Got a deadline to meet...

And I have a TON of ground to cover. So let's get this rolling...

Things have been crazy for the last six weeks. The first week I got here, our team went to an aviation camp in Romania, which was awesome! We got to fly in a Tucano and a Motodelta, a couple of ultralight planes, and that was a ton of fun. The landscape was very pretty and the sky was usually clear so you could easily see about 50 miles in each direction. It was sad when we had to leave because we had been in Romania longer than we had been in Hungary so the friends we made at camp were pretty much the only ones we had here. About three weeks ago, a Christian band from Arkansas came in to do shows in the surrounding cities so we helped them all week. They were a blast to hang around.

Aubree and I moved into our apartments a few weeks back and we're both loving it! She has a roommate from the States who has been here a year that we both love and I've got my own place. I spend most of my free time at Aubree's place but I also enjoy just having some personal time at my apartment. I don't have much to do at my place so I've been playing guitar a LOT and I can't complain about that! Aubree's roommate, Stacia, has a close group of friends and we've really connected with them. I have a very sarcastic and sometimes harsh personality that I usually have to ease into when making new friends but that wasn't the case with them. Just the acceptance from them has made me feel much more comfortable here. 

 Last week, we had a band from California play a few shows here and they were awesome! The turnouts at all the shows were incredible and we got to connect with a lot of new friends. They left on Sunday, and Aubree and I got to go with them to Budapest on Saturday to do some sight seeing. I love that city!! It's beautiful and there's so much to experience there. I will certainly be making as many train trips there as I possibly can!

The food here is hit or miss, probably because I'm a little picky, but I've found some things I really like. There is a gelato place in the mall that has the best ice cream I have ever had and it's dirt cheap - like $1.50 for a double scoop cone - so I go there all the time! There's also something called gyros (I think it's originally a Greek dish) but it's chicken, a ton of different vegetables, and special sauces tucked into pita bread and it is fantastic! One of my favorite places in town is a tea/coffee shop called Carpe Diem. Everything it has to offer is amazing and the atmosphere is perfect. It's a great place just to go fellowship with friends over a nice warm beverage, especially since it's already getting a bit colder here. It's been fun getting used to public transportation to get around town. I don't know the city too incredibly well but that'll change over the next couple months, I'm sure.

Typically, we have some kind of ministry going everyday. Our team (Gary & Carolyn Miller, Stacia, Aubree, and I) are currently meeting at my apartment on Sundays for house church. We are trying to make it into a church plant movement for English speakers in the area. On Mondays, Aubree, Stacia, and I go to the university to play volleyball with a bunch of the college kids. It's been great getting to know the students while playing sports, something I thoroughly enjoy doing. On Tuesdays, the three of us are about to start up another ministry on campus called the Four Senses Theater. It's hard to describe, but basically the participants will be blindfolded and walked through the trials of life while we do our best to help them realize that Christ alone can give us the strength to help us through them. That probably didn't help your perception of the ministry at all. But like I said, it's hard to explain. And I tried. Haha anyway, Wednesdays are free for me at the moment, but we have Coffee House on Thursdays which is always enjoyable. We usually have live music (occasionally provided by the amazing duo of Aubree Seiferman and Seth Bryant) playing in the background while friends come and fellowship around a cup of coffee, a game of cards, etc. Then, our team (minus Stacia) is involved in a church plant in a town about an hour away from Debrecen. Aubree and I lead worship for them, and right now the church has about 6 people that show up on a regular basis. Though small in number, it's cool to think about how the church will grow and what will be accomplished in the future because of what we're starting. Saturdays are usually free days, but it's usually spent just fellowshipping with friends and having a good time. 

I definitely miss a lot of things back home (family, friends, my guitars, Dr. Pepper, Mexican food...) but the transition has been good so far. Praise the Lord for Skype because it allows me to talk with and see family at least a couple of times a week. It's weird to think that this will be my home for the next seven months and I know it will get hard at times but this is bound to be an unbelievable experience!

Thank you SO MUCH for all your prayers and support! The Lord has already done great things here and I am certain He will continue to baffle me with what He has in store for the next seven months.

I'll try to update a little more often to let y'all know what's taking place over here!

Seth