The Weaver Summer Low- Down

Well, it is officially the last week of our break from language school, and I'm not sure I am ready to go back! There are still so many projects around the house I want to complete. Seems like there is never enough time in a day!

Starting this Monday, Paul and I will continue our intensive studies in Hungarian for three more weeks. After that, the Bible Institute will be in full gear, so language study will have to be slowed down big time. Actually, I am hoping we will be able to find an adequate tutor to help us during the week throughout the year. Learning Hungarian is my top priority right now. I don't feel like I can fully function or the Lord adequately unless I can communicate with the people! Don't get me wrong - I look at everyday as a gift from God, one that should be used to its fullest potential in that moment for the Kingdom, but I absolutely cannot wait until I can thrive in a Hungarian speaking society! I want to be able to go to the store and not be embarrassed, chat with my neighbors, and talk to my kids' doctors (when we have them, in like 20 years!).

Paul and I have decided to test out a new language school entirely for these last three weeks. This new class takes place in the oldest university in Budapest. It will consist of four, two-hour sessions, including grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, and speaking exercises. In the afternoons, the school will have "labs" consisting of either a guest speaker or a field trip. The guest speakers will give seminars on Hungarian culture, history, and society. The field trips will be to historical Hungarian sights, such as Parliament, Castle Hill, and various museums. Should be lots of fun! I am more than certain we will be two pooped puppies by the end of the three weeks, but hopefully we will be chatting away in Hungarian!

I have spent the break cleaning, sewing, relaxing, studying, and canning! To the left, there is a picture taken of our very first harvest from the garden! Since then, I have been out every other day, picking more green beans and tomatoes. The peppers are coming in slowly, but they look awesome! It is amazing how much one can find to do around the house when you really think about it. I took time to wash all the windows and shutters, inside and out. I cleaned the whole house, top to bottom, getting rid of dust on the upper pipes, cobwebs in the rafters, and organizing "junk drawers" that everyone has, I'm sure! I also found time to complete some much needed sewing projects and little around-the-house crafts.

Probably the neatest "chore" I completed over break was canning! Tomatoes were super cheap this past week, about 100-150 Forint/kg (around $.60/kg), so I took advantage! (those older ladies in the store can get awfully pushy when it comes to cheap produce. All I can say is it's a good thing I'm a Christian!) Not to mention, we have a nice crop of maters ourselves, growing in the back yard! I canned about 17 jars of crushed tomatoes, and I tried my very first stab at salsa as well. I've made fresh salsa before, but never tried simmering it and preserving for later use. I had no idea what kind of peppers to buy at the store to give the salsa a kick, so I settled on "eros paprika" peppers. Eros means strong in Hungarian, so I figured they were at least a little spicy. I charred them in the stove and removed the skins, seeds, and veins. Luckily they were just enough heat to give my tomatoes and fiesta flavor! It will be nice to have the salsa for last minute company.

I also made some homemade peach butter from a recipe that Karen James, my friend and fellow missionary, gave me. It turned out sooooo delicious! Really easy too - just some peaches and sugar in the crockpot. This canning thing is getting better and better!

Tonight we are house sitting in the Diosd house, where we lived during language school. The family who owns the house will be returning early next week, so I have to take some time in the next couple days and clean up our scum from there home. They were very kind to let us stay here, but I think they appreciated knowing that someone was looking after their home as well. Next week, when language school starts up again, Paul and I will move to a new house in Budafolk where a staff member with Word of Life's mother lives. Her mother is on vacation for the next four weeks, so the timing worked out perfectly! Praise the Lord!

My wonderful grandparents, on my dad's side, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last weekend. Wow! 60 years! You must really get to know someone after that length of time! They are such an inspiration to me. They were not Christians until after they got married. Life has definitely brought them some difficult times, but through it all, they have relied on the Lord for wisdom and strength. I hope that when Paul and I look back at our marriage in 60 years, we can be half the couple they are. I am so glad the family and their church friends were able to get together last weekend and celebrate a truly God-honoring, faithful, and selfless marriage. I love you Gramps and Grams!

