New Christian family from Iran and Szabina
It’s been three months since I started work at the Refugee Integration Center called Kalunba in the city of Budapest. I meet so many clients (refugees) every day at the centre. Here we see mostly refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Africa. With many staff, Interns, volunteers and refugee clients, our group becomes an international gathering every day. Some of them speak English well enough and others need help translating from those who can speak English. Interestingly enough, I find that language is not a barrier at the centre. I’ve shared in many of their stories of family, culture, religion, war, politics, and life in the refugee camps. I have met many families that have chosen Christianity from the missional work in the refugee camps in Hungary. Some refugees become Christian, and they attend church faithfully even though they cannot understand English or Hungarian well enough yet. They attend St. Columba’s Church of Scotland in Budapest. It is my joy to sit with them and worship together on Sunday.
Bread from Masala
A couple of days ago, I missed lunch and felt hungry at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I said to Tahira, a young Pakistani woman, that “I am hungry!”. Immediately, she called a boy who came from school and told him something and sent him away. Within a few minutes, the boy brought a bunch of warm pita bread and lentil filling wrapped in newspaper. In awe, I asked him where he got it from, and he replied, “My mother sent you this.” Their quick action of love was so moving because his mother, Masala, is a disabled Pakistani woman who is also deaf. The bread she made was so fresh and delicious with the lentil paste. I invited Tahira to join the simple impromptu meal, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable dinners of my life. This incident made us much closer, and we are now one family.
Masala is such a warm and caring woman and she uses her sign language to ask me if my shoulder pain is okay, or to go and rest. I can feel her frustration at being a refugee, disabled and missing her homeland and family. I try to learn her sign language or gestures whenever I can, to help communicate with her. I can now understand about half of what she is trying to say to me. We also talk through family pictures from her photo album, which helps our conversation. As a fun project for the family, Oriana, a lovely volunteer from Germany, and myself, made a butterfly costume for her daughter’s grade three class work activity. It turned out so cute and she was so happy to wear it, and she ran around the centre like a butterfly! Her little smiling face gave me such a sense of joy and purpose in knowing this that this is the Lord’s love. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to serve this community with His blessing.
Jeanie Lee
