A Seminar, Extortion and Surgery

Above: Elizabeth (left) helping sister Savannah with her math homework.

Hello! We are in the very pit of winter here in Budapest! Temperatures are about 10 degrees when I take the kids to school in the morning and usually don't warm up above 20 degrees come midday! No one said European winters are easy! There is much to tell you about but here are just some of the highlights:

Seminar: There was a conference here recently in Budapest for all the Campus Crusade wives who serve cross-culturally (in a different country from their home country) from Vienna to Siberia; about 75 women attended. EB was asked to give her home organization and budgeting presentation as one of the optional seminars. After living in a foreign country for 3 1/2 years, EB feels like she can help and relate to what many of these missionary wives must endure in their attempts to run and manage a household outside of their own countries. EB said she enjoyed doing the seminar and I must admit that EB is gaining quite a reputation on this continent as well!

Extortion: Our dear Savannah was riding a public bus to and from the mall with several of her friends, along with the 17 year old big sister of one of her friends (who was acting as a chaparone). While on the bus they were approached by "the bus police," who flashed badges and demanded to see their tickets. Savannah and her friends produced the tickets and they had done everything just as they should to validate the tickets. But the machine on the bus that validates the tickets was not working properly. Still the "bus police" fined these girls the equivilancy of $50 for "not having a ticket to ride the bus." All the girls could come up with was the equivilancy of $10. The "police" took it and jumped off at the next stop.

We don't know if these ticket checkers were legit or some sort of scam looking for easy targets. We have heard young kids being targets of the bus police before. I know that I have never had someone on public transportation ask me for my ticket. This makes me think that Savannah and her friends were targeted by a bunch of bullies. All this happened after they missed the movie (Narnia) that they wanted to see because the theater's website posted the wrong start times.

Savannah was sad but I took her out for breakfast at McDonalds the next morning. I told her it was a hard lesson to learn but she has tasted first hand that life isn't fair and that, sad to say, strangers cannot be trusted.

Surgery: I took our Elizabeth back to her doctor in Vienna to get clearance to play basketball. He gave the clearance but also said she needs another surgery after the season is over. One of the tendons in her finger calcified onto the bone and therefore, even with therapy, Elizabeth is unable to fully extend her finger. Monday March 6th is the surgery day. I was hoping it would be outpatient surgery but they will want to keep her overnight.

We are getting ready for a very busy spring right now. From mid-February to early April, EB and I will either be in the States or hosting ministry teams here in Budapest who are coming from the States. Among other opportinities, doors are opening for me to share the "Why Wait?" message I prepared for Romania in some nearby high schools here in Budapest.

I wanted to check in and let you know we appreciate you and we need you to partner with us in our ministry out here in Eastern Europe. Our Lord is good, but never safe (I love that line from C.S. Lewis!).