Last Two Weeks in Hungary

This is called the Bus for Life

It's a traveling library and evangelism tool that we parked in a town square of a town called Kishkunmasja. We helped a pastor named Attila with a big outreach to the community.


We got our faces painted and passed out fliers to invite the community to a kids program and to the services in the evenings.

These are my fellow clown friends :)

In the evenings we also got to do some drama presentations.



Then we got to eat an awesome Hungarian dinner that they provided.

And as a group we painted a backdrop for the stage!


Then we went to a famous lake called Balaton. There was a huge Christian conference there and we helped out a fairly famous Hungarian (famous in Christian circles :) named Danny Kish (he's one of 14 kids who are all following Jesus and making a big difference in Hungary!) with a beach outreach in the afternoons.

We pulled up the bus on the beach and unloaded games galore!


Cool parachute

slip n' slide!

And much more. :) Although it was challenging to talk to people because of the language, the kids who joined us had a lot of fun and thankfully there were also many Hungarian helpers who got to speak with the people.

We also got to see some of our friends from our first camp in Liter!

And now our time in Hungary is over.

I would say it was a time of inward transformation amidst a flexible frenzy of outreaches. :)

Lots of love given and received.

Lots of new perspectives.

Lots of love and peace in my heart as I return to Austria.

Lots of excitement in my heart as I wait to see my parents tomorrow!

Two week break, here I come. :)

Hungarian BBQ!

So the last day of our time in Cegled, we got to go to a traditional Hungarian BBQ in one of the church family's gardens.

You first get some fat, put it on a skewer and roast it over the fire, dripping the juice from the fat on your delicious Hungarian bread. You also roast an onion, and after you have patiently roasted, you throw it all on the bread along with some tomatoes for an incredibly tasty sandwhich, Hungarian style!

Here's our team roasting away.

We also got to eat some amazing fruit, freshly picked from their garden!
Lindy with the plumbs

Me with some grapes

Jake with a pear


To top off the evening, we got to go hear one of our student's parents play live music at a restaurant! We had a fun dance party. :)

It's been awesome getting to taste so much Hungarian culture!

I have a visa!!!

This is somewhat old news, but I realized I hadn't posted a blog about it yet!!! Myself and my whole team now have visas that will enable us to stay in Austria for the remainder of our time here. Praise God! Thanks so much for your prayers- they were powerful and effective. :) God has really used our visa situation for the good- He sent us to Hungary this summer for a win/win situation: OM Hungary needed more help to enable them to serve churches in their summer camps and we needed visas- both have been a success!



This past week we were in yet another Hungarian town serving a reformed church. We were English teachers for a week long English and Bible camp. I got to teach the older group of 13-16 year olds along with my teammate Jake. They were a really creative bunch so we got to do a lot of cool crafts and drawings!

There was a group of 4 teens that called me their own and were sure to save a place for me at every meal. They were full of smiles and eager to test out their bank of English questions (and just as eager to teach me Hungarian words). The week was a challenging one, as it was hard to teach effectively and to know how to share Jesus with the students and we were all quite tired, but when one of my male students cried on the last day, saying he would miss us teachers so much, I was thankful to see that God was able to communicate love through us after all.

I think my favorite part of the week was actually getting to interact with the cook for the camp. She was very sick and was the only one cooking when there were supposed to be other helpers (there were about 50 kids at the camp), and as Hungarians are sticklers to their snack times, she had a lot of meals to prepare! She was also having some difficulties with one of her sons. God really laid her on my heart so I prayed for her through the week and tried to encourage her, thank her, and help out as much as I could. When we left today she gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek and with moist eyes said, "you're a good girl."

Thanks so much for your prayers! I'm so thankful that God is using us to serve His Body in Hungary, even in our weakness!

We have a few days of rest now. :) Praise the Lord. :)

Teachin' English in Erd

These are my students!

This is my evening class. I taught it along with my teammate Lindy and we had an awesome translator...


his name is zőlt! He is also the pastor of the church that hosts the English camp.


This is my morning class! They were a great bunch of students, eager to learn and they really enjoyed their time.

On Friday evening, our last day, we had a Square dance party! We made a lot of food and then taught them to dance! We had a great time.

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.