Semi Housebound

I have had an infection for about six weeks now. I have gone to the doctor a bunch of times. They aren't sure what's wrong with me.

I ended up staying home from work most of last week. I need to stay close to home with this bug.

Being home has given me a chance to catch up on some things that I haven't had the time to do. But still I would like to be better. I have a small Christmas gathering planned for some of my students. I don't want to cancel it... may have to change the location to my home.

Please pray for me.

Oh my... I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted anything on here. You may be wondering what has been going on in this part of the world...

Well I went to Bratislava, Slovakia twice in October, once for a meeting, the other time for fun, to visit friends. I was also able to hop on a train and be in Vienna in an hour while I was saying in Bratislava.

I also had to work two Saturdays in October. They were both to make up for a Monday before or a Friday after a holiday so that we would have a few days off in a row.

We had our Fall Break during the week of October 29. I pretended like I was a tourist and visited some cities around the country that week. It was really nice. Everything was so beautiful with the leaves changing colors with the season.

This past weekend, Teach Overseas Central Europe had our annual Thanksgiving get together. We met in the Czech Republic. I had a good time there. It even snowed on Saturday before we left.

Please remember to keep me in your prayers as living and working in a different culture can be quite a challenge.

A Pleasant Shopping Experience...

Today on my way home from school I decided to stop at a Vegetable/Fruit Store. I pass this store everyday that I go to school, but this was the first time for me to stop. As I walked in, the man working there said, "Tessek" (How can I help you?). I responded, "Beszelsz angolul?" (Do you speak English?). And to my surprise, he spoke English fluently!! Then he asked me where I'm from, what I'm doing here and told me that his neighbor lives half the year here in Hungary and half in Los Angeles. I could have communicated what I needed to him without English. But it is nice to be able to speak English sometimes outside of the home and classroom.

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Little updates...

I am currently (well I was) eating Chicken Paprika. It is a typical Hungarian dish composed of chicken, paprika, and pasta. It's very good!

Yesterday we had our central administration retreat. We (8 field area leaders) met most of the day at my flat, then we went to the baths to relax a little, then we went to dinner at a nice little restaurant/pub called For Sale Pub. Today I'm having my leftovers for dinner, trying to do some Hungarian homework and watching a movie. It's a good day to be in Hungary.

I've been back in Hungary for less than two weeks. In some ways it feels like it's been over a month. It was so easy for me to jump back into things. . . and then start running. Things have been very busy here. I have gone to the immigration office twice only to find out that I still have a temporary visa. The last I heard, it should be ready in about 30 days.

School started this past Monday. It has been so nice to see my students again. When I see their faces and talk with them in class, I remember why I am here. In spite of the difficulties of culture shock and language barriers, I know that God has a plan for my life in Hungary.

I'm home!!! . . . in Hungary again!!

It is so nice to be back! I had a wonderful summer, visiting with friends and family and attending Teach Overseas training. But I must say, I'm glad to be home. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for this new year.

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. (Psalm 33:11-12)

May Hungary's God be the LORD! I pray that this nation would be grafted into the the vine that the Lord speaks of in John 15.

Home again. . .

I've been back in California for about two weeks. And though it is my home state it feels much more temporary than it used to.

Right now I'm staying with my mom and step-dad. My mom has the summer off because she is an elementary school teacher. It has been really nice to be able to visit with her and do mother/daughter things. I have also been spending a lot of time with friends and other family members. I love being home! I value the relationships that I have here; I treasure every minute I have with everyone in CA. I know that this is not permanent, the Lord is calling me forward to another place. I will be in Hungary for another school year, and then we will see after that.

Needed: Small tub full of cold water . . .

It is so hot today! (Over 90 plus humidity!!) And unfortunately we have no air conditioning in our flat. I had my window open for a little bit, but since it is so windy, my curtains end up flying out the window. And since my window is west facing, I would be sitting in the sun. I could always work on my tan. . . :-)

Receiving Teachings...

The Lord is constantly teaching me things... if I am willing to stop and listen, then hopefully I learn. But when I am too busy, I sometimes miss the JOY that he has in me. God is so good!

