Dear Friends,

At Charlotte U.S.O. on our way out

Those of you who subscribed to receive our Hungarian ministry posts last year are still on our list, so I'm sending this year's updates as well. If you don't want them, simply unsubscribe. Thanks!

We still aren't over jet lag, but we've had a busy 5 days in country. 

our economy flight home for the 8 hours flight

Tuesday when we arrived, we stayed in a flat in Budapest.

Then we drove (yes! we are using a car) to Tapolca and started living in Shaun and Sondi's farmhouse. 
 

The 100 year old farm house in Hegyesd near Tapolca

The surroundings are lovely, and even though we have no invited farm animals, we have some bugs who visit regularly and the neighbor's dog often barks us a serenade for hours during the middle of the night...yes, hours...and they're doing construction on the house, so sometimes the hum of drills drowns out the chirp of the crickets. But we're comfortable and happy to be here.

I'm trying to keep up with my blog tasks which takes me many hours every week, but I love it.  Just hard staying awake at times.

Gail with the English Club beginners

Had our first English Club Thursday evening and remembered many of the students from last year. They were friendly and welcoming. 
 

Michael with the intermediate class

The lesson was on "Languages" and I gave a devotion I've given before on how God confused languages at Babel and how He uses language to speak to us. It's titled "Caffeine-free or Extra Espresso" because of an incident I had in a Hungarian coffee shop.


I think the students enjoyed the devotion but their favorite part was when I told about Michael ordering mayonnaise in a German restaurant and receiving a glass of schnapps instead.

Tapolca City Center...isn't it beautiful? The water is fed through an underground spring so it stays 68 degrees all year.

I also prepare snacks for the English Clubs and I fear they will miss Sondi's homemade goodies...I have so much to do that mine will mostly be store bought.  This week there will be no Tuesday teen English Club because of May Day, but that will be a part of our duties after that.

It's  a holiday weekend here...May Day...used to be a Communist holiday, but they celebrate it anyway without any Communist trimmings.  

Magdolna and Ava were great tour guides.

Today (Saturday) a Hungarian pastor and his wife who we knew in Budapest came to Tapolca to lead a Bible study. Then two of the Hungarian ladies who attended showed us around Tapolca afterwards.

This was our view at the evening concert.

In the evening we ended up eating from a snack stand and listening to Beatle's music sung by a Hungarian band in the city center which is built on a lake (May Day festivities). The band wasn't bad, and a crowd of teens especially got into "Vee all leeve in a yallo submareene."

We are still tired and our days appear to be mostly unplanned divine interruptions, which is good for us. Keeps us flexible.

Our biggest prayer request is that we do everything with God's strength and quality...our lists are long with lesson plans and devotions and fellowship and keeping up with my blogs and just getting settled in.  Thanks for praying. Bless you all!