First Week in Hungary

Oh, to be in Hungary…

First, I just want to thank all of you so much for your prayers and for your support. When I hugged my family goodbye and boarded the plane by myself, I did not feel alone. I have felt God’s presence and I know He is still giving me strength while I’m preparing for the first week of school. Never have I been more overwhelmed, but I have so much peace about it all.

Here is a little of what happened this week:

I landed here Friday at noon and a couple with UWM picked Megan and I up from the airport. We drove through Budapest and finally got to Diosd. They gave us a quick tour of the town square and dropped us off at our apartments after getting some delicious sweet bread. My apartment is unbelievably close to the school. The elementary entrance is right across the street from my front door. I know this is going to come in handy when the cold weather comes. That night a couple of teachers took us out to eat at a nearby mall. The next day was just a day of relaxation. Megan and I got a tour of the new school and went shopping at a nearby store kind of like a Walgreens called CBA. On Sunday Megan and I got a ride to Danube International Church with some teachers. After church, they took us into the city to show us around. The city is beautiful. We walked down the famous Vaci street and had lunch at a small café. I had a bowl of goulash--- and it was the real thing. We then took the tram to the huge church of St. Istevan’s, the Opera house, and Hero’s Square.

The next week was filled with days at the school. We had new staff meetings in the morning and then got to work in our classrooms in the afternoon. My room is on the second floor and it has windows on two sides. I love how large the windows are here. The school doesn’t have air conditioning so it’s important to have the windows opened especially at this time of year. It’s been pretty hot here lately, but not as bad as the heat I left in Texas. That is a blessing. We have 260 students enrolled this year. Everyone here cannot stop praising the high school students. At least one person everyday tells me how much I’m going to love them. I know I will.

Yesterday was St. Istevan’s day. For a native Hungarian, yesterday was one of the two biggest holidays celebrated in Hungary. St. Istevan was Hungary’s first king who came and established his kingdom in Budapest nearly a thousand years ago and he also brought Christianity, or rather, introduced the Catholic church to this area. All the roads into the main part of the city are blocked because a third of the population of Hungary gathers to watch the fireworks at nine. There is also an air show and a parade at St. Estevans. A lot of us teachers took the bus into town and watched the fireworks. It was really neat to be apart of what was going on around us.

Now I’m enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon getting ready for school. Hungary has been wonderful, but at the same time just a lot to take in. The language is incredibly different from English and I know so very little. It’s so weird to not be able to read or understand signs and food labels. Shopping has been a little tricky. The other day I went grocery shopping and tried to buy butter and ended up with a cream cheese spread instead. Oh well. It still tasted good. I have a feeling that I’ll be saying “Oh well” a lot after shopping trips.

Please keep praying for the first week of school. I still have so much to do and so much to plan for. Love you all!

Kathryn

The first three are pictures of my classroom and the last one is a view from one of the windows.

These last ones are of my room, my chair, my living room, my kitchen and I took of picture of the Freedom bridge in downtown Budapest.

Oh Humidity....

Life at Shepherd of the Ozarks has flown by so fast. We are now into our fourth week of camp....but I'm not there. Nope, today I caught my flight to New York and just enjoyed a wonderful walk in cool, 60 degree weather. After spending some time in the heat of the Arkansas hills, the weather here is so refreshing and delicious. 


I was so surprised by the beauty and simplicity of upstate New York. The hills are lush and green and the wind just has a sweet, clean smell. I'm staying at the  beautiful campus of Houghton Wesleyan College, in a small dorm room, that reminds me of my days at UMHB. For those of you who may not know, I'm attending  ACSI's Third Culture Kid Pre-Field Orientation this week. This week should be filled with discussions, classes, and workshops designed to prepare a new teacher to his or her field. Basically, its all about relating and understanding the culture of a missionary kid and how to encourage and interact with them in a more meaningful and more knowledgeable way. 


I'm excited for these next two weeks because this is what my ministry at ICSB is going to be about. Please pray that I would be teachable and focused. 


I'll write more details soon!
-K

...summer plans...

Today I have quite a long list of things that I need to get done. Meg and I will be leaving for Shepherd of the Ozarks (Soto) Wednesday morning and I'm getting so excited. We will be there all summer except when I go to training in New York and when she goes to Ethiopia. 


Soto is a wonderful place. Its a place where I have felt true heart ache and true joy. Soto has been an escape for me. Yes, as an intern I work all the time and get to relax a little here and there, but my time there with the Lord refreshes me so much. I cannot imagine a better place to go to prepare my heart for future struggles in Hungary. I'm trying not to be naive about all of this. I know its going to be very hard my first year. I know teaching will push me and stretch me farther than ever before. I know that all my struggles  with homesickness and security won't vanish when I'm in another country. I know reality will hit me when I'm finally there. Hopefully, with my training in June, I will have a better perspective of just what I'm getting into. If everyone could be in prayer about training I would greatly appreciate it. I fly to New York on June 25 and fly back to Little Rock July 8. 


