A few years ago, one of my good friends Paula and I watched a movie on our day off. It’s called "Mrs. Brown" and it’s about Queen Victoria and the relationship she had with her bodyguard after her husband, Albert, passed away. It wasn’t a blockbuster movie or anything, and although the acting was good and the story line sweet, I doubt many people have seen it.
Paula and I at the time lived with a family of 5 children, and both parents were full time counselors for our volunteer organization. It was sometimes a job without much excitement, just taking care of the kids, and making sure they did their homework, went to bed on time, brushed their teeth, and ate their veggies. I remember Paula always kept in mind that we were helping the parents to do their job, by taking care of the little menial tasks.
In the movie, Queen Victoria’s bodyguard, Mr. Brown, commits his life to serving the Queen and does it with passion.
We wanted to be like Mr. Brown and in our case our "Victoria” were the kids--we wanted to dedicate our time and energy into them and do it professionally.
Ever since that has been our motto, along with another girl who eventually took our place, when Paula got married and I went to help another family. That is pretty much the motto we want to live by, in any thing we do. If there’s anything that is our "Victoria” then we should be willing to be Mr. Brown. If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing all the way.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Zita
I met Zita in February—we were showing our project brochure to different companies and we went into the shop where she works, and that’s how we met.
We talked a little, and we explained the work we do, and the visits to the hospitals and summer camps for the orphans in Transylvania, and she was very interested in coming along.
We took her to the hospital in one of our visits and she loved it! She dressed up as a clown and talked to the children and helped me translate for the little ones.
Zita also will come with us this summer to the English Camp we are organizing. And we are very happy to have her come with us, because she has a good way with children and has a cheerful and sunny personality—and the best thing is that she is teaching me Hungarian.
Zita reminds me of what Mother Teresa wisely said “We don’t need to do big things, just little things with a lot of love”
We talked a little, and we explained the work we do, and the visits to the hospitals and summer camps for the orphans in Transylvania, and she was very interested in coming along.
We took her to the hospital in one of our visits and she loved it! She dressed up as a clown and talked to the children and helped me translate for the little ones.
Zita also will come with us this summer to the English Camp we are organizing. And we are very happy to have her come with us, because she has a good way with children and has a cheerful and sunny personality—and the best thing is that she is teaching me Hungarian.
Zita reminds me of what Mother Teresa wisely said “We don’t need to do big things, just little things with a lot of love”
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Teaching to fish
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that goes “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat everyday”—in our line of work is very important to keep that principle in mind.
It’s all very nice and helpful to bring clothes, shoes, and food to the institutions we help, because there is a need and we have a way to meet that need. But that’s not all we do. By teaching children English, we give them the opportunity to expand their horizons—and yet that’s not the whole purpose of our ministry either.
Perhaps what we are really after, is to inspire the children to want more from life. To take the little they are given and build from that, to create a brighter future.
I have great hopes for some of this young people I’ve met in the different events we’ve organized. All they need is a little encouragement and someone to believe in them. Someone to teach them to fish. That’s what I am in Hungary for and doing the work I do, and I love it!
Children from a "Mother's Home" in Csepel, Budapest
It’s all very nice and helpful to bring clothes, shoes, and food to the institutions we help, because there is a need and we have a way to meet that need. But that’s not all we do. By teaching children English, we give them the opportunity to expand their horizons—and yet that’s not the whole purpose of our ministry either.
Perhaps what we are really after, is to inspire the children to want more from life. To take the little they are given and build from that, to create a brighter future.
I have great hopes for some of this young people I’ve met in the different events we’ve organized. All they need is a little encouragement and someone to believe in them. Someone to teach them to fish. That’s what I am in Hungary for and doing the work I do, and I love it!
Children from a "Mother's Home" in Csepel, Budapest
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Looking at Stars
I met a guy recently who has great expectations and wants his life to mean something—he wants to change the world and make it a better place. But he told me that he looks around and gets discouraged, it seems the good one does goes to waste. Our society is such that people put great importance in getting things for themselves, and more and more people are losing the touch and all attempts to change the world are futile.
