Auschwitz Thanksgiving

This past weekend we visited Krakow, Poland for the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a wonderful city with a lot of history. On Thanksgiving Day, we went to the Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camps. Ironically enough our tour guide was from Kenosha, Wisconsin. It is hard to comprehend the atrocities that happened at these two camps. It truly reveals the depths of our fallen nature. After spending the day there, I began reflecting on what I learned and how that relates to thankfulness. We often talk about Hitler and are stunned at the things one human can be capable of. It does however beg the question of how could we as a people be capable of crucifying the Son of God? I am truly saddened at what happened to the Jewish people, Roma and so many more during WWII, but does my sorrow somehow make me a better person? I think the answer is no. I am still a sinner who struggles every day against the same flesh Hitler gave in to. I still grieve the heart of God. There is however one major difference. I am saved by grace. While I consider the things that happen as a result of sin, I am thankful for being set free from the power that evil has over me. The entrance to the gate at Auschwitz says "work makes you free" in German. How wrong that is. It was not an easy thing to walk where so many died and to learn about the unimaginable pain of others, but it has once again reminded me of all I have to be thankful for.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." - 2 Corinthians 3:17

Two Questions

There are two questions I get asked by almost every Hungarian I meet. The first is why Hungary? They always seem to be astounded by the fact that I chose to come to Budapest out of all the places I could have gone. It has turned out to be a great opportunity to share how the Lord called me to be here. The second question I frequently get asked is How do I like Budapest and why do I like Budapest? This one always makes me laugh. People are genuinely perplexed about my liking this city and its people. So, I thought I would share why I like it here so much. First and foremost is the people. While Hungary has a sad history, I find the people to be happy and kind. They have been above and beyond understanding with my serious lack of Hungarian speaking skills. I have often found people who try to help me learn the correct phrases and pronunciation. I also love the way Hungarians speak their language. They are very lively and animated in their language. Finally, they are open to the gospel. Last week we did an outreach on a college campus in Budapest. We shared with them about American Thanksgiving and all the Lord has given us to be thankful for. It was such a blessing to watch them try American food, practice their English and ask questions about the Lord. They took no offenses at our open sharing about the Lord and they asked thoughtful, challenging questions. It was an experience that continued to solidify my love and appreciation for this beautiful city and its people.

Korean Dinner

Last Saturday the Korean families from our school cooked dinner for all the staff and their families. What a wonderful blessing from the Lord. We all came together for some excellent food and fellowship in the school cafeteria. I can't remember the last time I saw that much food! As soon as I upload the pictures I will post them. I am so thankful for the many ICSB parents who bless us. Not only do they so often cook for us and give of their time to school functions, but they are so kind in continually encouraging and thanking ICSB teachers and staff. I am truly humbled by the grace of so many of our parents!

Coffee Haz and Outreach

So, I have been here three months already, and I am continually amazed by the heart for service and evangelism so many of the students have. There is a group of kids that have been going into the city almost every weekend doing a drama and sharing the gospel. They are on fire for God and excited to share their story and His story. Here is a link to a video of the drama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z0iwwLx99Q
Also, last week StuCo (Student Council) put on a fundraiser for a charity that seeks to end human trafficking (Love146 and IGM). They titled it Loose Change to Loosen Chains and had classes and staff compete by putting loose change in jars. The staff naturally won :) At the end of the week, there was a coffee house to raise additional money. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and it was great to see the kids so excited about giving!
Here is one more post about the orphanage trips we do a few times a year through the outreach team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlAB9YD0WXI

Croatia

We had a holiday a few weeks ago and we had a nice long weekend so a few of the other teachers and I went to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We thought it was about a 6 or 7 hour ride, so we rented a car (let's just say I had a "trial by fire" experience driving stick shift through the worst traffic in downtown Budapest ever!!!) and took off for the Adriatic coast. Eleven hours later, we arrived at our destination. It was a long drive, but worth the trip. We stayed inside the city walls of Dubrovnik and it was amazing! We spent a lot of time sitting by the see and chatting and reading. We also walked the city walls, which was quite fun. Here are a few pictures to help you get an idea of our adventures!

Walking the city walls...some of the islands

Beautiful!

An old canon

Still beautiful...

The girls: Me, Kacie, Emily and Hannah

How many weeks since my last post?

Hi friends! I clearly am still the worst blogger ever. I try to "spread out my posts," but quite frankly I forget. So, today I am going to catch up and then I am going to continue to try and be better. Maybe I should consider a blogging accountability person. Any volunteers?

Middle school Outreach

A few weeks ago we went on middle school outreach. What a wonderful group of 7th grade students I got to hang out with. On Friday we went to a facility for people with severe mental and physical disabilities. In the morning we planned a program for the young adult residents. We sang songs, played games, ate lunch and had a joyful time together. In the afternoon, we raked leaves and picked up trash. The next day we went to a local sport outreach day. Here are some pics of our experience:

Singing songs


Playing ball


This guy (I don't remember his name...difficult Hungarian) was very verbal and super friendly. I helped him make his pillow and he was so gracious and thankful. Later he asked us to teach him some songs and he belted at the top of his lungs! It was great :)

Raking leaves

Sport outreach day

High School Retreat

Here are some pictures from the high school retreat. We were at Word of Life from October 2-4. It was an encouraging time of fellowship and fun with students and staff. It was also beautiful. This retreat center used to be a summer home for a count!

Here is the castle...yeah..not so bad

Worshipping together

Some of the girls!

Me and my roomie Emily @ the bonfire

The Clap

So, I decided to contribute a post about a fun aspect of Hungarian culture. When attending an event that involves clapping, one will discover"the Hungarian clap." I love it. Basically everyone gets on to one solid beat of clapping so it is almost like a clapping chant. I went to the opera a few weeks ago and I have never experienced so much clapping! I am pretty sure there were at least ten clap chants. I hope everyone someday gets to experience this applause phenomenon.

