Summer and Fall all over Again

Summer and Fall all over Again

We all readily admit that time flies when you're having fun. Whether fun is part of the equation or not, time always seems to fly. And fly it did the past few months for us.

If you read the last post (in June!), you know that we had a great visit from my parents. You also know that Ian and Leah enjoyed a month of California sunshine, and that we all enjoyed a visit to the States during the month of July. June (even without 50% of our kids) was blessed. July was a blast, and August was great, too. Getting back on campus in August meant I needed to hit the ground running. Plenty to do to prep for a new semester. 

One of our neighbors - NOT one of our pets

We are off to a great start here with the fall semester at CCBCE. We have a fantastic batch of students as well as a great lineup of classes. I'm enjoying teaching the Epistle of James along with the Gospel of Mark. Christi hosts a weekly prayer time at the house for the staff ladies on campus. Our internship is going well, and we're enjoying the group we have this time around. 

Random gorgeous Hungarian sunset

As for the Foster children, they're doing well, too. This year marks our first official run at home-schooling, and honestly, so far so good. All four are growing in so many ways and we're so proud of them. Strange to say that our "little one" is seven and that we are a few short months away from the reality of having a teenager in the house. 

Leah and our friend Judah at their baptism in August

Speaking of teenager in the house: if you're unaware of this, you might be interested to know that we are making efforts towards adoption. The child we're hoping to adopt is already in his teenage years. And, he's from Uganda. Adoption is something that Christi and I have been passionate about for a long time. Right now, it seems that God might be doing a work in this area. Please join us in prayer!

Really, please do join us in prayer. As you might imagine, dealing with a three country adoption isn't the easiest route to take. When all is said and done, we're not interested in the easy route, we're interested in God's route. Join us in prayer for anything that comes to mind concerning this adventure we're just starting to embark upon. Feel free to email me directly if you'd like to know some more of the specifics. 

Christi recently started her own blog about the adoption process. Feel free to peruse that here:

http://prayerforadoption.blogspot.com/

Thanks again for everything!

Lots and lots of love,

Jeremy, Christi, and the kids

Doorsteps of Summer

Summer Vacation!

“Busy.” One definition for this: “full of activity.” Yeah, that’s about right. The spring semester at CCBCE finished up a few weeks ago, and it was a bitter sweet end. We truly had one of the best groups of students Christi and I have ever seen. Graduation was exciting to see so many quality students head out into life and ministry, but...that also means we won’t see them back here next semester. Good news/bad news (but really, the only reason to call that “bad news” is because I’m selfish and want to keep them around as long as possible).

Ian enjoying Hungarian wild-life (male Stag Beetle)

This past month, “busy” seemed to be an apt description for me in another area: trips to the doctor. For whatever reason, I’d like to think that shingles is a virus that hasn’t been seen or heard from since roughly 1889. Bad news: nope; it’s still alive and well. I know because I had an unpleasant bout with it this spring. An initial misdiagnosis and a few decent-sized scars later, it has run its course. Doctor visits also abounded because, while I was finishing up my shingles prescriptions, I was greeted with a basketball-related injury. Let me be honest here: torn calf muscles are not a ton of fun. I’m currently into my fifth week of a casted/booted leg. The good news from here on out is that the doctor is very optimistic that I should be back to normal (at least in the walking department of “normal”) within a week. I’ve never been more grateful for our on-campus swimming pool. I’ve never been less excited about 10-days worth of self-inflicted blood-thinning shots to the abdominal area. 

Ever-faithful, Lola showing sympathy for the inured old man

Doing three weddings in three months (in two countries and ultimately in three languages) also adds to the “busy” scenario around here. I was blessed to officiate all three while Christi was a huge help in coordinating two of them. She really is amazing at what she does around here. Four kids and any number of college kids that think of her as their second mom keeps her busy, too.

Granny teaching Mikayla to crochet

“Busy” also fits for our family geographically. Earlier this month Christi and I were blessed to join the rest of the CCBCE team on a staff retreat to Austria. That left Kara and Mikayla here in Hungary with a couple of our dear students. “What about Ian and Leah?” Good question. They’re in California with their grandparents for the month of June. Which means, last week we had two Fosters in Austria, two Fosters in Hungary, and the other two in America. That’s certainly a first for us - our family occupying space in three different countries. My parents were in Hungary for a few weeks visiting and Ian & Leah left with them. (All planned, not to worry.)

Foster Family + Grandpa and Granny (pardon the crutches that found their way into the shot)

We are fortunate to be able to visit the States ourselves for July. We will be in New Jersey and plan to visit as many different churches as we can. Please pray for us this month while we’re without 50% of our offspring. 

Christi and I enjoying the scenery at the staff retreat for CCBCE 

By the way, today marks our eight year anniversary of ministry in Europe!

Getting in and out of the car with crutches: "a challenge"

Tons of blessings and appreciation from the Foster family scattered hither and yon!

Jeremy

Spring Semester, 2012

Even though I haven't lived there since 1996, my blood still seems to run at the temperature of Southern California. Cold weather is something that my body has mostly adjusted to, but it is still a challenge. We had one particularly cold night in early February when the temperature hit -20C (-4F). I mention this not just because I'm happy to have snow in our rearview mirror (although that's true). I mention it because Spring in Hungary is a seriously gorgeous time of year. And not just because of temperatures above freezing; this country is just a beautiful place to live. 

Spring isn't just "in the air," it is upon us.

