Spring is here??

   Spring is here - kind of. Fortunately we didn't have this much snow where we live, but this picture was taken last weekend between Vienna and Budapest, leaving over 35,000 people stranded - fortunately it is not a normal occurrence.

   Spring flowers are coming up here, the sun is shining today and the wind is quite chilly.  Trees are budding & nearly ready to pop leaves out. Again, locals say this isn't a normal spring, often it is much warmer. We're ready for that as well, right now!

  I (Carrie) have been asked to join with one of our pastor's wives, Marcsi, to be on a national Hungarian TV show next week! The show is live for 2 hours, and we will be quilting during that time. Other people will be cooking & I have no idea what else. I will know more after next Wednesday! Luckily I should be able to get "off air" in time for language class. Meanwhile, we covet your prayers that God would be magnified somehow through this event and it would draw Hungarians to Christ through the event.

 

Take notes...

  Hungarians are known for their innovation. They have designed the first metro subway, originally drawn by horses in 1847; the articulated bus (1960 put into use); the telephone exchange (1877); of course, the Rubik's Cube and many others, but I love the top picture giving more freedom to the handicapped people.  This just makes my heart sing with joy in knowing maybe some of our friends will be able to use something like this!

Sometimes "Mother Nature" loves to have some of the last giggles... I am willing to laugh along as long as they don't bring tragedy like this weekend's..
 It is spring here now - and there was a HUGE snowstorm the night before last hitting western Hungary. In our class Thursday afternoon, we had all ready heard of a 30 car pile-up on the freeway to the west of Budapest!  Thankfully, we didn't get much here (10 cm ~ 4"), but we walked to class in the rain and walked home with much colder temperatures and snow blowing down on our umbrellas.  Yesterday was a holiday (a failed revolution in 1848), and while there were scheduled speeches all over the city of Budapest, they were cancelled due to the storm's vehemence elsewhere.  (Personally, I just baked up a storm at our snug house.)

    We are learning that as practical and brilliant Hungarians are, they do have some quirks like everyone.... for instance, there is an ice cream truck that goes around our city this winter (maybe all year - we don't know yet).  At first we thought, "Really? It's winter!" Silly us! Of COURSE it is winter, but you evidently still need these great ice cream treats - if you can catch the driver.  We are used to hearing the ice cream truck blocks/ miles away (depending on where you live) and they slowly parade through the neighborhood/parking lot. Silly us! Not this one! If you hear it, you better run, but be careful.... they go through about 30km/hr or more! Good luck catching it! MAYBE they will even come back through, but forget about them slowing down! We still don't know if the ice cream truck ever stops except for gas - we haven't been that fast.

But lo the winter's past....?

    This is the outside of our house - looks like a lot of others all over Hungary.  Although this was a couple of weeks ago, we aren't counting on not getting more snow yet!  Spring is trying to break through all around us - pussy-willows coming forth, crocus blossoming, daffodils and tulips starting to come up as well as some iris preparing for summer.

   I forgot how odd it is to live in a place where you don't know how the seasons behave, exactly.  It tends to be quite an adjustment in the anticipation and yes, stress in it's own right, along with many others in cultural adjustments.  Though the air wants to be balmy - I can actually feel it trying - sadly, it is having a hard time getting the motivation up.

   Not so with the birds! Each day as we walk to language school or back from school we hear new arrivals everyday.  We have called one "the squeaky swing" bird, another one, "the squeaky tricycle" bird (quite different sounds), a bird that doesn't really cackle, but has continual stops and stutters in it's song... we haven't named it yet.  There are robins starting to arrive, and the ever present mourning doves, pigeons, some rather large birds, but they are too far off to tell what they are.  Yesterday on the way home, we saw our first butterfly of the season - and what a large one it was!

   We are definitely getting our exercise daily, stairs, walking, more walking, more stairs, riding the bus (who needs the shaker machines when you can just stand on the bus through the rough parts of the road?!) balancing standing (metro), balance walking (the cement walkways can be terrible, so we are always watching where we are walking - no thank you for walking at night on some of those walkways!). Something is out in my back, so my knees have been killing me all day, all night - ok, whining is over!  All in all, we are walking at least 3 miles a day, not including going shopping, which is a whole other experience which will be described some day.

  Through it all, we pray for people, places, situations. The anguish of a young lady on the metro, the aching joints of an older lady trying to stand up on the metro, the angry young man on the bus, the man who has given up on life - just existing for ... ; and the many hundreds who have been so well trained to not show ANYTHING on their faces lest there be a hint of a crack in a wall exposing them to the outside world.  Language isn't needed to perceive these emotions, just a heart that is willing to reach out and share HOPE to them.

  Last week on the metro, a tiny wisp of an old lady sat next to me. She was trying to prepare for her stop, nearly losing her balance, so I put a hand out on her back to steady her to the stop. As many of you know, I love to rub backs, so I was gently moving my hand back and forth & the look of glee and surprise on her face was worth it all! She said, "Kösönöm!" as she got off.

