Day 10,11&12 - In Keszthely

Buenos tardes :D

No, we haven't forgotten how to speak Spanish even though we've been dabbling in Russian and Hungarian. We realized that we left out a lot of what we did Sunday afternoon! Everybody from Speak Out headed out to see some sights here in town. One of the most famous is the Festetics castle. The camp covered our entrance fee, so all we had to do was walk in, slip these goofy shoe covers on and enjoy the ELABORATE decor.

Next we all went to supper at a restaurant a few blocks away that specialized in Hungarian food, we sat at mixed American/Hungarian tables and enjoyed comparing cultures and learning about the types of food we were eating. The Hungarians especially enjoyed hearing about the types of pastries Ben works with at Central Market. After supper, we walked down to Lake Balaton for a one hour cruise. (not a three hour tour) Megan took a sweet photo of Ben eating

the sun. On board we had a chance to meet and talk with Victor and Gaby, a young married couple from Slovakia who are on staff with Campus Crusade. They wanted to know why we were at Speak Out and we wanted to know about ministry in Slovakia. At one point, Ben asked jokingly, "So why is Slovakia better than Hungary?" Megan and Victor laughed but Gaby had something much more profound to say, "It isn't better, that's why you should come."

Megan promised pictures of our little room, so here they are. You're probably not impressed, but we're enjoying being able to claim a little space for ourselves since we most likely won't be able to again until we get back to Dallas 26 July.

Yesterday we spent most of the day in various break out sessions with the counselors learning what the camp is all about and some culture training. It was very informative and the staff was doing an excellent job. At the end of the day, however, we decided that we needed a day off. We have been going pretty hard since we started our trip and hadn't really had a day of rest in 10 days, so that's what we did today. We went to breakfast, stayed for the first morning session on the importance of your personal relationship with the Lord (VERY good) then broke off for the

remainder of the day. We took a nap, went to lunch then walked down to Lake Balaton and enjoyed the wonderful weather for a while. Of course, we stopped on the way to get double scoops of the most excellent Hungarian ice cream! We then walked up to this nice little coffee shop we had been shown Sunday night on the way to the castle where we enjoyed some cold fizzy drinks and what was basically a french bread pizza. The coffee shop sits next door to a 14th century Catholic church which we wandered around until we found a small playground with swings and a see-saw. Guess who was up in the air more often. :D We wandered around some shops half looking for some new sunglasses for Ben but ended up leaving empty handed. Supper was pizza at a place called Donatello's and yes, their logo was the Ninja Turtle. We're just planning on getting cleaned up tonight and enjoying some relaxing time together. Tomorrow is a full day of break out sessions we plan to attend and Thursday morning we head back to Budapest. Have a GREAT Tuesday!

Day 9- Budapest to Keszthely

Howdy folks!

Today was a traveling day. We woke up at 10 this morning in Budapest and brunched with the Jordans before heading to catch our train. Our breakfast was AMAZING! Hats off to Allie, who made a smoked gouda, spinach, and bacon quiche (drool and swoon). We caught the the 13:05 (1:05- I have to give my husband the opportunity to WHOOP!) train to Keszthely (pronounced "kes-thay").

It was an interesting journey, since at first, we were not sure we were on the right train. In trying to figure out if we were, I asked a gentleman if he spoke English; he said, "actually, I am English." Ben told me I should have said, "yes, but do you SPEAK English?" He was kind enough to inform us that we were indeed on train 8 and apparently headed the right direction.

We got on and found a comfy place to sit, surprised at the nice accommodations on the train. We discovered when the ticket taker came around that they were so nice because we were in the first class cabin, not the 2nd class one we our tickets said we should have been in. Oh well! It was nice while it lasted!

We made our way to the correct cabin and proceeded to watch the scenery roll by. There were field of wildflowers- yellows, blues, purples, reds, whiles, magentas, pinks. Every color imaginable. It was breathtaking! We enjoyed seeing all the different towns. At once point, we saw a man clearing a lawn with a weed-whacker. Then we noticed a little boy in identical garb with a kid-sized weed-whacker helping out. It was precious. Especially when we waved and his face lit up with a huge grin as he waved back.

We finally found the right stop and Doug Meyerdirk was there to pick us up and bring us back to the dorm where we would be staying and helping set up for the English camp. We had just enough time for a catnap before dinner. After that we made a run to Tesco (think Wal-Mart) with Doug & Patti (his wife) and their two daughters. We got some breakfast food, snacks, towels (didn't think about needing them), and bug repellant. Apparently, Keszthely is the mosquito capital of the world- really, I've never seen them this bad and I lived in South Louisiana!

