her questions but also to what you have learned and how you will apply it. It’s much more practical that theoretical. It was much more challenging that the other theology courses where you aren’t required to do much research but just go to class and listen. What’s really good about the AMK courses is the amount of dialogue between students. She is more of a coordinator. It’s not just a conversation between her and the students but with all of us from different faculties in the university dialoguing together with her moderating. These dialogues really caused us to challenge our world views. I found it very engaging. Dr John Brouwer’s course is more interactive in the same way. These courses allow us to share our own opinions and then to form conclusions together. I would really recommend these courses. AMK really makes me think. She pays more attention to her student’s questions. The way she teaches and the way she treats her students is very different. It’s a completely different type of teacher –student relationship.
C: What courses would you recommend to be taught again?
A: Reconciliation is a topic that is worth repeating over and over again.
My thesis will be about foreign conditions in Hungary. It’s important for Hungarians to realize that our world is really diverse. The phenomenon of racism is very much prevalent here. Even though I am Hungarian, but because I was born in the Ukraine, Hungarians are not very welcoming. I’m discriminated against. It makes me feel like a stranger everywhere. In Hungary, I’m Ukrainian: In Ukraine, I’m Hungarian. So reconciliation is an important topic for everyone.
C: Are there other courses that should be offered by KMTI?
A: Missiology
C: How would you recommend that we advertise KMTI and the courses we offer?
A: Use the Neptune system. Have links on other websites like Gazdagret. The university has a website and so does our faculty. It would be good to have a link from there. Also put posters up. Create eye catching posters and get them to me, I will see to it that they get put up in appropriate places.
C: Any other thoughts?
A: AMK courses are about real life. They are more demanding but worth it. Many students are afraid of AMK courses because she requires so much. But at ELTA the courses are even more demanding. At KRE students just don’t expect such demanding courses. Many students are critical of her grading system but I have learned not to go to courses for grades but for the real life value.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Interview with Agnes Koszter -- Cindy Ippel
Cindy: Have you known Anne-Marie for long?
Ágnes: Not really. I took a course with an African this year. Dr Cephas Omenos. It was so different in how priests are in Africa from Hungarian priests. They are not like European priests, I don’t really know all of them, but the Hungarian priests that I know are all cold. They want to be friendly but they keep themselves at a distance. It seems that the African personality of a priest is so much warmer and more friendly.
Cindy: Tell me about yourself. Were you raised Catholic?
Ágnes: No, not really. I was raised in a very nice family but we didn’t go to church. I was searching for something, and money didn’t really satisfy me. Then over time, it just happened that I was looking for something more. When things changed in 1990 there was a change for me as well. There were now religious books and articles printed and I read them and knew that this was what I had been searching for. When you have God, it changes your whole life, suddenly you have a purpose.
I was raised in a small village in the south of Hungary. When I was 20 I went to England to study and learn English and then I went to Israel for 1 year and then to the Carribean to work on a cruise ship for 3 years. It was nice but I needed something to have more stability.I earned enough money to return to Hungary a buy a flat after this. I never really planned my life. But I was looking for something more than just money and that kind of stability.
Cindy: So this is when you started to study at KRE? Why did you chose KRE?
Ágnes: Yes. I wanted a school that was religious. I was interested in math and English but didn’t have enough time to prepare for my examinations so I decided to just pursue English at KRE.
Cindy: You are a fourth year student and you have also taken courses through CIMS? What courses have you taken?
Ágnes: The Veritas forum. I would highly recommend this class. It was so helpful. I have told my friends that are also English majors and we agreed that it would have been so good to have more classes like the Veritas Forum. The way it is taught is so good. It’s not just theoretical, but it’s so pratical. We work in groups and then each group invites someone of faith to come and speak to the whole group about their work and how their faith impacts their work. We are not just opeing a book, we are talking to a real person. It really affected all of us in the group to hear these things. My friends and I said after the Veritas class ˝It’s a shame; we chose the wrong major…we should have chosen a theology major...to be in the Institute.˝
Cindy: What do you hope to do in the future?
