57th day - Sept 3: Preparations for Thanksgiving in the Puszta

After two days of constantly cycling in the rain, it was nice to ride through the Puszta with the sun shining, but at a moderate 23 degrees. So I left the 'capital of the Evangelicals' in Hungary, Bekescsaba, with its large Lutheran cathedral. The destination of the day was the small town of Medgysegyhaza, near the border with Romania, my fifth country on my journey. The route took me through the vastness of the Puszta once again. There was never any uphill, so it was a joy to cycle. Pastor Eszter from Dabas arranged another contact, so I was already expected.

When I arrived in Medgysegyhaza in the early afternoon, about 8-10 community members were busy cleaning the church and, above all, decorating it for the Thanksgiving service. The pastor's wife greeted me and apologized for her husband, who unfortunately was still on the road for a long time that day. Therefore, she will provide me with all the information about the community. For this purpose, she had brought in a translator from the city of Orashaza. What a great willingness! And then she told me the special story of this community.

In the second half of the 19th century, the community was founded by Evangelical Slovaks who had come from the large city of Bekescsaba. They cultivated the fields in the Puszta and lived solely off agriculture. They built the quite large city church and made a vow to thank God for His care and for the harvest with a special service every first Sunday in September. This tradition continues to this day, even though Thanksgiving is usually celebrated in Hungary on the first Sunday in October.

Today, out of the 3,500 inhabitants of the town, around 500 belong to the Lutheran community. However, there is no Reformed church in the town. Around 20-30 visitors come to the regular church services, but more are expected for Thanksgiving. The same goes for the monthly family service. There is also another weekly service every Thursday evening.

Since September 1st, the Protestant church community has been in charge of the elementary school in the town. Some parents requested this change, and after a vote, the majority of the parents agreed. The community hopes that this change will lead to more contacts with families and bring new impulses for the community work.

After almost 2 hours of conversation about the history and current situation, a community member picked me up because the pastor's wife had arranged a private accommodation for me with a family. The parents even spoke some German because the husband had worked in Austria for five years. There, I also showed them some of my work, and I had a wonderful and hospitable evening with a Hungarian family.