Catching Up

A lot has happened since Wednesday. Bonnie and I traveled to Sighisoara for a day of rest. That's another story for another day. I met with Otto Kis of Sacele/Brasov on Wednesday afternoon. He and Elisabeth are moving to a new flat in Sacele. Also, this week is wheelchair distribution for special needs persons at the Brasov church.  The event is co-sponsored by Joni and Friends.

On Thursday, Bonnie and I came to Reghin to be with Attila and Adel Toth and Paul Crook. We met the Leesburg Youth Camp Team. They are doing a great job. Each day the number of young people participating in the Sports Camp has grown...on Saturday over 100 young people participated! The camp emphasizes different sport each day. It's a great concept and has really worked well.  That night, Sandor and Miklos prepared authentic Hungarian Goulash for the team and the Gornesti young people.  

The construction of the Peris church is moving along.  On Friday morning the windows and doors were delivered and installed by Friday evening. Pictured are two of the Peris members working on the construction. 


Friday morning, Attila, Brad, Duke, and I went to Gornesti to begin construction on the Gornesti Gypsy Mission Church. We measured off the property, then measured out the foundation and dug the outline of the foundation. The ground was hard and full of rocks. We got the foundation framed and ready for the real digging to begin.  Bonnie and I then went to Cluj to pick up Katie McClung. She came in almost on time. We drove straight to Gornesti for a delicious meal of grilled chicken, pork, and micis (spicy Romania mixed ground meat shaped like link sausage).  

Saturday, we had to get serious in preparation for Gypsy Summer Camp to begin on Monday...photocopying, purchasing supplies, organizing materials, and going over schedules. The weather here is hot compared to what we usually expect. Next week, however, it is supposed to be considerably cooler in the mountains near Sibiu.  

Last night, we were all invited over to Istvan (Sir Baptist) and Dora's, Lala and Esther's, Zozo, and Ishti's house for a meal. How can they make such great soups?  We also enjoyed fresh baked bread, grilled chicken, chicken snitzel, potatos, fresh tomato, cucumber, and onion salad, and a huge fruit salad. Afterwards, we all went outside for a "campfire" and sang all our favorite songs in English, Gypsy, and Hungarian.

The Mike Family

On Sunday morning, we left Arad for Beius, Romania, which is located southeast of Oradea about one hour. We stayed with the Mike family (Jozsef, Adina, Barnabas, Abel, Boroke, and Little Joseph). We have known Joseph and Adina since August 1999 for Bonnie and May 2000 for Floyd.  They are true servants of God's people. We thank God that Teleios Ministry has had a small part in their ministry from early on. The family has grown over the years.

On Sunday we got up early and drove to Beius in time for Sunday morning worship at the Hungarian Baptist Church where Joseph is pastor. We celebrated the Lord's Supper together. On Sunday night, the five (yes, five) churches that Joseph pastors came together for a community outreach event at the cultural hall in Tarcaia. One of the churches is in this village. Every fifth Sunday, the churches gather together for worship and fellowship. This month they rented the cultural hall and had an outreach in the community. Bonnie gave her testimony and Floyd preached. The highlight of the evening was the youth choir that Joseph has established. When we first met Joseph Mike he had formed such a choir in Brasov. So many of the young people who are now active in missions were a part of his Brasov choirs. As we heard and watched the youth sing, we prayed that these young people would follow in the footsteps of the early youth choirs under Joseph's direction. The hall had no air conditioning, and it was full of people, so it was hot.

Monday we rested, talked, and took a walk in the city dropping by parks and grabbing some ice cream cones. Later that day we also played Rummy with Barnbas, Abel, and Adina. Monday night we entered another competitive game of Rummy that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday morning. We had a great time reconnecting with the Mike family. They are truly a blessing.

