Hungary Trip: Day 7

Conference Day 5/Travel to Budapest

Just a quick update. The morning included breakfast and dropping the kids off at their classes. The adults had a worship time and then we prayed for our kids. So cool.

We had to be out of our room by 11:00 so we packed quickly and made it in time for the last main session by Dr. Egeler - very moving stories. I was challenged by the thought that the health of our family is the hub of our 'ministry' wheel - and that the healthier it is, the further reach we have. Too often we wrestle with balancing family and ministry when the balancing act is not only useless, it is unhealthy. Family comes first - and out of that comes ministry.

All the kids (not teens) setting up for the performance.

Then it was time for the kids to put on a final performance for the parents - very neat - a final slideshow of the professional pictures taken during the week and a group photo. We ate one final lunch together and connected with an Australian family that made us wish we had had more time! We said goodbye to everyone and the kids, sadly, loaded up in the van and we took off.

Jacob and his rapping buddy.

It took us about three hours to get to Budapest and we followed the GPS instructions to the address of the apartment we are sharing with my brother and sister-in-law only to find out that there are over a dozen districts in the city, each with the name of this street we were on! After some asking around and creative investigation, we finally found it and were able to throw our arms around Chris & Aubri after nearly a year of not seeing them.

The kids are so happy to see them. We unloaded our stuff into a beautiful (and cheap) apartment and then headed out to eat some very authentic Hungarian KFC. The kids are now asleep and we just wrapped up a long session of talking and catching up and are headed to bed.

Thanks so much for your prayers this week. It was more than what we were hoping for - our hearts are light, our heads are full, our spirits are high. God is so good. We move forward into this chapter of our lives confident He will lead us and that He loves our kids even more than we do.

Hungary Trip: Day 6

Conference Day 4

Last full day of conference started like the others, with a nice Hungarian breakfast buffet. Very grateful. Very good. Very much missing some good coffee though. The kids ran off to their classes and we dropped Jenova off at the nursery and then met up with Cheryl for Jacob’s

consultation – the primary reason we made this whole trip. Going into this meeting our prayer was this: Lord, let Jacob’s be a clear diagnosis.

Cheryl reminds me, physically, of an Italian lady in our ecumenical group named Raimonda. She asked us some background questions based on her time with him. She did the 3-hour

cognitive diagnostic with him the second day. She was very positive, encouraging and yet honest, encouraging us to help him learn to process information better and to reinforce visual as well as audio input of information. She was able to point us to several good resources and put some practical steps into our hands. It was just what we prayed for – thank you Lord!

Heather and I sat in the bar area afterwards, processing and Cheryl came back over to give us

a last minute thought and pray with us (she had had to run make an announcement in the auditorium).

The main session was very emotional. Dr. Egeler spoke on how we handle life’s disappointments and ‘soul pain.’ The man is a good story teller. He reminded us of the

importance of not shying from pain and suffering as it is in these moments we are closest to our Father, that He is working the most on us and with us.

Lunch was good – we got to know a family heading to Siberia – wow. They talked about the Ukrainian culture, where they are studying language, and how they don’t place a high value on taste in their food. Thank you Lord for sending me to Italy, where perhaps the value placed on taste is TOO high.

After lunch there was an Open House of all the kids’ classrooms where we got to meet their teachers and see the space-themed projects they had been working on all week. I had to skip out on part of it to pick up Haven’s achievement test results (she did great!).

It cracks me up when some of our friends have called this trip a ‘vacation’. Yes, it does require staying in a hotel. Yes, it does mean eating out some. Yes, it does mean seeing a part of Europe we’ve never experienced before. Yes, it does imply spending a lot of time as a family. BUT, this is one of the reasons I love my ‘JOB’. This kind of trip is part of it. But, we are mentally and emotionally exhausted.

We climbed back up to our room and crashed yesterday afternoon. There was nothing scheduled so we rested. Jacob and Haven swam. I took Jenova and Harrison for a walk. We then took the kids to McDonald’s to celebrate (and for a break from summer sausage sandwiches!). Then, as has been the norm, to bed early. Tomorrow is the last day of conference. It ends at lunchtime.

Hungary Trip: Day 5

Conference Day 3

Today was another good day. Breakfast was the same, though our kids seem more and more distracted because they have friends they want to hang out with. They went off by themselves to the kids’ programming and we dropped Jenova off before meeting with the lady who did Harrison’s Early Reading evaluation.

She was so good. Jean talked to us and really seemed to care about not just Harrison, but all the kids. We share some of our concerns and she was able to bring her experience and expertise together to really help and encourage. She started off by telling us that Harrison is a talker! Ha, ha. We were thrilled to get a good report on his progress and took notes on some areas we could help him improve and continue to become a good reader.

