Stronger...

Stronger, you are stronger

Sin is broken

You have saved me

It is written

Christ is Risen

Jesus, You are Lord of ALL.

The final day of the trip. WOW! That is all i can say right now. Incredible trip with Amazing students serving an Indescribable God!

This morning, we had a chance to sleep in...Finally. We headed back to the Paulus house for our final evaluation of the English Camp. Every year we do this after camp to talk through what needs to change and what should stay the same for next year. The feedback from the Hungarian team was incredible. And parents, you must know that I didn't have much to do with this feedback. I must confess that i do not desire to raise up youth who just sit back and do what they are told on trips like this. I want to have students who are learning to take responsibility for their faith by understanding the meaning of a leader. And that is exactly how this trip was run. Over the 6 weeks of training, I placed each student in a a group of about 3 others to discuss and plan a certain part of the camp. The three groups were: English Camp Group, Games and Skits Group, and American Culture Group. I guided each group in what we have done in the past, but they were in charge of details and planning and executing. I couldn't be more proud of how incredible they did. Each team took responsible for their task and if something struggled or didn't go how they thought it should, they immediately desired to make it better. Such a beautiful picture of Unity!

All in all, the consensus was that Camp was AMAZING!

After this, we headed to a place in Erd to get a traditional Hungarian dish known as "Longosh." Basically, a fried piece of round dough with sour cream and cheese on top. Suprisingly, one of the best things i've ever tasted. After that it was time for a girls and guys split. The girls headed to the local mall for some shopping. I have a confession...I hate shopping. I can go about 10 minutes in a store with my wife and the yawning begins. There is nothing about looking through racks of clothes that sounds like a good time. My idea of clothes shopping is going through the MBCC Youth T-shirt closet...it's quick and free. As the girls were shopping, the dudes went to the local park and created a new game that is a combination of frisbee and soccer. Incredible, but it got old quick! Then back to the hotel for some lazy time.

For Dinner, we met the girls back at the Tesco and then off with Janos for one last night of touring. Tonight we headed to the Citadel which is the highest point in Budapest that looks down on the city and the river. It was relaxing and breathtaking. Our final thing for the night was a time of worship. After an amazing week that could have only been orchestrated by God, we had to give credit to our Savior. We had a time of celebration with singing and communion. We finished with a unified version of Washed by the Water by NeedtoBreathe.

I'm gonna miss this team! I couldn't imagine leading a better group of students.

One more night of sleep and then it is back to the Ham!

The Fearless Leader,

Troy G.

Goulash, anyone?

Hey y'all. It's Allison again and I'm just coming out and saying that I PROMISE this blog post will not be as long as my last one. I'm a self-professed compulsive rambler so I'll try to just hit the highlights this time. So today was our 2nd Sunday in the great nation of Hungary and also our 2nd day as obnoxious American tourists. We made it to the Paulus house at around 9:30...and yes, I mean made it as in every time we get in the car, there is a very likely chance that we will either be A) hit by a fast driving car passing us, B) have a cyclist run into the side of our van, or C) have the brake decide not to work once we are getting into the car. The later actually did happen yesterday and the van maybe moved a foot, but I literally had a heart attack because of course I was sitting shotgun. The church service was fantastic and Frannie, Mary, Jena, and Osk spoke about their experiences at camp, along with David and Esther to bring up the Hungarian end. My personal favorites part of the service was at the beginning when everyone stood up and shared their personal prayer requests or stories of celebration. It made the service so much more personal and the atmosphere was one of pure joy.

