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