Weekend with the Ewings in Györ

Larry and Melinda Ewing, missionaries with the IMB invited for me to come to Györ for the weekend. We made connections in May through Larry's sister and our family friends the Carter's about meeting up together in Hungary. 

Through my coteacher Agi, she helped me figure out what buses I needed to take and directions for buying my first train ticket. I felt quite accomplished for finding my way, buying my ticket and getting on the right train. I met a teenage boy sitting next to me, Baloks, that helped translate when they used the loud speaker at stops and he was very interested in practicing English/learning what life is like in America. 

Larry was there to pick me up at the train station and then we headed to their Friday night Bible Study with about 30 high school students. The students were easy to talk to and it was so encouraging to see how they take a proactive role for Bible study - leading, planning, worship, activities, games, clean up, etc. 

On Saturday, we had "Ranchero scrambled eggs" with fruit for breakfast and went to Vivian's apartment for a meeting to discuss future plans for Friday Night Bible study. Vivian is also a missionary with the IMB and the Bible study is at her flat but she will be coming back to the States at the beginning of November. She has been serving in Hungary for 12 years! The Ewing's took me to lunch and we enjoyed vanilla latte's together from McCafe! They showed me around their beautiful town. I got to see the city square, court house, Jewish synagogue, old ruins, an art galley and more! We stopped in a tea room on our way back that we walked by that was new and they had never been to before. It was such a nice setting, comfortable chairs, peaceful surrounding and delicious drinks! I got a dark hot chocolate speciality drink and it was like pudding. It was so good! We came back to their house and rested after being on our feet all afternoon. We ate dinner together and they showed me summary videos of their ministry for the past three years. It was incredible to hear stories of how the Lord has opened doors and provided.

 Sunday morning was home church with about ten other people. We sang hymn and worship songs and then Agi (she has been apart of their ministry for awhile and translates too) taught from John 15. The Ewings, Vivian and I went to lunch at the mall and got to visit some more and then headed to the train station for my departure. It was such an encouraging weekend and such a blessing to be with them. Even though we just met this weekend, I felt like we were already friends. They took such great care of me and I am SO thankful!! 

Town Square

Jewish Synagogue 

Jewish Synagogue

Jewish Synagogue

Yummy Hot Chocolate

Things I have learned

Chirket (not correct Hungarian spelling but it's how I read it) means chicken

Decathlon is a great sports store. 

IKEA is about ten minutes away from me on the 140 bus. 

A walnut and cherry tree are in the garden (the backyard/playground). There are some raspberry bushes too!

Fun with Families

Spending time with families have made me feel at home and welcome here in this new place. The Gibson's are a missionary family that I met at Danube International Church that live in my neighborhood. It is roughly a five minute walk to their home. Last Sunday, they took me to church and we went to Burger King for lunch. There is a yogurt and herb salad dressing that has become my new favorite. I stopped by their house last week for a small visit and to borrow a an American movie! 

The Baker's are a family I met my first week in Budapest through Trey and Elise Atkins because they are missionaries with the IMB together. They hosted me in their home for pizza night on Friday evening. April was so thoughtful and made one using chickpea flour, it was delish! They have four wonderful children that are so welcoming and fun to be friends with. They dropped me off at Rainbow Hills and took a tour. The kids loved the gym upstairs and hopefully we can plan some play dates and sleepovers. 

The Stanteen family had me over this past Saturday and invited me to come watch some Aggie football on Saturday. Their oldest daughter, Chelsea, enjoys art and they had some left over face paint from a Back to School picnic earlier in the day so she did a pink and purple butterfly on me! Their son Cade enjoyed painting his arm while Chelsea painted me. I spent the night and we walked to their church, International Baptist Church Budapest in the morning that met in a high school. The "girls" went to lunch together and did a little grocery shopping and the boys, Larry and their two sons stayed at home because nap time was soon. I am so thankful for the Stanteen's and their precious kiddos who are so much fun to be around and play with. 

On Tuesday and Thursday, I am tutoring a boy in the fourth grade with English. This family was recommended to me by a former employee at Rainbow Hills. After tutoring on Tuesday, they invited me to stay for dinner because it was the last summer evening. They grilled pork and chicken, veggies and we had delicious ice cream for dessert. It was a delightful evening and I am enjoying getting to know a Hungarian family! The weather is now in the 50's. 

What I've learned:

Squash is the name for the sport racquetball.

Some Hungarians do not wash their hair everyday. Maybe 1-3 times a week. 

Sandwiches generally have one slice of meat, maybe two. 

There is a meat spread to put on bread like we use peanut butter in America. The kids ate it for breakfast and many asked for seconds. 

