Suggestion for economic cutbacks in Hungary....

I just learned something almost disturbingly laughable this evening from my friend who is a 4th year medical student here in Hungary.

The hospital here has a number of patients IN the hospital, taking up beds, whose "illness" is......

obesity.......yes, you read that correctly.........

people are admitted to the hospital to stay for 2-3 weeks simply because they are obese.

The logic, according to the doctors, is to teach them how to eat properly. And this cannot be done on an out-patient basis? They have to take up a bed for a couple of weeks in the hospital? I'm no doctor, but probably the last thing these people need to be doing is lying around in a hospital bed! I would think they would need to be out walking, or swimming, or maybe on a treadmill...but lying in a hospital bed?

I think the Hungarian government could save a bit of money by not hospitalizing people who are simply suffering from obesity....

interesting............

2 lessons left

Today, it dawned on me that I have just 2 lessons remaining this year with each of my two senior classes! We have an extra-long spring break this year, and when we return, we have just 2 weeks remaining til the seniors start their final exams!

This has snuck up on me quickly....here in Hungary we teach a group of students for 4 years, so relationships are strong between teacher and student...usually. My 12a class and my 12b class are both very precious to me. I've seen them grow like crazy in their language acquisition, but even more importantly as human beings.

So, what will we do the last two lessons. Well, baseball is on the agenda....and I'm not sure what the other lesson will entail. Probably some tears....

The orphan...

I grew up in a good home. Two loving parents who are still married after 50 years. Three brothers, a number of different pets throughout the years, a warm bed, a warm meal, hot water, vacations together, support through the years, and encouragement to dream big and pursue my goals in life.

A friend of mine recently blogged about the plight of the orphan and how her heart breaks over the orphan. Mine does too...I don't exactly know where this heart came from except that maybe because I love Jesus and God says that true religion is caring for widows and orphans, He has planted this in me.

One of the greatest and most cherished treasures I will carry with me for the rest of my life is the privilege I've had here in Hungary of befriending and being a part of the lives of some orphans.

Laci, whom I've written about before, (pictured above), is one such young man. He wasn't an "igazi orphan" (true orphan) but rather, his alcoholic and abusive parents did not provide him with a safe home, and so Laci grew up in the children's home here in Szeged. If you have followed my blog at all, you know his story, or at least the chapters I've been blessed to be a part of.

Laci is a follower of Jesus...hard-core...he went from being a hard-core punk to a hard-core follower of Jesus. Jesus has changed Laci's life...but life is still extremely challenging for Laci. He has struggled to find and keep work in this nation which is on the brink of economic collapse. He has struggled to find places to live. He has also struggled in his walk with the Lord, like all of us do at times.

My heart still breaks for Laci and others like him, whom I call my friends. Bori, who will give birth to her 3rd child in July. She is one of the best mothers I've ever seen...go figure since she spent her life in the children's home since the age of two! Gorbe Laci, age 24, who now lives in England and is working hard! His mom and dad abandoned him and then his sister did too, all before the age of 4. I have high hopes that he will come to the U.S. someday, legally, and work and study!

And then there is Nagy Laci, who is 19 and living in a homeless shelter, unemployed and pretty much uneducated. Or Dudi...also living in a homeless shelter and because of some mental deficiencies, has a hard time holding down a job. He is 24 years old.

I am so thankful for each one of these young ones. God has used them to shine a light into my heart that I pray never goes out. These precious ones have loved me in ways that some people who come from "good homes" don't even know how to love....unconditionally. They have forgiven me. They have stuck by me through thick and thin.

Yes, I have learned much from these orphans...and I have much more to learn. I believe, too, that the church at large is coming to a place where the orphan will be challenging our long-held and time-worn (out) beliefs.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)

I don't want to turn this blog into a sermon...I'm simply sharing what has been for years and continues to be deeply planted in my heart. And as the world's population of orphans increases, I wonder what "much" will be expected from those of us who have been given "much"?

FUN pictures from ICF!

Moni and Szabi....Moni thoroughly enjoying the chocolate chip cookies!

Dori and Sophie sharing a smile!

Linda and Toby hamming it up!

Erik.....well, typical Erik.......

And yes, I had the camera upside down......kind of funky, huh?

Fellowship time is usually really good at ICF...we almost always have chocolate chip cookies (thank you to those of you who have mailed chocolate chips to me or brought them, etc from the U.S.)

Since a number of the folks who come to ICF are students, this is a great time for them to interact with something besides their books! Community is slowly starting to build....and I believe we all look forward to seeing each other on Fridays and coming into the Lord's presence together!

TWO weeks of ICF!!!!