After church, we went to lunch. To Campona. Again. And I believe I got my 6th Subway sandwich of the week; turkey and cheese on barna (or for all you non-Hungarian speakers, wheat). I feel so bad for that poor employee who happens to be there the past 3 times we've come. Yanosh then took us to the local "Doodles". Inexpensive, outdoor ice cream that we all enjoyed, particularly the Bailey's ice cream flavor, which was not alcoholic, promise! We returned to the Romantika and proceeded to all enjoy a much needed Sunday cat nap. Well, all of us except for Anne, Mary Leslie, Sara Beth, Osk, Troy, Tim, and myself. The girls were looking up our Ennegrams online for an hour and a half ( I'm a 6, or the Loyalist. AKA best personality ever, unless you're a 9 then 6's stress you out) and the boys continued their new favorite past time of throwing various objects at their fans. #nocomment. Our touristy experience of the day was going to a nearby minaret that was built by the Turks in the 17th century. We then proceeded to lock others in the dark and creepy minaret...I was obviously the only one who appreciated the historical integrity of the site. Then we went to ice cream stop #2 of the day. No complains here on that one. My personal favorite part of the day was going to Yanosh's house for dinner. Literally think of the cutest home ever and you have their house. There was peach, apricots, cherries, apples, plums, exc. growing on trees out back and serviced as our amuse bouche for our meal. For dinner, we had homemade goulash and bread. OH MY GOSH Y'ALL BEST MEAL KNOWN TO MANKIND. Desert was crepe like pancakes with nutella (pronounced nu-te-la) and homemade apricot jam. SO much better than the ones we had at a restaurant at Balaton. If Yanosh opens a restaurant, I would ship myself to Hungary just to eat at it. The meal was rounded out with discussing dogs for an hour, feeding the geese next door whom we named Waffles and Captain (my idea, nbd), and being approached by the neighboring 2 year old child. Said child was only sporting a pair of blue Crocs. Nothing, and I mean nothing, else.

We finished our evening on a nighttime river boat cruise down the Danube and we got to see the Parliament and St. Matthias cathedral and other important sites that I didn't know the name of. We also had to resist the champagne they were handing out in exchange for OJ (or for our abbreviation illiterate readers, orange juice. Or for our Hungarian friends, tej). What a toughie. And now we are sitting in our hotel rooms, eating cheez-it's and discussing Ennegrams. For all we know, Tim, Osk, and Troy could be playing their fan game. Long hair, don't care.

Peace. Love. Buda and Pest. They're two different cities, duh.

She Didn't Make It!

The first picture is of my amazing American dinner and the second is of Budapest from the very top of the hill that we trekked up.

So, today was one of our touring days. We woke up at 8 and met all the Hungarians at Paulus by 9. We waited on Sanyesz to arrive and then we were off to the market. We arrived to the market around 10: 30 & were told to meet back together at 12. Sorry fam, I didn't get you anything, but I did get myself 3 bracelets... At the market we saw everything from a pig's leg (thigh and hoof) to chess boards and even 2x2 Rubix Cubes. The market is two stories tall and easily large enough to get lost in. Thankfully we didn't have an ATM crisis' like the first day here. By now everyone understands that 50.000 forints really is $250. We stopped by Burger King after for a semi-familiar lunch. After indulging into hamburgers, fries, mozzarella sticks, chili cheese nuggets, and shakes we decided to regroup outside and discuss what the rest of the day had in store.

While regrouping we remembered that Troy had promised the Hungarian leaders dinner at Travelle. On the bright side, Travelle is a really nice Hungarian restaurant that cooks your chosen meat in front of you. On the not so bright side, Travelle doesn't accept credit cards. Also, tomorrow's Danube Cruise Dinner only accepts cash- So, we go to the closest ATM and attempt to take money out for the two dinners. Without going into much detail- Troy wasn't able to withdrawal money from the church's account. So, Frannie and myself to the rescue. At first we attempted to take out $1000 from my account, but apparently you can only take $500 out a day. So we took out 100,000 forints out of my account and 100,000 out of Frannies. We may have to do this tomorrow, too. So, don't freak when you see my bank statement!

So, after this fiasco we drove to Hero's Square. Hero's Square is a statue park that tells the history from Hungary's beginning. After parking the car and walking to and from the statues we made our way to a nearby watering hole. We all watered up, saw some awesome chapels, and about 6-7 brides. Even though it was my 3rd time to see all of this it was still absolutely beautiful.

From Hero's Square we drove to the bottom of the hill in downtown Budapest and trekked all the way to the top. It was so hot today. Probably around 93-94 degrees fahrenheit. After arriving at the top we walked by Saint Matthews Cathedral (which is still under construction) and got some fagyi! Hungarian ice cream is awesome; I had strawberry and lemon. So then we walked back down and travelled to dinner. It was amazingly American- so yummy. I ate more fagyi and ate lots of food. I think Kinsey ate 16 scoops of ice cream...

