The hot sunshine was allowed in the kitchen just enough to give it a bright, cheery feel, without letting in the sharp heat that pounded into the Transylvanian countryside. My home in South Dakota had experienced an extra long winter, and so the coolness of the house was a welcome relief after my walk around the village, which was hot even for the locals.
A kitchen in Transylvania has a unique smell, especially Elizabeth’s kitchen. She is in her eighties, and so her kitchen has had a long time to accumulate the homey smells of coal and wood fires, pig lard, wine, garlic, muddy shoes, dill, and the usual mold that creeps into older homes. Today the smells of pastry dough and raw eggs were added to the mix, along with the wonderful feeling of excitement. Elizabeth’s grandson was coming home for the weekend. She carefully kneaded the pastry dough to just the right consistency while her forty-five year old daughter, Magda, mixed a chocolate syrup to add to part of the dough.
I stood in a corner and watched the two ladies expertly whisk together the scrumptious concoction, trying to stay out of their way. They encouraged me in their soft Hungarian voices to take the seat, but I had a better view standing. I always felt tall amongst them. At five feet six inches, I am the shortest in my family of tall Germanic Americans, of whom the shortest after me is five feet ten inches. Elizabeth was maybe five feet at the most, and Magda couldn’t have been more than five two.
Elizabeth asked in her whispering, aged voice something about the consistency of the dough and Magda answered equally as quietly. Their calm demeanor belied the excitement and nervousness that crackled in the air.
Soon Marta, Elizabeth’s elder daughter, came visiting and brought her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I was shooed out of the kitchen to go eat lunch with the younger generation while the three older women continued cooking. Rahela and I made some small conversation in Romanian about the grandson who would be returning soon while Sanda babbled in two-year-old delight and tried to fling our lunch around the room. Apparently the little girl found extreme delight in the mysterious substance of sour cream, and kept trying to mix her lunch into the main container with her small plastic spoon. She screamed with frustration when Rahela absent mindedly moved her hands away and relocated the container to a safer and unreachable spot on the table.
After the meal Sanda was taken to the bedroom for a nap and I returned to Elizabeth’s kitchen. Magda had yielded the cooking surface to Marta, who was rolling out a delicate dough and was sprinkling some kind of sweet cheese, nuts, sugar and unsweetened cocoa onto the surface before rolling it up into a kind of jelly role type pastry. I inched closer to the table when no one was looking and snatched a quick taste of the dough. Mmm, it was delicious!
Soon the smells of the baking pastry floated around the room and I was offered a sample of the finished product. I rolled my eyes in mock ecstasy and licked my lips, earning a satisfied chuckle from the chefs.
“Meshaysh feenom.” I said, raising my piece of pastry. The best translation I can give you of the Hungarian compliment is, “Excellent worthy of the legend.” A bit melodramatic perhaps, for a mere country kitchen’s pastry. But first off, you must understand that Hungarian is a poetic, melodramatic language. And second, Elizabeth and her daughters are just very good cooks. Worthy of legend.

College-isms

Since break is but a mere three days away, I figured I should post a dictionary on here for those I will be visiting, since apparently I have picked up on a few college colloquialisms. These phrases and idioms are most likely meaningless anywhere else besides my college campus, so if English is not your native language, don't say this anywhere but this college or to me. Hehe.

Boo-yah: An expression of exultation, triumph, victory. Can be said with pure rejoicing or as a snide condescending retort when one has defeated another in a debate. Also used as somewhat of a synonym to "Eureka"

woot woot: no, not 'woop woop'. It's WooT wooT. Or just wootwoot. A purely celebratory term. Generally used when discussing the completion of an assignment or a discovery of unexpected financial surplus.

I'm gonna tell Al: This refers to Dr. Albert Mohler, the president of our college and the rising star soon suspected to take the place of Reverend Billy Graham. Being American college students and somewhat full of ourselves, we joke that we all know the Mohler family personally and are 'their favorite.' Any behavior we find shocking, innapropriate, or even just silly, we threaten to tell our dear President.

Whoa, are you speaking in tongues?: Usually said when someone - generally an over fatigued person who is generally intelligent but due to over work and intense exams has lost their gift of speech - begins stuttering, stammering, spluttering, or babbling. Or when a students begins showing off and talking in their second or third language. Since we have a lot of Missions-minded kids here, or children of missionaries and foreign students, and most of us have respectable tempers that cause us to splutter from time to time, this phrase is used often.

Ring by spring: This is a campus that is very pro-matrimony. As of this moment, there are seventeen couples getting married this december from this campus, and more getting married in the summer. The student body is around 800. Therefore, the joke is that when one comes here, one can expect the "Ring by Spring" scholarship. That is, buying or receiving but ultimately deserving a marriage ring by the beginning of summer at the latest.

Seminarian: A student currently enrolled in the Seminary ajoined to our campus who is desperate for a spouse. This is not to be confused with a Seminary Student, an entirely different breed altogether. Seminarians can be distinguished from Seminary students by the fact that they are usually male targeting College students, who walk around with guitars and recite poetry or write songs. These songs are rehersed on unsuspecting female college students who unwittingly decided to enjoy the weather and study outside. The best plan when dealing with Seminarians is never travel alone and avoid the benches strategically placed all over campus like the plague. Seminarians love it when college students sit down at these benches, leaving a wide space for them to plant themselves. Usually the Seminarians will attempt conversation by asking "if there are any brothers in Christ you'd like prayer for"

Well, he IS BTS: BTS refers to Biblical and Theological Studies majors. They are immersed in theology and doctorine, and usually cannot help but spout some newly-aquired gem of wisdom about these subjects in their discussions. A good time of year to avoid them is mid term and also finals week. Other than that they are very pleasant people, as long as you can avoid any controversial subjects in doctorine or theology. Female BTS students are entirely different, as they are few and far between and have won the admiration and support of most other females on campus for venturing into a male-dominated major.

