Spring is HERE!

So the flowers have started to bloom, the trees are getting green and the little squirrels are out.  I LOVE SPRINGTIME!  It's always a renewal for me.  I love to get out more, exercise and reorganize! Spring to me is like a relationship with Jesus.  God will wipe the slate clean, which is so amazing.  I think this time of year is a new beginning, a fresh start, a time to go forward.

Last week was Easter.  My sister, her husband and their daughter Everly came to town.  We had a good day!  Mom made a yummy lunch of ham, veggies, sweet potatoes, and our aunt Kim's strawberry salad recipe.  Then we went to hunt eggs and Adam's parents house.  The message of the day was that we will never be good enough to get to Heaven.  We need God!  And it's by His grace only that we are saved. It was our first Easter here in the states as a family.

Lately, our family has been discussing our options of where we will go from here. We know that God will provide if we are called to be "sent out ones" again. There is only so much planning and preparation we can do on our part.  The rest is faith.  I think and hope that we will leave this country again because I think that's our hearts.  It's not easy.  It's not a vacation.  But Lord willing we will be on a plane again. I have to remember that I am temporarily permanent.  Being in America is tough because it's easy to get wrapped up in this idea that we all deserve "The American Dream."  There's nothing in the Bible about that, haha.  I just finished reading CrazyLove.  Now I just started reading the Christian Athiest.  Good stuff that stretches your mind.  But really it is affirming what is in my heart.  I think we're all just scared to go there. Believe me, I'd love to stay here and live comfortably in a nice house that we've put our sweat equity into.  But I also know that we can downsize into something minimal and put the money toward missions.  There are so many options in this world.  Sometimes I don't like too many options.  Just narrow the choices! But anyway, I was just updating.  If you read this leave a comment, because I have no idea if anyone even reads this! :)

Catching up!

OK, so I'm not very good at blogging. I admit that!  Christmas was great!  Nic woke up, I told him good morning...he lay his head back down...then I told him it was Christmas morning.  His head shot up and his eyes opened wide. "Now we can open our presents!"  It took longer than usual to get to my in-laws across the state line.  The roads were still iced over (no thanks to the city salt trucks).  It was a typical big morning with lots of presents and chocolate gravy.  Our family was in from Nashville, LA and OKC.  When my sis- and brother-in-law got in later (bc the roads were bad on I-40)  they had special C-mas cards for us.  We had to open them all together.  On the front was a verse about good news coming from a foreign land.  We opened our cards to find the words "It's a Girl"  We all at once cried out and jumped up to give hugs.  Kevin and Andrea have waited so long to adopt from Ethiopia.  She is such a beautiful baby girl named Abigail.  She was born last May and should be in the States before the summer..hopefully sooner.  They brought out an even bigger pic of Abigail and Nyle started to kiss the photo.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  I was full of tears and emotion the whole weekend. After that we hurried to the movies to watch Aaron in his movie debut, "It's Complicated."  We did see him, but it was so quick!  We are all proud.  We did the usual thing of playing games with family and friends.  Also, we went to see grandparents in Stilwell.  It is tough when you are married with kids bc you really have to divide your time btw families when there are close in proximity.  I also got to hold baby Everly who is growing up fast.  My sis and her husband how live only an hour away.  So that is good.  We spent the New Years visiting our friends in Texas and going to IKEA.  We finally got beds!  I am very excited, but now I have to put them together.  When I got back, I was faced with a job opportunity.  I had a job interview on Monday...then a callback for a second interview on Friday.  It is with a former employer.  So just to be considered is a wonderful thing.  It is in God's hands.  I will just have to wait.  The open position actually turned out better than what I thought it was.  Adam started his new job on Monday.  He commutes an hour out of state.  It's not so bad.  Hopefully we will create some structure in our house soon.

