!sdrawkcab era serutciP

I've been doing this blog thing for almost a year now and I still occasionally forget to upload my pictures in reverse order. Rats! Lest you think the title of today's entry is in Hungarian, it's not, and if you're lysdexic, I mean, dyslexic, you will be able to read it and know that my pictures are backwards; instead of starting with last Sunday and going through the week, they are from today to last Sunday. Sorry!


Budafok Baptist Church

Thought you might like to see what our church looks like on the inside. Pretty much like an American church! Our worship services are like worship services in America except once every month we have testimony time where about 4-5 people will share what God has been saying to them or doing in their life recently, and we have a time of prayer where we gather to pray in groups of 2-3. Our music is caught in a time warp as we sing out of hymnals with pages yellowed with age and another song book of more "modern" American tunes translated into Hungarian from the 70's & 80's. (You know, songs like "It Only Takes a Spark" and "Majesty".)

One RED cherry on our tree

One thing I really enjoy is walking through the neighborhood and looking at all the flowers and fruit trees in everyone's yards. Almost everyone has at least one fruit or nut tree! We see apples, peaches, walnuts, almonds, cherries (sweet and sour), and fig trees everywhere. The sweet cherries are in right now. Our cherry tree is a sour cherry and they will be ripe in a few more weeks. This picture is of the only red cherry on our whole tree! I talked Glenn into buying my birthday present earlyand getting it into the ground asap: a Golden Delicious apple tree with 15 tiny apples. They should be ripe and ready for picking when my Dad comes out this fall!


Hannah, Cody and Ryan

We did something we haven't done in a few years this past week! We kept 3 children overnight so their parents could go to Vienna for a little R & R. Hannah is 5, Cody is 3 and Ryan is 1 1/2. We had a great time and the kids were wonderful, but I don't miss those days of not getting anything else done and the house being a wreck!


Glenn occupies the kids while I cook.

Cile talking with Kari and Jonathan on Mother's Day

Glenn talks with his mother on Mother's Day

I told you the "Pictures are backward!"

This week we will be having several folks over for meals that are here in Budapest for medical reasons, and on Friday Glenn and I will take our first language test (oral) to see how we are doing. They told us we would have about 10 minutes with the "testor" in which we will converse so that she can determine our level. I think we will only need about 3 minutes and I can tell her I'm in the lowest level. Anyway, we would appreciate your prayers on Thursday. (If you pray for us on Friday, we will already be finished with the test before you even start your prayer time!)

As the summer shapes up, it appears Glenn and I will not be lonesome. My Aunt Billie is coming through Budapest in June on her trip through Europe. Two of Kari's friends (one from middle school and one from college) are coming, and we hope to get to see both of them too. Kari and Jonathan are coming back. My sister Karin and her family are coming for a week in July. Also, a volunteer counselor who helps us at our annual general meetings is coming with his wife to Budapest and will be staying with us for a few days. It should be a great summer!!!

Glenn and I head to Prague (Czech Republic) next Monday for a few days of meetings and then June 23-30 we will be in Greece for a meeting. In mid-July our co-workers here in Budapest that run the guesthouse ministry will be going to the US for their 6 month stateside assignment (now called "stas", formerly known as "furlough") so please pray that God would provide someone to run the ministry in their absence (other than us!).

As I close, I want to wish my sister Karin a happy birthday. She turns "negyvenkilenc" on May 26th. Boldog szuletesnap, Karin!

Summer is not yet here but the tourists are!

What a week we have had! First, let me back up to the previous week and just mention one thing that Glenn and I had that was a special treat.

Of all the "stuff" I bought while in the U.S. for the education conference, one of the most treasured was this bag of Fritos. I wanted to protect it, so I carried it back in my carry-on to make sure it made it and to make sure it didn't get crushed. We thoroughly enjoyed having Taco Salad or as my family calls it, Round Robin. Glenn's family calls it Beef Ole'. What ever you want to call it, it was yummy!


The Lord's Supper

The second thing I want to mention is that we had the Lord's Supper last Sunday at Church. I was struck by how similar the pastor at our church carried out the ordinance as our pastors in the U.S. do, even down to the little plastic cups. It was so close to the way we do it in America that I wondered if the Hungarian pastor had gone to America and participated in the Lord's Supper there! The only difference is that we use real wine here, and it burns as it goes down.


A Meeting of the Geeks

Our supervisor and his wife, Lynn and Glenda, arrived from the Czech Republic on Sunday night and stayed with us until Wednesday morning. It was great to have them, get to know them and learn more about our jobs! Mainly, Glenn and Lynn talked business while Glenda and I talked and shopped!


