Well this is the end of May and it is starting to feel as if summer has arrived.  The weather has actually been quite warm the last few days but right now it is raining a little.  Just a little spring rain shower to cool off the day.  It has been a really pleasant spring so far.  We have had quite a bit of rain but everyone says that it is good because it will make the food better and the plants and flowers even prettier.  So this spring is about up but it has really been a great beginning to the spring that hopefully will lead to a great summer with regards to the weather.

 Also the summer is seen coming by the schools and the events that are taking place here.  The schools are all getting ready to end and all the students are preparing for their test.  Especially those students that are hoping to go to the University in the fall.  We will talk more about the schools and tests in the Culture Corner. However, you cannot forget the events of the summer like, the street markets and the many things that go on in the forest area here in Debrecen.  We have had all kinds of things going on that let you know it is warm and that summer is soon approaching.  It is great and I am surely glad that the summer is almost here.

The Church in Hungary

 This month has sort of been a slow month with the church as a whole because all of the cities are preparing for the upcoming campaigns that start arriving next week.  But the campaigns, which will be in four of the cities of Hungary (Szolnok in June, Miskolc in June/July, Debrecen in July/August, Nyíregyháza in August), will be holding English Bible Schools.  All of the cities mentioned have churches, except Nyíregyháza, we hope to start a church there, this summer.  The campaign that will be there is going to be sponsored by the three other cities’ churches.  The topic for each school is the book of John.  We hope that all the school will be a great success and that many will hear the Gospel through our work.

 Also the only other thing to mention regarding the church as a whole is the Bible center in Szolnok is going really well.  We have many books coming in to the library.  It is also starting to work really well at helping to further the Word of God.
 In Debrecen, we are busy work on several things related to the summer school here and in Nyíregyháza.  In addition we are working on getting T-shirts made for each school.  The church is continuing to grow in spirit with a great desire to grow in numbers.  We have several, that attend some of our meeting, that are really interested and are studying with our members.
 We have also changed our Friday night meetings.  Before on Fridays, we would just share something that was going on in our lives.  Now it has become a time of sharing on a certain topic.  This has been working out really well.  It is providing everyone the opportunity to talk about many different topics and listen to what everyone is thinking about the topic.  The topic is usually chosen the week before so that everyone can think about it for a week in preparation for the meeting on Friday.

Culture Corner

 This month and the beginning of next month are really big months for all those that are in school in Hungary.  Everyone is taking their final tests.  It is especially important for those that are planning to go to the University.  This month, I thought I would talk a little about the way the schools are here and give you an idea about these tests that they have to take. The schools in Hungary are a lot different I think then those that are in the U.S.A..  Most of the schools that I know of are really big in have the children learning and memorizing many things.  The schools are mostly rote learning schools.  They are also big in learning languages as with most schools in Europe.

 Also there is a big importance in the certificates that the students get for completing courses and special tests.  When you go get a job, it is important that you have these certificates.  Having the certificates that you receive from language tests are especially important.  It is sometimes funny because they may not remember any of the language but if they have the certificate it says they know that language well and it is possible for them to get the job before someone else.

 In Hungary, they have three different school levels with the third being three different levels itself.  The first is the kindergarten.  It is similar to the kindergartens in the U.S. but it is two or three years long. The next level is the primary school.  This is very similar to the elementary schools in the United States also.  These last for eight years.  They incorporate the junior high school and the middle school as well. The last schools before the University are very different then the schools in the States.  Some things are similar but they have more of a variety in choosing schools.  They divide the schools into three categories.   The high schools, the training secondary schools, and the trade schools are the three types.

 The first type of school is the high school.  It is similar to those in the States because the students have a variety of subjects to learn.  These schools are four years long and in the fourth year they take the final test before going to the University.

 They call the second the training secondary or middle school.  They are school where the students study certain subject in particular for the whole time that they are there.  Some subjects of these schools are economy, bookmaking, auto mechanics and dressmaking.  Here they learn the special subject with all the other normal subjects.  They are usually four years long with the fifth year option for those that want to improve their tests.  They take the main tests in the fourth year, too.

 The third type of schools are the trade schools.  These are schools where you go to learn a particular trade, like carpentry, auto mechanics, dressmaking.  They are normally three years long and they only study the trade and not the regular subjects.
 The tests come in two forms the written and the oral.  The written are first and then the oral. They spread the tests out over May and June.  Some subjects have only oral tests, some have written, some have both, and some have written with the oral option (if you fail or do badly you can take the oral to raise your grade).

 In the high schools and secondary schools, there are four tests that they have in common.  They are math, Hungarian (literature and grammar), history, and a language.  Then in the high school they choose one elective test, like chemistry, physics, or biology.  Then in the secondary schools, the students have one test in their main area of study. An interesting thing about some tests is that they are the same for everyone, all over the country.  The math and the Hungarian are usually the same for everyone and are on the same day.  There is an exception for those who will study in the University something that you have to know more math so they take a hard math test.

 Following these exams the students in these schools have to take entrance exams to the Universities.  These exams are in June.  In Hungary, you do not have to pay to go to the University.  It all depends on your scores to all of your exams.  If you do very well, you can go to your first choice but if not maybe you can go to one of your other choices.  So the exams are really important to the students because their future work is based on it.

 The trade schools have tests but different from the other schools.  They are also different because you cannot go from them to the University.  To go to the University from a trade school, you have to go to school two or three more years depending on the trade that you have learned. The schools in Hungary have a bigger role in the life of the people of Hungary than do those in the United States.  They have to do well on their final and entrance exams to go forward to a job.  If you do not go to a high school or secondary school, finding a job is much more difficult.  So the tests that the students take are very important to the career that they would like to choose.

Prayer Requests
 

The churches in Hungary

The summer schools and the students that will come to them.

The continued growth of the churches in Hungary both spiritually and in numerically.