Emotions

I have so many emotions right now. First of all, Mylo has been missing for a week and a half. I held out hope...even on a couple of leads, but when they turned up nothing I finally broke down and cried tonight. He has been my friend for nearly 6 1/2 years. He was there 2 weeks before we were married. He spent many nights in Stillwater sitting on our homework...as I tried to complete statistics problems. He watched as we drove away each morning to class. Mylo was there before any kids. He was strictly an indoor cat, but sometimes he was allowed in the back yard. There was a time when I was 3 months pregnant that I had to jump the fence to get Mylo in the neighbors back yard. This was no normal back yard, but a texas chainsaw massacre looking back yard. Scary stuff. but I managed to get Mylo after climbing a very tall fence and jumping over...and still made it to work on time. Mylo has been extremely friendly and has accompanied us on several of our moves. A few weeks ago he went to Nic's school to say hi to all the kids. He had a good time. I miss his fur. I miss his love. His brother Otis misses him, too. If there was a time lately where we didn't know where Mylo was, we just call his name and he RUNS up to the porch. He is a bit of a scaredy cat about things, too. He is jumpy. So it makes it that much more unusual that he just suddenly disappeared. Now, my mom did buy some food at the store that he didn't like. So that might have prompted him to leave. But we have been calling his name for so long now. It's just not like him. So I have prayed about it, given it to God and just said if it's His will, then Mylo will come home.

But today I repented for being so superficial. I mean, I know it's a cat! It's not a human! Some people do not even know if they are going to get a meal or medical care or a place to sleep! How petty that I am praying about my cat when there are children who need to be found! Right now, there are children who are not at home where they need to be. There are babies who have cancer, who are in so much pain! There are the parents who are on the journey with their babies going through all the treatments! My heart is broken. I don't even know what to do other then to give these things to God. Specifically, Collin Marsh. Words can't even express what I am feeling for him and his family! Thankfully they are believers. Some people have no hope. I'm concerned about my cat while people are dying who do not know Jesus.

Do I know Jesus? I try to. I try to get Jesus firsthand through reading the Bible. I want Jesus in my life. Each day is a struggle. In my opinion, it's a good sign you are a believer if you are struggling. If everything's fine, then start to worry.

So, I just have all sorts of emotions right now. I am sad about Mylo, I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing in this life (where to live, what to do for money, etc.) Nic's best friend is moving and I am going to miss them so much. Because honestly, I haven't heard from many people since we have been back. And it's been Anderson's mom, Erin, who has really reached out and been so sweet and such a great friend. I am feeling some depression and overall sadness. And it's the Christmas season which probably depresses me more that we as a country miss the point. And it's super cold outside!

Maybe people haven't gotten in contact with us bc they feel we owe them an explanation. Well, you will get the filtered explanation if you ask. And if you have a problem that we came home from Hungary, I guarantee there are places in the world where you can go serve as a missionary if you're that concerned about it!

Fall is Here!

So it's November now. I am not great at blogging at all. I do have all these thoughts all the time, but just don't get around to blogging! My boys are pure joy! Motherhood is the toughest job- EVER! It would be a whole lot easier just to drop them off and go to a professional job. I've been there and done both. Being at home with the kids is full...by that I mean that it is a full day and there is not a dull moment. It's an honor though that I get to be Nic and Nyle's mom. Lately I have been looking up to Mrs. Duggar. She is just so calm. I am really interested in their family and really think their life is simplified and they are living according to their convictions. My convictions are not theirs and vice versa. But I think it's amazing that God created us all different with unique qualities that we might be able to relate to different people.

On Monday when we picked Nic up from school (Nyle had diarrhea and was unable to attend) Nic's teacher took Adam aside and told him what our son had said...oh no! Well, it wasn't a cuss word or anything but Nic was sitting on the steps just minutes before we got there. A girl in his class said that her grandpa had died. Nic's response was "yeah, my dad's dead. He was shot." can you imagine? he is such a story teller! His little brain is always thinking up something new.

So on Halloween Adam and I stayed home and passed out candy and watched the game. The boys went to Meme and Papa's church.

This life is flying by fast! We will always be seeking where we are supposed to be. This transition from the international mission field back to American life in the States has been tough!

venting

Dear midwives, please keep your phone on silent.

Dear mothers-in-law, please keep your birthing stories to yourself during someone else's labor.

