Technology and More Label Fun

Sigh.... Technology should be our friend, right?  I just worked HOURS trying to get out our latest newsletter... and it didn't go! Well, I will try it again, but not tonight!

So, to make some things 'lighter' here is some more label fun:

Who would have thought - a Gluten free store and a toystore in one spot!?

Oh, c'mon, you know that says "Lord of the Rings" !

A new twist on a phrase

  We will be praying for all of you to have a great holiday season - we will be posting before Christmas,  but for those in the states, we hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving with whomever you get to spend the holiday with!! Make the best of it and keep your sense of humor... there is a reason:)

We need to purchase a car - can you help?

    The time has come for these brave souls to buy a car. We have been allowed to borrow cars periodically, but that only goes so long.  Our expectations are to purchase one larger than the above car (Kurt couldn't even fit in it if he tried!), and at least 3 decades newer, plus it should be able to go faster than this one in the photo.  You can click the link here, or read further on.....http://ww3.pioneers.org/donate/Kurt and Carrie Smalley/111493V
    We desire to have a car large enough so we can pick you up at the airport along with your luggage & still make it back to the hotel safely, in a single trip. There has also been a need for a larger vehicle to help with transporting items for ministry, traveling on outreaches and other ministry events.

   Maps are a great tool to use - yet we have completely astounded many people by looking things up the old fashioned way. More than once we have heard, "You LIVE in Budapest and you DON'T HAVE A GPS???? How in the world do you find your way around?"

   Yes, truly Budapest is a hard place to navigate. We have found many roads we never knew existed, as well as some roads that look like roads on the maps, but in actuality, they are staircases! No joke - staircases in neighborhoods.... yeah, we didn't drive down them, but have learned to look DOWN the road before you descend!  Ultimately, a GPS would be a handy thing to have, but a car is far more important and practical. Street names change continually, the old names are posted on buildings at the corner, which is fine, IF the corner building is still there and trees aren't blocking it, but never are they illuminated at night, so finding places can be a challenge.

   Our leaders have graciously allowed us to set up a fund specifically for a car, so you can either click the link here:  http://ww3.pioneers.org/donate/Kurt and Carrie Smalley/111493V    or the one in the right hand column to easily donate. The donations are tax deductible and will go specifically towards the car.  Thank you ahead of time for considering and end-of-year donation!

Fall '13 in Hungary Happenings

Hi!

fall color

 It is Fall in this part of the hemisphere, and while many trees have been turning yellow, we have also managed to find some extra color here and there in daily routines.

Walking on the way to the Farmer's Market (called the Piac - like Pea-yachts), we saw these lovely leaves. The piac itself has so much color this time of year with the different squash available, the 'kaposta' products (pickled items) that are SO good, the way people are dressed, other items for sale, and since it is almost November 1 (All Saint's Day), a LOT of beautiful wreaths and flowers for sale. Fortunately, Halloween isn't celebrated here. The beginning of November, though is HUGE - people place the wreaths and candles at the gravesites of relatives to remember them.

                                                                                    A friend of ours told us about their young son who loves to get extra candles to put at the gravesites where there may be none or few candles there so "they won't feel so lonely"! I thought that was a sweet idea & very compassionate.

Some of the famous Vecses pickled products sold 

An implement/wire product seller

Small Wreaths, nuts and fruit for sale

                 Some of the stalls at the piac are really interesting & very different than those you would see in an American farmer's market. There is usually at least one implement seller of metal goods (often handmade), but they also sell huge wooden spoons for people's bograc's (like a really big pot to make soup in outside over a wood fire - a traditional Hungarian meal). I have seen some of the spoons even 4' long! The picture above has a number of spoons about 3' long, as well as wire brushes for chimney's for smoke houses, and to clean various things, plus some sieves, spare wire, pots and pans and other tools for the kitchen you might need. 

There are other sellers - many with fruit & vegetables; flowers; dried fruits, beans and spices; used clothing or items for the house; books; plastics for the home; shovel and axe handles and other tools; sometimes pensioners selling whatever they can spare from their gardens or homes; shoes; clothing; Bio products; thread or leather goods; basket makers....   In my mind I sometimes make up stories to go with the products for sale.

   

There are also many events happening - it is after all, time for the Seasonal classes to start, like Quilt Club, English Club, Ifi (teen) Clubs, Men's Club and Women's Bible Study. 

We were able to help out another quilt club in the area with an outreach of some ladies coming over from Pennsylvania. Carrie helped with the quilting part, and Kurt helped some other men cook and prepare the lunch. The people were all very appreciative in everyone's efforts. 

Through all of our activities and interactions (there are many!), we covet your prayers - not only for our growing ability to speak Hungarian, but also for those with whom we speak with. We want to be God's heart and light to them, drawing them closer to the One who desires fellowship with them.

Traditional Debrecen symbols quilt top

Vecses Piac in Fall

Life has been like a waterfall..

Quick - choose where you are supposed to go!

  When we realized how long it has been since we have posted anything - we thought we would catch you up on life here in Hungary!

First, we are fine!

Second, in preparing for Carrie's knee surgery in early September, time flew away. Surgery was successful for her total knee replacement, PTL. It is now 5 weeks post-op, and she can get around the house without crutches! The operation took place in a Budapest hospital. If you want more details, check the newsletter coming out soon.

                                                                     Third, we just had the privilege of celebrating our 28th anniversary! We heard about an very inexpensive Bible college/castle in Hungary, so we took two days for a road trip and getaway. Castles are all over Hungary, and they vary greatly in prices.
Some of these photos we just took on our way back yesterday.

