Dancing with the Trees

   The fall here has been beautiful. The other day I was off to encourage some friends & after I spent some time with them, I drove up the road a bit towards one of my favorite places that reminds me of being in the mountains, somewhat.  On the way there, the road twists and turns on itself quite a bit, (which is another reason it is my favorite), and with every bend, the trees were lined up alongside the road, one color after another - some plum, some yellow, some red, some still green, some brown and nearly bare. It was like watching a fancy ball with all the ladies' dresses passing by as they swung around the room!
    The sun kept playing hide-and-seek, highlighting first one tree, then another with no rhyme or reason, other that to have a special show of the glory of God for me as I drove along the road.
    Curving around another bend, I slowed as I came upon a gorgeous red fox with it's big, bushy tail straight out behind as it crossed the road. The colors of the fox picked up the color of the trees on either side of a yellow one it had just passed, making the fox look like yet another decoration for this beautiful autumn day.
  Up a hill, down into a hollow, a thatched roofline over an old, long, house - a style they call "peasant house" that has a long covered porch along the side. The place offers food and a place to sleep as the owners try to make ends meet on a road that tourists or locals living there drive along, yet don't often stop until they get to their destination. Hope still lights the man's eyes as he walks out, hearing a car coming up the road, then passes on like so many others. People don't stop like they used to - stop to breathe the air, stop to take photos from certain places, stop to just gaze at valleys or hillsides or just to give thanks to the One who created it all. I am guilty of that, though I gave plenty of thanks as I drove along looking at the colors of the hillsides changing and the way the light played and the structures of the trees really starts to show again after the leaves fall.
    How many of us are those who hear and hope with anticipation, yet once again others are too busy to stop and talk to us?  Or are we the ones who have the Hope of Christ within, yet zoom by, 'too busy' or too afraid of being rejected, or too afraid to try?  People are stopping, people are noticing that we have something NOTICEABLE within us... and hope....will you take time to stop?

Pathways We Are Leaving

Renaissance era gate in Zadar, Croatia

Old brick road in Zadar, Croatia

Slick-worn marble streets in Zadar, Croatia

 Working and traveling this summer with camps and supporters gave us many chances to thank God for good roads and sidewalks.

    Looking at all these photos (Believe me, there are thousands!), I was thinking about the paths that we are leaving - and you are leaving- for others… Will they be straight? Will they be strong? Will others easily be able to follow them, or would they have to look through a lot of debris to even find such a path, hunting for the bent twig, or a fiber on a piece of grass?

  What kind of path do you want to leave? I know there are those who want to live 'under the radar'. But, is that truly LIVING?

  Jesus calls us in Matthew 4:19, "And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

and in Mark 1:2 "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way." (of course, he is speaking of Jesus here)…
  But how many people helped to prepare your way? it may be through a business, it may have been through the donations for grants or scholarships, it may have been through our Veterans (THANK YOU, ALL!!), or even as 'simple' as our parents, friends, relatives and mentors.

  When we were on those very slippery streets in Zadar, streets of marble that millions of people, horses & other animals have trod - not only was I very thankful it hadn't rained or was icy - but I was astounded at the realization of HOW MANY feet it took to get the marble so smooth! Imagine if you will, the cement sidewalks where you live so worn down and slippery that they look like glass, yet there is a lot of wear in them to go! This is one of many times it has occurred to me that we live in an old place, not new like the USA.  (By old, I am meaning the thousands of tribes, cities, civilizations, wars, etc over a relatively small part of the world).
  
  Then, I think of the millions of people who have gone before us with the Torah, then the Old Testament and then the New Testament - wow, what a HUGE, precise road they have prepared for all of us now! The Bible is still one of the most accurate and concise history books in the world! So many scientists, archaeologists and scholars have discovered new things, thanks to the words contained in the Bible.

