The goal of the three-week Lighthouse trip to Hungary was one of fellowship and community.
Over the course of January, a group of 22 students were led by Julie Borkin, assistant professor of communication and Clifton Davis, director of chapel music and adjunct instructor of music, on a mission trip to Hungary. They immersed themselves in the rich culture of Budapest as they engaged in discipleship opportunities, evangelistic work and community outreach.
The Taylor team was able to partner with a team from One Mission Society to connect with ministries in Budapest, allowing them to tailor the trip to the specific needs of the community.
Borkin described the joy in being able to partner with a ministry that had such deep commitment to relational investment.
“They loaned us their relationships, and I love that because they are the ones who cultivated those relationships over a very long period of time,” she said. “You wouldn’t just walk up to a stranger, obviously, but when those relationships of trust are already built, it makes it a lot easier to step in and participate under their authority, but with a lot more freedom, and I think those goals get accomplished more.”
Because the team was stationed in Budapest the entire trip, their goals were more diverse and focused on community immersion. They ranged from working with homeless people, working in English speaking clubs and even partnering with a local coffee shop for a worship and evangelism opportunity.
Davis described the unique opportunity to work with an after school English club.
“Some of the classes were beginning English and some of them were seniors who had 12 years of English,” he said. “One of them you’re practicing greetings and talking about boy bands, and the other one got into the metaphysical discussions about what life is about and all that.”
Cultural differences were anticipated, and the students spent time learning about Hungarian culture before they left America. However, there were many cultural experiences that neither classrooms nor textbooks could prepare anyone for.
Borkin spoke of the transformational power of cross-cultural worship.
“So in the church, I think there were 17 or 18 different languages represented on just one Wednesday evening prayer and praise night,” she said. “So while we were all singing in one language, when it got to the prayer time, and they started, first for the world, and then for Hungary, and then for the church, and then they switched to the individual.”
Borkin wondered if the language barriers would be a problem. But regardless of the dialectical differences, people ended up identifying themselves as needing prayer and others would gather around. Borkin noted how people would stand, and as they were encircled by people praying each in their own language, aloud, despite not knowing the full story.
Borkin was quick to recognize the power of the Holy Spirit in guiding each interaction and the power of open worship.
“We need to get to those moments (when) we don't have an answer, and those are great for us,” she said. “Cultural humility is the fancy way of naming it, and it's such a spiritual principle.” This spiritual principle is consistent with the care for the global church that Christians are called to, and intercultural worship was able to highlight this truth.
Davis emphasized the power of the trip as participatory work in what God has established.
“I think if we have this orientation that God’s already at work, then that makes it (missions) a lot easier,” he said. “This journey did not start with me going to Hungary. This journey started with me being invited to play piano at a Korean youth group when I was younger. Whatever the next step is that the Holy Spirit has brought to you, take that next step. Maybe you’ll end up in Hungary doing worship missions.”
Davis’ background in worship arts and Borkin’s background in intercultural communication were an unexpected complement to the goals of the trip.
The worship events were structured with a community-oriented focus.
“We led worship multiple times,” he said. “We did like a city wide worship event, worship training event, and then we did like a team building just for that church, that church had like 50 worship volunteers.”
His worship background ended up leading to one of the most unexpected highlights of the trip: an opportunity to authentically connect with a high school student after being asked to attend a local school’s choir rehearsal.
“I was there early because I was paranoid that I (would) take the wrong tram,” he said. “And there was another student that was early, and she and I just got to talk about what's it like to be in high school and (what is it like to live in) Hungary? What does she hope to do? What do her parents do? Where? How connected is she with God? … To have that conversation was a highlight, because instead of saying ‘No, I’m too busy,’ I was able to be like ‘Oh yeah. I got time.’”
With the aid of One Mission Society, the Lighthouse team was able to grasp mission work as participation.
Ultimately, this focus allowed for students from diverse backgrounds and professors from seemingly unrelated subjects to join together and glorify the ministry that Christ has established in Hungary.
