A Burrito????

Eating overseas is always an adventure. You never quite know what you will get and whether or not it will actually satisfy or leave you wanting. I guess along with being on an adventure of ministry I am also on a culinary adventure. This past week we went out to a Mexican restaurant to celebrate one of my roommate's birthday. It was a fun time of celebration and another opportunity to check out the local cuisine. Well....I tried to order an enchilada, but I wanted a flour tortilla instead of a corn one. I was promptly told that the enchilada only came with a hard shell. I was a little perplexed since I have never had a hard shelled enchilada, not to be deterred I ordered the chicken with vegetable burrito (it had a soft flour tortilla). As it came to the table I was excited because it looked like a burrito but as I bit into it I realized I was in for a surprise. The vegetables inside were corn, carrots and peas, similar to the frozen vegetable medley you find at the grocery store. Alas, I guess all the Mexican food I ate before I left will have to tide me over until I return.

Slovakia Trip

This past week we went to Slovakia for the day to apply for our Visas. It was a fun little get away and a chance to get another stamp in our passport. We were in Bratislava. The old town section was very charming. Since we had to wait for the office to approve our initial request we had a few hours to explore. We took a tour and got to hear a little of the history of the town and its monuments and buildings. Since it was once part of Hungary, much of the history is intertwined. 

A Funny Thing Happened in the Park

Last friday I had the chance to get together with Brigi, she was in the previous post. We had a great time talking and getting to know one another. She just received Christ last spring so it is fun seeing her desire to grow and get to know the Lord better. I am praying for more opportunities to connect with her and hopefully be used by the Lord in helping her grow. So as we were walking along in the park some people passed us and I noticed they were speaking english. Nowadays I am seeming to pick that up because it is always a surprise when I can understand someone near me. Then as more people passed I noticed they had a camera. Curious, I asked if they were filming something. To my delight I am assuming possibly the director, or it least the guy in charge, said yes have you heard of a show called House Hunters. Well not only had I heard of it, it is one of my favorite shows on HGTV. They were filming House Hunters International here in Budapest. So for a moment I had a chance to talk with the women who would be buying the house and and the crew breifly. The show will be airing in eight months so if you see it please record it for me. I am hoping maybe in a few of the scene shots you might see Brigi and me in the background. Wouldn't that be fun. The park where they were filming is right across the street from my apartment.

So the other funny thing that happened was between Brigi and myself. As we were chatting about all sorts of things the topic of music came up. She mentioned that her favorite band used to be Linkin Park. Then since she knew that I used to live in Phoenix she asked if I knew of Greenway High School. She even had the school address in her phone. Well Greenway is the school I had been working with for the past seven years. So it was fun sharing with her a little about the school and also about some of the students I had a chance to get to know and work with. I am hoping maybe a few of them will come out to SpeakOut this summer and get to know Brigi and the other Hungarian students.

Seeing Miracles Happen

Here is just one story of something great that happened on Friday night. This is an email message I received from Julie. "It was so much fun gathering with all the students last night. Seeing so many new and old faces. This is what we are about! Meeting and sharing God’s love with these students. I wanted to tell you a little bit about what God did with Zach last night. There has been a boy named Attila who has been coming for a while (2-3 years) to Fek. And last night he asked Zach more about God and Zach went through the 4 laws with him. He was tracking and following it very intensely. And then a girl who accepted Christ with Zach last year at the end of the year… Brigi came up to them. She watched Zach share the four laws and then she started talking about how this was the best decision of her life and Attila asked “when should I make this decision?” And Brigi said “now.” So, he prayed with them to receive Christ! What a blessing. Not only did Attila accept Christ but Brigi helped, by sharing her testimony and leading Attila to a decision. Praise God. Zach was able to model sharing the gospel, Brigi was able to watch and then share also with Attila using the 4 laws as a tool, and then Attila was given the opportunity to accept Jesus into his heart. What a blessed ministry we are in. I am always amazed that God allows us to do this as our full time job!!! Aren’t we blessed? Zach will share more about this at staff meeting on Wed. I just wanted to share as well, because I am so excited that Attila made a decision for Christ!!! What an answer to prayer. " 

First FEK Meeting of the Year

Fun was had be all as we gathered in the park. For the students it was a time to reconnect with friends met at SpeakOut. For me it was the chance to meet the many students who come out to FEK and a few who were there for the first time. I definitely have many new names and faces to remember but I look forward to getting to know the students in the coming weeks. 

A few random thoughts...

So I thought I would share a little about my experience with grocery shopping. I know something that seems so common is not quite when you don't speak the language. First the concept of customer service here is that the customer is not right. For example the other day while shopping I decided that I would like a peach so I knew I needed to weigh the peach and put a sticker on it. Well I couldn't quite figure out what the word for peach was, so I looked at the pictures and guessed. I punched the button to weigh the fruit attached the sticker to it and went on with my shopping. When I arrived at the checkout the woman grabbed the fruit and scanned it, then forcefully handed it back to me speaking in Hungarian that it was not the correct sticker. I am standing there trying to communicate that I don't know what to do. With disgust she motions over a man and hands him the fruit to go get the correct sticker, I start to follow and she is still speaking frantically to me in Hungarian and I have no idea if she is saying follow or stay so I stay. Finally the man arrives back with the correct sticker on and we can then finish my order. This is just one of the many times I have not done something correctly and been told forcefully so, I am gathering that is what I am being told because the rolling of the eyes seem to indicate such. Anyway for the most part I just smile and try to figure it out. Maybe by the end of my year here I will know what sticker goes with what fruit... or maybe I will just go to the fresh fruit market, they were much more friendly there.