It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

First of all, I got baptized! That's right!
When I got saved, I knew very little about God or the Bible. Mainly all I knew was that Jesus Christ died for my sins, He rose again and He offers salvation to everyone, all I have to do is to believe in Him, and trust in Him. I knew He was my Savior, and that I need to read my Bible, so I did. One day not long after that I read that God commands us to be baptized after we are saved, so I wanted to be baptized. The only church I knew of in my village (other than the Catholic church) was a Lutheran church. So I went to the pastor and asked to be baptized (I was 15 years old). He asked some questions and then he agreed to it. In the Lutheran church, they don't immerse you, they sprinkle water on your head (in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) and you have to share your testimony in front of the church. Since I had almost no Bible knowledge back then, I didn't know immersion is the Biblical way of baptism. Then much later, when I studied at the Bible Institute, I understood that, but I didn't think I needed to be baptized "again". Now, that we attend a church where you need to be baptized (immersed) to be a member, I thought about it again. Since it wasn't against me at all to be baptized (immersed), and it was needed for the membership, I did so. And I'm very glad I did. Here is a video of it:




Our big baby girl has her own room now! A month ago we moved her play-and-go (what she sleeps in) to another room. She wakes up during the night sometimes but she has her bottle in there and she just feeds herself and goes back to sleep. She normally gets up around 7am and play in her play-and-go for an hour and then lets me know she had enough and wants out. So for a whole month we could sleep through the night. Well, theoretically. With Chris getting up at 2am, I wouldn't say we sleep through the night : ). Either way, Amy is growing up! She is 10 months old now! Sometimes I can't believe it.
I made 3 hairbands for her (green, purple, pink). She looks very cute in, here is a picture:

I made a Hungarian dish, it's called Layered Potatoes. It's made in a baking pan. You put one layer half-boiled potatoes (cut into smaller "circles"), one layer onion (cut), one layer boiled eggs (cut), one layer ground beef,  sour cream and then repeat. You put it in the oven and bake it for about 40 minutes. It turned out good, though I never had it with beef before, we usually put hot-dog or sausage instead. It's very easy to make and I think it's very yummy.

Karen's family have a tradition. Before Christmas, the women come together and bake cookies. Everyone does what she is good at, and once they are done, everyone can take as much as she wants from all the cookies/candies that were made. It's a great idea!

Last Saturday I had the chance to meet Chris' colleagues and all the staff of WTHI, Channel 10. They had a Christmas party for the employees. We went to the best restaurant in Terre Haute and had amazing food. That's all I remember. : ) Not true, we had good company at our table and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the people Chris works with.
That reminds me, if you ever go to WTHI's website (you can click on WTHI and it will take you there), you may see video that Chris took. If something happens in the morning, Chris is the only one who goes to the place and takes footage.

On Thursday I had a chance to leave the house with Amy. Michae, our friend from church took us to Terre Haute and we went shopping. She took me to places I never heard of before. It was so good to spend time with her and her daughter, Annie. Amy really likes Annie, and I'm pretty sure Annie likes Amy too. By the end of the day both girls were totally out, sleeping on the back seat.
Now I know where to go shop when I have to!

Today we are going to see Dave's mom (only met her once before), and tomorrow Stephen Long and John Nienaber are coming to visit us! So we are looking forward an exciting weekend!

Thanksgiving

I wanted to take a moment to write about all the things we are thankful for. I wish I do that more often, just stop and think of all the things God has blesses us with. Well, the list is huge, so I will only mention the main things.

2010 Thanksgiving

That was our first Thanksgiving together as married couple. We are very thankful to be married and to be able to celebrate this wonderful holiday together.

2010 Christmas

We had the opportunity to fly to the States and celebrate Christmas with Chris' family. We are thankful for Dave and Karen who bought us tickets so that we could be with them for a whole month. We enjoyed our time here and were able to meet some of Chris' extended family members I never had a chance to meet before. They are a lot of fun!