THIS week at ICF, my dear friend Dori was teaching on the them of being faithful EVEN IF..... based on Romans 8:28 and Psalm 73! We had folks from 6 different nations represented!

Attentive to the teaching!

Dori teaching!

I completely forgot to post about last week's ICF teaching weekend! Not many pictures, but it was a good weekend with Jim and Tanya Person and one of their kids, Bethany, coming to Szeged to teach! The theme was : Inner healing: Confession, Repentance, Forgiveness - Keys to a victorious life in Christ!

Bethany, Tanya and Jim Person came from Budapest to share with and encourage us!

Tanya teaching.

A new day for my boys!

I've had my boys, Toby and Simon, who are of feline lineage (?), 11 years now! During those 11 years, they've probably each worn a collar for a total of 2 days.

Today is a new day. I decided I need to ease them into getting used to having an ID collar on and bought each of them new collars. (IDs will come later). When I tried to get them to wear collars a few years ago, they went nuts, trying to rip them off, so I was a bit leery.

However, so far so good. They don't like them very much, but they are tolerating them so far. This way, if when they get to America they decide to jump the fence and wander the new neighborhood, they will have some ID on them. Plus, they will have microchips implanted before the big trip...have to do that now to be legal!

Pictures of my boys sporting their new collars will come in a subsequent blog.

A mish-mash of images in Hungary

All of these yummy goodies....tempting!


Yes, I was able to snap this picture of this elderly man, enjoying his soup and beer this morning at about 10:30! My heart breaks, wondering if he has anyone to eat with or anywhere to eat besides here....

I will sorely miss this man...I buy eggs from him every week! Fresh eggs from his farm are amazingly tasty!

As I was walking to the post office the other day, I saw this line of people waiting outside this second-hand clothing shop. Waiting, waiting, waiting to get in on a Monday morning when the "pickins" are good. I strolled inside after going to the post office and these same people were almost frantically rummaging through piles and piles of clothes.....

Life is definitely interesting and always an adventure........I will miss it!

Are you willing?

More from "In His Face" by Bob Sorge...

"For those who are willing, God will set your motivations and aspirations in right priority. It will be a painful work, for He will have to bring you to a place of such desperate dependence upon Him that the only cry of your heart will be, "I must gain Christ!" Only then will you realize that being in His face is your solitary source of survival."

Pain is never fun. But in God's Kingdom shaping, it is absolutely necessary! The old addage, "No pain, no gain" is true even with God's doings. He loves us enough not to leave us where we are, and sometimes that means lots of pain in order to gain Christ.

Emotional overload

Do you ever have a series of days when the emotions get a bit overloaded? I've had a few of those days....

I received a letter from a friend of mine working in a foreign country. This friend describes a scene from life that made me pause, and continues to do so as I ponder it. This friend witnessed, first-hand, the death of an elderly man who was not a believer in Jesus. The look of sheer terror in this man's eyes as he took his last breaths on this earth will remain forever embedded in the mind and heart of my friend. My friend has realized anew the significance of being salt and light on this earth and sharing the love of Jesus with everyone! This story has brought to my mind those in my life who do not know Jesus...and my heart breaks anew....

On a completely different vein...I drove up to the gate in front of my house at about 10 p.m. on Monday night. A man was weaving back and forth on the sidewalk....obviously drunk, but what he was doing baffled me....he was walking along, zipper open, urinating as he walked. His two drunk friends were standing and just laughing at him as he left his trail along the sidewalk and weaved his way down the street. I couldn't decide whether to be disgusted or sad...I think a bit of both filled my heart.

Sunday morning, I watched a sermon via internet, streamed from a church in the U.S. This church has been rocked in the last few months, and the current pastor got righteously angry on Sunday, screaming at people to "shut their mouths!" and quit the gossip and slander! Once again, I sat, asking the Lord, "How am I to respond?" I was quickly reminded of Jesus going into the temple and expressing righteous anger at sin.

Emotions are flaring to extremes everywhere these days...what we do with them is crucial.

Will I miss this or not?

Today, during my two-hour break at school between classes, I put on my Ipod shuffle and walked to the post office about 5 blocks away. I had to pay a bunch of bills. Yes, this is how most people still pay bills here in Hungary: you go to the post office, stand in line, and give them your bills and cash or your debit card.

I can't decide if I will miss this routine or not...you see, there's a personal touch in handing your bills to an actual person. I've also made a good friend at the main post office downtown with the woman who works upstairs! She has been patient with me over the years and we ALWAYS have a smile for one another! I'll miss her. Tears came to her eyes when I told her I was returning to the U.S.

However, it will be nice to go online and pay bills...but I'll miss the walks to the P.O as well. Hmmm, it's definitely a toss-up on this one!

