To Mirogoj and Beyond

It was Wednesday, November 1st, the day before we were leaving for the conference in Budapest, Hungary. Zagreb was unusually silent. The stores were closed, the trams empty, the streets hushed in unspoken respect for “the dead”, it was All Saints Day. Around noon a line began to form at the Cathedral, soon expanding and becoming a constant stream of people from the main square to the stop where bus after bus ushered the crowds to Mirogoj, the city’s largest graveyard. Entire families filed through the crowds carrying candles of all shapes and sizes, baskets, flowers, plaques, and more candles. We decided that we would go to the graveyard in the evening, before bible school, and speak to some of these people about death, Christ, and prayer.
The rain did not dissuade them from coming, what was earlier a sea of people was now a sea of umbrellas, bopping along the cathedral paths. The busses were crowded, the floors muddy with traffic, and the mood melancholic to say the least. Through foggy windows, Pastor George, Tomas, and I sat and watched the scenes and faces pass by as we sped away towards the site. We arrived soon at what appeared to be the worlds largest funeral; I’ve never seen so many candles in my life.

(Photo of Mirogoj from Yahoo News)

We did not go there, however, to criticize or condemn people, or to poke fun at their traditions, we went there to love them and to give people hope about their future. We slowly stepped through the tomb stones, flickering in red and yellow hues, and as we went we stopped to speak with mourners along the way. We asked them about their loved ones, about their prayers for them, we asked about who they were praying to, if they believed their prayers were heard, we asked them about eternity, about heaven, and hell, we spoke to them about Jesus Christ and being born again [jn 3:3]. In one place we stood and read the scriptures out loud from 1 Corinthians chapter 15, about the Resurrection of the Dead and the Gospel of Christ. As we were leaving the cemetery, a choir began to sing and soon entered a huge procession of priests, cardinals, bishops, and all of the above, dressed in bright white robes with purple and gold sashes, crowns, carrying various instruments, incense, and large golden crosses. The bishop began to speak and we found ourselves in the middle of the parade. T.V. cameras were rolling, the rain was falling, the choir singing. The man next to me stood in holy silence with all the accouterment of the priesthood. I leaned from underneath my umbrella and whispered, “Are you born-again?” He turned quickly, surprised to hear someone speaking to him, and surprised to hear English, and asked, “what?” I said once more, “Are you born-again?” He looked at me astonished, “What does that mean?” As I explained to him what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, he scoffed and turned away, and the festivities continued. We spoke to many priests that night, and many young men studying to be priests, we explained the gospel and found none with the answer to the question, “Will you go to heaven when you die?” Again, we were not there with attitudes to mock or criticize, we spoke with kindness but with a lot of authority, because we had the scriptures to back our message and many people heard it clearly. It was a memorable evening.

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At 4am the next Morning, we finished packing our bags to the sounds of a terrible thunderstorm. The train left the station at 5:00 sharp and we only had one tram we could catch to get there in time. Susanna prayed and soon after the rain stopped, we ran out the door, stroller, bags, pillows, umbrella… down the street, through the puddles, and before long we were sitting on a quiet train watching the countryside whoosh by, excited about being in Budapest once again.

The conference was incredible and very encouraging. We were able to spend a lot of time with Pastor Schaller, our pastor in Baltimore and the pioneer of the Greater Grace Church in Budapest. We also enjoyed the company of Pastor Gary Groenwald from Germany, Pastor Tony Morley from England, Pastor Mijhael from Romania, Pastor Wilichiek (?) from Tennessee, the great team in Budapest and many others. Tomas and I stayed in the men's dorm above the Church building while our wives were hosted by a family in the Church close by. This way we were able to stay around for all the sessions and the raps at the Turkish Restaurant across town, usually going late into the night. It was a refreshing time and very edifying. The messages were clear and challenging, like "Knowing the Father", "I cannot serve God, but He can give me a Ministry", "Not letting problem-orientation rob our Joy"...etc. We were so edified in the fellowship and the teaching that we didnt take any pictures, sorry. However, I have a link to a video clip that P. Schaller sent for the Baltimore Church to see. It is just an introduction to the Team members in Hungary but you can get an idea of what the Church looks like. Its about 4 minutes long. Click Here

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Last Wednesday with Three of Our Bible School Students

We heard about the new campaign in Baltimore, "Love Maryland", so we coined our own phrase here: "Loving Zagreb!" [Photo: Picking out my scarf and gloves for the winter season]

Upcoming Events: This week we expect a visit from Prauge, Czech Republic. On Sunday Evening we will have a "Candlelight Concert" featuring the beautiful... Susanna Tanguay. We will print out a thousand tickets and pass them around the city inviting people, fill the room with candles and listen to some beautiful christian songs. We will mix it up a little with a testimony, maybe a sketchboard presentation, refreshments... and see what God does. Keep us in prayer, amazing things are happening here! The past few days we have met one on one with three new men and are spending alot of time with those who come regularly to our meetings. Loving Zagreb!

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