Schools in Hungary

 

     Today I was on a walk with my neighbor who described what school is like in Hungary, so I thought I'd share with you here. She has a 14-year-old daughter and ten-year-old twin girls. Children are in Primary school from ages 6-14, Secondary school from ages 14-18, and then University, typically for 4-5 years. Rather than letter grades, reports cards are in numbers: 1 being the lowest (like an F) and 5 being the highest (like an A). When a student is getting ready to enter secondary school, the higher the grades, the more options there are for the choice of which school to continue studies. My neighbors' 14-year-old has excellent grades, so she will need to decide which of many schools she would like to go to next. She said schools in Hungary are rather difficult. Students are tested often and have much homework, leaving little time for kids to be kids and have time to play.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Friday Bible study has been an enjoyable time here in Hungary. One of the weekly items has been to share a story on a favorite hymn we sing. This evening, we will be looking at the hymn "Have Thune Own Way, Lord" and I wanted to share it here on the blog.

The author of the well-known hymn was Adelaide Pollard (born in Iowa and lived from 1862-1934). She was depressed and thought that God had deserted her. She had a great burden for the country of Africa and she believed that she should go there as a missionary, but now as she was preparing to sail, it was evident that the funds she needed could not be raised.

In her state of discouragement, she attended a little prayer meeting one night. There an elderly woman began to pray. The elderly woman did not ask for blessings or material things. She simply prayed, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives."

Upon returning home that evening, Miss Pollard mediated on the story of the potter, found in Jeremiah 18:3-4. It says, “Then I went to the potter’s house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”

As she read, she believed the story was her own. "Perhaps", she said, "my questioning of God's will shows a flaw in life, so God has decided to break me, as the potter broke the defective vessel, and then to mold my life again in His own pattern."

That very evening in 1902, she wrote all four stanzas of this hymn as it is sung today.

Adelaide Pollard finally did minister for God in Africa for a brief period before World War I.

There are many times in life we don't understand what is going on, but what a great reminder it is to trust the One who does and to pray, "Lord, have thine own way."

Language School Tour of Budapest

Language school has been the main event of August at the Mann household. We still gave one week remaining of this intensive summer class. Last week, our class went out to tour the streets surrounding the classroom in the sixth district of Budapest. Emese, who has been teaching our children in language school, first took us to Andrássy utca. She pointed out faces on the buildings which are crafted similarly to how statues are formed. I've noticed them all over the city but didn't think they had much more significance than a decorative one. Emese said they are thought to protect those inside from the evil outside, like a rabbits foot or other good luck charm!

The next sight was that of IL Bacio Di Stile (19 Andrássy út) owned by a billionaire in his young age. He still pays the rent but the beautiful building is closed now. 

Next sight was an important five star hotel directly across from opera house. It is also closed but protected as a historic landmark. The Opera building itself was opened in 1818. When it first opened, only the rich could afford to go. Since another bigger and cheaper opera house opened in the eighth district, the opera entertainment is more accessible niw to the working class people. 

Our next stop was an intersection on two streets: Terézváros, a tribute to the people of Vienna, and Nagymező meaning "big field".

The Liszt Ferenc statue is well known in Hungary, but be sure not to call it by its other name, Franz Liszt, which won't be well appreciated. He was a pianist with big hands. Apparently there is some debate to whether or not he really was Hungarian. The airport shares his name, but they are not in any way connected. Anything art and music related are, however, named after him.  

Our next stop was Király utca. Király means "king". We have a slang term to say something rules (ex. This pizza rules!) Well, to say something rules in Hungarian, simply say "Nagyon király!" Király utca was always a Jewish street our leader said whom lives on the opposite end of the street. Many of the neighborhood shops are closed or have been closing since the events of 2008. 

We took notice of some weird signs the British people hung and observed the works of graffiti artists. 

Murals are used as fire walls (tűzfal), protecting buildings against fires. Some of the murals can change like this bull one but some won't like the map one. It portrays the heart of the city promoting locals to one day leave the city to get out and see more of the world. 

The tour ended at the Dohány utcai Zsinagóga, or Jewish synagogue. In the courtyard is a graveyard because of a massacre in 1945 where unidentified bodies were left. Otherwise, there would not normally be graveyards in Jewish communities. The building itself is very oriental looking and quite a sight to behold. I hope to return and see the inside someday soon. 

