ARRIVAL IN HUNGARY!

Feb.1 

FIRST LOOK AT HUNGARY:  We had a very long but good flight, landing in London with a 4 hour layover, then another 2 1/2 hour flight to Budapest. On the way to Budapest, our seat-mate was a very friendly young man with excellent English skills. We talked the whole time, practicing our Hungarian, learning about the customs and history of Hungary and also telling him  why we were coming to Talpolca .It was a magnificent view of Budapest as the plane was descending! Attila hovered nearby while, much to the smiles of several men nearby, we collected bag after bag off the luggage carousel. He took our picture and promised to keep in touch. When we got to the waiting room, we were greeted warmly by Shaun Carlaw,and also Eva and Sandor, our son-in-law's Hungarian relatives who live in Budapest. What a joy to finally see everyone!

Feb. 2 

FIRST SHOPPING EXPERIENCE:  On the way to Tapolca, we stopped off at a big supermarket where I had my first real practice with the limited Hungarian words we had learned. Shaun was looking at something else, and I wanted to know which tomatoes the sign was talking about so I said "Excuse me..."in Hungarian to the man beside us. He understood me and smiled and responded to my gestures at the signs! That was a great feeling : ) 

The highlight of the day was meeting the rest of the Carlaws, Sondi, who together with Jokas (see picture) cooked a magnificent meal, and the 3 boys, Kelen, 8, David, 7, and Adam, 3.

 Jokas was especially overjoyed when I played the piano while they sang "How Great Thou Art", at her request.  We all agreed it doesn't matter what language you sing in, you are bound heart to heart by the Spirit of God when you are believers. 

(Ed. the photo of Virginia at the piano was taken in Armstrong.)

Feb. 3  FIRST  SUNDAY WORSHIP EXPERIENCE: Today, instead of travelling the distance to church, we met at Shaun and Sondi's home on a lovely property outside of Tapolca. Magdolna, our translator who is a local high school teacher and is one of two believers in Tapolca, came with us for the time of Bible reading and prayer. Then the five of us sang many worship songs together while I played the piano. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a woman, not a Christian,  from the neighbouring village had walked in the dark to come hear Sondi sing! She was enthralled with the music, and kept saying, "More, more!" 

 

Don't worry, I am not going to be writing every day, but this week of "FIRST'S!" is bound to have a lot of interesting details, so we will write again after we have met all our students this week. We are dependant on God for His strength in adjusting, and know we can only accomplish anything in His power, so we thank you for your continued prayers!