It is a familiar scenario – a single mother, a few young children and an abusive partner. Against all odds, they escape the situation and, by God’s grace, discover a safe home for women and children on the outskirts of Budapest. They are safe but confused, hurt and lost. They come seeking love, comfort and acceptance.
This is the story of most women and children in the Salvation Army safe home in Budapest. Desperate, they are unknowingly in need of Jesus. Sadly, many are part of an ethnic group that, still to this day, faces deep-seated racism in Hungary. They have little money, and their access to transportation is limited – if any. They will be rejected in most places. So how do we, as believers with granted admittance to this home, bring these young women and children the hope of Christ? We love them like He does as we share the gospel message!
Every month, we spend a Saturday teaching the mothers and children about the redemptive love of Christ. We teach the children how to pray and sing songs about the love of God. We read and discuss a Bible story. We do a craft with the children, giving them one of God’s promises to focus on for the month. The simple crafts profess things like “God keeps His promises,” “God redeems us” or “Jesus loves everyone.”
This is not “church” as we typically think of it. The children are often in their pajamas; we don’t follow a strict format, and we don’t take part in communion. However, Jesus has told us clearly it is not these things that truly make a church. In Matthew 18:20, Jesus teaches, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Here in Budapest, we are redefining “church” as anywhere we are gathered in Jesus’ name.
Jesus’ redeeming grace has been seen in the stories of many women and children as they tell us with hopeful, bright eyes how they secured a new job or were approved for an apartment – or when the children proudly recite a prayer or Bible verse. God is moving and at work among those who are underserved and seen as outcasts in Budapest. Please join us in praying for Him to continually speak into the hearts of these precious women and children as they regain their lives after trauma.
