Summertime Joys

It's summertime.  School is out.   The weather is hot.  The sun is shining.   What are my plans?

A month long trip to the US.   Here are some things I enjoyed while I was "home."

Lunch with my Barnabas prayer team.  They are a bunch of wonderful friends and dear sisters.  

Saying "farewell" to my best friend Kathy as she left to serve in Haiti for a year.

Pizza, with fresh ingredients, from a brick oven.

Hiking along the North Shore with visiting ICSB friends- Me, Elizabeth, Amanda, & Andrea B.

Ahhh...Lake Superior

Swimming with my family on July 4th!  That's my brother & my niece Ellie.

Getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere Iowa on at 100 degree day with my mom.  
We were on the side of the road for 2 hours.  

Seeing many wonderful friends, including this one...Jessica.

Spending precious time with this little peanut (my niece)...
going to the park, playing playdough, having sleepovers,
going swimming, reading books, and just snuggling.

And not to forget... eating steak on the grill, eating fresh Iowa & Minnesota sweet corn on the cob, worshipping God with my church family, shopping at Target and outlet malls, driving my own car, enjoying Caribou coffee with friends, helping my parents pack for moving, and sharing about God's work in Hungary and in me this past year.  

It's was a wonderful time filled with joy, laughter and good memories.  It was hard at times too.  I missed Hungary and longed to return for many reasons.  But, it was good to be there.  It was hard to leave again, but it's good to be here in Hungary too.  

God has been and is so good to me in all these things.  His faithfulness, his provision, his love, and his care are with me whether I'm in the familiar places with friends and family from the US or with the friends and people in Hungary that have become familiar.

I have a month in Hungary before I report back to school.  It's going to be a full month of moving in, organizing, traveling to Germany for training, and welcoming new friends to this community.