The Amazing Race: Paul and Jill Style!

Well, once again, it's been a very busy week in the Weaver household. I hate to use the word "household" because it could mean one of several places: Budapest, Toalmas, or even on the road (we spend so much time driving now a days). In fact, in the past three days, Paul and I have set foot in four different countries! We have been to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Austria all within the past 72 hours!

Because we are currently in a short break from language school, and because we will have next to no time once the Bible School year starts, we decided to take advantage of our independence and see the world! (or at least a couple of neighboring countries :) Our first stop, Bratislava, Slovakia, wasn't all that exciting. Slovakia, formally a part of Czechoslovakia, has only been independent from Czech since 1993. Apart from a palace and one castle, there was not much to see there. In fact, we weren't even allowed inside the castle or palace. We took a few nice pictures from the outside and jumped in the car towards Prague.

Prague is a BEAUTIFUL city! I absolutely loved it! I could totally see myself perusing through the city streets, dining on gourmet meals, and taking yacht trips down the Danube. Of course, this is my worldly, "in your dreams" self that only lasts for a few short seconds until I realize we're living in the real world. BUT... if I ever make it big on American Idol or something, I think I will live in Prague next to the Palace District which is over 6 Km large!

Paul and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in the city. We stayed in a really nice hostel that I was able to find online for half its original price. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be. We had our own room which was pretty nice and even our own bathroom down the hall, because the rest of the rooms were vacant. The hostel even had free breakfast, consisting of authentic Czech salami, cheese, bread, and coffee! Wowzer!

By the way, (this is definitely a rabbit trail) did you know that all McDonald's in every country have a "Dollar Menu" ? Expect, it's not really a Dollar Menu because the American dollar is so weak. For example, in Vienna they had the 1 Euro Menu, but the Euro is equal to $1.57 American dollars! In Prague, there is the 17 Crowns menu, which 15 crowns is equal to $1. I just wanted to tell everyone this so their eyes are opened to the conspiracy which is McD's. What a rip off! (did I mention that they charge like 75 cents for ketchup?)

During our day in Prague, we took a tour of the Palace District, which consisted of the oldest Gothic-style church in Europe, several monuments, and of course, the castle. We were even able to spend time in the gorgeous castle garden, which I totally loved! Later in the day, we rode the "Funicular" up to the highest point in the city. The Funicular is similar to a ski lift, going up a hill, but it looks more like a trolley, and is definitely safer. The view was beautiful! Probably the coolest site in Prague is the Charles Bridge. It was the famous bridge that Tom Cruise jumped off of in Mission Impossible (at least that's what Paul tells me). It's huge and very grand, but unfortunately, I can't tell you any history about it. I was too excited about all the shopping located around it! You'd be proud though, I left Prague with just a few postcards!

One of the most exciting sites for me was the Barbie Exhibit at the Toy Museum! For those of you who don't know, I spent most of my teenage years collecting Barbie Dolls and studying collector's magazines. I was pretty much a Barbie-loving nerd and had no shame! Ever Christmas and birthday, my only request was Barbie. I think I have somewhere along 80 doll still in their boxes. They are currently sitting in my old closet in my Mom's house. Poor Barbie felt pretty ignored once I entered my senior year of high school. Instead of buying collector's magazines and memorabilia, I switched to paying for clothes, make-up, and gas to get to school. Anyway, this exhibit was pretty thrilling for me! I enjoyed seeing the classic dolls up close and in person, or should I say in plastic? I actually owned many of the newer dolls on display. It made me want to get into collecting again, but I don't think I will. My collection will probably find itself on eBay on of these days when we are back on furlough :(

On the way home, we swung by Vienna, just a half hour out of the way. We saw a couple palaces from the outside and walked the historical streets. What a beautiful city! I highly recommend it! Before leaving, Paul and I enjoyed some sweets in this totally cute cafe that was all pink! It was definitely a memory.

We are currently safe and sound, back at home now, enjoying each other and our wonderful life in Hungary. Paul will be preaching in the village church this Sunday, so he will be busy the rest of the week working on his sermon. As for me, I have to get registered for classes this Fall online with Liberty. I think I will also try to plant some cool weather crops in the garden and just see if they will come up in a couple months. Maybe some spinach or lettuce? Or maybe I will plan another trip somewhere! I think tomorrow we should go to Paris!

Nyaralunk! (We are on vacation!)

Phew! What a busy week! Paul and have been studying away like good little Hungarian students. We now have a vocabulary that is probably 1200 ish words large (of course, I could be way off on that number, but it sounds good). This past week we learned how to use the possessive language, such as "Jill has a ball/Jill's ball" or "Paul is Jill's husband." We also learned how to use the superlative (I think that's the word). For those of you who have no idea what that means, it is basically a comparison term. It's easier to show you an example: good vs. better, strong vs. stronger, nice vs. nicer. So... now I can tell Paul, " My test grade is better than yours!" I won't tell you if that past statement is true or not, but I think you already know the answer :)

Friday was our last day of Hungarian class until next month. The school shuts down for three weeks in the summer to give the teachers some vacation time. I am definitely thankful to have some down time, but three weeks off also scares me a bit. I hope I don't forget everything and go back to square one! Over the three weeks I hope to go over every single thing we have learned and cement it in my head. This break couldn't have come at a better time. Information overload was just about to set in!

Paul will be very busy during the break. This coming fall, he will be teaching a brand new course at the Bible Institute entitled Biblical Theology. The course will take each book of the Bible, starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation, and look at the different theological issues that are revealed. For example, in Genesis God reveals His purpose in the creation of Man. Man was created by God to exercise His authority by ruling in God's place "as the image of God." This is evidenced in the command by God for man to rule and subdue the earth. Paul will teach this course starting the second week of Bible School, so he is working hard this summer to get it completed in time for Fall! On top of all that, he will be preaching the next three Sundays at the Toalmas Church. Plus, studying hard for Hungarian, of course!