Tuesday, we had to pick up a "lost" piece of luggage that took a vacation while crossing the Atlantic on Friday. It traveled from Paris to Budapest to Arad, arriving in Arad after we left. Ruth Giorgiov was kind enough to bring the luggage to Oradea, and we got to visit with her on Tuesday morning.   Honestly, we were worn out. The short nights of sleep from last week's July 4th Barbecu to the late night rummy game had left us a little worn out by mid-day Tuesday. We stopped for some R & R.

Congratulations to Peter and Krista

Peter Borzasi and Krista Kis were married in Arad on Saturday, July 7. Bonnie and I had the great privilege to be a part of the wedding. The first time Bonnie met Peter was in August, 1999, and he was throwing water balloons at her and other South Carolina Women's Team members. What a blessing to have watched him grow up in every way in the Lord. Krista is Adrian and Ruth Giorgiov's niece. Kinga Borzasi, wife of Peter's brother David, is Krista's sister. So, now two brothers married two sisters. Makes holidays easy to celebrate.

The wedding begins with the groom going to the bride's house to "ask" for the bride and receive the blessing of the families. At the church, the marriage ceremony is held and different groups and individuals encourage the couple, sing a song for them, and greet them. This is followed by a small reception for those who are not coming to the larger reception. We left the church for the Continental Forum Hotel in Arad for the reception. The hotel is great. The reception was on the eleventh floor with a view all around the city. It was an absolutely beautiful reception. 

It was a beautiful wedding and reception. Here are a few pictures. Others are posted on Facebook: Teleios Ministry.

Safe in Arad

Bonnie and I left Thursday afternoon from Greenville-Spartanburg Airport for Budapest by plane and on to Arad, Romania, by car. The trip over was uneventful except that a man in Atlanta made a wrong turn coming to the plane and opened a security door. Everything was shut down around the plane for a while. He did not realize what he had done, came on the plane and sat down. Thirty minutes later, the friend and wife of the security breach man joined him on the plane.  

We arrived in Paris 30 minutes late. We walked very fast through the airport to make our flight. Two things, customer service is definitely not a strong suit of the French workers at Charles De Gaulle airport, and you walk forever twisting and turning. We were almost to the plane when we were chosen for a "body" examination by the security agents at Checkpoint De Gaulle. Long story short, we arrived at the gate at 7:05 AM and the door was closed for the 7:10 flight.  Plane still at the gate but too late. 

Lady at the transfer desk was nice enough. She got us two seats on the next flight to Budapest (six hours later than our original flight), but it took her 20 minutes to get our boarding passes and make a change in the ticket. Her reply, "You have a Delta ticket."  Did I miss something about Sky Team Alliance?

Finally, we got on our flight to Budapest scheduled to depart at 12:45 PM. We sat in our seats at 12:41 PM, taxied toward the runway, and came to a screeching stop. I did not understand all the broken English, but the pilot said we had a big problem. They had to change our flight route due to radar problems of traffic control.  The pilot said that it could take a long time or not; he did not know. We were finally underway around 1:30 PM.  

We arrived in Budapest with only four of our five pieces of luggage. Seems that the bar-coded strip printed for four luggage tags was on one side and the fifth was on the other side. The lady in Paris only entered the four pieces of luggage. So, the luggage with all of Bonnie's clothes gets its own free ride to Arad from Budapest.

We were met at the Budapest airport by Othniel Nagy-Kasza and David Ivanisky. They did a great job of picking us up and driving us to Arad.  

Just a note, the best accomodations in Budapest for friendly, excellent customer service, good price, and very good treatment is the Sarokhaz Panzio. Only five minutes from the airport in Budapest.  They arranged to keep some of our luggage and to send it later in the week so we did not have to take it to Arad.  We are not even staying with them. So, I encourage you to support this great customer friendly "Panzio." 

Tonight, we are in Arad for the first time. Saw David and Peter Borzasi heading out for the rehersal.   Heard that some of our Romanian friends were looking for us. It's late now and Bonnie and I are heading to bed.  Tomorrrow is a big day with Peter and Krista's wedding. Have a great week. Love, Floyd (and Bonnie)