This morning I was watering some plants we have in pots outside our front door. Two of the plants are herbs, rosemary and mint. I'm not sure how long we have had them, but long enough for them to really grow and produce fruit so to speak. As I have had plants over the past couple of years, I have learned to really enjoy them. I love it that I can see how my care for them allows them to grow and to be healthy. I love running my hand over the mint and the rosemary and then smelling my hand, the scent transfers onto my hands and it smells so good, so fresh.

What came to mind in that this morning is that as the Lord pours himself into me... as I am open to being in his word and in prayer and growing in him that I am a pleasing aroma to him.

God is so good... and I know that as I find joy in my herbs and seeing them growing and thriving I know that God finds joy in seeing me growing and thriving.

I'm done! No more teaching until September 3.

I had my last classes on Thursday. Then on Friday we had a staff lunch. It was very nice. They gave us little espresso cups and coffee as gifts.

It is so hard for me to believe that the year is over. I did spend some time with my students last night. One of my friends let me host a small handful of students at his house. We had snacks and pizza and watched a movie and talked a little. It really still hasn't hit me that I won't see them again until September. I feel like I should be seeing them again on Monday or Tuesday.

As things come to a close... I know that some are wondering how the school year went for me. It was good. I am so glad that I took this opportunity to move to Hungary to teach English. There are (of course) things that could have been better, things I could have done better. But I'm looking forward to next year. I will be going into the next school year with more understanding and being better prepared.

I am very much looking forward to seeing people back home this summer! I'll be home in less than a week!! I love you all!!

I am loving where I'm at right now! Things are going so well. I met with my students at the YWAM coffee house again yesterday. It is so much fun! They are so sweet, and they are really opening up to me. Some of them have been bringing their boyfriends and one girl has been bringing her sister. I realized last night that I'm going to miss them while I'm back in the states. I thank the Lord for allowing me to be a part of their lives and for allowing me to have relationship with them for at least another year. I miss everyone at home, but I'm so glad that I'll be back next year!

This week I had the opportunity to go with some visiting French students and a couple of my students on two day trips.

On Monday, we went to Statue Park http://www.szoborpark.hu/index.php?Lang=en. It is a park full of statues from the communism era. Looking at all the statues really made me wonder about the lives of some older Hungarians. I wish I could sit down with some of them and listen to their stories. Maybe in the future, once I understand the culture a little more, I could have my students interview their grandparents. (Just a thought.)

After visiting Statue Park, we went to a Classic American Car Show. It was fun, reminded me of home. I took some pictures feel free to look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hungaryteacher/tags/carshow/.

On Wednesday we went to Visegrad. It is a small town north of Budapest. It was so beautiful. It is right next to the river. There is a castle up on a hill overlooking the river. I took some pictures there as well, but haven't added them to flickr.com yet. Here's a couple for you to see. I'll add more to flikr soon.

Easter in Italia!!

Erin and I, along with two other friends went to Italy for Easter. We spent five beautiful days there. The weather was wonderful, the food was wonderful and the men were FLIRTATIOUS!! All those rumors you hear about Italian men are true!!

We stayed in a cute little bungalow. It was fun...we did feel the other tenants move around when they were in their room, but it was fun, quite an adventure!! Here's a picture of where we stayed:

I actually had a little bit of culture shock coming back to Hungary. It's funny that two cultures can be so close to each other and yet so different. From what I saw of Italy, they still have a strong influence by the church. I didn't see any advertisements for dirty magazines, which are all over the streets in Hungary. I didn't see young couples making out on public transportation, another common sight in Hungary. I guess it is kind of like the difference between Nevada and Colorado.

We had such a good time!! Here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Let me start by being completely honest . . . I am tired. But, I've been meaning to get an update out for a week. So here it goes . . .

I had a wonderful birthday! A friend, Doini decided to have a small dinner party for me at her flat. It was very nice of her. Here's a link to some photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/hungaryteacher/tags/birthday/.

March 15 is a national holiday in Hungary, so many of my friends went away for the 4 day weekend. I decided that I wanted to stay for my birthday, but the next day I took a train to Bratislava, Slovakia. I went to visit some other American teachers. We had a nice time together. Then I came back home on Saturday night. Then on Sunday I went to church and spent the afternoon with some friends.

I'll just say the weekend was too much for me . . . because I ended up getting sick. The following week, I stayed home from work three days. I either had a bad cold or the flu. I am feeling better now, but trying to make sure I have enough rest and vitamins!!

