A record-breaking blog post!

Well folks, I just broke a record (not a good one) for the longest time between two blog updates. It was not unusual, I regret, to skip a week between updates, but I've now managed to skip two weeks!!! And the worse part of it is, I actually did a blog update last week but FORGOT TO UPLOAD IT TO MAKE IT PUBLIC! So, since it is already written, here it is, a week late. Or it is two weeks late??? (Maybe mid-week I will write again. We'll see.)

Glenn and I just returned from Germany where we spent a week with our folks who have been on the field about a year. They are in their first term so this was a "first termers" conference called Emigrate. There were 19 participants and almost as many facilitators. Glenn and I provided member care and facilitated one of the small discussion groups. Because it was a small number of new personnel, it was pretty easy to get to know each of the families during the course of the week, which, of course, we love!

The volunteer team that came from America to provide childcare and lead the children's program brought goody bags for the participants. Cheryl shows off her coveted Samoas Girl Scout cookies while carefully guarding them. Smart lady! Those are my favorites!

We had worship in English every morning, and then various seminars during the day dealing with everything from language learning 501 to being a risk-taker with the gospel, to casting and catching a vision to praying in small groups. The highlight was sharing in the Lord's Supper the last night.

The weather was pretty cool and cloudy most of the week and our schedule was pretty packed so I didn't have a chance to get out and walk in the village where we were staying except for the second to the last day. I didn't take my camera with me but I was able to take this picture of a typical Bavarian house from the bus on our way to the airport.

Friday afternoon, I flew on back to Budapest but Glenn went to Prague (Czech Republic) for a leadership training of some sort for 4 days. I enjoyed my time alone in Budapest but was glad to have Glenn back!

Mary and Alvin, our co-workers, had me over for lunch on Sunday. They will be retiring this July and we will miss them terribly! They are slowing packing, sorting and selling some of their things so their house is beginning to look different. We are buying their washer and dryer because my washer takes one hour and 15 minutes per load and my dryer is limping along. (I'm hoping it will last until July!!!)

Because Mary and Alvin are wrapping up their time overseas, they are staying out of the grocery store and trying to use up all their American products before they go. Mary made these tiny chocolate chip cookies using mini M & M's for dessert. You can see the size of the cookies by comparing them with the teaspoon beside the plate!

Glenn is down with a stomach bug this weekend but hopefully, he will be feeling better soon. I'm doing my best to wait on him hand and foot, but not doing it very well :-). Just ask him! It's just so sad to see him laying on the couch and feeling so badly.

Spring is around the corner!

When a person lives overseas and their job requires almost constant use of a computer, all things grind to a halt when said computer crashes. Such was my experience this past week. Totally blank screen with no response to any command. I tried everything I knew how to do (which, admittedly, is not much) to bring it back to life. I let it rest for two days while I dealt with my frustration and grief in healthy ways, I prayed over it, and I would have anointed it with oil but I heard that food crumbs and Coke Zero are not good for the keyboard.

Anyway, with the help of a husband who sat at my computer for hours on end for two days, working with the IT department to fix my computer, it is now up and running. Well, limping. At least I can get into my emails now. I had to download another browser in order to do this blog!




Last weekend Glenn and I had the privilege of having 3 young ladies stay with us while they were in Budapest to do some sightseeing. Michelle (left) is one of "ours", Carissa (middle) was one of her college girl friends, and Becca (right) is a friend of Carissa's. With the help of Glenn, they were planning out their sightseeing route to maximize their time in town. We enjoyed having them; only wished they could have stayed longer!




I was in the mood for some African food so I pulled up one of my daughter's recipes called Ceebu Yap. We invited the Doyles over to enjoy the Senegalese dish with us because they used to live in West Africa and they like this kind of spicy food too. It had a sauce of marinated beef, onions, carrots, potatoes and cabbage sauteed in oil, garlic, and tomato paste with a little bit of red pepper flakes thrown in, served over rice that was also cooked in water, oil, garlic and tomato paste. YUM!




A store called American Rags that sells used clothing opened up at one of our malls close by, and every time I pass by it, I get amused at the title and their false advertising. I wonder why anyone would want to buy clothes, regardless of where they come from, that are described as rags. (I also wonder why any woman would ever buy clothes from a store called Dress Barn, but that is another story.)




And I have yet to find a single article of clothing in the store that comes from America, much less from Abercrombie & Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Levi's, Gap, and Ralph Lauren!




The weather has finally started to warm up so Glenn dropped me off at the tram station and then went to OBI (think: Home Depot or Lowe's) to pick up some Pansies for our yard. It's not real warm. Notice he is still wearing a coat?




While he was "playing in the dirt again" (Pike's Nursery jingle), I met Melissa and her mother-in-law at one of the five (yes, five!) Starbuck's in town to see Melissa's beautiful baby, Ella, who is now about 6 weeks old. Our time was too rushed, but I was glad to see them! They will be moving to Turkey later this year so our time with them is very limited. We don't get to see them often because they live 45 -50 minutes away from us by public transport, but we will miss them when they move.




Since the temperature is finally creeping upward, I'm forcing myself to get outside and walk for exercise to get rid of the Christmas candy, Cinnabon sweet rolls, and German Sour Sticks that have accumulated around my waist. Glenn and I enjoy looking at all the flowers sprouting and the new houses being built. This boxy, mono-chromatic, modern house was finished just this winter, and I think it, how do I put this delicately? I think it is not as pretty as any other house in all of Budapest. It is in our neighborhood where most of the houses were built 30-50 years ago so they have lots of character and culture, compared with this one that seems so, so, so ... out of place. Can you tell I don't care for it?




I love this sign. This is our "neighborhood watch" sign. Wonder who was watching our house when it was broken into 2 years ago? Oh, yeah. The thief!

Have a great week! "SEE" you on Sunday for another exciting update on the life of living in Budapest!