Back to school... except it’s all in Hungarian

Source: Fragile Minds

You went to school to learn girl
Things you never, never knew before
Like “I” before “E” except after “C”
And why 2 plus 2 makes 4
Now, now, now I’m gonna teach you
(Teach you, teach you)
All about love girl
(All about love)
Sit yourself down, take a seat
All you gotta do is repeat after me…


Well, it’s not quite that easy, Michael. But there’s a reason this song has been in my head: Our first couple weeks here in Hungary do feel like we’ve gone back to school. There’s so much to learn! Here are some of our recent lessons…


GO Conference
We landed in Hungary on August 19 with our eight bags, and we were so thankful to have three days to unpack and get over jet lag before we left again for our next step: OM’s global orientation conference for all new mission workers going out into the field this fall. It’s called the GO Conference, and it was held for 10 days at a retreat center in the Netherlands.

We had great weather for the GO Conference in the Netherlands.

I think the conference was special because we were surrounded by Christians from countries all over the world who have felt God’s call to foreign missions. We played volleyball with Germans and cards with the Dutch (who have never heard of the game Dutch Blitz, interestingly enough). We heard South Koreans pray so passionately for their North Korean brothers and sisters that we were moved to tears. We hung out with fellow Americans we met at our US conference in June. It was a mix of languages, perspectives, colors, voices. I think it was more of a glimpse of heaven than I’ve ever seen before.

We enjoyed times of worship, devotions, group discussions, sessions and free time, and almost every night was a neat event. One of my favorites was the Culture Night, where each country group gave a short presentation. The Swiss yodeled, the British demonstrated how to queue (stand in line), the Latin Americans fashioned a piñata, and what did we Americans do? A line dance to Cottoneye Joe, naturally.

Patrick and I both enjoyed the conference and feel more prepared for challenges we might face ahead. We also learned more about OM’s core values and how they are accomplished through God’s movement and direction, and we felt excited to get into things upon our return to Hungary.

Expect the unexpected
When we left for Europe, I expected to run into language challenges. I expected to be homesick and jetlagged. What I did not expect was a double ear infection at the GO Conference. I also did not expect both Patrick and I to have raging allergies flare up the minute we left our first softball game in Hungary. Our health has taken a beating. Thankfully, though, God provided a smiling Dutch doctor who prescribed me antibiotic eardrops just like I would get in the States – something that sounded like a rare thing in Europe – and allergy medicine that is slowly helping us recover. It’s been tough trying to stay alert and clear-minded in the midst of so much training and learning when our noses are leaking like fire hoses. But, we’re trying to hang in there and trust that God is healing and giving us grace in the meantime.

Our first weeks in Hungary
So many lessons these first few weeks: How to drive a big manual van through the roundabouts of Érd, how to find butter at the local Aldi when you can’t read any labels or ask for help, how to light our little gas oven. Things that used to be so simple we didn’t even think about them are now a challenge. There’s a certain relinquishing of independence and pride when you must rely on others to show you these little things or when you must just stumble through them like a goofball. But, it helps us to strive for the attitude of students. It feels like the first days of college – you’re in a new place, you don’t know anyone or anything, and you’re in this constant state of learning. With God’s help, though, we are accomplishing small victories each day, whether it’s counting to 10 in Hungarian during a baseball drill or ordering a dupla sajtos McRoyal (double cheeseburger) at the local McDonald’s after practice one evening.

In addition to learning the simple activities of life, we met each day our first week with our new OM team to learn about our roles, how prayer meetings work, how to fill out transportation forms, how to apply for our residency, stuff like that. We are thankful that our team has been so patient with us in the midst of their own busy ministries.

We’ve also jumped right in to helping with the baseball and softball teams. They are winding down the season, but Patrick has been helping to work on the baseball field almost every morning and coaching different teams every night. The softball team will be one of our main ministry focuses since Patrick will be the head coach next year and I will be playing. (I’m practicing with the team right now even though I won’t play until next season – I’m happy to report I’ve learned I need to rotate my wrists while batting. Many of you know that as a Smith family member, I never would have predicted softball to be one of my main future pursuits. The Lord is funny.) This winter after the season ends, we will be hosting a weekly Bible study-type night for the team.

The softball players are a fun and friendly group ranging from around ages 14-19. (Being 10 years older than most of these players is odd.) Suzanne, an American with OM who has been the coach up until now, has done a great job connecting with the girls and making practices fun. We are so glad to be learning from her.

Patrick at the elementary-age team practice; Me in our little kitchen. I was so thankful I lit the oven for the first time without blowing up our house.

I am also receiving training for my communications role. I’m excited about writing articles and taking photos of the stories that are happening through the OM team’s ministries. (I’ll let you know where you can read them when I am a little further along. :) ) I just got my first assignment writing a short article about a family fun day that was hosted in August to bless refugee families living in Budapest.

From here, we are focusing on finishing up the baseball/softball season with playoffs ending in October. In November, we will start attending language school in Budapest. Oh, man, does Hungarian seem even harder the more we hear it and hear about it – but we’ll give it our best shot!

Thanks for reading this loooong update, and as always, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. The encouragement cards many of you wrote have been like life preservers when we’ve had our times of sadness and feeling overwhelmed. Those times haven’t been too often, but they are dark and painful, and really, you’ve made such a difference for us.

Some prayer requests:
Wisdom and good communication as we navigate the dynamics of our team
Good health as we adjust physically
That in everything, we remember God’s calling and purpose for us being here
That the hearts of the Hungarians we are meeting will be open to new friendships and spiritual conversations

Please email us any time and let us know what’s happening with you and how we can be praying for you. And in your lessons today, may you remember we have the greatest Teacher.

Much love,
Jessica