Ágnes: I am not really sure. It depends on the possibilities that I will have.With my major people can go and teach or go to another university and study some more. I am not interested in a career. I would like to settle down and get married and have a family. I am quite quiet and don’t really like to speak a lot. I would like a job where I don't have to talk so much. I didn't get an English degree to become an English teacher but basically because I wanted a degree. I would like to learn more and stay here in Hungary. I am done traveling. This is my country.
Cindy: What are your hopes for your church?
Agnes: I think that my priest is very good at organizing things. He's doing a pretty good job. There are lots of young couples. I am hoping that my church will be even more open . We have lots of small groups and lots of ministries for people small kids, for kids in high school. My boyfriend and I are involved in this way.We have lots of excursions in the summer.
Cindy: What are your hopes for the future of Hungary.
Ágnes: I recently read a book of a Jesuit monk who lived for 40 years in Japan and came back to live in Hungary. Actually he spoke to the Veritas group and I bought his book and he said that the Christian faith in Hungary has been here for 1000 years. But in Japan they are mostly Bhuddist and Christianity has been suppressed but yet the Christians faith is so much stronger in Japan than in Hungary. In Hungary we have people that are so depressed and their faith doesn’t really influence their outlook on life. What I hope for the Hungarian people is that their faith will be strengthened. Then out of this strong faith, things will be changed. Then there will be political change. If we could have a perspective of the Christians in Japan. Their way of thinking is so different than Hungarians. Because of communism we are afraid to practice our faith. I see in my church that already there is a change in their way of thinking.I see in my church they have 3 or 4 kids in a family. Some famililies have 6,7,8 kids. This is a different way of thinking. Big families show that you have more faith, you trust God is going to take care of you. When you are fearful and worried about money, you only have 1 or at the most 2 children. But when you have faith and you trust God to take care of you then you see bigger families with more children. You know God will take care of you.
Cindy: How is your family in accepting your faith?
Ágnes: At first they were afraid a bit. But now, it’s like when you are not a Christian, then your life is a big mess. When you start to believe and go on the right path, then God starts to sort things out in life. And when my parents saw my sister and then me become Christians and our messy lives started to get straightened out, then they realized that it is good. But it doesn’t make them want to go to church or anything. It would be too hard for them. They feel like it would look stupid to all of a sudden show up in church. In their town they have never gone to church so it would be so strange.
Cindy: How would you suggest that we could advertise CIMS better?
Ágnes: You should tell the English department. There are many teachers that it is obvious that they have faith by the way they teach their classes. I think if Anne-Marie could meet with these teachers. Maybe when they have an English teachers meeting, Anne-Marie should go there and introduce her courses and tell about the different seminars that are being offered.. I think many of them would be very interested and would promote them to their students. There are many English teachers at KRE that are Christians and they would be very interested in Anne-Marie's courses and having their students attend her courses.
Also, it would be good to advertise on the internet throught the Neptune program.
Ágnes: Not really. I took a course with an African this year. Dr Cephas Omenos. It was so different in how priests are in Africa from Hungarian priests. They are not like European priests, I don’t really know all of them, but the Hungarian priests that I know are all cold. They want to be friendly but they keep themselves at a distance. It seems that the African personality of a priest is so much warmer and more friendly.
Cindy: Tell me about yourself. Were you raised Catholic?
Ágnes: No, not really. I was raised in a very nice family but we didn’t go to church. I was searching for something, and money didn’t really satisfy me. Then over time, it just happened that I was looking for something more. When things changed in 1990 there was a change for me as well. There were now religious books and articles printed and I read them and knew that this was what I had been searching for. When you have God, it changes your whole life, suddenly you have a purpose.
I was raised in a small village in the south of Hungary. When I was 20 I went to England to study and learn English and then I went to Israel for 1 year and then to the Carribean to work on a cruise ship for 3 years. It was nice but I needed something to have more stability.I earned enough money to return to Hungary a buy a flat after this. I never really planned my life. But I was looking for something more than just money and that kind of stability.
Cindy: So this is when you started to study at KRE? Why did you chose KRE?
