Meet the Family!

Well, I've got to catch up and tell about my time in England, so I will cover the rest of my time in Hungary as promptly as possible. Tonight my goal is to introduce the family.

My first weekend with the family, we went bowling. The boys had a different technique than any I've yet seen.

The amazing part is that it worked!

Really, take note! This is a good way to do it!

Miriam!

Benjamin and Oliver

Just look at those eyes!

Gotta love watching boys do daring things... like climbing walls everywhere. :)

Fun times!

A good afternoon with Mom and Dad in the ice cream shop. :)

A sweet moment captured on camera. :)

Matt, Melinda and the kids are a wonderful family and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to spend some extra time with them. The kids are well behaved and sweet, and just as human as anyone else. We all had our tired moments, but overall I'd say that my time with the family was most encouraging and positive.

One last tidbit! Matt and Melinda have needed a van for some time now, and Matt wanted me to write a little poem regarding this need. The idea was that they would send it out in their next newsletter. Well, I wrote the poem (below), and within two or three days, they had all the money that they needed for a van! The amazing thing is that they never even sent my poem out! :) So God really provided another way. But here is the poem, and really, if it is on your heart to support the Edwards family, give me your email address and I will get you in touch. I know they would appreciate it, and you would get to be a part of the ministry in Hungary!

Now for the poem! :)

A Van for the Edwards'

Let me tell you a story

Of the days of glory

When my team came to Hungary.

We were thrilled to be part

Of God's work in the heart

Of this European coun-tr-y.

Though our time here went well

I would like to just tell

How everything worked in the plan.

We held English class;

It was good, but alas,

It was far and we hadn't a van.

There were twenty of us

And only zero of bus,

So imagine our absolute dread

When we had to go walk

Four hundred blocks

With no option to drive there instead!

The next day was no better,

When, thanks to the weather

We found ourselves running through snow.

We weren't sure we'd survive,

But we did finally arrive

With our faces all red and aglow.

We stayed for some days,

And never ceased to amaze

Ourselves at the distance we ran.

For myself, I've stayed longer

And my legs have grown stronger;

For we still haven't got any van!

Dear friends, I confess

I have tried to impress

And have told you some things that aren't true.

I do not really relish

How much I embellished,

But really - if only you knew;

The Edwards' are great

And it isn't too late

To help them however you can.

So may I suggest

That they'd be very blessed

If they only had some kind of van.

Darkness in Hungary

Hungary.

As the train made its way into Tatabánya my eyes caught sight of many landmarks from last year. The cave up on the hill, for example. The old mining tower. And the bird.

The bird sits up on the hill above Tatabánya and seems to set the tone for the deep darkness that resides in the city. The legend goes that a bird (like the statue) impregnated a girl who had a son that ended up being the father of the Hungarian people. The city that this statue looks over is filled with witchcraft and all sorts of darkness. Hungary itself is perhaps 3% evangelical Christian, and that is a very generous estimate. But regardless of how lost and dark Hungary is, we do not belong to darkness or night. We are children of light and the Light of the World abides within us. We recognized this in many ways during our time there, and as I mentioned in my last blog, I was very grateful for the relationships that the Lord developed among us girls whilst we were yet in Italy and Austria. It created a solid foundation for what we faced in Hungary.

I had the chance several times to talk with a lady whose husband passed away a year and a half ago. She has two children. Her current boyfriend is manipulative and controlling.

There is a beautiful girl of fifteen at the church. She is mature and smart and has a pure and lovely heart. She moved with her mother to Hungary when she was ten. Her mother has withdrawn from her life, and her father is completely absent. There is a lot of hurt there.

A girl I remembered from last year talked to me this year about where her heart is. She believes in God, but also in a lot of other things, and her mother is into a lot of new age spiritualism.

There is another girl from last year who I spent time with this year. She is aching and striving for approval from her mother, but cannot gain it.

We kicked off our time in Hungary by accidentally leaving one of the girls on the train. Yes, that's right. Rachel was asleep in the middle of the train-car, and the rest of the team was split between the two ends of the car. So when we got off, everyone got off their end of the car and nobody passed Rachel! Fortunately she is pretty savvy about those things, so she did the right thing and simply got on a train back to Tatabánya when she woke up.

