Arrived Safe & Sound in Hungary!

Hi everyone!  Sorry that it took a few days to update my blog, when I first went to this webpage it was all in Hungarian so I could not sign in! :-)  I have been trying to learn Hungarian, but I know very little Hungarian so far.  Shane helped me to get the page up in English.  Thanks, Shane! :-)  A picture of the Hungary flag is above, I am so glad to be here!  I am here with Shane, Marianna, their baby Emily, and Shane's mom.  Shane's mom is also visiting from California, it has been fun to get to know her.  The 5 of us have been having a great time!  I landed in Budapest, which is about 2 hours from where Shane & Marianna live in Szolnok.  Since they have baby Emily, doing a total of 4 hours in the car in one day is a bit much, so the 5 of us spent the night at Calvary Chapel Budapest.  There is an apartment above the church that we stayed in.  It was fun to see the church, and spend some time there.

While still in Budapest, the five of us went to some fun and interesting tourist spots to learn more about Hungarian culture.  There is a great article about learning about the culture on a missions trip.  A quote from the article is "It is imporatant to take the time to get to know people and their culture. Try to find out who are the important and respected figures in the community, and learn about the protocol to follow in approaching community leaders. Try to learn how people celebrate special events such as weddings, funeral, etc. By taking the time, and showing genuine interest in people and their way of life, the missionary will not only gain valuable insights on how to minister to them in the most effective way, but often gain people's respect, which is what opens doors for the Gospel." (http://www.bible-teaching-about.com/missionarytraits.html)  I am trying to learn as much about the Hungarian culture as I can, and living with a married couple Marianna (a Hungarian) and Shane (an American) and learning about Hungary history from both perspectives has been fascinating.  I am having a great time absorbing all that I can so that I can be an effective witness for the Gospel while I am here.
Some of the fun things we did to learn about the culture are that we saw a castle, a beautiful historic church building, a modern government building (like the White House for Hungary), and more!  The most interesting was a museum called the "House of Terror", which was a Historical museum all about Hungary.  I learned that when Hitler was in charge of the Holocaust against the Jews in Germany, it was going on in Hungary too.  Not only were so many Hungarians being killed by Hitler's army, but there also were other wars happening that Hungary was involved in at the same time.  It was very sad, because much of the Hungarian population was wiped out at that time, almost an entire generation.  The tone of the museum was somber, but it was well done.  The House of Terror very interesting and educational.  I am glad to be learning more about Hungary's history and culture.  A link to the home page of the museum is below:

http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/museum/about_us.html

We spent June 8 & 9 in Budapest, and today we were at Shane & Marianna's house in Szolnok.  I love the neighborhood they live in!  Marianna, baby Emily, Shane's mom, and I took a walk around the neighborhood for a few hours today.  As we were going around the neighborhood, Marianna filled me in on the culture and specifically about the area where they live. I also met some of her neighbors and friends.  She also talked with me about some of the ministry opportunities for this summer.  I took lots of notes, there are many events and opportunities planned!  I am very excited to be on this mission trip, and I look forward to sharing the journey with you on this blog! :-)  I miss you all, and I am praying for you.  Please keep me in prayer this summer as well, that God fills all of our hungry hearts and my Hungary Heart! <3