Ágnes: Yes. I wanted a school that was religious. I was interested in math and English but didn’t have enough time to prepare for my examinations so I decided to just pursue English at KRE.
Cindy: You are a fourth year student and you have also taken courses through CIMS? What courses have you taken?
Ágnes: The Veritas forum. I would highly recommend this class. It was so helpful. I have told my friends that are also English majors and we agreed that it would have been so good to have more classes like the Veritas Forum. The way it is taught is so good. It’s not just theoretical, but it’s so pratical. We work in groups and then each group invites someone of faith to come and speak to the whole group about their work and how their faith impacts their work. We are not just opeing a book, we are talking to a real person. It really affected all of us in the group to hear these things. My friends and I said after the Veritas class ˝It’s a shame; we chose the wrong major…we should have chosen a theology major...to be in the Institute.˝
Cindy: What do you hope to do in the future?
Ágnes: I am not really sure. It depends on the possibilities that I will have.With my major people can go and teach or go to another university and study some more. I am not interested in a career. I would like to settle down and get married and have a family. I am quite quiet and don’t really like to speak a lot. I would like a job where I don't have to talk so much. I didn't get an English degree to become an English teacher but basically because I wanted a degree. I would like to learn more and stay here in Hungary. I am done traveling. This is my country.
Cindy: What are your hopes for your church?
Agnes: I think that my priest is very good at organizing things. He's doing a pretty good job. There are lots of young couples. I am hoping that my church will be even more open . We have lots of small groups and lots of ministries for people small kids, for kids in high school. My boyfriend and I are involved in this way.We have lots of excursions in the summer.
Cindy: What are your hopes for the future of Hungary.
Ágnes: I recently read a book of a Jesuit monk who lived for 40 years in Japan and came back to live in Hungary. Actually he spoke to the Veritas group and I bought his book and he said that the Christian faith in Hungary has been here for 1000 years. But in Japan they are mostly Bhuddist and Christianity has been suppressed but yet the Christians faith is so much stronger in Japan than in Hungary. In Hungary we have people that are so depressed and their faith doesn’t really influence their outlook on life. What I hope for the Hungarian people is that their faith will be strengthened. Then out of this strong faith, things will be changed. Then there will be political change. If we could have a perspective of the Christians in Japan. Their way of thinking is so different than Hungarians. Because of communism we are afraid to practice our faith. I see in my church that already there is a change in their way of thinking.I see in my church they have 3 or 4 kids in a family. Some famililies have 6,7,8 kids. This is a different way of thinking. Big families show that you have more faith, you trust God is going to take care of you. When you are fearful and worried about money, you only have 1 or at the most 2 children. But when you have faith and you trust God to take care of you then you see bigger families with more children. You know God will take care of you.
Cindy: How is your family in accepting your faith?
Ágnes: At first they were afraid a bit. But now, it’s like when you are not a Christian, then your life is a big mess. When you start to believe and go on the right path, then God starts to sort things out in life. And when my parents saw my sister and then me become Christians and our messy lives started to get straightened out, then they realized that it is good. But it doesn’t make them want to go to church or anything. It would be too hard for them. They feel like it would look stupid to all of a sudden show up in church. In their town they have never gone to church so it would be so strange.
Cindy: How would you suggest that we could advertise CIMS better?
Ágnes: You should tell the English department. There are many teachers that it is obvious that they have faith by the way they teach their classes. I think if Anne-Marie could meet with these teachers. Maybe when they have an English teachers meeting, Anne-Marie should go there and introduce her courses and tell about the different seminars that are being offered.. I think many of them would be very interested and would promote them to their students. There are many English teachers at KRE that are Christians and they would be very interested in Anne-Marie's courses and having their students attend her courses.
Also, it would be good to advertise on the internet throught the Neptune program.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Interview with Angela Papp -- Cindy Ippel
Angela Papp interview: 11/08
Cindy: Tell me about yourself.