We then made it in to the last part of Jeff’s devotional – this time using Paul’s prayer in Colossians, talking about being “Guided by His Wisdom”. It was a good reminder of what, from Scripture, God’s will is. Got to talk to him a bit during the coffee break before discovering they had Nutter Butters! They also announced that one of the children has broken out with Chicken Pox…gulp.

For three hours this morning, Jacob met for his second, three-hour diagnostic session. At lunch, once again, he didn’t say much about it – just that it was easier today than on Monday. Heather and I split up for the workshops in the morning again. She attended ‘Navigating the Curriculum Jungle’ while I sat in on Debra Bell’s fascinating, yet scary, ‘Twenty-first Century Education.’

Next was the main session by Dr. Egeler talking about the Carpe Aeternitatem – Seize Eternity, why settle for a day? He’s an amazing storyteller and had us spellbound by the way God weaves people’s stories together. We sat down with one of the SHARE workers, Cynthia,

at lunch and she was in tears because two of the people mentioned in the story happened to be students of hers at a boarding school in Africa years ago and she hadn’t heard any of it.

It was good to ask her about some of the research she’s been reading and doing concerning learning second languages. We talked about what happens when you put a child into a national school when they are not yet fluent in their mother tongue. She told us that 20% of children in national school situations (where they speak a non-mother tongue) will have language difficulties. She was able to encourage us and give us some good ideas.

At 13:30, Haven returned to the 9^th floor lounge for her 2^nd session of the Iowa Test. At 14:00, Jacob and Harrison returned to their programs. I hung out in the room with Jenova while Heather attended a great workshop called ‘Growing to Read’. After handing off Jenova to the

nursery, I made it in time for ‘Leadership in the Home’ while Heather attended ‘Resources for Supplementing National Schooling’.

When we all came back together, Heather took the big kids swimming and I drove into town with Jenova to look for some things to add to our dinner. I failed, but found a knock-off Hungarian Starbucks…good stuff. We had some more summer sausage and cracker sandwiches.

Heather attended a Ladies’ Tea while the kids and I went to the Magic Show – very entertaining. I gave in afterwards and let Jacob and Haven go swimming again with their friends and I went to the room with Harrison and Jenova. I rented Hair-Bear a movie on iTunes and Heather stayed out a while longer to encourage a fellow mom.

Now, I’m sitting in the hallway, getting just a thread of wifi from the lobby downstairs, sending this off before heading to bed. Tomorrow is our last full day of conference and we have two important consultations. Thanks for your prayers!

Hungary Trip: Day 4

Conference Day 2

This is Tuesday. Breakfast was the same and the kids went to their respective classes at 8:30. The devotion by Jeff was so good, about Paul’s prayer that we be rooted in God’s love. So challenging to me about what I pray for and what God’s power is to be directed toward…

We each attended half of a morning workshop (Heather on learning styles, me on Third Culture Kids). Curious to know what a TCK is? Here is the definition we used in the workshop, borrowed, I believe, from Sociologist David Pollock.

"A person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership of any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of a similar background."

We missed the last half of our workshops to take all three of the older kids to get hearing screenings. They had set up a little desk at the end of a hallway (which kept getting interrupted by a door connecting the hallway to the other wing of the hotel) where a man had a laptop and headphones hooked up. A program allowed him to test each ear at different frequencies and decibels. All three showed some minor loss in their left ears and though not urgent or major, encouraged us to have a more thorough evaluation done soon. Hmm.

We took the kids back to their classes and then sat at the bar and had a Coke since we were already late for the main session. After a quick lunch, Jacob joined a group of kids playing soccer and we didn’t see him the rest of the afternoon. Haven had her first of two sessions taking the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) in the 9^th floor lounge. She had a blast and it brought back memories of taking similar tests growing up.

At 14:30, I took Jacob for his eye screening. Now, this is not an optometrist visit, it is to tell if there are any muscular/coordination problems that might be causing reading difficulties. The lady had him take several tests on a computer and said she would email me the results. He quickly rejoined the soccer bunch…cool to see him use some of his moves.

We all went to the pool for a dip. I wish you all could see Harrison. He is a mini-Susan Casey. I think because he isn’t as confident with his Italian and because we’re used to seeing him around our team members, we don’t often see his outgoing side come out. He is AMAZING. Walking up to complete strangers and connecting, conversing, sharing stories, asking questions. In the hot tub he was showing the other kids how to hold his breath underwater and then teaching them words in Italian.

For dinner we ordered three little pizzas and a calzone from the bar/kitchen and ate them quickly around a little round table. I don’t know if it is unique to Hungary or just this hotel, but they used BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce – good though.

We then attended the annual talent show where the TCKs perform for everyone. These were things they had prepared beforehand. They played the piano, sang, acted out dramas, recited dialogue (The Pee Little Thrigs), rapped and did a Yo-Yo presentation. What a cool thing – to allow these kids a safe environment to show their talents and passions – a place for them to connect with others like themselves.

