Boldog szuletesnapot!

Trying to figure out Hungarian labels on food at the grocery store

Boldog szuletesnapot! That means 'happy birthday' in Hungarian, and this weekend we celebrated our daughter Kari's birthday. She and her husband Jonathan arrived on Friday and we spent a nice, relaxing weekend with them. This next week we'll be spending time with them, working at the Eden House, making a big pot of goulash for a special guest and guests at the Eden House, wrapping up the budget for next year and hopefully finishing a puzzle!


It's a good thing they have these handy informational signs to explain everything you need to know!


Fortunately, there is often at least a little English to be found. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it makes sense. Take for example the 'Catch me if you can' sticker on the front of this truck.


Making Kari's birthday cake in the kitchen


Jonathan stirring in the carrots


One of our long walks in the neighborhood


It's the 'szuletesnapot' girl enjoying her cake!


Putting together a puzzle after Kari's birthday cake - gotta' work off those calories!


We saw this car on a walk and thought of Chris. Can you guess what kind it is?


Why, a wartburg, of course!

Making it up to you

Dear faithful blog readers,

I sincerely apologize for my mom's tardiness in updating her blog this weekend. In order to make it up to you, I offer this video of mom attempting to skip-ball with her left foot as a peace offering.



May it raise your spirits as it has mine.

Kari

PS - Check back for a blog update tomorrow.

Let's Play a Game!

This has been one of those rare weekends when we didn't really have anything we had to do. I've been fussing at Glenn about needing to "do" something on our day off and so he suggested we go ice skating in town, either at the huge outdoor place in City Park next to the Danube River or at the indoor place in Westend Mall. Well, it has been soooo cold here, down in the low 20's, that I nixed the outdoor place. Brrrr! And then Glenn suggested we go instead when Kari and Jonathan come, so we didn't end up going after all. So what did we do on our day off?


Glenn paints over Hannah and Cody's footprints

We decided to do all those odd jobs that we've not had time to do for the past 6 months! We wiped out all the kitchen cabinets, touched up with paint all the places we dinged when moving furniture into the house, cleaned the basement (takes about 20 minutes; there's not a lot in it!), hemmed curtains in the office, hung a shelf above our bed, made homemade chili and I gave Glenn a haircut. We got everything done on our checklist!


Cile relaxes with Solitaire


Glenn relaxes with a bowl of popcorn and his computer

Glenn and I have discovered a recipe for kettle korn. You know, sweet popcorn, but not as sweet as caramel popcorn. On Saturday, I made two big bowls of it, and we ate every kernel of it! I'm having a little trouble keeping the sugar from scorching, so I'll have to keep working on it until I get it down just right! Any tips out there? (And no, we can't buy kettle korn microwave popcorn here. I looked!)



This Sunday was our first worship service in English at the Eden House! There are several other IMB couples here in Budapest who are in the same "boat" as Glenn and me, in that we don't speak Hungarian. We go to a Hungarian Baptist church in the morning, but we don't understand most of what is said, and so we, like the others who work in English, really miss and crave good, ol' American style worship! A bunch of us decided to get together up at the Eden House on Sunday evenings for worship.

Robert led us in worship in song and then Alvin did a children's sermon for the 4 children, and then he actually preached a message for us from the book of John. It was great! Then, like true Baptists, we had a time of food (kettle korn, of course!) and fellowship! It was a blessing to worship in English, hear a great message (Alvin pastored in the U.S. before coming overseas), and pray with other believers! Great way to start week!

And, believe it or not, we have NO ONE in the Eden House this whole week until Saturday! Kari and Jonathan (who passed his Boards on Friday and will begin working in the clinic in France) arrive on Friday for a short visit. Unfortunately, the Eden House will have lots of folks coming and going while K & J are with us so I will still have to work, but at least I will have help!

We will be going to Prague on Tuesday and returning on Thursday. Glenn has a meeting up there on Wednesday. Fast trip. Be back just in time to clean the house before Kari and Jonathan arrive!!!

Hope your week is great!

PS-Dad, I'm really sorry I couldn't be there this weekend to help you move! You know how much I would have enjoyed it!!!! Hope everything made it safely. Sure missed seeing everyone that came to help!

Finally, a slow week!

It appears I have been named the Hungarian Goulash Soup (Gulyasleves) maker among our missionaries here in Budapest and with that distinction comes the "privilege"of fixing it every time there is a get-together. (Please don't get me wrong-I love making it and am honored that folks like mine better than at For Sale Pub in town!)