A New Routine

There are ten children in our class and two teachers. The schedule is quite simple and similar to one in America. The day begins and ends with free play as the children are arriving and leaving. We eat breakfast together which generally consists of bread, milk or tea or corn flakes. We go upstairs for circle time. Our focus this week was reviewing numbers and letters. We go to the garden (backyard) for free play for one hour. Lunch is served with two courses everyday. They serve traditional Hungarian foods which includes pasta, soups and vegetables. The cook here is able to use corn flour instead of all purpose flour when preparing my food. After lunch is time to brush teeth and have craft time or work in workbooks for fine motor skills. We head upstairs for a puppet show or story time then it is nap time for an hour and a half. We have snack that is generally fruit and crackers or bread. They eat bread at almost every meal. Then it is time to play outside and go home!

Most of the children do not speak much English which makes it quite difficult for me to communicate with them. They hear and understand but have to think very hard to respond back in English. At the beginning of the week, I felt a little helpless because the kids were standoffish because they did not know me. They would try to talk to me but I couldn't understand them so I was continually pointing to Agi, my coteacher. As I have been learning the routine and spending time with the kids, they are slowly warming up to me. During recess, the kids would give me blank stares when I would talk. On Friday, a little girl asked me to put a flower in her hair and to come play with her after school. Each day progress is made with the kids being more comfortable with Engish. 

Job Chart

Children playing dress up during free play

Books

What I've learned

A smile is a smile no matter what language. 

Hungarians have a list they have to choose from when naming their child. Throughout the year is a day that your name is celebrated called Name's Day.

Poppy seeds are much cheaper and sold in a larger quantity here.

When checking out at a market, it is much faster to pay with forints than visa or mastercard.

My First Week in Budapest

On Monday, Elindi a fellow teacher from South Africa who also lives at the school, went to get our transportation cards for the city. It took a little longer than expected due to communication and needing a certain size picture of ourselves but we just laughed along the way. Then, I went to go meet Elise Atkins!! Trey and Elise were the missionaries in residence at Ouachita  this past year. They currently live in Bratislava. Trey had a meeting with his colleagues with the International Mission Board so Elise and I had time to catch up and go to the mall next door for coffee. We all went to dinner together with their boss at a wonderful restaurant in the city outside. 

On Tuesday, we (the Atkins, their boss and I) went to the Castle District with Trey, a missionary with IMB in BP, being our tour guide. I remembered being there seven years ago with the Prestonwood choir on mission trip taking pictures. We all went to lunch at Arriba!, a Mexican food place like Chipotle. They all had a meeting at two with the other IMB missionaries in BP that I joined in on. I can't express what an encouragement this time of gathering, prayer and fellowship this was to me. Connecting with other missionaries and knowing about the ministry occurring was a wonderful blessing. We ate dinner together outside in the city.

On Wednesday and Thursday were teacher training days. Wednesday we talked about procedures, policies, curriculum, calendar. In Hungarian, Kindergarten is called "óvoda" which is anything before first grade, ages 3-7. At Rainbow Hills, I am teaching in the "middle house" which is considered PreK in America. So, I am teaching at a Kindergarten but it is the PreK age group. Thursday, we cleaned out old things and put up decorations in the houses.

On Friday, Elindi and I went into town together. Here are a few pictures I took of the city.

On Saturday, Elindi, Fruzi and I went to the Szechenyi Bath House. Fruzi is another teacher at Rainbow Hills who is from Hungary and went to college In the States. 

Here is a little history on it compliments of budapesthotelstar.com: It is one of the largest bathing complexes in Europe, the premier medicinal bath of Pest- Its thermal springs were discovered in 1879; they are the deepest and hottest ( 74 - 75 C. ) thermal wells in the capital. The neo - Baroque baths were built in1913, the swimming pool in 1927. 

Things I have learned:

If a dish is red, it is Hungarian because of the paprika they use to flavor the food.

At school, kids have inside shoes and outside shoes for the playground.

Sour cream and shredded Trappista cheese is used for a sauce on pasta if you don't have any meat.

Tortilla chips, salsa and peanut butter are found on the international isle (in every grocery store i have been to so far).

Fruit teas are VERY common, there are many choices. I tried banana and cinnamon tea the other day.

Arrival in Budapest

When I borded the plane, the flight attendant greeted me with "good morning." It was eight pm.  Ha! My flight to London went well and I had plenty of time to get to my terminal walk around to check out the stores and then head to my gate when it opened. I was a little bummed the free wifi was not working but oh well. Although my flight to Budapest was much shorter it felt three times as long. I tried not to sleep the second flight to help with the jet lag soon to come. I got my luggage from the belt and followed the doreen doors to the exit. I look around for my boss. He is not there. I wait  and patiently look around trying to not look "too much out of place." A guy about my age next to me offered to help and allowed me to use his phone. What a blessing! I had the number saved on my iPad of some missionaries about an hour away from Budapest. I was able to call them and they were able to connect me with the Borders. The Borders are a couple that invited me to go to church with them on Sunday and join them for church after I arrived. The Borders were in town and able to pick me up within 20 minutes. As they walked through the doors, I just felt tears stream down my face. Overwhelmed with God's provision and the way He provided the Ewings and Border's for me. I went home with the Borders for the night until I could contact my boss, Laci. 

