Safe Arrival
I’m here! I’m SO grateful that my travels went smoothly! I’ve only been here 4 days and yet it feels like a month! haha! I have so much to say, but so little time to say it! I arrived and Jill, the woman in charge of ‘taking care’ of me picked me up from the airport as scheduled and took me directly to the Operation Mobilization office here in Hungary (where i’m currently staying, but i move into my own apartment tomorrow!). she immediatly announced that i would begin my adventure by starting out on my first bus outreach the day after my arrival! the original plan was for me to rest/ get to know the city this week before i begin my language training on Monday, but i guess there was a change in plans! *** my first lesson in being FLEXIBLE on the mission field!
I just returned from the outreach, and could write for pages about what i’ve already experienced. but i’m sleepy and so i will just mention a couple highlights thus far, and then will post tomorrow about some of the more meaningful stuff i’ve seen/ heard/ felt.
-My first night here i was treated to a gourmet meal of CHINESE FOOD! my first Hungarian meal was the next day… stuffed cabbage. it was DELICIOUS. i took a picture of it (haha…if you know me well you’re probably thinking, “what?! kristi take a lot of pictures?!?! never!!!”).
-They have 2 guitars here at the office… i just had my first guitar lesson tonight! praise God for this- i prayed i would have access to a guitar while here.
-The first team of missionaries i served with were from around the world! Jill (from England), Istvan (from Hungary), Ego (from Aland- an island between Sweden and Finland), and me.
-One of the most difficult things i’ve encountered is the language barrier. i knew this was going to be an issue before coming, but i never would have guessed how exhausting and brain numbing it is to sit in a room and listen to a conversation for 45 minutes straight and have absolutely NO clue what is being talked about. it’s hard to explain to somone who has never experienced this.
-I am taking my friend Tim D’s advice and have made a rule for myself- i will not allow my head to hit the pillow before writing at least SOMETHING about my day in my journal. i hope to share some of these entries with you on this blog in the near future…
-The weather has been WONDERFUL! sooooo much better than i was expecting! it has been sunny and around 50 degrees Farenheit for the last 2 days! and wasn’t much colder before that! however… the temp drops drastically at night, much more of a drop than back home. i’m still getting used to it.
-I have been able to sleep through the night each night i have been here. I’ve experienced jet lag a bit (during the day), but am blessed to have gotten into a good pattern of going to bed around 9 and waking up around 7. (*** we shall see how long this lasts!)
Prayer requests:
-one of the reasons i’ve probably slept so well is because i’m sick. :( i have what everyone back home had before i left… stuffy nose, sore throat, head ache, hot/ cold flashes. i’ve been told that this comes along with mission work and traveling overseas. please pray that i get better without the help of a doctor…. the other missionaries here say they have access to a good American trained physician, but it would cost me a lot if i needed to see him. i’m hoping my sudafed, ibuprofen, and Emergen-C will be strong enough to fight off anything serious!
-that i have a good attitude in all circumstances. tonight i experienced some pretty heavy sadness and homesickness. please pray that i depend on HIM to comfort me through these times.
-tomorrow morning i will be sitting through 2 hours of church IN HUNGARIAN. please pray that i don’t fall asleep and that i can still connect with God on some level despite the language barrier!
LOVE YOU ALL! thank you for your love and support! i got some uplifting e-mails and messages on facebook that encouraged me more than you can imagine. remember if you want to e-mail me, please do so at khellmer1@gmail.com. it means so much to me to hear from people back home. ****i haven’t figured out how to let people post comments on this blog yet… hopefully someday soon i will!!!