So, now we are all safely tucked in here at Hotel Romantika. After some interesting situations with Mary Leslie, Anne, Allison, and Jena we are all ready to get a full night's sleep and rest up for Hungarian church tomorrow. Thank y'all for continuing to stay updated on our trip here in Hungary. We all appreciate you keeping us in your prayers. Night!

This is Hero's Square from the front and the back. Beautiful sight seeing day!

MBCC Youth

Mollie

Hello Americans. Your Hungarian missionary, Anne H. Galloway is blogging tonight to recount our friday experiences to you. Friday was the last day of Converse camp. We woke up at the usual 7 a.m. and dined at the Hotel Romantika with granola, fruit, and rolls that generally exceed the size of our heads. By the time we got to the Paulus House everyone was quite sleep deprived and patience was low, but we prayed for strength and God, being faithful as always, provided us with much energy that was not our own. During the morning prayer, our team presented Janos with a gift card to the restaurant where we ate tonight (could not recount the name) and Shanez with converse for him and his family. This was their first pair of converse, and I can speak for the whole team when I say that seeing his excitement was priceless. My personal favorite was the hot pink pair for the little girl Zoe. Mom, I am considering purchasing some when I return. Back to camp, we opened a PB&J skit. I will not go into detail, but I think everyone got nauseated when Tim scraped peanut butter off is armpit for Troy to eat in a sandwich.

Friday, being the last day of camp, meant a special event. HUNGARIAN IDOL. wahooooo. After much blood, sweat, and tears, the groups presented their dances in the gym where we play the afternoon games. Mollie and Dixson's groups led off with "I'm a Believer". It was a cute dance which got them 2nd place. Mary and Jena's group danced to "Best Love Song". This was funny and also got a well deserved 2nd place. Tim and Frannie had my personal favorite dance to "Whip My Hair" and recieved a controversial 3rd place. Kinsey and Osk also got 3rd place with a dance to "Get Silly" that was good for having yet to practice. Now you may be wondering to yourself... But who got first? Well, fellow bloggers, that was Allison and myself's group. Victory is sweet.

We ended the game with capture the flag, Matball, then family feud. This popular American game show was taken to new levels with Tim and Troy hosting and Osk managing the game board. This was the first year in which the American leaders were not allowed to help their group answer questions. The theme was American culture so now you bloggers might be thinking... Wasn't that frustrating to not be able to help your ignorant group answer questions about American culture? Why yes it was. So when the occasional cheater leader which I shall not name (Mary) tried to 'assist' her group, she too could not answer a question properly. Turns out Osk made up all the facts in the game so they were far from accurate. For instance: most visited U.S. place was the St. Louis arch. Debatable.

Saying goodbye to the campers was sad. We said goodbyes and promised to find each other on facebook. It was an exhusating night, and we all went to bed the earliest we had all week. Someone else needs the computer and I don't know how to end.... love to all!

P.S. since I am not suppose to be contacting with the outside world besides the blog, Mom will you please have rasberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon when I return? 143

#whyamIsingle?

Okay...so I have been sitting in a little booth for about ten minutes in the lovely Hotel Romantika trying to figure out a clever way to start this blog post. #Obvi I haven't gotten anywhere, so I am going to just go with hello. We started off the morning with a "well- planned" skit (that we practiced 5 minutes before) performed by Tim, Frannie, Roxi, Kamilla and I. Tim was a patient in a doctor's office, and every time someone walked in with different symptoms, he would get their sickness and they would magically be healed! So when big ol' pregnant me walked in, he bolted for the door. Apparently, Tim doesn't want to be preggers. I wonder why?

We then went right into our "English Lessons" and started practicing for Hungarian Idol. Me and Mary Leslie's group got absolutely NO WHERE. We have so much to do! But whatevs...we will definitely figure it out. On the other hand, Anne and Allison's group already know 3/4ths of their dance.

After our attempt and fail at our dances, we left Paulus for the eye to eye sessions. I am very glad to say that I got to lead two girls ( Sari and Eszti) to Christ today. It was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life, and truly showed me how amazing and unpredictable God is! In those crucial 40 minutes, I learned more about myself and about my relationship with the Lord than I ever have. He is so wonderfully beautiful and this whole experience made me look at His sacrifice in such a different way. God is so good!

