Ez az a nap!

Every year thousands of Christians from all over Europe and other countries gather together in the Budapest Sport Arena at a concert called Ez az a nap! (This is the day!) They listen to some of the top Christian artists, as well as pastors from different churches in Hungary.

I spent this past weekend in Budapest. I took a replacement rail bus to Szerencs (pronounced Ser-ench) and from there took the Intercity train to the capital’s Keleti railway station. A few metro stops later and I arrived at my hotel in the eighth district of Budapest near a shopping centre called Corvin Plaza. Once I had unpacked and settled, I took the metro back into the city centre and walked along the Danube to a perrfect view of the bridges and the stunning Citadel. I was starting to get hungry so a trip to McDonalds was in order.

I know that I come to Hungary and I should be trying exotic Hungarian foods, not a fast food restaurant which I could go to any time at home. One thing they don’t sell in McDonald’s back home is Turo Rudi McFlurry. For those of you who don’t know what Turo Rudi is, its Hungarian confectionary with sweet cottage cheese covered in chocolate. Put it in ice cream and it’s a heavenly combination! It may sound disgusting, but I promise you it’s not!

The next day I set off for the concert. I took the metro to Puskas Ferenc Stadion and made my way up the steps to Budapest Sport Arena. The ticket office would be open at 1 o’clock so I had some time to kill before then. The time arrived and I asked the woman at the ticket office if I could collect my ticket here. I then was told that if I wanted to collect my ticket I would have to collect it at 2 o’clock as that’s when the Ez az a nap! Ticket office would be open. It was annoying as if I had known that before I would have come an hour later. Not to worry though as I headed off to Burger King just down the street and had a delicious burger there before returning to the arena at 2 o’clock.

There was a slight moment of panic as I had told the woman my name and she was searching frantically for my ticket. I hoped my ticket was there as I had definitely bought one! The confusion was over as she found it, on the envelope it said: Summers Rachel. I may have mentioned this in an earlier blog post but Hungarians use their surname first and first name last. So when I said that my name was Rachel Summers, it was harder for her to find it. The good news was that I got my ticket and waited patiently for the gates to open.

At exactly 2 o’clock the gates opened to a cheering crowd. Our tickets were scanned through a machine and each person was given a 15^th anniversary Ez az a nap! programme. I made my way straight to the Mission Expo and saw my friend István. I gave him a huge hug and was so happy that I was able to see them again. We tried to find my other friend Ilona and eventually she came into the Mission Expo and I gave her a huge hug and greeted her in the Hungarian way – with kisses on both cheeks. I was reunited with both of my friends and it was so good to see them again! I met Ilona and István two years ago when I volunteered at an English camp in Balatonfűzfő. They work with a Christian organisation called OM and they do a fantastic ministry within Hungary. I also met some new friends, including a girl called Morgan from Mississippi who has started working with OM and will be living in Hungary for six months. The Mission Expo lasted for around two hours and I managed to share and invite others to next year’s event for a free pin badge and wristband!

It was soon time to go into the main arena and watch the concert. There were a variety of Hungarian and English speaking bands performing. In between the bands the organiser of the event gave a message from the Bible which was taken from John 4:13-14.* He explained that when his wife was pregnant with their child she became sick and doctors were worried that the baby would be born unhealthy. I’m not sure what the exact problem was as the English subtitles were vague. However, through their belief in God and continued prayers, the baby was born without any problems. His son came up onto the stage: a handsome, healthy seventeen year old boy. Miracles happen all the time and it was incredible to see the living proof of that one miracle.

Before Rend Collective came on stage the different pastors of the churches in Hungary walked onto the stage and we prayed for them, that they would share God’s love with people and that one day there will be revival in Hungary. It was a very touching moment and the whole area fell into silence as they prayed. After this time of prayer the whole arena was crying: Rend Collective! Rend Collective! Then the stage went black and when the lights turned on the group appeared on the stage. Their first song was a version of the ancient Irish hymn ‘Be thou my Vision’ and they had modernised it to ‘You are my Vision’. The whole arena was up singing and dancing. I noticed some people had flags and they were waving them rhythmically. The band played their hit songs: Lighthouse and Build Your Kingdom Here.

In between songs, Gareth, one of the members of the band gave a little message. His mum used to have a stick which she called ‘the stick’. When he was naughty she would hit him with it discipline him. One day little Gareth took the stick, broke it over his legs and cried freedom! Unfortunately it didn’t last long as his mum went out into the garden and came back with a log! Gareth was not free from his mum’s discipline. He used this illustration to say that God is not looking over us with a big stick, but instead when we make mistakes we are forgiven by God and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8 v. 1-2). After this, Rend Collective finished off with a few more songs which included the fantastic ‘Praise like Fireworks’. It was great to sing and dance and worship God.

I returned to my hotel happy that I had gone to the concert and met my friends.  It was an excellent weekend and definitely a great change of scenery.

I did take some videos and photos on my phone, but they’re not great quality. You can check out better ones on the Ez az a nap! Facebook page. 

You can also find videos of the artists on YouTube, just type in Ez az a nap! 2015.

* Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”