English camp in Erd

I've discovered I quite like to teach! This week my teammate Lindy and I are teaching the beginner's level of English to local Hungarians. The two week course is put on by the local church here in Erd. Our classes are quite small: 3 students in the morning and 3 in the evening! The pastor of the church is our translator, and we've all been having a good time. In the morning all of our students speak German, so during the breaks we've been able to get to know them and practice our Deutsch! They are great students- hungry to learn and quick to laugh. In Hungary, it's said that you won't get old if you keep learning, so half of our students are actually over the age of 60! Lazslo is one of my favorites because he reminds me of my Grandpa Conn- quick to tease with a twinkle in his eye and an easy laugh. On Friday evening after our last class all of the students (there are 8 classes total, our team of 8 plus another girl teaching them all) were invited to a game night. I got to talk to Lazslo and his wife and see pictures from their weekend trip to Austria. :)

Twice a week we have chapel after class, which is optional for the students to come to. The majority have come! We play a song before then someone gives a testimony. Jeff and Jake gave theirs this week, each an awesome and unique sharing of the Gospel. The students have been very receptive and we heard that the security guard commented that he really needs to consider the message that was presented because, as he's been watching us all week, he knows that what was preached is true because we live it! That was encouraging to hear. 

I'm so thankful that God has been at work and that this week went well, because honestly we've all been very tired! Yesterday we had a great day of much needed rest, and we're really blessed by having Robert, Ulla and their son Josef come to see us (and cook us an awesome breakfast!).

Tomorrow we will start again. The hardest thing for us has been planning, as after 2 1/2 hours in the morning we're really ready to rest after lunch to be ready for our evening class, but we've had to spend a lot of time planning. I would appreciate your prayers for strength, joy and a good attitude and creativity for our lesson plans! As we're functioning as a large group of teachers with one car, I'd also appreciate your prayers for patience!

love to all!

English Camp in Liter, Hungary

Some snapshots of our awesome week in Liter, Hungary, helping out with "The Way" English camp. This was put on by a Calvinist church in Liter and four of us on the Global Internship joined some Hungarian OM missionaries and a guy from London to help out. We had a great time! Though there was a language barrier for most of us, we all saw how God really expressed His love through us at this camp.

Here is the group of kids at morning devotions. We taught them songs and memory verses.

Someone got a hold of my camera (my eyes didn't make it open :)! These are some of the girls I really enjoyed being with this week. Most of them are about 12 years old and sought me out for hugs and to teach me Hungarian words. :)

This is Emese (pronounced Emehsha)! She was in the group of kindergartners I helped teach English to. 

I thought she was pretty darn cute. :)

In the late afternoons we had different activities for the kids, and one day we took them horse back riding! This is Sabi and Luca (pronounced Lutsa) who were also in my group. I taught them both to wink and quite enjoyed their cheek kisses and smiles and hugs all week! 

These are the girls cheering on the boys as they played soccer. Lindy and I taught them the wave. :)

This is Kinga. She's a feisty little one who's very generous in sharing her cookies but is quite determined to have her own way. I found out later that her parents divorced 2 years ago and it sounds like things have been hard for her. But when we said goodbye today she ran and gave me a big hug and held me awhile. I pray she experienced the love of God this week and that He will lead her deeper into His love!

So that was a quick summary of our week! So many more stories of amazing Hungarian hospitality and good times. :) Though this was an intense week, it was such a worthwhile expense of energy. :)

Tomorrow we will go to church and go sailing (!) then we'll head back to Erd, Hungary to begin 2 weeks of English teaching on Monday! So that's week 2 of our summer... stay tuned for more. :)

*love

Whew!

Wow, it's been an intense but awesome week so far! As one of my teammates said to me, I'm in my element: 12 hours a day (non-stop!) with adorable Hungarian kids! 