It's so fun to learn about the county God has called us to!

Fourth of July

Celebrating an American holiday in another country is different but there are many ways to replicate the foods and traditions you are accustomed to. This past 4th of July, we did just that. Our family spent the day with fellow American missionaries, the Peters, and one other family, the Brown's. Keith Brown is American and moved to with his Hungarian wife, Rita, to Hungary and they have one son, Cameron. 

Our afternoon was spent firing up the grill for some chicken, hot dogs, and cheesy sausage. Rita brought potato salad over and we are able to get Heinz baked beans here. Watermelons are plenteous here, so we got a large juicy one. Other doods that we can get that would be great for our meal that we did not get are hamburgers, corn (on the cob, of course!), cantaloupe, vegetables for a garden salad and a small selection of salad dressings. 

Marshmallows are difficult to find, but occasionally we see them in the international food section of the grocery stores. We can't find graham crackers here, but there are alternatives for s'mores, such as using Oreos, chocolate chip cookies or a cracker that tastes more like animal crackers. Homemade cookies and crackers ate also an option for s'mores. 

Fireworks on the 4th were not a possibility but there are substitutes we could use. The internet has made staying connected with events going on across the Atlantic convenient, so pulling up a video of fireworks is easy as apple pie and watching a patriotic themed church service is the next best thing to actually being in the service. Know a parade going on in your home town that you don't want to miss? Ask a friend or relative who is there anyway to put it on Facebook live for you to see. So many possibilities! 

Below are some pictures of ourselves celebrating an American holiday in Hungary. 

Watch Your Words

Talking has never been much of a passion of mine. I don't waste words. I say what needs to be said and no more. Silence doesn't make me uncomfortable and I won't ramble to fill it up. The words I do say, though, I don't want to take lightly. We are accountable for our words and should choose them wisely. Most of us had parents that would remind us as children, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Great advice we as adults should remember and heed. 

I've seen the same people who post Bible verses on Facebook turn around calling others names and gossip about them. James 1:26  says, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." Those who make themselves look good on social media but spew less than edifying words in person aren't very believable. Hard to believe that something so little can inflict such harm. James 3:5 tells us "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" But the words we speak originated from somewhere. The heart. Matthew 15:18 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." Let us draw our hearts to the things of the Lord and our words will reflect so.

Wilderness Wanderings

"Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;" Deuteronomy 8:11-14

For most of our days of deputation, my family has been homeless. Though I haven't wandered around in the wilderness for forty years as the Israelite did, I can understand their desire for a place of their own to settle in. Yet their wilderness experience was supposed to bring them closer to God so they might understand their total dependence on Him. He warned them in Deuteronomy not to forget who He was when they prospered in the new land. When all was going well, when they had land, houses, animals, silver and gold is when they were at the greatest risk of forgetting all God had done for them. 

When we arrived in Hungary, my family had the opportunity to stay in a large beautifully decorated home with plenty of space for us and our three children. We even had enough space to add two puppies to the home! Though the house belonged to someone else (another missionary who was in the states while his wife was facing cancer), I grew quite comfortable and started to grow accustomed to life there. Perhaps this is why we find ourselves homeless once again. We have been traveling the states since March and have no home of our own to return to in Hungary. God wants to bring me the place where I rely on Him to take care of my family. Sometimes we need to go through wilderness experiences to bring us back to the point of total dependence on Him lest in our prosperity, we forget. 

Precious Memories

My family has a storage unit in Middletown. Our goal is to take our belongings with us to Hungary as space in the luggage allows. On one of our visits to the unit, I came upon some baby articles from my children's baby days. The first article I came across was the little pink Easter dress Heidi wore on her first Easter. She was born on Good Friday in 2007. I had her hold it up to herself in a comparison picture. She sure has grown a lot in ten years!

The next item was a yellow dress Jason's sister had made for Laura. The matching hat and scarf were not amongst the items in storage, but I was pleased to find the dress and had Laura hold it up to her as well.

The final item was a quilt Jason's mom had made for Micah. It had six handprint outlines: Micah's four grandparents, Jason's and mine. It was a neat gift and had been displayed in Micah's room when he was a baby. 

It's neat to take a walk down memory lane and remember all the Lord has blessed us with: three of those blessings being our children. I was leafing through photo albums of their baby days and not getting a whole lot of packing done because of it. I'm happy to have these precious memories and look forward to making more.