APRIL NEWSLETTER
CHAPTER 2 ½
from
Lisa Brannack
LCMS Missionary
Serving in
Home Congregation:
“Life is what happens while you’re making plans. All that you need is right here in your hands.” This line is taken from a contemporary song. She sings on, “When you’re lonely and your heart aches, it’s gonna take a little time~ to make it to the other side. So don’t miss the diamonds along the way…every road has left us here today.” And in the end everything will be just fine.
When I was young (er), I spent the majority of my time making plans, and then making plans for the future plans that needed to be made… My life was little piles. Piles of stuff completed (that was much smaller), and piles of stuff for me “to do” (big, heaping piles). Needless to say, just looking at “my life” was exhausting! (Not to mention living it) How could I just trust that God would lead me in the right direction? (Smiling) That’s what we call a big dose of faith. And yet, if I were so smart I could have found this similar advice in the Bible long before I heard that song.
“Trust in the Lord with all your
heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
him, and he will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6
Despite the many zillion times I’ve disappointed Him with my choices in life I’ve always known I was standing on Jesus’ shoulders. And then when I think about what Jesus has done for me, I’m astonished that I am even alive! So, as I look at my favorite picture on my wall of a narrowing road, sandwiched between a two rows of bare trees, the road becomes faded away with fog, but I just know something fantastic is beyond what I can’t see. All I need is to trust that God will make my path clear.
I have spent a great deal of time reading the other missionaries newsletters. They are chock-full of spiritual goodness. And what Good News! And then I look at my experiences, and it simply depicts the smile of a happy missionary having (a lot of) fun. So, I began to look closer at the picture on my wall…
“…In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…” Isaiah 30:15 (in part).
And although I’m not completely clear why
God called me to
INTRODUCTION
I knew that it would take a little time to get used to living in another country. It’s inevitable that there will be changes. But today when I woke up I looked outside at the beautiful morning sky. The people were bustling to get to work or where ever they needed to go, the birds were chirping, there was lots of commotion and talking outside my room, but I lay silent. Then, without restraint I started to cry. You know the kind where your face scrunches up and every wrinkle between your eyebrows pops out and you look really ugly. That kind. Just great. And I’m at the age where a little incident like this will leave a mark… Yes, everyone will notice my eyes and ask if I want a receipt with those bags. I had been feeling as though I needed answers and was looking for something that was right in front of my face. No, not my glasses~ the reason God chose me to teach here at Berzsenyi. I needed black and white and the frustration was overwhelming! At present, these kids see a goofy, yet intellectual teacher who laughs all the time and enjoys being a Christian. So, as I shrug my shoulders (well, one~ the other one hurts from softball), and say the jury is still out on God’s “definitive purpose” for my stay. In the meantime, I think I’ll laugh some more. It feels great to be needed and wanted.
COLLEAGUES
I had a devotion/ get-together a few weeks
ago and asked Ria, Audrey, and Kati to come.
It was so much fun to be in my flat, having a little girl party! We sat on the floor and laughed and shared a
bit about ourselves. Those girls are
really awesome. Recently I went to IKEA
(in
SCHOLASTICS
I have just fallen in love with these kids. They are so bright, smart, and sweet. However, early this month the spirit of Easter was dampened for me because I was locked IN the dorm for several days. No one else was here but me and they wanted me safe (of course). I did have a key, but what a drag being the only person in a huge building! On a bright note however, on “Easter Monday” I was sprinkled with perfume my some of the students that stopped by the Kollegium. The Hungarians have this cute little tradition of “sprinkling” the girls with perfume and water as a sign that spring is coming and everything is growing and becoming fresh. But, if you have sensitive skin, like me, being doused in strong perfume on your head and letting it pour down your face is a total zit breakout just waiting to happen!
I confess that I get a charge out of the looks on the students’ faces when I catch them doing something they shouldn’t. For example, I took one of my 12th grade classes to the tea haz. It’s become quite a ritual for this class to go to this special tea haz. So instead we decided to go to the tea haz we infrequently visit because we were certain this one student who was skipping class would think we went to our “usual” tea haz. Sure enough as we were sitting at a table, he walked in. I just looked at him, smiled, and said, “busted!” The kids just loved that! But then I spent twenty minutes explaining how busted could be used in that context…
I attended a concert by the
And oh!
Not to get too superficial but I really need to comment on the
weather. Snow in April? One day it was 70 degrees and I was
hot-flashing in the teacher’s szoba; the very next day I’m being blown away by
the bitter cold and WIND.
On a light note, Jenny has recruited me to
be on the
Basketball: a.k.a Floor Hockey, is yet another sport Jenny convinced me to “try.” Needless to stay, I will need padded kneepads for next practice because I spent the majority of my time facedown on the floor. I was a cheerleader, swimmer, and volleyball player in high school (which was a long time ago). And at a generous 5’3”, I can tell you that I really don’t know why I agree to involve myself in such self-deprecating activities. Everyone that plays “basketball” is at least a foot taller than me, and can dribble the ball andrun at the same time. I simply try and steal the ball and run between their legs. Hence, all the contusions on my knees, arms, and elbows. Getting out of bed is now painful for me. I am so banged up I hurt just breathing!
Monthly trivia~ the two things Hungarians are never without: tissues for the invariable runny nose and a plastic bag from Tesco. True!
Please continue to pray that He shows me the way and fills me with the Spirit to say exactly what I need to say at the right moment. I know that all I need is right here in my hands because He is holding mine. My greatest concern right now is that I really MISS Sundays. There are only services in Hungarian or German and I am feeling so spiritually starved.
I miss my congregation terribly. I miss Jerri-Lynn and Nancy. I even miss the near-fatal drive to church with Jerri-Lynn every week, and somehow laughing hysterically at the fact she tries her very best to kill me every time I get in her car. I’ve never been able to look at another Fed-Ex truck the same... But mostly, I miss our daily devotions. And I miss the looks in church we get~ behaving like a couple of twelve year-olds! I remember one day looking at her impressive library of books, pared down from like 3,000, and saw this one book entitled “Who’s Who in the Bible.” I was interested because I am in several of these books for academics, nursing, and law. I asked, “Whoooa. Are you in that?” I could really believe it because Jerri-Lynn really knows the Bible. She looked at me in disgust and said, “Ah, no. People like Abraham and David are in that book.” Yet she laughed so hard I think she wet her pants. Thelma, I’m lost with you~ Love, Louise.
I miss
Pastor Paul’s sermons while his daughter, Miriam, is snuggled on my lap. I miss the morning walks to Starbuck’s with
I really miss my family and my little dog, Max. My father, Michael Brannack, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and needs God’s healing touch. My dad needs to feel comforted and safe. Only Jesus can do that so please pray for him.
My Uncle Bob accepted a buy-out package from GM, and is now feeling lost and looking for work. Please pray that God will lead him to the exact place he needs to be, and of course, that he is comforted and knows everything will be okay.
I would
like to thank Ms. Marie Wolfram and The Calvary Lutheran Church in Wood Dale,
Tanar Brannack, Lisa
Berzsenyi Daniel Evan Gimnazium
Szechenyi Ter 11
H 9400
My website is www.geocities.com/lbrannack
I encourage you to visit my website because
I have pictures, my newsletters, and a guest book for those who wish to contact
me. I am very proud of it because one of
my students, Adam Graf developed it. He
recently won a website competition here in
Vislat’ for now.
In Him,
Lisa