Get A Bicycle

Get a bicycle, you will not regret it if you live. - Mark Twain

I feel like I know my way around Nyiregyhaza now. I know there is

more that I haven't seen yet, but thanks to the bike Sam and I recieved, finding an easy rout to the forest, the train station, outdoor market, Aldi (I'm so excited.), bus routes and the like have been pretty easy. Yes, we only have one bike. Too bad it's not a tandem bike. I saw one today in fact. People were out and about, enjoying the break we have from the rain. A break has been a long time coming. Last week, we took a local bus to Emmaus church. This surprised some people because mostly everyone we know has a car. While it's very nice of them, we didn't want our friends to have to chauffer us around all the time. I found it wasn't the most convenient mode of transportation when you're on a schedule. The Bible study that followed was on a topic that I found extremely valid in my life now. I've been bringing lessons that I find to the youth that are about challenges of the heart. The topic was how Christians, through the Holy Spirit, draw people to a living faith. When I read the title, I felt like it might be a bit too much to tackle in an hour, but God gives us three simple guidelines. 1. Act Justly 2. Love Mercy 3. Walk Humbly with God. It was so human of me to think it would be more complicated than that. But if we keep those three things in mind, people will be drawn to us, despite all of the distractions of the world.

Visiting the Kossuth Lutheran Preschool was probably my

favorite event of the last couple of weeks. The children put on short performances of singing and dancing for their parents. I enjoyed listening, watching and crafting along with the kids! Several of the students I teach have siblings at the preschool. Seeing students outside of the classroom was a pleasant surprise. Potentially, I'll be helping in Thursday afternoon English lessons there. Sam and I were invited to the illustrious Kossuth High School ribbon ceremony. This is an event where the seniors recieve a ribbon that they wear during their last school year. They put on a dance performance for parents and teachers, most often featuring classical dances in wedding dresses and tuxes, or for the more rebelious classes, rock and roll music. Watch out Grease. This was followed by a dinner. The students were then excused for late night festivities. The students were talented and their hard work on the dances paid off.

One more recent highlight is the plethora of apples that people enjoy giving us. We have taken advantage of this by consuming them in as many creative ways as possible. I think the apple cinnamon muffins have been my favorite so far. Do you have any suggestions?

Next weekend marks the start of Fall Break. It's a week long. Trains will be a little different than bikes and local buses. The plan is to travel first to Budapest then south to several notable locations in Croatia. But, I'll tell you about that in my next post. Please continue to pray for me, especially while many students are experiencing the flu. I think my mom said you're a real teacher when a student gets sick on your classroom floor and you have to clean it up. If I wasn't a teacher before, I am now. Sorry to put that lovely image into your head as I wrap up the post.