Today, our first full day in Budapest, Jodi asked to take Mark, Jayne, Tammie and I for the day.
Sunday is always one of my favorite days in Budapest! All of the group is split up and the delegated out to Campus staff members who we go with to their church and the we do lunch with them. Its a great time to see Hungarian churches (I'm usually at a different one every year) and then fellowship with some of the staff.
I've been so excited to see Flora again! We'll have a day, possibly two, the second week I'm here so that the two of us can just hang out together! In case you don't know Flora -- she's a Campus Crusade story. I met her my first year in Budapest. She was a freshman at the univeristy of economics in Budapest. She's from Kolacsa (which is the center of Hungarian paprika -- it all comes from there). She had accepted Christ the year before while she was at Campus Crusade's Speak Out camp for the second time. She had gone the first year and was "beligerent" as she would say and questioned everything, but she listened. The year came and went and God was working on her heart and she wanted to go back to Speak Out just for the English portion as she wanted to learn English. When she got there, God "broke" her and she ended up accepting Christ. She is now in her 2nd to last year (students go 5 years to university in Hungary) and she is on fire and praying about joining the Campus staff the year after she graduates. She is a bubbly amazing believer and her passion is contagious! Please pray for her and all of her family as none of them are believers and her parents are having some difficulties. She has two little sisters and the older one has gone to Speak Out.
Calvary meets in an old movie theatre - they've actually redone the front since the last time I was there.This is actually not Jodi's church, but its a great church to visit as the pr is American so its English translated to Hungarian. Its a Calvary Chapel plant and has really grown since I was there a few years back.
I attached a few little video clips of worship and the sermon. In essence, the sermon, which was from Ephesians 3, dealt with what God is able to do in us and how His love can change us. Its funny, because last year, the sermon I heard at a different church dealt with the same thing -- in essence, its something that you don't think about often, but is so true -- God only comes to people who have problems. You don't have a need to be "fixed" unless you know you you're "broken". God "saves" people who recognize that they're "lost" -- he can't save someone who doesn't know that they're lost. The Gospel message is all about hurt and lost and broken and scarred and making new and full and complete. The pastor ended with a cool thought about how we should glorify God as a church -- that we need to do it with gusto and fullness and excitement. Its like a weather front coming in - from the east you have the glory of God and from the west you have the power of God and when those two collide -- it creates a passionate worship that is totally from God Himself! What a great way to start the week!
Driving to lunch - across the Danube looking at the Parliament building.
FYI - there are 100s of political posters all around the city as it was election day today... this one I just shot a picture of as Nemzeti is actually Nemeth (my cousin's last name) in Hungarian.
Chicken paprika
A Hungarian roasted pork
Roasted goose
Jodi was so excited to take us to the restaurant as its a traditional Hungarian restaurant and Sundays - everything is half price! We all got dinner, soup and or salad and we split a dessert -- all for under about $26!
We decided to walk over by the Basilica. There is a new fountain on the way over that has this sensor that you can walk over the fountain and it shuts off. Its pretty crazy and we all had to try it!
The Basilica
I realized as I was taking pictures of the Basilica that I recognized someone on the steps! Flora loves to sit and read in front of the Basilica as there are usually always street players playing violins or other instruments.
For some reason - whenever I take a picture of the Basilica, I feel like the Basilica is crooked or on an angle.... Jodi decided that it was probably surely me that was crooked so she set out to prove me wrong....
Isn't she adorable - not Flora and me, but this little old lady... she was actually up in my crooked picture too... 
One dessert at the Hungarian restaurant was not enough so we had to stop off at The Strudel House... YUM!
Strudel galore!!!! Tammie and I split an apple and a sour cherry strudel!
They had little mementos in glass in the table - I thought this one was funny... It says "No Smoking" and it surrounded by all kinds of old boxes of cigarettes and matches.... A little Hungarian lesson - "nem" means no.
Jodi's car parked near the Parliaments
Mark had to stop by Tesco to see if they had Mountain Dew -- he loves these little rolling baskets... FYI -- he didn't find his Dew so, if anyone can Fed-Ex :) some over, we'll all be appreciative!
Keri and Kevin - Melissa stopped by and thanks you for the goodies! She's going to plan on stopping by for dessert on "Thanksgiving" and her mother-in-law will be with her visiting for the month.
We started some basic training for the ministry tonight. Introduction to the ministry and the culture. The three things we were reminded about is that the term "friend" is very sacred here... most Hungarians would say they have one or two friends but those people are very very close. Our attitude is, if we know someone in a little more intimate way, they're a friend. ALSO - the way to a conversation with a Hungarian is not American -- you don't ask questions back and forth. You start a conversation by revealings something about yourself and the Hungarian will respond with their likewise comments and maybe go a little deeper. You then respond with a little deeper info yourself and the conversation continues back and forth in that manner. ALSO - do not start conversations with "how are you" as that is a question that is not a light answer but goes deeper as well... you'll find out how they really are.
Tomorrow we continue with some more info meetings and then afternoon we hit the roads!
Keri and Kevin - Melissa stopped by and thanks you for the goodies! She's going to plan on stopping by for dessert on "Thanksgiving" and her mother-in-law will be with her visiting for the month.We started some basic training for the ministry tonight. Introduction to the ministry and the culture. The three things we were reminded about is that the term "friend" is very sacred here... most Hungarians would say they have one or two friends but those people are very very close. Our attitude is, if we know someone in a little more intimate way, they're a friend. ALSO - the way to a conversation with a Hungarian is not American -- you don't ask questions back and forth. You start a conversation by revealings something about yourself and the Hungarian will respond with their likewise comments and maybe go a little deeper. You then respond with a little deeper info yourself and the conversation continues back and forth in that manner. ALSO - do not start conversations with "how are you" as that is a question that is not a light answer but goes deeper as well... you'll find out how they really are. Tomorrow we continue with some more info meetings and then afternoon we hit the roads!Oh - FYI ---
Big Blue is back!!!! AND -- everything is in it and is in great shape! Thanks for your prayers!
Our cab driver was nice enough to stop and let us get some Forint on the way to the hotel.
Welcome to our home for the week - Hotel Classic!
We did a little unpacking and then took a little walk through some of the hills of Buda. Mark needed to go to a grocery store so he could fanatically scour the shelves for his lifeblood - Mountain Dew (FYI - was told that we would be able to find it now problem -- problem... don't know if Mark will survive now...)
Mark and Jayne go shopping for some traditional Hungarian garb...
Walking back to the hotel, we came across a house where a man was out tending to all these massive fruit trees. Jayne and Mark were extremely curious about one particular fruit he was picking and so they had to go up and ask about it. It was a special Hungarian apple that is really sour and they usually only use it to make marmalade. He was nice enough to give them a few apples - as all Hungarians are actually very nice - true story!