Pray for:

• confidence
• my eyes to be opened to what its like to be an MK
• my heart and mind to be teachable
• safe travel

Another thing that I love about Soto are all the opportunities to build relationships with people. I work on the high ropes course and I love helping people overcome their challenges. There are just too many ways to bring God into the conversation- its amazing. I tell people all the time that God is with you even now as you climb the pamper pole, you can always ask Him at anytime to give you courage. Trusting God on the ropes course is a lot like trusting God during life. When you fall God is always going to catch you and He is always going to be there with through everything you face. Many things on a ropes course just naturally relate to whats going on in people's lives. Even now I can look back at things I've said to people and see that I need some one to say those things to me at times. 

Just a little update for everyone. I'm now at 43%! God is faithful. I thank Him for everything He has done. 

Well, remember that long list I was telling you about? Its calling my name........bye for now!

Be Encouraged My Friends!

Right now I'm happy because I've been fishing with two sweet little boys and we caught a lot of perch out of the lake today. And now I'm sitting at my computer smelling a little fishy and scratching my toes because some Texas fire ants just wanted in on the fun we were having.  


I have been wanting to update everyone on my financial situation because I have been feeling so encouraged by what God has provided. I just praise and thank Him so much for the lessons He has been teaching me through raising support. I have now almost all that I need for all my initial costs! This is wonderful and such a sweet thing because there have been and are a lot of one time costs. As for my monthly support, I am roughly around 35% of the 2000 I need per month. A friend recently encouraged me to speak out about what my needs are. Right now, I need people to commit to giving gifts each month. Please pray or continue praying for this to come about. I know I can trust the Lord with this.


 I am so encouraged by the body of Christ and the way God has moved the hearts of some of my family members and friends to support me. I pray daily that the Lord continues to take care of me...I know I will until the very last moment before I buy a ticket and board my plane for Hungary. I will trust Him still. It is He that makes all of this possible. 


August is not that far away, but I know the team I'm on and He is for me.

These are sweet days...

The Lord just has this crazy habit of surprising me. Each time I try to come up with an amount that I hope will be reached, the Lord just goes way beyond. I'm so very thankful each time I look at my account and see God's work. I have learned so much about prayer these last few weeks. Prayer is so important and each day I am surprised how easily I forget to pray. It has been sweet to grow in this area.


Needless to say, the barn dance went wonderfully. So many young people came, and while dancing was on their minds, they listened to me give a quick talk about teaching in Hungary and prayed with me. Like all barn dances, it takes a little while for the boys to get brave enough to ask that pretty girl to dance. Anne and I always joke with the boys and threaten to embarrass them if they don't start asking. Many parents and people who are like my second mother and father were there too. It was such a blessing and a neat memory.


That next week I traveled back to my Alma Mater, UMHB, and visited some friends and celebrated graduation. I was so blessed to attend my sweet friend Erika's voice recital. Her voice just blew me away. 


It was kind of weird being back at UMHB. I looked around campus and just thought of all the times I was racing across the quad to get to class. I remember all the times I spent at the library studying on the second floor and looking out the big glass windows to the sky. I can remember daydreaming about teaching and what kind of teacher I was going to be and what my life was going to look like. Those were sweet days.


Mother's day was wonderful. My mom's parents and my Uncle Brian and Aunt Kay and cousin Rachel came down for lunch at the barn. We had a good time visiting and finished it off with my absolutely favorite dessert...vanilla ice-cream with sugared black berries on top. I like to call it summer-in-a-cup.


Later on that day I packed my bags again and headed to New Braunfels to spend a couple days with my sister/best friend Erin. Our activities included a trip to Canyon Lake, frozen custard, good conversation, a short trip to Tanger Outlets, coffee, A Walk In The Clouds, floating the Comal river, omelets, and a neat time at their Biblestudy. Their small group just finished Crazy Love and I recommend reading this book. And you haven't read Radical yet by David Platt I suggest this one to everyone as well. 


It was a good time of rest before I head off for a busy summer working at camp. Each day I get a little more excited about working this summer. I tend to think more about Hungary and my life this next school year. I need to focus on whats in front of me and thank the Lord for this time before I leave. 


So whats in front of me this week? Well, emails, essays, and Meg's graduation. Yay! 

Where I've Been

Goodness me, I am not doing very good job at this blog idea. Originally I had thought I would blog about twice a week, knowing how much I love to write and all, but life has been so full and fast paced.


So I would like to give an update on what I've been up to and how great the Lord has been to me.