  So, now this challenges me - what kind of path do I want to leave?….  (You can help us leave a great path! Do you know others who would be interested in hearing what we have to say? Who would like to know how people here think, or what they are thinking? We will be back in the States and available to speak starting in January. We would love to speak to a group of people you know!! Could you help arrange a time and place for us? It is only through your recommendations that it could happen...
  

Whew!!

   Wow - July flew quickly! We had lots of camps, a conference, a too quick visit with one of our sons and his wife and back for more camps!  Plus, we did our normal ministries of 'helps/service' and hospitality in-between.

Ladies' "Chat" at English Camp

Patchwork Camp

English Camp

  Now, Kurt is off for more kid's camps - minus a couple of soccer balls that only lasted two camps - the kids love to play SO much, and the chance to play with an actual soccer (futbol) is so rare, that they just plain old wore out in 3 days from all the use!

Kurt helping to rotohammer out some walls at a friend's home.

   Now, off to do some laundry before we head to more adventures! We covet your prayers and thank you for your financial support!!!  (If you would like to help - we could really use it! There are two links on the right:)

What Joy to be Gathered with the Brethren!

  We have been astounded and encouraged by meeting together this last week with other servants in many lands at a conference with International Ministries.  There are SO many God stories that we have heard and shared. Life that God has worked His heart into, weaving His compassion into compassion for others; Calling unbelievers into the Kingdom of Heaven; Special 'interruptions' into God appointments; Normal life into Life Everlasting; encouraging some who came for a music seminar into looking deeper into their lives and presenting different opportunities to allow them to catch a glimpse of what it's like to serve overseas. Plus, just thinking of the International Ministries' 200th year gathering celebration….. 200 years of missionaries being sent out from the US! Wow!
  This was just a small glance at this past week. Now we head back early to serve with Hungary's largest national outreach (English Camp), with people from Pioneers. It is a bittersweet leaving. We made a commitment to assist them, but we are leaving this conference at a tremendously crucial time for us. Next week is THE WEEK to be here at this conference at Green Lake! We would be able to mingle and meet many people from many churches and regions around the US and Puerto Rico, places that could provide vital prayer support and possibly financial support for us - and we have to leave, trusting God (once again) that He will provide places for us to speak, people for us to meet this coming December through March. This is frustrating, but we are called to honor our first commitment we made.
  Will you pray for us and with us that God will provide fabulous, miraculously wonderful appointments for us? We are below our minimum support, so you can see why this is so important. Language school has come out of our own salary for this last year, we need to upgrade old computer equipment when we go back among many other things, and it looks like Carrie will need to move up a time for her knee replacement.  So, please pray!
     

Things We Are Getting Used To (Part 1)

   There are some anomalies that occur when you live anywhere. Some are colloquialisms, like "skosh" from the Pacific NW; "fixin' to" from the South; "Pahkin ya cah" from Boston.  There are other things you scratch your head and mutter, "Well, this must be what it's like here…."  such as perfectly good roads where you stop every few miles, throw in change to a funnel and proceed on (or off) & thank Heaven you have saved up your change!  Or, driving miles and miles without having to do that… now what do you do with all that change??  Or, espresso stands on nearly every corner….. or not, and you haven't seen them for days & are going through withdrawals… Or going into a really popular restaurant that is 'local' and nearly everything is fried but the coffee… or nearly everything is fresh and says whether it is vegan, Gluten Free, Lactose free, Free Range, Politically correctly raised/grown, or helps keep small insects from being annihilated from the planet.

   Well, there are things to get used to here as well. Like saying "Hello, szia, szia "(pronounced, see-ya) when you say 'good bye'  and saying "Szia!" when you say 'hello'.

   Then there is getting used to cars being dirtier after it rains than beforehand… this is due to the Sahara   as it ever encases the continent of Africa & the prevailing winds suck up some of the sand to deposit it elsewhere in the rain… like Hungary.  It is also taking some getting used to when there isn't sand deposited on the windshield after a rain - I find my self thinking, "Hmm, something's odd here…. oh yeah!"