Hungary Trip: Day 4

Conference Day 2

This is Tuesday. Breakfast was the same and the kids went to their respective classes at 8:30. The devotion by Jeff was so good, about Paul’s prayer that we be rooted in God’s love. So challenging to me about what I pray for and what God’s power is to be directed toward…

We each attended half of a morning workshop (Heather on learning styles, me on Third Culture Kids). Curious to know what a TCK is? Here is the definition we used in the workshop, borrowed, I believe, from Sociologist David Pollock.

"A person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership of any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of a similar background."

We missed the last half of our workshops to take all three of the older kids to get hearing screenings. They had set up a little desk at the end of a hallway (which kept getting interrupted by a door connecting the hallway to the other wing of the hotel) where a man had a laptop and headphones hooked up. A program allowed him to test each ear at different frequencies and decibels. All three showed some minor loss in their left ears and though not urgent or major, encouraged us to have a more thorough evaluation done soon. Hmm.

We took the kids back to their classes and then sat at the bar and had a Coke since we were already late for the main session. After a quick lunch, Jacob joined a group of kids playing soccer and we didn’t see him the rest of the afternoon. Haven had her first of two sessions taking the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) in the 9^th floor lounge. She had a blast and it brought back memories of taking similar tests growing up.

At 14:30, I took Jacob for his eye screening. Now, this is not an optometrist visit, it is to tell if there are any muscular/coordination problems that might be causing reading difficulties. The lady had him take several tests on a computer and said she would email me the results. He quickly rejoined the soccer bunch…cool to see him use some of his moves.

We all went to the pool for a dip. I wish you all could see Harrison. He is a mini-Susan Casey. I think because he isn’t as confident with his Italian and because we’re used to seeing him around our team members, we don’t often see his outgoing side come out. He is AMAZING. Walking up to complete strangers and connecting, conversing, sharing stories, asking questions. In the hot tub he was showing the other kids how to hold his breath underwater and then teaching them words in Italian.

For dinner we ordered three little pizzas and a calzone from the bar/kitchen and ate them quickly around a little round table. I don’t know if it is unique to Hungary or just this hotel, but they used BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce – good though.

We then attended the annual talent show where the TCKs perform for everyone. These were things they had prepared beforehand. They played the piano, sang, acted out dramas, recited dialogue (The Pee Little Thrigs), rapped and did a Yo-Yo presentation. What a cool thing – to allow these kids a safe environment to show their talents and passions – a place for them to connect with others like themselves.

Hungary Trip: Day 3

Conference Day 1

One of my favorite things so far about this conference is that it almost seems the adult programming is secondary to the children’s. In other words, where as normally, kids’ programs and schedules are organized to get the kids out of the adults’ way, this conference seems to revolve around the kids’ needs and programs.

The kids start at 8:30, which means we’re up at 6:30 and down to breakfast at 7:30. There are two buffet lines set up in two dining areas to accommodate what I would guess would be 300 conference-goers. Sliced meats and cheeses, various kinds of bread, cereals, scrambled eggs, boiled hot dogs and sausages, fruit, juice, and coffee. So far, we’ve definitely felt like ‘noobs’. We mostly eat as a family though we are slowly meeting people and the kids are making friends. It seems like most of the people are pretty tight and have been coming for years – it’s neat to see so many TCK’s running around reuniting with friends from conferences past.

After breakfast, we took the three big kids into the main conference room. Each child was shown to the rows marked off for their age group and introduced to their teachers. They were given name tags and seated with their peers. (Upstairs the teens have an entire program of their own.) After a warm-up worship time, a magician (oops, illusionist) did some tricks.

They then all filed out to their respective rooms (Harrison on the 4^th floor, Haven on the 6^th and Jacob on the 8^th) and we took Jenova to the nursery on the 2^nd floor. The theme for the kids this week is ‘Space’ and everything, literally, revolves around it.

The adult session starts at 9:00 with a worship time led by a lay worship leader from Iowa followed by some challenging thoughts by former missionary to Taiwan Jeff Whittaker based on a prayer in Isaiah. Then there was a quick coffee break followed by a time of introducing all the SHARE and conference staff, including the workshop speakers who gave a quick promo for their class. Very helpful. This included a medical doctor there to help and give advice, people offering vision and hearing screenings, counselors and various experts in educational areas. The last to be introduced was the main speaker for the morning, Dr. Dan Egeler. He spoke on

Daniel and modern day heroes, sharing some of his own stories from growing up a TCK on an island on Lake Victoria.

After picking up the kids on their various floors, we headed down to lunch. Harrison had been taken out of his class to be given an Early Reader’s Assessment. He said he did ‘great!’. We meet with someone on Wednesday for a consultation to see how he did. Lunch was buffet style – lots of variety to choose from. I had some authentic Hungarian goulash. Yum.