Angela: My mom is Polish; my Dad is Hungarian. I learned Polish at home because my Mom spoke Polish at home. I always lived in Budapest , but my Mom spoke Polish until I was 4 or 5 but then she had to speak Hungarian so my 3 younger brothers don’t know any Polish. When I was 3 my parents became Christians; my Dad first and then my Mom. She needed a whole year of convincing because Polish are very Catholic. My Mom was raised Catholic, very devout Catholic, so my Mom’s family rejected her when she became a Christian. My Dad’s family was accepting and they also became believers later. I accepted this faith as a child but did not really make it my own until I was 18 years old. I never rebelled, it just wasn’t really my faith before that, it was my parent’s faith. I really feel that I became a Christian when I was baptized. I knew that I should be baptized, so I became baptized in my church, the Hungarian charismatic church and that’s when I really felt the Holy Spirit enter into my life, so that’s when I would say I became a Christian. My whole way of faith was transformed. The Holy Spirit really filled my life after I was baptised. It has really changed the attitude of my life. I was baptized when I was 18, older than most of my friends because my parents wanted me to make that step when it was my own faith. That’s really when I feel like my life was changed. We went to many different churches as a family. Every time we switched it was because of a split; mostly because the church would split very often over very small issues. For example, the last split was over whether we should be baptized twice. I was baptized into the ˝Father , Son and Holy Spirit˝ but because Jesus name was not mentioned, it’s not good enough. The Hungarians are like that you can’t forgive and forget and move on.
When I graduated from high school I wanted to go to Canada because my aunt lived there and I wanted to learn English better. But I was refused three times, because I could not prove that if they let me in that I would return. Because I was not married, and I had no car or house or anything that would show that I would return. A friend told me about a ministry in England for Eastern Europeans called Ellel. It is a healing, deliverance and evangelism ministry that trains people in these ministries. I stayed there for two years, first as a young people team member then as a household manager. I took care of running things and then helped manage the conferences on the weekends. We had conferences every Saturday and Sunday. We ministered and trained at that time.Then I came home to Budapest to go to university. But ended up with a scholarship to study in England at the West Yorkshire School for one year. I studied about world view but it was very academic. Quite unlike the KMTI classes at KRE.
I met my husband last year. He is actually the director of Ellel Hungary. He is from near Budapest. His father is a pentecostal pastor and my husband is the worship leader. When we met we had a lot to talk about because I love the work of Ellel. We got married in August and we live in a flat just about Ellel.
Cindy: Why did you chose KRE?
Angela: There were two universities to chose from. I wanted to study English and there was KRE and another university in Budapest, but the one university is much larger. The class size at the KRE is much smaller and more intimate. I also found out that KRE was apparently religious and that appealed to me. I had heard that there was a student was dismissed from KRE because he was homosexual so then I thought they (KRE) must be Christian, not just in a historical sense but in a practical way. They really followed through in their beliefs. There are many Christian teachers here. And even though they are teaching secular subjects, they are incorporating their faith somehow into their subjects. You can sense it (their faith) by their teaching.
Cindy: How do you know Anne-Marie?
Angela: I met her in the first course I took at KMTI last year. ˝The Revival in Ghana˝with Dr Cephas Omeno lecturing. Now I am taking two more courses through KMTI: The Veritas Forum and ˝The Climate Change in the Church˝.
Cindy: What courses would you recommend to others?
Angela: The Veritas Forum. It started originally in Harvard where Christians and non-Christians debate about their faith and what it means to believe. They invited famous speakers to talk about their faith and we are replicating this forum here and so far we have invited speakers to come and tell us about their faith. It is very interesting; I really enjoy it. I am so happy to do something Christian finally in my courses here. I tell my friends about this course. If this faculty at KMTI did not exist, it would be very boring; very non-Christian. We have everything that an English department should have but the KMTI courses are so much more. It's really effecting my life.
Cindy: Are there courses that you would suggest that we add to the KMTI course offerings?
Angela: Yes! First what is the goal of this faculty?...to spread knowledge or to help students find faith?
Cindy: I think this is part of the goal. That student's faith will grow as a result of these courses is not always the goal but becomes the result of the courses. I think that many students take the course because they are interested in Christian ideas and then through the course grow in their own faith and applying what they learn in their own lives.
