Tuesday, December 30, 2008

A different Christmas <3





This Christmas is a very different Christmas of course. No running around with the family, going to see a movie at the theater on Christmas Eve. Laughing the whole ride home and being excited for all those snack and sparking wine. Playing Mexican Train till late at night and the next morning waking up to the smell Cinnamon rolls and jumping on the boys. =) nope. this Christmas was very much the opposite. It was still joyful however!
Eva her sister Reka and I arrived in their home town "Bonyhad" on Christmas Eve. We decorated the Christmas tree with those Hungarian favorite chocolate candies with the jelly in the middle... ya not my favorite but their OK! =P . Eva is allot of fun! She just turned 18 and is a senior in high school! She is a beautiful girl with a heart for the Lord! She decided that she wants to attend bible school next year even! Her dad even said he would pay for her first year! which is amazing since her dad is not a Christa in and it's very rare for parents to do that here. Praise the Lord! Well I wouldn't say that her family is Christain, her brother Mate is very strong in his faith and had brought up Eva since she was 12. They aren't sure if their brother Tomi, sister Reka, and Dad are saved, or even their grandma. So we wanted to make sure we were a good influence on them while we were there!
We had a HUGE lunch/Dinner with of course soup to start us off! with u now like the whole duck or pork in there with the bones. =) haha
Than! Eva, John, Mate and I prepared a skit for her family!! about baby Jesus in the bible! We dressed up! they loved it! we sang a couple of songs and than opened presents! It was all together a very good night!
They celebrate Christmas here as a three say holiday! So on Christmas day, they went out to see cousins and relatives! we played games and talked. It was actually very hard for me allot of the times, because i am not well in the Language and can mostly understand whats going on, but very hard to get in a conversation. So allot of the times i felt a little lonely when John wasn't there. But I did learn ALLOT of Hungarian!! =P
One night i spent almost two hours talking with her brother Tomi about why I was in Hungarian and about the Bible school! He said that He needed a change in his life, and he's thinking about going to bible school too!! It was cool talking with him and I pray that the Lord is working in his life! I also had a chance to talk with her cousin Patrica!! She told me that she believed in God and prayed to Him allot, but had allot of sin in her life. I asked her what the most important thing was in the bible... She didn't know so I explained to her the perfect gift of Christ. How He died on the Cross to forgive our sins and rising from the grave, and by believing in that He is the only way to heaven, we can be saved. We don't have to go to a Priest to have our sins forgiven, God wants a personal relationship with us. So we can just come to Him with our problems! I shared with her my testimony and How coming to bible school has really changed my life. Her mom walked in at one point of our conversation and she told her mom " Mom, please! I am learning about God! go away!" wow just about broke my heart! This girl really wanted to know the Lord more, and by the way her family life was. It looked like she didn't get it much! She said she wants to hang out with us in Budapest sometime! I told her i would get her a quiet time diary book! I felt like the Lord was using me there, maybe in ways I don't even know!

Each day we are fighting a battle. We are in a warfare of sin. How are we preparing ourselves in this life? Are we starving ourselves each day from our food and water? We will be weak and fall on the Battle field. Each day that we forget to feed ourselves, we are putting ourselves in dangerous situations and soon lose site and our strength! We need to be continually in the Word each day!
1 John 2:28 - "Continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming."
How are we living our lives? what are we feeding ourselves?
Galatians 6:8 - For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life."
What is growing? Your flesh or your desires for the Lord? We all know what satisfies us completely! That is only Christ!
I am Learning to be joyful with whats in front of me. What ever circumstances i am in. Even though Christmas wasn't the "same" this year. I have to look at it from a different angel and say "Wow what an amazing experience I had!"

Keep me in your prayers!! and If you would like to give me something for Christmas! Please send me tuition money for School!!! Thank you so much for all your prayers and your love this Christmas!!
God Bless!!
amanda joy

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