Camp 2007 day one...

 

 

 

We began the day tired; preparation has its own energy cost, and we were feeling it this morning! We got off on time (a thing, with 49 different workers coming from all over the southern Budapest area). We ended up meeting about 35 or 40 students today; obviously we're hoping for an influx of some more tomorrow and, most likely, Monday. Anne and I are especially hoping for some more of our "regulars" to return. We began tonight with 7 adult students, four of whom are new to our camp. We are hopeful that God's wisdom is pointing us toward significant personal results for a few rather than introducing lots of folks to the gospel initially. Either case, of course, is our privilege; we're working to give the Holy Spirit as much of a chance to work as possible...certainly not to get in His way.

Pray, please, that God will send everyone He wants here...the fields are white, right?

Camp Day One slideshow

Slideshow for June 29, 2007

Where I pray...

 

 

 

 

One of the favorite prayer spots I have is looking out of the windows in the school over the town of Diosd, a neighboring town to Erd. I often see people in the process of living their daily lives, and other than an occasional "Jo Nappot" or "Viszlat," I know very little of them. I do know though, that they can be strengthened and encouraged by the God that I serve, so I pray for them, each and every day.

Moving in...

 

 

 

 

We took today to move into the classroom side of the school where we'll be leading our workshops, lessons and conversation groups. Did a little furniture moving (some of us tested the furniture for comfort :) ), some room cleaning and general organizing. We're ready for students to come tomorrow. Lesson #1A: No activity is too small to glorify God.

Differences in our approach to morning..

 

 

As you can see, my son and I have a slightly different approach to morning; he prefers not to start his until, well, afternoon (something I'd normally be guilty of, too), and I wake up with a camera in my hand. Please be praying that Aaron and Hannah are morning people for the next week or so, and that Anne and I are just happy to be alive these days. Attitude is everything at camp!

I know you've been praying, but...

 

 

...just in case you haven't really started yet, now's a really good time! We are starting tomorrow at 8:30AM Budapest time (2:30AM at home) with registration and greeting all of our friends. Anne and the kids and I are really excited, though it's always a little edgy the first time for folks, and we have a fair number of first time camp workers. Pray that they see the opportunities God is giving us right out of the chute, and that tomorrow goes smoothly, especially the hospital lesson (more on that tomorrow) and our adult lesson tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to introducing everyone to you tomorrow when we get home!

Tearing down walls?

 

 

 

And Ronald Reagan thought he was someone when he challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this (the Berlin) wall!" I got news for you...Gorbachev had nothing on the Hungarians. Taking a look at the pictures above, what do you notice? How about a fence around EVERY yard, typically gated shut, allowing only the most cursory interaction even between neighbors? The homes above are some that we pass on the way to and from our camp site, the International Christian School of Budapest...and they all look pretty much alike. If only we could get THESE walls down..

Getting Focused...

 

We've been spending ALOT of time, as you might imagine, studying the word of God as we prepare to witness for Him to our Hungarian friends in the coming week. I'm daunted a bit, given that it is my GOD after all who I am representing in this endeavor; truly no small thing, I think. I listened to an interesting devotion tonight from Nathan Waggoner who spoke on our adoption into the family of God as sons...made more interesting in that he and Cydil, his wife, have recently adopted Elisona, their daughter, from an Albanian orphanage. We are seeking brothers and sisters, to build our family; indeed, this is the "family business!" What a wonderful privilege to have, and what terrific people to share that business with...along with my family of brothers and sisters in Georgia (US) and Indiana and Kentucky and Tennessee and...everywhere else that someone is praying that the Holy Spirit might work through us to see His family grow. I find myself just as excited about camp as I do the first day of school...maybe the best day ever created!

Marton Vassar pictures 06-27-07

Today's slideshow...from Marton Vassar, where Beethoven composed the Moonlight Sonata...

You aren't really seeing these pictures!

 

 

 

Okay, so it was a big misunderstanding; there I was, your typical tourist, having a great time in the Hungarian National Cultural Museum on my way to see an exhibit on Ghengis Khan and the Mongol invasion, when I passed an exhibit of very nice Christian artifacts (some intentional irony there...) and thought I'd take a couple of pictures. A topstone of a crypt, a wall hanging of Christ crucified and a choir box (now THAT's a choir box!); really great stuff to have in my picture collection, right? NOOOOO! The delightful woman in charge of this particular room was only too ready to insist that I didn't have a picture taking BADGE...ooops! Needless to say, I didn't take any more pictures, but it did make for an interesting dance between the two of us, each in our own languages...she won.

Our friend Attis

 

 

Our dear friend Attis is off to Washington and Oregon to celebrate a wedding...during English Camp! Where are the priorities of these people?! Of course, I'm kidding, but Attis is the textbook example of why we come back year after year; he is a wonderful, God-trusting and believing brother who has the world in his hand, and who is a joy to be with. Hopefully noone will be getting married next summer as we return...unless...??? I hope that each of you has a faith brother who you can't wait to see...it is one of God's best gifts and proofs of his faithfulness...