Word of Life just wrapped up its last week of summer youth camp. There were seven weeks of camp, which included volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and various languages. Paul and I had never been in Hungary for a summer to see what all goes on during the camping season. I have to say that it is amazing! It was awesome to see the staff playing different roles from that of the Bible School, and morphing into "camp mode." We attended a couple different meetings and activities at the camp this past week. I was so impressed! All the kids seemed to be having the time of their lives, while also learning about the Lord. This is what the ministry should look like!

Please pray for us during the rest of this last week before school, especially Paul. Not only is he the Academic Dean of the Bible school, but he has been placed as head over the internship program this year. He will be responsible for keeping around 15 interns on their toes, plus he is teaching a new class this Fall. This requires much study and organization, not to mention perseverance. On top of all this, he is expected to learn Hungarian, and be my husband! Please pray that my wonderful Paul does not burn out. He needs to be strong for me!

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

Happy Sunday!

Ahhh, another lazy Sunday afternoon. Hah! Seems like there aren't many of those anymore! I am finally sitting down for the first time today. I have had one full day of studying, cleaning, weeding, and grocery shopping. After I update ya'll on this blog, I will make dinner and study some more!

Actually, language school is not as intense as I thought it would be. We go for a little over three hours every weekday, and homework takes a couple more hours after that. BUT... I really really really want to know this language. It's not just another "class" to complete for my degree. This is my life. Therefore, I am forcing myself to study as much as possible. I'm trying to learn fifty new words a day. If I see a word I don't know on a sign, I'll write it down. If I want to know how to say "washing machine," I'll look it up. I've heard that the Hungarian vocabulary is not as large as most languages, so that is definitely a plus. There are only so many words they have to use as a description, verb, or noun. In fact, many times when an English speaker is being translated into Hungarian, the Hungarian phrasing will be much longer than the English because it takes a lot more explanation due to their limited vocabulary. Pretty interesting!

After this week, Paul and I will have completed the first section of language school. They are split into three-week semesters. We are taking two more after this one. Hopefully all of our classmates will continue as well, but I am not so sure. I think a couple are getting pretty overwhelmed. Please pray for us, that we are good examples to them as we try to live Christ-like lives in a secular world. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the world is going to hell, when you spend most of your time on a Christian campus. Being in the city this summer has reminded me of the importance to reach our own

communities for Christ.

Hope you have a great week! Thanks for checking in!

Magyarul Tanulok! (I am learning Hungarian)

Phew! What a week! Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but it seems like I have had ZERO free time this whole week! Paul and I finally started language school this past Monday. What an experience! I cannot believe how much we have learned in just five days of school! Already I feel like my eyes and ears have been opened to the Hungarian language. I understand a lot more about what is going on around me. It is truly any encouragement. Praise the Lord!

During the week, Paul and I are staying in Budapest, about thirty minutes from our language school. Of course, it is only thirty minutes by car, but when you factor in morning traffic and the crazy Hungarian drivers, it is more like and hour and a half. So, we decided to take the public transportation route, which gets us there a little faster and is less expensive than paying for gas. After a couple days of experimentation, and a lot of walking, we discovered the best route is to 1) drive by car to a nearby grocery store 2) hop on the #3 bus, which takes us to the tram 3) walk from the bus stop to the tram and hop on 4) walk from the tram stop to another bus stop and hop on 5) walk from the last bus stop to our school. All in all, the trip is about an hour and ten minutes, but it allows for some quality study time!

