New Experiences

Christkindlmarkt

The traditional Christmas Market of Vienna is a sight to behold.  It is an assortment of food, decorations, and gatherings that happens from the middle of November until Christmas Day.  We had so much fun wandering through the market.  We sampled new foods like KartoffelPuree, potato patties made from mashed potatoes, and spicy wurst wrapped in croissant-like bread.  We also had some roasted chestnuts.  Never had a roasted chestnut, not a tradition in Texas, but surprisingly enjoyed them.  Sweet flavor.  The desserts called krapfen, giant filled doughnuts, were a big hit at our house.  Overall, a wonderful experience that we will treasure forever.

Snowfalls

We experienced our first and second snowfalls this week in Vienna.  The first snow fell and we played in it making snowballs to our hearts content.  A second snowfall, even more than the first, would have closed schools in Texas but not in Austria.  We trudged through the snow to school and had a great time keeping the kids from eating the snow and sliding around the streets of Vienna.  Freezing temperatures have kept the snow around and we have enjoyed seeing it for days now.  The girls came home tonight to have a snowball/ice war in the backyard in the dark.  What other choice do you have when the sun goes down at 4 o'clock!  Great times.

Thanksgiving

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever." - Psalm 118:1

The spirit of thankfulness, as Pastor Tom Mason of Grace Church in Vienna says, is deeply biblical.  Abel's offerings to David's Psalms demonstrate how we as His creations should show thankfulness to God for all He has given us.  We can be so ungrateful towards God especially when we look at our circumstances, trials, failures, and frustrations.  When our focus is solely on ourselves, His provision seems so removed from the daily grind.  It's when we lose ourselves, we gain heavenly eyesight to see how He orchestrates our entire existence especially our dependence on Him alone.  So in this week of grateful thanks, allow me to mention some of the things He has done.

• Salvation - the greatest gift anyone can receive
• His Spirit - for guidance, comfort, and more.
• His Plan - not completely reveled which keeps us dependant
• Debt - freedom - owing only Him is the only way to live!
• A new place to live - on the mission field in Europe, serving Him daily with teens and adults from all over the globe
• Places to serve - ICSV and Grace Church, Vienna
• Weight reduction - changes in diet, more exercise by walking everywhere = 2 dress sizes less for Channon and really, baggy clothes for me!
• Our kids - even though transitioning continues to be tough, they are doing better than we expected and we can see God's mercy and power through each of them.

"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.  I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people." - Psalm 116:12-14

This week of Thanksgiving, I pray that you refocus your eyes on Him so that He can show you how He is working in you and help you to be more thankful for all He is and provides for you!

The Unknown God...Jesus

As I sit to write tonight, I am reminded of Acts 17 when Paul was in Athens.  He noticed all of the statues to the gods of the Greeks finding them to have many, even one to an unknown god.  Using that, he witnessed to them sharing the truth of Jesus and the redemption found in only Him.  ICSV shares some commonalities with Athens.  Students from every populated continent sharing a small space in time, hungry for a god to meet them where they are and worshipping any god that can fulfill that desire.  Some are gods of drink, music, social life, religion, and fame. All are empty, silent destroyers of the soul save one.  Jesus, the Son of God, Author of life, Redeemer of Mankind.  And His name is being taught and proclaimed daily to a religiously diverse and searching student body. 

Each has heard John 14:6 proclaiming Jesus as the only way and many are questioning their "faith" in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikh, and more as the truth is penetrating the shadows of the enemy seeking to save those who are lost. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 says we were made not for impurity but for holiness.  We find that holiness in Christ alone, being able to live lives devoted to Him and His gospel.  Every day, I have the chance to affect a life for Christ.  Every day I can make a difference in eternity.  Carpe AEternum - Seize Eternity...the phrase still impacts me today as when I heard it this summer in NY.  The big picture rather than just the daily monotony of life.  Every Christ follower can affect eternity by sharing their faith with those around them.  Intentionally, we should live our lives as "imitators of God" so that they may "know Christ and the power of his resurrection".