2011 February

Amy Leigh James was born. We are grateful for God's provision all through the pregnancy. Both Amy and I were in danger and God organized things so that both of us could be healthy. I believe some would call Amy's birth a miracle, I rather say it was God's provision. We are so happy to have her. She is a joy to be around.

2011 May

We had our 1st wedding Anniversary. It's amazing a whole year has past since our wedding. Chris every day tells me "Thank you for marrying me", he wouldn't go to bed without saying it. Sometimes more times a day. I think it's sooo sweet. I really am thankful!

2011 September

We left WOL. We are very thankful for the many years we could study and work there. We love the staff, miss them very bad. It was a joy to be with them and are looking forward visiting them someday. Also, we are looking forward the staff visiting us when they go to furlough. We already have a few of them who promised to meet with us this summer. ; )

We are also very thankful that my parents let us be with them for a month before we left for the States. We wanted them to have as much time with Amy as possible. They definitely did. She started to sit, crawl, stand up that month. I think she just wanted to show off : ).

We are thankful for Chris' job at WTHI, channel 10. It is awesome that he could get a job so soon and that he loves it! Hearing my husband's name on TV makes me very proud. : )

We are very thankful for Dave and Karen. They let us live with them for as long as we need it. It's a huge help. They also introduced us to their church back in December and we attend that church since we arrived.

2011 Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with Karen's mom and brothers. It was great. Karen cooked turkey and made an amazing meal. We are definitely very thankful for that! : )

I think of all our friends all over the world and it makes me smile. We are very thankful for the friends God blessed us with. From school, WOL, church. And of course our family.

Day by day there are plenty of things we are thankful for. God is good, He is good all the time.

We wish you a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Job, Cell phones, Insurance...

It amazes me how much a baby can grow in a month. Amy is a very active baby to say the least. She is always on the move. That's why she is so skinny : ). She started to stand on her own a few weeks ago and now she can stand for a few minutes while playing with a toy. It's incredible! She also got her first two teeth (finally). She is learning how to high five and wave. She likes to high five more but she is getting better at both. She is just a cutie-pie. 

Chris started his job at WTHI (Channel 10) 2 weeks ago. He loves it. A few days after he started they mentioned his name during the news. Yes, I'm very proud of him! He edits the morning and midday show and goes out to get some footage when needed. He goes to bed around 7 pm and gets up at 2 am. He used to go to bed at 2 am, so it is a huge change but he is doing good! 

We love to attend Bible Community Church. It's such a kind, friendly fellowship of Christians. I'm amazed how mission oriented they are. They have about 120 people attending church on Sundays and they support 9 missionaries and 2 mission organizations on a monthly basis. They give so much, I am humbled. Also, they are very encouraging and making you feel at home. There are a couple of people whom I love dearly. They are always there to help and we've been invited so many times to their homes or just to hang out! We are really honored to be part of that church.

I started to drive a few weeks ago and so far no one got hurt : ). I "met" a deer twice in 2 days. This one night, when I was driving in dark for the first time, a car was on the road in my lane in front of a house. When we got behind him he still didn't move, so I thought maybe he is waiting for someone, and I passed him. Well, after I got back into my lane Chris and I had the following conversation:

Chris: Did you see?

Me: What?

Chris: The deer.

Me: No honey, I'm looking at the road.

Chris: It was on the road. Sitting right in front of the other car.

: ) I'm very thankful I didn't hit it as I was going back to my lane. It definitely made me be more aware : ). The next morning a deer ran out on the road and stopped before me and turned back and ran into the woods. It was a wise decision of hers. : )

Life in the States is definitely different than life in Hungary. Things just "don't make sense" sometimes. Not in a bad way at all. Actually in a good way. I'm amazed how well this system works. I wish this kind of "honor system" would work in Hungary. There are so many strange things here, that I actually made a list and going to make a blog post in Hungarian (for the Hungarians) about it.

Have a blessed day!

