Promises

We had quite the time since I last updated. We went with the Santa Barbara team to Italy and it was adventurous to say the least!
Our car decided to have problems the minute Jim took the team to the train station in Baja he heard a rattle-muffler. So, we had one of the guys at the church fix it and headed on our way to Italy via Budapest for a night and Milstatt for a night.

Of course the weather in Padova was over 100 every day we were there but hey-we have air conditioning in the car right???? Let's just say that when it wanted to be on it was on and when it needed a break, it took one! Get the picture??!!! So one of the days we head to Venice with the team and as Jim parks in the parking garage the battery light went on. Needless to say when we came back to the car it wouldn't start. Oh the fun now begins.
So you must picture this. Jim says, ok-one of you girls needs to steer (it was Charlotte, her husband Ed and Jim and I) Well, I am not steering, no way, no how! I think I would freak out. So we decided to let Jim steer and Ed, Charlotte and I would push! Yes, skirts and all, we are pushing the car. Well, I guess in all fairness it was mostly Ed, but Charlotte and I must have had some impact :) Here we are pushing and we are getting close to the part where the parking lot starts to make the curvy turn and I am just praying inside-Lord there is no way that I can push while going around a bend. Those of you who know me know that coordination is not one of my spiritual gifts! LOL


Anyway, the Lord had mercy upon us and at just the right time Jim started the car and we headed back to Padova. The car broke down again after a few days and this time it had to be put on a truck and taken to the repair shop. A new belt, new alternator, headaches, sore back for Jim and a whole bunch of euros later we were on our way back to Hungary!
Just one of those times where you ask the Lord....Lord why now? Whey did this have to happen now? I sometimes think He feels like saying...why not now...as if there is a better time for these things to happen :)

We ended up staying an extra week after the team left to find a place to live but didn't have much luck. We learned a lot about Italian culture that week. We learned how important the afternoon lunch/siesta is. So important that an hour before it starts not much gets accomplished so that you aren't in the middle of something when the lunch begins and then about an hour after it ends you are just getting back in the swing of work again. On the last day, we finally found a realtor franchise that seems helpful and we pray that things will go well next week when we return.


Last week was pretty gloomy and we had a rainstorm one of the days. I happened to look out my window and saw a beautiful rainbow right in my backyard. It was such a gift from the Lord! It was a rough week and you know how you have those times where you know the promises of God and His faithfulness but you just need some extra assurance-well, it was like God gave the rainbow just for me at just the right moment. I grabbed my camera and did my best to mark the memory. I love how personal the Lord is. He knows what His children need and His Word just comes alive in our lives as we cry out to Him.

Some of our girls were baptized last week at the family conference. It brought tears to my eyes seeing them make this commitment before the Lord. We have been together all year for women's studies and watching them grow in their relationship and seeing Jesus at work in their lives is so precious!
So many beautiful memories! The Lord is indeed good isn't He!!!

Team SB

What a great week we have been having with the Santa Barbara team!! Lots of this and that getting done at the church ie-painting, repairs, etc. All the things that aren't big by themselves but add up to lots of work!! It was great to walk into the church and see all that the guys had done!

Lars and Emily also taught the youth group some fun stuff-lots of crazy fun to be had. The time in the Word was a great reminder of Jesus being the door and the safety we can find in Him alone!

Yesterday proved once again to be a day where we saw God do amazingly and abundantly above and beyond all we could think! We had a Kid's Day and weren't expecting more than about 20 kids. Well, over 40 kids came and not only that but many of the parents came in the afternoon and joined us for lunch and more fun games at the park. It was great to see kids from all ages playing, hearing and acting out bible stories, doing fun crafts and singing praises to the Lord!! Such a blessed time!

Here are a few photos from the youth group. Charles from SB has a great talent for art and led the kids in painting the skateboard ramps. I'll add the ones from kids day when we get back.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel today to make our way through Budapest, Austria and then on to Italy with the team. Pray for energy as we endure the heat and humidity, travelling graces, health, etc. We will be in Padova for a few days with the team and Jim and I will stay on after they leave in hopes to find a place to live. Actually, we MUST find a place so we can begin the moving process.

