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 Background
Hungary has a unique culture. Since the communist era, the majority of the younger generation does not practice any faith at all. For the remainder, the predominant faith is Catholic, although Pentecostal and Protestant churches are also represented. The walls between denominations are very high and strong. However, Moms In Touch prayer groups are helping to break through these barriers one praying mom at a time. At the end of my speaking engagements, I ask the moms to pray in small groups. They are surprised to learn how powerful this time is and make comments such as, "Wow! We are from different churches and yet we are here praying together!"
 Arise! Cry Out!
Several women said the same thing at our Arise! Cry Out! events in Hungary. In total, there were five ACO sites, two of which were in English with missionary moms hosting. At the site I hosted at my church, 42 women attended including some teenage girls and grandmas! This may seem like a low number, but I was told there has never been this many people gathered for a similar event at my church. We were blessed by receiving the Arise! Cry Out! DVD the day before the event and watched this along with using the prayer sheet translated into Hungarian.
As the event came to a close we participated in a time of sharing. One mom said she was encouraged by hearing the testimony of a working mother who still finds the time to be a part of a Moms In Touch prayer group. Another mom shared how good it was to pray with others and how this gave her the desire to do so more often.
Birth of a New Group!
Only seven moms taking part in Arise! Cry Out! (ACO) were part of a MITI praying group prior to the event, so many learned about the Four Steps of Prayer for the first time. One mom, Emese, had planned to start a group in her village and was ready to ask another mom from her church, Edit, to join her. Another woman, Zsofia, who had been in regular contact with me, recently moved to the same village as Emese and Edit, so I invited Zsofia to the ACO event and introduced her to these two ladies. Emese said that the best part of Arise! Cry Out! for her was getting to know Zsofia, and they set the date when they will meet for the first time! It is amazing how God brings people together.
Developing Moms In Touch Friendships Around the Globe
Back in 2006, my husband Steve created a website for the Hungarian Moms In Touch ministry. Every week we posted a new prayer sheet. I was blessed to learn that many moms throughout Hungary were using this tool for their prayer groups. I was especially surprised when I found out that a Hungarian mom, Betti Irsak, was also using it in the U.S! I discovered that Betti was born in Hungary and came to the United States as a little girl. She had heard about MITI through Focus on the Family in 1992 and started a group for her school district in Ohio. Since Betti still had family in Hungary, she planned a trip to Budapest and was able to meet me and my husband. Betti and I experienced an instant camaraderie. We encouraged one another and this gave her a boost to contact some of the Hungarian women she knew in Ohio when she arrived back to the U.S. Now Betti and her group pray for Hungary, and I continue to pray for her as well.
 Another Moms In Touch friendship developed in November 2008 when I had the privilege to travel to Switzerland for the European MITI conference. All of us in attendance learned from several knowledgeable leaders including founder Fern Nichols, Vice President Marlae Gritter and Christina Büchi, member of the European team. We also celebrated the Swiss Moms In Touch 15th year anniversary. Later that spring, Christina visited Hungary. As I showed her the city I asked for her advice and ideas for Moms In Touch Hungary. I learned a lot from Christina, but the most important point was to put prayer first above all. I'll never forget our time as we walked along the Danube River in downtown Budapest and prayed for each other and our MITI ministries in both English and German. Through the Swiss conference, I now also share a friendship with Gudrun Ostertag, former MITI leader for Germany. We stayed at the same host family home and have developed a great relationship where we encourage one another through sharing Bible verses and prayer requests.
MITI Groups Growing Throughout Hungary
In the last five years I have been invited to speak numerous times about Moms In Touch to over 30 cities around the country. In the capital city of Budapest, women from ten different districts have heard about MITI and so far there are groups in five of the 23 districts. Also, there are now 16 cities in Hungary with MITI groups, and the word about Moms In Touch continues to spread! Please pray that more moms will hear God's calling and join or start a group so that every school in Hungary can be covered in prayer. In Hungary, relationships grow slowly but deeply and we thank God that He is faithfully developing praying moms.
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