Szia RCC family and friends, On our first day of arrival we stopped by the Paulus Community center and I was excited to see a familiar face: one of the girls that was in my English class last summer. I was ecstatic when she told me that she'd be helping with the children's English/Converse camp with us. I wasn't sure how much time we'd actually get to spend together, but I have been so thankful with the time that we've had. Her English has improved so much within the last year. Today, she asked if I could write a quote on her water bottle. I immediately thought to write one of my favorite verses down, so I showed her Psalm 139:14 "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." I then proceeded to tell her the meaning for the verse and why I chose to share it with her; she was beaming. Thanks to the Holy Spirit I asked her if she would like to read the entire Psalm. It was absolutely incredible to see the Gospel come alive through this Psalm. Between reading, defining words, and even drawing things on the board to help us understand one another we were able to engage in deep spiritual conversation. We talked about how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are One, how God leads us and only wants the best for us, and that when we give our lives to Him there is NO WHERE we can go to escape Him. At one point in our conversation I asked her if she had ever exchanged her life for His, and she shared that at a Christian camp a few years ago she had and her eyes lit up which was an answer to prayer. I had asked God for a chance to get a glimpse into her heart, and He did much more than I could ask or imagine! After sharing that God is our Father and loves us more than even our earthly fathers, she later made the statement, "We are sisters, because God is our Father." I would love for you to pray for Fanni. She is an adorable 14 year old girl who is now interested in getting plugged into the Paulus youth group and is going to join us this Sunday at the Paulus church. Please pray that she'd get plugged in and be discipled. God is at work in Hungary. Jackie

Yes, we're still alive and thriving here in Diosd. We have been much busier than expected, and blogging has taken a back seat to spending time with the missionaries and in bed. Tuesday, we woke up early again and ate our usual breakfast. Our energy and spirits were lagging a bit after the craziness of day 1. After doing English camps for three years with a good amount of downtime, I don't think we were ready for the amount of time we would be spending with 53 energetic kids. Before breakfast, I read Proverbs 16 and 17 as a short devotion. Proverbs 16:1-3, 9 say, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." It was encouraging to me to know that if we commit our work to the Lord, he will take care of our plans. Apparently, Danny was also encouraged by this passage, so he shared it with the group for morning devotion. After a time of prayer, we got ready for the day. Before we started English class, we sang some songs to shake their sillies out. (Shout out to Adeline!) When we ended ten minutes early, we had a small moment of panic. What do you do with a room full of 53 kids and no plan for ten minutes? YMCA! Thank God we downloaded Jock Jams Volume 2. Haley did some amazing improvisation and had those kids dancing to the Village People in no time. In the upstairs room, there are actually two classes. Lizzy and I have 26 kids combined, which has proved to be more of a challenge than we had originally thought. We do a lot of instruction as a big class and most of our activities and games separately. Megan and I decided to start the class by playing the name game. At the end, I asked the girls if anyone would like to try naming everyone in our class. During the whole game, one girl had been hanging off to the side, not wanting to participate. She was the first to raise her hand and name everyone in our class! After the games, we talked about where we live, teaching them the vocabulary for rooms of the house. It was actually a great class, which is a huge victory considering the logistics of our class. We got our three course lunch down to 45 minutes. Another victory! In dance class, we really experienced the girls opening up. They love the dance time, and they're learning the dance so quickly. They're so proud to show off their dance and so open to being silly. It's so refreshing and amazing considering it was only the second day of class. Apparently, basketball went well, too. Danny was shocked at how much they had improved since the first day. The amazing thing about this camp and spending so much time with kids is that I have had moments that I have to remind myself that I don't speak the same language as the kids. I seriously spend hours where I don't realize there's a language barrier. You can see their hearts on their faces. You can read the joy and pride when they successfully learn a combination. You can see the hunger for more and more love as they search you out in a crowd for a hug. You can see the surprised skepticism when they aren't rebuked. In many ways, they're open books, but they're closed off in other ways. We're pleading for their hearts. Please plead with us. We had dinner with Endre and Viki Santa. It was delicious and, of course, homemade. There was lots of fun and laughter. We have loved our time getting to know the missionaries better. After dinner, we traveled into the city to go to the Citadella. We drove up an enormous hill and walked up a slightly less enormous hill. It was a breezy 65 degrees, perfect for looking down on a magical city. The Citadella is a fort that overlooks the city. There are incredible views. Little did we know we would also encounter the Duna International Folklore Festival. We experienced dancers and singers from many countries along the Danube, all in traditional dress. It was such a unique time, getting to experience culture we hadn't experienced before. Overall, it was a wonderful day with a wonderful team. Peace, Sarah

