a first...

We were informed this afternoon that the cost of living in Hungary has risen 8% since January. Kevin and I assumed that was for Americans because of the value of the dollar falling, but alas, it is not. Prices on everything have risen 8%, mainly affecting food and utilities. On top of that, the dollar has lost 20% of its value.

Sometimes when I hear that, I get all worried, and then God calms my nerves and reminds me how he has provided for us. But to be completely honest about today, I didn't worry one bit when I heard that. I think that was a first! Yeah God!

The school is having a huge rummage sale this weekend for people to sell their unwanted things. I know of a lot of families who are moving back to the States this year, so there is a lot of stuff for sale. I am really trying to figure out what we need, not necessarily all that I wish I had or would like to have. We don't know if we'll go back to the States for good next year or stay another year or even longer. We're really praying about that. But in the meantime, we don't want to spend money on buying things if we're here only short term. Then again, we don't want to waste money on cheap junk if we decide to stay longer.

I know this is a dumb prayer request in the big scheme of everything big going on in the world and what some of you are dealing with right now, but if you think about it, I guess I would ask that you just pray that God would keep my mind clear and help me to be wise if we should buy something or not.

And by the way, a bunch of people are selling their cars. Kevin and I are not sure what to do about that either!

Oh, and one last side note for Emily (and anyone else wondering)... It is difficult to "drop by" and see someone if their gate is locked (which they always are) and if they don't have a buzzer (I think you can tell from the pictures which types would have buzzers and which don't!). I tried that with a family once, and so I was never able to stop by and say hello. Granted, if I had a cell phone, I could have called them. In the summer it will be easier because people's doors and windows will be open. But it is a rather funny thing to walk up to a locked gate without a buzzer and wonder how you are going to get in if they don't know you're there! Sometimes you end up waiting around for a bit... In our case, our lock has been painted over so many times that they actually just took out the lock, so we can't lock our lockless gate. How many times can I say "lock" in a sentence?