Birthday Celebration

One of my "sons" from the children's home turned 21 yesterday! Last week, I decided to invite him out for dinner to help him celebrate his birthday. I'd already decided what I wanted to give him as a gift: two Christian worship cassettes and a Hungarian/English, English/Hungarian dictionary. So, I went to pick him up and asked him where he wanted to go. He'd asked one of the social workers at the home where we should go. We ended up at one of my favorite fish restaurants, and when we sat down, I gave him his gift. He opened it and a huge smile ran across his face; he gave me the traditional Hungarian kisses on the cheeks as a "thank you", but what he said next completely floored me. "I cannot remember the last time anyone did anything for me for my birthday. I've not had a birthday celebration like this ever in my life, and it's been 7 years since I've had any sort of birthday celebration. I've never gotten a gift!" I was speechless and immediately thought back on all the wonderful celebrations I've had throughout my life, the times when friends and family went all out to make my birthday special, and here this young man is, having his first "real celebration" and receiving his first "real gift" at age 21. Every day here brings a deeper perspective on what is really important in life. www.ceokids.org

Talk about orphans!!!

One of my favorite "kids" from the children's home is pregnant. She has a steady boyfriend and they are engaged. She's due in early December. I found out about the pregnancy two weeks ago...a part of me felt "hurt" that she didn't tell me, but then I learned that her own siblings learned about her pregnancy just 2 weeks before I did, and her brother only learned about it this past weekend! I'm learning some pretty interesting lessons this month about being an orphan. Don't trust....you may be let down; don't share your good news....others may pour cold water on it; stay closed and protected....this way, you cannot be rejected. From my standpoint, I'm learning first-hand to move forward in acceptance, warmth, and encouragment, all smothered in love!!

Teaching stories

Every teacher should probably write a book about the teaching experiences he or she has throughout his or her career. I always wanted to compile the funny sentences my students wrote in their essays or on tests, but have been too lazy to do so. And then there are the moments that one would rather not have, like I experienced this week. I was teaching my 9th grade bilingual students different body parts and injuries or pains that can happen. We got to "black eye", and I asked if anyone had ever experienced having a black eye? One girl, who started the year as a bright eyed, friendly, enthusiastic attentive young lady 3 weeks ago, piped up and said, "Yes! I've had a black eye?" Wrong teacher move #1: "So, how did you get the black eye?" Student: "My dad punched me." It's that awkward silence that falls over the room as no one, including me, knows quite how to respond appropriately to such a comment, that is so unnerving. I finally squeaked out a "Really?" "Yea, he really did!" "That must have been terrible!" I responded, employing my best teaching psychology tactics. "So, let's move on to the expression "swollen lip"; the attempt to distract everyone from the uncomfortable reality that this girl has just willingly uncovered before her new classmates. It's moments like these in the classroom that remind me that that I am not teaching a subject, I'm teaching students, I'm teaching people, and probably the most important thing I can do for them is to love them, because that may be the only thing they remember 10 years from now from their time spent in my class. www.ceokids.org

Refiner's Fire

They walked in discouraged. Hopefully, they left encouraged. I truly had nothing to give. But when the Holy Spirit falls, it's not us who are giving, but the Lord Himself. A full four months after an amazing conference here in Szeged, we are finding ourselves in the King's refiner's fire. Wisdom is needed to discern which are attacks from the enemy, and which are simply refining measures the Lord is taking in each person's life. A very wise friend recently shared with me that it is necessary for us to have 4 people in our lives: one "above" us to whom we can look for wisdom and guidance, for discipleship; one "below" us into whom we are pouring our lives (like a Paul to a Timothy); and two "next to us, one on each side" to walk alongside us in encouragement and accountability and deep friendship. If any one of these is missing, then the "cross" balance is thrown askew. I'm seeing in these people who've been so set free that most of them have really imbalanced "crosses"......there's little or no discipleship going on, in either direction, and relationships with those "next to them" only go so deep; no wonder they feel like they are flailing. Not only does God have people in His refiner's fire, burning off the dross, but people don't even have the basics about how to disciple or be discipled. It's an interesting place to be; Lord send your workers into the harvest fields, for they are white!