Angela: I think that it is important that the courses offered appeal to both Christians and non-Christians because KRE has a much higher non-Christian population. First of all what came to mind is a very popular topic: Creation vs. Evolution. I think this is something that non-Christians like to talk about just as much as Christians. It's very popular in Hungarian media right now. There are several books that have just been written about this topic.
Something my husband suggested has to do with the decline in the institution of the family in Hungary. Actually, he thinks it is a global problem. But it would be good to look at the institution of the family and it's decline effects society. Actually Otto Bixler, the American/Hungarian director at the Center (Ellel), would love to do a lecture on this. He just wrote a book on communism and how it effects Hungarian families. I also thought this would be a good topic: How Communism Effected Hungary. Otto Bixler wrote his book out of his experience at Ellel East. It is a healing ministry for all of Eastern Europe and he has observed much through this. He has lived here for twenty years and has good insights on how communism has effected this area.
Another topic that would be good is ˝Global Warming from a Christian Perspective˝. It's also very popular right now. To discuss what is our responsibility as Christians, how God told us to take care of the world and what that means now.
Also, I would be interested in hearing how the politics of America effects American Christianity. Perhaps to have someone from the U.S. Speak on how they see the changing of society in America. Actually our teachers at KRE are already teaching us that the 19th century was pax Brittanica; the 20th was pax America and the 21st will be pax China. Through time Britain became debted to America and now America is debted to China. All the products are made in China and now all the brains from Europe are being attracted there as well. Engineers from Europe are going to China.
Cindy: How do you think we can best advertise KMTI?
Angela: You need to interconnect with the faculty. Anne-Marie needs to make KMTI better known in the other faculties. You should advertise during the one or two week period when students are applying for their next semester courses. You should put out posters in all the different facilities of KRE around Budapest. No one knows about where you are located except students who are already in this building. You need to get the courses on the internet and have posters in all the locations the end of January/beginning of February.
Cindy: What are your hopes for your future?
Angela: For myself, I hopefully will graduate next year in English with a degree that allows me to teach. But I would really like to work with my husband at Ellel ministries. I would like to try teaching, elementary students. I used to work at the American International school and would enjoy working there again as a teacher. I have aslo done some translation work and would enjoy doing more of this.
Cindy: What are your hopes for the future of the church?
Angela: The church I go to is in a small village outside of Budapest. It is a pentecostal church with about 100 people. My father-in-law who is the pastor has his eyes on getting the whole village saved. He actually has prophesied about this. We will see. But we are actually looking for a place to buy a plot of land to build a new building. We constantly have space problems. About the church in general in Hungary. The work we are doing at Ellel, we are trying to build bridges with pastors. We train pastors twice a year and I'm the translator for these conferences. That's how I'm involved. We try to build bridges because in the past there was a wrong perception of our ministry that it was only about deliverance from demons and we were seen as super spiritual. Once Hungarians have a certain perception, it is very difficult to change their minds.
Cindy: What about the future of your country?
Angela: That's a big question. The political situation is so depressive. I don't have too high hopes for the country. As a Christian, I hope that we can do some work here. Many of my friends who live abroad think Hungary is crazy. We had communist rule for 50 years. Then there comes democracy and then we go back to communist leadership thinking that they had changed. I just don't understand that. The leaders right now, they are communist...their dad's were communist. Hungarians have a saying ˝a dog will never be a sausage˝ (it sounds better in Hungarian) but it means that something is not going to change just because you change the name or dress it up. It's still the same. People don't think outside the box. They only remember that there wasn't unemployment before and think that's all that matters. They only see it one way. All this depression, it's the fault of communism and all the alcoholism too. The suicide rate is going up. People don't see any other way out. An important matter that people seem to be missing is the whole decline of the family. It's so obvious and it effects everybody even Christians are getting divorces.I think it's important to focus on the family and what a difference it can make in our society. The stability of the family can make a big difference.
Cindy: Tell me about yourself.