The team walked to Matt and Melinda Edwards' house and before long we were all supping on delicious Hungarian goulash. What a welcome! Then we discussed plans for the week and headed to the "hotel" for sleep. You must understand that this hotel is not exactly the Ritz. But it was the same one that we used last year, so I knew what to expect. I think that some of the others on the team were a bit surprised. It's the kind of place where you never actually feel clean. Part of that is due to the place itself - it's a place you would NOT take your family for a holiday. Another part of it is the ever-present smell of cigarette smoke. This smell actually became quite familiar to me in Hungary, because just about everyone smokes - inside and outside. I think, though, that some of the girls were pretty nervous about things other than the filth. There were a couple of disconcerting instances with the other guys in the building (Hungarians) which caused us to start doing things in groups. Perhaps we overreacted to small things, but it never hurts to be on the safe side.

A teacher at one of the schools shared with me last year about her past in the Catholic church. I prayed then that she might find Christ in the place of religion. This year she invited me to spend more time with her and we talked for a while before the class started. She was very open and honest about where she was at, and I pray that she may yet find comfort in a relationship with the Living God.

There is a girl whom I believe has a real relationship with Jesus Christ. She prays and reads her Bible, and from our conversation seems to take her faith seriously. She is the only girl that I have met (besides the ones at the church) who looks as if she has a real relationship with Christ. Please pray for her growth.

Another girl has a lovely heart and is dear and friendly. I do not know her well. I only know she wants love and recognizes it in us.

I had the honor of sharing a room with Jacque, Mauri and Becky. We laughed for a while, then headed to bed. I fell asleep almost immediately. Only a couple of hours later I awoke to some screams and a lot of crying. Although the girls explained things later, I didn't have to hear the explanation to know what was going on. There was a lot of spiritual attack happening, and the girls were freaking out a bit. I have experienced this type of attack more than I like, and I know the fear it can bring. But for some reason my heart was completely assured in Christ, and I held no fear at all. We ended up praying and reading Scripture for an hour or two; so it was a rough night, but much good came of it, and we saw God use it in a huge way to reassure our hearts and to bond us together in Himself as a room. After we all prayed, Mauri read Psalm 139 aloud to us. "If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night'; even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright day. Darkness and light are alike to You... when I awake, I am still with You"

The neat thing was that we continued to pray together each night for the rest of the week. Usually Jacque and I were the last ones in bed, but it became a sweet time. We would settle into our beds, turn out the light, and take turns praying and thanking God for all that He was doing.

I visited a girl down the road to help her practice her English. I believe she speaks very well, but she is very self-conscious and fearful of mistakes. We did play piano together, which was a wonderful ice-breaker; she plays beautifully. She wants to go to America for the summer to practice her English, but she is only 16 and all of the places she could volunteer want 18-year-olds. I would love to find her a family to visit who would let her help around the house. I think that one with younger children would be ideal, since she is so shy. It would break through the ice more quickly. I would love to find her an opportunity; especially a place with a great Christian family.

After spending all week teaching English classes in the schools and organizing English clubs, it was pretty heart-rending to say good-bye to the Ravencrest team. I grew to know and love each one better over the short duration of the trip... I can't even tell you how hard it was to say good-bye. Actually, good-byes don't usually impact me a whole lot. I mean, yeah, they're hard - but I don't cry and I don't feel super sad. This one was a bit different. After saying good-bye to the team, I went home to the Edwards family and retired to my room pretty quickly. I was emotionally drained, yet refreshed by the love of the saints, and thankful for every moment I had with them. But I still laid for a long time and shed some tears while I reflected on the week and sweet times with the team. No more praying with Jacque before bed. No more talks with Kate or Mauri, or the other dear girls.

God is working in the life of one Hungarian girl I know. I had the great privilege to hear some of this friend's struggles, and to share how God healed me from similar hurts. She called one night and told me, "I didn't realize I was in such a dark place, but God is healing me as well. Thank you for sharing those things that you did." Talk about being humbled; I said nothing except the words that the Lord gave me. I was the smallest part of what happened, and this girl gained from it. That means that God spoke instead. I rest in that.

I only really know one Hungarian boy. He used to be a druggie, but he started hanging out with Christians and following Jesus a few years ago. His life has changed drastically, but now there are many new struggles. Please pray for him and for the rest of the people on this list.