Thanks!

A place to lay my head...

God is definitely my provider of all of my needs. I am very grateful that I never have to worry about that. But as I was reading my Bible the other day I had a question. Jesus didn't have a place to lay his head. So are we supposed to be like Jesus in that aspect? Are we supposed to even have a house and have a mortgage? But then I thought about how Jesus depended on others so that he could have a hot meal and a place to sleep. Anyway, this is just one of many thoughts that go through my head. Seems like the more I dive (or delve?...I'll have to look that up) deeper into the Bible, the much more I realize I do not know. I have SOOO many questions that probably make me look like I am not that spiritually mature. But sometimes you have to go back to the basics and really think about things. Right now at this moment I am sitting in my sister's house in a room with a very slow computer. I was helping her with her labor of her first child. Then it seemed like I might just be in the way, so I retreated back here. I go check on her about every 15 minutes. She is progressing well and doing a good job with the home birth. I am very bored and dependent upon Facebook to have communication with the world out there.

Seems like I am just horrible about blogging. Well the boys started school a couple weeks ago. Nic is in the 4-year-old class and Nyle Anker is in the class with one-year-olds. Nyle Baba cries every time. It's so sad to leave. He's a good boy though. They give him his blanket and then he's probably fine. Today is yellow week for Nic. The kids are supposed to wear yellow and all I could find was a 3T shirt. So it was too small, but that's all the yellow we had. Well, we also had a school T-shirt but it was like a size 10, so that didn't work too well. I try to be a good mom and have all their paperwork filled out and all their family pictures ready and Nyle's diapers ready with his name on them. Being a mom is tough! It's a lot of work and I think two is manageable!

Well, I will go for now. But I just wanted to update!

Another new beginning

So I know that God says nothing in the Bible about promising that you'll live this happy American life in a house that is furnished like a picture out of Better Homes & Gardens, BUT...this is just one desire of my heart...I think of most women's hearts. Women desire to make a home. I personally have come a long way in this area. I think that God understands that women use their home as ministry... to their family, friends, neighbors.

I have a deep desire to settle in for a while. I don't really think I know what that means though. Since I have been married to Adam (we're on our 7th year) we have lived in 7 different places...that I remember! My life has basically been chaos since I said "I do."

But I remember that God says that He will take care of our needs...and of course he has. I just want to be able to have a bed...not from a yard sale and not a hand me down. Is that too much to ask? We just purchased our 4th home (experts, right?)....we sold everything we own to move to Hungary...and when I say everything...I mean everything! OK, so we have some toys and wedding china in storage, but that's about it people! Sometimes I'm selfish and want a housewarming party to start us out right. Like a sweeper like the one I had in Hungary would be so great for our wood floors. Something so simple like that would really make me happy!

Cleaning supplies makes a mom happy! WOW, I never knew it would come to that, but then again, I didn't think shaving my legs would turn into a luxury either!

So I have been peeling through the layers of wallpaper in bedrooms...hoping to get to the sheet rock. It's been a fun, difficult and surprisingly an emotional experience. I see that someone a long time ago (1940s) took the time to put that up. In the boys' room I discovered a heart drawn on the wall with an arrow through it. How sweet! combine that with an afternoon of country music and you've got tears from Jennah.

I am just so emotional lately. the other night I silently cried myself to sleep as I was praying for our friends in Budapest. I knew that their day was just beginng and April was probably getting the kids ready and making breakfast. They used to be a train ride away. April and her husband Monte are such an encouragement to me. So I just missed them! I am sad that we are back in the States.

but I am glad that the boys will be going back to school this fall.

This is just another new beginning for me and for our family. No telling how long we will be here.

