All posts by: Jonathan Long
It’s More Than English
I hate English. I couldn’t stand it in high school and, truth be told, I have virtually no interest in diagramming a sentence, understanding what tense does what, or even learning whatever the heck an adverb is. I do speak...
Dedication of the Szentmargitfalva Chapel
As I sat in the chapel in Szentmargitfalva last weekend during the building dedication, I realized that one question seemed to be coming up amongst many of the townspeople. “Will you come back?” We had all noticed that over the...
Ending at the Beginning
In 1993, my family arrived in Budapest, Hungary. In some ways, not much has changed since then, but in other ways, the differences are astounding. I didn’t know it back then, but those days would lay the seeds and groundwork...
A Princess, Some Petroleum, and a Peugeot, Part 2
For part one of this story, click here. In 2009, a local Methodist pastor named Laci, from Zsolnok Hungary, decided he would like to try and find a vacation home for his family to get away from the city. One...
A Princess, Some Petroleum, and a Peugeot, Part 1
What does a small Hungarian border town, an oil boom, and an old Peugeot 106 have in common? Nestled in the hills of Zala County, on the Hungarian side of the Hungary-Croatia border, the small village of Szentmargitfalva seems, at...
Revolution and Revival
The door swung open at the Landerer’s Printing House in Budapest and a chilly March wind blew into the room. A tall 25-year-old poet entered, holding out a draft in his right hand. Printed upon it was a poem that...
Thank You for Praying
Some years back, Corinne and I were enjoying lunch after sharing at a church in Montana, when a gentleman from the congregation came up and sat down next to me. “I have something to show you,” he said as he...
A Point of Connection
Zoli was laughing pretty hard, and I saw genuine amusement flash in his eyes. I forget now what I said, but it doesn’t matter. His wife, sitting on a bucket in the corner, was holding a pricing gun as though...
It Takes a Team
In about a week, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, the Super Bowl, will be played. A lot of attention will be given to the “celebrity” quarterbacks facing each other, but it’s important to note that whoever...
Every Rock Tells a Story
Moses struck a rock in the desert, and it produced lifesaving water. David put a rock in his sling and brought down a giant. Jesus declared to Peter that he would build his church upon the rock. God can do...