I understand and agree that it’s not easy to always be unselfish, caring, and giving, especially when such efforts are met with ungratefulness, misunderstanding and sometimes even rejection.
I heard a story when I was in my teen years that has always been an inspiration to me.
The story is told of how a young bride from the East who, during the pioneering days, followed her husband to an army camp on the edge of a desert in California. Living conditions were primitive at best. He had advised against her moving there, but she wanted to be with him.
The only housing they could find was a run-down shack near an Indian village. The heat was unbearable in the daytime, the wind blew constantly, spreading dust and sand on everything in the house. The days were long and boring because her only neighbors were the Indians, none of whom spoke English.
When her husband was ordered farther into the desert for two weeks, loneliness and the wretched living conditions got the best of her. She wrote to her mother that she was coming home—she just couldn’t take it any more. In a short time, she received a reply that included these two lines:
Two men looked out from prison bars,
One saw mud, the other saw stars.
She read the lines over and over and began to feel ashamed of herself. She finally decided to she would look for the stars.
In the days that followed, she set out to make friend with the Indians. She asked them to teach her weaving and pottery. At first, they were distant; but as soon as they sensed that her interest was genuine, they returned her friendship. She became fascinated with their culture, history—everything about them.
She began to study the desert as well; and soon it, too, changed from a desolate, forbidding place to a marvelous thing of beauty. She had her mother send her books and studied the vegetation in the desert—Later, she became such an expert that she wrote a book about it.
The desert didn’t change. The Indians didn’t change. Simply by changing her own attitude she had transformed a miserable experience into a highly rewarding one.
How easy it is to focus on the problems around it, on the lack of progress, on the impossibilities—and yet if we were to look for the stars in our sky, we will realize how vast the universe actually is.
I made a resolution in my life to always look for the stars—and the darker the night, the brighter they shine. The stars are out there, the mud too as far as I know, but let’s focus on the stars—it is after all the better alternative.
I understand and agree that it’s not easy to always be unselfish, caring, and giving, especially when such efforts are met with ungratefulness, misunderstanding and sometimes even rejection.
I heard a story when I was in my teen years that has always been an inspiration to me.
The story is told of how a young bride from the East who, during the pioneering days, followed her husband to an army camp on the edge of a desert in California. Living conditions were primitive at best. He had advised against her moving there, but she wanted to be with him.
The only housing they could find was a run-down shack near an Indian village. The heat was unbearable in the daytime, the wind blew constantly, spreading dust and sand on everything in the house. The days were long and boring because her only neighbors were the Indians, none of whom spoke English.
When her husband was ordered farther into the desert for two weeks, loneliness and the wretched living conditions got the best of her. She wrote to her mother that she was coming home—she just couldn’t take it any more. In a short time, she received a reply that included these two lines:
Two men looked out from prison bars,
One saw mud, the other saw stars.
She read the lines over and over and began to feel ashamed of herself. She finally decided to she would look for the stars.
In the days that followed, she set out to make friend with the Indians. She asked them to teach her weaving and pottery. At first, they were distant; but as soon as they sensed that her interest was genuine, they returned her friendship. She became fascinated with their culture, history—everything about them.
She began to study the desert as well; and soon it, too, changed from a desolate, forbidding place to a marvelous thing of beauty. She had her mother send her books and studied the vegetation in the desert—Later, she became such an expert that she wrote a book about it.
The desert didn’t change. The Indians didn’t change. Simply by changing her own attitude she had transformed a miserable experience into a highly rewarding one.
How easy it is to focus on the problems around it, on the lack of progress, on the impossibilities—and yet if we were to look for the stars in our sky, we will realize how vast the universe actually is.
I made a resolution in my life to always look for the stars—and the darker the night, the brighter they shine. The stars are out there, the mud too as far as I know, but let’s focus on the stars—it is after all the better alternative.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Love is a big EAR
Teenagers take up a great deal of my time. Children do as well, but because of the work I do, I am mostly surrounded by teens. It’s both a challenge and a blessing.
