Kool News of the Károli – 10
New Signs of Life from
Central and Eastern Europe
by Anne-Marie Kool
'Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits.'
Psalm 103:2
'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.'
Philippians 4:6, 7
Budapest, 27th June, 2009 (sent on August 21).
Dear Friends,
Fortunately I can again write my newsletter myself!
My health condition has greatly improved and I am
more and more able to resume normal life, and so I
would like to start by thanking everyone for the
compassion and love which I experienced in the
past half year.
The many cards, telephone calls and letters with just
as many good wishes and expressions of kindness
arrived in Budapest. I greatly enjoyed receiving
many messages and I felt and feel born up by your
prayers. I received hundreds of cards, and many
many emails from all over the world.
1. Tokens of concern. The books aren't visible
anymore!
Volume 3, issue 3
Email: amkool@t-online.hu
Skype: amkool
The many months at home in bed and the two
periods in hospital were a very new experience.
Becoming acquainted with the Hungarian health
care system is a journey through a hitherto totally
unknown world, which requires a whole new
vocabulary. When the physiotherapist is trying to
explain to me which exercises I am supposed to be
doing, I often have the feeling that she's speaking
'Greek' to me. Doctors and nurses, who do their
work with much love despite all the problems, were
often curious about the woman who spoke such
good Hungarian but came from the Netherlands,
was a professor and 'had something to do with
God'.
It has also turned out into a time of personal
spiritual renewal, the main lesson being that despite
of or even because of our weaknesses the Lord can
use us in surprising new ways. It’s a important
lesson the Apostle Paul also had to learn. God’s
strength in our weakness, so that all the glory is the
His!
Very many conversations with fellow patients,
doctors and nurses took on another dimension.
Questions about faith in God and the meaning of it
in your daily life quickly became a subject of
conversation. Fellow patients who had heard about
the “good God”, and at most had some sort of
connection to the faith, but now ... often fatigued by
life, and by the economic and political situation in
Hungary turned out to be eagerly seeking for a new
understanding of God’s reality in their lives. Mission
- as became clear again now - is not a matter of
“overseas”, of far away, somewhere in a distant
country where the Bible is not known. Issues of life
and faith are relevant also in our own
neighbourhoods. Even in Europe! Or rather,
precisely in Europe!
The past period for me was one in which I was
again made aware of the assignment and calling for
which the Lord placed me here in Central and
Eastern Europe: to help the churches to share the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in a holistic, relevant way in
 -2-

their societies, also among minorities and to help

people in their search for God. In my normal daily
work these are mainly students, but in this past
period, also many others were placed on my way.
Often I had the feeling that I was on a kind of field
assignment in order to get to know Hungarian life at
grassroots level in a new way. My conclusion: there
is a deep sense of hopelessness and at the same time
a great openness for the Gospel. Many people are
searching for God, and for new meaning in their
lives.

As you will understand, in this period I constantly

needed help from others. This opened many doors!
My thoughts turn to Lilli, the chiropodist who came 2. Ica
to my house a few times. Being from Bulgarian
background, she belonged formally to the Orthodox In all the months when I was at home, I have
Church, but that she no longer felt at home there. needed help. This help was offered in abundance by
She was full of questions about the Bible and about my local congregation. The fridge and freezer were
the Christian faith and asked one question after constantly stuffed with food in case it was needed,
another. A few weeks ago, we read John 15 together and visits in hospital were a matter of course. What
and we prayed. She borrowed my Bible in order to a privilege to be part from such a true spiritual
read it. Last Sunday, she came to our Church for the fellowship. Perhaps there are not even any
first time. Hungarian words for this, but people simply do it.
If it is necessary, you come several times a day, stay
'Majd én' - Let me do that to help, cook or bring food with you.
I also became aware of the fact that I am not the
one who can or should have control of everything...
Illness meant to me learning in a new way to follow
in the footsteps of Jesus, and doing His will. In
other words, allowing Him to use us! Ica, a sister
from the Gazdagrét Church who helped me a great
deal, was constantly saying, 'Majd én', Let me do
that! as I kept wanting to pick things up or quickly
get hold of something (which I was not allowed to
do by the doctors). To let Christ do His work in and
through me is the challenge!!
Of course, our conversations were about being ill
and about the next trip to the doctor's and about 3. Glass jars in which the most delicious meals
ordinary everyday things like decorating her flat, but were brought as signs of God's provision
also about the meaning and growth of faith in our
everyday lives, about life issues and about how the Open house
Lord speaks to us through His Word and what He After the operation on a herniated disk and my
wants us to do. return from hospital in May, a new phase started - a
phase in which my condition slowly improved, and
a phase in which various people called in with a
certain regularity. I was busy being ill!

