We’ve just finished five amazing days.  Five friends from North Carolina came to help us with an English Camp.  A couple hours after landing in Budapest, this jet-lagged team was hanging out with university students at English Club.  Over the course of the weekend, Donnie shared 10 thoughts on how to live a better life.  Five of them are:

• Be intentional with your thoughts
• Be thankful
• Be accountable to someone
• Tell those you love that you love them
• Be Quiet

We spent Saturday morning at an orphanage in Debrecen, and we almost had too much fun.  I’d say that was a pretty significant time for all of us.  A highlight for me was when one of the young girls found the courage to sing a song for all of us.  Wow. 

After Valéria’s awesome scavenger hunt in the city center, had a Hungarian lunch, some English small groups, life-story sharing, and lots of games.  I won’t mention what time people went to bed.  :)  This was an outstanding group of Americans who came to visit.  They brought so much fun, they shared their hearts, and they were real with us.  (Thanks Adam, Jill, Amanda, Adrien, and Donnie!!!!).  Personally, I feel refreshed and excited about life.  Here’s some pictures:

Wow, I think this is my fourth post in three weeks.  I’m on a roll!  I want to mention that my buddy Chris is going to Zimbabwe today.  You can read about his travels so far on his blog and then pray…it’s a bit dangerous. 

Also, I would to announce that this blog, utazni.com, is ranked the 2,910,025 th most popular blog on Technorati.com!!!   

5 friends from North Carolina are coming to Budapest today.  The next week is going to be full and fun.  We have a four day English Program starting today, and we’ll spend a couple days in Debrecen.  The forums and life-story times should be great, and everyone’s looking forward to our time at the orphanage on Saturday morning.  I’ll post some pictures and thoughts next week.

Here’s a few pictures from our recent “outing club” adventures. 
 

Ahhhh.  Here in Budapest you can feel Fall approaching.  Cool air, shorts and long-sleeve shirts, classes beginning again…I love this time of year! 

This morning we entered a new phase of life.  Seth, Jacob, and Nathan all went to kindergarten/preschool.  They are all in the same school, but three different classes.  So that means we’re juggling 9 teachers/helpers, 72 kids & their parents, and three sets of class meetings/activities/information.  Not sure if we could manage it without Tamás and Zita.  :)  I’m just glad they are all in the same building. 

First year university students have started their registration and orientation this week.  You can see the excitement and energy. 

We have a new Outing Club at the University this year, which grew out of the English Club, and it seems to be coming together really really well.  Website is ready, just need a good address.  Thanks Dori, Balázs, Kristof, Jozsef, and Attila for your help!!  Some great events planned for the first semester.  The two biggest will be a camping trip Sept 28-30, and an English Camp Nov. 16-18. 

I grew a beard.  I love not shaving.

In less than two weeks, Laura’s sister and mom will be arriving for a 12 day visit.  We are all really excited, and we have a lot planned for them!

From August to November of 1991 the 87 day siege of Vukovar took place leaving nothing but ruins, hardly any building fully intact, and 100% of the inhabitants scarred by the atrocities of this war.  There is still a heaviness being carried by Vukovarians.

But there is also life, a continued story.  One thing I clearly recognized while in Vukovar this time is the impossibility of outsiders to come and feel, empathize, and make any sort of real impact.  I see our friends Laci and Keri who moved to Vukovar almost three years ago, or our new friend Charles who moved there in 1995.  By doing so they entered the story.  By entering the story they have become fellow journeyers, able and willing to share burdens, meaning, and hope. 

I love this picture of the flowers growing out of a partly destroyed building.  Maybe it is an appropriate metaphor for many us as people, especially our friends in Vukovar.  Impact, meaning, and hope are the fruits of a shared story. 

Last week, we had a great English Trip to Vukovar Croatia.  Not only did the students practice their English from morning to night, but we caught a glimpse into post-war life and had many meaningful conversations.  I had a really great time, and I especially appreciated the insights and honesty of these students.  I’ll post some pictures soon.

July 2-5, we will travel to Pécs, Vukovar & Osijek (Croatia).  The trip will be filled with conversation, adventure, BBQ, and eye-opening experience.  Click here to read more.

   A couple weeks ago, a few of us hung out at the Bázis.  This place is sweet.  It is sort of a pub/café with retro communist 1970 furniture, a loft hand-built by my friends Domi and Balázs, and a old wine cellar transformed into a disco and table-ice-hockey game room.  Whoa.Two of our American friends, Dave and Donnie, were in town visiting, and it was really cool to have them there.  We also had an awesome conversation on the topic of community.  A lot of questions were asked which is usually a sign of a good conversation.  Among several great summarizing thoughts, Dave mentioned,

“Reciprocity is essential but there are no guarantees. Choosing how we will live in a competitive, partnered, and unstable world is risky but essential.  Treating everyone as a competitor undermines all partnership and eventually produces isolation.  Partnership produces community, and community produces much of what gives life meaning: identity, value, and purpose.” 

• What inner abilities do we need to cultivate in order to promote the value and importance of other people and not just to pursue our own interests?
• How do we stay meaningfully engaged with people in a society that emphasizes what we can get out of it, not what we can give it?
• In an increasingly globalised world that worships personal happiness and the making of money, what are the values we need to become fully human?