New picture slideshow for June 26th...

Hope you enjoy the slideshow...

Strong in Christ

 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God..."--St. Paul in his letter to church in Ephesus, from the 6th chapter.

I was riding the bus back to Erd from Budapest (about the distance from Atlanta to Stockbridge) and we passed a couple of churches, both Catholic (probably obvious), one a fairly old (150 years+ in age), and the one pictured above, with this wonderful sculpture of an angel carrying a saint (not sure which one, but not really important here...). The really, really interesting thing is that the saint appears to be armored, leading the way with his staff raised while being carried/protected by the angel of God, and that got me to thinking...

Our devotions between today and tomorrow will cover the putting on of God's armor (a review: belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, readiness given by the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God) as we prepare to go on the march for our God. And I would ask each of you--how much of the armor are you putting on? You know, Anne and the kids and I got on a plane and flew a ways to play a part in this operation to save others from the slavery to death that the devil uses, but that doesn't make YOUR role any less important. Indeed, you are, in many ways, more important than Anne and I and the kids...I firmly believe it is your faithful prayers for us and for the saving of those who don't know Jesus Christ that tips the balance as we face our foe, who has considerably more experience at this than we do. But, then, He doesn't serve the God I do.... As we study and read our bibles and pray and confess our sins and seek the forgiveness and will of our gracious God, won't you join us? Commit yourself to the righteousness and holiness to which you are called, and for which God has sent His son and Holy Spirit to to prepare you.

We love you all. The time of the Lord's favor is NOW. Join us, and live in that favor.

Samuel Clemens was...Hungarian???

 

 

Okay, just a short one here, but...all of the great Hungarian leaders that I have seen committed to artwork, especially sculpture, bear a striking resemblance to Mark Twain. Maybe those late 19th century European travels really were something special for Mr. Clemens???

Fatal (?) Restaurant...

 

 

 

Yep, we ate lunch at the Fatal Restaurant today...and lived to tell about it! (Actually, it's pronounced 'Fuh-Tall) Check out the portions...and that's what Hannah and Aaron ordered! Aaron's was roast beef with a heaping helping of onion ring thingies, all on a bed of fried potatoes. Hannah's was essentially three gigantic chicken fingers (chicken hands?), also with the fried potatoes. Me? I just had a plate of beef gyulash with tomato and red wine sauce on a bed of pasta...nothing special.

Had a great day in Budapest...more in further updates....

No doggie scraps here!

 

The Etyek Vendegfogado is a beautiful little etterem, or restaurant, in Etyek, a small town about 20 minutes drive from Erd. Most of the seating here...and in many restaurants in Hungary, is outside on a patio. This one happens to overlook the town (some of the pictures in the slideshow below are overlooking Etyek from our table), and has a resident pet who camped out beside our table. While I'm sure he had designs on our scraps, we disappointed him by not leaving any...

Bringing the fountain drinks...to the table!

 

Okay, so I'm having to read the instructions for this blog page in Hungarian, but...this is what we had for dinner to night. We got to go out with Dan and Katy Beth, leaving the kids in the care of the team members--or maybe we left the team in the care of the kids? The meal you see in front of us included chicken, pork and beef, with rice AND french fries! What fun! All at the Etyek Vendegfogado...more pictures will follow...just wait until I tell you about the drinks...

Dinner on Sunday night...

 

Okay, so I'm having to read the instructions for this blog page in Hungarian, but...this is what we had for dinner to night. We got to go out with Dan and Katy Beth, leaving the kids in the care of the team members--or maybe we left the team in the care of the kids? The meal you see in front of us included chicken, pork and beef, with rice AND french fries! What fun! All at the Etyek Vendegfogado...more pictures will follow...just wait until I tell you about the drinks...

Getting to know the crew...

 

 

 

 

We had our first official team meeting today after the arrival of the team from Asbury College, headed by Nathan and Cydil Waggoner. You can see we are very Lutheran in our meetings...around food, usually! We had a wonderful dinner of turkey and rice, and Dan got us started off in the word, preparing us to be examples to the community here, just as Paul exhorted the followers in Corinth, and as he exhorted Timothy to be an example regardless of his age.

I'll be offering the devotions later in the week...you can be praying for clarity and some good bible time before I do that. Also be praying for Anne and me that we have some good, conflict-free time to plan our set of lessons for the adults in camp (you might suppose that we each have a unique set of opinions about what goes on in our classroom..!).

We go to Budapest tomorrow, which is always a wonderful day...the kids really enjoy seeing everything new...now for the third time! Thank you so very much for supporting us in this mission; please pray that whether we sew or harvest, God's name is glorified and we will be grateful for the chance to serve him with these extraordinary people.