Making a CD

Probably only the musicians out there, a group I do NOT claim to be a part of, know and understand just how much work goes into those wonderful CDs we all pop into our discmans, car CD players and home stereo systems! My friend and sister in Christ, Zsuzsa, and I are working on a dual-language CD: 8 songs in English and 8 in Hungarian. Each of us wrote our songs (or rather received them from the Lord!) and now we are spending hours and hours in the studio working on a 16-song CD we pray glorifies Jesus and draws MANY into a relationship with the King of Kings. Today, after 2 1/2 hours of painstaking work, we finished 2 songs.....we have 6 completely finished.....so, you can calculate just how many MORE hours we will need to spend in the studio finishing the other 10. But what joy, to hear God's word sung, His Truth declared! We pray we will persevere to the end, as it is easy to "settle" for what sounds "good" instead of striving to make it the "best" for His glory! www.ceokids.org

This is what life is about

ceo for the kids
As I drove to the children's home today, I prayed, "Lord, guide and direct my steps, and have your way in every conversation." Well, I spent 2 hours talking with "my son" about God.....having a relationship with Jesus, and how much God loves him!!! This is the first such conversation with him in 5 years, at least at this level. What a GREAT day!

Live TV

You know, at one point in my life, way back in high school, I thought I wanted to go into radio, television and film. In fact, during that infamous time in every 17 year old American's life, I was searching frantically for colleges and universities which had RTVF programs. Well, tonight convinced me that I made the right decision NOT to pursue that field. Yesterday, my boss at school asked me if I would do an interview for the local TV station as a foreigner who is here and is learning Hungarian. I thought, sure, I'll speak English and say a few words in Hungarian, they will edit the tape so it's very professional, and it will be great. Well, tonight when I arrive, I ask quite innocently, "So, is this going to be taped?" The person in charge said, "Uh, no, this is live TV!" I asked, "And do I speak English or Hungarian?" "Well, Hungarian of course!!!" My once beautiful, dry, blue blouse began to show serious signs of sweat stains under each arm almost immediately. And of course I had to sit there for over 1/2 an hour waiting for "our" turn......I was going on with a Hungarian woman who now lives in America! I sat there waiting for the camera to turn on, and white-knuckled the chair, and, of course, prayed that God would give me the gift of speaking in Hungarian! I can't even remember what I said, except for one sentence at the end when asked a favorite Hungarian word: Tele van a hocipom.......I'm fed up!!! It's a very funny expression in Hungarian, and made everyone in the studio burst into laughter, so if nothing else, I made people laugh. I walked out of there, reassured that being an English major and going into teaching was a MUCH better choice than live TV..........but, many would say, "You have to be "live" every day in front of your students." Yes, but somehow that is much easier........yet another picture of God's goodness in His callings on people's lives!

Back in the saddle

I nearly shuddered when I realized I'm starting my 17th year of teaching!! I can still vividly remember my first year, teaching 8th grade middle school language arts in Orange, VA to kids ages 13-16. Now, I teach grades 9-12, and this year, I have 14 different groups of students during the course of a week. Some of these students I will meet only 32 times the entire year. I'm really excited to be a part of these kids' lives, and for them to be a part of mine. I believe this year, for the first time since having arrived in 2000, I have a new understanding of what my students are "going through" in my class. My experiences learning Hungarian this summer in a high level course have made me much more compassionate and caring toward those who may not "get it" the first time. May the Lord increase my patience and love for all of my students!

Swim lessons........again..........

It's Thursday night, and I find myself at the swimming pool under the stars now, as the light wanes early....at least before 8:00 when swimming starts. I doned my cap and goggles, and after 100 meters, my goggles were completely foggy. So, I yanked them down around my neck and proceeded to swim goggle-less...not too big a deal when swimming backstroke, but it dawned on me just how much more clearly I could see without my goggles!!! The Lord reminded me of the verse in Corinthians: Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. It was so much easier to see everything without the foggy goggles on...I swam straighter, I swam harder and enjoyed myself a whole lot more. Hmmmm, there's something to be said about having clear vision.......