Our teacher is young, cute, and perky. She has taught at the school for four years now. We have a total of six people in our class, three Germans and three Americans, including us. Everyone is very nice and eager to learn Hungarian. However, Paul and I are the only ones who are intending on staying in Hungary indefinitely. The rest are students in Budapest for the next 2-3 years or they are here temporarily on a job assignment. We definitely have major motivation! In fact, Paul is expected to teach in Hungarian by September of 2009! I'm glad I am only expected to do the grocery shopping and talk to the neighbors!

This past week in school, we learned different ways of describing ourselves and other people, familiar sayings we may need (like "I only speak a little Hungarian"), and how to say where we are from. Just yesterday we started learning vocabulary for different foods and occupations.

We are currently back in Toalmas for the weekend. It is so nice to be in our home and to sleep in our own bed. Being gone for a whole week has made me realize how much God has blessed us - not only with a beautiful home and village, but with friends and colleagues who are supportive and such an encouragement.

We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we learn, grow, and study like crazy these next nine weeks. Pray that Paul and I learn as much as possible this summer and that we grow even closer to each other through this experience. Hopefully, next week I will have some pictures to show you of our home in Budapest and our school. That is, of course, if we survive another week of Nyelv Iskola!

"No more pencils, no more books..."

Well, it was another beautiful and busy week here in Toalmas. Last week was officially the final week of Bible School, so naturally, Paul was busy as a bee, rushing to grade final papers, calculate GPA's, and teach the remainder of New Testament Survey. There were a couple of late nights for him as he read student papers on the topic of "Who is Melchizedek?"(I think he is a manifestation of Christ. What say you? P.S. My paper received an "A"). By the end of the week Paul was one pooped puppy, but he was still able to stand proud on stage at graduation as students received their diplomas. The Bible School now has a one-year program as well as a two-year program, so there were many more students graduating than in previous years. It was a wonderful ceremony, filled with much encouragement and praise for the Lord's blessing. Bellow are a few pictures taken from this past Saturday's Word of Life Hungary Bible School graduation 2008.

Around the House

I know in the last blog I said that I was through with cherry pickin', but the baking machine inside of me took over, and I decided that it would be fun to make a cherry pie from scratch. I have never really been a fan of canned cherry pie filling and I am not sure that I have ever had a real cherry pie before. So, on Monday I went out once again and picked more cherries to bake a pie, but I ended up picking another bucket full. This led me to the realization that we need a freezer. Our current refrigerator has a small freezer at the bottom that is the size of two crisper drawers. One entire drawer is now filled with bags of cherries and the other drawer has everything else. Unfortunately, freezers cost money, and all I have is cherries. So... if you are interested in buying some authentic Hungarian cherries, I think I can give you a deal :) All proceeds will go to the "Jill Weaver Needs a Bigger Freezer Fund." Seriously, I don't know what I'm going to do when all these veggies in the garden come up. Hopefully, by that time, canning supplies will be available in the stores so I can at least preserve the tomatoes!

I had my first harvest of peas this week. Sooooooo exciting! Normally I don't even like peas, but these were really sweet and tasty. This gardening thing is paying off!

Today Paul is working hard on writing our current newsletter and updating our website (http://www.weaverwebpage.org/). I have been working away on sewing drapes for our bedroom. Our home is fashioned in such a way that the shutters over the windows must be opened from the outside. So unless you are willing to open and shut every shutter every morning and evening, you have no privacy. Now that I have these drapes sewn, we can permanently leave the shutters open and just close the drapes at night. I will be sure to post a picture once I'm done.

Looking Ahead

Next Monday will be the very first day of language school! Part of me is so ready and the other part of me is terrified. It is supposed to be pretty intense and overwhelming. We will attend a school in Budapest for about four hours every morning, five days a week. Supposedly they give about four hours of homework as well. To save time and money, Paul and I are going to live in the city for the summer and come back home to Toalmas on the weekends. God has been so good. He supplied us with a home from a missionary couple who are going on furlow this summer. We will be house sitting for them, while experiencing city life! I think it will be a fun summer, but definitely a challenging one. Please pray for us as we experience this adventure together.