Laci and his wife picked me up and felt very bad. They were very apologetic and got the date wrong in their mind and the time,he was thinking 6am versus 6pm. 

By God's grace and goodness, I made it safely here and spent the night with the wonderful Border's that have welcomed and introduced me to so many things here. 

The Border's picked me up for church at Danube International which reminded me of Fellowship church in Arkadelphia. We enjoyed lunch together with their friend Steve who came with us too. Cile Took me to the store, Tesco, which is kinda like the Walmart. It's connected to the mall, how funny is that?! The escalators are like ramps that you can use your buggy on and the tires "catch on" so you don't have to hold on to it as you go down. Cile shared with me how to pronounce things, what words mean and all around the mall and Tesco. I am so thankful. 

Things I have learned:

Shower curtains are not found as a necessity here

Milk (Tej) can be bought unrefridgerated and is kept cold after it is opened. 

Air conditioning is only really used like 2 months out of the year so most homes don't have it.

Windows can open from the top or the side, depending on how you open the handle. 

Pictures on food labels are extremely helpful. 

GF options are available but much more common in US. 

Extended Family Vacation

The Teed’s were very generous and gave us a week to stay in their condo in Keystone, Colorado! We arrived in Keystone on a Monday and decided to plan our week day by day. First on the agenda was bike riding, scoping things out around town, ski lift ride to the mountain and a visit to Breckenridge for some Alpine Slides. 

Wednesday we planned a trip for White Water Rafting on the Colorado River in Buena Vista and enjoyed some delicious food from Mi Casa in Breckenridge. 

Sarah wasn’t feeling to well that night and thought it might be food poisoning. (which would have been a bummer because we all LOVED the restaurant and they were super about Gluten Free options) She was pretty low key Thursday and Friday. Dad and I went mountain biking and went to a BBQ cook off festival in the neighboring town Dillion. Mom and I went shopping at the outlets in Siverthorne. 

Over dinner on Friday we decided to take a visit to the doctor to make sure everything was okay with Sarah because she was still in pain from Wednesday night. Low and behold, she goes in for emergency surgery at 2:00 am for her appendix. It ruptured and had been for awhile. She was very sick. Doctor Lee came back after surgery to give the report that there was 20-30% chance that not all the infection was out and we would potentially need to go to Denver. She was expected to have a fever over 100 for the next three days. We would be in the hospital for 6-10 days. This was not exactly the best news ever. Sarah had orientation for work on Wednesday and needed to get to Belton for nursing school to start on the 20th. 

We took things day by day. Each day, Sarah made progress and began to recover remarkably. Even though we were so far from home we felt the love from home with flowers, prayers and many encouraging texts. We were so thankful for her doctor, the nurses and great staff at Summit Medical Center. The Teed's let us stay in their condo as long as we needed, it was such a blessing!! We were at such a wonderful hospital despite looking it up on google and knowing nothing about it. Sarah never had a fever and as her insides woke up, Dr.Lee planned for surgery to be all stitched up on Thursday. Sarah was discharged on Friday! Woo Hoo!!

The days that Sarah was able to eat, she had nurses that had Celiac and were able to help her pick some meals from room service that were delish! Mom and I ordered some GF pizza and french toast with berries while we were there. Dad and I found a book sale in walking distance from the hospital, fill 2 sacks for $5! I love a good deal ;)

Sarah and I flew home on Saturday from Denver (Thank you Aunt Melba!!) because the drive would have terrible. Sarah and I were a huge fan of the handicapped service at the airport - skipping lines, riding a cart to your gate, it was great! My roommate Katelyn picked us up from the airport and Mrs.Thomas picked up some groceries for us! 

We don't know who the mystery
person is who decorated the
door and made us feel so loved!

Sarah rested after the long day and then it was time to make a cake for Mom’s birthday on Sunday. 

GF Cinnamon Cake with a sparkler candle on top!

Aunt Melba came in town! Mom and Dad drove from Denver in one day on Saturday. Sunday we unpacked and a did a bit of cooking for Sarah to take with her, thanks to Pinterest! I made Potato Soup, White Chicken Chili, Italian Chicken, a foil dinner bag and some smoothie bags. 

After Sarah's doctor appointment on Monday, we packed and headed to Belton. After setting up her room, we headed back. That was one hard, "see you later." She is simply THE BEST! We are continuing to pray for full recovery despite the full load that nursing school brings. 

August Beginnings

Part of the Staley family came for a visit while Karis was at camp and Brother Jaime was in Ukraine on the mission trip. We went shopping at IKEA, Sam Moon and Thrift City! We enjoyed feeding the ducks, going to playground and playing with some bubbles! 

Yummy Brownie Sundaes!

Dad and I made a trip to Jewett and met my wonderful Aunt Ann for a lunch. We got in the Jeep and drove up some hills on the land. She always makes me laugh and gave me a wonderful suitcase for my next big trip!

We fit in a little shooting, hence the headphones.