My next weeks filled up quick as anything, and I will blog about them soon. I know that this post was a pretty different format from anything I've done so far, but I didn't know how else to share the relational depth along with the events that happened during the RC team week.

Pray for Hungary. There are a lot of lost people. And pray for the Christians in Hungary, that their hearts will be encouraged; that they will be bold in sharing their faith; that God will send more workers for the harvest. 

Please. Pray for Hungary.

Adventures in Austria

I will always remember my first day and night in Austria. (f you want to know why, you should ask me to email you my Europe journal from last year.) I knew that my visit this year would be very different. Oh sure, same place, but different people. And it was different - but not disappointing. :)

Since I booked all my plane tickets separately from the RC team, I arrived in Vienna, Austria, four hours before the group. I was supposed to sit in the airport and wait for them, but I instead I found Matt Edwards (our contact in Hungary) with Richy and Fruzsi (Hungarian friends) waiting for me in the airport! I was so confused! I didn't really piece together what was happening for a few minutes, but eventually we figured it out. Matt, after receiving the flight info I sent via email, thought that I was flying into Vienna and would be in Hungary for two days before the team arrived. (Vienna, by the way, is an hour and half from Tatabánya, Hungary.) So Matt came to pick me up... but in actuality, the team and I were about to head into Austria for two days and visit our Torchbearer schools there, THEN head to Hungary by train. Yeah... So that was confusing. But we got it all figured out eventually! Since I still had four hours to kill while I waited for the team to arrive, Matt and the others took me into Vienna and we visited a castle/palace place. It was pretty sweet.

Then Matt dropped me back off at the airport and I waited for the team. They arrived soon thereafter and we ran to catch our bus (just barely made it!). God provided an awesome opportunity for one of the girls (Kate) on the team to share the Gospel with the guy next to her. It was not a forced conversation; rather, he asked questions that led straight to the heart of the matter. Later, on the train, Kate and I talked about that and many other things. The conversation opened up a much deeper friendship for the two of us. I am thankful, because I wanted to spend some time with Kate since she arrived at Ravencrest. I was sorry that I moved back to California before we had a chance to talk. Kate does have a heart of platinum (Frank and I discussed this in Hungary), so you can imagine how neat it was to talk with her for a while.

We all arrived at Schloss Klaus late and went to bed soon after. I wandered through the castle first, and reminisced about my time there last year. Then I talked with the girls, and fell into a night of delicious slumber.

The next day was a delight. We woke up, ate breakfast, and walked to the station to catch our train to Schladming. The highlight of the day was our visit to the other Austrian Torchbearer center, Tauernhof. We ate lunch, had coffee at Tauernhof, kicked back for a few hours, then headed back to Schloss Klaus.

That evening the students put on a program for the Schloss Klaus students, and all went well. I was, however, a bit down. One of the guys unwittingly said something that hit a deep insecurity of mine. That carried over to the next day, but God faithfully reminded me that my security lies in Him. :) What a loving Lord.

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting several students at Schloss Klaus. No, there were not deeply kindred spirits, but there were students there who were overflowing with the life of Jesus Christ.

When we left for Hungary on Wednesday, March 16th. My conversations with the girls (on the team) during the train rides and at Schloss Klaus made me eager to continue ministering together in Hungary. Each of them is so special to me, so I am thankful for the two days in Austria when I had conversations with Becky, Mauri, Sarah and Jacque. I had no idea that these conversations were preparation for an even deeper bond that was yet to come through trial in Hungary.

Italy in Pictures

Esther and I talked about my next stay in Italy. It will be much longer. :)

Youth group! Wahoo!

We love Max!

This is really just in here because of Anna's forehead.

"Hello, Italy. You look sad today."

This is our normal. :)

Shaving cream. Confetti. Balloons. Snobs in the Prada store. Welcome to an Italian festival. :)

Third largest cathedral in Europe

A bit more festive craziness :)

Thank you, Damaske family, for opening your home to a bunch of crazy Ravencrest girls. We learned from you and grew to love each of you. I pray that I see you all again soon.

