At Holocaust Memorial

There is a lot to like about Budapest. The weather has been especially cooperative. Here are some highlights from today:

• Holocaust Memorial on the banks of the Danube. Fifty pairs of bronzed shoes lined up along the shore to mark where Hungary’s pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party lined up Jews , shot them and let their bodies fall into the river. A striking sight!
• This afternoon we saw the Holocaust Museum, not huge, but very well done, modern, interactive and quite sobering. During WWII over 600,000 Hungarian Jews were viciously murdered. I  have seen other Holocaust memorials and museums, but felt this one was particularly blunt and provocative in the way they presented what happened here during the war.
• Walking into the square this evening where we catch our subway and heard live music. Suddenly Reba said, “I recognize that beat.” We stopped, and then we all realized that they were singing a popular praise song we often sing at home, only they were singing in Hungarian of course! We went over and spoke with a young woman who was passing out literature and she introduced us to one of the leaders. We found out they were from YWAM, a ministry that is doing some very good things so many places in the world. It was great to speak briefly with them and encouraged them in their efforts.
• Dinner tonight – I could get seriously addicted to Hungarian food. It’s a good thing we are walking a LOT!

One primary mission in spending a couple of days here was to investigate the possibility of using Budapest in connection with short terms teams to possibly partner with the church in Croatia we will be visiting. Budapest is certainly an enchanting city in many respects, but the jury is still out on how or if it fits into any strategic plan. We’ll see.

Early in the morning we leave the hotel (0600), head to the train station and on to Croatia. The actual train part of the journey will be a bit over 6 hours. I’ll be checking in.