Broken heart and baby shower

So God has really broken my heart lately. It seems like I want to cry about everything. I could just cry at any moment, especially when I think about Hungary. I miss it. But I know we are supposed to be here right now. The other day I was convicted by not being bold enough for Jesus. I was talking to someone about Hungary and mentioning something about the culture. The person said, "I wonder why that is?" And my response was "I don't know." But the truth is that I do know. It's because Jesus is not their Lord. That is the answer. So why was I not bold enough to say that? Was I afraid of offending anyone? So what if I did! So I repented and cried into my pillow the other night. I have also cried a lot inside and out because of the Holocaust. We have watched so many movies about it since January. We lived in a place where thousands of people were actually killed. I saw the shoes that line the Danube in Budapest. My heart is just broken that it happened! No telling the many many stories we have not heard about. It really was not even that long ago that it happened! This life is just so precious, and to see such evil in the world disgusts me and makes me run to God that much more. But what would we expect out of the world? It's the world! Just like we should not put Christian standards on non-Christians and judge them. We need to love people. All too often Christians get puffed up and self-righteous like their sin is "nowhere near as bad as that person's." All God wants us to do is lead people to him. In my opinion, it is not our job to "fix" people's lives. Once people read the Bible, God will begin to work on their hearts. We are to love them and show them compassion. I'm tired. I think people have a misunderstanding of what Christianity is because we (imperfect humans) have complicated it!

On another note, I had a really good weekend spending time with my husband's siblings (minus Aaron) and their spouses. We showed them the house that we should close on soon. On Sunday I helped with a baby shower for a dear friend. I was sitting by the pool and got the idea to write a poem for her and her baby. I sat down to write it and then came up with the idea to make it acrostic to spell out the baby's name. We had a good time at the shower, and I enjoyed having some girl time and catching up with some old, dear friends. Moms just need to re-fuel like that sometimes. I don't have a photo bc my camera's new memory card did not cooperate. What's funny is that at the baby shower I was talking about my sister who is due about the same time as my friend Joelle. And I was looking at all the girly gifts and said "My sister's having a girl. Oh I can't wait so I can spoil her." Then I was like, "did I just say that?!" My sister doesn't even know what she's having! It's funny bc I just assumed she's having a girl, and I caught myself.

Here is the poem I wrote for baby Talitha (Tal-i-tha)

The time has come for your baby girl to arrive
All the planning and waiting since you were a bride
Little fingers and toes, we’re counting the days
It’s a time to rejoice, a time to give thanks
To God our Creator who knew from the start
How this world would be changed and so would our hearts
All because of Talitha Jaine

Back to the States

After much prayer and careful consideration, we decided to return to the States. This was not an easy decision by any means. We come back humbly and are so grateful for the opportunity to serve in Hungary and build our relationship with Zsofi and Zoltan. They actually plan to visit/live in America for a couple years to save up some money so that they can start a family. Getting back has been an adjustment. It will take some time I think to assimilate back into this culture. The first "culture shock" for me was on the plane when they offered me a drink... and in it was a bunch of solid clear cubes called ice. WOW. And unlimited refills at restaurants! Crazy! We are quick to remember how wasteful Americans are...along with their loudness. And how crazy it is in America to walk to the store- it either means your transportation broke down or you did not have any to begin with. Such norms in Hungary are not norms in America. We have different views on many things now that we have been through this experience. But it wasn't about us; it never was. It's about people hearing the Truth and making a decision to give their lives to Jesus. But we can't help but be changed. We want to give God the glory and continue to live for him each day- no matter where we are or what our circumstances are. We have gotten some jobs to get us by for now and to help our family. Who knows where we will be this time next year. I think it's important to always question why you are where you are, and if you are honoring God through that. I will write again soon, but I just wanted to update this. I need to get better at blogging.

JK

The pic is of our last night with Zsofi and Zoltan. Years ago she painted a watercolor of a famous building in Pecs, and she presented it to us. How special!