I had a garage sale on April 7 and 8. It was supposed to last till that Saturday, but I decided it wasn't going to happen. I learned that garage sales are a lot of work. I spread the word that I was having one and asked friends and family if they would like to donate some stuff. I went and picked up most of it, sorted and organized, cleaned and priced, and then that Thursday my dad and I opened the doors. I think we had two tables set up with a few dishes on one table when people out of nowhere began to walk right up and pick through piles of stuff in the garage. I was literally frantic. I had no idea so many people were going to show up. By the end of the day I had made over a thousand dollars. The Lord worked through all of it. He worked in me that day too. Somewhere in the middle of that garage sale I had set my phone down to talk with a couple of customers and when I came back my phone was gone. Immediately I was so upset and discouraged for about ten minutes. Then it dawned on me- I only needed a cell phone for four more months. Ha, I was leaving for an adventure with the Lord in four months! I was so excited about that I wasn't even upset anymore. Everything worked out fine and eventually I did get a new phone. But I really think the Lord was working on me and my personality-- I like things to run smoothly. I don't like it when I have to be flexible or changeable and rarely do other people. I especially get uptight and aggravated in situations like that and can really not be fun to be around. I know its something the Lord is teaching me.


After the garage sale I practically locked myself in my "office" or the schoolroom (depends on who you are) and glued my rear to my desk chair. I was determined to finish writing my prayer letter and get those mailed off.  By the end, I was sitting on the floor with a paint brush and a small bowl of water sealing up 202 pieces of mail.   I love going to the post office here in Pinehurst. There is a man who works there who has helped me many times. So this time when I brought a bag in he asked me what I was sending. It was a perfect opportunity so I took it and told him about teaching in Hungary and why I was going. He was amazed and kept saying he couldn't believe some one would just volunteer to go do something like that.  He wished me luck and thats where the conversation stopped. He's the fourth person I've talked to about the Lord since I accepted the job at ICSB. The first person I talked to owned a soda shop in Bryan. Anne and I ended up there in one of our little antique shopping escapades in Bryan one Friday. He asked what we were doing, if we had jobs or of we were going to school. Soon, we were talking with the owner about the Lord over cream sodas and coffee. Talking about Hungary just naturally opens the door to talk to people about their faith. It happened again in Conroe during jury duty. I sat by and man and a woman who were just as friendly as could be. And then they asked me what I was doing with my life and I had the opportunity to share again. I love it! I'm so happy to share and I thank the Lord for those moments.


Easter was wonderful. I read a book last week called Heaven Is For Real and it just prepared my heart for celebrating Christ's resurrection. I'm just so thankful for how much God the Father loves us. At the Sonrise service at the barn we sang "Because He Lives". The words to that song always make me so happy that I cry.   Christ lives and we also live because of Him. How wonderful is the hope that we have through Christ's resurrection! 


Last night I met with some people from my home church who get together every Tuesday night to pray for our church missionaries. I was able to share what I was going to be be doing in Hungary in the fall and they faithfully hung with me to the tearful end of my explanation! I cried when I told them how the Hungarian families told the school that they send their kids to ICSB because they heard that teachers there love their students. I haven't even been there yet and I was blubbering on that thats what kind of teacher I want to be. Oh dear, the whole way to the meeting I prayed that the team would see my heart. Afterwards I jokingly told God that I know I prayed that he would show them my heart, but he didn't have to show that much! Ah, oh well. It made me transparent and excited about where God is leading me. This is my dream and hopefully tears won't be shed every time I talk about it, but its very dear to my heart. 


Today I'm working on getting things together for a dance at the barn this Friday. Whenever I say barn I mean my grandfather's pavilion across the lake from my house. We have a barn dance there every December and people are always telling us we should have more. It really is so much fun. I have some really great memories of our barn dances. Anyways, we are having another dance as a way for me to talk to more people about my ministry and to help raise support for initial costs. Please pray that people come and have a great time. 


Well thats all for now. The Lord has been taking such good care of me. I thank him so much for blessing my garage sale and teaching me through all of this. 


Kathryn

Waiting

My grandma always tells me that I remind of her of the song in the Sound of Music, "You are sixteen going on seventeen-- waiting for life to start..." Sometimes I very much feel this way. I feel like I'm on the top of a roller coaster who has just made it to the top of the climb before it shoots off in a rattling, scary ride.

I thank God for even allowing me to get in the cart and set out for this journey. My trip to United World Mission's candidate orientation was amazing. I was able to meet so many incredible missionaries and candidates that were excited about what God was doing in different parts of the world. In just 24 hours we became a family, supporting one another and sharing struggles with one another. It was neat to be able to look into each kind face and know that we were a team, and that we're all working in this together.

God is incredible! He brings people together with extraordinary pasts and is glorified in the unity of His church. He is able to take a broken, ugly life and turn it into something beautiful. And He wants to use each of us to expand His kingdom and surprise people with the love of Christ.

"For we are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10