November Winds

For some reason, unexplainable to me, the month of November has completely FLOWN by. I blame it on the cold November winds that seem to have swept through Hungary. We have had a very busy month and it wasn't until today when I was completing "Month End" treasurer work, that I realized our blog posts had skipped a few weeks. So....here are some of the happenings from November.

November 8th, I celebrated my birthday. The weekend before, I enjoyed chocolate peanut butter cheesecake! And on the day of my birthday, Jonathan got a sitter and we went to dinner at TGI Fridays (our little American getaway!).  Carter had a very difficult time understanding why mommy didn't get to have a party, a cake, and lots presents for him to help me open :) When we were out shooting some yearly pics of the boys, Jonathan managed to capture a few of me that I thought were nice.

Just a few short days later it was time to celebrate another Long birthday... this time for Grant! On the 11th we celebrated Grant's 2nd Birthday with a monkey themed family party. A local bakery provided the cutest monkey cupcakes ever! Grant really enjoyed the presents, the cake, and all the fun!

Not very long after we cleared the cake, it was time to start preparing for Thanksgiving. No, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Hungary...but we do! We planned to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the Friday Night Bible study. We baked pies, cooked turkey, and added all the trimmings and were so pleased to have 20 young adults for our Thanksgiving celebration! Carter and Grant were a big help getting everything ready for the meal.

We rounded of the Thanksgiving festivities with an all-church pitch-in Sunday after service. We were pleased to have several visitors and another delicious meal. Sanyi preached a great sermon, and many people commented on what a nice day it was.

Now if we can catch our breath for just a moment, December starts tomorrow - and that means I only have 24 days left before Christmas!!

Busy little bee,
Corinne

Who Can I Trust?

This past week I was in the market for Halloween pumpkins. We had a Halloween party for our Friday night Bible study group and we planned a pumpkin carving contest. Finding good carving pumpkins in Budapest proved to be a little bit of a challenge and Jonathan found himself having a frustrating exchange at the local produce stand.

In Hungarian: Jon - "How much is your pumpkin?"

Salesman - "Oh, do you speak English?"

In English: Jon - "Yes, I do."

Salesman - "It's 600 forints per kilo, 

so 3600 forints total" (That's $18)

Jon - "No, thanks that's too expensive" 

Salesman - "But, it's a beautiful pumpkin!" 

What Jon later discovered was that I had paid only 600 forints total for the other pumpkin I had purchased. The salesman tried to sell Jonathan a pumpkin for 6 times what I paid at another market!!

The past few weeks have reminded me how hard it can be to trust. Living in a foreign country, dealing with a language barrier, maneuvering a different system tend to make us skeptical of everything and everybody. It doesn't help when you find your gas being stolen, your bills being overcharged, and your intentions being questioned. Feeling frustrated and slightly depressed about these situations got me to thinking tonight.

I found myself asking God, again, "Who can we really trust?" and His answer was clearly, "Me" I was reminded that when I can't trust the gas to be in my car each morning, or that I'm not being cheated on my utility bill, or unsure of the true market value of a pumpkin...that God really is the only person I need to trust. He has proved Himself faithful to us time and again. He has supplied our needs time and again.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit." 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Trusting the One,
Corinne

Celebrating 5 Years

Carter blows out his birthday candle.

This past Saturday, October 23rd, our family celebrated an important milestone in Carter's life...his 5th birthday! He celebrated in usual fashion with a party of friends, birthday cake and as much Buzz Lightyear paraphernalia as possible. It was really a fun day, as we followed up the birthday party with a family outing to an antique car show here in Budapest. McDonald's Happy meals, topped off the day.

As the saying goes, time flies. It's hard to believe our first born has been on this earth for five whole years! And I am sure when he is turning 55, I will say the same thing. He has been such a blessing in our lives.

Carter's birthday not only reminds us of the moment in time we first began the journey of parenthood, but it also serves as a time-marker in our journey through missions. You see, Jonathan and I learned of our first pregnancy just a few short months after we felt God's call in our lives to serve in Hungary. So at a time of great anticipation for the birth of our child, we were also discovering what missions meant for us. As we had excitement and fear about our new roles as parents, we also felt excitement and fear over becoming full time servants for Christ.

Yesterday, as we enjoyed the reflections of five years in Carter's life, we also pondered how far we had come since that day we learned about the new roles God had for us. From a couple to a family, from simply husband and wife, to mommy and daddy. From business people, to missionaries. Alot changed for us five years ago. And, we wouldn't want it any other way.

Carter's biggest fans,
Corinne and Jonathan