Well, its snowing again...and we are suppossed to be having practice! Really, the last week (and this coming week) the weather has turned really cold as we are trying to start practices, but it at least didn't snow for a couple days so we could get the field ready! We only have one more school visit, and its this Tuesday, then we have our camp for new players this weekend, if the weather gets a little better... :) Sounds like a lot of people all over are experiencing, less than spring, conditions, so I know we have a little sympathy! Last Friday, we spent the day working on fields as we are putting up a bunch of new fence and working to rototill the softball field. It ended up being super windy, in fact the night before I didn't sleep very well from the wind because it was so loud and crazy! We were able to get a lot done, it was just cold and we were being blown all over the place...Saturday was even colder but thankfully the wind cut out and we had 20ish people show up to help! A bunch of players showed up to help put up the fencing on the posts we put up Friday, and also put up the batting cage nets and other small things that need to be done for the season, but it was cold enough that I was super happy to help feed the burn pile, partially for the warmth, and partially because fire is strangely entertaining... :) I am thankful that today was off because I was super sore the last few days, especially from mixing cement and moving it around. I was sore enough that I couldn't pick up a chair and move it cuz my forearms were so sore...oh well, I survived and was even able to get a little march madness!
On that note, how about them Ducks! Both games were early enough (if getting done at 2 am is early) that I was able to watch them, and see the Ducks dominate! Sadly, I picked Gonzaga to win it all so my bracket is about as usefull as used toilet paper...
Anyway, thanks for the prayers! Please pray for the team as we get ready for camp this weekend! Its exciting having the potential for a lot of new kids to join the club, but we need prayer that we are able to be excited and have fun despite the cold. Its not supposed to get above 45 (which is COLD for baseball) till saturday, so pray for patience for us!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
R&R
Hey all!
I got some much need rest and relaxation the last few days, and now its back to school visits!
So a crazy wind/snow storm hit Hungary and europe the last few days, which turned a national holiday into an all night traffic jam...it was crazy! Friday, the 15th, is a national holiday in Hungary celebrating the Hungarian revolution in 1848 against the Hapsburgs in Austria, and apparently they put the national colors all over Budapest, but this year everything had to be cancelled. Here is an interesting article about tanks rescuing people on the highway (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21806043). Thankfully I didn't have to go anywhere and Erd wasn't super bad, but all of the holiday travel made quite a mess! They are still working to clean up from it all. The storm meant that we didn't work on the field like we were intending to from Thursday through Saturday, but I think that all of us needed a little bit of relaxing! We are working on putting in the first real Hungarian softball field with all-dirt infield, along with fences and poles, so there is a lot to be done! We will be working on that this week after school visits, so please pray for energy for all of us as we get prepared for the season! Also, please continue to pray for our school visits. We have seen around 1000 kids so far, and we are hoping for a few of them to come out for our camp at the end of this month. Its been really fun to get to see a ton of kids, and also see the students already on the baseball teams in there schools, not to mention they love showing baseball to their friends! We are hoping to have a great influence on these kids lives through baseball, so the more that show up the better! Well, at least to a point... :) Finally, please continue to pray that I would lean on God in my tough times and struggles. It has been better lately as I have asked for help and support from God and others, but I still need to work on consistency! Especially in the easy times when I'm not feeling stressed or anything. Oh and one last thing. I'm excited for march madness but not sure how I'm going to keep up with it all this year! Usually it just has to do with skipping classes or taking days of work (the beauty of random jobs with random schedules), but this year it would require staying up super late...what to do, what to do... :)
I got some much need rest and relaxation the last few days, and now its back to school visits!
So a crazy wind/snow storm hit Hungary and europe the last few days, which turned a national holiday into an all night traffic jam...it was crazy! Friday, the 15th, is a national holiday in Hungary celebrating the Hungarian revolution in 1848 against the Hapsburgs in Austria, and apparently they put the national colors all over Budapest, but this year everything had to be cancelled. Here is an interesting article about tanks rescuing people on the highway (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21806043). Thankfully I didn't have to go anywhere and Erd wasn't super bad, but all of the holiday travel made quite a mess! They are still working to clean up from it all. The storm meant that we didn't work on the field like we were intending to from Thursday through Saturday, but I think that all of us needed a little bit of relaxing! We are working on putting in the first real Hungarian softball field with all-dirt infield, along with fences and poles, so there is a lot to be done! We will be working on that this week after school visits, so please pray for energy for all of us as we get prepared for the season! Also, please continue to pray for our school visits. We have seen around 1000 kids so far, and we are hoping for a few of them to come out for our camp at the end of this month. Its been really fun to get to see a ton of kids, and also see the students already on the baseball teams in there schools, not to mention they love showing baseball to their friends! We are hoping to have a great influence on these kids lives through baseball, so the more that show up the better! Well, at least to a point... :) Finally, please continue to pray that I would lean on God in my tough times and struggles. It has been better lately as I have asked for help and support from God and others, but I still need to work on consistency! Especially in the easy times when I'm not feeling stressed or anything. Oh and one last thing. I'm excited for march madness but not sure how I'm going to keep up with it all this year! Usually it just has to do with skipping classes or taking days of work (the beauty of random jobs with random schedules), but this year it would require staying up super late...what to do, what to do... :)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
What a week!