Pig's blood and picnic

Yesterday was such a great day!!!  We were invited by Zsofi to go out into the erdo (forest).  Basically we went to a campground area just outside of town in a nice village.  It is very Hungarian to assign people items to bring (kind of like a potluck).  So we got the tomatoes and peppers.  A couple of guys went to get some sticks.  They then sharpened the sticks to put on the bacon (that was from a pig slaughtered at Zoltan's family's village-there's a story behind this, too), onion and kolbasz (kind of like a shish-ka-bob).  We then put it over the campfire.  I was quickly corrected to put the food over the ash to cook and not over the flame, as we Americans like to do.  We like to have things done immediately, but not the Hungarians.  They stand there for 10-15 minutes cooking over ash.  Kind of symbolic because it takes years and years of discipleship before they make a decision for Christ.   So anyway, about the bacon...apparently it is a HUGE event for a family when they slaughter a pig.  Everyone gets together in the village to watch.  Then they actually drink the pig's blood!  Zoltan says it's so yummy with breakfast.  I think I dry heaved.  They save all the insides to cook such as the kidneys, lungs and of course the all-important, valuable spine cartilage-this is good on toast I hear- oh, and I can't forget the tongue-very expensive.  So anyway, I am roasting this "bacon"  which really just looks like a piece of pure fat off who knows where.  I like mine crunchy anyway, so I stand there a long time even after I'm told it is done.  The thing to do is catch the fat drippings onto your slice of bread-kind of like a sauce I guess.  So the time came to try it-and it was good!  Add a little sliced tomato and you've got dinner.  We spent the entire afternoon there until the sun went down.  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  But there was a little problem going into it.  Nic had a twisted ankle-an injury he acquired on the playground- and he couldn't walk well, plus he hadn't gone #2 for two days.  So NATURALLY the urge to excrete would come as we are surrounded by trees.  After a few attempts and threatenings from his parents, he finally got rid of the monster from his belly.  This is about half-way through the day.  Then, amazingly, he felt fine enough to run and play and "search for animals" in the forest.  Nic is very social and, fortunately, the Hungarians really like to play and practice their English with him.  Nyle just chilled and was laid back-Zsofi loves to hold him.  We had a great time of fellowship and meeting new people.  We met a woman named Sue who teaches English and Hungarian.  We talked a lot about why we are here and about American culture contrasts- her twin brother lives in the States. She said that she would love for us to come to her class sometime to talk to her students. Adam and I like to meet people where they are.  We are very grateful that they included us.  Nic said he had fun at the picnic and kept saying "bye picnic" as we were leaving.

Sunshine Day!

Today is a beautiful day in Hungary!  The sun is shining (I think the birds are singing).  Usually it is pretty gloomy here, which matches the moods of the nationals.  I think for many who are with our company, the "honeymoon" stage of the mission field is over!  For us, it didn't last long to begin with.  It has sunk in that we are living here, that the boys will only see their grandparents on Skype, that we will do without many of our American comforts, that we are here...until the Lord gives us permission to return to the states.   As the weather does get warmer here, it makes us miss home that much more.  Besides my family, I mostly miss my mom's cooking.  She is the best cook ever!  Besides just having to adapt to a new culture, we are adapting to a new life, new job...even new cooking.  The Lord is showing us a lot since we have been here.  I think that we constantly need to be questioning what God would have us do and what is the next step in life.  We definitely do a lot of thinking and discussion as we are here.  I think even if we went back to America now after being here 3 months, we would experience culture shock.  I bought some anti-stress body wash.  Adam says that will not help me.  Today we took the boys to the park and Nic got a chance to play with his friends...the bugs.  How sad.  He had to go pee pee, so I just took him behind the tree. That's the Hungarian way.  Tonight we are going to the Ironman house again for dinner with our national friends.  Their dodolle is awesome!  I can't wait for the dodolle festival in September.  I want to learn how to make it.  Today Nyle did something funny, as he always does.  But this poor baby always acts like he's starving.  He had crumbs all over him and so I asked Nic where his sandwich went, and he said in Nyle's belly.  So Nyle stole Nic's peanut butter sandwich and scarfed it down.  He is a bigger baby than Nic was and likes food.  Well, I just wanted to update the blog.  I will try to get more consistent.

Love from the States!

