The Hungarian People

"In truth I understand that God does not show favoritism,



but in every nation the person who fears Him and does righteousness



is acceptable to Him." Acts 10:34-35

In a Desolate Place

We visited a historic monument in Budapest which is located at the top of a hill overlooking the Danube River. It is one of the highest points in the city and you can see the entire city from here! While Budapest flourishes in culture, music, traditions, art, literature, medicine, universities, cathedrals, and cafes, this really is a desolate place - spiritually. The cathedrals are so ornately decorated, patron saints are everywhere, and heroes of the deep "Christian" history are named on the street signs. One would think this a place where Christianity abounds. However, under the surface of the goodness of the people, under their beautiful hospitality and welcoming words, my soul can feel a desperation for the touch of God. Most people don't know what a true Christian looks like because they have never seen one, and are unaware that there is more to this life. It is good to be in a desolate place, for it is there that you can recognize your need for God. But to never recognize your need for God is to live believing that you already have everything you need, and falsely believe that you are SATISFIED.

How hungry and thirsty I am, but never satisfied until I move closer to God!
"for here we are in a desolate place......and they all ate and were satisfied." - Jesus feeding the 5,000, Luke 9:12 - 17

Snow Days

This is our driveway, shared by other duplexes like ours. The snowfall has been just incredible. The Hungarians have said they haven't seen this much snow in years. We Texans and Floridians think it's just great and are having fun playing in it! But for those who have to shovel it (like Dad) it is a lot of work! Sometimes he has had to shovel it twice in one day. It has been a great way to spend time with the neighbors; pictured above, as they pose after shoveling the entire driveway! They keep small bottles of palinka (Hungarian vodka) in their pockets to sip from in order to stay warm.

Here is one pile of snow in our front yard that has been a small mountain for the kids to climb up and peek over the neighbor's fence.
Our language teacher lives out in a small village, just outside of town. The road isn't paved, is full of huge holes, and isn't plowed during the winter - which makes it very difficult to drive on. Our van isn't able to make it up the hill, pictured below, it just slips and slides. One day we were stuck, unable to make it up the hill, and we had to go down a different, more treacherous road to get home. So we made the decision to park the van and walk. That's me pictured above with a giant snowball aimed at my husband on our walk to class! And after the picture was taken he grabbed it and threw it at me - honest!
We are so grateful for these days, and are living to make the most from every opportunity - and to see challenges as just that - open doors of opportunity. "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1

A Humble Beginning

As we have come to the end of our first year in Budapest, we are looking forward to experiencing God's promises in the new year. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus...The challenges of moving to a new country, culture, and home have increased our dependence on God and decreased our dependency on all things that were once important....who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped... Holding onto the past, experiences, skills, achievements, degrees, money, favorite toys, and the comforts of America with a clenched fist only increase my self-sufficiency. What a blessing to be in a place where all these things are stripped away...but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men.... The 'form' of who I am must change if there is to be transformation and inspiration. I am no longer certain that I can do anything, except remain empty.....He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.... Humility is a pre-requisite for following Jesus, I know this. How humbled am I willing to be? Some boast in chariots, and some in horses...I have nothing more to claim or cling to. I am desperate for the Lord to do His work in His way. God, if you don't do something, nothing is going to happen here! ....But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God!

Philippians 2:5-8, Psalm 20:7

Merry Christmas in Budapest

Nativity scenes at the Christmas Market.

Shopping in the market - all handcrafted items!
Langos, a Hungarian specialty is baked in this dome shaped oven, and topped with onions, bacon, and sour cream!


Another annual Christmas tradition is to visit the Christmas market in Budapest. This is held in Vorosmarty Square and is a series of outdoor booths, filled with handcrafted gifts, toys, ornaments, and special foods (sausages, kabobs, langos, gingerbread cookies, hot tea, and mulled wine). They also have a live advent calendar displayed in the surrounding buildings' windows. There were numerous nativity displays that were also very beautiful. We were very glad to find free parking by the Danube River and the weather was sunny when we visited!

Christmas Traditions

Elizabeth listening to the Hungarian storyteller.
Joshua eating his creations.
The children enjoyed decorating cookies together.
Rolls of beigli ready to be put in the oven.
Rolling out the dough for the beigli.



Our church spent an evening together preparing for Christmas. Some women baked large quantities of real gingerbread cookies and the parts for gingerbread houses and had them ready for all the children to decorate. They used plastic bags to pipe white icing onto the delicious cookies, and the children were allowed to decorate as many as they wanted!! While they worked, we had a special visitor, a Hungarian storyteller, who read to the children. He was quite dramatic, which made for a very special time of quietly working together on the cookies. While the children licked their fingers and ate their finished cookies, the women worked on making beigli, a special Christmas bread. First a yeast dough is made, rolled out, and then a nut or poppy seed filling is spread on the dough (much like making cinnamon rolls). The dough is then rolled up and baked whole. After it is baked, it is served sliced, and is very delicious! Beigli is also for sale in the stores, and is a very special gift to give others. It's just not Christmas here without the beigli!

Merry Christmas - A Giving Time

Giving out gift bags to each child at the orphanage - calling each child's name.
Singing to the nursing home residents.
Walking through Diosd to sing carols to each of the shops and businesses.



This is our first Christmas in Hungary, and we have had fun experiencing new traditions, some of which I will post later. Christmas always seems to bring new opportunities to serve other people, which always brightens our hearts and makes us feel less homesick for our families back in America. The first picture is our trip to the Velence orphanage. A group from our school went to this orphanage where 94 children live, ages 4-18. Each child received a bag of clothes and toys! The orphans did a small play for us, and our group also had a program for them - a clown who shared the Gospel, and a showing of the "Punchinello" movie in Hungarian. As a gift to us, they presented each person with homemade beigli, a special Hungarian Christmas bread!

