Long Weekend

I'm going to travel to London this weekend. I'm going to spend some quality time with a dear friend Caroline. I'm looking forward to speaking English, enjoying some flea markets, shopping and seeing some sights!!

I know, I'm always travelling but.. well.. what else does a single girl do?! 

wait

the theme of my life. 

God has sent some tests.. I've not passed them all. Dad directed me to scripture. I sat underneath the huge church by my house and meditated.. set my heart back into the place where it needs to be.. 

Jeremiah 17:5-8

This is what the LORD says: 
       "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, 
       who depends on flesh for his strength 
       and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

 ⁶ He will be like a bush in the wastelands; 
       he will not see prosperity when it comes. 
       He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, 
       in a salt land where no one lives.

 ⁷ "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, 
       whose confidence is in him.

 ⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water 
       that sends out its roots by the stream. 
       It does not fear when heat comes; 
       its leaves are always green. 
       It has no worries in a year of drought 
       and never fails to bear fruit."

conversations

Since it is so close to the end of the year, I've been focusing on conversations with my kids.  They have many exams so I've given them time in their classes for studying.  Some of my students and I were having a conversation about God today.  M asked me if I believed in God or something. I said yes, I believe in God. He asked.. Do you go to church? I said yes I go to "service" in Hungarian. He said to me .. I think the only time I'll ever go to church is when I go to Las Vegas and get married in one.. 

I said, you never know Martin, I think you'd like Church. I'm going to make him a CD of some music that I like that is Christian. 

the first of many tears

Yesterday, I realized that today was the last time I'd teach 12B.  I wanted to do something special for them but I wasn't sure what to do.  As I was running yesterday I asked God for the opportunity to somehow share my faith with them.  I wanted to show them my heart even more on this last time together. 

I decided to say something about each student. To encourage them and love them through words because so often teachers will degrade or berate their students publicly.  I wanted to show them love.  About half way through the list, when I got to one girl who is truly special, I felt that big lump in my throat and choked up and started to cry.  I stopped and told them how truly special each one of them is to me and asked for a tissue.  

Afterwards, I then told them to live for today and don't worry about the future or the past. I encouraged them to find what they are looking for and not to worry about how long it takes. 

We then had a lesson on regrets and we asked each other about regrets.  I went to work with a few girls who opeened up about regrets specifically about their sexual pasts.  Through this, D and I were able to have a conversation about relationships. She expressed to me that she always wishes she was in a relationship and I told her that I felt the same way.  That if I didnt have God to rely on or put my trust in I would feel helpless and lonely.  She knows I have faith in God and that I go to church.  We promised to talk soon and go to a movie next weekend.  

I was thankful that I was given the opportunity and that I took it.  What a great day. 

Matt came to visit

I haven't been on the internet much this week.. Matt was here visiting Hungary and the week flew by way to fast. It was an amazing week of meeting friends, enjoying Hungarian culture and introducing him to my students and colleagues. I'm so excited to see how God will use him and he is a perfect fit for this job!! yeah!
Here's a few pics of our crazy week together!!

back to the pavement

I was able to get back to running today. It felt amazing. I feel so good right now.. gotta keep this up.. 

going to bed..looking forward to a good night's sleep

Locks of Love

Karen has been growing her hair to give it to Locks of Love. ... so what did we do??! we chopped it! I did a pretty good job huh?! I had an amazing weekend with her and was so thankful for this last weekend with her before I go home!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom

My mother is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Since I've moved overseas I understand her sacrifice to live in a different country more than ever.  I cannot imagine coming to Hungary, married to a Hungarian with my langauge level 27 years ago and raising two kids. 

She has been a prime example of a woman who follows hard after God's heart. She has shown me what it means to work hard and live well.  She rises every morning and sits in her chair and spends time with her one and only Saviour. 

We have had our ups and we have a def. had our downs but I wouldn't trade our life together.  I miss her so much and I'm so thankful for her support and prayer while I've served overseas. She's my biggest cheerleader in life and wants the best for me! 

Thanks mom for being so incredible. I love you and look forward to living only one hour away!

less than 2 months

Time is running out..so is my free time.. but its worth it.. here's a picture of Joanna's Travels for the next 8 weeks. 

May 13-16th  Vienna to get Matt

May 22-24th Szeged for the last time :(

May 29-June 1 London for vacation ;)

June 5-7 Budapest/Team Arrives

June 12-14 Team Comes to Budapest-End of School

June 17th - My bestest friend comes!!

June 25-29th- Vienna/Prague with Sami

July 2nd- Fly home. 

I want to be like my dad

He has belief thesis' to grade and I have end of the year compositions. Its no where near the amount.. 

I'm also finishing up Grad school this weekend!! Hooray! After Sunday midnight I will have completed 12 hours this year. (4 classes)

Karen Coppage is also coming to spend the weekend with me. That should be fun! We are going to paint some pottery and go to coffeehouse. 

Here's to a busy but fun weekend!!

Class Trip

There is nothing like 96 hours to make you love students more than you already do.  I really enjoyed every moment of our time together. They were behaved and helpful and I was so proud of them because they spoke a lot of English. 

I got to see some beautiful places that made me love this country even more.  I was in Koszeg which is the jewel box of Hungary.  They were telling the truth. 

My favorite part of the whole trip was sitting in the girls room just talking for more than two hours about everything in the book.  We talked about boys, health, beauty, my life, their life and everything in between.  I will always cherish that time with these girls.  

Today was back to school.  One of the girls came up and gave me a big hug. I loved it. 

Class Trip in Pictures

May Day Fun

A great time with girls. Lots of laughs and fun! ! :)

13B-summing it all up

This picture truly represents how fun this class was:

A chapter has ended in my ministry. As I continue to pursue this passion for high-schoolers I continue to learn the ups and downs of it all. I've had to say good-bye to a great group of kids. I will miss them terribly. After all of the closing ceremonies on Wednesday afternoon I had such a strange feeling in my heart. I was just feeling a bit numb and not sure what to feel. Then it hit me. I was grieving and sad. I was sad that my kids were leaving and that I wouldn't be apart of their daily lives. I started asking myself the "what-if's" which are never good. What if I didn't do a great job. What if they didn't see me living out the gospel. What if I didn't teach them well enough. Then I remembered that I didn't have to worry about what God was going to do. He is in charge and he would take care of each of them. As long as I did my best he would be pleased. As I went to sleep I specifically asked God to help me feel that he was pleased with me and my time with that class. I felt much better when I woke up, but I'm still sad that they are gone.