Visiting Mukachevo, Ukraine

Soon after my arrival in Hungary several weeks ago I boarded a train and headed off to Mukachevo, Ukraine to visit the de Vuyst family who serve there with CRWM. I had a great time playing with the kids, visiting their church, and looking at some of the sights. Having visited Hungary for the first time in 1993 crossing the border into Ukraine was like going back into time. Here are some pictures from the trip.

The with a statue near their home (the kids wanted to be in almost all of the pictures)

Dawning the shades and the musicial instruments statues

The results from playing with the kids

Yummy Shashlik

The new (Hungarian)  princess Ilona Zrini statue at Mukachavo Castle

Mukachevo the Home of Fischer Hockey Sticks Thank you de Vuyst family for allowing me to have such a great visit!   

Welcome to Heidi and Andrea's Flat

Two years ago I shared with you pictures of the SheShe house which was my first home in Hungary.  I lived there for two years, but my roommates and I decided to move.  I opted to move into the ‘city’ where I now have more access to public transportation and the downtown core, but a longer commute to work.    I have a wonderful new roommate named Heidi who works with Youth with a Mission (YWAM). 

Here are some pictures of our flat which is part of a duplex.  This flat is typical housing for Hungarians.

See our door

Come into our home

Relax on my bedoom's loveseat

 Visit with our outdoor dog Csénga

Our typical teeny tiny WC complete with a string

Our living room/guest room

Our furnace

Our kitchen

Our Pantry

Születésnap

Sunday was my birthday and I was also speaking at Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church in Bowmanville.  I would like to thank the church for allowing me to share about my ministry at ICSB and for the birthday surprise:

 A special thanks goes out to Holly for her baking ability.  The cake was delicious.

Where is home?

Recently I read the book Homecoming by Cynthia Voight.  In the book the 4 Tillerman children aged 13, 10, 9 and 6 are abandoned by there mentally ill mother.  They were on their way to their Aunt Cilla's house, so they continue their journey on foot hoping that they will be able to live with their 'great' aunt. Upon arrival at the house they find their aunt has passed away and her daughter Eunice is now living alone in the house.  Dicey, the oldest child, decides that Eunice's house is not the best place for her family, so they set out once again to find their grandmother they only just found existed.


Throughout their journeys Dice plays with the idea of what is home? One night when her family sleeps in a graveyard she reads the inscription on one of the head stones: “Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea.” From this inscription Dicey concludes that no one is really home until they are dead and “[i]t was an awful thought.”

But, where is home?



For many of our students at ICSB this concept is just as hard to define as for Dicey. They haven’t been ripped away from where they called home on the account of their ill parents, but many of them move from place to place every three years or they may have lived in Hungary their whole life, but some people may still want them to call the United States (or where their citizenship is held) their ‘home.’  Even into adulthood some will with struggle with the question of where are you from? 

Perhaps as Christians Dicey’s idea that they are not really home until we die is true?  It is only upon our death or the return of Christ that we will be home with Christ. Our bodies and this earth are only temporary. Our true home is in heaven and this is not an awful though at all for those who love and worship Jesus Christ.

Where is home for you?

When it rains it pours

The in June my computer power cord died due to a power surge.

As I was getting ready to go out to buy a new one I flicked on the switch to the pantry and it didn't work.  I thought to myself "how strange the bulb must have burnt out."  I proceed to get the toaster and the bread wouldn’t stay down.  I couldn’t believe it the light was burnt out, the toaster was broken, and I had no power going to my computer.  Then it dawned on me “maybe the power is out in the whole flat” and sure enough the fridge had no power either.

The power problem with my computer was not due to the power outage, so I ventured out into one of the hottest days in June.  Just walking the 10 minutes to the tram stop had me almost dripping with sweat.  I went to one store and then another and then another looking for a power cord.  No one had one.  The third place I went to looked up the Dell store address and directed me there, but it would have taken me over an hour to get there.  So instead I stared calling my friends to see if they had a Dell power supply I could borrow until I returned to Canada the next week.  No luck there so I went into the final computer store on Bartok Bela and sure enough they had one.