Our First Day of Camp (Monday)

MORE PICTURES BEING ADDED THIS AFTERNOON

Our first day of camp went SO WELL! We had a rushed breakfast since we could not get to it until 7a and had to hit the road by 7:15a. We met Ildiko at the Paulus Haz at about 7:30a to prepare for the day. We began by reading and talking through Proverbs 15:1-5. The team was challenged by the references to the tounge, focusing on encouraging one another throughout the day as we knew we'd be tested by anxiety, exhaustion and the need for patience. The team spent a good time in prayer lifting each other, the kids and the camp up in prayer. The last bit of time before the kids arrived for registration we spent reviewing the various plans and prepping the rooms.

The kids began to arrive around 8:40a in order to complete registration. While everyone arrived, we had them decorate their name tags with their team color and choose a water bottle to use during the camp. The kids are split into 4 different groups of English levels. In total we have 53 kids (and that was after Ildiko turned away 8 others on a waiting list due to space). Once all the kids arrived, Ildi ran through the 5 rules of the camp and then we introduced ourselves. Each of us said our name and then did a corresponding dance move (movie to come). It worked as a great ice breaker! Before breaking up into English classes, Zoli led us in "River of Life" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Nose".

The kids broke up into their four classes for an hour and a half of class. Upstairs we had the two most beginner classes with Lizzy, Sarah, Megan, Elliot and myself as the Americans. Vikki (Endre's wife) and Ildiko were our Hungarian helpers. Mike and Jackie were helped by Debbie (an American raised in Kansas who moved to Hungary several years ago and married here) with the most advanced kids. Some of them are fluent since they attend the ICSB which is taught entirely in English. The Miller's worked with Zoli with the intermediate kids. We all had great experiences going over how to introduce yourself and talking about our families.

English classes were followed by a short free-time in the ICSB gym playing four corners while lunch was setup. Lunch is caterred by a local restaurant. It is actually a 3-course meal! None of us remember having such a spread at Celebrate Summer... Today we had a soup, followed by chicken and rice, and then a crumbcake like dessert to finish it off. Janos started a contest each day for the kids to track who ate all of their soup (we're guessing that is generally undesirable by the kids).

Ildi followed lunch with a Bible lesson. Each day we are using a different body part to associate with the lesson. Today's was the hand and Ildi tied that into encouragement and helping one another. The entire lesson is in Hungarian.

Finally it was time to show off some mad dancing and basketball skills to the kids. Mike, Nathan, Endre, Janos, Beni, Marcell, and all of the future Hungarian (W)NBA players treked down the hill to the ICSB gym. The girls setup the upper room for the first dance lesson. Basketball went very well. We split up into 3 groups and did different stations. Mike ran a passing and shooting station with Endre and Beni. Nathan covered ball handling and defense with Marcell. I did lay-ups and rebounds with Janos. The kids seem to really enjoy the time. At the end of the station rotations we had the three teams race in relays and then have some free time. From what was shared it sounded like the dance went very well too. Elliot helped out with them, since he has some natural skills (which must have come from Uncle Mike). The girls were anxious about how it would be accepted since it was a little simpler than they expected, but it is working out great! I'm excited to see all the girls once they are given their ribbons on Friday to do the recital with.

By the end of dance and basketball we were all pretty spent, so we were glad that the last hour was filled with a craft and part of the Veggie Tales Jonas (Jonah) video. As the kids were being picked up at 4p, many of them grabbed their journal (this is the craft they are doing throughout the week, capturing different events from the day) to show their parents.

