Christmas Events

The BBTI ladies got together for a couple events. One was a sock exchange and the other was a get together at a fellow classmates home. I'm so thankful for these ladies and know the Lord will do great things through them when they get to their fields of service. 

The works of men's hands

Psalm 115 
1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

     As I was reading this passage, I couldn't help but think of the statues I had seen in the churches in Hungary. The Catholics see the use of statues (and there are a great many statues to look at in the churches) the same way as pictures in a book illustrate a story. People don't have time to do a lot of reading, so the statues help tell the story quickly to get the point across. Whatever the reason for all the statues in the churches, they are still the work of men's hands and draw attention, not to the Creator, but to the creation. Praise the Lord that through Christ, we can have a relationship with Him, not simply practice an empty religion.

The Record that God Hath Given

Scrolling through past posts, I realized I haven't shared my testimony here yet, so without further ado, I present the story of what God did in my life personally from salvation to His service.

I grew up in Massachusetts in the home of my parents, Urho and Faith Aunio. My father was born in Ylistaro, Finland and immigrated when he was 13 years old to Fitchburg, MA where a large Finnish population settled. As most Finns do, he, his five siblings, and parents, Jon and Lempi Aunio, attended the Lutheran Church. My mother was adopted as an infant by Robert and Doreen Cheney. She, her parents, and their other adopted son, Robert Jr, attended the Episcopalian Church in South Lee, MA where my grandparents lived the entire 60 years of their marriage in an Episcopalian church. My family went to church on Sunday mornings but going to Sunday night and Wednesday services was unknown to me. My parents met via a dating service and married on August 1, 1979. They settled in Gardner, MA and attended a Lutheran Church in the next town over.

I came along a few years later in September 22, 1982. I had a very happy childhood and have fond memories of growing up. While being raised in the Lutheran church, though, I never met a missionary of even hear of that as a job title during my youth. I did not even know what a missionary was prior to going to the church where I met my husband which is also the church where his dad pastors.

I was in my teen years when I finally heard and understood for the first time that I was a sinner on my way to spend eternity in Hell. My mother started to attend a little Baptist church in Westminster, MA after the Lutheran pastor offended her. He came to her door one day after she had been out of church for a month or so. He told her she was on her way to Hell because she had not been to church for a long while. Well, that was the last time she ever attended that Lutheran church, though my father continued to attend. When a friend invited her to the Baptist church, my mother started regularly attending. It was in that little church, I heard what Christ did on the cross to take the punishment for sin upon Himself and I accepted the free gift of salvation that He offered.

In the immediate years following salvation, I thought that was it. That life went on. That I could live life as I wanted. I am so thankful our own children have been saved at a young age and are growing up around missions. I was 20 years old when I met a missionary for the first time. After being married for three months, a older couple going to Kenya was scheduled to be at church. They stayed in our home with us. We became friends and kept up with their ministry up until their retirement.

God has placed a number of people in my path to help me see how important missions is and how little everything else matters that we so easily put in higher priority. One of these people that helped share their love for missions with me is my husband, Jason. I am honored to serve by his side as we labour together for the cause of Christ to see lost souls won for His glory in Hungary!

In 2012, when Jason told me he would be taking his first missions trip to Hungary, I began to ask the typical questions that tend to pop up, you know, the questions such as “How are we ever going to afford this?” Jason had put a prayer letter together on Facebook about his plans to go on that summer missions trip. My dad sent me a message asking “I saw Jason is going to Hungary this summer. How much more money does he need to raise?” Now, my dad was into his fourth year of being an ALS patient. Because of the disease, he could no longer talk. So I messaged him back that we still needed to raise a thousand dollars. A few days later, a check arrived in the mail and Jason was able to go on to Hungary that summer. My dad passed away the following October, but praise the Lords he had accepted Christ as Saviour before he died! I look forward to our reunion in Heaven some day when I can tell him all the Lord allowed to be a part of in Hungary just because he was willing to give.  

I’m so thankful the Lord allows us to have a small part in His great plan. There are so many other causes we can pursue, but all others pale in comparison to the cause of Christ. There IS no greater cause than the cause of Christ.

John 18:37 "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." So as Christ bore witness of the truth, I praise Him for allowing us to go to Hungary to take the truth to the Hungarians. Again, there is no greater cause.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is thy Faithfulness

There is a story I once heard, where every morning, a man and his dog would walk to the train station. Once at the station, the man would get on the train to go to work. The dog would go home, but at exactly the same time every afternoon, he would return to the train station to meet his master upon his return home from work. One afternoon, the man did not come home on the afternoon train as he died of a heart attack. The dog faithfully waited at the station for his master to arrive home until the day of his own death. Now that is one faithful dog!

As faithful as that dog was, there is One who is more faithful. As faithful as the friend is who has stuck with you through thick and thin, there is still One who is more faithful.  As faithful as the spouse that has been by your side into your golden years is, there is still One who is more faithful. That One is God. Even when man fails to be faithful, God is always faithful. 

