Ippistle 3 Aug. 2

Ippistle (3) August 2, 2008
Jack and Cindy Ippel


Dear Friends,

We are halfway through our training here in Pasadena. The last two weeks have been packed with training sessions. On Monday through Friday each week we had six or seven sessions daily on teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), Hungarian culture, TeachOverseas expectations, vocabulary lessons, and practicum (student teaching) each evening. It seems like the whole day is gearing up for the teaching session at night. Each of us in the Central Europe group (18 new teachers) teachs a forty-minute session two nights out of three. The greatest benefit of the training has been to get the training in TEFL. After this orientation I will be a certified TEFL teacher. Another huge benefit was been getting to know these other teachers, and especially our partner at Trefort, Scott Tiedeman. We have enjoyed our new and growing friendship with Scott and look forward to working with him.

Today is a day to relax. Cindy attended an optional self defense class this morning, while I tried to iron out some computer problems. After lunch we went with another couple to the Los Angeles Arboretum. We really enjoyed the time, although 90+ degrees discouraged us from walking some extra trails. Tomorrow we will worship with all the TeachOverseas teachers, then hike over to Eaton Canyon Natural Area for some hiking and geocaching.

I hope to update our blog more frequently. Today I posted a picture of the Trefort Team. Here’s the address (make it a favorite): www.hopeinhungary.blogspot.com
For you facebook people, there are and will be additional pictures posted by others.

We have a prayer concern, and I’ll start with a quiz question: What are the Schengen States? We had never heard of this until Thursday when we found out that our visas are caught up in red tape. The Schengen States are thirty-some European countries that will, among other things, allow for freer passage from one country to another that is in the group. Hungary became a part of this group at the beginning of the year, and many of the visa rules have changed. We are gathering bank statements, marriage certificate (which Stacie Post had to search for in our files at 123 Park Street), and insurance statements. So we will be entering Hungary with thirty-day provisional visas. Please pray that this process gets ironed out for the Hungary team.

Thanks again for your care for us! Here is our Hungarian word of the week: viszontlatasra = until we meet again.

For Him

Jack and Cindy