There's about 45 kids at this camp, ranging from age 5-16. I'm with the youngest group, teaching English in the mornings with an Hungarian amazing lady named Gigi. The kids are so little you can't keep their attention for too long, but with all the kisses and hugs and delighted smiles I'm getting, I think they're having a good time. :)

Well, we're headed out for the day again-- I hope to post again soon with more details and lots of pictures!

Please pray that God fills us with His strength and love to pour out on these kids and that He helps us to focus the eyes of our hearts on Him. 

On the Go

Arrived in Hungary yesterday. Here's a sampling of how we kept ourselves occupied during the car ride (thanks to my new fantastic mac!!!)

This past week our team cooked at a teen camp in Gutenstein and I think it really brought us together! Everyone worked hard and we had a lot of fun together, and the campers raved that they'd never had that great of food at a camp (most priase due to Ulla, our Sweedish cook leader).

Now me and three teammates and a guy from London are joining OM missionaries to help at a kids camp about an hour and a half away. I'll keep you posted as much as I can!

Please pray that God fills us with His Spirit and connects us with the kids we're playing sports with and teaching English to. Pray that God gives us strength and flexibility and hearts that are eager to serve Him.

*Much love!

Gutenstein Time

'Tis the eve of "die Anfang auf Sommer"... the beginning of summer! We leave bright and early tomorrow to head South of Vienna for a week long of helping at Camp Gutenstein.

Today was my last Sunday at die Stockerau Gemeinde, as we will be gone all summer. We had an outdoor service! It was lovely to be outside! There's a girl here from Switzerland helping out OM so she came to church as well. She helped me with translating parts of the service and I enjoyed talking to her afterwards as well. I'm understanding more and more each week! It's exciting for a once foreign language to become more comfortable and familiar.

After the service I joined 4 other young adult girls for their cell group meeting. They've asked me to be a part of it for this next year! As they don't have a college group leader, they've decided to take initiative to help one another love and follow Jesus. Today we had a picnic, taking a cozy shelter under a tree as rain and thunder came and went. Surprisingly it was quite cozy and we had a great time! We were all sharing what's been on our hearts and praying for one another. I was really blessed and encouraged by their prayers for me and how friendly, open and considerate they've been to me- truly an answer to prayer! I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better during the time we have left in Austria.

Well... ich muste gehen zu schlafen (I need to go to sleep!)... until next time!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

I really enjoyed my weekend, mostly spent with the Stockerau church! On Friday night and Saturday morning I got to go help them move out of their old building (carrying chairs, scraps of wood and even a time machine down 7 flights of stairs!). There's nothing like working along side of someone to get to know them, and I was also thankful that I could serve them in this transition time of moving buildings. Then Friday evening I went over to hang out with the Keller girls (3 teens of OM missionaries here who are awesome!) and watched a movie with them.

Sunday was so fun! It was the last service in the old building and there was a spirit of excitement and celebration. Everything was moved out, so people brought lawn chairs or sat on the floor! The two elders who led the service were almost giddy and enthusiastically led us in a song with a 3 part round. I like these people. :) Very sincere and quick to laugh.

That evening I was invited to a family's house for a fellowship night with a few other families from the church. It was a beautiful home! A girl named Lia was excited to pick me up and take me home and I really enjoyed her friendliness! She's on of four children in an Austrian family and is currently a kindergarten teacher. She spent a year in Egypt as a missionary and is so fun! There were quite a few other youth there, so I got to hang out with them and learn some Austrian games. Overall it was a great evening, although there were times of discomfort because of not being fluent in German and some of my own insecurities (the daughter of the house was Miss Austria in their beauty pageant! Lia and I talked on the way home about being ourselves no matter where we are, and not being intimidated by others. You can pray for me about that too!)

This week we've been enjoying an Ephesians class/Bible study, preparing our lesson plans to teach English in Hungary and picking cherries from Robert and Ulla's garden (then making pies and jam!!).

Pickin'

Pittin'

Enjoyin'!

(photos by Emily Ona :)