Last Week

Saturday afternoon, upon returning from the fabulous senior trip to Cyprus, I received a facebook message from one of the senior girls with all the "happenings" this week. Here is the list:
Sunday- Liz's grad party
Monday- Card party at Kim's house (Yes, that is me. Since they are done with class, they think it is super fun to call me by my first name).
Tuesday-Cassie and Michelle's Grad party
Wednesday-Last Bible study of the year
Thursday- Girls day out at the movie (although I am "older" they are allowing me to participate in this fun day of teeny bopper movies and dinner)
Friday- Graduation and end of the year party
Saturday- ???
Sunday- Lunch with Kim (me again ;)

After a week in Cyprus with the seniors, the Lord continues to affirm my love for this class. They are just a great group of students and I am blessed to have taught them and known them. It is going to be a busy (and fun!!!!) week, but I am looking forward to some great opportunities to pour into these girls as they prepare for leaving home (Hungary) and going on to college. It is amazing to look back and realize I haven't even known them a year. That is just the power of Christ working in the relationships of His children. Love it! Please be praying that God would continue to grow the girls in Himself and with each other.

I am NOT a Public Speaker

I know, I know...all three of you who read my blog find this hard to believe. After all, I am a teacher and an extrovert! I do like to "speak" in general, but not in front of large crowds of people. I somehow manage to frequently put myself in uncomfortable situations though. I am a missionary, so last summer I had to get up in front of the church and share before my commissioning. I literally thought I was going to hyperventilate and die up on that stage. I even had friends up there with me! It is really just embarrassing. Why does it have to cause such fear and anxiety? So, I just finished writing a mini speech about one of the senior girls for "Senior Tribute Chapel" tomorrow (yes, at 11pm the night before..we can talk about my procrastinating habits another day). I only have to talk for two minutes and I have it all written out, and yet I find myself getting that twisty feeling in my stomach already. Ridiculous. If anyone reads this before 9:30 am Hungary time, I would appreciate your prayers. It is clearly time to get the focus off myself and my worries and onto what the Lord has for me. I just had to vent about the irony that I could lecture for hours on civics, history or economics, but I get butterflies thinking about blessing a student that has been such a blessing in my classroom this year. Figures.

Staff Farewell, Musical, Senior Day, Senior Trip...AHHHH!

These are just a snippet of May in Budapest for me. Tonight we had our staff farewell. That was after a three hour musical practice and a full day of school. Good times. I am one of those people that thrives on busyness. I would be bored if I wasn't constantly going. Thankfully, ICSB helps me out with this dilemna. So, the staff farewell is a time when we get together to say goodbye to those who are moving on. We also honor those who have been serving at the school for a significant amount of time. It was great to celebrate those who have served so faithfully over the years. I didn't mind the ice cream sundaes either ;) This week is also the big musical performances. We have been preparing for a couple months and the weekend is finally upon us. We have dress rehersals every night and performances on Friday and Saturday nights. I think the show is going to be really great. I am so thankful for the students who the Lord has raised up to be a part of this. There is just so much talent! As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the goodbyes have started in the ICSB community. One way we send off the seniors is with Senior Day. Basically, we take the seniors out of school for a day of fun and preparation for life after ICSB. This year the festivities will be held at my house. I can't tell you what day this is happening (on the very slim chance that a senior reads this), but please be praying that the Lord would use this time to help bring closure for the students and ready them for the road ahead! I will post some pictures after the big day! Then, in a little over a week we leave for Cyprus for the senior trip. I am really looking forward to this time with the seniors. It also will be "okay" to be in Cyprus "I guess" ;) So, the busyness continues, but so does the Lord's faithfulness in sustaining me! It is hard to believe all the wonderful blessings I have been able to experience during my first year in Hungary! I look forward to what the Lord has in store in the future!

Africa Fair

I love Africa. I have only been there once, and only to South Africa, but it is such a fascinating place to me. The Lord has really given me a heart to pray for this continent. Who knows, maybe someday He will even send me there. For now, I at least got to teach a unit about it. In World Problems, we do a short unit looking at the different issues facing the continent today. The culmination of the unit is when the students hold a fair showing research they did on a chosen topic. This year's seniors did a great job and I was so proud of them. They looked at issues such as women's rights, piracy, water scarcity, river blindness, child soldiers and much more! Here are a few pictures of the fair, presentations and the many visitors we had! For those of you who have never visited ICSB, the fair was held in our High School Chapel.

Can't sleep...

...so I think I should probably blog. It is May. That means lots of different things here in Hungary. May Day, spring flowers, gorgeous weather, and the end of a school year. It is hard to believe I have been here for almost a year. To say it has flown by would be an understatement. I have been blessed by the classes I have had the privilege to teach. The only downside of teaching such a great curriculum is it goes by too fast. Recently I have been thinking a lot about goodbyes. I have been told multiple times that I need to "say goodbye well" and do all these "steps" to make it easier. The thing is, goodbye is still goodbye. I know that the Lord brings people into our lives for short moments for a purpose. Sometimes it is still sad to let them go. I think of the seniors I have taught all year. They truly are a great group of kids. They will be scattering throughout the world to study, work and serve. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for each of them, but sad for the loss to the ICSB community. I also think of the teachers, friends, who will be leaving. Some of them are entering a world of uncertainty, but stepping out in faith and obedience. I am challenged and encouraged by their faith. Goodbye in this context is a new phenomenon that I thought I was more prepared for. I was probably wrong. Thankfully I serve a God who is bigger than my worries and struggles. I am thankful for that and thankful for the time I have been given with such a wonderful group of students and friends. I am also excited for the new opportunities God will bring this fall for friendships and connecting with students I don't know. My prayer is that I would not linger behind on what has gone before, but look ahead at all the possibilities!

National Pride

One of the things I love most about the Hungarian people is their pride in their country. This past Sunday was the anniversary of the 1848 Revolution. There are two major revolutions that are commemorated in Hungary. March 15th and October 23rd (1956 Revolution). On both of these holidays I have had the privilege to watch people come and celebrate their history. Even in my little town of Diosd there was a crowd of people surrounding one the main statues in town. They had a little ceremony and then surrounded the place with little Hungarian flags, flowers and ribbons. I think every person I walked by on Sunday had a little Hungarian flag pinned to their lapel. I appreciate the fact that in spite of their often sad history, they richly celebrate the good times!

Well...

...Here I am trying to blog again. I have recently received some comments regarding my lack of blogging. I don't know why? It's only been a....few months? Yeah. I know. Ridiculous. I have a friend here in Hungary who actually blogs once or twice a week. Impressive. I am taking notes to see how she does it. Maybe I can learn something. So, things here have been hectic, but good. We had musical tryouts in the high school. I am really looking forward to working with the kids. It should be a fun show (we are doing Bye Bye Birdie). There are also two Chicagoans visiting. My friend Anna Levon and my friend Hannah's brother Jake. It has been a fun week exploring Budapest with them. I think I have seen more of Hungary in the last few days than I have in all the months since I have been here. I will post pics when I can. Jake is a professional photographer so I didn't even bother attempting to take any pictures. Also, I have been thinking and praying a lot for little Harry Cleland. He has been in the hospital for almost two weeks now and it just grieves me to not be there. Not that I would be any help, but it is amazing how much more you can miss someone when they are not in good health. Please be praying for him and his family. That is all for now. Here's to me changing my poor blogging habits!