Today is St. Patrick's Day!  And although we are not Catholic, I think it is a fun holiday to celebrate as far as the festivities.  I LOVE green!!! Apparently it's the color of the spring season in the states, so I've heard.  So today I am head-to-toe in green clothes from my ponytail holder to my shoes that Susan got for me.  Usually I make green pancakes and green eggs to celebrate the event, but we do not have any food coloring.  I have collected 4-leaf clovers since I was little.  I have jewelry(the ring Adam got me in 2002, and the necklace and earrings my mom got from Japan) and towels and clothes.  Some might think that it is paganistic for me to do such a thing...4-leaf clovers...isn't that believing in luck?  Well, I would like to say that to me, 4-leaf clovers represent the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and God's grace.  I think it is an opportunity to share the gospel.  It's by grace that we are saved, through faith and not by works. Anyway, I would also like to take this time to point out that in the Bible, Peter did not want anyone to bow down to him in person, so why would we bow down to his statue??...tangent, I know but still relevant on this day.

This week (it's only Tuesday) has been a week that we have been showered with gifts from home.  A dear friend of ours who sang in our wedding, Julie, sent us a care package with lots of goodies in it including pancake and biscuit mix and the coveted syrup.  Also included were three issues of The World of Gospel magazine.  This is a fairly new magazine that is circulated in the River Valley area.  Well it just so happened that Lydia Joseph-George, the editor/creator, was dropping some off at the post office so Julie put some in there.  Lydia told Julie to have me e-mail her to see what I thought of it.  So I e-mailed Lydia yesterday to tell her what I thought.  She was sooo nice! She is a former 5News anchor and reporter, so I told her how I always wanted to take my passion for news and meld it together with my passion for getting the "good news" out there.   She told me that she would be interested in having me write some stories maybe every 2-3 months.  Of course I'm thrilled.  I would love to communicate what is going on in the world through my missionary eyes.  So that is a praise for me!  

Also this morning, a package arrived from my mom, dad and brother.  In it was Valentine's candy and brownie mix and Skittles and green St. Paddy's Day dish towels to name a few.  She also got Nic the green goblin ...so now he has the villain!  Yay, now we get to fight the bad guy all over the house. At this moment, he is whining because the tiny yellow ball that the goblin throws won't stay in his hand.  This should be fun. Anyway, we greatly appreciate people thinking about us and sending us pkgs.  I almost feel spoiled.  Really we can make it just fine in a foreign country without syrup and pancake mix and comforts from home.  We are fine without all that.  But it sure helps the mood around here.   

Well that's all for now.   Just wanted to update.  Thanks for all the love!!!

Our Fam

Here is a recent photo of our family!

Growing up!