Settling In

Hi there,

Since Amy is a citizen, she received her Social Security Number and we applied for her passport. We also applied for my Social Security Number (again... somehow they forgot to assign a number for me previously...) and I received the card today! (It took them 7 days from the application to the time I received it in the mail, it's very fast!)

Chris got a job at the WTHI TV station (Terre Haute, IN). He is going to work from 3am to noon and will edit the morning show and the midday show. He will also go out and shoot some footage as needed. He is really excited about this job. Please remember him in your prayers as the hours aren't "normal".

I started to go to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). Cathy Slaven, a member of the church leads it and I really enjoy going there. The first time we met, she showed us how to make bows. Here is a picture of mine.

I also made crepes (palacsinta) for the Wednesday night Bible Study. I love to find things I can make without using a can : ). I didn't know it's gonna be this hard to find ingredients to cook with. As it turns out, America is not big on making your own food. Also, it's a lot cheaper to buy already made food.

One of my favorites is a sandwich I created. It has ham, omelette, salad, ketchup, cheese, and sweet relish in it. Yum-yum.

Amy is growing and learning a lot of new things. Recently she started to talk a lot. She was standing on our bed for about 5 seconds without holding on to anything yesterday! She is happy and joyful most of the time and makes us smile many times. She can walk with the help of a "walker". She just pushes it in front of her and that helps her balance herself. 

It is amazing to think back and see how God has blessed us through the pregnancy, through Amy's birth and during the past 8 months. So much to be thankful for. As I hear more and more birth stories, I realize more and more how many things could have gone wrong. But it didn't.  

view from the house

our "neighbors": 2 horses and a donkey

It is amazing how beautiful the country is. Even though I have nothing against living in the city, I think everyone should experience this. When we go to church - which is 20 minutes from here - we see many horses, cows, deer, goats, squirrels, sometimes foxes, chipmunks, donkeys, coyote, opossum, and many other animals. It's like driving through a zoo.

view from the house

We love our church, it is a lot like WOL. People know each other and genuinely care for each other. We have about 120 people on Sundays. The church supports many missionaries all over the world. It is really encouraging to see how generous those people are.

Nate and Cathy Slaven invited us over for dinner one night. We had a lot of fun with them and Axel and Mary and the Grubb family. We are thankful for friends like them.

As for now, we are looking for houses. There are plenty for rent, so please pray that we find one that's gonna be good for us and that we would be able to pay for it each month. We know God provides for our needs. He always did and He always will.

U.S.A.

Dear friends and family,

Stone family and us with my mom

Sooo much has happened since the last post. We were able to personally say goodbyes to many friends and family members for which I'm very thankful.

We could even see Gracie Stone before we left! Randall and Timi were nice enough to invite us to their home and we had a very good time with them. 

My friends from High School made a farewell party for me a few days before we left and they made a very special book with all of our memories in it. I love it! I had to leave some clothes in Hungary to make it fit in the luggage, but it is worth the loss : ).

We were also able to go to the Opening Weekend of the Bible School here in Hungary and say our last goodbyes to the staff, interns and students. That wasn't a happy moment but we are glad we could spend so many years with many of them.

On the plane

We left Hungary on the 13th. We had a 9 hour 40 minute flight to JFK and then a 2 hour flight to Indy. Amy has never flown before so I was a little nervous. She doesn't really like to sit for a long time and she had to be still for about 10 hours. She did great! She didn't cry even once! She was smiling at people and laughing and had no problem whatsoever. 

At JFK

Then we had a 4 hour 50 minute layover. When you arrive to JFK, there are 3 different lines, one for Americans (Chris), one for Green Card holders (me), and one for Visitors (Amy). This is a security check point and they made us stay in the Visitors line which was the longest by far. We had to wait in the line for 2 hours and Amy was absolutely quiet even then. As soon as we got to the officer, it was about 10 minutes and we were ready to go pick up our luggage to check them in again. It took them less than 5 minutes to deal with my Immigrant Visa situation and they didn't ask anything. They just told me to wait for it in the mail. : )

The next flight was very short and Amy slept through it. When we arrived to Indy and I had to wake her up, it was 4 am in Hungary so she was very tired and started to cry. That was the first time she cried and was traveling for 18 hours by that time.

with Grandma, finally!