I'm going to start language school this week. It is two nights a week for ten weeks. I'm pretty excited about it. Hopefully it won't be too much for me on top of teaching. I think it will be good for me to be back in the students role again . . . so I can improve my own teaching skills! ;-)

Time for a hair cut.....
So, I've been in Hungary now for four and a half months. The last time my hair was cut was in October. So I finally decided that I better go get it cut. I have been procrastinating... It's difficult when you speak the same language to communicate to the hairdresser what you want...oh my gosh, it is so much more difficult when you speak a different language. I bought a magazine so I could at least point to a picture, but even with that there were questions. I'm happy with my hair cut...but I'll be happy to go back to Sherlyn in June!! Here's a before and after picture for you...

Erin and I had people over for lunch after church again today. We made chicken soup. I think it turned out pretty good. It was the first time for me to work with a whole chicken. I guess you can say I over estimated how much we would need. I think Erin and I will be eating soup for lunch and dinner all week.

Since the snow was so pretty at home today. . . I decided to take my camera to school. I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?nsid=70257130@N00&set_id=&text=&tags=school&tag_mode=&user_id=70257130@N00&favorites=&group_id=&contacts=&frifam=&single=&firstIndex=&firstId=&sort=&v=1.6&code

SNOW . . .

I never know what to expect being that in California we don't get "real" winters. Today it snowed a good part of the day, pretty nice considering it's almost March. And of course I took some pictures so you all could see. . . :-)

For all of those Americans who miss me. . . I'll be back in California on June 22, 2007!! I changed my flight this weekend. I was originally supposed to be flying back on July 5. But since I will be doing some schooling and training this summer, I thought it would be better to get home earlier. It will be so good to see all my family and friends again! I love you all!!

Numbers 21:4-9:
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

How many times do I grow impatient with God's timing. . . Reading this passage made me think about the things I'm missing out on because I'm not looking at the greater picture of what God is doing. We all know that the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years because they kept complaining about what they didn't have. They didn't receive his promise because they were looking at their difficult circumstances. We all have difficult circumstances, but do we see what God is trying to teach us in them? Do we see the light at the end of the tunnel, do we see the promises that God has ahead for us? Today I'm making a choice to not look at the difficult circumstances, but to trust in God and remember the promises that he has for me. Have a blessed day!!

Decision time. . .

TeachOverseas needs to know by March 15 if the current teachers would like to come back next year.

I have made my decision. . . I let them know on February 9 that I will be back next year. I hope to have the same school, flat, and flatmate. Right now it's looking like that will happen, but things can change.

It's the little things that do my heart good. . .

Erin and I had 11 people over for brunch after church today. She made her famous waffles. It was so nice, we just hung out and talked and ate lunch. I just love having people over...oh, and I finally bought a coffee maker with some gift certificates the school gave me for Christmas. So I was able to brew coffee for those who wanted some.

. . .what can I say. . . I'm easy to please.

It's a beautiful day to live in Budapest!!! I thought you would enjoy some pictures of a warm winter day in Hungary... :-)

Erin took this picture of me while I was chatting online with my aunt and working on some lesson planning. Isn't my cousin so cute!?!? She will be 1 this week.

I have to write about this because it's kind of funny to me. . .

Erin and I are both sick. We have colds. She has stayed home from work the past few days. But, I haven't felt that bad, so I've been going to work. Well today (Friday) I only have one class. . . and it's cancelled, so I don't really need to go to school. . . but I need to be there later this afternoon for picture day.

All that said, we were both sleeping in today. We don't feel well, we need to get some rest. But what we didn't plan on is our neighbor doing some work on their flat. At 8:00am I was woken up by some drilling into concrete walls, pounding on metal pipes. . . it is 9:20am as I write this and it still hasn't stopped.

It's pretty crazy, the walls of the building are all concrete. I'm not sure what the metal sound is coming from, maybe the heaters or something. But you know, back in California we have insulation so we don't hear each other. It's not like that here. I have been woken up at two or three o'clock in the morning from a baby crying. Then I just pray, Lord please comfort that baby so I can get some sleep.

It is a little annoying, but I don't really mind that much. I feel rested. And since I'm awake, I can work on somethings I wanted to do this weekend anyway. This reminds me of a Precious Moments Figurine called Praise the Lord Anyhow, I found a picture of it:

. . . just when I started thinking I might not see snow this year, I woke up to this . . .

