Jessica Hayes
Dear Family and Friends,
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Jessica
and Paul enjoy flying business class! (we were bumped up) |
Thank you so much for your support in my trip this summer. You all made it possible for me to go minister to the people of Hungary. I am especially
grateful for the prayers, I could feel God's Hand protecting and blessing our group. I wanted to share a little about my experience, so
that you would know more about what you were supporting. But before I start, I want
to say that all the glory goes to God who ultimately made this trip happen and gave us all the strength to endure through it.
He blessed us more than I can say, even to the extent that we flew home in first class!
For the three weeks I was in Hungary, I was at a boarding school in a town
called Vac (pronounced "votz") teaching English to Hungarians from the ages of 12-30. I worked closely with many Christian Hungarians, who were
translators, and other missionaries from around the world. You may be asking yourself how we can show Jesus to people by teaching English, so
allow me to explain. There were normal English lessons every day, and then we had study hours where the students had to read and answer questions about
different passages. It was really neat because we taught them Bible stories, church camp songs, and had conversation groups discussing (in
English, if possible) the ideas of Christianity, Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation through Him. We sort of built our way up as the camp
progressed, starting with the basics of morality, good and evil, eternity, and working our way to becoming a Christian.
The Hungarians have a different culture and it was interesting to learn some
of the differences. Learning them also made me appreciate the great place we live in, and how many blessings we take for granted every day. For
example, Hungarians are pretty quiet and to themselves in public places (unlike many Americans). They never say hi to one another on the streets,
or smile at people if they don't know them. This comes from their Communist background, when they were constantly in fear of saying something against
the government. And they have a great respect for older people, which I think is great, and take much pride in their country.
In Matthew 5:14-16, it says
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its
stand, and it gives light to everything in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise
your Father in heaven.
This verse pretty much sums up one of the lessons I learned this summer. Heading into the trip, I was expecting to minister to these kids by the
words I said, sharing my testimony and explaining how to be a Christian. While that was a major part of the camp for others, the job God had for me
was to minister through my actions. At first I was frustrated because I had two girls in my room who could say "hello!", "Jessica", and "N-Sync"! That
was about the extent of it. So I was like, God, how am I going to witness to these girls if I can't even talk to them. After a while, though, I
realized that God had a different way for me to minister to them. It was to let His light SHINE through my actions and love. So, I began to pray that
everything I did would glorify Him, and that the campers would see God's love in me.
This brings me to another important lesson I learned. The power of prayer
is an amazing thing! As I prayed for the enthusiasm and strength to SHINE for Jesus, I failed to see how He was answering my prayers. I didn't think
I was having an influence on anyone there, and I began to wonder if I was somehow not doing something right. But then, God helped me see, through a
simple note from one of the Hungarians, that I was showing God's love to people. And that is not to say "yeah me!" for doing God's work, because I
could only do it because God loves me so much that He answered my prayers.
Actually, I had a very humbling revelation while in Hungary, which is very
hard to admit but I think it is an important lesson I learned in Hungary.
Proverbs 21:2 says
All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.
God showed me this verse to help me see that sometimes my own desires were
not as pure as I thought they were. I had gone over to Hungary expecting, and hoping, to be able to pray with someone to get them saved. You see, I
have never done this before and I had made myself believe that my motive was pure, to get someone else into Heaven, and that it would mean I had a
purpose for the trip. Especially after one of my good friends prayed with a young girl to accept Jesus, I found myself praying for that same opportunity
instead of praying for God's will and not my own. God soon opened my eyes to see that that was not necessarily my mission for the trip, because
everyone has there own part in making the trip a true success. Some were prayers, some were leaders, some gave testimonies, and some were just
servants (like me). My motives had been all wrong, I wanted to be able to say that I had helped someone become a Christian, which was glorifying me
and not God. So God humbled me in that way and let me see that everyone has their own way of serving God the best, and I just had to be content with
what God had for me.
Basically, I learned a lot from only three short weeks in Hungary, and it
is an experience I will never forget. Getting to know the Hungarians was wonderful, it amazes me that I developed such strong friendships with people
in such a short time. Maybe the most important lesson I learned there was to love with all your being the way God loves us. On the last night of
camp, two precious girls came into my room and said (as best as they could in English) that they loved me and they were so glad to know me and begged
me to come back someday. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. At that moment I felt so humbled by their love, even though they didn't know me
that long, and it reminded me that I should love others like that.
I wish I could tell you all about my trip in more detail, so many great
things happened while I was there. I hope that this letter finds everyone well. Thank you again for your support and I will be praying for you while
I am at Asbury. Isten aldjon meg! (God Bless You!)
Keep Shining!
Jessica Hayes
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