Well, I survived a week of school visits! It has been good, but it has also been the hardest week of my time here so far.
This week we went to a school every day from 8-1ish teaching baseball to kids between 6 and 13, and it was quite an experience! Every hour we had a new class that didn't know anything at all about baseball, so we went through a program with each of them to get them started! We were able to get each of the groups playing "baseball" by the last 10-15 minutes of the class, and I put it in quotes because sometimes it wasn't really baseball! The 6 year olds were especially entertaining, mainly because they did what every sport is at that age, turned it into mob-ball! The interesting thing is that baseball doesn't really work for that, unless you don't realize that the goal is to get a player out...but that is what happens when they don't listen or we are in a really echo-y gym. It was fun to see all of the kids though, and some of them were extremely excited about coming out to play, so we are hoping that some of them come out to the camp at the end of the month!
This week was also the most challenging because for the first time since being here I truly missed being in Oregon. I have always missed it a little, but I felt myself longing to go there to get back into a comfortable world I understand and know. This is normal for missionaries, but honestly, I wasn't really reacting the right way. I wasn't reaching out to the one reason that I am here, and that is God! I wasn't spending any time in prayer asking for strength from God, or comfort, or peace, or any of the things that he offers to those who ask. I made that common mistake of trying to get by on my own strength (which is interesting being that I'm a "missionary" :) ). Around Friday, I was beginning to figure that out, and after receiving an email from my mom about that same thing, I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. God was really trying to get me to ask him for help. I don't know where you are when reading this, and I have no idea if you think this makes sense or is crazy, but once again I realized why I am here and why I serve this God, the one thats in the Bible.
This is a little deeper, so here we go. I have been reading through "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan, and I have been convicted by God that I forget the Holy Spirit. I forget that I have his power inside of me, I forget that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, and that he has as much power as each of the other parts of the Trinity! Anyway, the chapters I was reading were about prayer, and that just seemed to put more emphasis on my need to pray. The book discussed the need for our lives to be dependent on God, and I realized that I was trying to live a life dependent on him without asking for his help. I hope that makes sense, but that is how I have been thinking. Thankfully I have found encouragement, and since asking for help from God and depending on him I feel much better about being in Hungary for the next year. My biggest fear in all of this is that I would just go through time here waiting to go back to Oregon, but thankfully I don't seem to have those feelings anymore. I know they will come back, but I am hoping that when they do I will trust in God! I hope you find this encouraging in some way, whatever stage in life you are in! Thanks again for all of your prayers and support, whatever way that may be! It gives me great confidence knowing that I have a group of people 7+ time zones away that are praying for me!
This week we went to a school every day from 8-1ish teaching baseball to kids between 6 and 13, and it was quite an experience! Every hour we had a new class that didn't know anything at all about baseball, so we went through a program with each of them to get them started! We were able to get each of the groups playing "baseball" by the last 10-15 minutes of the class, and I put it in quotes because sometimes it wasn't really baseball! The 6 year olds were especially entertaining, mainly because they did what every sport is at that age, turned it into mob-ball! The interesting thing is that baseball doesn't really work for that, unless you don't realize that the goal is to get a player out...but that is what happens when they don't listen or we are in a really echo-y gym. It was fun to see all of the kids though, and some of them were extremely excited about coming out to play, so we are hoping that some of them come out to the camp at the end of the month!
This week was also the most challenging because for the first time since being here I truly missed being in Oregon. I have always missed it a little, but I felt myself longing to go there to get back into a comfortable world I understand and know. This is normal for missionaries, but honestly, I wasn't really reacting the right way. I wasn't reaching out to the one reason that I am here, and that is God! I wasn't spending any time in prayer asking for strength from God, or comfort, or peace, or any of the things that he offers to those who ask. I made that common mistake of trying to get by on my own strength (which is interesting being that I'm a "missionary" :) ). Around Friday, I was beginning to figure that out, and after receiving an email from my mom about that same thing, I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. God was really trying to get me to ask him for help. I don't know where you are when reading this, and I have no idea if you think this makes sense or is crazy, but once again I realized why I am here and why I serve this God, the one thats in the Bible.
This is a little deeper, so here we go. I have been reading through "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan, and I have been convicted by God that I forget the Holy Spirit. I forget that I have his power inside of me, I forget that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, and that he has as much power as each of the other parts of the Trinity! Anyway, the chapters I was reading were about prayer, and that just seemed to put more emphasis on my need to pray. The book discussed the need for our lives to be dependent on God, and I realized that I was trying to live a life dependent on him without asking for his help. I hope that makes sense, but that is how I have been thinking. Thankfully I have found encouragement, and since asking for help from God and depending on him I feel much better about being in Hungary for the next year. My biggest fear in all of this is that I would just go through time here waiting to go back to Oregon, but thankfully I don't seem to have those feelings anymore. I know they will come back, but I am hoping that when they do I will trust in God! I hope you find this encouraging in some way, whatever stage in life you are in! Thanks again for all of your prayers and support, whatever way that may be! It gives me great confidence knowing that I have a group of people 7+ time zones away that are praying for me!
Friday, March 1, 2013
New Newsletter!
Hey all! just sent out a newsletter, my computer broke a couple weeks ago and some information was still on it like email addresses, so if you didn't get a newsletter and want one just let me know!
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