SPRING 2015

Making a

Difference Young adults answer the call to service in Hungary “Send us your brightest young, enthusiastic people to teach the faith.” That was the response from Bishop Tamas Fabiny of the Northern District of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH) when asked what would be most helpful for strengthening his church. As a companion synod with the ELCH, the Northeastern Iowa Synod is responding to Bishop Fabiny’s request through support for the Young Adults in Global Mission who serve in Hungary, a May term college student exchange, pen pal partnerships, prayers and more.

YAGM volunteer Elizabeth Blackwood with students at a school in Szarvas, Hungary.

Northeastern Iowa Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Young Adults in Global Mission After 40 years of oppression under Communist rule, Hungary is rediscovering its Christian heritage. Churches have reopened in communities, along with parochial schools, daycare centers, long-term care facilities, homeless shelters and other church-sponsored ministries. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America supports these ministries through its Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program, which sent seven young adults to Hungary in August 2014 for a year of service with congregations, families and work opportunities related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH). The young adults — all college graduates in their twenties — bring fresh perspectives to a country where discrimination and racism toward the Roma people continue to be an issue. The fact that these vibrant young Americans take time to live and work in a foreign land alongside the Roma people and those who are elderly, homeless, or disabled, is a witness to their faith and is greatly appreciated by the Hungarian lives they touch. Those who serve in the YAGM program say it is a transformative experience that reminds them that they are part of a global community in Christ’s church. Some 20 to 30 percent go on to seminary and a number of others enter careers in a church or social ministry, youth ministry, global mission or other vocation.

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Meet the YAGMs serving in Hungary Elizabeth Blackwood Conover, N.C. Teaches English, religion and art history at Szarvas. “I am very thankful for the YAGM program because it has helped me see the amazing support network that I have at home in the U.S. and here in Hungary. I just want to say thanks, from North Carolina to Iowa to Hungary and back. I am beyond blessed.” Jericho Westendorf Alexandria, Minn. Jericho serves at the Roma College in Nyíregyháza. “The Roma College program is astounding and I am humbled to be learning about and from the Roma people here. The community has been very hospitable and welcoming, and I feel like I am beginning to make some connections.” Katerina Canter High Point, N.C. Located in Szombathely, Katerina serves as an English teacher, facilitator of an English round-table, supportive figure for the disabled and elderly through music and conversation, and support person for the Roma seeking employment.

Making a Difference

“This year has presented itself with several challenges that I have had to overcome, but I wouldn’t change one thing. Overcoming these challenges has only made my transition to Szombathely that much more meaningful and beautiful.” Maija Mikkelsen Rockville, Md. Maija serves the homeless in Oltalom and the elderly at Joob Oliver ministries in Nyíregyháza. “Communication, despite the enormous struggle to learn the Hungarian language, has proven to be a miracle. Day by day, I learn how to effectively communicate with my non-English speaking friends.” Kristell Caballero Saucedo Minneapolis, Minn. Kristell serves as an English and Spanish teacher assistant at Deák téri High School and Fashori High School in Budapest. She also volunteers at Phiren Amenca. “I’ve been welcomed with open arms by the Hungarian community in Budapest. I enjoy working with the high school students and have learned so much through my Phiren Amenca work and through the European volunteers.”

Anastasia Peltomaa Mansfield, Ohio Anastasia works with the Children’s House and youth programs in Nyírtelek and Görögszállás. “I have greatly enjoyed beginning to know the communities I serve. I love hearing people’s stories and enjoying the time we spend together. I am learning how to express myself in new ways and learn more about myself being in a different cultural context in Eastern Hungary.” Note: Anastasia returned to the United States early for health reasons. Dan Purtell Hebron, CT Dan’s service includes planning Bible studies, running an English Club and assisting with an extracurricular English class in Békéscsaba. He is also connected with a Pentecostal Roma community in Békés. “My time in Hungary so far has been nothing short of amazing. This being a new site for the Central Europe YAGM program, it certainly has required some patience as we began to figure things out, but it has always been, and continues to be, a worthwhile and enriching experience.” www.neiasynod.org/ministries/ companion-synod-hungary

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Synod, Wartburg to welcome Roma guest Young adults to share vocational interests through cultural exchange. The Northeastern Iowa Synod and Wartburg College will welcome a Hungarian Roma guest this spring as part of the companion synod relationship between the Northeastern Iowa Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH). At the same time, a Wartburg Theological Seminary student will visit a Hungarian university as a guest of the ELCH. The Wartburg College Social Work Department and the McCoy Family Distinguished Chair of Lutheran Heritage and Mission will host 22-year-old Janos (John) Jeri, who will arrive in Waverly late April. Jeri is a spring graduate of the University of Debrecen with a degree in social work, with special interest in the integration of the Roma people and other marginalized groups in Hungary. His university research focused on the

“This exchange has the opportunity to be transformational in the life of this young Roma man and also in the life in one of our students …” Holocaust and the treatment of Gypsies (now called Roma) in Hungary in 1944. Jeri plans to continue his studies at the Central European University in Budapest.

