Here are some of the folks at the Ladies' Christmas Tea
at the Georges' house in Szeged (southern Hungary).
This gathering was full of joy and encouragement!
Through the miracle of technology, we were able to participate
in worship on Sunday at our Richmond church, Tabernacle Baptist.
Karen took part in the Advent reading over the Internet,
and then she lit the Advent candle here in Hungary
as the Advent candle was being lighted at Tabernacle.
In Vác, people are selling Christmas trees in the synagogue parking lot.
Please pray for the Jewish people here;
there is still a lot of hatred toward a people that God loves dearly.
Last week we had a reunion of our Budapest Megacity Team --
as many as were in this hemisphere, anyway.
Lauren and her mom were visiting Budapest;
so they and Joey and Vivian came up from for dinner and lots of laughter.
Our church here had a Thanksgiving Feast Saturday evening.
We were responsible for brining two turkeys and cooking one.
Here's the brining operation, taking place in a plastic moving bin.
Doug's knowledge of ships helped him figure out that Vaseline (on the inside)
would keep the water from leaking out near the handle.
Our good buddy Shannon (left) got a surprise birthday party
at the local Chocolate Café last weekend.
Here she is grinning at Sára. Both of these women are leaders at our church.
Here's another photo from Shannon's birthday party.
These four young ladies are part of the youth group at our church.
They are learning to be faithful disciples of Jesus, just like the rest of us!
Everyone says that the Danube is a pretty dirty river, and most people won't
swim in it, drink from it, or eat fish taken from it.
However, if you can't afford to buy meat, then you do what you have to do.
Dr. János (John) Bóth has been the mayor of Vác for a very long time,
and he just won recent elections by a reported 25 votes.
Dr. Bóth takes credit for the renovation of the main square, among other things.
On Monday one of Lea's students said that instead of being a Gothic-style square,
it was "Bóthic." Rumor has it that the money came from E.U. grants,
but you gotta wonder whether that money could have been put to better use.
It's fall break, so we went visiting. Here's our long-time friend Eszter
and her daughter Dorka. Also slightly visible is another little one due in February.
October 23, 2006, was the 50th anniversary of the 1956 revolution against
Russian domination. Because of recent government upheavals,
the anniversary wasn't celebrated like many hoped.
Riot police organized themselves below our friend Vivian's apartment.
They used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds from several areas in the city.
No one could get near the Parliament building, so the protesters were stuck outside fences.
There were lots of flags, symbolizing various opinions. This is the normal Hungarian flag.
A most beautiful sight: The Hungarian/Serbian Border Station,
AFTER we got back into Hungary!
(Friday, October 13, 2006)
In early October, a group of dancers and percussionists from Ghana
performed at the Deaf School,
then went out to the main square to perform for whoever was there.
One of the dancers (below) was Deaf, but could feel the drums and kept perfect time.
These are some of the signs behind the Parliament Building
in Budapest, lambasting the current Prime Minister.
The main square of Vác was officially opened on the weekend of September 22-24.
Escape technique: One hamster's almost made it, the other one is in line.
Arwen the hamster is quite athletic; she likes walking around the ceiling of her cage.
Doug and Karen on the Danube riverfront promenade.
The main square of Vác is almost finished!
The large pink building on the left is the Deaf School;
a wedding is about to begin in front of the church on the right.
What Arwen's four hamster babies look like today!