Karen, Dave and Karen's brother, Kevin were waiting for us at the airport. It was Karen's first time seeing Amy in person.

We arrived to Dave and Karen's house after midnight. We traveled over 20 hours and were ready to go to bed. Amy didn't know that, so she kept waking up at night : ).

We didn't have any jetlag (though that's normal for us) and Amy was doing good the nights after that. 

4 generations

We've already been to Karen's family reunion, been to church 3 times so far (yes, we are very spiritual) and had Amy's Citizenship Appointment today.

Yes, Amy is FINALLY a US citizen (as well as Hungarian). It went very smoothly without any problems. It was also very quick I must add. She received an American flag from the officer which she tried to eat almost as soon as she got it. Oh well, she might not appreciate it as much as we do! : )

Chris is still looking for job opportunities, right now online. We also are looking for rental houses and until we find one, we are enjoying Dave and Karen's hospitality.

That's it for now! God bless you all!

I see you!

Update on Amy

Our baby is extremely cute!

This is gonna be a quick update but I feel like it's time we had a blog post specifically on Amy.

She was born with less than 4 pounds and was 18 inches.

Now that she is 6 months old, she is about 15 lbs and is over 27 inches.

She could roll from her belly to her back when she was 3 months old and could roll from her back to her belly when she was 5 months old. She started to hold her bottle while drinking the same month.

Now that she turned 6 months old, she can crawl, sit, stand and walk while holding onto something (like the crib). When we put her down, the first thing she does is crawl to a place where she can stand (she finds something she can hold onto). 

She is a very happy baby. She listens to people talking, smiles at people, she loves to jump on people's lap or just talk. She is a very active baby.

We have been at my parents' house for the past 2 weeks, and my mom keeps telling people how Amy was an infant when we came and now she is a toddler. She definitely learned a lot of things she didn't know how to do before.

My sister and her kids also like to play with her and spent a lot of time entertaining Miss Amy. I'm very thankful for my family being so awesome and taking care of Amy when I'm too tired and Chris is working. It's a huge help!

She gives us a lot of joy! Chris loves her so much and tells me how cute and wonderful she is. She truly loves her dad.

The beauty of all this is Amy is supposed to be 2 months behind. Her whole story is amazing. She had 2 cysts, both 6mm when I was pregnant with her. The doctor offered abortion to me. Obviously I refused. Both cysts disappeared before Amy was born. The doctor didn't believe the ultrasound and asked another doctor if it's possible. God was with us then as well.

After that I had pre-eclampsia (it's a pregnancy sickness that can be very dangerous if not treated) and my doctor didn't realize it. By God's grace I measured my blood pressure one day and went to the hospital because it was extremely high. Amy was born 4 days later (a month before my due date), because my situation was so serious the doctors had to induce labor. She was shrinking in my belly day by day. She was a month behind and a month early when she was born. Amy was born healthy (though underweight), and didn't need oxygen. She was in an incubator for a week because of her weight. She was never sick (except for a runny nose), she has been developing very well.

God showed His grace through Amy's life from even before she was born until now, and we are sure He will continue to show His grace even after. Many people prayed for Amy and still pray for her. We are very thankful for them! As you can see, God answered their prayer this way. 

I learned a lot of lessons this past 6 months. I definitely understand more and more how much God really loves us, and how prayer is a huge tool in our hands, and how hard it must have been to sacrifice His own Son.

Amy is a good reminder of God's love to me. We love her so much!

Left Tóalmás (WOL Hungary)

Hi there,

it has been a wonderful blessing to be at WOL for the past 2 decades, to grow up and learn and serve with the amazing staff there. A little further down the page, Lili wrote about the great camp season we had, but I would just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for supporting us in so many ways so far.
As for the future? Well, we are at Lili's parents' house until Sept. 13th, when we fly to the US for the next few years. There we will be studying to finish college, and seeking God's will as to the next steps He has planned for our lives. Please be praying that the transition would go well, and that I would be able to find work when we get out there. Thanks again for everything!

