Vivi...

Vivi is one of triplets born to Roma parents in the village of Pocsaj. Sadly, she has been nearly blind since birth. Vivi does not let her blindness hold her back. She is very smart, in fact, Vivi now attends a special school in the nearby city of Debrecen. During the week the Student.GO team was in Pocsaj, Vivi and Nina developed a special bond. Vivi was eager to learn English and Nina patiently helped her. At the end of the week Nina “drew” Vivi a picture using aluminum foil, feathers, textile paint, glitter, beads, and various other things. Vivi could “read” this picture with her fingers. It was a wonderful scene as Nina traced Vivi’s fingers over the items, explaining what they were. Vivi’s mom had tears in her eyes and said most people over look her daughter because of her handicap. But Nina looked past her blindness and saw the 10 year old girl with a big heart and a clever mind.

English Teaching in Vacegras

"Be Flexible, go with the flow, adaptability" all terms our Student.GO team heard over and over during their orientation and from us. This week they put it all into practice and smiled through it all!

We understood the camp would be ESL (English as a Second Language) for middle school and high school students and prepared lessons for that level. Surprise! The camp was attended by mostly elementary age children. No problem! With a little re-planning and re-vamping, our team stepped up and provided a great week of English learning, games, and crafts.

Most of this children had never experienced anything like this. They do not regularly attend church so the Bible stories were new to them. They basked in the attention and enjoyed the crafts. By the end of the week they were able to ask and answer simple questions such as "How are you?" or "What is your name?"

We ended the week with an Independence Day USA party and a hot dog cookout. We used this as an opportunity for the students to talk about their culture. The biggest laugh came when they asked us to sing the US national anthem! We muddled through, high notes and all. They sang the Hungarian national anthem and three of the girls sang the Roma anthem.

Truly a good time was had by all and we pray the seeds that were planted will take root.

Moldovan Mission Trip

I've often thought that missionaries need to be able to sit in a room full of people speaking a language they don't understand--and still feel comfortable. Erika Oosterkamp and I often found ourselves in this situation on our recent trip to Moldova. Our friend, Alina Ivan, came, too. From Romania. So she spoke Romanian with the Moldovans, while we smiled and nodded.

We did discover, though, that string games do not require verbal communication. And we had a lot of communication with the Romany children and the Romany women in the village of Vulcanesti--with and without string; with and without translation.

Gandhi Ensemble Mid-Tour Update

The Gandhi Ensemble has taken the USA by storm. They've only been in the States for a week and a half but they have been singing their hearts out with eight concerts! The venues have been packed with supporters eager to hear this talented group. The standing ovations have been a great encouragement to these seven young people. The group not only sings, they also teach about the Gandhi School and their Roma culture. They've been reunited with many friends that have visited their school over the last 10 years. At FBC, Greensboro they sang with their new friends from the youth choir that visited this past spring. In Virginia they were reacquainted with the Latino friends they went with to the Baptist World Alliance Youth Meeting in Germany two years ago. Don't worry though, they are having fun too. Among several things, they've enjoyed the theme park, Carowinds, and touring Washington DC. Please continue to pray for them as they travel, sing, and teach others about their unique culture. Check out iamroma.com for information on the rest of the tour and the new DVD just released about Roma culture in southeast Hungary. Thanks for your support!

(Thank you Elaine Sarratt, FBC, Greenville, SC for the photo)

WOW! What a Week

It's been a busy time for the CBF Gypsy Ministries team with nearly all of us on the road. Shane and Dianne are representing our team at CBF's General Assembly (they are being featured in our Global Missions Offering material this fall - get on the list for it by calling the CBF office in Atlanta) and Shane is meeting with others to help plan strategy for Global Missions. Clista and Glen are touring the USA with a Gandhi High School student ensemble. They need your prayers! Mary Van Rheenen is in Moldova with two other partners providing a kids' camp and various other ministry opportunities. (Keith is at home because their girls are still in school but you can be sure he is busy doing something with video) Ralph and Tammy were in Szatmarcseke, Hungary with a Student.GO team doing kids' camp. And the summer has just begun...

Please continue to pray for our team and the ministries among the Roma. Check back often because we will have lots of stories to tell!

Student.GO Team TAG in Szatmarcseke

"Peel Banana, peel peel Banana..." was the favorite song of the week and "Praise Ye The Lord" was riotous as the girls tried to outdo the boys in volume. The weather was perfect and the kids soaked up the attention as we spent a week in the little village of Szatmarcseke. Each morning we were greeted by smiling faces ready to help act out the Bible story and eager to see what the craft of the day was. The boys were thrilled when our Hungarian translator got out his bow and arrows (practice arrows that are blunt on the end - safety first always!) to teach them archery. Life can be difficult for these Roma kids and they often grow up quickly. For this week they could relax and just have fun. I think I can truly say a good time was certainly had by all!
Thank you for your prayers. Now we are off to Vacegrasz for a week of English-As-A-Second-Language camp for middle school and high school age kids. Please continue to pray for safety and opportunities to share Christ.

Gandhi Ensemble Meets Student.GO Team TAG

It was hard to tell which group was more excited - the Americans just arrived in Hungary to spend six weeks among the Roma or the Roma heading to the USA tomorrow to spend three weeks among the Americans! The Student.GO team went over to the hotel to meet the Gandhi School Ensemble for pizza and a little jam session. It was a perfect evening to sit outside, enjoy the cool weather, and watch Joshua, lead musician for the ensemble, try to teach, Kolby, uncoordinated American (his own words), to play the kanna (metal jug). The Roma students gave us a mini concert that had hotel guests coming out of their rooms to listen. Your prayers are needed for tomorrow, please. It is a big day for all. The Roma students fly out for Atlanta and their first night in Greenville, SC. The three American students load up the van and head for the village of Szakmarcseke to do their first week of kids' camp. It's likely there will be little sleeping among any of them tonight!