I paid for the power cord and a surge protector. I proceeded to the ATM to take out my rent money, but my ATM card didn’t work.  After trying another ATM and my card not working there either  I went home only to find the power still out.  One of my friends returned my phone card earlier and I was thankful that she would allow me to go to her flat, so I could Skype the bank.

I went to my friend's place, fixed the problem with my ATM card and headed to get my hair cut.  Of course coming back from getting my hair cut the tram was not running, so I had to walk to my English Home Fellowship Group.

Needless to say I was relieved to find the power on when I arrived home that evening.

For all of my friends who are learning English the day I just described gives the true meaning of the idiom - WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS!

Reponse to Too Small to Ignore by Wess Stafford

 "When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Mark 10:14 NIV)

In his book Too Small to Ignore Wess Stafford gives a fascinating account of this life growing up as an MK in a village in Cote D’Ivore and then later boarding school. He talks about life in the village in almost in an nostalgic way, but never giving into writing that everything was perfect in that village.  Children, including him, growing up in that village were completely integrated into society and played an important role in the economy.  Stafford’s boarding school experience was a stark contrast. Almost daily Stafford suffered abuse from the mission staff who were meant to protect and nurture him.

After giving the background to some of the reasons why his thinks that children are so important Stafford then goes on to talk about how Jesus feels about children, how God used children in the Bible and is still using them today.  Throughout the book Stafford sends the message that children should not be ignored or swept away until they reach adulthood.  Jesus thought children were so important that he became ‘indigent’ when the disciples tried to keep them away for them (Mark 10:14 NIV). Children are for today and each time we interact with a child we have a chance to shape their life positively.

As a librarian at an International Christian School this book has challenged me to think about how important the children I work with really are to the kingdom of God.  Every time I teach a child a new skill, encourage them or even just spend a few minutes listening to them I am showing them that they are valued and important.  Often times I struggle with how to integrate Biblical principles into my lessons and how to share Christ with my students.  Even though I need to continue working on this, perhaps I have already modeled Christ more than I thought by making the library an inviting and kid friendly place.

I highly recommend that everyone, especially people who work with children, read this book.  It will give you a greater appreciation of children and how precious they are in Jesus’ sight.

Blessings from Budapest: Update May 2010

The school year is winding up at International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) and with that comes the busyness year end activities. Students are going on their final field trips, year end concerts are being performed, tears will be shed at the goodbye chapels and finally the graduates will be sent off into the world. Our students will be scattered throughout the globe for the summer. Some will be coming back to ICSB next year while others will move to new places.

Throughout the year I have watched the students change and grow. I am amazed at what the Lord had done in their lives and proud of them for all their hard work. At the last high school chapel of the year I was able to hear some of the students’ testimonies of what the Lord has done it their lives. One student stood up and talked about how last year in his home country he made some bad choices and was influenced negatively by this non-Christian ‘friends.’ He was crushed when he found out he was moving to Hungary, but was surprised to find love and acceptance from our students. It is great to know that the love of Christ is infiltrating ICSB through the student body. I would ask that you would join me and the other staff members in praising the Lord for what he is doing in the students’ lives at ICSB.

Personally, I will be experiencing the transition of moving to a new apartment in Budapest at the end of June. Currently, I live in the village of Diosd where ICSB is located. I am excited to be moving to the city where I will room with a lady who works with Youth with a Mission. Please pray that my new home will be a place where Jesus is first and that it will be a warm and inviting.

Specific praise and prayer requests

• Praise for the near completion of another good school year and that several of the students came to know the Lord
• Pray for the students not returning to ICSB (graduates and others) that they will transition well in their new situations
• Pray that the teachers and staff at ICSB will be sensitive to the needs of our students and will find opportunities to share the gospel with the students
• Pray for myself as I continue to wrestle with how to teach the students library skills from a Biblical perspective.

Thank you for your partnership in sharing the love of Christ with the students at ICSB!