Bus4Life in Hungary

Sunshine and smiling faces were some of the memories of OM Hungary’s recent outreach with the Bus4Life over Easter. Visiting 3 different locations over 4 days, many people heard the message and meaning of Easter as well as local churches and believers being encouraged.

On Friday and Saturday the team ministered in a small village called Peteri. It was the first time in this location and working with the local Church, encouraging the new Pastor and his congregation. They took part in the church service on Good Friday and on Saturday helped with a Family Fun event in the local park alongside the Bus4Life. A puppet show, crafts and Hungarian folk games provided lots of activities and it was great to see people of all ages coming together for this event. It was a small event but the Pastor was encouraged by the working together of the Church members and he has invited the team back to help in future events. 

“For us as OM Hungary this is encouraging as it is part of our vision for the Hungarian Church: for us to be partners, helpers and encouragers to the many Pastors in small churches throughout Hungary”

Monday morning the group travelled a short distance to a small town called Szigethalon and took part in the Easter Monday program. The Bus4Life was parked outside the church for the morning and it was a great talking point for many especially as the very talented driver Esa shared about its ministry and sang some traditional Finnish songs from the Psalms’ during the service. After the service, Esa and OM member Istvan gave a guided tour of the bus for the church members.

The first outreach this year

The 2 week outreach in Moldova was blessed. In the first village, the team worked with a small church that had only a few members and wanted to get more people interested. Everyday many children came to participate in the programs around the bus and in the evenings, there were youth events for teens. This included good discussions and Christian films shown inside the bus. One evening the leaders suggested that the teens would ask questions that they could all dialogue about. “How can I repent and believe in Jesus?” one boy asked. The team discussed this question and when they asked if anyone wanted to receive Jesus, a 15 year old boy came over and said he wanted to repent and follow Jesus.

As the team gathered around to pray with him, about 20 other teens on the bus who were not believers stood up and listened respectfully to the prayer. The team then asked if anyone else wanted to repent and a 15 year old girl came forward. After praying with her, more started to come up for prayer and eventually 15 out of the group of 20 had responded to the invitation. Five left the bus while the others were praying for salvation. We are very excited about this news and ask you to join us in praying that these young people would get grounded in their faith and that God would raise up a youth leader in this small church to disciple them.

The following week was spent in a city in southern Moldova. Both the town and the church in it were very open and welcoming. Many people visited the bus which was parked near the town square and a large number of Bibles and books were sold. As the children happily participated in programs outside of the bus, including a bouncy castle, the adults looked at literature and engaged in discussions inside the bus. Those that were interested were given New Testaments.

The last weekend was spent celebrating OM Moldova's 20 year anniversary.

Bus4Life sai uuden maalikerroksen

The freshly painted Bus4Life arrived back to Finland from Estonia yesterday! It is now back in the shop for final interior work.

Bus4Life palasi uuden maalikerroksen kera Suomeen Tallinnasta eilen torstaina. Uutta hohtava kirjastoauto on nyt jälleen Raimo Laineen käsissä. Sisätyöt jatkuvat yhä.

Kuvassa vasemmalta Jorma Laine, Ville Impiö, Raimo Laine ja Hannu Laine. Laineet rakensivat vanhan Bus4Life-auton vuonna 2007 ja ovat siitä lähtien pitäneet kirjastoauton kunnossa. Ville Impiö on toiminut OM:n reissuilla vapaaehtoiskuljettajana.

From the left: Jorma Laine, Ville Impiö, Raimo Laine and Hannu Laine. The Laines built the old Bus4Life in 2007, and have since taken care of all of its needs. Ville Impiö has served as a volunteer driver.

Bus4Life Schedule 2015

12.-26.3. Moldova
30.3.-13.4. Unkari/Hungary
24.4.-4.5. Ukraina/Ukraine
11.-20.5. Romania
16.-25.5. Unkari/Hungary
25.-30.5. Tšekki/Czech Republic

4.-11.6. Slovakia

15.-29.6. Ukraina/Ukraine

3.-12.7. Unkari/Hungary

17.-31.7. Ukraina/Ukraine

4.-15.8. Slovakia

elokuu/August Romania

19.-31.8. Unkari/Hungary
11.-29.9. Ukraina/Ukraine
5.-18.10. Romania
15.10.-3.11. Moldova
5.-22.11. Moldova
26.11.-9.12. Moldova
12.-18.12. Romania
15.-19.12. Unkari/Hungary

Christmas in Budapest

  

ENGLISH TRANSLATION AT THE END

Bus4Life vieraili Budapestissa ennen joulua. Auto parkkeerattiin eri puolille kaupunkia paikkoihin, joissa prostituoidut tekevät työtänsä kaduilla. Heitä kutsuttiin sisälle bussiin, joka oli koristeltu joulua varten. Ulkopuolella joulupukki soitti kitaraansa.

