Surprises and blessings

When I was coming home from Vac (see a few blogs below) by train, I wasn't sure why I was coming home "early". I disembarked in Szeged and at the end of the train platform stood Edit, the eldest sister in the Jozsik family of 5 children, all of whom grew up in the children's home. We both smiled at the surprise of meeting each other, and she told me her sister Agi was on the same train...so we both waited for her and she was very surprised to see me! As we 3 walked together, Edit said, 'There's another surprise...." We walked toward a car with an open door...I thought it was her boyfriend's car, but then noticed the foreign license plate. Out stepped her brother, Balazs, home from England for a visit!!!! As we stood laughing and exchanging traditional Hungarian kisses, out pops Gabi from the car, the 4th of 5 siblings, ALSO home from England for a visit! I wanted to cry because I'd not seen all of them together in such a long time and it was such an incredible blessing to come home to a sweet surprise! The only one missing from the "sweet reunion" was Bori. The most precious thing about these "kids"....all young adults now, is to see the oldest sibling, Edit, "fighting" to build and keep the family together. You see, they don't have a clue where their father is....took off years ago, and their mom has never wanted anything to do with any of them. It is amazing to me and such a testimony to God's grace that all of them are doing well, all of them have jobs and are making their ways in life, without ever having had the guidance of parents. The day after our train meeting, we all met at the thermal baths and enjoyed some hours together talking and getting caught up on each others' lives! Then we went out to eat at a wonderful restaurant, and when the bill came, Balazs insisted on paying for everyone! Blessings beyond measure for me!

Wow...........

It's Thursday night. This week has flown! Tomorrow I find out my schedule for this year, and classes begin on Tuesday! The past couple of days have been exciting and challenging, helping a friend work through some difficult stuff and turn her eyes to Jesus. Tonight, we had a small group of 6 of us for our first Bible study of the fall! It was a very sweet time of worship and sharing and fellowship, and the chocolate chip cookies were still really yummy! What a joy to be together again, getting ready for the BIG start-up of International Christian Fellowship, Szeged!!! So much going on, so much to do, so much "unknown" territory, and so a new step in walking by faith.

First day for teachers

It's back to the teaching world again. I'm starting my 19th year of teaching...gee that makes me sound and feel kinda old. Today was the first day back for teachers at my school here in Hungary, and we started with an hour-long staff meeting about 3/4 of which I actually understood! Then it was on to the English Dept. meeting, which was conducted in Hungarian, so it was good practice for me. I could have missed it...I had permission to leave, but stayed til 11:30, and then went home. Tomorrow, I have to be at a meeting at 10:30. Then the next one I'm required to show up for is Friday morning, 8:00. For those of you who are teachers in the U.S., I know I'm making you a bit jealous; but, here's the catch: I won't even know my class schedule til Friday, and classes begin on Tuesday...so much for early preparation. Actually I already KNOW my classes...except for one 9th grade group, so I could start planning now. Many old faces are gone due to retirement or attrition, some new faces too. I now fall into the category of being "one of the veterans" here...wild. AND, the biggest milestone is that starting on Tuesday, I will have taught overseas more years than I taught in the U.S. Pretty cool!

Loss

My heart is grieving today, along with thousands of others around the world. Why? Our hearts were captured by a 2-year old boy named Jude, who, last week on Wednesday, 'drowned' in a pool and was in the intensive care unit of a hospital for over a week. Jude's entire family cried out to the body of Christ around the world to unite in prayer to God, our Father, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to heal Jude and "wake him up". We prayed, believing that the God who raises the dead could raise up Jude and heal him completely. Jude is now more healed than ever because Jude is now running around in heaven with Jesus and the millions of other children, who, for whatever reasons, were ushered into heaven by a sovereign God. Our God is an awesome God, and through this past week, Jude's life has radically touched thousands of lives around the globe, and many have been drawn closer to Jesus, have prayed fervently, have been united before the throne of our holy God! What an impact this little boy has had on individuals and the nations!

I grieve for the family and friends "left behind" here to mourn. But in the midst of my grief, I rejoice in the Lord, for He has promised that one day, every tear will be wiped away, and we will be reunited again with this precious little boy who united the body of Christ world-wide! Pray for the family.....

More Vac pictures....

....to accompany the blog entry below!!!!

Vac...more pictures

These didn't appear with the blog entry below....

Vac visit

I have friends in Vac who are also with CEO. (http://www.ceokids.org/) The Coppages and I have known each other for years, travelled to Hungary together, and now live in this special country, albeit 3 hours away from one another by train. This was my first trip to Vac, a town which I'd heard a LOT about from my friend Carol, who went into the maximum security prison there and did Bible studies with English speaking prisoners, leading all of them to the Lord! It's a beautiful town on the bank of the Duna (Danube River) as the pictures above show. As Lea and I walked and prayed around the city, we came to the entrance of the prison and this new sculpture stands outside the prison...it definitely makes one stop and consider....in the midst of any imprisonment, prisoners can be free through a relationship with the One who has set them free via the cross, Jesus Christ! Powerful.

More on Freedom...

