Today was fantastic. I got to finally relax and have the Sabbath that I've been so desperately craving!!!
Joanna had a friend in for the weekend and it was great getting to know her. We had everyone over for lunch today and had so much fun cooking, laughing, and eating together. All the girls took a trip to the grocery store and as lame as that sounds, it was actually a lot of fun. After dinner, three of us went down to the center of Budapest since I've never seen it at night. We just hung out, talked, and exchanged stories.
The weather was perfect, the company was beyond fantastic, and all in all it was an absolutely great day and something that I will cherish for a long time.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Updates
Sorry for the lack of updates as of late. It took forever to get internet, but we finally have it! It's been a crazy week too. The rest of our team is finally here and I'm loving it. Everyone gets along great and we are working together pretty well.
I had my first day of school today. Granted, I wasn't teaching anything... it was just faculty meetings. On top of it just being faculty meetings, they are meetings that I don't understand a single word of. A lot of reading took place for sure.
We've pretty much got our flat all settled and everything purchased. There are still a few small decorating things that we'd like to get, but we're going to hopefully get those with time. It looks great though and hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures up ASAP- I've been lacking in the picture postings..sorry.
I love my school. The faculty is absolutely fantastic so far. Most everyone came to welcome me today, even those who didn't know English at all. That made for an interesting conversation to say the least. They were absolutely great and really interested in getting to know me. God has definitely answered my prayers when it comes to having great colleagues, we'll just have to see about the students now. ;)
I had my first day of school today. Granted, I wasn't teaching anything... it was just faculty meetings. On top of it just being faculty meetings, they are meetings that I don't understand a single word of. A lot of reading took place for sure.
We've pretty much got our flat all settled and everything purchased. There are still a few small decorating things that we'd like to get, but we're going to hopefully get those with time. It looks great though and hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures up ASAP- I've been lacking in the picture postings..sorry.
I love my school. The faculty is absolutely fantastic so far. Most everyone came to welcome me today, even those who didn't know English at all. That made for an interesting conversation to say the least. They were absolutely great and really interested in getting to know me. God has definitely answered my prayers when it comes to having great colleagues, we'll just have to see about the students now. ;)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Ministry
Today we had an awesome Bible study together as a team and it was pretty encouraging and challenging at the same time (aren't those the best?). It was about ministering to the poor that are in our communities and how necessary it is. I think a lot of time the church tends to overlook this.
In the Bible study there was a quote from the Bible (I think from James) that I VERY roughly remember. It was something like: "When we fail in one part of our spiritual life, we have failed in them all" I know that this was written more eloquently and the quote makes more of an impact, but I don't have it handy and don't remember it word for word.
When I first read this, I was discouraged. I knew that there was always going to be an aspect of my life that I failed in and so I didn't know how God could have this expectation of humans when we're all bound to screw up everyday. Then I reflected further and came up with something like this:
I think this was written to prevent us from justifying our inaction. God calls us to minister to the lowliest people and do it with a happy heart. Most of the time we don't minister and we find any excuse: I teach a Sunday school class, I volunteer at my child's school, I go to church 3 times a week, etc. But James was saying that when we fail in ministering where we are supposed to (to the poor) then the rest of our works are considered worthless.
I thought it was very interesting. The entire time during the study I thought about a homeless man that lives about a block and a half away and I see him everytime I walk to the bus. I'm praying now that God would show me a way to minister to him and slowly but surely show him the love of Christ. I don't want him to rely on me for his daily bread, but God only.
In the Bible study there was a quote from the Bible (I think from James) that I VERY roughly remember. It was something like: "When we fail in one part of our spiritual life, we have failed in them all" I know that this was written more eloquently and the quote makes more of an impact, but I don't have it handy and don't remember it word for word.
When I first read this, I was discouraged. I knew that there was always going to be an aspect of my life that I failed in and so I didn't know how God could have this expectation of humans when we're all bound to screw up everyday. Then I reflected further and came up with something like this:
I think this was written to prevent us from justifying our inaction. God calls us to minister to the lowliest people and do it with a happy heart. Most of the time we don't minister and we find any excuse: I teach a Sunday school class, I volunteer at my child's school, I go to church 3 times a week, etc. But James was saying that when we fail in ministering where we are supposed to (to the poor) then the rest of our works are considered worthless.
I thought it was very interesting. The entire time during the study I thought about a homeless man that lives about a block and a half away and I see him everytime I walk to the bus. I'm praying now that God would show me a way to minister to him and slowly but surely show him the love of Christ. I don't want him to rely on me for his daily bread, but God only.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sabbath
Man, I really need a Sabbath. Last semester, I was convicted of truly participating in the Sabbath and taking it to heart. It was fantastic when I actually disciplined myself to honor that and the Lord really helped me to keep my life in check. The sense of relaxation was just absolutely fantastic and definitely from the Lord.
