IQ

Our kids are so smart! Look at this picture of Benjamin reading. Cute! :)

Annyira okosak a gyerekeink! Nézzétek, Benjámin már olvas...cukipofa! :)

Off we go!/Indulás!

We are ready for our trip to the States! We will be there from December 19 to January 23, spending Christmas with our family, meeting our new niece (due any time now! :), showing off Benjamin and Oliver, seeing friends, and speaking at churches and home groups as well. In order to cross the borders, we are in possession of 7 passports! (Notice how the kids' new passports are different color because of the EU). The one lacking is Matthew's Hungarian passport - maybe in a few years... Oliver has been so excited about the trip and his passport that we made one for him (and his best friend, Doggy) at home too! :)

Készen állunk az amerikai utunkra! December 19-től január 23-ig leszünk ott. Karácsonyozunk a családunkkal, megismerkedünk az új unokahúgunkkal (aki bármelyik pillanatban világra jöhet! :), eldicsekszünk mindenkinek Benjáminnal és Olivérrel, barátokkal találkozunk és beszélünk egy pár gyülekezetben és házi csoporton is. Összesen 7 darab útlevéllel vágunk neki a határoknak (érdekes, hogy a gyerkőcök már a szép új bordó EU-s útlevelet kapták). Kitaláljátok, hogy melyik a hiányzó láncszem? Hát igen, a magyar állampolgársághoz nem lehet csak olyan egyszerűen hozzájutni ám, úgyhogy Matt magyar útlevele még a jövő zenéje...! :) Olivér annyira izgatott, hogy megyünk, hogy itthon is készítettünk neki (és hűséges jóbarátjának, Doggy-nak) egy útlevelet! :)

Cheese! :)

You may be wondering how Benjamin is doing. He is doing great and he did well at our training in Balatonszemes too. In fact, he was named Mr. Content by people in our group. He has also been smiling and cooing for a few weeks. He is very cute! However, when we are ready to take a picture of him, he stops smiling. :) So this is the best we've got so far! :) When he is not smiling, he is growing like crazy: he is off the charts weighing 7.2 kg (15lb 12 oz) at two and a half months. :)

Biztos kíváncsiak vagytok rá, hogy van Benjámin. Nagyon jól van és jól viselte a két hetes tréninget Balatonszemesen. A csoportunk el volt ájulva, milyen nyugis kis fickó. :) Pár hete már mosolyog és gagyog is. Nagyon cuki! :) Sajnos hiába próbálunk képeket csinálni az elragadó mosolyokról, nem hajlandó produkálni magát, úgyhogy be kell érnetek ezzel a képpel. Mikor éppen nem mosolyog, akkor őrült módon növekszik: két és fél hónaposan már 7,2 kg. :)

Delirious in Vienna

I, Matthew, traveled to Vienna yesterday after chuch with 200 Hungarians to see Delirious in concert with Reuben Morgan (Hillsong worship) October Light (Croatian ska) and 3 Austrian bands. It was a great afternoon of pogoing, singing and worshiping.

There were many things that made the day interesting and memorable. One of which was the venue. The concert was in a gas can. Yes, a gas can - a renovated one. If you're curious, check out this site.

MTS II

Hello from Balatonszemes. We are in the final week of our Missionary Training School II. This conference is for 30 some missionaries who have finished their first year of service. It is a chance to be refreshed and have a general check-up on our health, vision and effectiveness. We have had some great teaching, worship and fellowship. It has also been fun to laugh at everyone's cultural bloopers!

Unforgettable Men's Retreat

Today I led worship in a bowling alley in Slovakia for a men's retreat where the topic of the day was, "why naked women look good."

Now I realize there's more than one surprise in the statement above, so let me explain.

First off, Slovakia is only an hour's drive by car. But I really didn't feel as if I were in a different country because there are many ethnic Hungarians who live in the cities near the border and nearly everyone speaks Hungarian.

Secondly, bowling is a rapidly growing segment of the entertainment industry here in Europe. Bowling centers are popping up in all sorts of places. As a side, note: I bowled a 151, which is a pretty good game for me, to become the bowling champion of this men's retreat, a distinction I am very proud to own.

Thirdly, the topic of the day came straight out of Bill Perkins' book, "When Good Men Are Tempted." I recommend this book to any man wanting to live a life of purity. There are few discussions out there that are as honest and plainly articulated as this one. (Thanks Bill!)

Oliver, the guy teaching the Bible study, gave a clear challenge to all of us to live in freedom from sexual addiction.

Exciting/relevant Bible study + leading worship in a bowling alley (something I had never dreamed of doing) + high score = an unforgettable men's retreat. So that was my day today, what did you do? ~matthew

Balatonszemes

We'll be leaving tomorrow for Balatonszemes (a town next to the one we spent our vacation in at Lake Balaton) to attend a two-week OM training/retreat. We'll be back on November 11. We will have e-mail access, so type away, but I don't think we'll able to post anything or Skype. Hope it will be a useful and refreshing time and that Benjamin will do good on his first longer trip! :)

Holnap indulunk Balatonszemesre, ahol egy kéthetes OM tréningen veszünk részt. November 11-én jövünk haza. Tudunk majd e-maileket nézni, úgyhogy írjatok nyugodtan, de valószínűleg nem fogunk tudni írni a blogra vagy Skype-on beszélni. Reméljük, hasznos és pihentető lesz ez a két hét és hogy Benjámin jól fogja viselni az első hosszabb útját! :)

Stunt/Mutatvány

If you are a mother, grandmother, or have weak nerves, please don't look!!! :)
Matthew's done this stunt with both our kids...it looks scary but so far both of them survived!

Kérjük, az anyukák, nagymamák, illetve a gyengébb idegzetűek most ne nézzenek ide!!! :) Matt mindkét gyerkőcünkkel végrehajtotta párszor ezt a mutatványt, ami igencsak hajmeresztőnek tűnik, de eddig mindketten túlélték!

Family pictures/Családi képek

Here are some family pictures taken last weekend at
Melinda's brother's house in Veszprém.

Imhol néhány családi kép, amit tesóméknál csináltunk Veszprémben az elmúlt hétvégén.

Circus/Cirkusz

The circus is in town a block from our house, so we went to see the animals and Oliver got to go on a few rides. He especially liked the camels. Benjamin slept through all the commotion in his baby carrier. :)

Itt a cirkusz tőlünk egy utcányira, úgyhogy elmentünk megnézni az állatokat és Olivér persze felült néhány játékra. A kedvencek a tevék voltak. Benjámin békésen átaludta az izgalmakat a babahordozójában. :)