When we got back to Paulus, we left again for a 30 minute walk (what really should be called an extreme hike) to the rock quarry for our water day. We set up baby pools and various cones and had a relay with our teams. The Hungarians loved this. They loved it a little too much, as it soon turned into a full-fledged water/shaving cream/water balloon war. By the end of the day, EVERYONE was covered head to toe in some sort of liquid. I am 100% positive that this was far from sanitary, but we enjoyed ourselves so whatevs!

Now we are all sitting in the hotel lobby sun-burned, tired, and preparing for tomorrow. Deuces America!

Jena DeLaney

P.s. Please keep Dixson in your prayers! She wasn't doing well in the health department today. She just had a little fever and the aches, so hopefully she will get better soon!

Gypsies 4 Lyfe

Hello, Dixson here. So if you're wondering about this video above, it was a game we played at Converse English Camp. Girls v. Guys. So original. Each shirt they're wearing is metaphorically symbolic of various hamburger accessories. Such as lettuce, mayo, tomato (Jena DeLaney), etc. Girls won. Nem Nite Sutz (No big deal). Rough spelling. So today we did the English Camp at Paulus again. Day 3. More 3 course meals. More awkward english lessons. More made up games that have absolutely nothing to do with english what-so-ever. During game time we played mat ball and had a dodgeball tournament. Me and Osk's group combined for one team and we were largely outnumbered by other teams because of the lack of participation by my group. Jena got nailed in the stomach by a kickball (which we were using as dodgeballs...) by Sanyesz. Left a big ole red mark on her. Quality. For lunch there was more mysterious un-nameable foods. You gotta love Hungary. Ever since I've been here I have realized how annoying and loud Americans are. Fact: Wherever we are, we are the only ones talking. At Campona (the mall), Osk and Tim got in trouble by the security guard for riding a ride for 3–8 year olds. That's not even legal in America. Idiots. So Anne annoys every employ at Subway each time we go. She has gotten emotional in front of them about mustard.... I don't really know what that was all about. Also whenever Anne talks to a Hungarian in her abnormally high voice, they proceed to mimic her. #lovehermeanit. So we just got back to the hotel about 30 minutes ago.. (It's 11:00 pm here). We're running on minimum energy so Osk bought about 5 energy drinks, one of which had a picture of Hannah Montana on it. Total frat move. So when we were driving home we saw a guy pop a wheely in parking lot on a motorcycle, Allison proceeds to shout from the car "Oh my gosh, that is definitely a gypsy!" Shoutout to "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". So I know this was such a good blog but I must bid you farewell and depart to my suite at the Hotel Romantika. Szia everyone.

p.s.- Allison and Jena helped me write 97% of this blog. Peace, Love, Diosd. #deuces

Made All Three

Today we were able to sleep in another 30 minutes which was amazing even though it seems like that is no time at all. We made it downstairs to breakfast at 7:30 and left the Romantika around 7:50, which is amazing timing if you know the people in this group. Well most of the group was a little slow... the girls minus Mollie and add Tim.When we made it to the Paulus building there were already a few students there besides the Hungarian helpers. After setting up for the morning skit and praying the students started pouring into the building. We started off the camp with the toothbrush skit. If you don't know exactly what this skit is then figure it out. This skit is when there is a toothbrush in the front of the room with toothpaste and a cup of water sitting out. The first person will run up to the toothbrush and start brushing their teeth. A second person will then run up to the same table and do the same as the first using the same toothbrush and using the dirty water the other person spit in. This goes on for about 3 more people and then Esther, Andras' daughter, ran up to the table and drank the cup with about 4 peoples backwash in. Mollie gagged and I don't think Dixson watched. If you didn't know Dixson hates watching people brush their teeth. Like she won't even watch herself in the mirror. After this skit we then broke up into our English groups for the morning. After the English groups we had a quick game of crab soccer. For the past three years I have been on this Hungary trip we have had the same caterers bring lunch and the infamous fruit soup. I like the fruit soup but most people don't like it. After English camp our group left to hide in the city of Diosd. Some of the newbs just hid in the same area but the more experienced people hid in better places. I put Tim in the lottery building which I happened to hide in the first year. I personally hid in one of those sewer tunnels under a street for two hours. After the staff hunt we went back to Paulus and dismissed the camp for the day because today was one of the short days. After a quick 2 hour meeting with the Hungarians we headed off to Campona for some Don Peps pizza and the few picky eaters (9) got Subway... the females. Troy, Tim, and I decided to dominate another XXL pizza consisting of BBQ and Salami. This XXL pizza has become almost like a ritual the past two years. We will eat at the food court on the first floor and then go downstairs to the Tesco to get some magnum bars which have now made it to the USA. After leaving Campona, Troy ordered me to be on Blog duty which I have never done before so I hope this is pretty good for a first timer. And now Troy, Tim, Mollie, and I are sitting in the lobby of the Romantika at 9:57, watching me blog and playing Family Feud and Chug 21. Oh and if you don't know who is writing this, Öszk (ew-sk). And while looking up that special "O" we found out that you can put braille patterns on a internet blog... Can someone please explain the purpose of this. Tim on a motorized pig. Cost him 500 for 3 minutes. K thanks bye.