Angela: My mom is Polish; my Dad is Hungarian. I learned Polish at home because my Mom spoke Polish at home. I always lived in Budapest , but my Mom spoke Polish until I was 4 or 5 but then she had to speak Hungarian so my 3 younger brothers don’t know any Polish. When I was 3 my parents became Christians; my Dad first and then my Mom. She needed a whole year of convincing because Polish are very Catholic. My Mom was raised Catholic, very devout Catholic, so my Mom’s family rejected her when she became a Christian. My Dad’s family was accepting and they also became believers later. I accepted this faith as a child but did not really make it my own until I was 18 years old. I never rebelled, it just wasn’t really my faith before that, it was my parent’s faith. I really feel that I became a Christian when I was baptized. I knew that I should be baptized, so I became baptized in my church, the Hungarian charismatic church and that’s when I really felt the Holy Spirit enter into my life, so that’s when I would say I became a Christian. My whole way of faith was transformed. The Holy Spirit really filled my life after I was baptised. It has really changed the attitude of my life. I was baptized when I was 18, older than most of my friends because my parents wanted me to make that step when it was my own faith. That’s really when I feel like my life was changed. We went to many different churches as a family. Every time we switched it was because of a split; mostly because the church would split very often over very small issues. For example, the last split was over whether we should be baptized twice. I was baptized into the ˝Father , Son and Holy Spirit˝ but because Jesus name was not mentioned, it’s not good enough. The Hungarians are like that you can’t forgive and forget and move on.
When I graduated from high school I wanted to go to Canada because my aunt lived there and I wanted to learn English better. But I was refused three times, because I could not prove that if they let me in that I would return. Because I was not married, and I had no car or house or anything that would show that I would return. A friend told me about a ministry in England for Eastern Europeans called Ellel. It is a healing, deliverance and evangelism ministry that trains people in these ministries. I stayed there for two years, first as a young people team member then as a household manager. I took care of running things and then helped manage the conferences on the weekends. We had conferences every Saturday and Sunday. We ministered and trained at that time.Then I came home to Budapest to go to university. But ended up with a scholarship to study in England at the West Yorkshire School for one year. I studied about world view but it was very academic. Quite unlike the KMTI classes at KRE.
I met my husband last year. He is actually the director of Ellel Hungary. He is from near Budapest. His father is a pentecostal pastor and my husband is the worship leader. When we met we had a lot to talk about because I love the work of Ellel. We got married in August and we live in a flat just about Ellel.
Cindy: Why did you chose KRE?
Angela: There were two universities to chose from. I wanted to study English and there was KRE and another university in Budapest, but the one university is much larger. The class size at the KRE is much smaller and more intimate. I also found out that KRE was apparently religious and that appealed to me. I had heard that there was a student was dismissed from KRE because he was homosexual so then I thought they (KRE) must be Christian, not just in a historical sense but in a practical way. They really followed through in their beliefs. There are many Christian teachers here. And even though they are teaching secular subjects, they are incorporating their faith somehow into their subjects. You can sense it (their faith) by their teaching.
Cindy: How do you know Anne-Marie?
Angela: I met her in the first course I took at KMTI last year. ˝The Revival in Ghana˝with Dr Cephas Omeno lecturing. Now I am taking two more courses through KMTI: The Veritas Forum and ˝The Climate Change in the Church˝.
Cindy: What courses would you recommend to others?
Angela: The Veritas Forum. It started originally in Harvard where Christians and non-Christians debate about their faith and what it means to believe. They invited famous speakers to talk about their faith and we are replicating this forum here and so far we have invited speakers to come and tell us about their faith. It is very interesting; I really enjoy it. I am so happy to do something Christian finally in my courses here. I tell my friends about this course. If this faculty at KMTI did not exist, it would be very boring; very non-Christian. We have everything that an English department should have but the KMTI courses are so much more. It's really effecting my life.
Cindy: Are there courses that you would suggest that we add to the KMTI course offerings?
Angela: Yes! First what is the goal of this faculty?...to spread knowledge or to help students find faith?