It's either Greek or Hungarian to me!

Many of you are asking about our language learning. Well, let's just say we're not there yet, and it may be awhile. I know you don't believe me when I say Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages to learn. I can hear your thoughts: "Yeah, yeah, they're just not studying hard enough..." Well, this sign is just way beyond our language abilities! They add prefixes and suffixes to their root words to make a new word or thought, and there are sooooo many exceptions that you might as well not learn the rule! You just have to memorize the list of exceptions! So, you can keep praying for our language skills!



What is this supposed to mean?

Not only do we have trouble with their written words, but we have trouble understanding their signs too! What does this mean? No old men with young children allowed here? Don't hold children's hands as they are walking? This is not an area for walking young children? Your guess is as good as ours!

Glenn, Cile, Abby and Chloe

Today is Mother's Day in America. I heard from both of my children, which was really nice. Chris sent me a really neat card that had a picture of a mom driving a mini van with a couple of children in it, and the mini van had flames on the front hood! It really brought back wonderful memories of Chris and all his cars parked in our yard, and all the flames he painted on his cars, motorcycle helmets, and even his uncle's lawn mower!! I also talked with him today too. Kari and I talked Saturday because she was going to be away from their house most of today, but she skyped me her Mother's Day wishes this morning before church.

After church today, we went into downtown Budapest with some friends of ours, Brad and Karen, and their two little girls, Abby and Chloe. We made a day of it. We ate lunch on Vaci Utca (Vaci Street) and then walked through the City Park.

Vaci Street-famous pedestrian street

And his mother told him not to play at the table!

The weather is beautiful and the tourists are out in full swing! I can't imagine how crowded it will be when tourist season is in full swing!

Ice cream AND cotton candy????

Lest you think all we do is party and go into town, Glenn has been working on a survey about member care needs that has now been distributed to all of our missionaries (Brad helped him with the technical side of it) and I have been gathering information about education in our part of the world from our missionaries and am going to be making a proposal to our regional leadership team. A good portion of our work this past week has been on the computer, which, fortunately, seems to be working 95 % of the time! We are also working on some details that pertain to our next annual meeting for the other half of our missionaries that will place the end of June. Busy, busy, busy, but we love it!

Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, I know where the flowers is!

Oh! Flowers are everywhere (well, except for our yard) and it is so beautiful that it's hard to remember the cold, dreary winter.

Tuesday was a holiday so Glenn and I went to a nearby village called Szentendre with our co-workers, Mary and Alvin, for the day. It was definitely set up for tourists with it's gift shops, cafe's on the streets, ice cream stands and such.


Standing on the side of the Danube River in Szentendre


Strolling down the quaint cobblestone streets


Hungary is known for it's paprika!

We enjoyed the day but didn't buy anything except lunch and an ice cream cone. The weather was perfect and the tourists were abundant but pleasant.

Sidewalk artists-pictures made with yarn!

The holiday was actually Tuesday, but most Hungarians work the Saturday before the holiday in order to take Monday off too, giving them Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off. The French call this "faire le pont" (make the bridge). On Monday, the day before we went to Szentendre, Glenn and I worked a little around the house and in the yard.

When Kari and Jonathan were here a couple of weeks ago, Jonathan planted about 200 bulbs for us in several areas of our yard. The flowers are just beginning to sprout, and each day brings a new one! We also bought some flowering plants at the local nursery and Glenn planted them today. Our landlord spread grass seed for us a week or two ago and it is starting to come up too so our yard is beginning to look like a yard.

This morning (Sunday) on our way to our church we saw a bunch of trailers parked in the middle of a square one block from our church. We mistakenly assumed they belonged to gypsies which are found all over Europe, but on closer inspection we found out that the trailers and buses are part of a filming crews' lodging, dressing rooms and dining halls! We didn't see any famous actors or actresses; only a couple of men dressed up like Hungarians.

Watch for a #1 Hungarian movie at a theatre near you!

Glenn and I were walking in our neighborhood and found this beautiful rose bush that was about 10 feet tall. One day our yard will have roses like this! Of course, it will probably take 8-10 years to get this huge!

Later this week, we came across another huge rose bush down the other end of our street! Aren't they gorgeous?

Well, I better close here. Our boss/supervisor and his wife have just arrived from Prague (Czech Republic) and will spend a few days with us. Glenn and I are glad to have this time with them to get to know them better and to learn more about our job! Have a great week!

Budapest, Here I Come!

I started off the week still in Virginia but I needed a little pick-me-upper to get me through the week. I missed Glenn so much that I just had to go get something to bring me out of my depression!



