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| Budapest, Hungary |
Hey all! Hope
everything is well back home; this last week has been non-stop craziness for
me. It started off with figuring out how
in the world I was supposed to pack six months of stuff into a hiking bag &
a backpack…. Needless to say some important items may have been left at home,
only time will tell. Spent Sunday &
Monday saying goodbyes, which was super sad, but it was great to see everyone
before taking off…
After rushing to Wal-Mart for last minute sleeping pills
(which ended up playing a huge role later) we thought it best to get 3 hours of sleep
before getting on the plane in the morning.
Our flight schedule took us from Portland to Phoenix to
Boston (5.5 hours of flying that I missed due to two little sleeping pills,
best sleep ever) to Munich and finally to Krakow,,, just under 24 hours of
flying, needless to say that I was definitely feeling a little jet lag.
Finally, we landed in Krakow… met up with Rob and started
the amazing race. I could spend hours
upon hour describing all that entailed the next few days, but for the sake of
time a synopsis will have to do. The
race included: sprinting continuously all over Poland and Czech Republic… which
awarded us cheering fans, frustrated looks, and sore bodies. Some of the challenges we competed in were: a
catwalk while wearing skirts, blouses, and high heels in the middle of downtown
Krakow, with hundreds of curious onlookers... the race also included hopping on and off of
buses, trams, and trains, eating four and a half blood sausages (absolutely the
most disgusting thing I have ever eaten), and finally getting stuck on a cross
word puzzle that took us from competing for first place to finishing 12th…
However, by far the best part of the race was being able to talk to the locals, all of whom we encountered were ready to help us in any way possible. They displayed both care and interest to complete strangers that I have yet encountered.
On a bus I had the opportunity to chat with 4 elementary school kids... their shyness and apprehensions about speaking in english soon changed to eagerness as our conversation went on. We talked about their interests in sports, music, and video game. By God's grace the we soon began to talk about Jesus and Christianity. Although I probably will never meet them again, this opportunity has made me so very excited for this summer and developing relationships with the youth in eastern Europe.
Prayer Requests:
- This next week we will be attending youth groups in churches around Budapest. If you could pray that God will us connect with young leaders in the church.
- Our first camp is two weeks away. Pray that God will work in the hearts of the students that will be attending, as well as that He will help us prepare well.
Praises:
- Arrived in Europe safely, without any hiccups
- Liz Trenckmann solidified an apartment for Austin, Eric, and I just this evenning! Which is a huge blessing and God's perfect timing
Thanks for blogging, Marc! I'm reading and praying! Proud of you and Eric--you both have servants' hearts and I know you will touch kids with the love of Jesus!
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