Yhteistyöjärjestömme Table 22:n työntekijä rohkaistui nähdessään, kuinka iloisiksi nuoret naiset tulivat tavatessaan joulupukin, joka oli OM:n työntekijä. Joulupukki antoi heille lahjoja. Osa naisista oli vieraillut bussissa vuotta aiemmin ja oli sittemmin kysellyt, milloin se tulisi takaisin. Paikallinen seurakunta oli paketoinut naisille lahjoja: suklaata, kosmetiikkaa, Raamattuja, kristillistä kirjallisuutta ja kalentereita. Monet naisista eivät saa muita lahjoja jouluksi.

Naisten parittajat pitivät bussia silmällä, mutta eivät häirinneet niitä, jotka halusivat vierailla bussissa. Osa tytöistä oli hyvin nuoria, vain 17-18-vuotiaita. Yhteensä 30-35 naista vieraili bussissa paeten hetkeksi kadulta. He saivat kuulla evankeliumin, rentoutua lämpimässä bussissa kristittyjen seurassa ja kokea joulun taikaa joulupukin, kuusen ja lahjojen muodossa. He nauttivat joululauluista ja keskusteluista; useimmat kuuntelivat tarkkaavaisesti, kun joulupukki kertoi heille evankeliumin. Eräs työtekijä kertoo: ”Naiset olivat kiitollisia siitä, että olimme ajatelleet heitä ja vierailimme heidän luonaan jouluisella bussilla. Annoimme heille puhelinnumeromme ja pyysimme soittamaan, jos he tarvitsevat jotain.”

Table 22 tekee säännöllisesti työtä prostituoitujen parissa. Järjestö on pyytänyt, että he voisivat käyttää Bus4Lifea kaksi kertaa kuukaudessa vieraillessaan naisten luona. ”Bus4Life antaa meille mahdollisuuden kutsua naisia sisään kahville ja keskustelemaan. Voimme rohkaista heitä ja tarjota tilaisuuden poistua kadulta hetkeksi. Voisimme käyttää bussia liikkuvana toimistonamme, jotta naiset pääsevät lämmittelemään ja tapaamaan sosiaalityöntekijää", järjestön työntekijät kertovat.

Rukoillaan yhdessä, että Jumala mahdollistaisi kahden kirjastoauton käytön tänä vuonna ja että voisimme vastata myöntävästi Table 22:n pyyntöön.

***

Bus4Life was able to minister in Budapest before Christmas. The bus was parked in different locations where prostitutes work on the streets. They were invited to come inside the bus, which was nicely decorated with a Christmas tree and ornaments, and Santa playing the guitar. 

Our co-worker from Table 22 says she was encouraged as she witnessed the joy the girls experienced meeting (OM worker) Santa and receiving gifts. Some of the girls that visited the bus last Christmas had been asking when it would be back. A local church was involved in putting together gifts which included chocolates, cosmetics, Bibles, Christian books, and calendars. For many of the girls, these were the only presents they would receive. 

The pimps would drive around, sometimes look inside the bus, but they did not disturb the girls on the bus. Some were quite young, only 17 or 18. In all 30-35 girls were able to escape the streets for a short time and hear the Gospel message, relax in the warmth and love of the believers, and feel the magic of Christmas with Santa, a tree, and gifts. They enjoyed singing Christmas carols, talking about Christmas and most listened very intently when Santa shared the Gospel. A worker reports: “The girls were very thankful that we thought of them and visited them in the streets, creating a Christmas atmosphere in the bus. We gave them our cell phone numbers and told them to contact us if they ever need anything”.


Table 22 reaches out regularly to prostitutes and they have asked us about the possibility of using the bus once or twice a month to visit the girls along the roads in Hungary. “The girls like to go inside this bus and it is a good tool for us where we can invite them in to have chats, share coffee, encouragement and for them to have a short time off the streets. We might use it as a rolling office so the girls could get warm, get counselling, and meet with a social worker to get help”. 

Please pray with us that God would allow us to be able to use both buses this year, so we could meet the needs of the teams requesting the bus, like Table 22 with OM Hungary.