May the Fourth Be With You

Missionary Trivia: Guess who this is?

(if this is your child, love them unconditionally)

Hello Americans! Partyfranimal and Maryles here! Quick Shout-out to most awesomest country ever.... Happy Birthday, America!

Today was our first day of Converse Camp - rock on, never off. Most of the newbs were nervous about the English camp starting, but the veterans were helpful and supes totes pumped. The morning began with a skit where Frannie was Maryleslie's arms as she got ready for a date with Osk, who used Troy's arms. Osk lucked up with the Mary/Frannie duo as a super hawt date. That seemed to be a hit.

During the camp, our groups are in teams according to bandana colors. After the skit, we broke up into our teams to start the English camp portion of the day. The New Kids on the Block struggled at the beginning, but thanks to much prayer, God provided patience, and the first day of English camp went well overall. We played crab soccer, volleyball, ships and sailors, skism, and steal the bacon throughout the day, with a break for a three-course lunch made by our caterers. After lunch, we watched a video about love called "Team Hoyt" (look it up on Youtube), because love was the theme of the day. Next was "eye-to-eye" where we each spoke with one or two members of our team alone. This was when we really had the chance to share the gospel with the Hungarian youth. Several of the American team members enjoyed this time and feel like they planted some seeds. We had American culture night, and instead of shooting fireworks for the 4th of July, we watched The Blind Side and ate Don Pepe pizza. GREAT first day!

Please continue to pray for courage, patience, and energy throughout the week!

Peace. Love. Diosd.

Some hungarian terms we have been learning.

Kinos- Awkward

Koszunom- Thank you

Szivisen- Your welcome

Maryleslie Volcok- My name is Maryleslie

Ho- Snow

Yo- good

Nagy- big

Fagy- Ice Cream

Samibo- nevermind

Segicseg- help

Bocsi- Sorry (not to be confused by our southern accents with Basci- old man).

Nemnicutsz- no big deal

Kocsi- car

Viz- water

Querem a fagit- i want icecream

Szia!

Szia! (Hey!) This is Tim Sanderlin, one of the three dudes on the trip this year coming to you with some tales of our adventures in the over-sea country of Hungary. This past weekend our team and myself spent around two days with the Hungarian team just fellowshipping and planning for English camp occurring the upcoming week. It wasn't easy getting to know the Hungarians because of the language barrier but it was clear both groups had the common goal of spreading the Good News of Christ. (For the record, Hungarian is the 2nd hardest language to learn behind Japanese.) Over the weekend the Hungarians had some games planned for us to play, such as soccer (the video above) and volleyball. Later we had small-group time to become familiar with one another on another level. Yesterday after much planning we were sent out in groups of three or four to literally tell random strangers on the street about Christ. My group was Frannie Bice, Jena Delaney and myself. We didn't have much luck as none of them spoke a lick of a English but we did get some small booklets from the guys from the Paulus Movement that were in Hungarian and handed them out. My team and I were nervous to say the least about this whole experience, but after just one simple prayer of "Give us boldness", we felt up for the challenge! I mean... We had Christ on our side! What could stop us? After about an hour or two of this and good night's rest we did a little more planning this morning. Troy, Sarabeth Melick and myself lead worship this morning for Hungarians and Americans. While playing the song "How Great is Our God" you could hear the sound of not only American voices (Mary Prater above the rest) but also Hungarians started to sing in their language as well. There is nothing more humbling then realizing that there is an ENTIRE WORLD out there singing praises to our Lord and Savior! This experience opened my eyes to realize that God does not need me. He has PLENTY others to sing His praises all the day! But He genuinely wants me. Anyways, afterwards we headed back to the mall in Diosd for dinner then back to the Hotel Romantica. Tomorrow we have to awake at roughly 6:30 for breakfast and then start out day working with the kids. Please pray for rest for our team along with wisdom and patience. We have had certain things go awry and we just need a sense of peace that the Lord has it all under control.