   Then a young man, who had been standing behind Kurt sat in her place. The smell of alcohol at 8am was a bit much.... and that is when God said, "tell him he's loved", so I did in my halting Hungarian.
"Jézus szeret téged". He turned quickly and looked at me amazed, so I said again, "Jézus szeret téged". And the look of wonder and of astonishment was truly something to behold! I had literally felt him get blown back a bit!  The next stop was ours, & I wished him a good day, but haven't ceased to pray for him...

Language School..

Well, we are about to embark on our second week of intensive Hungarian. We made it through the first week with our class, and although you could nearly hear the rusty gears turning (2 others are "in our age group", Lol), we all made it through.

What is Hungarian like? Well, one of our teachers was going to do this:    dzsesszklubban


 Can you guess what it is?

Sure you're ready?






Jazz club!  No wonder when people want a Jeep, they think of DZSIP!  That's how it would be spelled!

 Are we ready for week 2 yet? I really don't know but we will find out tomorrow.

Szeretlek!

 Szeretlek means "I love you" in Hungarian... no one said that more to us than Jesus, Himself.

  Every season is a season of love to share with others, to let them know that God has CHOSEN them before time began, and wants fellowship - personal fellowship with them everyday. All we need to do is ask Him to come into our hearts and desire to follow Him now instead of our own selfishness. That's okay - our selfishness just gets us into trouble anyway.

  We have had the opportunity to share this in the Hungarian schools all ready! We have been invited in and asked to come back more! Who would have thought we would have created interest? Certainly not I! It is only by God's grace that we are here, and the prayers and support of those in the States and around the world who are allowing this to transpire. For this we are deeply thankful and love you to help us love these Hungarian people in different ways everyday!

Whew!

  Here we are after climbing up Gellert Hill in Budapest with some other Americans we met.  We not only climbed up, but also down the hill (most people take the bus).... aspirin and ibuprofen have been our friends with all the walking we have been doing lately. The weather has been a bit chilly - in fact it was snowing intermittently during the day and we had some accumulation that night, (Monday).

  Monday was a milestone in many ways - we learned how to get to and onto the bus (Busz) to get to the metro station where we could buy a book of tickets (saving $), then negotiated our way in our (English/Magyar) to the correct subway that took us in to meet our new friends.

  We were able to walk around a lot of part of Budapest, see the HUGE market building they have, see some other lovely buildings and then hike up Gellert Hill where there are some large monuments near and dear to Hungarians' hearts that overlook the Danube (behind us in the picture) and a few of the bridges  (Elizabeth, Liberty & Petofi) linking  the Buda side to the Pest side. (Pest is usually the flatter side). The famous cave church is in the Gellert Hill as well.

  After saying "Viszontlátásrá!" to our new friends, off we went, back to our little town.

  We have been getting out more on our own, and thankfully today I remembered to bring the "Angol/Magyar" dictionary with me on my way walking across town to wash clothes at a friend's house. I needed to buy some washing soap, so I went into a small ABC (local small/tiny store). No soap to be seen, but the lady came inside as I drug my airline bag of dirty laundry in the store as well.  Of COURSE all of my long practiced Hungarian left my brain as I was trying to ask if they had some laundry soap. So, breaking out the dictionary, I fumbled my way through... but she still was confused. We both started laughing then & I was trying not to go into the oh no, I-am-getting-so-I-can't-breathe stage". Holding a hand up, she went to the register area & produced a laptop w/ mobile wi-fi (called "wee fee" here). She brought up the equivalent of google translate and we were off... except for the different keyboard! It all worked out, they didn't have any but she directed me to where I could find some that wasn't miles in other directions.  I was practicing the words in my head... and of course they fled again when I drug my suitcase to the next ABC! Thank Heaven for dictionaries! She actually knew a couple English words, but I need to practice my Hungarian desperately & am really looking forward to school starting in a few weeks!  I said the words needed to find what I need - (dish soap & laundry soaps look amazingly similar!) and voila! Mission accomplished! I really appreciated how helpful both ladies were - and told them so...as much as I could.

 

First Week

   We have been reminded many times as we walk the streets of Hungary the emptiness of life without Christ in your heart, in this culture. People appear 10-30 years older, faces lined with no hope, alcohol or other tragedies endured.  Our determination to learn the culture and language so much more focused in understanding so we can share the Good News!
 
  Evidently things just take more time to get done here, so if a couple items on your to-do list is accomplished, it is a successful day. Apparently they think we are the energizer bunnies from our first week! We looked for rentals and found one; negotiated the indoor and outdoor markets (truly - a booth that sells household cleaners and wine - that's it!); Learning that pictures really do make a difference in language assumption as we discover new things; Walked some of the streets of "our" town without getting lost (the names change at the corners); Attended worship and prayer meetings; Started our residency permits; Attended a Hungarian birthday party; Got to meet our team; Learned how to use different appliances; Kind of figured out how to understand the exchange rate; Tried new and wonderful foods - all while fighting jet lag.

  Seeing familiar faces again has been an especially encouraging joy - truly friendship is a gift from God! He is so faithful to provide. I have wondered many times this week as we greeted these sweet, joyous believers, if this is what Heaven will be like or if it is just a sweet taste of the eternal. I know we are missing those from home, but we just need to concentrate on what lies before us, and do our best to remember that His family is always only a prayer away. That alone is great gain.