Hard times in Hungary

Have a read here...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/world/22hungary.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040

to learn more about what is currently happening in Hungary.

Fun entertainment

Michelle Maslowski and her father, who was here visiting from the U.S. Michelle plays on the Szeged professional women's basketball team.

Ah, sweet victory scoreboard!

Celebration!

The final two points to clinch the victory!

Szeged professional women's basketball is on the move in this country! Wednesday night, they beat the #1 team in the country, Sopron. It was a matching of the 'older' ladies (Szeged...avg. age on team is about 28) and the 'youngsters' (Sopron...avg. age on team might be 20).

Age and experience won out in a nail-biter! Fun evening though for me and some of my students!

Things I'll miss and things I won't miss in Hungary

The pizza above is most definitely Hungarian. I tried it for the FIRST time last night. Tuna pizza with lemons. I LOVE IT! I can add it to my list of 'things I'll miss in Hungary.'

I'm also including things I won't miss in this blog. Of course I will have to pay bills in the U.S. but I certainly won't miss paying on average $400/month for gas, electricity and water for a 3 room apartment. OUCH! Add another $120/ month for basic cable, internet and phone, and it gets ugly, especially when my job only pays $250/month. Not complaining, just stating reality. A colleague of mine paid $365 one month JUST for the gas bill for their home of 4 rooms!

Deak Olympics

A pretty amazing set of words on a Scrabble board with second-language folks, huh?

Oh, the concentration!

Seven groups of students competing in the Scrabble competition!

All grades, 9-12.....

Some of my 9th grade girls teaming up to try to make it to the finals next week!

Every year in the school where I teach here in Hungary we have what's called the "Deak Olympics". Students participate in various competitions over the course of two weeks, and this year, I joined a couple of my colleagues in helping to organize the Scrabble competition....in English of course.

We had 7 tables going at once for the preliminary round; the finals will take place next week.

Szeged will be famous

The tower which will house the elevator for the tallest water slide in europe is on the left of the picture. Major construction is going on for this huge new water park which is due to open in December, 2009! The flag is the Hungarian flag!

The flag in this picture is the Szeged flag.

My city, Szeged, Hungary, is already famous for its fish soup (which I will miss, by the way) and its Pick salami (which I don't eat and won't miss). But it will be even more famous come next December.

In the picture above, you can see the very tall tower under construction. This is going to be the tallest water slide in europe!!! Yep, Szeged will boast the tallest slide in europe and this tower will have an elevator that people must ride to get to the top of the slide.

Guess I will have to come back and visit!

Worship event in Szeged!

Many gathered and many gypsies!

Worship team from Cornerstone Church.

Effata worship team.

Sunday afternoon, I sat in this room pictured above and was rejoicing! However, WHY I was rejoicing may seem strange to some. I was overflowing with joy because I had NOTHING to do with organizing this event!!!! I was joyful because HUNGARIANS from 4 different fellowships and churches in town joined in unity and organized a city-wide worship event! Hallelujah for the GOOD FRUIT God is bringing forth in and through Hungarians as a result of many, many years of seed-planting, prayers and watering of seeds! God is causing it all to grow now for His glory!!!

Things I'll miss in Hungary....

When you move to a new country, people inevitably ask, "So, what do you miss from __________?"

So, as things come to mind, I'll share them here...not that anyone is interested, but it may give you a picture of Hungary and how "hungarian" I've become.

First, I will miss flowers. Inexpensive flowers! In the spring and summer, flowers are everywhere and you can get a huge bunch of flowers for about $5-$10! People give flowers for many occassions...birthdays, namedays, funerals, graduations, weddings, etc. Flowers are SUCH a part of Hungarian culture...I will miss them! I will especially miss buying them from the little old neni's at the market near my flat!

Another thing I will miss is GOOD CHOCOLATE! (Sorry, but Hershey's cannot hold a candle to european chocolate!) There's no picture because I already ate it all today! :-)

Growth

I took a long walk today with my ipod shuffle. I needed the time alone and with the Lord as much is going on inside of me that needs sorting out. I've walked this path before and shared pictures from the fall of these same fields; however, they looked very different than they do now. They were full of growth---corn to be specific and were ready for harvest. There was much 'fruit' and the pictures were interesting.

Today, as I walked past these same fields, I missed seeing the cornstalks...I missed seeing the 'fruit'...I missed the beauty. Instead, I got to see some fields that look like this picture below...just dirt. Plowed. Flat. Sort of ugly. Nothing that anyone would go out of their way to take a picture of. Nothing that anyone would really say is beautiful.