We made a stop by Interspar on the way back to the hotel to clean-up as some of the team was craving some good old fashion Hungarian junk food like paprika flavored Pringles and Poyllos (spelling?) which is like ricotta cheese covered in chocolate. The team cleaned up, the smallest member took a nap, and then we headed to the Kiss Haz (Janos and Ildiko's house) to have dinner. I love getting invited into their homes to see where and how they live. Janos walked us around his garden and gave us some fresh peaches and apple and try. It was sad to hear that he has had an ant problem which has actually killed his 20 peach trees (we ate some of the last he will produce for a while since the branch broke off in a recent storm). They'll plant again in the future since the bugs will likely move on. He also grows grapes and will try and make some wine in the years to come. Beni and Lilla also showed us their lofted room. Beni has been learning to play the drums for 6 months, so Mike and he played. We also met Bobo, their little Westy or 12 years. After dinner we discussed the first day. Overall, Ildi and Janos were very happy with how everything went. We talked about a few adjustments to try out on Tuesday, but were all very encouraged by the first day's success.

Sunday

Sunday morning we got to sleep in a little before going to the Paulus service held at the ICSB (International Christian School Budapest). The service is very similar to ours at RCC. They do many of the same songs that we do (or have in the past) like "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" and "How Great Thou Art [Vander Veen]". They still take prayer requests every week from the body and lift them up. It was so good seeing friends from years past and seeing how the kids, especially those of the Paulus team, are growing up.
After church we hit Tesco (Wal-Mart) to pick-up some supplies and grab some lunch. Most of enjoyed some high-quality Chinese food, so that we could get back to the Paulus Haz to prep for the week. The afternoon was spent going over the English class material, breaking up into Dance and Basketball groups to review plans, and setup the various rooms for the kids.
By the end of the planning, we were all feeling pretty good about the week ahead, knowing that the most important part was to laugh with and share love with the kids. The team headed back to the hotel around dinner time and walked to Pesaro Etterem (a pizzeria which feels like a German restaraunt) for dinner. We got a bunch of pizza (including Hot Smoke for those previous team members) to share and enjoyed an evening with just the team. We laughed a lot and heading back at a reasonable hour to rest before our busy week ahead.

Hungary from Elliot's Perspective (Saturday)

Our arrival to our new place was nothing but a blur. I remember being in a large, brightly lit cylinder filled with seats, 3x3. I fought for a while but finally realized I was completely exhausted and passed out. I remember a somewhat familiar New Jersey / Hungarian accent when I was moved to a car seat and then being plopped into a small crib. That's about it.

Friday Mom [Megan] and Dad [Danny] met with a couple people, some who I had met before and some I had not. I sounded like they were called Janos and Ildiko who were the missionary family in charge of the upcoming week's camp. Ildiko brought some pretty cool toys to play with while the adults played "plan the camp." In the afternoon I took a solid snooze while the other team arrived. [After a little confusion with the cars, we got to the airport and collected the rest of the team. Everyone looked really tired but we pushed them late into the evening to try and force a time change.]

Saturday was a morning of sleeping and afternoon of some new sightseeing. We got a late start and enjoyed a typical Hungarian breakfast: rolls, cheese, salami, pepperoni, tomatoes, Hungarian peppers, coffee, and homemade preserves. They also provided some yogurt and a cereal/granola for us Americans. We wee Americans also enjoyed a delicious bottle.

I was taken to the Paulus Haz (Paulus House) for a brief team orientation. Not sure what they were talking about because there was a box of pens on the table that provided endless fun. [We talked through the daily schedule of 9a-4p. The day will be quite full of different activities, but we are very excited about what this new camp will look like.]

After the team meeting we loaded up on the Kazar's van and Kiss' hatchback to head north. On the way to Vishegrad (Vee-she-grod) Castle, we stopped in a small town right alongside the Danube to get something incredible delicious called langos. It is a potato dough that is flattened into a thick pancake and then deep fried. They are often topped with sour cream and cheese but Mom and Dad elected for it to be stuffed with pepperoni an smoked cheese: smart choice. After Mr. Nathan got a second one, I was carried up a hill to get some of the best ice cream the world has to offer. I thought Bruster's was good, but oh how my 9-mos have provided so little experience. The ice cream here is extra fluffy and creamy. I tried to tell everyone I was willing to eat my share so that they didn't get sick walking back to the car, but they didn't seemed interested in taking me up on my offer. We did all make it back safely to the car though to finish out our trip to Vishegrad.

Janos holding Elliot

Elliot enjoying some Hungarian ice cream

Being my second castle to see in a week, I'm pretty much an expert, and this one had quite the view! Some of the castle had been reconstructed for preservation since its original construction in the 12th century. It was one of many castles built during that time period. It is located at the top of a hill/small mountain right next to a bend in the Danube. Such a beautiful view.

