Walk with Peter

On Saturday afternoon our family met Peter to go for a walk in the Buda hills. We rode the cogwheel train up the hill to the end stop and ventured out with Peter as the leader. There was a lot of snow on the ground up there, and it even began to sleet while we were walking. We came across some group of buildings with an electric fence and guard tower where some type of military items are developed. It was nice to have our family spend some time with Peter. He currently teaches English and Italian, and translates for the church as well.

Anti-American Sentiments Still Run Strong

Saturday March 18 marked the third anniversary since the start of the war with Iraq. We came across some group of demonstraters (with police escorts) marching on one of the main streets in Budapest in protest of the war and our presence in Iraq. A group of people held a large banner that read, "United States of Aggression."

Trash Days in Budapest

In Hungary there are no yard sales, but the Hungarians have their own solution for unwanted items. Budapest is divided up into 22 districts, with each district having 3 consecutive days to discard furniture, clothing, pots, dishes, boards, etc. by placing the junk in piles on the sidewalk. Then other people go through the piles, taking what they want. As time goes by, gypsies come and pull items from the piles and set up "stores" on the side of the piles. If someone wants something from the gypsies' pile, he must pay the gypsies. Meanwhile, everything is getting stepped on or tossed around and snow or rain can fall on the items. Interesting system, but not a good substitution for the good old fashioned yard sale!

Brno Study

On Saturday March 11, we were in Brno for the Bible study to meet with christians from cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bill gave two lectures concerning The DaVinci Code and its inaccuracies. We met in the morning, took a break for lunch and met again in the afternoon. The study ended around 2:30, in time for everyone to get to their trains.

Changes in Bulgaria

Bulgaria has changed a lot since the first families arrived in the early 90's to start a church there. Now, there are modern grocery stores with many western products for sale.

Trip to Sofia

We recently made a trip to Sofia, Bulgaria. We were there for two Sundays and two midweek studies, returning on Wednesday in time for the midweek study in Budapest. While we were there, Sofia experienced some odd weather. Temperatures ranged from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 20 degrees Fahrenheit with 5 inches of snow in one day.
While we were there, we took outings with Biss. One day we went for a walk on the mountain Vitosha. Another day we went to Bulgarian National History Museum.