And the Krispy Kreme sugar high did it!



During the conference for education consultants, I found out that some of the ladies from other parts of the world have Krispy Kremes where they live! Anyone want to open one here in Budapest????



This is Marlene. She works at the International Learning Center in the preschool department. Marlene and I share a mutual friend, Kim Harris, who is from my church (West Cobb Baptist) in Marietta. Marlene was attending the conference also, and as we got to talking, it turns out that she was in Poland at our AGM in early April as a volunteer in the children's department this year and last year but our paths never crossed! Small world, isn't it?



We took a night off from eating the cafeteria food at ILC and were treated to pizza at Bottoms Up! It was good to get off campus and to have some time just to sit and talk. It was also good to eat pizza!

Staff, Teachers and Consultants attending the conference

It was a good conference and I learned a lot from the staff and the other consultants as they shared about their work in the other regions. There was sweet fellowship and a time for encouraging one another. By time the conference was over on Friday evening though, I was ready to go home!

Ephesians 5:33

I left ILC on Saturday at noon and arrived at the Budapest airport on Sunday at noon. I was sooooo glad to see Glenn again and to be home!

On the plane trip home, I read the book Love and Respect, which identifies that a wife has one driving need-to feel loved, and a husband-to feel respected. The book (I want you to read it though!) reveals why spouses react negatively to each other, and how they can deal with such conflict quickly, easily and biblically. The Bible very clearly tells us in Ephesians 5:33 what we must do to stop the cycle of defeat. Really, you need to read it! I was convicted that I need to apologize to Glenn and make some changes in the way I act and react to him to be obedient to God's Word.

Snow-capped mountains in Germany

Grape arbor

While I was in Virginia all of our fruit trees lost their blossoms and fruit appeared! We have grapes growing next to the carport, and a peach tree, 2 almond trees and a cherry tree growing in the yard.

Two Almond trees

The cherry tree is loaded!!!

A beautiful peach tree too!

This week will mark the end of our required "official" language study and the beginning of our "real" work. However, we will continue in unofficial language study for a while longer since we still have a lot to learn! Continue to pray for us, please!

Virginia is for lovers, so where is Glenn????

Greetings from America!


In the JFK airport in New York

I arrived in the US on Tuesday after a longggg flight from Budapest to Paris to New York to Richmond (VA). I had left my house in Budapest at 5:30 am, and arrived at the International Learning Center 20 miles outside Richmond at midnight (which was 6:00 am the next day in Budapest.) I had been traveling for 24 hours. The trip should not have taken so long except that I got caught in all the cancelled and delayed flights at JFK due to the bad weather the day before! After a 3 hour delay, we boarded our 35 seater plane in New York to go to Richmond, only to sit on the tarmac for 3 hours. IN A TINY PLANE! They finally felt sorry for us and let us unload and go back into the terminal which was very, very crowded with angry people. Once they were really ready for us, we still ended up sitting on the tarmac for another 30 minutes before we finally took off. When I got to ILC, I was rather tired but fortunately I had Wednesday to recover before the conference began on Thursday. Because most of the attendees of the conference were coming in from places all over the world, they have us come in one day early to rest up and recover from jet lag. Good idea!


International Learning Center

The conference is on MK education (MK=missionary kid). This past week we learned about testing for special needs children and were trained on how to administer the Brigance test. This next week we will discuss policies and practices in the various regions around the world that pertain to children's education on the mission field. We will share ideas with one another. Well, they will share and I will glean. I'm so new on the field that I don't really have anything to share!


Such peacefulness!

This weekend the campus is empty except for about 20 people so things are very calm and quiet. I have enjoyed the slow pace after all the traveling Glenn and I have been doing this past month. The campus is located out in the country. There are cows grazing in the fields that line the .7 mile driveway down to the entrance gate, and I have walked it every day since arriving and jogged it twice! I've got to burn some of these oreo's that I'm eating!

I want to buy something special for Glenn since he couldn't come on this trip. Do you think he would like this outfit???

I came to the US with a small (understatement) list of things I wanted to buy while here. (Please notice that I did NOT say "need".) One of the other ladies rented a car when she got into the country so we have been able to catch rides with her into Richmond to go shopping in the evenings. Karen, a friend who lives in Richmond, took me shopping on Saturday. We shopped from 10 am until 4:30 pm and I was able to finish most of my list, but the best part was eating lunch at a mexican restaurant!

