Snow on the first day of Spring!

March 21, the first day of spring, brought a surprising snowfall.


Snowflakes falling gently

I was spending the day sitting in front of my computer, getting caught up on emails long overdue, when I looked up and was shocked to see large flakes gently falling. As I sat there, the flakes got bigger and bigger and fell harder and harder. If the snow would continue to fall like that for an hour, we'd have had 2-3 inches in no time.



However, it didn't continue to snow for long, and the next time I looked up, it was sleeting in huge waves!


Sleet the size of my pinkie

And the wind blew the walkway clear for us!

Cool, eh?

The weather forecast calls for mixed rain and snow for the next couple of days off and on, but we aren't there to enjoy any of it. More about our whereabouts later...

Inspite of all the snow flurries and sleet, the flower shops are bursting open their doors with spring flowers all over the pavement. Glenn and I found this beautiful bouquet of orchids for 1,400 forints (or $8!).

Still perfecting kettle korn!

Glenn and I are now in the Czech Republic to attend a regional support team retreat, but before coming I had to try ONE MORE TIME to make kettle korn for us to eat on the 7 hour drive to Prague. Another missionary (a man!) told me his secret to making kettle korn and I just had to try it. He said to pop the corn on the stove and then pour caramel syrup over the hot popped corn, stirring it well. Sprinkle with a little salt. After cooling for about 15 minutes, the caramel hardens and it is perfect! Obviously, because the 7 of us in the van ride just about finished off all the popcorn!

Glenn and I enjoy a hungarian meal in the market, our favorite local food joint

Pecans in the market!!!

While we were at the market, I was delighted to find pecans that were imported from Germany. Delight turned to dismay. I didn't buy any for two reasons. First, I had a bag in my freezer, and secondly, they were 3,950 forints for half a kilo, or $23 for barely over a pound of pecans!!! For some strange reason, we can buy walnuts here fairly reasonably (about the same price as in America), but pecans are outrageously high-when you can find them.

Chocolate covered coffee beans!

Glenn and I went to a new store (for us) called Metro, the Hungarian version of Sam's or Costco. Even though it looked like Sam's with concrete floors and shelves stocked high to the warehouse roof, the prices didn't seem to be any better than what we pay in the local Tesco (think Walmart). We have also come to realize that in Hungary when something comes in bulk or in a large size, it is not any cheaper than the smaller size per ounce or item. We did, however, find a couple of things we have never seen before, such as these chocolate covered coffee beans. We also found a 2 1/2 kilo bag (about 5 1/2 pounds) of chocolate chips. In fact, they had milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dark chocolate chips! Again, we did not buy any because we still had some we bought at Sam's in Marietta a year and a half ago in the 10 pound bag, and because the bag was $28.

Yesterday was Easter and even though Hungary is a Catholic country, the only thing we saw that looked like Easter or looked different from any other day were the rows and rows of chocolate bunnies in the grocery store. Oh, and the huge piles of small, celophane-wrapped hams for sale everywhere. It is so sad, but even attendance at church is not much different on Easter Sunday! It seems that for most Hungarians, the Easter holiday is simply a day for family to get together to eat ham. It is only in the small congregations of true Christians that the sacrificial death and powerful resurrection of our Lord and Saviour is understood and celebrated. Hungary is so lost and in desperate need of a Saviour, and she doesn't even realize it! And for me, it is frustrating to know that I am so limited in the language that the likelihood of leading someone to Christ is slim to none. We need folks who are called to the front line to fight for the lost souls that otherwise will die and go to hell for eternity. Please pray for Hungary.