But the revelation came quickly. These 'ugly' looking dirt fields are the same fields that were beautifully full of 'fruit' just months ago. The Good Farmer knows that they have to be plowed over, plowed under, plowed...and prepared. If the Good Farmer doesn't do this, the field won't produce anything of value. After each fruitful season, there is a plowing over, a plowing under, a time when things can seem pretty 'ugly' and unproductive. However, the Good Farmer knows how necessary it is to get the ground ready for the..........................



............seed! After the plowing, and the fertilizing of the soil and the waiting through the winter, comes the planting of the seed. But even this picture isn't something someone would notice and say, "Wow, look at that beautiful field!" The seeds are just breaking the surface as they sink their roots down deeply into the nutrient rich soil that the Good Farmer prepared. And even more importantly, these little plants are reaching up to...............



....................the life-giving sunshine. As I walked along today, mostly looking down at the ground and at the dirt fields, and the early growth, I suddenly sensed I should look UP! This is what I saw! Gorgeous, life-giving sunshine that brings growth to these fields. And even as I looked up, I sensed the Good Farmer's love pouring out on me in all His life-giving glory, reminding me that the times of being plowed over and under, the times of sitting and waiting, the times of planting seed and small growth springing forth are all necessary for His fruit to be produced in my life.

As I looked up, the song on my ipod shuffle was:

"Oh the wonderful cross, oh the wonderful cross, bids me come and die and find that I may truly live!"

Worship.....

Eszter and Erik sharing a smile.

Andy Cheesman leading us in worship at ICF.

Andy with the guitar and voice!

Erik Ottosson on the djembe!

Eszter with the shaker and her voice!

Judit, worship and the Word!

Worship involves our whole lives, not just something that happens on a Sunday morning, or in our case, on a Friday night here in Szeged. Worship is a way of life for the believer running hard after Jesus! May all we do be an act of worship to the King of Kings!

Friday at 7 - International Christian Fellowship

Small group work, diggin in to the Scriptures together!

Finding all the gifts of the Spirit in the Scriptures!

Have you ever sat down and listed all the spiritual gifts in the Bible and then found examples of these in Jesus' life? This is the exercise Eszter had us do at ICF on Friday night and it was very encouraging! As Paul says, we are to eagerly seek the gifts...and they are for the building up of the body of Christ...for encouraging one another and for others to see Jesus!

Very interesting video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epPRcJza8eY&eurl=http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1057970581130&feature=player_embedded

In His Face - by Bob Sorge

What a book! Here's more:

"Jesus operated totally independently of people. Whatever He did or didn't do, it had nothing to do with those around Him. Everything He did was because it was what the Father was telling Him to do." (p. 80)

Whoa, do I operate totally independently of people, and only do what the Father tells me to do?

"If I do not receive honor from men, then here's the liberating part: I need not receive dishonor from men. This is what gave Jesus His incredible freedom in the presence of His critics.
I have often been amazed at how Jesus handled confrontational situations. When He went "head to head" with the Pharisees, He never backed down once. I thought, "Jesus, You sure were thick-skinned!" But it wasn't that Jesus was hard or tough; it was simply that when they fired their dishonor at Him, He didn't receive it. Because He didn't receive their honor either." (p. 82)

God, forgive me for seeking honor from people.

Some beautiful women!

It's very rare, isn't it, to have a picture where EVERYONE looks good? (You can click on the picture to make it bigger!)

A very good book!

My 30-somethings Bible study women and I are reading a great book by Bob Sorge called In His Face. All I can say at this point, after the first 3 chapters, is you need to read this book!

Here are just a smattering of quotes from the first three chapters:

"The cross is the surest antidote to theological weirdness. It is time to gaze with new wonder at the passion of Christ's cross."

"I have five things to say about waiting. First: I hate it. Second: waiting on the Lord kills me. Wait a minute. Now I'm seeing something. That's what He's trying to do. He's taking so long because He wants me to die to myself. Third: Waiting is an act of humility...waiting is humbling because it is a posture of dependence. Fourth: waiting is an act of faith. Fifth: waiting puts us in a receiving posture."

"My flesh is absolutely incapable of tuning in to God's sense of timing."

Some food for thought, huh?

Weekend away with lady-friends!

7 beautiful women in Gyula, Hungary!

Our dinner out in a restaurant!

This became our favorite place to eat lunch....hamburgers here are FANTASTIC!!!!

Edith, Joanna and Laura on one of many bridges over a canal in Gyula, Hungary!

I got to celebrate my birthday with some friends by going away to Gyula, Hungary. We all met there from various cities in Hungary and enjoyed good food, laughter, fun, thermal baths, and some good prayer time! Thanks ladies, it was very good and I guess we meet again here, there or in the air!