Brussels

I am in Brussels, Belgium; awaiting the hubby's arrival and trying to type on a french keyboard: Brussels is schlumpy and dirty: I got lost but sorted nyself out by finding a police station where i could ask for directions: I am not excited about being here yet: I hope a shower; some sleep; and food will solve that:

Greece is Burning

In June, following some work in Hungary, we travelled to Greece. The wildfires first broke out while we were there, but it seemed as if they were following us. They broke out north of Athens just two days after we drove through that region. We understood nothing on the television, but could recognize Athens with flames blazing behind her. We often saw smoke on the Peloponnesean peninsula where we were, and we often saw helicpoters taking water from the ocean in various towns where we were staying.

We joked when on the tiny secluded island of Kythira that being surrounded by water would seem like a good thing during wild fires, but on second thought, with no bridge and a once a day ferry and practically no English speakers around, that might not be the best case scenario.

We drove through the most secluded region of mountains that I've ever been through (that's saying a lot...I grew up near Appalachia). It felt eerie to be surrounded by the most sheer mountains I've ever seen, with no guardrails, crumbling shoulders on the road, and to not meet a single soul for hour upon hour. (We made a mistake taking a rural road instead of the national highway. Um, don't do that.)

During our time with Beppo (how we dubbed our rental Hyundai Passport), we worried about being unaware of driving into a wildfire. When in the rural parts of Greece, there is often one way in and one way out. What looks like a way out actually will curve around a mountain and deposit you where you started. Unfortunately, the wildfires only continue to spread, and some people have met that very death. *Shudder*

These sweltering temperatures. Global warming? A natural increase in the ebb and flow of life? Some of both? I don't know, but I do know (now) not to climb Acrocorinth when it's 114 Fareheit (45 Celsius). I now understand why Paul was cranky when he was up there preaching to the people having orgies.

*Updated.* I have just been reading more online about the fires, an endeavor that is difficult because there is such little information out there. Saying that the Peloponnesian region is on fire is like saying Illinois is on fire, not very specific. But I found out that those very mountains that we traveled over, the Mount Parnonas region (link is to a word document), is burning and is not yet under control. This area is full of quaint villages of hard working Greek Orthodox who farm olives and lemons and herd goats. My heart breaks for these people, who have very little means or access to get out of these treacherous mountains, and whose entire livelihood will likely be gone for those who do manage to escape. I fell in love with Greece and her people, and it is so sad to see this happening.

Jesus was a Bleeding Heart Liberal Jew

Spending time in Europe with conservative Evangelical Christians is always a bit of a paradigm shift for me. For three years now, I've had the privilege to serve for a week some of the top academics in Europe who are also Christians. Part of the agreement of being a servant volunteer is that we absolutely cannot, without a doubt, discuss politics with these people. This policy, born out of the typical Europe/U.S. divide on political issues, is a great one. Those who volunteer are there to serve, not to be served, make their piece known, or to find some sort of camaraderie. However, it is so hard to remain quiet among my Christian siblings and not hug them, kiss their cheeks, and say..Yes! Yes, exactly!"

It always blows my mind the things I hear in the conversations among the theologically conservative (often bordering on fundamentalist) Evangelical leaders. A dinner conversation where the U.S. is described as a bully, Bush with a foreign policy likened to Hitler's, and the desperate state of affairs in Iraq, is the type of conversation I'd like to be a part of. It's so compelling to encounter Christians who have not tied their partriotism to their faith.

One of my Hungarian friends even said, "Yeah, nationalism is good. We can all cheer "Go my country!", and it is good for morale. But, a Christian, a Christian must think beyond what country he lives in. Because I am not first a Hungarian, but a person, a person loved by God. He doesn't care what country I'm from, or that guy's from. So my country cannot come first. God must, so there is no keep out or you don't deserve this because you are not Hungarian or American or whatever...because as Christians we are all people, all the same." And I watched the jaws clench among the other volunteers from the States who were sitting nearby. I wonder why this is so upsetting to my fellow citizens. Why are so many American Christians threatened by such sentiments? I cannot imagine any other way to view ourselves that is Biblically sound or in keeping with the life of Christ.

Or why is it that the other volunteers all assume that we're not allowed to talk about politics only for the benefit of the the attendees? How do you think I learned of so many of these dinner conversations? Well, because of the complaints of my fellow volunteers, of course. One particular volunteer started to complain about the "horrible" conversation her husband had to sit through that negatively cast U.S.'s foreign policy. I mentioned that we don't talk about politics with anyone when serving because we cannot assume that we all agree on anything, regardless of our citizenship or theology, although this hint was evidently not strong enough because she continued to go on and on.

My thoughts, personally, were that if I were sitting at a table having dinner with some of Europe's top theologians, and they felt this way....then maybe I might have something to learn. I'm just sayin'...