Cindy: I think this is part of the goal. That student's faith will grow as a result of these courses is not always the goal but becomes the result of the courses. I think that many students take the course because they are interested in Christian ideas and then through the course grow in their own faith and applying what they learn in their own lives.
Angela: I think that it is important that the courses offered appeal to both Christians and non-Christians because KRE has a much higher non-Christian population. First of all what came to mind is a very popular topic: Creation vs. Evolution. I think this is something that non-Christians like to talk about just as much as Christians. It's very popular in Hungarian media right now. There are several books that have just been written about this topic.
Something my husband suggested has to do with the decline in the institution of the family in Hungary. Actually, he thinks it is a global problem. But it would be good to look at the institution of the family and it's decline effects society. Actually Otto Bixler, the American/Hungarian director at the Center (Ellel), would love to do a lecture on this. He just wrote a book on communism and how it effects Hungarian families. I also thought this would be a good topic: How Communism Effected Hungary. Otto Bixler wrote his book out of his experience at Ellel East. It is a healing ministry for all of Eastern Europe and he has observed much through this. He has lived here for twenty years and has good insights on how communism has effected this area.
Another topic that would be good is ˝Global Warming from a Christian Perspective˝. It's also very popular right now. To discuss what is our responsibility as Christians, how God told us to take care of the world and what that means now.
Also, I would be interested in hearing how the politics of America effects American Christianity. Perhaps to have someone from the U.S. Speak on how they see the changing of society in America. Actually our teachers at KRE are already teaching us that the 19th century was pax Brittanica; the 20th was pax America and the 21st will be pax China. Through time Britain became debted to America and now America is debted to China. All the products are made in China and now all the brains from Europe are being attracted there as well. Engineers from Europe are going to China.
Cindy: How do you think we can best advertise KMTI?
Angela: You need to interconnect with the faculty. Anne-Marie needs to make KMTI better known in the other faculties. You should advertise during the one or two week period when students are applying for their next semester courses. You should put out posters in all the different facilities of KRE around Budapest. No one knows about where you are located except students who are already in this building. You need to get the courses on the internet and have posters in all the locations the end of January/beginning of February.
Cindy: What are your hopes for your future?
Angela: For myself, I hopefully will graduate next year in English with a degree that allows me to teach. But I would really like to work with my husband at Ellel ministries. I would like to try teaching, elementary students. I used to work at the American International school and would enjoy working there again as a teacher. I have aslo done some translation work and would enjoy doing more of this.
Cindy: What are your hopes for the future of the church?
Angela: The church I go to is in a small village outside of Budapest. It is a pentecostal church with about 100 people. My father-in-law who is the pastor has his eyes on getting the whole village saved. He actually has prophesied about this. We will see. But we are actually looking for a place to buy a plot of land to build a new building. We constantly have space problems. About the church in general in Hungary. The work we are doing at Ellel, we are trying to build bridges with pastors. We train pastors twice a year and I'm the translator for these conferences. That's how I'm involved. We try to build bridges because in the past there was a wrong perception of our ministry that it was only about deliverance from demons and we were seen as super spiritual. Once Hungarians have a certain perception, it is very difficult to change their minds.
Cindy: What about the future of your country?
Angela: That's a big question. The political situation is so depressive. I don't have too high hopes for the country. As a Christian, I hope that we can do some work here. Many of my friends who live abroad think Hungary is crazy. We had communist rule for 50 years. Then there comes democracy and then we go back to communist leadership thinking that they had changed. I just don't understand that. The leaders right now, they are communist...their dad's were communist. Hungarians have a saying ˝a dog will never be a sausage˝ (it sounds better in Hungarian) but it means that something is not going to change just because you change the name or dress it up. It's still the same. People don't think outside the box. They only remember that there wasn't unemployment before and think that's all that matters. They only see it one way. All this depression, it's the fault of communism and all the alcoholism too. The suicide rate is going up. People don't see any other way out. An important matter that people seem to be missing is the whole decline of the family. It's so obvious and it effects everybody even Christians are getting divorces.I think it's important to focus on the family and what a difference it can make in our society. The stability of the family can make a big difference.
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