Another reason we are enjoying this spring is because of the staff and students around campus. As I mentioned in our last post, we have two new missionary families here. Pastor Kevin Fitzgerald and his family have joined us from Dublin, Ireland. Pastor Kurt Kula and his family joined the team after serving in Poland for close to 20 years. Needless to say, they've all really been a blessing to the staff and students here alike. Having a handful more children really enhances the family-style atmosphere around campus as well.

As for the semester itself, I'm enjoying my two classes as well as campus-life in general. God really seems to have His hand of blessing all over this place. 

Lots of little monkeys around campus - this is seriously only about 1/3 of  'em.

Christi and little Odelia Livingston

For us as a family, He's been blessing there, too. Christi and I enjoyed a great time together at a marriage conference here on campus. It was taught by Pastor Ken Ortize from Calvary Chapel Spokane, Washington. Really great stuff. He (literally) wrote a book on the subject. The kids are doing well and we are continuing to be amazed at watching their minds grow as well as their hearts for the Lord. We're taking some Hungarian lessons this year and the kids are really doing a wonderful job with it. If you don't know anything about the Hungarian language, let's just say that it is rather tough. Put it like this, Hungarian employs a two syllable word for "yes." Feel free to pray for us that our language skills will improve so that our communication will be bettered. 

Enjoying enchiladas with our good friend and fellow missionary, Daniel Ornelas.

We'd like to really say thank you to all of you who have been supporting us over the years. We finally were able to pay off my hospital bill for my hospital stay in England last year. Monthly payments thanks to a(nother) kidney stone weren't exactly a welcomed part of our budget. After finally paying that off, we were greeted by the need to buy four new tires and incredibly expensive windshield wipers. Funny stuff to me; especially when it comes to newsletters. "Hey, I got an update from the Fosters." "Oh yeah, how're they doing?" "Great! Jeremy bought new windshield wipers for their van!" But we're grateful for your support which enables us to take care of important things like expensive tires, kidney stone treatment, windshield wipers, and birthday presents for Mikayla's birthday next week (she'll be SEVEN), and a trip down to Serbia to perform a wedding for some close family friends. 

Subotica, Serbia: statue of Dr. Martin Luther

All in all, seriously, God is taking good care of us. As an added blessing, my parents will be visiting us from California for a few weeks in May. Ian and Leah are going back to the States with them for the month of June to enjoy some time with Grandpa and Granny. The rest of us will meet them in New Jersey when we arrive there at the beginning of July. July will mark two years since we've been back in the States and two and a half since we've visited family and friends in New Jersey. We're looking forward to catching up with many of you on the "right coast" but are sorry to miss our loved ones on the "left coast." 

Mikayla and her friend, Hannah

Thanks again for praying for us and loving us!

Lots of love,

Jeremy and Christi and the kids

Fall / Winter 2011

Yes, this is the same tree from the last post.

Only, less leaves and more white stuff.

In many ways, the CCBCE's fall 2011 semester was a mad dash to the finish line. "Busy" always seems a terribly redundant word around here, but still, it does accurately describe things. The semester itself? Wonderful. It would seem that staff and students alike were blessed and that we - all of us - grew a great deal. As someone rightly said, "Change is inevitable; growth is optional." And I'd say growth happened here these last couple of months. I'd also say that whether we like it or not, growth also requires stretching. Stretching seemed to come in bucketfuls this semester.

Let's all face it, Kara is right:

it's just safer on the sides.

Christmas Eve ice-skating with good friends.

Daddy & Mikayla both enjoying ice-skating

for the the first time.

As for right now on the calendar, we're "busy" doing two different things, and we're doing them at the same time: trying to catch our breath a bit and gearing up for the spring 2012 semester. By the way, Happy New Year! 2012! Amazing.

Christmas Break + Chess = good times all around

Buddy was pretty confident

about this particular chess match.

For this semester coming up, I'll be enjoying the opportunity to teach two classes that will be new ones for me: the book of Revelation as well as a class called "New Testament Synopsis." To be honest, I approach Revelation with a certain sense of fear and trepidation. I also approach it with great anticipation. Revelation is the only book in the Bible that carries a sort of built-in blessing. "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near" (Revelation 1:3). As for the N.T. Synopsis class, we will be embarking on a bit of a crash-course in the closing 27 books of the Bible. Key verses, major themes, etc, etc. I'm very excited for this course as well.

Spring 2012 also brings some exciting news: we will be welcoming two "new" missionary families here to Vajta this year. "New," as in, new to the team here in Hungary. Not new, in that these families have a combined 28+ years of missionary experience. You can be on the lookout for more information in the coming months.

For Christi and me, January 2012 means our 13th anniversary. It also means that Ian will be turning 12. The beginning of '12 also means that we are rapidly approaching the 8-year mark for our time in Europe serving the Lord. All really crazy numbers to me.

2012. Really?

Feel free to pray for us this year. God never ceases to provide for us. We had a bit of...oh, I don't know...bad luck in December. I.D. theft hit us for the first time. Pretty much cleaned out our bank account about a week or so before Christmas. "Awesome" was not the first word that came to mind when I found this out. DON'T WORRY THOUGH...we filed disputes for the hijacked transactions and got it all back. The "good" part of the whole thing was this: perspective. The Foster family really saw God provide for us (we'd also like to say thanks to everyone that had a hand in His work). We also saw that we already have SO much. As American citizens living anywhere on the planet, there's just no way around it: we are super blessed materially. We have WAY more than most any other people. Even if we had nothing new, we already have plenty. All that to say, feel free to pray for God's continued provision in our lives, but also join us in giving thanks for all that we already have!

May our great God bless you and yours in this New Year! 2012, here we come!

Jeremy, Christi, and the kids