I have several projects I hope to complete over our break as well. I want to basically wash the whole outside of the house, if that's possible! The whole thing needs to be scrubbed down and freed of cobwebs and dirt. I want to wash all the shutters and windows inside and out so our humble home will look like new. I also want to get our yard in order by doing some major weed pickn' and tilling the ground to get it ready for planting bulbs this Fall. You should see our village in the Spring. I am not exaggerating when I say that 75% of the houses have daffodils and tulips popping out of the ground! It is so beautiful! It looks like something from the movies! So, in order to be a good Hungarian, I too need to have some bulbs ready for Spring bloom too. When in Rome... It's a little hard for me, because we don't own this home, so I don't want to invest too much money or time into something that's just a rental. But at the same time, we could be here for several years (aka, until we have a baby) so it's important to take pride in our landscape. I have real problems, huh? Poor me!

I spent this afternoon expanding the garden for next spring! It used to be about 15' x 25'. Now it has increased to 25' x 25'! Plus, I'm starting a compost pile! I've been reading up on it on Better Homes and Garden's website. Sooooo cool! I didn't know it was so easy. I guess I always thought compost piles took a lot of work, but it looks like it's basically a pile of organic food waste and yard stuff all mixed together. Of course, it's a little more complicated than that, but hopefully, in time, I will have some rich compost to add to the garden. That is, if I can get Paul to build me a 3'x3' box to contain it all. Decomposing rocks my socks!

For all those who are interested, here's a few photos of the garden. Still no ripe tomatoes yet, but they are definitely getting there. I think the most exciting thing was the tiny green pepper I discovered when we got home on Friday! Gardening has totally

given me a new appreciation for God and

His creation. It is amazing! Come on over

sometime and I'll make you a salad!

Az Iskolaban... (In the School...)

Well, it's been two whole weeks now since I've last written and a lot has happened! We're nowhere near fluent in the Hungarian language, but we have definitely improved. In class this past week, we learned several new verbs. Now I can tell you that I am shopping, eating, drinking, sleeping, sitting, golfing, cooking, speaking, swimming, and most importantly, doing the Salsa! Guess I could go out on the town and be alright!

In all honesty, language school has been tough, but so rewarding. It is soooooo exciting to finally be able to understand, at least a little, about all that's is going on around me. It's like the country of Hungary is filled with all these brand new opportunities, now that I can somewhat communicate!

Pictured above is a snapshot of our little Hungarian class, a picture of my hubby hard at work, and a picture of the view
from outside our classroom. In the beginning, there were six students, including Paul and I. Two decided to end their studies and one is away in Germany for the week. It is nice to have a small class, because there can be more one- on- one interaction and concentration. Our teacher's name is Dora. She is a young, energetic, Hungarian woman. She has taught at the school for four years now, and typically only teaches the lower levels. We will most likely have a different teacher for the last three weeks of class (guess that means we won't be beginners!).

Probably the neatest news over the past two weeks happened last weekend. Paul and I invited the three German students in our class out to our house in Toalmas last Saturday for a tour of the Word of Life castle and a cookout. I was actually surprised they came; it was an hour and a half car drive, but I think they had a lot of fun. Right away we walked over to the school campus and gave the group a tour of the grounds and the castle. We were able to share with them the story of how Word of Life Hungary came into existence and the cool ways God worked out the details. We also shared about the Bible School and the summer camp programs. I think they were very intrigued. They had no idea how missions worked or why we would want to come to Hungary as missionaries. It was exciting to be able to share our passion for the Lord.

After the tour we played volleyball on campus for an hour or so. Then we headed back to our place and had a cookout. Paul fired up the barbi with hamburgers and dogs. I had made some stuffed cheese and mushroom tomatoes, corn on the cob, and a special dip for the chips. Plus we had peach cobbler for dessert. Mmmmm. They had a real American meal! After dinner, we sat around the fire and talked about life in Germany. Paul asked several questions about the government and economy. Somehow, the conversation got swayed into talking about the Catholic church. We started talking about Martin Luther and the Reformation. To make a long story short, Paul was able to share the Gospel right then and there to these young people. It was such a blessing because the Lord prepared an open door through our conversation, so it didn't have to be awkward or pushed. No one accepted the Lord, but you could really tell that they were listening. It is so obvious that all of them are searching for something. We are praying with all our hearts that the Holy Spirit used Paul's words to impress their need for Jesus in their lives. If you think about it, please pray for Michael, Bettina, and Kata as well. The Lord has a started a great work in their hearts that needs to be filled.

And of course, I assume you are all wondering how the grand garden is doing! I finally have tiny little green tomatoes ripening away! How exciting! In fact, the tomato plants have gotten so big now that they completely toppled over, or even broke, the wooden stakes that I had secured them to, just three weeks ago! Today I had to clip them free of the stakes. I think I will just let them vine on the ground. From what I've read, it doesn't harm the plants, because it is more natural, but they will probably yield a smaller crop. My eggplant is looking rather healthy as well. I am very excited to see those babies spring up. It's not my very favorite vegetable, but I think eggplant is so cool looking. It is a very pretty specimen! Besides that, I've got some green beans coming along, a few celery plants, and about six yellow pepper plants. I think peppers can be tricky. They look okay, but could use some improvement. The problem is, I'm not really sure what to do!
It's been a busy two weeks here in Hungary. There has been lots of fellowship and lots of studying. And the Lord has been so good. I hope you've enjoyed reading the update for this week. Maybe next week I can write it in Hungarian! Sziasztok!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5,6