Hungary -- May 11-13, 2006

Following a very productive, rewarding and moving visit to Romania, we headed to Budapest, Hungary, where Habitat for Humanity International bases its regional office for the Europe/Central Asia area.

Habitat for Humanity, of course, is a large organization with operations throughout the world. One of the goals of my travels was to get to know our key leaders around the world and to have the opportunity of learning from them. They energize me with their enthusiasm and compassion, encourage me with their talent, experience and skills, and inspire me with their spirit.

My visit to the ECA office was certainly no different. We met with the full team there and discussed our strategic vision to serve exponentially more families around the world, engage more partners and seek new housing opportunities and solutions.

That evening several of us walked the few blocks to a restaurant for dinner, and I was impressed by the beauty of this city and by the scale of it all, its wide boulevards and graceful architecture. The Danube River flowed enduringly nearby, and following dinner, as the taxi driver carried us across one of the bridges for a better view, the city lights shimmered on the water, and I thought “What a truly charming place Budapest is.” I regret that we didn’t have more time to explore the city. After all, tourism was not what brought us here, but rather Habitat’s work, which we experienced the following day by working on a four-family housing unit in Szarvas, a smaller town two or three hours outside of Budapest.

One of the things that made this experience so meaningful was that we were able to travel with the entire ECA office staff and build together on site. The drive time allowed for some quality interaction with staff, and I found Habitat’s remarkable diversity embodied in this group of people, with individuals from all over the world coming together in pursuit of a common goal.

I hung some drywall, mixed cement and interacted a bit with the homeowners … which, of course, is always a special privilege. We broke for lunch and ate together—staff, homeowners, volunteers—at one long table there on site. A few local youth, dressed in colorful, vibrant Hungarian garb, graced us with traditional Hungarian songs. And the rain clouds hovering above indulged us just long enough. The sense of community at that table goes to the heart of Habitat’s ministry – not just building houses but building communities.

Following lunch, we visited a family in Szarvas who was living nearby in exceedingly cramped quarters. The family of five, including an infant, shared two small rooms in a house that looked every bit of its more than 100 years. I’m so pleased to know that they have relocated into their new Habitat house, which is not only structurally sound but large enough to accommodate them as well.

The bus trip back to Budapest offered more time to get to know my ECA colleagues—and perhaps to nap for a moment or two as well! Back in Budapest, it was time to get ready for a dinner at the home of regional vice president Don Haszczyn and his wife Liz. Apart from the fantastic meal and even better company, this was an opportunity to get to know a few people involved in the local work of HFH-Hungary and some potential high donors. It’s always fun making new Habitat friends!

Our time in Budapest, and in all of Europe, was brief, but before we left that part of the world, we had one more stop to make in London. Upon our arrival, we met with Habitat’s national directors for Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Netherlands. The latter two are what we refer to as “donor countries,” in that their focus is not so much on building houses locally in their respective countries as it is on raising money to fund Habitat house construction abroad--in Africa, for example, Latin America, Asia or other parts of Europe.

Toward that end, we attended a gala dinner in London on our last night of the trip during which HFH Great Britain launched a fund-raising campaign to help expand Habitat’s work elsewhere. Complete with professional actors and musicians, eloquent words from the podium, laughter and wonderful food, the gala event was a real treat and successfully engaged Habitat partners, both old and new, in a fresh effort to help low-income families around the world.

As I’ve said in previous blog entries, this trip to Europe concludes my “learning tour” of Habitat’s world—and I am certainly the better for having undertaken such a series of trips.

Relatively new to Habitat for Humanity, I very much wanted and needed to learn about the work Habitat is doing in all corners of the globe. Equally important, however, was that I learned more about the need for that work, that I encountered the destitute living conditions of families who struggle daily no matter their location, their religion, their language or anything else.

Only by having these firsthand experiences, I feel, could I most fully appreciate the importance of Habitat’s work throughout the world. My heart broke numerous times during my travels. It grew heavy as I heard the stories of poverty living, and it grew burdened by the sight of families, children, living in conditions that no one should ever have to endure.

However, I also encountered immense hope in the hearts of poor families, a kind spirit in their hands, with which they welcomed me so warmly into their homes, and a collective resolve among Habitat staff and volunteers to transform lives by creating housing opportunities in partnership with these families. I was particularly struck by the wide range of contexts and construction styles and yet the consistency of the core approaches to partnering with families across the world.

I carried with me throughout my journeys a mixed bag of emotions. As I return to my own home, I do so with an urgency, inspired by what I’ve seen and heard and learned, guided by God to “do unto the least of these” where ever I can in this world, buoyed by the compassion and commitment of Habitat partners everywhere.

It is together that we will continue to transform lives in our world … more families, more neighborhoods and communities, each of us bringing to the table our own valuable skills, experiences, backgrounds, talents, passions and commitment to our neighbors in need.

I’m glad for the opportunity to have met my colleagues, friends and distant neighbors across the globe, and I’ll look forward to doing so again depending on when and where my travels take me.

And when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I thank you for all that you do to support Habitat’s work … and I thank you for reading.