Joshua's school also took a walk through Diosd singing Christmas carols to the local shops, police station, post office and city hall. The pictures above are of the children's group stopping in front of each place, while it was snowing!! When the children would begin singing outside, the shop owners would quickly come to the door and windows to listen, quite surprised. At each place the children presented the Hungarians with a plate of homemade cookies and a message about Jesus. In return, the Hungarians produced candy to give to all the children! They always give back when they are given to. After singing in front of the police station, the police would not let the children go until they had something to give them. We saw a policeman take off in his car to go to the store. In a few minutes he returned with bags of Christmas candy to give to the children!! One of the caroling stops was at a small nursing home. The people who live there are very precious, and we hope to be able to return again to visit them.

It's so amazing to be given back to when you are the one who is supposed to be doing the giving. We have been blessed.

We Are So Thankful

We had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner here - pumpkin pie, turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and all the other vegetables. Our missionaries met together to share in this abundant meal on Thanksgiving Day. At home, we enjoyed reading the stories of Squanto, Samoset, and the Pilgrims journey to America each night with our children. We even found marshmellows in a store to make our favorite Pilgrim hat coookies. I am grateful for this holiday so that we can take time to remember where we came from - our ancestors, our history, the reason our country was founded, and price that so many have made so that we could have freedom today. We have also told the stories of Jim Elliot and William Tyndale to our children - great men who were martyred because of their faith. Here is our top 10 list of thanksgivings:

A Bible in our own language,
Salvation in Jesus Christ,
Having 4 children, a wonderful spouse, and family in America,
Boxes that come in the mail,
A nice backyard,
M&Ms and Mentos,
Skype,
New Hungarian friends,
Financial support that allows us to be here,
People who will pray for us.

I Cannot Be Quiet!

We have a group of believers from our church who meet in our living room every Thursday night. It has been wonderful to get to know some Hungarians better as they are very open about sharing their life experiences during this time. Almost 2 weeks ago, one lady in our group asked us to pray for her co-worker who was scheduled to have a late-term abortion on Friday, the next day. This pregnant woman had found out that her baby had Down Syndrome and she did not want to keep the baby. She was six months pregnant. Over the next week, our friend did not have contact with her and we did not know what happened until this week's Thursday night meeting.

The pregnant woman did proceed with the abortion on Friday. She was induced and went into labor, and the baby should have been delivered shortly after. However, the labor process went on until Sunday night. The nurses in attendance said that if the baby did not come this day, she would just have to carry the baby to full term. There was nothing more they could do to make the baby come so early. However, the baby did come Sunday night.

The baby was born alive, and the mother was not allowed to see the baby. The baby was then left unattended......and left to die alone.

And so, this is a typical late-term abortion. Is this more humane than the "partial-birth" abortion method that is in such high demand in America? Friends, let us not think that God does not see and that God does mourn for the callous hearts that would so willingly dispose of another human simply because that one is less than perfect. The word abortion has become far too common a word - even among Christians. Let's not get comfortable with knowing that so many children are being killed every day. Let's not put economics and health care ahead of the right to life when it comes to voting. Let's not assume there is nothing more we can do to stop such evil practices.

Remember our own beautiful daughter.....our five year old who loves to sing and dance, is learning to speak Hungarian and to play piano, completes an entire math chapter in one day, and plays princess dress-up every day......who has Turner Syndrome? She was a choice. "It's OK if you want to terminate your pregnancy, you can always try again. It's not your fault that something is wrong with your baby. We just don't know how bad the affects of her condition will be....." I will never forget hearing these words and how it stung my heart. It's unbelievable that we would even have to talk a genetic counselor who assured us that "pregnancy termination" was a perfectly normal choice! WHAT? What's normal about killing your baby? Special needs children are precious! They are a special GIFT from God......so that we would learn how to really love.


"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139

I cannot be quiet! Psalm 94:16, Proverbs 31:8-9

The Scent of Routine

Since we moved to Budapest, we have seen our home life evolve into some pretty nice routines. If it's Friday, you can always guess what we'll be doing........it's pizza day at our house. Friday morning, after breakfast, I make 2 recipes of dough. I don't have a bread machine, so I've mastered the art of kneading it by hand and letting it rise. Then, about 4 PM I start chopping the veggies and shredding cheese (by hand of course!). I buy a huge block of cheese and shred all of it - enough for 5 pizzas. At 4:30 PM we turn the kitchen table into a pizza factory with our rolling pins, flour, pizza pans, sauce, & toppings. The children take turns rolling dough, spreading the sauce and decorating their pizza, and mostly sampling the toppings. They like to eat more than they put on their pizzas. Stephen discovered he liked mushrooms last week! We can only bake 2 pizzas in the oven at one time, so by 5:30 most of them are done.......and they are sooooo delicious! Our favorite topping (the adults) are the spicy Hungarian peppers. The kids' favorite - cheese. (No surprise there.) The whole house seems to be exhaling the scent of Italy. We haven't yet made our homemade pizzas like the Hungarians do - baked with corn on top, and smothered in ketchup and mayo. This surprisingly simple routine has given us that something to look forward to at the end of the week, and has meshed us together with some fun together time. After dinner, we pile pillows and blankets on the floor, and chose a kids movie to watch - a movie that is in ENGLISH.

Here's our recipe, enough for 2-3 pizzas, depending on the thickness.
mix together:
3 1/3 cup flour (half whole wheat, half white flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp yeast
Then add some olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water.
Knead together until smooth and ball shaped. Let rise!


"Mom, is it Friday yet?"