In a thank-you e-mail for the Operation Thanks-Giving greetings she received, Kristy Bergman, a Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) serving in Hungary, wrote “support sometimes comes in unexpected ways and from the most unexpected places.”  What a great nugget for an Advent! After all, Jesus Immanuel came to us—and continues to come to us—in unexpected ways and in unexpected places.  I invited Kristy to “say more.”  Unexpected blessings, Sue Edison-Swift

There are always surprises, always challenges, when you are serving abroad.  Like figuring out how to tell your vegetarian sister—coming to visit you in your Hungarian village for the holidays—that she has been invited to partake in a traditional Hungarian celebration: the Feast of Pig Killing.

I expected to encounter the unexpected during my year of service as a YAGM.  I didn’t expect the ways support comes in the most unexpected ways and from the most unexpected places.

For example:  One morning, after a particularly lonesome evening here in Hungary, I opened my e-mail inbox to find a kind and inspiring notes from a congregation member and the  director of the Bible camp where I used to work. While I was still at my computer, the post (mail) arrived, and with it a package of handmade Thanksgiving cards from strangers sent via Global Mission’s Operation Thanks-Giving. 

And, whether it is a kind hand on my shoulder, a hand drawn picture from one of the Roma children with whom I work, or a laugh shared with someone with whom I do not share a common language, I feel blessed by the people around me. God, through the people in our lives, provides the most powerful and incredible support, often in the ways and in the places we least expect it.

Isten aldjon (God bless),  Kristy
Kristy Bergman is a Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) serving in Hungary. 
Are you, or someone you know, a 19 to 29-year-old interested in, and gifted for, a year of Global Mission service?  In 2009, 50 young people were selected for a year of service as a YAGM.  Submit an application by February 15, 2010 for priority consideration; all applications for the YAGM Class of 2010 must be received by March 1.
Learn more at www.elca.org/yagm.