Casualties in Miskolc, Chickens in Mikepercs

The camp at the Miskolc orphanage is not even half over, but it has already sustained its share of mishaps. On Sunday the team realized it had forgotten many critical items leading me (Trudy) to make an unscheduled excursion to bring camp crafts, a large cooler, a computer and other items. It was a two hour trek each way in sweltering heat and no airconditioning and two very tired, very whinny girls in the back. And then after I got there, I realized I had forgotten the most critical item, the big cooler.

On Tuesday, Russell sustained a baseball blow to the face requiring three stitches, and some of the team have apparently picked up poison ivy while others are suffering stomach ailments. But the camp must go on, and on it goes as the team enters their third day of camp. Please keep them in your prayers. I will return with the girls on Friday for the final day of the camp.

Meanwhile on the homefront, on Monday morning our yard was inundated by our neighbor's chickens -- which I did not think was a big problem until they started eating Russell's flowers. I ran outside to shew them, but I could not get them over the fence. When our neighbor came out -- the one who gave us the degus (see previous posting)-- I said, "Hey, your chickens are here." He said, "Just throw them over the fence," but I did not want to touch those things. So Andi and Niki and I chased the chickens around the back yard with a broom until we had "swept" them back into their native habitat.

Never a dull moment in Hungary!

Rodents: The Gift the Keeps on Giving

Gifts can be a language of love and appreciation, but beware of this love language when you live in a Hungarian village. Two years ago our neighbors tried to give us a molting pigeon as a gift. We managed to finess our way out of that one. Last year they tried to give us rabbits for the girls. Again we managed to graciously pass them up. But a few weeks ago, this delightful "horse whisperer" of Mikepercs did not give us a chance to say no as he handed Russ an old birdcage over the fence. Then cage contained three rodents of undetermined origin. Our neighbor watched as Russ called me (Trudy) outside keeping a fake smile pasted over his worried countenance. Through clenched teeth, he said, "Tell me they are not rats."
The good news is they are not rats. Our neighbor insisted they are American squirrels, but they were like no other squirrels I had ever seen. They resemble a squirrel in color and size, but are built more like chincillas.

At first we were not sure if the neighbors were trying to give us a pet or if they thought, "We should give the American Squirrels to the Americans. It has probably been a long time since they had squirrel stew."

After much research, we managed to identify them as Degu -- a rodent from the Chilean Andees. How they made their way to our village in Hungary I will never know. Of the three given to us, one is female, one is male and one we are not sure about. It may well prove to be the gift that keeps on giving. Anyone want a Degu?

Mikepercs English Days

GoodSports kicked off its summer program with English Days in our village of Mikepercs. Kids from the village from 9-13 years of age came to meet our American team, play games and learn English. We received a warm welcome from the local school and although the event attracted only a small group of kids, they were an exceptionally good group. And it enabled us to develop deeper relationships with those who did attend. Games like “hook up” tag and “pictionary” filled the morning and Frisbee and t-ball enlivened the afternoons. Each day ended with a visit the local ice cream shop. One the last day Russ and Trudy were able to explain to the kids exactly why they are here in Mikepercs and they told the kids that God sees them as His precious treasure – so precious that God has given his Son to die for their sins so that He could know them and be known by them.

Debrecen's First Baseball Field Opens

In Debrecen, Hungary you are more likely to see soccer fields or handball courts than the filed that has for so long represented America's favorite passtime. But the times they are a changing. On June 2, 2007 Debrecen's first baseball field opened with fanfare and festivities. Even the mayor of Debrecen was on hand to cut the ribbon and a special representative from the US embassy, Eric Gaudiosi, politcal advisor to the ambassador, threw out the first ball. Also on hand to celebrate the event was former pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, Tom Johnson, who now heads up GoddSports programs in Slovakia. It was a weekend of baseball, hotdogs, Hungarian gulyas and lots of play as the baseball tournament brought teams from Szentendre and Jászberény (near Budapest) to play Debrecen's own Tiger Kids.