If you are tired of hearing cat stories, then stop reading now. If you can endure one more "lesson about freedom" via my cats, Toby and Simon, then read on.
I let my cats out into the yard this morning...after about 4 hours, I decided they needed to come in. So, I went out calling for them, and Toby came bounding my way, just wanting attention; he did NOT want to go inside. I kept calling for Simon, to no avail. I looked under the bushes where his favorite place to lay is, and no Simon. I searched everywhere, inside and outside. No Simon. I thought, "Well, it's finally happened, one of my cats is gone..."
As I walked toward the stairwell, I looked over at the 10 foot wall which separates our yard from the neighbors', and there was Simon, perched on the top of the wall, acting as though he owned the wall! My second worst fears had come true: Simon had learned how to climb the tree and get into the neighbor's yard! So, I went to get a ladder to try to coax him down. As soon as I set up the ladder, he scurried off to an even higher part of the wall, hidden by tree branches. Safe, he stretched out and went to sleep on the top of the wall. Meanwhile, back under the bushes, Toby is curled up sleeping in Simon's old place, completely out of my reach. Both are happy as clams, and free. This must be a bit what parents feel when their kids are "testing their wings" and beginning to fly the coop. I suppose giving a 9 year old cat some freedom to wander is ok. I'm very thankful for the freedom God gives me!

Limits of Freedom

I was getting ready in the bathroom this morning and my cats were wandering freely out in the yard. Suddenly, I heard a car door shut in the yard, and I knew that someone had come in from the very busy street in front of our building to park in the yard. I started thinking, "This is my worst nightmare with regard to my cats...someone opens the doors to the extremely busy street out front, and my curious Toby will make a dash for it, and either get hit, lost, or stolen and he has no ID collar!" So I grabbed my keys and dashed down the stairs calling out for both Toby and Simon. After about 30 seconds, Toby came bounding out from underneath the bushes in the back yard as though nothing was wrong. Simon followed, both with tails straight in the air, happy to be free in the yard.
These boys NEED to stay in the yard; there are limits to their freedom because what lies outside the large doors to the "outside world" is dangerous...cars, buses, the busy-ness of a city, and who knows what else.
There are limits in our freedom in Christ, and those limits are for our GOOD, for our protection. True freedom is knowing the limits and knowing what things are quite possibly going to hurt us, either in the short run or in the long run.
Were my boys to go dashing out the open door, seeking more freedom, they would be choosing to run away from the "covering" afforded them by the good boundaries laid out for them in the yard. May we all ask our Lord to set us free into His freedom, within His boundaries, that we can rest in Him alone and in His perfect peace!

Freedom and contentment

When mom's away, the cats will play! How very, very true! My trusty neighbor, Kati, who cares for my cats when I leave, has given my boys, Toby and Simon, more freedom than I ever would have. They now spend hours each day, when one of us is home, out in the enclosed yard behind our building. They pretty much rule the roost out there now, and the 5 other neighbor cats don't come into our yard much anymore. It's not that Toby and Simon are mean cats...anyone who knows them knows they are sweethearts...it's just that they are HUGE compared to the typical Hungarian cat. So, they are experiencing tremendous freedom, and their mommy is not stressed about it...along with that freedom is a greater contentment that I see in them. They've stopped peeing in inappropriate places, and they are not as anxious as they used to be.

Freedom bringing contentment?
Freedom bringing contentment?

One could "interpret" this in a number of different ways; for me, it is the freedom I continue to experience in my relationship with Jesus Christ, reveling in God's grace, resting in His joy and peace, and knowing that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free...THIS is the freedom I'm talking about which brings contentment! And each day as I lay myself bare before the King of Kings and allow Him to penetrate the depths of my heart with His grace, that freedom grows, and contentment increases.
Thanks, Toby and Simon, for a practical picture of a spiritual Truth!

Summer Pictures

Here are some fun summer pictures!

Simple wisdom

"Always drink upstream from the herd" - Will Rogers

This is the quote on the wall above our heads in this picture. Simple, logical and practical thought...with profoundly spiritual truth as well. In the Bible, in numerous places, it talks about the river of God and in Revelation about how it flows from the throne of God. Personally, I want to be drinking from the source, from the headwaters, from the very place where the stream/river starts...I want to be so close to His throne, drinking directly from Him so that His Truth is feeding and nourishing me. Settling for "downstream" waters is always risky; pressing in to drink deeply from the Source is always rewarding!

Back in Hungary!

I arrived home in Hungary yesterday afternoon! Wonderful friends came to pick me up at the airport and we talked and laughed all the way back to Szeged! It's good to be back in my own flat, sleeping on my own bed, and loving on my cats. This is not quite how I was greeted by Toby, in fact, I got the cold shoulder from both my boys, but that's to be expected! Getting used to being back in the "noise" of the city, but God's grace is sufficient and is made perfect in my weakness! Hallelujah! May we all rest in Him like Toby is resting here, completely vulnerable and open to His amazing love and grace!

Completing my U.S. journey

Trying to put in to words how incredible the past week has been for me is extremely challenging. God has stretched and challenged me and taught me so much! Grace is the theme of the hour/week/year/life! As I have experienced grace in brand new ways, I'm ready to go back to Hungary, in the power of His grace!
I will miss much: friends, family, some American restaurants, worship in churches with hundreds of people, movies in English with no subtitles (hee hee hee), laughter and hugs!
But I'm looking forward to much: laughter, worship with many nations, Hungarian food, friends, my cats, teaching, and much more!
Thank you to everyone who prayed, gave and made this trip possible!