So Glenn and I took Thursday off (well, the afternoon anyway) and went into town to find the largest pot we could find because mine are too small for making enough for large crowds.



We found this one that is 20 liters (a little more than 20 quarts). I have it next to my crock pot from America to give you an idea of the size. It killed me to buya new pot because I had a really nice, huge one in America that I either gave away or is in storage! I don't know what they cost in America, but it was $70 here! I will be making Hungarian Goulash Soup for the IMB Trustees when they come to town at the end of April so I had to get one! Hey, do you think I can turn in the receipt and let Lottie pay for it? Hmmm, I guess not.



Things at the Eden House are relatively quiet this week so I was able to actually sit down and visit with several of the ladies staying there! This is my most favorite thing to do at the Eden House! (When I saw this picture, I couldn't believe how much I look like my mother!! Does anyone else see the resemblance?)



This picture is for Robin S. at West Cobb Baptist Church there in Marietta. We saw one of these scissor lifts in Prague and thought of him.

Hope you have a great week!

Back in Budapest!

We started out this week still in Prague for our Ebenezer.



We had a large group of folks that have been on the field for 12-18 months. We enjoyed the topics that we covered, but we especially enjoyed getting caught up on everyone's news.


What a great group of friends!

Last year from October to December there were 14 of us at ILC together for training before going out to our region of the world. A year later, there are 11 of us still on the field. We really missed the 3 that returned to the U.S. and I sort of grieved our loss while I was in Prague since their absence was so noticeable.


Member Care Team-Dan, Kyle, Glenn, Cile, Mary and Alvin

This was the first time that ALL 6 of the Member Care team was together and it was great! Dan and Kyle live in Russia and cover most of the work there. Dan was able to come to the Member Care conference in December in the U.S. but Kyle was not able to join us so we were thrilled when things worked out for Kyle to come to Ebenezer to help Dan/us with the counseling. I really, really enjoyed getting to know her and sure wish we lived in the same town!! I think we would be wonderful friends! Dan was a forensic psychologist in his former life and adds a lot to our team.

Ebenezer ended on Wednesday and we immediately headed back to Budapest (5 hours driving time) because the next day we had 10 volunteer ladies coming from Prague to the Eden House to sightsee in Budapest for 3 days. We had to beat them back to make sure there were clean beds for them!! There were already 12 others in the Eden House with another agency. From Thursday to Sunday we had every room filled in the Eden House with 21 adults and one teenager so things were BUSY! That is the largest number in the Eden House since we arrived!


Making Hungarian goulash soup for 16 is an all-day family affair!

We invited the 10 volunteer ladies, another couple at the Eden House and the Doyles to come for Hungarian Goulash soup. Glenn and I sliced, chopped, and simmered the soup all day and had a great time together doing it! It reminded us of our days in Marietta when we would get in the mood to put a ham bone on the stove to simmer and make a huge batch of vegetable soup! Ahhh! Such memories! (We can't buy ham on a bone here!)


Traveling Grandma's

This group of volunteers is quite unusual! Each year 8-10 ladies come from America for a month two times a year to do childcare for our folks who attend Ebenezer (1 week) and then the Strategy Coordinator's training (3 weeks). Most of these ladies are about 70 years old, with the oldest one being 84! For a couple of these ladies, it was their first trip to Prague to do childcare. Most have come 4-8 times. One lady has come 15 times!!! They decided this year to come to Budapest for the weekend in between Ebenezer and the SC training for a little sightseeing, and they were amazing!

There's not much more wonderful than a man with a vaccum cleaner!

Today is Sunday and all our guests checked out except three people in 1 room. As soon as they left, we had to clean two rooms because we had 2 more families arriving this afternoon. Phew, just in time! We love (or maybe I should say, "I" love...) the Eden House ministry. Alvin loves it too. (Michelle and Brian, will you let Alvin and me help you some once you get here in April???)

Glenn and I have been here a year and it is hard to believe how quickly the year has passed. I find it interesting now to recognize the cycle or the rhythum of the year and to actually know a little about what lies ahead. For example, we know the next big thing is the regional support team retreat that happens every spring. Then after that, the cherry trees produce in abundance. Next come the AGM's where we do more counseling, and then the heat comes, and so on. (By the way, we are part of the regional support team because the work we do supports all the folks in our region rather than in just Hungary.)

Kari and Jonathan are coming for a short visit in 19 days, but who's counting????? Probably the same person who can't wait to see them!