Looking back, looking forward...

We are now in Budapest at my brother Dennis' flat. The train ride from Sopron yesterday was interesting. It was a rather hot day -- somewhere in the 30's (that's the 90's for those of us in the States). The train had no airconditioning and the windows were spring loaded so that some didn't want to stay open. With some creative engineering using belts and scarves we were able to rig a couple of the more troublesome windows so that they remained open, thus providing us with a good breeze as we traveled.

We had several people, on and off, sharing our compartment -- none of which spoke any English. We were able to say "Good morning", and "Goodbye", and that was about it for our conversations; although with one older couple there was a fair amount of non-verbal conversation which was fun.

Looking forward to the next several days with Dennis, his girlfriend Judit and Vivi, Judit's 12-yr-old daughter. Today we will take a bit of a road trip to a couple of towns that I can't spell or pronounce yet. I'll get to that later.

Looking back on this past week in Sopron, I can honestly say that I wish we were still there ministering in leading worship, but also really glad that we're done with it. It was such a wonderful experience, but so much work. By the end, we were all three exhausted. I thought for sure we would sleep most of the train ride to Budapest, but we ended up traveling with our good friends, Frank and Andrea Zauflik along with several others that we had met at Conference, and ended up talking the whole time.

To encapsulate what Conference was for us, I'd say it was about -- encouragement, challenge, faith-building, relationships, connections. Being basically thrust into the spotlight, we were warmly and graciously received, and lovingly cared for. We were blessed to be able to serve our fellow missionaries in this way.

So now we have a few days in Budapest and surrounding environs. Tomorrow is Stephen's Day. Stephen was the first true king of Hungary and his day is much like our Fourth of July. We will be attending Golgota Budapest (that's Calvary Chapel) in the morning. Frank and Andrea and another couple we know who work with GEM in Budapest may join us for church. Dennis, et al, will be going with us and then we will hang out in the city until the evening's fireworks display over the Danube.

Gotta go for now...