Thanks for praying!! :)

Little Miss Juliet

Finally a sweet little photo of the most beautiful grandbaby!!! Am I a bit biased ??? LOL!!!
Jim finally got to meet his little granddaughter and was thrilled to feed her! What a blessing!
Thanks for all your prayers and those who helped make this trip happen for Jim. It meant so much to him!
Jim was able to get a lot of our paperwork done for Italy also. So much to do to apply for our Italian citizenship but it will be worth it. Now all the kids want to apply too. You never know how the Lord might use it in the future! I think it's funny how our ancestors were all trying to get to America and become citizens and now we are trying to go back to the countries they came from.
Please be praying for the team that will arrive from Santa Barbara next week. We will be busy doing fix up work around the church, having a kids day and if I am lucky, maybe get some more packing done. We will also head to Padova the following week and look over the city with the team, pray and perhaps scout out places to have an outreach the following year. Lots to do and so we covet your prayers. Pray they will be healthy and for good weather to do all we want to do!
So without further ado.....here is the Princess :)

Siegen Conference

We were so blessed to be able to go to the Servanthood Conference at the Siegen church a couple weeks ago. We went last year and it was awesome but this year it just didn't seem possible to go. The dollar has dropped so much and everything is more expensive. Gas alone is between 7.50 -8.00 dollars a gallon. (sorry to our US friends, we don't feel your pain) :) just kidding :)
Anyway, the conference started on Tues and we rec'd a phone call on Monday telling us that if we wanted to go it was covered!! How amazing is that! God is so good and we knew there were things the Lord wanted to speak to our hearts since He made the way for us to go. It was a double blessing because we were able to go a couple hours from the church and pick up some boxes that were shipped full of clothes for the church. We brought them to the church yesterday and everyone had a great time picking out things to wear!! Thanks Kim and Martha!!!! :)
At the conference we were able to see some old friends from SB church and meet some new ones. The messages were great and Jim and I both went up for prayer to have a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. There was such a joy and a power in the prayer! It was one of those that I just want to carry with me as a reminder when I feel blah. Our friends Sadie and David were there and Pastor Ricky and some others prayed for us too. We are ready!! Ha ha-just remind me I said that!! There's just something about it when people are praying for you and you know they really want to be praying. It was a good reminder to me too because when I pray with people I want them to know that I want to be praying for them, it's not just a formality or something I do.
I wrote down a few highlights that spoke to my heart during the conference. Of course there were many things, but these are the main things. (You can click on it for a bigger size)

Back from Italy

We returned home to Hungary early this am. Such a long drive and we got a late start from Italy. We didn't leave there until about 5 or so and got home 4:30 this am!! Talk about tired!!
It was a great trip and we got to meet the people at the Padova fellowship. Such a sweet group of people and we are excited about the work the Lord wants to do there and also all over Italy!
It was strange to be in a big city and smell all the different smells, fight traffic and be surrounded by so many things! After 7 yrs here in Baja with a population just under 40,000, I realized how used to my surroundings I am. It's weird to think that we will drive more and I can't just walk everywhere. In Baja, it's so easy to get around and just use the car for cold days and food shopping!
Trying to find a place to live is proving to be quite a challenge! In Italy a place is usually furnished or not furnished. Unfurnished is great since we have our furniture already but unfurnished usually means no kitchen either!! AH-what a difference! Then, if you look at a furnished place, you have all their style-which wouldn't really bother me, but I mean their pictures on the walls (weather you like it or not) and their furniture which a lot of times is old! We looked at a couple places yesterday but nothing really worked for us. One was nice, but a bit further than we would like and also no kitchen whatsoever. Plus, we want the students to feel free to visit us on weekends and it would be too difficult to travel by train. Hopefully we can find some places to look at the end of June when we return.

Please keep our house hunting in prayer and all the packing!
Also for our little granddaughter-Juliet. She is home now and I can't wait to get some pictures!!!!!!

Grandbaby is born!!!

Christina gave birth to her little girl around 9:30pm Monday!!!! She weighs in at 8lbs 15oz. Congratulations Christina and Bryan!! Can't wait to see a picture!!!!!!!!!

Graduation

We travelled to Vajta on Tues night with a group from the church to celebrate Sharpi's graduation from bible college. He is officially the first graduate from Baja after all these years!! We are so proud of him-he's been so faithful and such a committed servant. He will continue serving as the youth leader here in the church.

Here are a few photos from the graduation.

The Graduate
He looks at home here !!!

Sharpi's Dad, Mom, Zita, sister Szandra

Magdi and Andi

Yes, we are very proud