Some houses are made of bricks, some of  adobe, like here - this one needs some extra TLC -  pray for the Hungarian people. Many are hard workers, but due to the pay scale, very little is able to be used for 'extras' other than survival. For instance, doctors, teachers and people working in a store all earn about the same amount! This is one reason the young people are leaving the country in large numbers due to economics.

English Camp - updated & after the fun :)

 Campers loved trying S'mores (an American thing), plus they love their traditional Langos (below)

  It is with JOY we can say that at least 13 campers made decisions to accept Jesus into their hearts or re-commit their lives to Jesus! All the heat, sweat, water fights, tears, laughter were well worth it!

  We had so much fun with our "O'Ranger" (orange) team! They are a great group of young people and SMART!  We still continue to pray for them and for their lives after camp.
   

 We had team scavenger hunts - quite ingenious, using "old school" maps and smart phones, including "dummy" possibilities.  I was astounded at how involved and how much fun the team was having at nearly every station.

  We were astounded and pleased with the creativity coming out as our team kept on forming ways to do things or think of things, like the picture below..

Here are part of the O'Ranger team getting ready to do some modern-day reenactments of Jesus' healings.  These were spin-offs of some of the scriptures we had been reading during Kurt's reading group time & my conversation times. God was SO good, and the fellow campers LOVED watching the skit!


So, now that camp is over, we ask for prayers for:
Camper & Staff hearts to remain receptive and tender towards  the Lord
Tini Ifi Club this week (young teens)
Larger ministry space here in Vecsés and for the Petöfibanya church as well
Endurance in very HOT weather (It has been close to or over 100 F for weeks now)
Prayers for our Vecsés team leader and family on home assignment
Fruitful meetings with "Z" and "F" and "M & M"
Prayer for our friend and evangelist, Péter, during smaller summer outreaches in Eastern Europe - for safety and good responses
Prayer for Carrie's knee  - it will need to be replaced soon unless God chooses to heal it completely; funds
Prayer for a vehicle for us to purchase and the funding to pay for it and the deductible on the surgery (if God chooses to heal through the hands of a surgeon).
Prayer for a couch/bed (queen size) for the guest room - the ones we pursue have been dead-ends.

Not Your Ordinary Camp

I am adapting to trying new things... This adventure you are reading about helps you understand some of them, but what I have been really amazed about this first 6 months we have been here is the intensity with which Hungarian students study.

Not only have most students been studying much harder than anyone I have ever known during the school year, but they continue to do so in the summer. Then they also go to camps, (if the family can afford it), during the summer to continue studying subjects they want to or need to in a more intensive manner! Good heavens! There really are younger and older people who DO this!

This is where English Camp comes in. Students voluntarily come to English camp for really intensive English classes and free time for about a week at Lakitelek from all over Hungary and the areas where Hungarian is spoken. As you may recall from some of my postings, nearly 50% of the jobs available to Hungarians need a good solid working knowledge of English. Well as you may know, we do teach intensive classes here, but we use the Bible as the text  for them to read. This not only expands their vocabularies further, but it helps get the word of God into their hearts in some way or another.

This week, I have had the privilege of being called a surrogate mom to a young lady who's mom has just abandoned her; comforted another young lady whose mother suddenly passed away this winter; helped to blow away a group of kids through sharing real life with them; helped to give numerous testimonies of how to live life out loud with my husband and the campers, as well as get to know many really neat people and teach classes.  There will be pictures soon, But for now, we still need your prayers for all these campers. Some are adults older than us, and then it goes down to kids in the pre-teen years. Hearts and lives are being changed, praise God!

Patchwork Camp '13

 Imagine 50+ ladies,  all getting together for two days to sew, talk and laugh - you have Patchwork Camp.  Now imagine this setting in a culture where people don't speak to each other on the street, unless they know each other well. Smiles are few. Now transport the joy into this different culture and you understand why so many women are drawn to this club.

  A friend of mine, Eri, remarks that she "Just feels so good and happy for days after she has spent time at  Patchwork Club. Something about the people is so different."  Eri is one of the many unbelievers in the club. In fact, just a handful of believers were in the Patchwork Camp and the purpose of this camp is to encourage people to draw to Christ. It works! At least one lady turned her heart to God this last weekend! Many more were amazed to hear the stories and the thought of life that can be so different with only one "small" decision.

  God is definitely at work in this small town. People come from many different towns and cities to join in the activities.  "I feel so happy and safe here" is a comment that is heard often. "Safe" being often the idea of not being condemned or having the freedom to express yourself.

  Many ladies were blessed with gifts they "won", thanks to generous donations from people like you. This also is fairly unheard of here. "You mean, I don't owe you anything?? Really?" Really! We also made some tissue holders for every attendee (Thanks to the Camano Chapel Ladies' Retreat for the idea!) and those were loved!

  Now in a week will be English Camp, where young people from all over Hungary will come to play, practice their English  (a necessity - almost 1/2 the jobs here in Hungary require a good working knowledge of the language), and hear the Word, read the Word and have a lot of energizing fun.

Would you join with us in praying for the campers - that the Word would permeate their hearts and minds? Please also pray for the staff - for energy and wisdom and joy throughout the week. We have more campers this year than ever (75), and we have some staff who weren't able to make it this year....
Maybe God is calling you to come to help next year?? Think about it! You could come to Patchwork Camp, and then be here for English camp! Or, just come for English Camp - the people are always amazed that others willingly take time away from life to come and help.  So, do you want some amazement??? Email us if you want to be kept updated with day to day life with English camp. We will also try to blog sometime during the week to share:)

Thanks for your prayers!