Visegrad Castle

View from Visegrad Castle

Lila Kiss (Janos and Ildiko's daughter) and Lizzy

Sarah and Elliot at the top tower

Before heading back south for some dinner and bed, some of us decided to go on an Alpine Slide. Mr. Mike had seen signs during the drive and after asking Mr. Janos, we realized it was a short drive up the street. Many of the team went on the bobsled or roller coaster (two types) slides down the side of the mountain. It looked like a lot of fun but I wasn't able to join in the festivities.

"Feel the rhythm, Feel the rhyme, Get on up, It's bobsled time.
COOL RUNNINGS!

Nathan's in the Eye of the Tiger

Haley preferred the brake

Jackie found screaming resulted in a better time

Ildiko and Lila racing down the mountain

After a solid nap on the ride home, we hit the Campona (mall) for some dinner at the food court. Gyros were popular among the team as well was some traditional Hungarian dishes like fruit soup (a dessert), fried meatloaf balls (the taste a lot better than they sound) and cucumber salad with dill.

[The team enjoyed a good evening laughing together since Sunday morning was a little later start than the rest of the week. God has really blessed us with a group of people that can not only work well together and has such a diverse set of strengths and skills, but we all enjoy spending time together when we have some free minutes. One specific prayer request is for Elliot and his sleep schedule. He is actually sleeping better here than at home, when he has the chance, but the problem is that finding large chunks of time for nap time is challenging. Please pray that we find the time and cool, quiet place during the week for him to nap so that even if he gets shorter stretches at night, he is able to stay rested and healthy. Many of the team seem to have adjusted to the timezone, although some were tired at breakfast this morning. Please pray that we are wise with our evenings and that our sleep is deep and restful so that we can recover from these longer days with what we expect to be high-energy kids :-) !]

-- ESB [and Danny]

Arrived!

Hey everyone, the team and all luggage has safely arrived in Hungary. We're are settling in at the hotel and then heading out to try and force them into the new timezone. They said the flight to Germany was quite rough with a lot of screaming babies that kept everyone awake, so little no sleep was had by anyone on the team. Please pray that people can get caught up on sleep this weekend so we are prepared for the 53 kids on Monday morning!

On Our Way...

Well, it's officially the day of our departure! Lizzy, Jackie and I are still up packing, praying as we go for peace, clear minds, and bags that hold much more than we thought possible and weigh much less than 50 lbs. We're not quite on our way yet, but we would appreciate you praying with us. Here's how you can pray for us today and the next 10 days:

First, please pray for travels and health. Danny, Megan, and sweet Elliot are already in Europe, but they will be making the trek from Scotland to Budapest tomorrow. Haley is already in Diosd, Hungary, serving with the Hungarians at their current camps. Pray for energy and encouragement for her as she's been there for two weeks already. The rest of us (Mike, Nathan, Lizzy, Jackie, and I) are leaving today at 6:20 to make our way to Budapest by way of Frankfurt, Germany. Please pray that we all make it to the airport safely and quickly, make our flights with all of our bags weighing in and making it on the plane, and weather well the fourteen hours of travel.

Second, please pray for our team as some of us travel together, all of us meet up again, and as we serve together. Pray for patience, love, unity, and servant spirits. Sure, most of us live with at least one other person on the team, but there can be too much of a good thing! Pray that we are able to deepen our connections with one another, truly seeking to know one another's hearts and serve in any way we can. Also, please pray for a seamless assimilation with the Hungarian team and ours.

That brings me to my next request: please pray for the missionaries at Paulus. Camps are in full swing, adding to their tireless ministry. Please pray for the serving missionaries and their families during this busy season. Pray for energy, clear minds, and fullness of spirit by the Spirit.

Finally, please be in prayer for the preparation of the hearts of the children and parents we will be serving next week at the camp. This year, we get to do a brand new camp solely with elementary school children. We will have them from 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, teaching basic English in the morning, and basketball or dance in the afternoon. We're crazy excited about this opportunity. Please pray for the relationships we will develop with the children and their parents as well as the relationships between the community center and the parents. Basically, we want to love the children a lot and well, and we want the parents to feel loved also.

Thank you so much to all who have supported us financially and in prayer and encouragement.

To Him be the glory,
Sarah