Hot Chocolate Outreach and Valentine "Kidnapping"

On February 11, 2012, my Bible study girls got "kidnapped" by me! I brought them over to our house and gave them an early Valentine's Day breakfast. I made mini quiche and a heart-shaped coffeecake. My friend Andrea brought fresh fruit. It was fun and the girls appreciated it, I think...after they woke up a bit. (I got them out of bed, so they were still in their pjs.) We discussed love languages: how they show love, how they feel loved, and how God show us His love.

On January 30, 2012, the girls gave out hot cocoa at a nearby bus stop. Along with the cocoa we passed out booklets about how to know Jesus. Many were thankful for it! It was very cold that evening. The girls enjoyed it so much that they want to do it again! So, on February 20th we'll be at the bus stop again. :)

Post from Justin

We're well into the new semester now; as of Wednesday, it will already be 1/4th done. This Saturday was the Senior Auction at ICSB. This is a big event that helps the senior class raise money for the trip that they will take in May. Justin has a big role with the auction as he maintains a database the students use during the event. Unfortunately, he has a cold. He went to work to teach on Thursday though he really shouldn't have, took off Friday to recover, then worked most of Saturday during the auction. Today, Sunday, true to the idea of the Sabbath, is a day of rest.

Next weekend is the annual ICSB basketball tournament. Justin is also really involved in this as it is now the Junior class' turn for a fundraiser with which he is also involved. Please pray for our family during this crazy and hectic time.

To lighten the mood of this post, here's a picture:

Oh, we also got 5 inches of snow this weekend (and counting).

Goings on at ICSB

This past week at the International Christian School of Budapest was Spiritual Emphasis Week. Students of all grade levels had chapels everyday to refocus on the One who deserves our attention: Jesus. I do not know who the speakers were for the middle and elementary grades. But the high school students heard and hopefully learned more about what sin is and what our responses should be to it. We'd appreciate all of your prayers for our students.

My bible study girls are planning a hot chocolate outreach on January 30. We will be serving hot chocolate at a bus stop for those who would like it. With the hot chocolate, we'll provide a tract in Hungarian about how they can have a relationship with Jesus. Please pray that this would bless our community of Diosd, Hungary!!!

Also, the upcoming weeks will be full of preparations for two major school events: Senior Auction (Feb 4) and the annual basketball tournament (Feb 9-11).

Justin will be especially busy helping the juniors organize all of the concessions during the basketball tournament, a three-day event! The money they make on this food will go towards their senior trip. Please pray specifically for

• Justin to be wise and patient in decision-making
• for parents to step up and really be involved
• for the juniors to really take ownership of this job and realize that their part in pricing serving the food is important

Christmas 2011

For those that are interested in seeing photos of our Christmas, here is a link to our picasa web album:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102590199588958038674/Christmas2011Pictures

Enjoy!

A New Year Resolution!

I (Michelle) never make new year's resolutions, but here I go: I will focus on updating our blog on a regular basis. I know there are some people who read them and have been disappointed with me not posting! Sorry! I've had the wrong thinking: I need to have photos! Those are nice, but not really needed to update people.

Family wise: We are doing well, had a great Christmas here in little Diosd, Hungary. For Christmas Eve we spent dinner with friends who have kids the same age as William and Joshua. It was a very nice evening and I think Kim got a great photo of us all. The kids are even looking at the camera I think! The Rickards had a visitor who was leaving on Christmas day, so it was nice to meet Melanie.

Christmas day we went to church. It was wonderful to be around our Christian family and worship the Lord. There were four 10-minute sermons and I appreciated them all, but the first one stood out to me. Jesus was (and is) and unimaginable gift! God's plan was to humble Himself to wear human skin, in the form of a baby, to allow him to grow up and die for us so that we can have a relationship with Him. Wow. No, I wouldn't have thought to send the Savior of the world to do that!!! Wow.

After church, we had a light lunch and sent the kids to bed for naps. When they woke up, we skyped with grandparents and opened gifts while they watched. (The kids are young enough that we didn't have to open the gifts in the morning.) It was so much fun watching William (2 1/2) open gifts and play with each one. It was the year of the train for him. He got THREE different types of trains: Thomas and Friends, IKEA extra track, and a complete Dinosaur Train.

He was a happy boy and really didn't leave the floor for three days! :)

And Justin's break is two and a half weeks long! It's been so nice to have him home all day! I love hearing him play with the kids, wrestling and making them laugh.

Upon ending 2011, I am really thankful that recently I've been able to chat almost every night with a friend in Texas! I love her and am overjoyed that the Lord has brought us closer despite our distance. We have decided to read the Bible in 90 days. I am already a week behind, but that's not discouraging me. I am listening and reading every night on biblegateway. The amount of time doesnt' matter to me, but the reading does. I have never read the entire Bible and I look forward to hearing and reading about God's plan for us.

Happy New Year!