Well, it's been a good week, a fun weekend, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the conference, but I am ready to go home. I will fly out of the Richmond airport on Saturday afternoon, and will arrive in Budapest on Sunday afternoon. It will be good to see Glenn again! I have missed him and our walks together. I know he has missed the cafeteria food here too. (Another understatement) While I have been gone, he has done all kinds of projects at the house and I can't wait to see the flowers he has planted in our yard! Maybe I'll put some pictures of the yard on next Sundays' blog. Bet you can't wait!

Whirlwind month! Off again!

Kari and Jonathan left on Tuesday morning to return to France. It was so sad to see them go! After Glenn dropped them off at the airport, he left for a regional leaders retreat in the Czech Republic, and I left for a retreat about 1 1/2 hours outside of Budapest for all the ladies that are in the Central Europe field, which includes Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Romania. Because I am the one that took the camera, and I am the one who updates the blog, you'll hear about the ladies retreat instead of Glenn's regional retreat!

FBC, Jacksonville, Florida sent ladies to host the most wonderful time of worship, fellowship and encouragement for 50 female missionaries!



One of the best parts of the retreat was the worship time! I have really missed singing praises in English!! We had worship and small group Bible studies in the mornings and evenings, and the afternoons were free.



In the afternoons during free time, the volunteers from FBC gave all of us haircuts (much needed; I had trimmed my own hair twice since arriving), manicures and pedicures, and brought supplies for several craft projects that they taught us to do. We also could have massages (I had two!) and walk out in the country (which I did every day) or ride in the hotel's horsedrawn carrage across the countryside, which was beautiful! After the evening worship, we had fellowship time.


"Chubby Bunny"

Have you ever had to see how many marshmallows you could stuff in your mouth and still be able to say, "chubby bunny"? I think these two ladies were able to get 15 in each of their mouths before gagging!



We also had game night, a pajama party (and the ladies from FBC brought all of us new pj's!), roasted (or burned) marshmallows and made good ole American s'mores, and on our final evening there was a fashion show. The ladies brought each of us a tote bag full of American goodies such as Bath and Body Works lotions, books, CD's, snack foods, Mary Kay cosmetics, Oreos, and M & M's and much more! We were pampered and refreshed!



FBC ladies put on quite a fashion show!

But then, Sunday I had to go home and unpack, do laundry, and repack for my trip to the US on Tuesday.

Before the retreat, we received word that there were two packages on the way to us from friends at our church in Marietta, and they should arrive while Glenn and I were on the retreats. When we checked our mail, there was no notice of an attempt to deliver them, so on Monday morning a bilingual friend called the Post Office for us to check on the packages. They were delivered to our house shortly afterward! Evidently, the postman had noticed that the shutters were closed and the car gone, and figured we were out of town, so he held on to our packages for us.

Christmas in April????

Goodies from our friends in our Sunday School class

There were cake mixes, tubs of frosting, pasta sides and salads, lifesavers, ziploc bags, bacon bits, Jiffy mixes, Kraft macaroni and cheese, stuffing mixes, Kool-aid, dressing packets, toffee bits, cream of tartare....

Glenn's favorite color!

but Glenn especially liked the nail supplies sent by Tassie to "Glenn and Cile".

I think we will have enough lifesavers! 3 lb bag!

The second package was from a young friend, Adam Doughty, that I knew from NCCS and WCBC. Adam is very special to me, and is one of my prayer warriors. (His mom, Pam, is a good friend too!) Their package included Brownie mixes, lifesavers, tons of licorice (that I will share with my favorite son-in-law, if he is nice to me.), pasta sides, Kool-aid, candy bars, and 3 different kinds of chips (mint, peppermint and toffee).

Included in Adam's package were wonderful Easter cards from some young children at WCBC that I enjoyed reading! Thank you!

We feel really spoiled and will not have to buy groceries for the next year! There were so many things from our Wish List that I had to go in and delete most of the list! We are so blessed to have friends that would go to the trouble and expense (it costs an arm and TWO legs to mail the packages!) to do this for us, and we are not sure how we can adequately express our love and appreciation for them. It really means a lot to us, and your love in action is such an encouragement to us. May God bless you as you blessed us.

As I said earlier in this blog, I leave for the US tomorrow (Tuesday) to go to a conference on MK Education (MK=missionary kid) at the International Learning Center in Virginia, which is where we were from October through December. I will return on April 28th. While I am there, Glenn will hold down the fort. Please pray for him as he handles everything that comes our way while I am in the States. Pray that I will be able to learn at the conference what I will need in order to help our missionary moms that homeschool. And while you're praying, pray for our language skills! We have missed language class for the past two weeks while we were at AGM and the retreats, and it has really shocked us at how much we have forgotten! Thanks!