In what ways is God faithful? For one, God is faithful in His ever presence. Many instances in the Bible, God told His people, or used another person to relay the message, that He would not fail them nor forsake them (Deut 31:6. Josh 1:5, 1 Chron 28:20, Heb 13:5). How neat is it that even when we are without human companionship, God is there with us each and every second of the day! There are times we feel alone, but the presence of God is faithful.

Secondly, God is faithful in His provisions. Jesus preached a sermon on a mountain that is recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 12. In this message, He told of the provisions of God. God is faithful to take care of the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field so we can count on it that He will provide for us too.

Thirdly,  God is faithful in keeping His promises. A great verse of the Bible, Titus 1:2, says “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”. The Bible is filled with the promises of God and because He cannot lie, He keeps every one of them! I know even the best of our human friends can’t always say what the mean and mean what they say, but God is faithful to always keep His promises!

The presence, provisions, and promises of God are faithful, and as Jeremiah triumphantly cried out in Lamentations: “Great is thy faithfulness”. I sure get excited just thinking about God’s faithfulness! 

“It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” 

Lamentations 3:22-23

Week Two of Classes

Classes at BBTI have started. There are 21 students. My family is getting to know each of the other families by inviting them into our home for dinner. We have been really enjoying learning about who our classmates this way!

We are already in week two of classes. Everyone here is so kind and helpful. The classes at the moment are Phonetics and Culture. The material itself has been a bit overwhelming at times. I had no idea there was such a science in the way we speak, and how different languages use sounds that we don't in English. Learning them is key to understanding another language. 

A Year to Learn

Hungarian has been difficult to learn. Many missionaries have described their success with language learning as a result of studying at Baptist Bible Translators Institute, or BBTI for short. So, my family has found ourselves studying in Bowie, Texas this year. Praying for a good year full of learning!

My Grandma

My Grandma passed away on Memorial Day. She will be missed, but I have enjoyed travelling through memory lane, remembering the kind of person she was. 

She loved to laugh. She had a big laugh that could be heard all through the house. She enjoyed people. Being with people, visiting people, talking with people on the phone. She never seemed to run out of things to say. She loved to talk about her day and what was on her schedule. Usually, her schedule included visiting a neighbour or friend in the hospital. My grandpa, who passed away in April 2005, was the exact opposite. He was a quiet fellow who did have much of anything to say and was content to be quiet. 

I will continue to add to this post as I have time to jot down my memories.

Team from Romania

These past few days, our family was privileged to host had a group of five students and two teachers from the Baptist College International, located in Coșteium Romania. The goal of the visit was to assist with the Sunday School classroom we have been working on since the winter at the church in Szolnok, Hungary. The students were a blessing from helping with two picnic tables, helping to build the roof and walls on the classroom, and even distributing invitations to the summer English Bible Camp. During the Friday service, Florin Stanca did a terrific job teaching from Titus 2:11-14 "For the Grace of God". Then again on Sunday, his message was from 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 "Ye receive not the grace of God in vain". It was a blessing to have them for these few short days and looking forward to their next visit!

A Heidi Happy Birthday

Well, the youngest Mann child just turned 11. Time sure flies, doesn't it? She did not ask for much, but told Mom and Dad of her desire to have a strawberry cake mix. Unfortunately, Hungary does not have strawberry cake mix. Cake mix of any kind is hard to come by here. A very dear friend, Walter Stevens, brought over this cake mix during his travels to Hungary and Romania just for the birthday girl, and wow, was she excited! 

Vienna Weekend

Our ministry in Hungary has been going well and been very busy. Time for a break! This past weekend was a chance to get away as a family and take a bus to Vienna. Bus travel proved to be very comfortable and we were all able to nap comfortably on it for the three hour trip from Budapest. Too bad we couldn't travel that way during deputation! 

Time in Vienna flew by! We arrived Saturday at one in the afternoon. After we brought our bags to our accomodations for the night, we set off to see the sights. Dunkin Donuts was our first destination. This is the closest one to us from home. Perhaps Budapest will get one someday. The coffee and donuts were so good. 

Next stop was St Stephens. The architecture of this Catholic church was extraordinary! The carvings, and paintings were also quite the sight to see.

We rode the metro to different parts of the city to see what we could in our limited time and soon it was dinner time. We found a little place called the Chattanooga and enjoyed a nice meal. The diner actually reminded me of Cheddars which we often enjoyed in the States during deputation. 

Valentines Activities

Valentines Day was a fun time at church. The Bible lesson and craft in the monthly English Club were both centered around loving God who first loved us. In fact, the children made this weaved paper heart with 1 John 4:19 in the center: "We love him, because he first loved us." 

We also had a time for families to come out to church for food, fellowship, and fun it the Valentine's Family Afternoon. Here are some pictures from that event:

Snow in Szolnok

Where we live in Hungary does not get too much snow, but I really enjoy what we do get. One particular Sunday morning in Szolnok, the town where my family lives, we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground that continued to fall all day. The children and I had to go out at the earliest possible time to enjoy the snowy day. Here are some snow pictures I took during our ventures outside.