The Szeged Theater with a lovely tree turning yellow on top
Fall has come full force to Szeged, much sooner this year than last. We’ve been getting rain a few days a week now, and it’s dipping down into the 50’s and 60’s during some days. I’ve been packing away our summer clothes and unpacking the winter. And the trees, ah, the trees are all so beautiful. I really need to bring my camera with me more than I have on walks, especially down to the nearby river; the trees across the river, reflecting on the Tisza are so beautiful. The piac or outdoor market is changing too. The summer produce is fast disappearing, being replaced by more flowers and sellers with wreaths, as All Saints Day is a big deal here. Everyone will be putting flowers and wreaths and candles on their relatives’ graves on or just before Nov. 1st.
Early Fall along the Tisza, steps from our front door.
As I shared in our last big update, much is changing for our family too. The lazy days of summer are long gone for the kids; we just had the first Parent/Teacher Conferences through their new online school, Jeffco Virtual Academy as the school year is already ¼ done. It was pretty cool to have virtual conferences, some utilizing video, some just audio but all making it possible to connect and ‘meet’ their teacher’s and discuss our kids. Technology can sometimes be impressive and not just annoying and time-consuming. We are all enjoying this school year much, much better than last. The kids are doing great. There were some adjustments at first; Anna especially had a hard time dealing with the online set-up, but she’s making up for her initial bumpy start and all her teachers are pleased with her work. Speaking of Anna, she is also attending a different Hungarian school than last year, Karolina. She goes in each morning for the 9th grade English class (she’s in 8th grade, but the 9th graders’ English is better) and so far it is going really well. It’s an all-girls Catholic High School, and we all like the lower level of teenage drama, she also really likes the teacher, Sister Luca. Her report on life in Colorado was especially popular, the girls loved all the horse-riding photos she shared and the chipmunks – there are no chipmunks or squirrels here, so those got lots of ‘ahhhs’ from a room of teen girls.
The kids’ online ‘Homeroom’ (divided by last name) won a school competitioin last month, and if they’d been in CO they would have gotten to attend an ice cream party as reward, so we took them for ice cream here, and sent the class this picture. Keeping them connected, and getting ice cream – win/win! 🙂
Other changes are more in regards to ‘ministry’, or chances for us to do more than just live our life here, though, that is certainly enough most days. A couple months ago Kyle, the pastor at Golgota (Calvary Chapel) Szeged, asked if Norbert was still playing his guitar and interested in leading worship. Norbert had already seen the need for Kornel, the current worship leader, to get some breaks and was thinking of asking if he could fill in maybe once a month or so, for that purpose. So Kyle’s question was confirmation, but also really surprising to us. We did not come back to Hungary with worship in mind, at all. Norbert felt clearly to set it aside several years ago when he stepped down from doing the Kid’s Worship at Calvary S. Denver, just before God lead us to assist in the church plant from there of Mile High Calvary. We came here with some other dreams and future goals, not one of which was getting back into leading worship. We’ve been praying about it since Kyle asked Norbert, and we’ve not really been talking about it, we have not been sure what God wanted. We still don’t know how long we’ll be involved, but for now, we are moving forward to helping with the worship at Golgota Szeged. They’re setting up several worship teams, to allow more people to be involved and to give those same people breaks. Please pray with us as we step into something God seems to have set up. Norbert already led on his own last Sunday; his first time leading worship in his native Hungarian (though he also did all the songs in English as well) in ten years. It was pretty special.
We’re still hopeful to start the Szeged English Club for teenagers and got a positive response from one of the schools next to our house, they want us to come in and meet with their staff. But it has not moved past that. We’re trying not to get impatient, Hungarians can often move much slower than we’re used to. And while we had been putting most of our hopes for socializing and making friends for the boys on that future club, as they are not going back to the English classes at a Hungarian High School this year, they have been making friends without it. Norbert has an old work colleague who runs a computer store here in town, and they’ve been in touch. About a month ago Norbert took the boys to the store to meet his friend’s son Tamas, who is the same age as Josiah. The boys have since been bowling and ice skating together or with Tamas’ other friends. It has been great to see them off being kids and having fun without parental involvement, for the first time since we arrived here last year. Thank you for your prayers for friends for them!
And then Rachel’s planned Weekend Retreat/Getaway for some nearby missionary women and pastor’s wives is coming up in less than a month. She’ll be getting into the final planning stages here soon. Our home church of Mile High Calvary has been awesome in coming along behind us in this, we’re excited for the CD’s they’re sending from their Women’s Retreat that was held just last month and their women are praying for the ladies coming. We so appreciate that prayer support; which leads to a final point.
We’d love your prayer. We need your prayer. For the past couple months we have been sending out weekly (or so) prayer updates to a separate email list from our general updates list. Let us know if you want to be added to that list. Things have been happening; God has been opening doors we never expected. And as is understandable, the enemy is not pleased. Our family has felt under a lot of spiritual attacks in the past couple months, we cannot do this alone. We’ve made a point to ask for more prayer, and to keep those prayer updates going out. We know you are praying, and we thank you.
It’s an exciting season of changes for us, of events unfolding, of plans changing colors, as it were. I love when life mirrors the seasons. May your fall be blessed with color, in the trees and in your life.
Attempting to take a ‘nice’ picture of the kids on a recent walk home… he he, thanks guys.
lakatosfamily 