I haven't had a Sabbath since I've been here and it's really taking it's toll on me. We've been doing language school everyday (which is great and really coming along) and going to the stores non-stop to get stuff to survive in our new flat. Even looking at my schedule now, it's slightly overwhelming and I'm not really sure when I'm even going to get a chance to truly spend an entire day in Sabbath.
So, please pray for me that I actually get a day of rest. A day (preferably by myself... even as much of an extrovert as I am, I'm really struggling with having no alone time recently) My daily quiet time is really keeping me going from day to day, but it's just not the same as being able to spend an entire day of rest every week. I am honestly and truly praying for my time of rest because I need it desperately.
I haven't had a Sabbath since I've been here and it's really taking it's toll on me. We've been doing language school everyday (which is great and really coming along) and going to the stores non-stop to get stuff to survive in our new flat. Even looking at my schedule now, it's slightly overwhelming and I'm not really sure when I'm even going to get a chance to truly spend an entire day in Sabbath.
So, please pray for me that I actually get a day of rest. A day (preferably by myself... even as much of an extrovert as I am, I'm really struggling with having no alone time recently) My daily quiet time is really keeping me going from day to day, but it's just not the same as being able to spend an entire day of rest every week. I am honestly and truly praying for my time of rest because I need it desperately.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Settling
Now that we're moved into our flat and making it home little by little, there are still some things that I'm absolutely loving that I have to get used to. Here are a few simple differences between the States and Budapest:
-The vast majority of people use public transportation (this is a problem for the directionally challenged like me)
-I am now the minority
-There are no dryers- you gotta do things the old school way and hang your clothes to dry
-Gas stoves only. I realize there are gas stoves in America, but I've never personally had one
-Seeing 1,000 pop up on the register isn't really that big of a deal
-Light switches are normally on the outside of the room
-Closets are a rarity
-More important than your birthday is your name day. They celebrate everyone with that name because they're usually named after celebrated saints
-Milk comes in a bag optionally
-Milk also comes in 1.5% and 2.8%, not the skim, 1, 2, and whole we're used to
-Bread is baked fresh everyday and since they make it with no preservatives, it only lasts about 2 days
-You have to bring your own bags to any store you go to
-Recycling is HUGE over here
-Everything is in Celsius, Kilometers, and kilograms over here
That's all I can think of for now, but there's plenty more. As much as there is to get used to, I'm loving every minute of it.
-The vast majority of people use public transportation (this is a problem for the directionally challenged like me)
-I am now the minority
-There are no dryers- you gotta do things the old school way and hang your clothes to dry
-Gas stoves only. I realize there are gas stoves in America, but I've never personally had one
-Seeing 1,000 pop up on the register isn't really that big of a deal
-Light switches are normally on the outside of the room
-Closets are a rarity
-More important than your birthday is your name day. They celebrate everyone with that name because they're usually named after celebrated saints
-Milk comes in a bag optionally
-Milk also comes in 1.5% and 2.8%, not the skim, 1, 2, and whole we're used to
-Bread is baked fresh everyday and since they make it with no preservatives, it only lasts about 2 days
-You have to bring your own bags to any store you go to
-Recycling is HUGE over here
-Everything is in Celsius, Kilometers, and kilograms over here
That's all I can think of for now, but there's plenty more. As much as there is to get used to, I'm loving every minute of it.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Moved In!
We're all moved into the flat- it's official. I'm so excited. Even more exciting than that- I went to my school today and signed my contract to teach. So, it looks like that school is stuck with me for a year :)
I don't have internet right now, so I've been boring from people, so I don't get internet consistently- which is why it's so difficult to update the blog as of right now.
We're in language school. It's a crash course in all things Hungarian basically. It's tough, for sure. The teacher is very encouraging and is great at what she does. She's a native Hungarian, but she typically teaches English at a school and as a tutor.. I think she's excited to finally be teaching some Hungarian.
That's all for now. I'm really hoping to get internet by next week (fingers crossed) but I will definitely update before then!
I don't have internet right now, so I've been boring from people, so I don't get internet consistently- which is why it's so difficult to update the blog as of right now.
We're in language school. It's a crash course in all things Hungarian basically. It's tough, for sure. The teacher is very encouraging and is great at what she does. She's a native Hungarian, but she typically teaches English at a school and as a tutor.. I think she's excited to finally be teaching some Hungarian.
That's all for now. I'm really hoping to get internet by next week (fingers crossed) but I will definitely update before then!
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