Travel Day 2

Yesterday, the 29th, we woke up at a marvelously late 9:30 AM and began our voyage to Hungary take two. It begin with a late breakfast at our Ramada Inn, where we got a good taste of the midwestern lifestyle; most important aspects being meeting with waiters with awesome accents and a morning with an unusual lack of humidity, both of which rocked. We got to the airport and our plane for New York was on time and ready for us to go. Things went smoothly throughout the first flight, especially smoothly for Janice and Troy who were bumped up to first class. No worries, the rest of us were not at risk of being spoiled and were sitting in the only slightly less glamourous coach. Besides the occasional turbulence and minor stomach drops, the flight was fine and uneventful. We landed in JFK airport around 5p.m. and proceeded to our gate to wait for our plane to HUNGARY.

We got a good taste of the Empire State of Mind when we witnessed a husband and wife have a slight (but loud and very, very public) breakdown about flights being canceled. I think it then hit us that we were not in the south any more and such issues could not be resolved in with a couple of "I'm so sorry y'all"s and a glass of iced tea. We did get some quality gelato and spent our time at the gate playing with our new pillow pets (5/12 now possess them. I have a dolphin and his name is Shark), eating hummus and yogurt covered pretzels, charging ipods for our looming expedition, and helping an elderly Hungarian lady around the gate, but it turned out she spoke English after all so our help was no longer needed. Not to mention identifying every"hipster" within a 20 foot radius.

We boarded our plane and after much seat musical chairs with the other passengers, everyone was sitting by someone from our group and not the random casual traveler. *sigh of relief*. We then proceeded to successfully annoy every surrounding fellow passengers with our antics such as playing Catch Phrase, standing on the occasional chair while the seat belt sign was on (Anne Galloway), and knocking against strangers chairs (Anne Galloway, Mary Leslie Prater, Dixon Bledsoe). We launched into movies like Hot Rod, Just Go With It, Life As We Know It, and the always popular, Jane Eyre. Our meal was actually delicious; pasta, salad, and blondie brownies. And for those of us who were first time over seas flyers (myself...Allison), it was relatively smooth after I got over the initial terror of being surrounded by open ocean, so about until 3 1/2 hours into the flight. After a while, people began to slowly drop like flies to sleep, until it was only Tim and myself up. We both managed to maintain consciousness for THE ENTIRE EIGHT HOUR FLIGHT.

Our flight was extremely smooth and we landing in Budapest, Hungary at around 10:40 A.M. The smooth sailing stopped at the baggage claim location when we waited a solid 45 minutes for our bags. And guess what? Anne's bag is MIA. So if anyone has information regarding the whereabouts of a red rolling suit case, please notify the Hungarian Delta/Air France authorities. We met Szanyez at the entrance where he proceeded to enlighten us on the reasons regarding our canceled flight the previous day. Not bad weather, not terrorist threats, not mechanical issues, but a bale of turtles blocking the runway at JFK. Only us.

We load into a van and a half (Tim, Janice, Anne, and I being the half who waited outside the airport like the troopers we are for the next car) and then headed to the Paulus House. Sidenote: Tim and I, the two people who didn't sleep on the plane ride over, have fallen asleep twice: in the car on the way to Paulus and on the (empty and not moving) luggage conveyer belt. When we arrived at the house, the Hungarians welcomed us SO warmly and there were many heart felt reunions for people returning to Hungary for the 2nd or even 3rd time. Oh and don't forget our first official Don Pepe's meal, where we each ate 1+ slices of pizza, which, I kid you not, were bigger than my face. The rest of our day was spent planning for the retreat this weekend and the camp the next week. So even though we are jet lagged, slightly disoriented time wise, and half of us are sporting our SKYTEAM shirts that Delta gave us complimentary when our flight was canceled, we are unbelievably excited about what the next two weeks will hold and the things that God is doing in this place.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Your Hungarian mission team

Where is Minnesota?

