I got the missing luggage blues I just want to change my shoes But my blue suitcase left With all my hair shampoo And my left tennis shoe I got the missing luggage blues
I got the missing luggage blues I just gotta find some clues To get my suitcase back With all my shirts and slacks And random knickknacks I got the missing luggage blues
Missing Luggage Blues
The seat belt light dinged off, and everyone unfolded from their airplane seats. We had landed in Budapest.
The team gathered at the luggage carousel after going through customs. We watched bag after bag after bag pass us. None of them had the bright pink tape we used to label our suitcases. After all the other flyers had cleared out, we were left melting on the floor in a puddle of carry-ons and coats.
Our luggage was missing.
We handed over our luggage tickets and started praying. Julie Borkin (Taylor U professor) communicated with the DePues, our One Mission Society (OMS) hosts. They had ordered vans to pick us up from the airport and bring us to our home away from home: the mission’s house.
Although our luggage was missing, the Lord had blessed us with joy, music, housing, transportation, and welcoming faces.
Sixteen girls settled downstairs while six guys unloaded upstairs. The DePues decided to usher us through the original activities while we waited on the luggage. Before setting off on the day’s adventures, the OMS team gave us two pieces of advice: be flexible and stay awake for the first day.
We all felt like it was the middle of the night when it was only the beginning of the day. But to beat jet lag, we had to stay awake. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to stay awake for one day.
Simple, right?
Public Transport Scavenger Hunt
The first activity on our agenda was a scavenger hunt. The OMS team wrote clues and planned routes around the city to help us learn how to use public transport. Along the way, we got to see the sights and wonders of the beautiful city of Budapest.
Torture Museum
Then, we toured the Terror Haus.
The Terror Haus is a museum depicting Hungarian history during World War II. Because we could neither speak nor read Hungarian, we received headphones and an audio tape of a guided tour, explaining different aspects of the rooms.
We saw propaganda from the war, video recordings of Nazi leaders, and rooms where people were beaten. An entire room was dedicated to religion – it was suppressed because Hungarians were forced to listen and worship to government leaders, not God.
“Visiting the Terror Haus made real the stories I heard from my high school friend who emigrated from Hungary in the early 80s,” Clifton Davis, co-leader for the Hungary trip, said. “What his parents and grandparents endured is beyond comprehension to me. The freedoms we so readily assume are actually precious treasures that he crossed the ocean to gain.”
While touring the museum was sobering, it was also important because it helped us to understand the culture Hungarians live in now.
After World War II, Hungarians lived in fear. The secret police watched them, and they knew that one wrong word could endanger them at any moment. Mistrust spread between friends and family, and remnants of this cold culture are evident even today.
They do not make eye-contact with strangers or smile at them. They will not make random small talk at the grocery check out. But this does not mean they are rude, hostile, or unloving. On the contrary, Hungarians can be some of the most welcoming people. Because it was them against the world in the Cold War, they gathered together as a people to defend and take care of each other. This mentality of “us against the world” is carried into today. If an old woman falls, 10 people will immediately get up to help her. If someone needs a seat on the metro, another person will stand and give their own.
The Hungarians welcomed us into their home. We have seen the beauty of their city and the work that God is already doing here. We are so excited to join OMS in building relationships and sharing the hope, light, and love of Christ.
