From June 16-25 our team was in Hungary and Ukraine for our third and last annual mission trip. I had also been a part of the 2017 team and remember the excitement I felt to witness God at work and also apprehension at traveling across the globe to the unknown country of Ukraine. I had been joyfully surprised to experience the great love of God from this land and the Hungarian people. With these memories close to my heart, I joined the vision trip once again to be reunited with our Hungarian brothers and sisters in Christ. I prayed before the trip that we would first be filled with the love of our God and that through our service; we would become instruments in sharing His love for His glory and kingdom.

We ran into trials and obstacles even before we reached our destination. But even through delayed baggage, a lost phone and extended travel times, He encouraged us to continually pray and trust in His goodness. God knew how to surprise us, to challenge us, to encourage us and to use us for His kingdom. Quickly we learned that things were most likely not going to go as planned despite our preparation and planning. As we faced our shortcomings and limitations He allowed us to fully lean on Him and witness His intricate interventions.

As part of the medical team I experienced God’s love for His people. More people came than anticipated and my realistic mind worried we did not have enough medication and family kits for everyone. He was with us and provided for everyone specific to his or her needs and even had medication left over that we could leave with the church. There was comfort and peace in the knowledge that the Spirit was working through us. There was a moment when I handed our last family kit to the last person in line and I was amazed to see His design is always perfect. 

“Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6

We visited four different villages and were welcomed by an overwhelming number of people. We gave thanks to God that He led the footsteps of these people to us so we may hear their stories, pray together and be of service (medical, hair, reading glasses and photography). He worked in the hearts of the Hungarian people. Despite the limitations of what we could do every person came to us with genuine love and spoke words of blessings “Áldás Békesség” that filled our hearts. Language and cultural differences were not barriers when it came to expressing God’s love.

This trip reinforced my belief that love comes from God and it is our mission to spread love since God is love as 1 John quotes in the bible.  We may not be able to fix poverty or health in a few days, but we can certainly make a difference although only God may know the final fruits of our labor.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

I gained brothers and sisters in Christ on this trip. Each member of our team including the translators and Hungarian church leaders came together as one in our common mission to serve this community. Our team grew together through serving, encouraging and sharing with each other. I saw God’s greatness through answered prayer; experienced love given freely and learned that ministry should have no boundaries. It was a blessing to be able to give, a privilege to serve others and I was grateful to be a part of this mission.

Written by Lee Jeena

Photos by Dasom Kim