A whole week...

It seems that it has been almost an entire week since I have posted anything on this blog. It's not that life hasn't been happening as much as it is that I am still recovering from last weekend. Thank goodness it's finally Friday! It's been a good week, though. I have lots to be thankful for. Wednesday was Bible Study; we had a great time. Another one of the teachers here, Lisa, shared her testimony with the girls. It was neat to see them relate to her story of being a missionary kid. I'm continually amazed by the kids here, encouraging with huge hearts for the Lord.

I took another couple walks long walks with several other teachers in the afternoons to get some exercise. We spend so much of our time cooped up at school working that it's a big deal to get outside, especially since we've been told it will get dark at 4pm this winter! Wow! We go to a nice big open field to walk. There are lots of old tractor paths, and it's nice to get away. Interestingly enough, the people of this town also find it to be an excellent place to dispose of their trash. As we walk we get a nice view of all the things the people of Diosd no longer want. Yesterday we saw a couple old sofas, some shoes, an electric doorbell, and various other interesting objects. Hmm...if only there were a nice desk or couch we could cart back to our apartment!

Back from the Retreat...

Hey everyone! I'm back! I had a wonderful time on our staff retreat and got to know some of the other teachers much better. I am truly blessed to be a part of this group of teachers and administrators...wow! Some of the highlights? A game of volleyball where I stood on the court and watched the ball fly around me, encouraging praise and worship music, good insights into practical teaching tips, a fierce game of nerts, more than one mocha, and a little see-sawing!

We stayed at a really neat Bible College and Retreat Center in Vaijta (Calvary Chapel Bible College), about an hour and a half from Budapest. It's located on the grounds of an old "castle" and the architecture was beautiful! Thankfully, I was far away from the teacher workroom and all the school responsibilities I didn't want to have to be working on!

Tonight Lisa and I made pizza...almost from scratch...we bought the pizza sauce, a bad choice, but everything else was really yummy (and I thought the presentation wasn't bad either)!

My first brownies from scratch!

Lookey Lookey! I made my first batch of brownies from scratch today! It was quite the adventure, but they sure are yummy. I wish you were all here to eat them, but since you're not, I'm going to go and have another one with a big glass of milk!

I also thought I'd add a list of things I might like if you're "hankerin" to send me a package (no pressure).....

1. Hidden Valley Ranch packets

2. Vanilla Extract

3. Kool-Aid packets

4. Taco Seasoning Packets

5. Fruity candy (like Starbursts)

6. Construction paper

7. Cinnamon Gum

8. Nail Polish (it's really pricey here and I forgot all mine...woops!)

9. Any other fun little stuff you would like to send me!

(As I read over this list, it sounds a little ridiculous, but I'm going to leave it up anyways!)

We Are Fine!

Hi everyone! Just in case you've read about the riots this week in Budapest, I wanted to let you know everyone at ICSB is fine. I didn't even know about the rioting until this morning at devotions. I'm guessing things may be crazy in downtown for a while, so I'm not planning on going there any time soon! That should be fine since I have ten zillion things to do this week at school and then we have a staff retreat this weekend! I LOVE RETREATS!!!!

Dinner Downtown and Dominique

Last night several of us took a trip to downtown, explored the touristy areas a tad, and had dinner at a Hungarian/Thai restaurant. Little did we know we would meet Dominique, a Hungarian college student who worked at the restaurant. She talked with us about American slang, the dramatic changes in Hungarian culture, and the need for us to all get Hungarian boyfriends for the sole purpose of learning the language. (Something I should have considered long ago!) Anyways, I really enjoyed getting to know her and plan on going back to see her sometime soon.

After our first full week of school, it was nice to take a break and just enjoy hanging out. Classes were great this week, and I've been reminded so many times of how much I love being in the classroom. The biggiest culture shock of the week? Sitting in a room with almost 100 high school students singing praise songs DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, encouraged to do so by the administration!!!!! How absolutely crazy...especially considering it's also a part of my job description to talk about God during class! To be honest, it's been almost hard to get used to after working in the public schools.

I've volunteered to co-lead the 9th grade girls Bible Study at school this year and we're having our first meeting on Wednesday afternoon at my apartment. Hopefully by then I will have finished covering our orange couch with some khaki fabric...huge improvement! I'm truly excited about getting involved in their lives and encouraging them in their spiritual growth. I can't wait! Please be praying that the Lord would use the time we spend together to draw us closer to Him and to sharpen each other.

Still no word on the visas or the completion of the buildings...maybe sometime soon!

Passports, Visas, and Eastern Europe!

I'm back home now, sitting at school and grading papers, so thankful things worked out well this morning in Bratislava. We began our trip at 5:30 am (ok, we didn't leave until 5:45) this morning and entered the Hungarian Embassy in Slovakia a little before 9. 5 of the new teachers, the school director, and the lady that deals with International Affairs at ICSB all made a pit stop for McReggeli (breakfast at McDonald's) where I ordered a McMuffin and got some french fries...go figure. After talking to the embassy, we traveled to a nearby bank where we withdrew $ out of the atm in Slovac currency, took it to the lady at the counter who changed it into Euros and paid our application fee. We then traveled back to the embassy, handed over our passports and visa applications, and were told to come back at 3pm for the verdict...visas or no visas. By this time it was about 11, and we headed out to find lunch. We also discovered an amazing Leonardo DaVinci exhibit at the Bratislava Castle, which is now a museum. When we returned to the embassy we were told the verdict was still out, but that we would most likely get our visas. From what I understand, they are going to call the school this week and let us know. Then, if we are approved, we'll have to go back to Bratislava in about 2 weeks and get the visas. I'm really learning patience here, but I'm so thankful for the good news and that some of the $ in Slovakia is purple!

An Answered Prayer!

Wooohoo! God is soooo good! So many people have been praying about my visa, and so I want to make sure everyone knows what has happened. Earlier this week the plan was to go to the embassy in Bratislava today (Friday) and apply for our visas. On Thursday, we discovered the embassy was closed on Fridays and we planned to go on Monday. In light of this, I spent lots of my free time making sub. plans.

This morning, when all of you thought I would be going to get my visa, the embassy called ICSB and asked us not to come. They said they were reviewing our case and would get back in touch with us in a few days. Needless to say, we were all disappointed with the news and I was a tad bit frustrated.

And then, this afternoon, the embassy in Bratislava called back to let us know they would be able to grant our visas on Monday! So, the trip is back on, and we think we will leave with visas! I am so excited and I know that it is because of your prayers and the prayers of others that these official's hearts have been softened to our needs! Please continue to pray for a smooth trip!

THANKS!

Please Pray!

Hi everyone! After two weeks of orientation and planning for the beginning of school, the craziness begins tomorrow! Wednesday is the first day of high school, so things are about to begin! I'm a little nervous about starting off, but overall I'm excited about things finally beginning to happen! The picture in this post is of me working in the high school teacher workroom, affectionately called the "Hub." Another several weeks, and I might even have a classroom!

Friday we are traveling to Bratislava to apply for Visas! It is possible that if I show up in person they will grant me my visa on the spot. How wonderful would that be!