Well, after a two and a half hour flight we are staying the night in Minnesota. Most of the students don't even know where that is geographically. We spent the day mostly at the Minneapolis Airport and the Mall of America. A lot of the group explored the four story mall and even rode some of the roller coasters. After nearly losing Frannie and Mary Leslie in the Mall of America, we found our way back to our exquisite abode. We are staying in the five star Ramada Inn; where they have clearly updated the outdoor pool area rather than sprucing up the interior.

As nice as the Ramada Inn is, we would eventually like to arrive in Hungary. The group is looking forward to getting to know the students from Paulus and share outfits that they bought here... Our flight to New York City is scheduled to leave at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. We will depart from New York to Budapest at 7:30 tomorrow evening. The students' cell phones will not work once we take off tomorrow night, so make sure to call and give them a last minute (delayed) goodbye... and in the case of some, send some more money.

Peace. Love. Minnesota.

MBCC Youth

Last Day on the Job...

Written By: Russell Galloway
Rather than sending the whole group to Tuscaloosa today, our group split and sent half of the people to T-town and the other half returned to West End Junior High to put some final touches on the projects. In Tuscaloosa, the team sorted clothes to be sent out to tornado victims and shelters. At WEJH, the team finished the outdoor classroom, and built two picnic tables. We have successfully completed our two missions at WEJH, which were to beautify the school and to share God’s love with the students. Following the day’s work was a dinner excursion to Mustang Oil, a hole in the wall gas station/restaurant in which nearly every item on the menu starts with the word fried. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to hear from our Dartmouth bound student, Henry Waller, as he led the devotional. Tomorrow, everybody is looking forward to doing the high ropes course here on property. Following that, we will be cleaning up the camp and headed of to the Hampton Inn in T-town where we will finish up our mission trip.

Final Day of Sports Camp...

We are the Titans, the mighty, mighty Titans! It’s Kelli and Lydia blogging tonight! Today at sports camp, we set up the projector and the kids watched Remember the Titans. Surprisingly, they all voted to play in the gym and dance as opposed to hanging out and watching the movie. They have bonded with all of the youth, and love having dance parties on the stage and playing basketball with the boys, so we cut the movie and played games with the girls singing in the background. We surprised them with a cookout and popcorn and gave them all a small gift as they left. The boys went shopping in Tuscaloosa yesterday and found sports equipment for every child! While most of the youth were helping with the camp, Troy and his crew continued building the “outdoor classroom”, which consisted of several benches for studying outside. Mrs. Jackson, the summer school director, called everyone inside for a dedication. The kids and their teachers presented us with a framed certificate expressing their gratitude for our work at West End Junior High. Each of the classes (K-4, 5&6, 7&8) crafted poster-sized thank you notes, including pictures and letters from each of the kids. We were all thrilled to be able to spend time with the kids, and loved getting to know each and everyone of them. We hope to return for an afternoon later this summer to get to reunite with them again! As we were packing up, a storm blew in out of nowhere and our sweet guys insisted that the girls stayed dry in the vans while they ran around and loaded up! Tonight, Mrs. Daniels and Mrs. Galloway brought us Publix chicken nuggets, watermelon, and soft drinks for dinner! Sarah and Tate have a “Jesus version” of Baby by Justin Beiber planned for devos tonight, which is sure to be a fun ending to our great day!

Day Two on the worksite...

Knock Knock! Who’s there? Tate, Jena, and Sarah that’s who! We all had painting duties today at West End Junior High where we painted columns and support beams (we scrubbed them down for hours with wire bristles before painting) and named ourselves the Dream Beam Team. Through several spills, clean ups, and live bugs we beat the heat and are on our way to making the school look fabulous! Both of the other teams worked extremely hard and are making a ton of progress landscaping and building the outdoor classroom. After a delish lunch we headed back to the Gymnotorium to hang out with all the kids and watch screaming girls chase our very own Justin Bieber (Graham Spain). Not only did we play games we also freshened up on our dance moves that we thought were pretty good, but the girls at the sports camp begged to differ. Jena and Sarah tried to convince all the girls that we were super models. Fail. After our eventful afternoon we went back to the camp and some of the boys went to Tuscaloosa while many of the girls “got silly” on a fun trip to Family Dollar. Upon arriving home some of the ladies rearranged their in artsy manners. Basically we looked like freaks. We ended a great day with an amazing Mexican fiesta (thanks to Mrs. Spain and Mrs. Sanderlin!) and an awesome night devotion. As a final nugget of wisdom...

