Keeping Up With the Kissingers: Szentendre Mission Trip

Our family was again blessed with the opportunity to travel with a group of 7 students on a mission trip over their 10-day break.

We went to a small, gorgeous town outside of Budapest - called Szentendre. I had no idea how beautiful the town was until we arrived. Located on the Danube River, with temperatures in the high 60s all week - it was absolutely perfect! The center of town, where we were staying, is filled with colorful houses and cobbled-stone streets.

The Franciscan students' mission for the week was to speak at the local high school during all of the class periods - sharing their faith testimonies and about life in America. They answered, or gave their input to, a lot of the hard questions about the faith, including chastity, that teens deal with every day. They probably most impacted the families who hosted them during the week. Unlike other missions where you can immediately see the fruit of your work (eg, handing hungry people food to eat, or building a home for the homeless) - the fruit here was likely the seeds being planted as they witnessed to their Catholic lives.

School cafeteria

Because many of the high school students' parents and grandparents lived during Communist rule - it was hard or impossible at times for them to live out their faith. Our students are a sign of hope and life in the Church - and wonderful role models for the teens to imitate.

Praise & Worship in the School Chapel

One reason we were able to visit this site is because one of their English teachers was a former student at the LCI (Language & Catechetical Institute), which is the other program housed at the Kartause along with Franciscan University here in Gaming. LCI is an incredible program that supplies Catholics from the East with a foundational knowledge of the Church teaching and the English language so that they can return to their native lands to serve the Church. That particular teacher was here in 1994 (along with her future husband who was also a student at LCI) and has gone onto serve the Church in many ways in her native land of Poland and husband's native land, Hungary - both through her professional work and in raising her children. And so the new, life-giving cycle continues (in place of the Communist regime that tried to build an atheist culture built on despair)... I just ran into a student who is studying at LCI this year - she just happens to be from this same little town in Hungary. I asked her if she thinks these mission trips make a difference - and she said, "Yes! It is the reason I am here!" She explained that when she was a high school student she hosted Franciscan students three different times. She said it was the student who stayed with her the first time that completely changed her life. From that time on she dreamed of studying at the LCI - to grow in her faith and to spread it throughout her country. And now she is here!

So what does our family do on a mission trip? Technically, Brian and I were there to play the role of advisor should any problems arise - but that thankfully was unnecessary. So we enjoyed any time we just got to hang out and encourage the students at school. Which would have been more time - but Ellie got sick! With high fevers, lots of coughing (enough to make her gag and throw up 2 nights in a row) and us all sharing one room - our mission was spent offering up the LONG nights and the tiring days. At least we were in a very beautiful place together as a family! And our family also made it a mission to FEED THE HUNGARY DUCKS EVERY DAY! (get that pun?! ;)