She's missions: Also refers to a major on campus, the International Missions major. Apparently we are the "Mission Impossible" crowd, the dearly beloved, much needed but slighty (or severely) eccentric branch of the family. Appreciated, but not always acknowledged in public. Apparently the ladies in the major are viewed as incapable of wearing skirts above the knee with hose and heels as it goes against their genetic make-up. This department is the one that is always expected to consume the unwanted or overly spicey food and enjoy it, and kill any bugs that invade the area without complaint. Again, it is supposed by students in other departments of study that this is merely part of the Missions Majors genetic make up.

That's all for now. Fellow college students from my campus, feel free to email me and let me know if I've gotten any definitions wrong or if I've forgotten any.

Cheers,
~Princess Ouch~

Martin Luther King Jr's Dream

I am probably going to be getting emails about this article too. However, you must bear in mind that I'm an international Missions major at a conservative Christian college, and this is how we think about things.

God bless the USA!

~Princess Ouch~

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream for the American Church
What the election says about our progress and decline.
by Skye Jethani

Amazing. How else can you describe what happened last week when Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States? However you voted, whatever your politics, the election reveals something about the progress of our society. As George W. Bush said the morning after the election, it "showed a watching world the vitality of America's democracy and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union."

Amid the reflections there have been numerous references to Martin Luther King Jr.'s pioneering civil rights movement and his "dream." One Chicago news commentator on election night said the day King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he could not have known that a two year old boy in Hawaii would become the fulfillment of his dream. That got me wondering—is Barack Obama really the fulfillment of King's dream?

I've been fascinated by Martin Luther King Jr. since seminary—not just as a civil right leader, but as a preacher. In 1967 he told a Chicago congregation, "Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment." It's King's powerful prophetic proclamation of the gospel into our American reality that I've been drawn to. It is only within this larger calling that we can make sense of his civil rights work. For King, combating the injustice of segregation and Jim Crow fell under the umbrella of gospel proclamation.

I've read a number of books about King including his autobiography (which I highly recommend), King Came Preaching by Mervyn A. Warren, and right now I'm reading
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The book contains a sermon he preached early in his career titled, "Paul's Letter to American Christians." Showing his creative communication, King composed a modern day epistle in the voice of Paul both praising and warning the American church.

The letter is a glimpse into the values and convictions of MLK, and it might be surprising to discover that his focus isn't just racial justice. In fact, he frames the letter by contrasting the scientific progress of America with its moral decline. I was struck by how Dallas Willardian King sounds. He says,

"It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress ….Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make it a brotherhood."
King then warns against giving one's loyalty to the country:

"Your ultimate allegiance is not to the government, not to the state, not to nation, not to any manmade institution. The Christian owes his ultimate allegiance to God, and if any earthly institution conflicts with God's will it is your Christian duty to take a stand against it."
That's a timely word as many Christians (black and white) find themselves pouring their hopes (or fears) into President elect Obama. Where is our hope? Where is our loyalty? Where is our allegiance? No doubt Martin Luther King Jr. would be celebrating the election of Barack Obama, but his dream transcended any single leader, any one nation, and any earthly power.

King's epistle to the Americans goes on to diagnose the dangers of materialism:

"I am afraid that many among you are more concerned about making a living than making a life. You are prone to judge the success of your profession by the index of your salary and the size of the wheelbase on your automobile, rather than the quality of your service to humanity."
How many of our churches need to hear that message today? This is where King reveals his prophetic gifting most clearly. Many today assume that MLK was a single-issue preacher; always railing against racial injustice. Nothing could be farther from the truth. King's commitment to the gospel illuminated all kinds of sins within the American church, and while we've clearly made progress on the racial front I wonder if we haven't fallen deeper into the grip materialism.

MLK does include a lengthy section in his epistle about disunity within the church—a topic also important to Paul two millennia ago. He denounces competition between denominations as well as racial segregation. This sermon includes his famous remark about 11am Sunday morning being the most segregated hour of the week. In response King also outlines his belief in non-violence and the conviction that love stands "at the center of the cosmos." And then we discover these amazing words about the purpose of life:

"I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may."
So, I'm left with this question: What was Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream? And was it fulfilled last week when Obama won more than 270 electoral votes?

The election of an African American to the White House certainly fulfills part of MLK's dream. He wanted to see a society where people would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. Obama, who described himself earlier this week as a "mutt," gives all of us with a mixed racial heritage and a funny name hope.

But MLK dreamt of so much more than simply an African American president. He wanted to see an America as morally good as it is technologically advanced. He hoped to see a society that valued people more than things; life more than making a living. And he longed for a community of Christians who valued God's will ahead of personal comfort. To see these elements of King's dream fulfilled we're going to need more than presidents—we're going to need a new breed of gospel preachers.
Skye Jethani is the managing editor of Leadership and a teaching pastor at Blanchard Alliance Church in Wheaton, Illinois.