Peter Dorottya

We were invited to Sóshartyán (Nógrád County – Hungary) by Father Zalán between 13-15 October in order to visit some very poor families. I was a little timid about this visit – how they would accept us, would they be open to us, would they accept our help, how I would be able to communicate with them.

We arrived on Friday evening and we participated in a Mass with the local people. Many of them stayed after Mass and started to talk to us. It became obvious that they were happy to have us there. On the following morning we went off to meet the families in Sóshartyán in order to collect a list of their needs. All families were open and were willing to share their problems with us. It was great to see the solidarity between each other when one person or family gave up something for the sake of another family because they needed that thing more…

We spent the afternoon with the children playing. All age groups turned up and we played together. It made me feel really happy to cheer them up even if this was only one afternoon.

Father Csaba Szász, LC

After coming back from an ECYD camp, when children tell the parents how it went, parents’ most common response is, “How could you do so many things in 6 days?”

Well, our camp teaches children how to deal with time, how to spend every moment actively – everything from sleep, to enjoying the lake during the heat. The trick is to always recognize God’s love and amazing strength and care towards us. We use our time consciously and do our best to have a wonderful week together.

We organised our camp by Lake Balaton. We always found time for Christ, even amidst football, swimming, hiking (at night), visiting a castle and the Zoo in Veszprém, going to an adventure park, and playing, playing, playing. We started and finished our days with prayers that gave a frame to our schedule.

Even though camp is over, it isn’t finished. We’ll carry on our ECYD activity during the school year united with Christ and each other to build the Kingdom of Christ around us.

Villő

I was so lucky again this year to have the chance to attend summer mission in Ukraine with a greatly enthusiastic group of Regnum Christi. Just like last year, we visited St. Michael’s Children’s Home in Ратівці (Rativci), a peaceful little village next to our border.

On the first day, I couldn’t wait to arrive. At the end of last year’s mission trip, I cried a river to the children at St. Michael’s, promising that I would come to them again. We were greeted with shiny eyes, a huge amount of love, lots of hugs and adorable handmade gifts from the kids.

This year’s project for the boys was to help lay a foundation for a stable, where horses will be kept for therapeutical treatments. They also helped in painting the interior walls of a house of the village in need. I must admit, that they have done an incredibly impressive hard work.

The girls’ job was to bring water to the boys making sure they drink enough and more importantly, to keep the children distracted throughout the week. As being a girl myself, this was what I got to do. We played a lot, did crafts and other activities together. Or other times just had personal talks with them. Our work was incredibly tiring but in the best way! At the end of the day, there is nothing better to be tired of than loving and being actively together with such inspiring people.