Nic & Nyle are growing up fast!   When we got here Nic could barely reach the lightswitch in his room and was still in pull-ups.  Now he's a big boy, wearing big boy underwear and doesn't need our help to make his room... which he refers to as a dark, scary cave... light again.  He has also been consistent going pee pee in the potty.  We are still working on #2.  He's had some accidents.  I've done some reading and it talked  about expecting a setback when there has been something traumatic in a child's life such as a "big move."  Well poor Nic has been though a lot.  He has lived in 5 places in the last year.  The other day he said  "after we live in this house, then we'll move to a new house."  He just expects it.  The kid has no stability.  BUT he does have stability in knowing that his parents will be there for him and the Bible is our foundation for everything we do.  Little Nyle..."Baba Nyle" is what we call him now...has developed so much.  He is pulling himself all around the house, making his way from room to room.  He HAS officially crawled, but he really just likes sliding.  Then when he gets where he wants to be (usually the bathroom for some reason, I don't know maybe he wants to be potty trained) he pulls up on everything to stand up.  He really prefers to stand.  He does the yoga move downward dog a lot trying to stand up on his own.  So most the time if he's fussy we'll just prop him up next to the couch and he is fine on his feet.  I think he will walk early.  Nic just breaks my heart though.  He has such an imagination.  He'll pretend MeMe and PaPa are here.  He'll go to the door, let them in and then show them his room.  I'll be playing with him and he'll say "tickle me, Vow" (Vow is my mom)  I'll tickle him and play "boo" like Vow does, and he'll keep calling me Vow.  Sometimes Nic will say that he's going to get on the airplane and fly home.  It's just so sad.  He's even had me pretend that I'm Mylo and he is Otis.  You know it's bad if he misses the cats.  But I am so thankful for Skype and that we can talk to and see our relatives on a pretty regular basis.  I'm also so SO thankful for the generous packages sent to us here.  We've had a couple people from church send us our "want" and "we miss"  items.  They definitely help.  We feel loved and supported...and frankly it just makes us feel better to have tortillas and peanut butter on hand.  Of course my mom and dad (Tim & Donnetta) and in-laws Rick & Cynthia have also sent things for the boys and for us.  But prayer is the most important thing we can ask for.  Just because we are m's doesn't mean we are immune to problems.  Our geography just changed.  In fact, can you imagine spending all day every day with your spouse?  Some might say, "oh how wonderful."  For the most part it is great, especially to have Adam help with the boys, BUT it's good to have time away to re-charge.  It does get stressful here with language learning.  We have private lessons every morning for 2 hours (1 hr. each for now till Nic gets to go to school).  I get worked up about it because I just want to do my best.  Hungarian is very difficult.  The nationals even say it is.   Anyway, we have spent a lot of time reading our Bibles.  When we went to Budapest, Larry & Melinda, a couple serving on our team, gave us each The Daily Walk Bible.  It has been soooo good.  The translation is just so understandable and it takes you through the whole Bible day by day.  I have never read through the Bible.  Right now I am reading through the Old Testament.  It has brought about so many questions that I have.  I am keeping a journal of my thoughts about it.   It definitely makes me that much more thankful that Jesus came to earth.  Adam has been getting involved with playing basketball here and running with our language teacher's boyfriend.  I am still working on getting together with some people.  It's tough to work around nap times.  We all look forward to the warm weather, which should be here in a month or 2.  Our Hungarian friends say that we can go camping sometime when it gets warm.  We tried to explain to them Smores, well first we had to explain marshmallow...but they look forward to it and so do we!   I have had so many thoughts in my head and I really just love typing because I'm so much faster at it than writing in my journal.  Blogging is new to me, so I hope to get up to speed on all this.

Life Moves Pretty Fast!

So I know this blog has taken forever to create.  This is Jennah typing now, and I will probably be the one who keeps it up-to-date most of the time.  We have lived in Hungary for a little more than two months now.  We've had mixed feelings about it as far as if we're being used to our full potential.  But we are glad that we are here.  We felt God calling us to missions.  Too many people get caught up in the "American dream" ...the house, the kids, the pets, the friends, the cars, the school...we were willing to give all that up to see what God can do through our lives.  It's not that having all those things is bad.  I just think that we need to be open to what God would have us do for Him.  And if we are bogged down by materials, and those are preventing us from being free to just pick up and go when the Spirit leads, then it's time to re-evaluate.  I am not at all trying to put ourselves on a pedistool(sp?) by any means.  But I am saying that we should always be prepared when God wants us to do something, and not be like...whoa, wait a minute God I've got this car payment, or I really wanted my child to stay with his classmates and start T-ball.  I'm not gonna lie.  This has been a tough transition.  It is not easy to sell most everything you own, narrow it down to about 15 bins.  But if we never made the move then we would always wonder, "what if?"  When I get frustrated living in a foreign country or burned out because I have not had a break from my kids except to walk to the store and back, or simply get overloaded with learning the language and need a break...I will think of why we came.  It isn't for our own comfort, it's definitely not a vacation (vacations you usually go home after a week or so) we learned that pretty fast...it is so God will be glorified.  God does not need us here.  It's not like we showed up to Magyarorszag shouting "salvation is here!"  No.  We are simply willing.  I am the messenger.  Really the pressure and burden is off of us.  We know that it is God's job to soften the peoples' hearts here.  He will prick their hearts when He calls them to himself.  We just need to stay in the word and be obedient and be ready for opportunities when they arise.

Thought this was funny...

Living in another country...

I would not say that living in another country is glamorous or horrible.  It is difficult, fascinating, frustrating, and sometimes just really funny.  We will be updating this blog more often so that you all can experience what we experience as we navigate life in another country and culture.

This site is now under construction.  Well it sure took long enough.