There was time for discussions with Krysia, a Polish

student studying at the Károli with a lot of
questions about being a stranger or particularly
about being viewed as a stranger in Hungarian
society. Also time for discussions with Zsuzsa, who
recently lost her job as a professor at one of the
 -3-
Hungarian universities. She came to help, but we
also talked a lot about faith and Church, all still very
new to her. A year ago, she came to the Church for
the first time following the death of her father.
Since then she has not missed Church once. In May
she was confirmed. Adalbert, one of my students
who graduated this week in a missiological subject
(the task of the Church among refugees) regularly
called round. Dorottya spontaneously took over my
task of supervising his Master’s thesis. Where
possible, I tried to help him. It is particularly
gratifying that he graduated cum laude.
Eszter Dani, one of the ministers of the Gazdagrét
Church, faithfully pastured this sheep of hers. She
was also a regular visitor - sometimes just for a cup
of coffee, more often to study and to talk about the
task which she has in the Church. Sometimes she
came to do some small chore such as emptying my
bin. Being a missionary Church for the
neighbourhood and also for the Romany is on her
heart.
What’s up next?
Being ill for more than six months also means being
absent from the everyday affairs of the university.
Step by step I am trying to pick up the threads
again, even though I am constantly being
confronted with the fact that I still have severe
limitations. I try faithfully to do my exercises, and
slowly I am getting back into the swing by working
at home.
Anne-Marie's Guest Book
For some people, being hospitable is a matter of course.
Anne-Marie is someone like that. There are certain readers
of this newsletter who can whole-heartedly confirm this. A
number of you have experienced this recently. It is part of her
and also of life and work in Hungary. When you talk to
Hungarians about the difficult years of the Communist
period, you always hear something about how inventive people
were in providing food for the family. Baking themselves,
preserving fruits and vegetables in various ways are basic
skills which could then be put to good use and are still
practised daily now. What does this have to do with Anne-
Marie? And with her task as a professor of missiology? Is
this not a private matter? Did someone not once say that the
best spiritual discussions take place around the kitchen table?
And do not many enjoy a moment together while cooking or
doing the washing up?
Anne-Marie has been working in Hungary for a good many
years and in all those years, has received many guests. People
who are visiting the university or a local Church, students and
colleagues from all around the world. People from far away
and from nearby. Not only geographically but also with
regard to their Christian views. There is always something ‘on
offer’: something to eat or to drink and especially an open ear.
Inspiring conversations and things to reflect upon: a reference
to a book, an article or a special experience. No airy chatter,
but talk of what matters most! The guest book speaks
volumes.
Mineke Hardeman
Do not be anxious about anything
The consequences of the financial crisis can be
clearly discerned here too. From one day to the
next, colleagues find themselves on the streets, and
programmes planned cannot take place. Sometimes
it seems to be a panic reaction. Reports of this kind
grip you, particularly if they are colleagues from
your own field of expertise who are very close.
Then the call of the apostle Paul, 'Do not be anxious
about anything' is put in a different light.
Accounts of students
In recent times, a number of students were
interviewed by Cindy, one of the members of staff
of the Missions Institute, sharing their stories about
where they come from, and what the courses at the
Mission's Institute have done for them. These
stories will be put on my blog:
www.annemariekool.org.
Update
After a holiday with my friend Martha I started a
three week rehabilitation program at the beginning
of August in the Gellert Spa in Budapest, which
involves a daily program of physiotherapy, exercises,
aqua fitness and gymnastics. The Hungarian health
insurance provides for this program. The
surroundings are beautiful (www.gellertspa.hu), the
program is tough, but I really feel improvement. I
hope to pick up my work in the beginning of
September.
Pray for wisdom in setting priorities in picking up
the 1001 issues, and for physical strength to daily
make the trip up the many stairs to my office on the
3nd floor, with as yet no elevator available... !
Yours in Christ,
Anne-Marie Kool
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4. Picture of three weeks ago

Anne-Marie Kool is seconded by the Reformed Mission
League in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (GZB)
in 1993 to the Reformed Church in Hungary, with the
assignment to establish the Protestant Institute for Mission
Studies (PMTI) in Budapest. Since 1 September 2006 she is
Professor of Missiology at the Gaspar Karoli Reformed
University and director of the Central and Eastern European
Institute for Mission Studies. She is also actively involved in
the Reformed Church in the high-rise residential area where
she lives (Gazdagret, Budapest).

CIMS is still fully dependent on outside funding.

For more than a decade your tax-deductible
donations could be channelled through IDEA
Ministries.
We are sorry to let you know that as from 15 July
2009 it is NOT possible anymore to use this
route. We are looking for new ways for you to send
us your donations. We will keep you informed on
new developments.

The Karoli Gaspar Reformed University / CIMS,

Kalvin ter 7.II,
P.O. Box 73,
1461 Budapest, Hungary.
Tel. +36 1 216 20 54/106.
E-mail: amkool@kre.hu or amkool@t-online.hu.