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During his four-week stay in Waverly, Jeri will accompany Wartburg social work students on field experiences at area agencies and organizations. Jeri speaks English well and will live in a Wartburg dormitory where Janos (John) Jeri he will have opportunities to engage with students and campus life. Katie Frush, a first year student at Wartburg Seminary and a member of Zion (Jubilee) Lutheran Church in La Porte City, will spend a few weeks in May at the Roma College in Nyíregyháza in Hungary as a cross-cultural immersion. She will work alongside Roma College students and have opportunities to engage in a network of social programs, such as a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, elderly care facility, women’s shelter, meal program and addiction center. She will stay in a Nyíregyháza College dormitory, which is where Jericho Westendorf, a Young Adult in Global Mission volunteer who was born in Cedar Falls, stays. Kit Kleinhans, Wartburg College professor of religion who holds the Mike and Marge

Making a Difference

About the Roma in Hungary • The Roma are the largest minority in Hungary, with estimates ranging from three to 10 percent of the total population.

McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission, sees this guest exchange as an exciting venture for the synod’s companion relationship with the Lutheran church in Hungary.

• Roma people are discriminated against in almost all fields of life, including education, health, employment, housing and access to other services.

“We’re really doing some creative things in this companion relationship,” said Kleinhans, who led a Wartburg College travel seminar to Hungary in 2013. “This exchange has the opportunity to be transformational in the life of this young Roma man and also in the life of one of our synod’s seminary students, to see how things are done in a very different culture and how much the church is involved in addressing some of their social issues.”

• About 60 percent of the Roma live in secluded rural areas, segregated neighborhoods, settlements or ghettos. • The unemployment rate for working-age Hungarian Roma was approximately 85 percent in 2011. • Less than 20 percent of young Roma are enrolled in high school. Source: “Accelerating Patterns of Anti-Roma Violence in Hungary” Report from the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University.

While attending the university, Jeri participated in the Lutheran-sponsored Roma College, which helps Roma students make the transition to university life through mentoring, additional complementary courses, and room and board accommodations. The Roma students also learn about their heritage, including the Roma language and history. “Parents often don’t teach Roma customs to their children because of the stigma,” Kleinhans explained. “The Roma College teaches the students that there is much to be proud of in their heritage, and that’s a powerful lesson.”

The synod and Wartburg College are funding the airfare and room and board expenses for Jeri’s visit. Congregations and individuals are invited to contribute toward those costs. “Our hope is that this exchange will be only a first step in a continuing and expanding partnership between the synod, Wartburg and the Roma College at the University of Debrecen,” said Mark Anderson, assistant to the Bishop. “The opportunities this collaboration makes possible are staggering.“ To learn more, contact Anderson at 319-352-1414 or email andersonm@ neiasynod.org.

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How You Can Support Our Companion Synods • Pray for our companion synods in Hungary and Namibia. • Be informed by visiting our website for YAGM newsletters and blogs. www.neiasynod.org/ministries/companion-synod-hungary • Inform your congregation about these exciting ministries. • Recruit young people to consider becoming a YAGM. • Give to the synod’s Annual Fund. The YAGM program is funded via ELCA Global Mission, but expenses related to the college student exchange and this synod’s support and communication with the YAGM volunteers are funded by gifts to the Annual Fund.

For More Information

Contact: Rev. Mark Anderson P.O. Box 804 Waverly, IA 50677-0804 Email: [email protected] Phone: 319-352-1414 www.neiasynod.org

To Contribute to Synod Ministries • Send checks to: Northeastern Iowa Synod, ELCA P.O. Box 804 Waverly, IA 50677-0804 • Or donate to the Annual Fund online at www. neiasynod.org/ministries/stewardship/#Donate. www.neiasynod.org

Making a Difference is a development publication of the Northeastern Iowa Synod, 201 20th Street SW, PO Box 804, Waverly, IA 50677-0804 www.neiasynod.org • Phone: 319-352-1414 • FAX: 319-352-1416

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Making a Difference