Austria in Pictures

Maybe this is why I love flying... :)

There was a miscommunication and Matt Edwards and some others from Hungary came to get me when I got off the plane. My plan was to continue with the group to Austria for the next two days, then come on Wednesday (with the group) back to Hungary. So Matt, Fruzsi, Richy and I went to Vienna for a few hours and visited a castle. :)

It's hard not to feel like a princess when the view from your castle window looks like this.

Yes, I know it's a terrible picture. But it's the only one I got. Google "Schloss Klaus" for something better. 

We found this hideous creature in the dungeon. One of the girls kissed him. He turned into a handsome prince. The End.

Italy

Italy stole my heart.

After a long, long plane ride, I arrived in Italy and experienced bad jet lag for the first time. The reason for this is that I had a nine-hour conversation on my Denver-London flight with the British guy next to me. He was very chatty and easy-going, and I don't think either of us planned to talk for nine hours. They just sort of slipped by... and we never really reached that awkward pause that you usually do with people on planes. So we just kept talking. It was a good conversation (obviously), but I knew I'd pay for it! I couldn't stay awake on my second flight (London-Milan), so I slept for a couple hours.

When I arrived at the house, the team was there, and many were asleep on the couch. I showered, which was glorious. Then I walked with some of the students and missionary kids to get gellato (sp?). Way to spend my first evening in Italy, right? :) We got back just in time to jump in the cars and drive to church for youth group.

At the youth group it was a bit intimidating. There were all these Italians and all us Americans... and sometimes breaching that wall is a little scary. But I figured, Hey, I'm here. I might as well go see if we can communicate. So I did. And we could! It was great and encouraging, and seemed to break the ice a bit. Pretty soon several of the Italian girls joined me in my row and the service began. Frank taught, and I stayed awake, in spite of my awful tiredness. :)

The next few days were filled with interesting events. Since I didn't journal very much they have run together a bit (sadly), but there are a few things that really stand out in my memory. I'll number them quickly.

1. I got to talk to several Italian girls about attending Ravencrest or other Torchbearer schools. Please pray for these girls - it would be such a neat opportunity, and such an encouragement for them and for their church.

2. One of the ladies at the church (Esther) asked Frank about whether it would be possible to get someone to come stay with her for a while. Frank called me over to talk to Esther, and there is definitely a possibility of me returning to Italy for a longer period. Granted, I'd have to come up with the money somehow, but God has done greater things than that, so I won't be too surprised if it works out. I am praying about this opportunity, for sure.

3. We handed out flyers one morning. Just before we handed them out, we were shown a video about the statistics of Christianity in Europe... and it was sobering. In Italy I believe that perhaps 1% of the people are evangelical Christian. I will try to find the video to post. So we pray that the flyers made it into the right hands and that seeds were planted.

4. Not speaking Italian seriously bothered me. :( If I go back I'm gonna have to spend some time learning at least some basic phrases. Maybe more.

5. There was a crazy festival that we attended in Milan, and there was shaving cream everywhere. I don't know what the festival was for, but it was pretty insane. Mostly, there was confetti, shaving cream, raw eggs and a lot of crazy people.

6. We saw all sorts of cool buildings. We did not see Da Vinci's The Last Supper, because only twelve people at a time can go in to see it, thanks to the deterioration and the extensive care that they must now take to preserve it. But I was closer to it than I've ever been before! :)

7. We got to stay in homes with the missionaries who we worked with. I could hardly believe the great extent of the hospitality. They served us in such huge ways. I felt loved and cared for, and wished with all my heart that I could have given more in return. One my favorite memories is the night where I asked Marni (the wife/mother) how she and David came to serve in Italy. She shared their story and we talked for quite a while. Another night we just hung out with the whole family and the kids postponed going to bed. :) You could tell that they were enjoying having guests as much as we enjoyed being there.

8. Nina - one of the missionaries - is one of the most expressive translators I have ever seen. I loved watching her translate to either language. She really put a lot into it!

9. My heart was captured by the Italians. I loved being with them and hope to return again soon.

It's past midnight here in Hungary. I will try to recap the last few weeks here as soon as possible. There is SO much to say about Austria/Hungary, and I feel I've left so much out about Italy... Ah, if I only had more time!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. All my love to all of you. And if you get bored, send me an email. It's been a while since I've heard from anyone except Candi and my parents.

Italy

Sorry, all. I accidentally posted my Italy blog twice. See above for the real details and please disregard this. :)