After getting back, we unloaded our purchases and used the evening to rearrange our room into a more homey set-up. I'll take pictures tomorrow and we'll give you a tour.

No pictures. Didn't take any today (I know: "who are you and what have you done with Megan?"). Wasn't much to shoot. Just kind of enjoyed the day!

Tonight, it's off to bed! Sleep tight. Don't let the mosquitos bite ;)

-Naylors Out

Day 7&8 - In Budapest

Szia! Jó napot!

(Hello, good afternoon)

Man oh MAN yesterday was so full we were too tired to blog again, but I look at that as a good thing :D The weather in Budapest has been amazing, no hotter than 26 (78F) even in the sun and there has been a delicious breeze that makes even the warmest parts of the day very comfortable.

Yesterday we started off at a rush to get to John and Allison's language lesson on time. We

made it just fine and Megan and I settled in to observe their learning. Their teacher had a different idea and turned the next hour and a half into an introductory lesson for me and Megan (hence the greeting of this post). It was good review for Team Jordan and quite challenging for Team Naylor. Still, we enjoyed it a lot and she gave us the papers she wrote on while teaching us as a souvenir/review. This is John & Allie with her.

After the lesson, with what little brain energy the four of us had remaining, we stumbled into a Hungarian pizza place and enjoyed our pizzas quite a bit. (Megan's had baby octopi. . .) Castle Hill was our next destination and we spent about an hour walking around the ruins that ranged from several centuries old to Hapsburg-era palaces now converted into museums.

We found some park benches to rest for a time because we didn't have to arrive at our next destination for a while. Megan and I had a chance to pool our thoughts and observations about Hungary thus far and talk about what God had been revealing to us. We met up with Heidi, another member of United World Mission for which John & Allison also work and headed out to one of the suburbs. There are several national Hungarians in this suburb who are hosting an English camp as an outreach to their community and John, Allison & Heidi are all teaching. Megan and I helped one of them, Zoli, pass out fliers while the other three helped a man named Tibor. We prayed with them over the camp and all met up at the building where Zoli, Tibor, their families and a few other Hungarians meet for weekly Bible Study. There were some missionaries from Campus Crusade for Christ there as well as other volunteers who would all be helping with the camp. We prayed, planned and ate together. As we were leaving, knowing that we had just come from Ukraine, Zoli decided that Ben needed to learn how to dance like a Russian. Ben failed. Zoli did not.

Today we relaxed a bit more. John and Allison went for another language lesson but we stayed back. We met them for lunch, then came back to their flat to do some laundry and rest. John and Ben headed out to meet with several of the Jordans' friends because one of them was returning to his home country for the summer. Megan stayed at the flat with Allison to hang out with her friend, Sofia. They watched Twilight with Hungarian subtitles and made pancakes, eggs and hash browns. After supper, Megan and Allison scoured the 9th District for ice cream, FINALLY succeeding at their fourth stop buying Allison's favorite called Bird's Milk. The girls had a night and the guys had a night. Ben got to meet lots of young believers from all over the world tonight. Please be praying for the guy returning to his home country, we'll call him Cymbal. Cymbal comes from a place that is very hostile towards Christianity and there is the possibility that someone could report his recent conversion and he could be either jailed or even executed for his faith.

We didn't go to Keszthely today, as you may have guessed. We're taking the 13:05 train down tomorrow and should arrive around 16:30. We think we'll have internet at the Speak Out! Conference we'll be attending with Doug & Patti Meyerdirk, but if not, we'll be back with John & Allison next Thursday the 1st. Have a wonderful weekend!

Day 5&6 - From Kyiv to Budapest

Howdy y'all,

Sorry we didn't blog last night, we were tired, packing for our flight to Budapest and trying to go to bed early as our day started at 4AM. However, before we go into what we did today, we wanted to catch you up on what we did yesterday. The majority of the day was spent at the Botanical Gardens in Ukraine. The gardens were vast and there was lots of walking up and down hills. One hill was actually more off the beaten path, but led to an excellent panorama of the city. Part of it was almost a vertical climb, but all three of us managed to make it to the top. I (Megan) was uncertain about attaining the summit, but was encouraged by the swarms of ants that took over if one paused too long. Thankfully, they were not the kind of ants that bite. Still, having them crawling all over your legs is good motivation to keep moving! The gardens were a beautiful variety of the familiar and the unfamiliar. There was some color is certain spots, but a vast majority was green: green vines, evergreens, green grass. My favorites were the silver birches that resembled weeping willows. I wish they grew in Texas!

