For those of you who were praying in 2011...

www.jessbuchanan.com

Many of you were praying for my friend Jess, who was kidnapped in Somalia in October 2011.  After 93 days she was rescued.  It was just over a year ago, and now she is sharing her incredible story.  Her book comes out tomorrow.  You can see interviews on multiple media sources this week.

60 Minutes: The Rescue of Jessica Buchanan

NPR: 'Impossible Odds' Details Aid Worker's Rescue From Somalia

Jess has been overwhelmed by the support and prayers from around the world.  Thank you for your thoughts!  Her husband and her are very grateful, as are her family and friends.  This is beyond words when it's someone you actually know.  Some one I laughed with, cried with, and drank too much wine with.  Jess and Erik, you are amazingly strong!  This sounds so cliché, but I can't think of a more fitting truth: Nothing is impossible with God.  I think God has big plans for the Landemalm family!

9 people and a baby

That's the number of people we've had staying at our house the last two nights.  Although we have a big flat, it's never held 12 people at once before.  On the couches, floors, and even the terrace.  People were sleeping everywhere.  But what a joy it's been to be a guest house again!

When Will and I were first married, he ran a volunteer house in Kenya.  After two months of being married we had 25 people living with us.  I spent the summer tagging along to volunteer projects, cleaning, and helping cook for everyone.  One Kenyan white woman, who was our neighbor, told me I was a very accommodating wife, with cynicism in her voice.  The truth is, I loved it.  I loved doing it with Will.  I loved hosting people.  I loved all the interesting conversations with people from all over the globe.  I loved being able to provide a home (even for a short time) for others.

And here we are again.  When some good friends asked to bring their mission team through Budapest and shack up with us, it felt like old times.  Come on over!  Today a bit of nostalgia emanates from the house as people sit on couches and floors eating breakfast.  This was the reason we chose this big flat.  This... and the terrace, of course.

Hungary in the news

The latest headlines...

Hungary's parliament approves new rules restricting public use of swastika, red star

Pedal power: Budapest's bustling bike culture

Large crowd protests anti-Semitism in Budapest

And the World's Best Jump Roper - Adrienn Banhegyi

To Market, To Market...

... to buy some fresh fruits.

  

Home again, home again...

... to plant the garden.

Being an expat

Being an expat is being surrounded by another culture,
But never belonging to it.

Being an expat is navigating another language,
But never mastering it.

Being an expat is learning to shop by look and feel,
And having a collection of foods you didn't mean to purchase.

Being an expat is trying new foods,
And developing a taste for them.

Being an expat is an excuse to travel,
And taking advantage of every holiday.

Being an expat is making new friends,
From Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Being an expat is searching for that one product from home,
And finding a better option here.

Being an expat is making mistakes,
And learning to say bocsánat, pole sana, sorry.

Being an expat is learning to laugh,
Mostly at yourself.

Being an expat is learning about your own culture,
The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Being an expat is learning to accept differences,
And realizing we are all similar.

Being an expat is like learning to ride a bicycle,
You'll eventually learn to balance.

Being an expat is sometimes a battle,
But more often an adventure.

Being an expat is not for everyone,
But it's definitely for me!