Great Day

The past few days have been a little difficult.  The heat plus exhaustion plus the heat plus cultural confusion plus even more heat equals a difficult few days.  Today was quite wonderful, though. I don't have much time to post pictures, but I'll try to get a few on here right quick like.

I want to introduct you to a few of the people we have met so far.

This is Peter.  We ate lunch with him today.

His great-grandfather came to Hungary from--of all places--TEXAS.  He is a very friendly young man.  His English is terrific; he began learning it by watching English-speaking cartoons when he was three or four.  Peter is also exceptionally smart; he wants to study at Cambridge and dreams of becoming a surgeon so he can help people.  Will you pray for Peter? 

This afternoon, I had the privilege of attending "tutor time" with these great people:

Meet Agi, Lilla, Rebaka, Orsi, and Ingrid.  Ingrid is my discipleship leader, and the other girls are Hungarian students who are campers at SpeakOut this week.  Today, we played games and talked girl talk.  Oh, and I got to share my testimony with them :)  AWESOME time!!!  These girls were so sweet, and they reminded me so much of my students back home.  Their topic of discussion in one of their meetings today was "Guy/Girl Relationships."  Ingrid and I shared some with them about how we met our husbands and such.  The girls were so cute--they "ooh-ed" and "aaahh-ed" and squeeled just like my girls back home did.... When I told them that Phil was my first and only real boyfriend, they all squeeled and said, "AAAAWWWWW!!!  SO-O-O SWEET!!!" --just like my students:)  I think one of them may have even done the happy clap thing, too.  (You girly-girls probably can imagine what I mean.)

Ingrid is a huge baseball fan, and Hungarians don't play much baseball.  So, we went outside for some catch and batting practice.  This was the first time they'd ever put on baseball gloves and picked up baseball bats.  They were great!

Tonight was our staff scavenger hunt.  We staff members and our families dressed up in costumes and "hid" in town and by the beach.  The campers had two hours to find us and to collect as many staff signatures as possible.  We dressed up in military camoflauge.  I have pictures, but I can't post them just yet.  The great part about the evening was that our waitress at the cafe where we "hid" came to have her picture made with us, and then she kept coming back to our tabe to talk with us about SpeakOut and about God and her beliefs.  Someone else from camp had spoken with her yesterday, we spoke with her tonight, and then she ended up speaking with our friends Tomo and Betti and THEN with the national director of Campus Crusade's work in Hungary!  Please pray for her--her name is Ranni.

We also found out that four people in town accepted Christ today, thanks to the witness of some of our campers and staff!  Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement!  Gotta run!

Morning Worship

So apparently the Lord wanted us to be in Hungary because we are here.  We have been extremely busy since our plane landed, and we are learning SO MUCH.  It's wonderfully exhausting.  I would like to put my own stuff here on my own blog and then post family-related stuff on our other blog, but I'm not sure how much time I am going to have.... If you are reading this, thank you.  I appreciate your wanting to spend some time reading about this crazy Hungarian adventure that the Lord has us on.  If you're the praying kind, please remember us before the Throne.  We are praying for you as well and are so grateful for the encouragement and support that so many of you have shown.  We love you all. 

So, here are some pictures and videos of this morning's worship service.  Each morning during our orientation week, a group of Hungarian students lead us in worship.  Sometimes we sing in English, sometimes in Hungarian, and sometimes in both languages at once.  I've never attended a multi-cultural worship gathering before.  O MY WORD.  It's just a little bit of heaven on earth, y'all--people from several nations worshiping God in their own languages.....it's absolutely beautiful.  If you have the time, check out the video clips.  I think they are all less than two minutes each.  I wish you could hear it in person.

**Ok, so the videos will have to wait til I have a better internet connection.  Check back later if you like.

Update on Hungary 2012, Lord Willing

So a while back, I mentioned that we had applied to work at a Christian camp in Hungary for a month this summer.

Then, I mentioned that our applications had been approved.

Then, I mentioned that I'm a little LOT overwhelmed about it.

Then, I mentioned nothing else.

I suppose, then, that this would be a good time to give a little update about Hungary 2012, because I know that one or two of the three of you who read this regularly have been wanting to know...

Well, I'm still a little LOT overwhelmed about it, but as of right now, we are still planning to go.  Our mission begins on June 27.  We decided to drive to Washington, D.C. where we will meet up with the rest of the American staff workers who are also going to Hungary.  [Yes, I said drive, and no, we are not crazy.  Yes, we will be spending many hours on the road with two excited children, but it will save us about $500.]  We will spend a night in D.C. and will attending some meetings that will prep us for leaving the country, surviving jet lag, etc.  Then, on the 28th, we will board a plane for Europe.  We're going to Germany first, switching planes, and then flying to Budapest.  From there, we'll go to Keszthely, Hungary, where we will (Lord willing) be staying for the month of July. 

I say Lord willing because we are walking by faith right now and trusting God to keep making the way.  Some of the two of you may remember that I said the trip would cost us $20,000+.... that estimate was based on the cost for four full-time project participants.  Well, the cost dropped dramatically when we contacted CCC about traveling as a family.  They worked with us and cut some costs because they LOVE for families to participate (MANY of the campers have NEVER seen what an intact family looks likes, and most have never seen a CHRISTIAN intact family).  Anyway, CCC dropped the estimated cost down to less than $13,000, which is STILL a huge chunk of change, but it's not as much as we had anticipated. 

SO, the lowered cost was a huge blessing.

Another huge blessing has been the prayers, encouragement, and financial support that we have received from family and friends.  I still say that we are going, Lord willing, because we are still about $2,600 away from having all of our funding.  That is also a huge chunk of change, but my goodness, it's amazing that so much has already been provided. 

Phil is certain the rest will come on time, and every time he starts to doubt, another check comes in or another prayer gets answered.  His faith is growing by leaps and bounds.

As for me, I'm still a little LOT overwhelmed about it.  I feel kind of like the man in the Bible who brought his sick child to Jesus for healing. Jesus told the man that "all things are possible for one who believes."  The man then said, "I believe!  Help my unbelief!"  (You can read it in Mark 9:20-29.)

That's where I am right now.  I believe, but Lord, help my unbelief.

I don't know what else to do at this point except to keep praying, keep planning, and start packing.

Should the Lord stop this thing right now--or before the 27th--so be it.  But if He wants to use us over there, then He will swing the doors wide open.  He will indeed keep providing if He is indeed guiding.

So, we're walking by faith.  I'll post another update later.

Will you please continue to pray for us?  We want God's will to be done, and we want to be in His will. 

Now, for your viewing enjoyment, here are a few pics I found on the web:

Lord willing, we will be staying in Keszthely, which is a town next to Lake Balaton (in the box).  If Keszthely were on the map, it would be in the bottom left corner of that box.

A view of Lake Balaton, which is the largest lake in Central Europe.

This is the palace where we will be staying.

Naw, I'm just kidding.  That's a palace that I wouldn't mind touring while we are in Keszthely.

That's the Partin family. They have been in full-time ministry in Hungary for several years now.  Rivers (the wife and mom) has been in contact with me via Facebook and has been very helpful in telling me what to expect and what to pack.  Lord willing, we will be working alongside the Partin family.  If you've got a free moment, check out their blog and website  for some cool pictures of what life in ministry looks like. 

http://daveandrivers.wordpress.com/

www.daveandrivers.com/

See y'all later with more info, Lord willing.