God spoke to me through a wonderful sermon I heard this morning. Glenn preached to a group of our folks from across Europe who were in town for a language conference. He spoke on Mary and Martha. You know the story of Martha who was always frantically running around fixing a meal for Jesus, making sure the table was set just right and the house dusted and swept...(well, that's me), while her sister Mary let her do all the work. Of course, Martha's rationale (mine, too) was that she was serving Jesus! In Luke 10: 41 Jesus says, "Mary has chosen what is better" as she chose to sit at the feet of her Master and learn from Him. Ouch! How many times have I felt overwhelmed with all that "had" to be done that day to serve our folks and skimped on my quiet time with MY MASTER? Good bye Martha, hello Mary.
Shoes at the Eden House
Hungarians take their shoes off at the door before coming into the house. I'm not sure if there is a reason for this other than it cuts down on the dirt tracked in! This sight warms my heart each week as we gather at the Eden House for worship in English. A lot of these shoes belong to our
precious little MK's. (Mine are in there somewhere.)
Avon from America?
I am often amazed at some of the things that have come across the pond! I've seen signs for Tupperware and even found Bed Head hair products in some of our beauty salons. Sometimes I wonder why certain products have made it over here and yet, still no Fritos! (Why on earth would Coleman's mustard make it but not French's mustard?)
Cobblestone streets are a work of art!
I love the cobblestone streets. Each of those pieces of stone are cut into 3 inch cubes and laid into sand in an intricate design. When a hole forms or a piece works its way up, they just pull up a couple of stone cubes and dig out some of the sand, wiggle the cubes back into place and fill in around them with more sand. It does not require jack hammers and a tar truck. It is amazing to me how old these streets are, and how easy the streets are to repair.
Julie and I enjoy the thermal baths
On Thursday, Julie (one of the language coaches in town for the conference) had a free afternoon so we decided to go to the Szecheny thermal bath (where Glenn and I went a couple of weeks ago) for the afternoon. We got there about 3:30 pm and left at 8:30 pm. It was gorgeous as the sun was setting and the mist was rising off the hot waters (38 degrees centigrade=100.4 degrees fahrenheit) and it sure felt good! Hmmmm, since I can't convince you that I was there to minister to someone, would you believe I was there for some Member Care? Yes, I was there to take care of two of our members. Julie and me!
A romantic evening. Next time I'll go with Glenn!
Julie and I met an older gentleman (my grandfathers' age) who didn't speak any English but he sure could communicate with gestures! He led us from one spot to another to show us all the jets that pummeled our backs and thighs with forced water. By time we left there, we were so relaxed that I felt I'd had a body massage! I slept well that night.
Glenn, me and a former co-worker
On Saturday and Sunday, Glenn and I met up with some of the folks that were at the language conference who stayed over afterward for a 2-day meeting to discuss language learning practices and guidelines within our organization. We were there to remind them that moderation should be practiced in making language policies because, otherwise, they might end up with Member Care issues.
The time together was good, but a special blessing was running across one of Glenn's co-workers from the Georgia Baptist Children's Home who is now living in Germany!
Katie is from Marietta!
Another one of the participants was a young lady named Katie who grew up on Scufflegrit Road in Marietta, right around the corner from Glenn's boyhood home! Later, her parents moved out to Stilesboro Road in Kennesaw, just a few miles from where we lived on Dallas Highway! It is truly a small world!
Well, lots of neat things happened this week and I expect this next week to be as exciting. I'm already working on our Annual General Meeting that will be this summer in Greece and would appreciate your prayers for those that God will be bringing as volunteers to help us. Pray that those He hand picks will say, "Yes, Lord!"
Pray for Kate who is on a trip to Ethiopia and Kenya with World Orphans. Selfishly, we pray for her physical health and personal safety, but we also pray that God will use her to bless the children in the various orphanages they visit.
2 comments:
Cile, you seem to be a nice blend of Martha and Mary. You've always had a servant heart, but it's also so apparent that you put the time in at the Master's feet, as well. I just don't see much about you that needs to change! (well, other than that you could live a little closer, but that's MY issue, not yours). I love the shoes picture.. it makes me think of Romans 10:15-- And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Love you.. and I'm slowly working on a care package...
Wow - the baths look so cool at night! I'm glad you went again. It was so fun. I loved it.
We're just now getting some spring here, so am happy to hear y'all are too!
And you know, if you need a good reminder to lean towards your Mary side rather than your Martha side, you could consider changing your name to Mary - oh wait... ;)
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