- Chris

Yes, we just arrived at my parents' house (about 40 minutes from WOL). Wow. To be honest with you (and why wouldn't I be) it's very weird. We packed all of our stuff this morning, cleaned the house we rented and with the help of many WOL people and my dad we were able to leave Tóalmás. Thank you so much for all your kindness, time and help! We wouldn't have been able to do any of these by ourselves!

We would like to especially thank the Deli family for letting us rent there house, use their fridge and other stuff, for all their help in everything! They made our life a lot easier many times.

Lili's parents

We would also like to thank Annette and Axel for providing us a bed, it was very comfy : ). Also thank you for the furniture we could borrow for the 6 months we were in our new house.

We would also like to mention all the help we got from the maintenance with all the packing.

Thank you for Timi for always being there and helping even at the last minute. We really appreciate you and you will be greatly missed!

But lets go back to the middle of camp. Since then we had the youth camps. They were all very cool especially because we had a "full house" for almost all the weeks. My niece and my mom and another relative of mine came to the 5th week. I really enjoyed spending time with them.

We had many salvation decisions and dedications (over 200 camper went forward at the invitation and about 100 dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ).

It is amazing to see "your campers" (the ones who got saved when you were their room leader or just were in your room before) grow, mature, become real women. I love to talk to them and see how they changed.

The last two weeks Chris was the "cameraman". You can see one of the videos a friend of ours (Eszter Ágoston, the "cameralady") made - you can see Amy @ 2:15

I have to say that the camp season went by very fast. Just as I though it would. It is strange though that this might have been our last one. Well, God only knows.

(If you would like to see the rest of the videos made this summer - or just other WOL Hungary videos - click here.)

Tricia and Amy

Tricia Hood, a very good friend of mine came to visit us! I haven't seen her in 2 years and I was so very happy to see her and finally be able to hug her! Also, it was her first time seeing Amy. Thank you so much Tricia for coming! We love you very much!

Farewell party at the Konya's

We had our farewell party yesterday. It was really nice that the staff thought of having a party for us. We didn't think so many people would show up (it was 2 days after camp was over and that's the time people usually go on vacation) and we were very glad to see so many friends. We received a HUGE amount of financial help from all the staff and interns as well as prayers and encouragement. It was the best way to say goodbye to all the people. Chris spent mostly all his life at WOL Hungary (18+ years) and I lived there for the past 5 years. It is going to be hard not to see all the staff everyday from now on but on the other hand we are really thankful for all the years we could see them everyday : ). They are always gonna be a big part of our lives and prayer life. We love them all and are gonna miss them.

Now we look forward being with my family. It must be very hard for them to "lose" a daughter, a son and the youngest granddaughter. We will try to spend as much time with them as we possible can. They love us very much and we love them too.

Amy turned 6 months old this month and she is such a cutie! She holds her cup by herself, she started to crawl and she talks and talks and talks : ). We really enjoy seeing her grow. She is a lot of fun!

We will update our blog more often from this time on (at least for a while) because there are many exciting new things happening to us these days and we want to share it with you. Please feel free to contact us and tells us how you are and what you are up to these days! We would love to hear from you (we mean it!).
- Lili

God bless you all!

Middle Of Camp

Hey there,

This is the 3rd week of camp but so much has happened already!

First two weeks Chris was the "studio guy". That means whenever camp needs sound, he needs to be there. He was also working on other multimedia related things for WOL, so he was quiet busy.

One of the things he worked on was a piece of the video we show at each and every Born Again presentation we have. Born Again to a Living Hope is a drama WOL uses to evangelize in different places during the year, for example at schools, culture houses, prisons, etc. You can watch the piece of video he made (it's in Hungarian but I think it's worth watching anyway!) If you are interested in the Born Again drama you can click here for more information.

