HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!

Sorry to be a couple of days behind (well, 5 days....) but we have been a little busy!

First, let me start off by wishing our son Chris HAPPY BIRTHDAY! He turned 26 today! He has always been a blessing to us, and even more so as each year passes. We love how he loves the Lord and serves Him fully. We sure are proud of him.


Riga Airport in Latvia

We left Budapest on the 17th for Riga, Latvia to participate in a retreat for our Singles. This was the first retreat that CEE has ever had for singles so it was long overdue. Glenn and I attended, but had no specific Member Care responsibilities; we were just on hand in case someone wanted to talk. (The only other married couple among the 50 attendees was the couple who led the retreat.)


Latvia in Latvian is Latvijas


Mark was a little "out there" but gives great haircuts!

Our two favorite Journeymen!

This Singles retreat was also when we would say good-bye to two very special young ladies who were at ILC and came out to CEE with us. Amber and Jessica will be completing their 2 year stint in Poland in October and returning to the U.S. to continue in their journey with the Lord. In our hearts they were much like daughters and we will miss them.

Small group time

Oh, so cool!

Our tour guides

After the retreat ended we had a day to see the sights of Riga with our co-workers Janice and Robert before heading to another town in Latvia. Robert is a real history buff and knows all about Riga, her history and the best things to see and do!

Statue seen in a family courtyard

Narrow streets

Sidewalk cafe in Riga

Peaceful, isn't it?

Those private lessons are finally paying off!

1646-Oldest known building in Riga

Majestic tower

Pedestrian Walkway

Opera House-paid for by Latvians living outside Latvia!

The day after the retreat we caught a train to Daugavpils, Latvia to visit with Cathy and Gary for a couple of days. Daugavpils is a small town "up country" that in some ways reminded me of Daloa, Ivory Coast and so I really liked it!

Cathy and Svete

Svete recently became a Christian and Cathy is discipling her. I had the privilege of sitting in on one of their studies. It was so neat to see God at work in Svete's life and to listen to her questions as she begins to understand the depth of Christ's love for her. AWESOME!

Daugavpils University

Roman Catholic Church

Lutheran Church

Orthodox Church

After staying in Daugavpils for two nights to get to know Gary and Cathy and to see the work in which they are involved, we caught a bus to Lithuania to visit with another couple. (More on Lithuania later...) Our 8:30 am bus didn't leave the bus station until 2:30 pm. 6 hours late! We stood outside in the cold, not able to go anywhere, do anything or understand what was the problem since no one was telling anyone anything (especially not in English!), but it was really good for us to experience this problem since part of the reason for our trip to visit with our co-workers is to learn more about what their lives are like! This really helped us understand what they go through on a regular basis!

Anyway, we finally made it to Lithuania, 6 hours late but in good spirits. I will update you about our time in Lithuania in a couple of days, and then our time in Estonia (which is where we are right now; also, more to come...), and then our time to come in Finland.

And before I close, I wanted to show you this picture bleow of trailers for sale. When we walked upon this scene, it brought a flood of memories of Cobb Parkway in Marietta where there are several trailer sales lots! It is kind of strange what bizarre things bring thoughts of home.

Have a good weekend!

Here Kitty, kitty, kitty!

Well, this past Tuesday a 4 -5 week old gray tabby kitten showed up at our front gate and prompltly slipped into our house and our hearts. She is the tiniest little kitty - too young to be away from her momma, and we made the mistake of feeding her so now we are sorta stuck with her.

The next morning as I was starting my quiet time with the Lord, I asked Him to help us find a good home for the kitten because we can't keep her! (We will be traveling 2 - 3 weeks out of every month for the next 5 months.) Would you believe that my devotional guide took me to Deuteronomy 22, starting with verses 1 - 3. It says, "If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses (kitten). Do not ignore it." Wild, isn't it?


Deuteronomy at home on our couch!

Anyway, I have been hanging on to the part about "keep it until he comes looking for it", whereas Glenn has been hearing "take it home with you and keep it"! So now we have this tiny kitten and we leave town on Wednesday for 2 weeks. Okay, God. What now? Who will feed this kitty for us while we are gone if the owner doesn't come in the next two days?


She adores Glenn!

Can you tell that this is Glenn's kitty? Did you know that kittens this age are not supposed to drink cow's milk? According to the internet, we have to mix 3 oz. of water, 4 oz. of plain yogurt, 3 oz. of sweetened condensed milk and 3 egg yokes to give this kitty milk that is close to what she would get from the momma cat.

We do not know if Deuteronomy is male or female but we are referring to her as if she were female because all the cats I've ever owned have been female. Glenn says he thinks cats are born males and then turn into females. Anyway, please pray for a good home for Deuteronomy before Wednesday!


Allison, Paul, Glenn, Rick, Cynda and Cile

Tonight we met up with Rick and Cynda, friends of ours from First Baptist Church of Marietta, in Budapest for dinner. They are traveling for 2 weeks across Europe with their friends (Paul and Allison) and we are delighted that they spent a little time with us. It was really good to see them and get caught up on the news of their family. Their oldest daughter Brittany was good friends with our son Chris when they were in their teens so we go way back with Rick and Cynda.

On Wednesday, Glenn and I leave for Latvia to attend a week-long singles retreat and from there we will go to visit some of our families in Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland. I am not sure how much internet access I will have while on this trip but I will try to keep you posted of where we are and what we are doing. We return to Budapest on Oct. 1. We'll keep in touch!!

Out of Africa and In Budapest!

Monday night we hosted an Out of Africa party and invited 3 other couples that live here in Budapest but that used to serve as missionaries in Africa. Glenn and I provided the Sauce Arachide au Poulet (Peanut Sauce with Chicken or also called Groundnut Stew), and the other families also brought something to contribute that was from Africa. We also enjoyed (very American) homemade ice cream!



The Doyles'(Nigeria) on the left and the Brown's (Botswana) on the right are with the IMB, and the couple in the middle, the Snyders (Nigeria), are with Greater Europe Mission. All 4 couples enjoyed sharing tales from the Whenwe tribe. You know, "When we were in Africa...." It was good to reminisce and laugh about life in Africa because nobody else here quite understands our past life like these folks do.

Saturday and Sunday was the regions' Wine Festival. After a hearty breakfast at the Snyders house on Saturday morning, we drove part way to the festival in downtown Budafok and walked the rest of the way to the main street that was closed off to traffic where the booths were set up. I LOVE the cobblestone streets in the old part of town!

The festival is to celebrate the grape harvest (oh, let's get real-its an excuse to drink wine!) and there are booths set up where you can buy small samples of the various wines from the many different wineries. Some people bring their own wine glasses instead of using small plastic cups and so you'd see folks walking down the street with empty and partially full wine glasses!

There are also lots of other booths that sell tradional hand-made Hungarian folkart such as pottery, baskets, jewelry, wood puzzles and toys, glassware, knives, dresses, purses, blankets, and metal cookware.

Our favorite though is the local food! Imagine our shock and delight to come upon this lovely sight!

And in case you wanted a closer look!

They were smoking two cows right there on the street! Glenn woke up in the middle of the night and smelled smoke so he got up and went out onto our balcony to see if he could find the fire. (He couldn't.) We are pretty sure they had started cooking these lovely animals during the middle of the night for our delicious enjoyment the next day!

There were also music groups along the street to add to the festivities. This one was playing inside a cave/warehouse and was quite cool, temperature-wise! It was a welcome relief from the heat wave that hit us this week.

Well, that wraps it up for another week here in Budapest. This should be a quiet week for us here, and hopefully, will give us some time to work on an upcoming retreat we will be leading in Russia in October. Take care!