I even forgot that snow was in the forecast for today . . . well, snow has been forecasted for the past few weeks, but always a 30% chance. So, it hasn't happened. But lately it has been VERY cold and the chance of snow was a little higher.

1 Peter 3:8-22

8Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,

"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

...more adventures in public transportation...

I have a few options on how to get to school. What I usually do is walk a few blocks and then take two different trams and then walk another block. Then I arrive at school. I can also walk to the front of the next block of flats (aka apartment building), take a trolley bus, then a regular bus, then the two trams. Well today, I decided that I would take the trolley bus to the regular bus. But while I was waiting for the regular bus, I changed my mind and decided to walk a couple blocks to the closest tram stop. That way I would only have to make one more change.

So there I am riding along on the tram as planned thinking this worked out. I'll only need to change one more time and I didn't see the bus pass me as I walked so I'm no further behind than I would have been.

Then all the sudden the tram conductor comes on the speaker and says something in Hungarian and everyone gets off the tram. I, not knowing the language, can figure out what is going on. I got off the tram too. Then I have to go across the street to the bus stop, with everyone else and catch the next bus. So, I get on the bus. But this bus won't take me all the way to my school. So at the end stop, which is also a form of a transportation hub, I had to find which bus would get me closer to school. Praise God that I had previously taken a bus from that point with a student on our way to school once, so I could kind of remember where to catch it. I found the bus, got on and rode that to as close to the school as it would get me. Then after getting off that bus, I walked down the street a little and caught the tram that takes me a block away from my school.

So...all that to say, I took 5 forms of public transport today. I'm just glad my first lesson for today was cancelled, otherwise I would have missed half of it. But all was good...I made it to school and had plenty of time to do what I needed to do. Life is an adventure!! And I'm enjoying every minute of it!!

Like many languages, Hungarian does not have the 'th' sound that the English language has. So, you can imagine my delight when I found Heather (the plant) being sold on the street. Then I knew there was a Hungarian equivalent to my name, which is Erika. (News to me) While I was talking to Erin about this new revelation, I came across a website that has more information than I could ever imagine about Heather (the plant). This included this cute story that I have included below. My desire is that my response to God would be the same as in this story, and that from that I would have the strength, fragrance and sweetness of a woman who is pleasing to the Lord.

When God first made the world, He looked at the bare and barren hillsides and thought how nice it would be to cover them with some kind of beautiful tree or flower. So he turned to the Giant Oak, the biggest and strongest of all of the trees he had made, and asked him if he would be willing to go up to the bare hills to help make them look more attractive. But the oak explained that he needed a good depth of soil in order to grow and that the hillsides would be far too rocky for him to take root.

So God left the oak tree and turned to the honeysuckle with its lovely yellow flower and beautiful sweet fragrance. He asked the honeysuckle if she would care to grow on the hillsides and spread her beauty and fragrance amongst the barren slopes. But the honeysuckle explained that she needed a wall or a fence or even another plant to grow against, and for that reason, it would be quite impossible for her to grow in the hills.

So God then turned to one of the sweetest and most beautiful of all the flowers - the rose. God asked the rose if she would care to grace the rugged highlands with her splendour. But the rose explained that the wind and the rain and the cold on the hills would destroy her, and so she would not be able to grow on the hills.

Disappointed with the oak, the honeysuckle and the rose, God turned away. At length, he came across a small, low lying, green shrub with a flower of tiny petals -some purple and some white. It was a heather.

God asked the heather the same question that he’d asked the others. "Will you go and grow upon the hillsides to make them more beautiful?"

The heather thought about the poor soil, the wind and the rain - and wasn’t very sure that she could do a good job. But turning to God she replied that if he wanted her to do it, she would certainly give it a try.

God was very pleased.

He was so pleased in fact that he decided to give the heather some gifts as a reward for her willingness to do as he had asked.

Firstly he gave her the strength of the oak tree - the bark of the heather is the strongest of any tree or shrub in the whole world.

Next he gave her the fragrance of the honeysuckle - a fragrance which is frequently used to gently perfume soaps and potpouris.

Finally he gave her the sweetness of the rose - so much so that heather is one of the bees favourite flowers. And to this day, heather is renowned especially for these three God given gifts.

Story copied from:

http://www.electricscotland.com/gardening/heather.htm