He is the kind of guy people go to when they have different kind of problems because he usually knows the answer and is always willing to help. (I'm not biased, you can ask anyone!) So I don't think he is ever bored, especially during camp season.

The first week my mom was a unit leader, so Amy and I went in everyday. I tried to help in tiny little things whenever there was need for help. We enjoyed seeing the kids but to be honest with you, I really missed being involved.

Then came an opportunity. The staff received a letter from one of the camp staff asking for some help for the 2nd and 3rd weeks. They were looking for unit leaders for the girls. Well, since I've done that before, I offered my help. So Amy and I were unit leaders for a week. It was a blast! Talking to the room leaders, being at the meetings, talking to the campers. I just loved it!

Also, the director of the camp spontaneously asked me to share my testimony before the message during one of the evening meeting. I felt so honored and privileged! I was/am very thankful for the opportunity. I hate to speak in front of people but I love all the more to talk about Jesus and share my changed life with others. I could be a part of the camp at least for that little bit.

After the second week the whole family got a virus. Well, Chris actually was sick during the 2nd week as well but got worse by the beginning of the 3rd week. I've been in bed for about 5 days now and maybe I will be able to go see other people in a few days. Amy is handling her sickness very well! I'm so impressed.

Many kids went forward the past 3 weeks for which we are very thankful! It's always the best thing to hear campers accepting Jesus as their Savior. The main reason of our camp is so that kids can hear about Jesus and make a decision. The decision to accept Christ is always theirs, our responsibility is to make sure they hear about Him.

I'm looking forward the 5th week for my mom, one of my nieces and another relative is going to be here. It should be a lot of fun!

Oh, and we leave in 60 days! Amy's first flight (at least outside of my belly, in my belly she already has been on 7 flights so far and 3 continents!) will be pretty long, but I'm sure it's gonna be full of adventures. Well, I'm trying to pack, select things, organize everything and make sure we are all set.

God bless you all!

The James

Looking For A Job And A House

Dear friends,

As you most likely know, we have worked as interns/volunteers at WOL Hungary the past two years. (I still have the camp season before I am done and Lili finished her internship when Amy was born - after 2 and a half years.)

The reason we are planning on going to the States is so that we can finish college and get a degree. If we stayed in Hungary, we wouldn't be able to pay the online school (which is the cheapest) but if we go to the States, I can work, while finishing our studies.

Word of Life Hungary Bible School's credits transfer to many Christian school in the States so we hope we can finish a degree in 2 years.

I put a portfolio together not long ago, please take the time and check it out! You can watch the reel right now and also go to the site by clicking here.

Click to enlarge

Working here at WOL has given me a few years of experience in video editing, graphic design, and motion graphics. I have been occasionally working a freelance job or two, so if you, or anyone you know could use any services I could provide, don't hesitate to drop my name and website! Thanks!

As a note of praise, God has also given an opportunity with a side project of translating some English materials into Hungarian (including taking English audio materials and transcribing into Hungarian -- fun! :) ), which has been a wonderful blessing of God's provision! Thank you to all who prayed for this!

The earlier we can finish school and get a degree, the sooner we can go to the mission field. We are praying about where the Lord wants us to see and when. We would like to make our decisions in light of His leading. Right now we see that many doors are open. There is a big need everywhere! But that is a few steps down the road, and we will see where God leads, when the time comes.

Another thing that we need to find is a home.

We will be landing at my parent's house, in W. Terre Haute, IN (close to Indianapolis) in September just to get on our feet. From there I will be looking for job opportunities and a place to rent.

If you know of any house for rent anywhere around Indianapolis, Terre Haute, or even Paris, IL, please let us know! We would need 2 bedrooms (if there's more, that's totally fine :) ) and a kitchen, bathroom. That's basically it. 

So please be praying for these things (job opportunities for me, including freelance jobs - or even Lili, such as translation that she can do from home, as well as an apartment/house that we could settle down in).

Thank you so much for being a part of our family by praying for us! God surely answers prayers and has never let us down!

Have a blessed week!