Question: What did the towel say to the guitar?

Answer: “I’m a towel!”

Jokes are courtesy of bathroom girls.

First Day on the Job...

Hey guys, it’s Morgan (Jemison) on blog duty. The Hale County mission team had a pretty intense day today starting around 6:30. About 7:45 we headed out to West End Junior High to start on our many projects. I was personally on the outdoor classroom team; we started off by marking off where our seven benches would go, which was on an open hill by the school/community playground. Then we started digging holes [12 inches by 16 inches (that may not seem very big but it was not exactly an easy task)]. Up closer by the school there was a team working on some landscaping projects. Inside we had a team working on removing some graffiti from the locker rooms. And our last team was working on some painting projects. After a great lunch including sandwiches, chips, various fruits, and various dessert items the team headed to the Gymnotorium for sports camp! We actually had a pretty good turn out with kids from pretty much all age groups. They were all really friendly and happy. We played kickball, basketball, and duck-duck-goose. After sports camp we loaded up in the MBCC buses to head back to True Vine. It was an overall great day for the Hale County Missions team. Keep praying for us! Thanks for reading, catch us tomorrow for…tomorrow’s blog!

A Different Kind of Worship...

Sup peeps. It’s Andrew King right chere (6 foot 5, 280 pounds). Last night was pretty much totally miserable for T Wooley and myself. We decided to sleep outside in hammocks instead of inside. 8 people started out on the ground or in a hammock outside. After two hours of misery, 6 folks dropped out and went inside. The bugs were literally having a summer feast on our bodies as well as the scorching heat. Thompson and I toughed it out and literally did not sleep. I had a generous 45 minutes while Thomson had zero minutes. Raccoons were walking around our hammocks, so we stayed strong and said that Jesus got our back. At daybreak, 5:30, we got up and went on a run to ease our minds while everyone woke up. This morning, we had the privilege to go and worship at some of the local churches in Hale County. We all were awestruck at the spirit and energy that is throughout the congregation as well as the preacher himself. At First Baptist Newbern Church, the preacher started breaking out in an absolutely insane rap about Jesus’ life. Everyone was clapping and yelling for Jesus. The thing about these churches is that they do not have a planned hour to do the service, they just go until whenever it is right. This afternoon we had free time and chillaxin time. We all went down to the lake by the vineyard and swam for what seemed like forever. This week is gonna be an incredible week. Please keep praying for our trip. See everyone soon. PEACE OUT

We're HERE...

Hey everyone, I am Speedy aka Elizabeth Marks and I am reporting to tell yall we are ALIVE. Not only are we alive as in we didn't crash, but you can already feel the love a family has when as a unit they are alive in Christ! Everyone has already been involved with activities. Some people have been singing and practicing guitar, playing frisbee, dancing to music, and running. We have gotten our devotion book and a regular book, called "Prodigal God". I am pumped about being here and I know everyone else is too because all I have seen so far has been energy and excitement!! Our leaders; Troy, who is looking stunning with his new beard cut, Janice and Julia are cooking away. We have been here for an hour and everyone is already starving.. haha. I am excited to be filled with food, but I am extremely excited to be filled with God's love and presence. Our first group devotion will be tonight at 8:30, please be praying for our discussions and group prayers. Tomorrow we will be attending churches in Hale County and Monday we kick off sports camp! Woohoo! Although last year we had minimal attendance, we are praying hard for children to come, play, and learn about our awesome God who wants to find them. I know for a fact God will be working in everyone's hearts throughout the trip and I can never thank Him enough for this opportunity. Amazing things are going to go down in Hale County and MBCC is ecstatic to be representing Christ. God bless.

Serving is Upon Us...

Before we head out on Saturday, I just wanted to make sure that this is up and running. I also wanted to post the details to what we will be doing and any information that you might need. Please pray for us this week as we serve York West End Junior High School and the students in the area through a Sports Camp.