At 13:30 we met with Sonja Bowden who whisked Jacob away for his first of two 3 hour assessment sessions. At 14:00, the other kids’ classes met up again for the afternoon sessions. Heather and I attended a workshop entitled, ‘Let’s Go Play Trucks: How Preschoolers Learn’

by Wendy Stafford – really good stuff. We then split up and I went to ‘Developing a Family Education Plan’ by Cynthia Shigo and Heather went to ‘Developing Creative and Critical Thinking Skills’ by Debra Bell (the home-school guru).

We picked up the kids at 16:30 and asked Jacob how his went. He said, ‘Fine.’ He didn’t elaborate much. He has his second session on Wednesday and we have his consultation on Thursday morning. We hopped in the car and ran to Tesco – a WalMart type store and bought some more things to eat dinner in our room to save a little money. Found some American goodies (including Cookie Crunch cereal and cheddar cheese). Heather took the kids down for a quick dip and we then had summer sausage and cheese sandwiches.

Afterwards we were able to call Heather’s mom who had just gotten home

from gallbladder surgery. It was good for them to talk – she’s doing fine. They are supposed to fly over in about 10 days to see us! My mom, instead, is recovering from a fall and some cracked ribs…haven’t seen them on Skype though. To bed early again…

Just some of the books and resources we've gotten free or very cheaply!

Hungary Trip: Day 2

Travel to Sopron

We slept in (until 8) and I ran across the parking lot to buy some pastries and cappuccinos-to-go. We were cleaned up, packed and on the road before 10. We drove under dark, cloudy skies north across the flat plain toward the Eastern stretches of the Alps. Beautiful, snow-capped mountains on both sides, we made our way through the last stretch of Italian highway before passing into Austria just before noon. We stopped at Burger King (again) in Graz and continued on toward Vienna before heading east for the last hour. We arrived in the little town of Sopron (population of around 50,000) around 16:30 and checked in to the Hotel Szieszta.

We saw lots of non-Europeans hanging out in the lobby, (we've since found out there are several Australian and Canadians) many with laptops open and found our way to the registration area where we were immediately asked to pay for the kids’ various tests. Behind the registration desk a large section of used books and home-school materials for sale (many free!) was being set up.

We unpacked the car and explored the hotel a bit, figuring out where the little indoor pool was, discovering the free wifi in the lobby and getting our nametags. The structure is a large, 10-story hotel set on a hill overlooking town. It is nice, clean, and yet every bit of what you would expect of an eastern European, 3-star hotel built in the 60’s. Our room is small-ish – two little rooms connected with an open archway. Our bed faces a big window and balcony with Jenova’s crib next to us. The boys share a foldout couch and Haven has a mini-foldout at the foot of theirs. There is a little bathroom with a half-tub/shower combo. Just right for our family.

We took a little swim and then ate some peanut-butter sandwiches in our room (thanks Roterts for the bread!). Jacob had used some of his itunes dollars to rent the family a movie (the new Willie Wonka) which the kids and I watched while Heather read through the schedule and description of the workshops. Early to bed, big day tomorrow.

Hungary Trip: Day 1

Travel to Trieste

We ended up leaving town at 10:00 am after making a quick trip to our church facility where we dropped off supplies for the next two Sunday’s worth of craft materials for the little kids’ class.

We just got our car back on Friday and it was clean and ready to go. We took our time, stopping for a Burger King lunch in Ferrara (Matteo’s hometown) and arriving at our Holiday Inn at around 16:00. Nice facility –great price – great rooms.

We cleaned up and headed right back out to check out downtown Trieste. The guy behind the front counter insisted that it was a beautiful 15 minute drive down a coastal, cliff-side highway. It took five times that long…but it WAS beautiful. We could see the very northern end of the Adriatic Sea as it filled the bay that was made up by the coasts of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.

As it neared Jenova’s dinner time, Mommy’s nerves were getting rattled (as the big kids fought over who found the ‘Q’ first) but Daddy’s determination that we eat in Trieste’s beautiful centro storico won out. We parked at the train station parking complex and walked a mile or

two to the main square. We then walked and walked, looking for a restaurant (reminds me of downtown Milan – tons of shopping and NO restaurants!). Then, finally, the word pizzeria appeared and within minutes we were crammed around a little table and could finally enjoy a nice plate of pasta.

After getting some snacks for the room at a little grocery, we wound our way back to the train station, realizing that the nighttime downtown of Trieste isn’t as kid-friendly as the daytime version. We snapped this quick shot of the family on the way.

Glad to be back in our car, we drove back up the hill to our hotel and crashed for the evening.

Half-way done. Tomorrow we drive the rest of the way to Sopron, Hungary.