The Many Travels of Kim

So, the other day a dirty rumor was spread that I was in the Czech Republic (Sorry Sharon ;)). Anyways, I have not left the country yet. I thought I would update you on my planned travels. At the end of October we have two days off for the Day of the Republic to commemorate the 1956 Revolution. Three other girls and I will be headed to Dubrovnik, Croatia for the weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing more of Eastern Europe. For Thanksgiving, we are hoping to visit Krakow, Poland. My roomies and I really want to go there and we hope to visit Auschwitz when we are there. Obviously a lot of this is dependent on saving money and finding a cheap place to stay! Thankfully the cost of travel is very minimal. The one other trip I have planned right now is Ireland in February. One of my friends from AH is traveling there and I am going to meet here there and spend a few days! I promise to post pictures of my various adventures!

ACSI Accredidation

ICSB is going through the reaccredidation process this year. That means a lot of paperwork for us, but it also means that our school is accredited in the States which is important for our students who are continuing on to university. To "kick-off" the accreditation process the staff went on retreat to Vajta, a college and retreat center an hour from Budapest. We spent time worhipping and fellowshipping together and we also spent time working in committees. I am on the personnel committee. We have the task of reviewing all things related to school personnel. It is a big, but important job. In November, we will be taking a full day to continue accredidation work. In March, the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) will be sending a team to review our findings. Please be praying for this process and for the many things that need to be accomplished! Below I have posted some pics of our time at Vajta!

Hannah and I getting ready to leave :)

My first live family feud experience

Me and my great friend Lianna

The dorms where we stayed

The entrance to Vajta

The college, where we had our meetings

Does anyone see Mr. Darcy?

View fromt behind the building

One of the best coffee shops ever!

Our room (notice my pink suitcase)

Borfesztivál

So clearly I am a sporadic (sp?) blogger! I tend to do a few posts every couple weeks as opposed to one every few days. My goal here is consistency. We'll see what happens... Anyways, two weeks ago I went to this amazing wine festival (Borfestival) on the top of castle hill. It was beautiful. The whole castle was lit up and there were booths and live entertainment. It was a relaxing night with friends to enjoy the city and some great wine from all over the world!

View from Castle Hill

Castle Hill

The festival

Roomies

I thought you would all appreciate a picture of me with the roomies. From left to right, meet Laura, me, Emily and Andrea! The she-she ladies!

Surreal

This would be a good way to describe my life right now. I don't really know how to explain it. I have never felt more in the center of God's will. Being in Budapest is such a culmination of God's plan in my life over the past few years. I'm not gonna lie, I cried when I landed. It is amazing to be part of a journey that I have not determined. I truly feel like He is saying "this is the way, walk in it." So, back to the surreal part. Things here are so natural, I frequently find myself forgetting I am in a foreign place. I, of course, miss my friends and family, but I just feel incredibly at home here. It just is right. I guess you call that confirmation, and I am immeasurably thankful for it. I do wonder if a day will come when I realize I actually am 4000 miles away from the "home" I have always known. For now, I feel blessed and privileged to serve in my new home.

Happy Birthday Hungary!

So I guess I am in what you would call a blogging mood. I really should be getting to bed, as tomorrow is the first day of school! I am really looking forward to getting started! Today, we went downtown to celebrate the birth of Hungary that they mark by the date of the coronation of their first king, Stephen (Istvan in Hungarian). First, we saw the Red Bull Air Show, which was spectacular. The planes flew almost into the bridges and then weaved their way through an obstacle course over the Danube. It was a little slice of home as Chicago also has a wonderful air show. I will post pictures if I got any good ones. After that we had dinner downtown, and then watched the fireworks. AMAZING does not begin to describe the display the prime minister's office put on. They had identical fireworks going off from all three of the major bridges that cross over the river. They also had fireworks going off simultaneously on citadel hill. All of this was perfectly synchronized with music playing over the loudspeakers. It was by far the best fireworks display I have ever seen! It was truly a wonderful way to spend the last day of summer!

Week in Review

Hello again from Hungary! Things are going very well here. This past weekend I got to have dinner with a Hungarian family that works at the school. We had goulash cooked over an open flame! Yum! I also got to go down for the chain bridge festival. We listened to some authentic Polish, Ukranian, and Hungarian folk music. I also got some great pictures of the chain bridge at night. Monday and Tuesday consisted of staff orientation. Today we spent most of the day scheduling for the supplemental services department. It has been exciting to learn about many of the students I will be working with! Tonight was orientation. It was great to see a large portion of the ICSB community. I got to meet many of my students and there parents. God continues to amaze me with the people here. They are so kind and welcoming and thankful. My classroom is all set for the first day of school this Thursday. Tomorrow is Saint Stephen's Day. This is a MAJOR holiday in Hungary celebrating the coronation of their most famous king in 1000 A.D. We will be going downtown for the Red Bull Air Show and fireworks! I will post pictures of that amazing feat soon! Feel free to post questions if you ever want to know more!

The Ukranian Folk band

Buda Castle

Chain Bridge festival

Chain Bridge at night

My fav pic :)

She-She La La girl House

So, I am living in a four bedroom house on a hill in Diosd (a suburb of Budapest) with three other girls. I recently found out that the house I live in is referred to as the She-She la la girl house. Most people shorten it to she-she. I have no idea about how this name came to be, but everyone seems to know of the house. Interesting times. Here are some pics of the house...
Entry Way

Living Room

Kitchen





Dining Room

Downstairs Bathroom with Shower


Stairs



View from upstairs of Diosd

My Room






Back Patio

Upstairs Bathroom

View from my balcony

My balcony