I've read couple of books reviews on how to talk to teens, and how to relate to them, and here are some notes I took from there:
To communicate your care for your teens remember that these things are needful: love, time and so important—love is a big ear! Learn to listen unconditionally.
Love, humility and prayer solve all problems
A sense of humor is one of the most essential additions to your bag when you’re around teenagers. It’s indispensable!
Work hard in getting to know your teens and liking them.
Praise and encouragemente are one of the most important parts of child training.
Whenever you think of teens, remember to pray for the. Praying is not the least you can do but the most.
More often than not, we adults don’t have the answers to the problems of the youth today—the world moves in a pace too fast for us to follow, and yet there’s one thing that works wonders for teens—unconditional love. When they know they belong and that they are important to someone. They will not expect you to always give them solutions but if you are willing to hear them out, they will thank you for it. Love is after all a big ear!
I've read couple of books reviews on how to talk to teens, and how to relate to them, and here are some notes I took from there:
To communicate your care for your teens remember that these things are needful: love, time and so important—love is a big ear! Learn to listen unconditionally.
Love, humility and prayer solve all problems
A sense of humor is one of the most essential additions to your bag when you’re around teenagers. It’s indispensable!
Work hard in getting to know your teens and liking them.
Praise and encouragemente are one of the most important parts of child training.
Whenever you think of teens, remember to pray for the. Praying is not the least you can do but the most.
More often than not, we adults don’t have the answers to the problems of the youth today—the world moves in a pace too fast for us to follow, and yet there’s one thing that works wonders for teens—unconditional love. When they know they belong and that they are important to someone. They will not expect you to always give them solutions but if you are willing to hear them out, they will thank you for it. Love is after all a big ear!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Deva Project
I’ve been in Hungary for two and and half years, and even since I moved here I’ve been involved in what we call “The Deva Project”. Deva is a city in Romania, near the border with Hungary (it used to be part of Hungary, what is usually referred to as Transylvania). A great percent of the population there speak Hungarian as well as Romanian, and that’s the reason why we first came in contact with the children there. The orphanages are run and under the care of Father Csaba, of the Franciscan order. He was the pioneer of both placing unprivileged children in families, and opening a school for the same children.
Most of the kids there have families, but are either too poor or they come from broken families and thus they are placed with other families who take care of them—some only for the school months and others all year round.
We have organized English Camps for two consecutive summers, and will host another one this year as well. We not only teach English to the kids who attend but also take them on hikes, play sports with them, sit around the fire in the evenings and play music, and encourage the children to try out new things and provide them with fun activities.
Personally this project is very close to my heart—I have made friends with many of the kids there and I am looking forward to seeing them again this summer.
Here are some of the photos of the children from the Summer English Camp as well as the trip we made there last December.
Matthew with Annamarie, one of the orphan girls
Alexandra, after finishing her English reading course
Drama class with the little ones
Playing a board game with the older kids
Stefan with two of the older boys who got winter boots
Most of the kids there have families, but are either too poor or they come from broken families and thus they are placed with other families who take care of them—some only for the school months and others all year round.
We have organized English Camps for two consecutive summers, and will host another one this year as well. We not only teach English to the kids who attend but also take them on hikes, play sports with them, sit around the fire in the evenings and play music, and encourage the children to try out new things and provide them with fun activities.
Personally this project is very close to my heart—I have made friends with many of the kids there and I am looking forward to seeing them again this summer.
Here are some of the photos of the children from the Summer English Camp as well as the trip we made there last December.
Matthew with Annamarie, one of the orphan girls
Alexandra, after finishing her English reading course
Drama class with the little ones
Playing a board game with the older kids
Stefan with two of the older boys who got winter boots
Friday, February 20, 2009
Clowns at the Hospital
Recently we began a new ministry in our center. We go to the children's ward at the Szent Janos Hospital and visit the children from room to room and make balloons for them. Here are some pictures...
Aaron dressed as a clown
Daniel handing out the balloon to a little boy
little girl with her balloons
Aaron dressed as a clown
Daniel handing out the balloon to a little boy
little girl with her balloons
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