Becky and the girls

London

This May, we got to see the fulfillment of our dreams: to take our English students on a special trip where they could truly test their speaking skills. After two years of covid “ruining everything!” (as Brandy put it well), we got to dust off our passports and pack our bags for adventure. Ruth and Maggie both got to go, and we had a wonderful time!

Becky, Beáta, and Csilla

A highlight of this adventure was when in St. Paul’s Cathedral, they said the Lord’s Prayer—and my students knew the words because of my lessons!

Language exams

An even greater milestone was the success of our language exams this year. Through the White Cross funds, we were able to pay for English language exams—almost $5,000. These funds provided great relief for the families of our students. And wonderfully, all of our 8^th graders in the bi-lingual program passed some level of exams, meeting and exceeding our expectations. Seven even passed the C1 level! This is an unusual achievement even for adults, and unheard of for 15-year-olds. This gave us the official declaration of what we’ve already known: our bi-lingual program is a success. It works. It has taken us eight years to build this program, and Ruth’s class were the pioneers we experimented with. We are so thankful. The head of our language program is a believer, and we thanked God together for the miracle he’s let us be a part of!

Ruth’s 8th-grade Graduation

But as a mom, the biggest event was celebrating Ruth’s graduation. I’ve taught her and her classmates for eight years, and now they will move on to bigger and better things! The end of primary school marks a step into adulthood for Hungarian teens, similar to a quinceñeara or bar mitzvah. Most small towns don’t have high schools, so the kids commute OR live in dormitories like college kids! The high school acceptance is quite a process, including difficult entrance exams. We are incredibly excited that Ruth was accepted to the Körősi Csoma Sándor Baptist Bi-Lingual High School in Budapest. Please continue your prayers as our oldest baby girl makes this big transition.

Ruth (center) and her classmates serenaded the teachers on the evening of the last day of school. This is a Hungarian tradition, and it was very touching.

Ruth is growing in to a beautiful, strong young woman. Thank you for all of your prayers as she has been growing up on the mission field.

Larry

Serbia

Larry made one more trip to Serbia in June before we left. He invited the church out for pizza and ice cream.

A couple of our dearest friends from Serbia, Margit and Teri, enjoy their ice cream

And got to see our dear friend, Alex, the young man who had heart surgery a few years ago. He is growing like a weed!

FAMILY TIME

In July, we were very blessed to have our whole family together for the first time since 2018. Both of our sons and their families came and spent the 4^th of July week with us. Look how big we are!