We grabbed a late lunch on our way back at a cafeteria in the local mall. It looked very similar to what you would expect in a mall in the states. There was clothing, electronics, toys, and even fur coats! Our only purchase for the day, however, was an adaptor for our laptop. Even with the exchange rate favoring the dollar, clothing is much more expensive here; due in part to the 20% sales tax levied.

We finally headed to the apartment and spent a quiet evening packing and watching a little bit of the new Star Trek movie. We wanted to again say how thankful we are for Doug Britton for opening up his home to us and showing us around Kyiv. He was pretty pooped yesterday afternoon from running us around, we hope he took today off to rest :D

We were up at 4 this morning (8 pm CST) to head to the airport for our 7:00 flight. We made it just fine and had time to grab a bottled water and an americano at the "Irish Pub" there. Our flight flew by (;D) and before we knew it we were through customs, had our bag and were hugging our good friends John and Allison Jordan. SUCH a better transition than the series of unfortunate events surrounding our entrance into Kyiv.

After a bus, then the subway, then a 10 minute walk we were in JJ & Allie's sweet flat. They made us bacon, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers and parmesan and brewed me (Ben) some coffee. Bacon, eggs and coffee... if you know me, then you know I was a happy man! We mostly relaxed at their flat for the morning while working on some laundry, though Allie took Megan and me to a big indoor market a few blocks away. It reminded me of Central Market in that they had lots of fresh local produce, scratch breads and pastries and lots of meats and cheeses. The upstairs part was mostly all souvenirs. After a lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and fruit, we began a tour of Budapest. They took us to see:

St Istva'n Basilica,

Parliment,

and out to supper at a restaurant that specializes in Hungarian food.

The plan for tomorrow is for us to go to language class with them in the morning, then on to the castle district in the afternoon. Friday we leave Budapest for a week to head down to Keszthely for a week before coming back to Budapest. Have a blessed rest of your Wednesday!

Day 4 - In and around Kyiv

Howdy there ladies and gents!

Today was another full day but we'll get to that in a minute. We wanted to finish posting a few pictures of places Doug took us yesterday around downtown Kiev. First up is a statue you might recognize if you remember the Orange Revolution that took place here in 2004. It was festooned with banners and flags in press photos that circulated back then. Second is a shot of the cathedral at St. Michael's Monastery which is down the street and facing the famous St. Sofia Cathedral. The communists destroyed it and it was only rebuilt about 10 years ago; the spires are overlaid with pure gold. Finally, in the plaza of St. Michael's there is a statue honoring the monks Cyril & Methodius who created the cyrillic alphabet for the Slavic tribes centuries ago.

Today we visited an outdoor architectural museum that pays homage to all the different types of architecture in Ukraine throughout its history. We saw windmills, homes from the 19th century, barns, outdoor kitchens, cottage gardens and the building in the pictures below. First is a church from the 18th century, inside was the original wall of icons that stretched up about 30 feet. It was still a functional church as there were several prayer candles burning in front of the icons when we entered. We can't take pictures inside any churches (understandable) but if you've never seen an icon wall, they are absolutely breathtaking. We don't believe in praying to icons because of what the Bible says in Hebrews 4:14-16:

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the

heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

15For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.16Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The second picture is a house from the western part of Ukraine where they build really solid little houses almost all from timber. It was interesting to see that in different parts of the country their homes are constructed using different means. In the eastern part of Ukraine, homes are mostly made of stone and brick, for example.
After we left the museum we drove further south on the road to Odessa to see some of the countryside and what rural Ukraine looked like. There is a lot of farmland, Doug has been told that in some parts of the country the topsoil is 4 to 5 meters deep!! (that's a LOT) One big difference I noticed is that like in America, farmers plant trees at the edges of their fields to serve as windbreaks and erosion control. The difference is that those planted trees in Ukraine were at least twice as big as trees in the States, pointing to just how much longer people have been involved in agriculture here.
Sorry to all but three of you who found that incredibly boring :D I have to be a geography nerd once in awhile. Tomorrow is supposed to rain a good bit in the morning but as soon as it clears up we're going to a botanical garden. My shutterbug should have lots to upload and post tomorrow night. In closing, tomorrow is our last day in Ukraine as we have an EARLY flight to catch to Hungary Wednesday morning. He has been an incredibly generous host and we pray that we haven't been too much of an inconvenience. I'm sure he looks forward to sleeping in his bed again Wednesday night once we're gone. We pray that y'all are having a good (though probably hot) Monday and we'll do our best to blog again tomorrow!