   Then meat shopping is quite different here - and also different than many other places even around Budapest - they all have their 'local cuts' which may be totally different than somewhere 10-20 km away! (These are in large, supermarket- type stores) There are neighborhood meat stores as well…
I never really expected to find chicken feet (cleaned) and other odd bits as a marketable item. So, sometimes, as a mostly spur-of-the-moment-cook, we have mostly vegetables and rice… other times, I have been able to guess what this part of meat could be, so we give that a go, or pass.

   You get used to stocking up when you can - an oddity here…. especially when it is something on sale during "English Days" at the store, or, "Italian Days" or "Asian Days".   Sometimes the items just aren't in, even though they are advertised to be so…

   You get used to being looked at as though you have grown three heads all of a sudden - especially when you are asking for an item at the pharmacy or the store that you thought was carried everywhere!
(This is after the 'victory' that they actually understood your Hunglish!)

God is So Good

Hello!

Sikerül! (Success)!- Our latest half year of language classes was very helpful, whether that was from the way things were taught or that the initial culture shock of the last year has worn off - only God knows, but we are done for now. Continuing on will be determined by costs. We have been paying this last 6 months out of our own salary, since the extra money allocated for us was used up with last year's classes.

We have also been able to complete the purchase of our vehicle, thanks to many of you helping out in that matter. It is a 2000 Opel Zafira and is easily adaptable to our many ministry uses that we employ.

(This weekend, it will be used to help move it's former owners to their first house that they purchased).

Thanks to some of you as well, Carrie's knee replacement surgery last fall has been very helpful. Recovery has been daily improvement.

We covet your prayers for:

There are lots of camps coming up this summer - The Bárka's retreat; Patchwork Camp (quilting); English Camp; and many smaller day camps around for Hungarians and it's speakers in nearby nations. The latter type of camps are day camps where children may have never had a chance to go to a camp. They are served breakfast and lunch, with lots of activities and teaching about God's word.  We will be assisting our local friend and brother "P" with these camps in word and deed.

We will continue to host a number of people coming through the Budapest area - some we have never met before… all daily life!

We ask for prayer for "Bones" and "Non"- two young men Carrie saw on the metro last week. Both extremely lost. Pray also for "Double Crosser" and continue in prayer for "Blackbird",  "Upside Down" and all the people who 'hang out' with these mentioned. God is at work here, but so is the enemy. The more Jesus makes an impact, the more the enemy's cage is rattled - especially since the enemy knows it's a losing battle!

 "

... Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. … " Ephesians 6:18

Life 102

Christine lends a hand

Friends from Hungarian class learn how to make US pizza

  Making pizza - I had no idea it would be of interest to others!  Well, one rainy April day I decided it would be a good time for a second cooking 'lesson', and this time there was more than one student:)
  Our language class has had people literally from all over the world. This leads to many interesting conversations, topics and ideas. One is food, another is customs.
  So, when I asked one of the ladies what she would like to learn how to make, pizza was the first thing that came to mind.
   We had such a fun day, and it was a great break from classes, yet continuing to spend time and enjoying our growing friendships with each other.
   We had the added blessing of one of our  guests from 'home' join us while we learned from each other.
   I think we have all acutly missed some special occasions from our native lands that have made life more special, but we try not to think of them too long, lest the longing for home overtake us. There is a bravery that comes from living overseas along with special flexibility and adaptability that must take place. I have learned from "N" that no place is really the same - ingredients you get in one country may not be available at all in another, or at a very high price. "G" has taught me the privilege of keeping some traditions alive at home. "I" has encouraged me with finding joy and life by delving into the culture. "T" has taught me that it's ok to miss home and some of the people & to let them know as well as others around you. "V" has taught me the value of the time spent in one place (these traveling shoes may learn yet). "N" has taught me the emphasis of maintaining what you believe, even if others may disagree. "P" has taught me that life is precious, and freedom is even more so.
   "and do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.  For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you."  Luke 12:29-31