Regardless, my point is that Christians who are U.S. citizens are in grave danger of confusing patriotism with faith. I know this because 9 times out of 10, when spending more than an hour with a group of Christians Stateside, something is said that infers that we all hold some universal Republican based political ideology that I happen to not hold. It's become so inferential and assumed that such sentiments creep in nearly continuously and without notice from most people. And these are sentiments held only by Christians in the U.S. I have yet to meet a Christian from another country who has such convoluted ideas about their faith and their country. It makes me sad, and it makes me want to move.

So, my fellow Americans, just remember that what may be best for you, for me, for the United States, may very likely not be what God wants you to do. And the rest of our Christian brothers and sisters seem to see that much more clearly than we, we could learn from them.

Hot Wives and Heat Waves

It hardly seems possible that is has been one week tomorrow since we returned from overseas. We spent the first half involved in some atypical mission work in Hungary. I'm purposely vague about it here, but let's just say it's the most stressful and intense 10 jet lagged days I experience every year, and it doesn't involve any type of evangelism.

After having been involved with all sorts of missions: week long evangelistic, leading summer missions trips for youth groups at a camp all summer, and work-camp type ministries--I firmly believe that the two types of missions that seem to be most effective are those that provide support and relief to groups, churches, and individuals who are invested in long-term ministry in a particular location OR those that provide direct relief/work to those in need. I just haven't found the various types of evangelistic week-long mission trips that I went on as a youth and college student to be anything but intrusive to most people and not in keeping with my leanings toward community and relationship rather than save 'em and leave 'em philosophies I've sometimes witnessed.

Anyway, following our mission time, we try to take advantage of already being in Europe and do some traveling, and by that time we both need it! This year we spent a glorious 9 days in Greece. There are some unique life circumstances of ours that make this feasible financially. It blows our mind that three years ago, neither my husband nor I had a passport, and now we've done missions abroad three times and been able to travel over a large portion of Europe, as well.

While we were in Greece, they had century record highs. I thought it was hot at the Acropolis (110 degrees!), and then a few days later when we hiked Acrocorinth (114 degrees!). But what I enjoyed most about our trip were the moments where we were around nothing more historical than a tiny rural village where people have lived for millenia going about their daily lives.

I adored the secluded beaches, the one tavern towns, the old Greek men flicking their worry beads, the arid mountains surrounded by fertile olive groves. It was much needed, and highly rejuvenating. As is my custom, I have great difficulty putting into written word how I feel everytime I return from travelling. It is life changing and yet seems so mundane when you put it into words. So, I'll let some pictures speak for themselves. You can see them here.

You know you're a bookworm when...

We're heading back overseas for a few weeks. (Thanks for keeping our house and kitties dear friends, if you read this.) I had to call the local library because hubby realized that one of the magazines that we returned was still showing as checked out on his account. Okay! Okay! It was mine, and it was People. Sigh. I can't help it.

When I called, they asked for the name of the account. I said "Last Name". The lady responded, oh, is it Hubby's Name Last Name? Yes, the library knows him by name. He's famous. Or infamous. Or really nerdy in a sexy way, if smelling like books and conspiracy theory is your thing. And it's mine, so it all works out.

Playing Catch-up (Not Kethcup).

Well, it appears I have a problem with committment. I have been so wiped by school that I've been avoiding even posting a simple picture. Well, today I play catch-up by providing a series of shots from Vienna, Austria.


This is the lady from the previous shot, before she noticed the camera. :)


Acrobats. We saw them in Vienna, and a short while later, we saw them again in Downtown Chicago. Weirdness.


The Vienna Opera House. Standing room only tickets are only 2 Euro the day of the show. Which means that you don't feel guilty when you leave soon after the show begins because you can only handle so much opera.

Bizarre International Moment

Two summers ago, in Sopron, Hungary, the group of mission volunteers were preparing to go on tours of the sleepy Hungarian town. Americans (especially the ones we were with) can be loud and forget that the rest of the world has enough of a reason to hate us without us being loud in their streets when we're visiting.

This nice lady was drawn to her window by the noise of our group. I caught her eye and waved, pointed to my camera, making the universal "Can I take a picture?" face. She got all embarrassed in a friendly way. Then she hid behind the curtain, pulled out this doll, and made it wave at me for a picture. Bizarre, but one of my favorite moments.

Vienna, Austria

Sopron, Hungary

Venetian Panties

Fussen, Germancy

I'm so funny...

I selected this photo from my personal collection today as my desktop background. You know what this is?


It's a picture I took of a hungry hippo at the zoo in Budapest, Hungary this past summer.

IT'S A HUNGRY HUNGARY HIPPO!!!!


*I laughed at that for so long. I'm giggling now.