Summers for missionaries

I don’t know what summers are like for other missionaries, but for us, they are kind of crazy.  This summer was no exception.  This summer we had three short-term volunteers (Isaiah, Jasmine, and Hillary from Trevecca Nazarene University) and one long-term volunteer, Ashley Huber, arrive and serve with us.  They were such a blessing not only to us but to the others whose lives they touched.  Our   Before these volunteers arrived, we hosted a summer Choir group from Mount Vernon Nazarene University!  What a blessing they were!!  Dave’s parents were here from Korea, where they currently teach English, and Dave’s mom was a part of helping us do our first 2 week English Club held in our charity shop.  Our team was also a part of 3 separate summer camps and we helped our ministry partners put on a giant yard sale to raise money for families and individuals in need.  I know some missionaries go home and raise support during the summers.  This will be us next summer 2014, as we will embark on our first 3 month tour of visiting churches.  That will also be a kind of crazy summer I imagine. 

Yet, summers don’t seem to be crazy for people around us.  In fact they are just the opposite – quite chill!  It’s been my experience that Europeans now how to spend a summer holiday!  The city we live in empties and fills with tourists.  More and more we begin hearing other languages, American English being one of them.  That’s always a bit jarring for me when I hear American English, which I have to say, stands out quite a bit in a crowd.  It inevitably turns my head.  I usually find myself staring.  I shouldn’t be staring, but I do, and sometimes I think of awkwardly saying something that wouldn’t go anywhere and has no substance, but also lets them know I’m an American, something not so cool like, “Oh – you’re speaking English!”  “Yep” they might respond.  And that’s the end of the conversation. 

Sorry, I digress.  Most everyone we know heads to the beautiful coast, for several weeks, sometimes a month at a time.  We felt this year that the coast was not a trip we could afford, so instead we decided to have some family time in a city we love, a city that feels like a second home to us – Budapest!   This is where our daughter Emma (who is 20 months old now) was born!  Our close friends and team leaders, the Sunberg family, live in Budapest but they were in America speaking at churches so we were able to use their house for a little getaway before the Summer ends and the Fall begins.  It was perfect!  We had no internet, we read a lot, played games, enjoyed some sightseeing and just spent time together as a family, which I’m realizing is very important for us to do, as we are usually “on” and “available” most of the time.  Now that school is starting for JJ in a few days, life will have a new kind of craziness!!