Hungarian Farm

William and Hedi told me about a friend of theirs who helped orphans and suggested that I go down to see him and the work he was involved in. I was up for that so, I took up their offer. They rang ahead and he was happy to have me stay. William took me to the bus station in Budapest and I travelled down to Hercegszanto. I got a slightly earlier bus than had been agreed and when I arrived in Hercegszanto I got off at the last stop, which was hardly a bustling place. There was one other person there and no major buildings around. After a brief look round I decided to ask the girl who was sitting there where there was a telephone. I assumed she didn't speak English so I tried communicating using my Hungarian phrases in a guide book. With various handwaving etc, I was able to get my point across and she directed me (especially pleased when she remembered a few simple phrases from English). I walked to the phone box by a pub, but it only took phone cards not coins. After a little pause I plucked up enough courage to go into the pub with my ruck sacks and guitar and to try to ask for help. Outside a horse and cart rode past and a couple of farmers came by on push bikes. Inside a number of seasoned farmers sat talking and drinking. I went through my mime, feeling rather conspicuous, and a farmer in dirty overalls came to my aid. He took me outside and with his work-gnarled hands took out a mobile phone to make the call for me! He knew Pishta, the man I had come to meet, and called him for me. It was such an exciting experience, being in such a remote place in a foreign country - the kind of travelling I really enjoy.
Pishta is very friendly and generous and took me to his farm. I loved it there. They had six cats, three of them kittens. There were dogs around and various crops were freshly harvested. He has four children, and his wife Eva almost always seemed to be carrying their youngest around, a 2 month old, who happily travelled about watching the world from his vantage point of her arm.
As I went to bed that night I saw the stars brightly shining in the clear sky. It was great.
They are only about 1 km from the Serbian border and they have seen many things, such as the large movement of people between Serbia and Croatia when the Yugoslavian civil war started.

Pishta learnt English in communist days because he started to realise that he was being lied to by the government and saw English as an opportunity to find out the truth. His parents were Christians but he was taught by the State that there was nothing to support their beliefs. Gradually he discovered that the State was concealing things from him and as he discovered the truth, he too became a Christian.

He was a youth pastor (unofficially) for most of Hungary it seems. He used to have huge numbers of bibles at his house, which would have got him in a lot of trouble with the government if they had found out. In fact, he did get in trouble with the KGB, but this was because he was buying Soviet military uniforms and selling them at a very large profit to people at the American embassy! He declined the KGB's offer to become a spy for them.

His work with the orphans is great - he teaches them life skills as the Bible teaches, and gets them ready to integrate into life after they leave the state-run orphanage. He has also seen many of them become Christians and even get involved in missionary work themselves.

Amongst his hospitality to me he also took me to Pecs and showed me around. He also found out a number of Christian contacts for me throughout Eastern Europe. I felt that after the small step I took in Budapest, trying to find the church, a large number of doors opened up for me.

Yesterday was my 3 month anniversary from starting travelling. In all that time I had not left the European Union, and somehow it seemed significant that I was crossing the border that day into Croatia and leaving the European Union.

I arrived in Zagreb last night and hope to head for the coast soon.