Please pray for the students who are making decisions daily for Christ.  A student from an atheist background, a Sikh who has just added Jesus to the list of gurus, others who are struggling with family beliefs and Jesus.  Pray that His voice will be clearer and His light will shine brighter bringing each into salvation and eternity with Christ.

Free "Fall"in'

Junior Event

The Junior Class hosted a dinner event for the parents and public that served as a fundraiser for ICSV and their Prom.  Great entertainment and food created a wonderful event that ministered to the needs of adults and students alike.  Laughter and fellowship was enjoyed by all and the evening was an awesome success.

Fall Festival

One of the two big events at ICSV!!  This event is a huge blast as students and parents are treated to a carnival atmosphere with an awesome presentation by the ICSV Choirs.  Kids had their faces painted, fishing for treats, seed spitting, and more.  The night was a huge outreach that allowed the staff to get to know kids and parents in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Great Moments of ministry and fun. The kids are still talking about this night and how much fun it was.

The Insyders and Good Weather Forcast

It's not very often that our students are treated to private concerts, but when an opportunity arises like this no one could say no.  On tour in Europe, The Insyders, a Christian Ska band from America, came to Vienna to perform for our school.  They are touring with a German group called Good Weather Forecast this summer taking the message of Christ to teens all over Europe.  Great music and messages were delived to our student body in ways that we the staff could never do.

Please pray for the seeds that have been planted in so many hearts because of these wonderful events and individuals. Students from atheist backgrounds and other religions are searching as never before into the truth that is in Christ.  Pray as we continue to water these seeds that some might grow into salvation and a revival at ICSV.

Falling thru Fall

Whomever said blogging was the best way to communicate with people especially across the ocean should be ...well you know what I mean to say.  I can't decide which is better Facebook or blogging.  Still I am going to try and make our blog a weekly thing beginning today.  I apologize for it not being so frequent but it's been a crazy month.  Here let me explain...

We have attended some awesome school events over the last month.  From CoffeeHaus to Culture Night, Junior Event to Fall Festival, we have experienced great food, opportunities to build relationships, and laughter.

CoffeeHaus

CoffeeHaus is an outreach ministry that is designed to help ICSV students bring friends into a non-threatening environment to learn about Christ.  The nights are full of fun and laughter and sharing the freedom and love of Christ with everyone.  Lots of coffee, music, and this particular night was game night.  We played board games and laughed for hours with kids who would never go to church or get near a "Christian" event.  Through this one event, I've the opportunity to build some great relationships with some of my non-Christian students.  Looking forward to the next one.

Culture Night

Our son, Nathan, is in the 5th grade here at ICSV.  Each year, their teacher Ms. Stevens puts on a Culture Night for the parents of her students.  Each student brings some food from their own culture to share with everyone, and the students put on a skit about culture.  We took Nathan's favorite dessert which is an Oreo Cookie Cake.  We sampled some great dishes from all over the world including curry, South Korean noodles, and Venezuelan bread/biscuits.  It was an awesome night getting to know Nate's classmates and their parents. 


Table decorations made by the 5th graders



Culture Skit

  

My Classes

Teaching to international students (6 out of 7 continents of people) has been rewarding and challenging.  English is a second language to most of them which can really present difficuties in the classroom.  Common phrases we say without thinking cause my students great confusion.  And while they're trying to figure out my English, they miss the concept I'm trying to teach, the more valuable information.  I've had to explain addition/subtraction of positive and negative numbers to my Pre-Algebra kids so many times because they do not understanding me, my sayings, or methods.  Geography takes on a whole new adventure with non-American children.  No "USA, all the way" mentalities, upbringings, and background.  Making comparisons to anything they know is a challenge because they lack common backgrounds.  A child who has never lived in a democracy or a child who has lived in a country with military threats all around them or a child who is more concerned if their country will survive the next tsunami all have different views about what is important in government and culture.  It is always interesting to see the different "take" these students have on the world around them.
I'm learing that God provided so much of the training I needed for this over the last two years at MISD.  I thought half of that SIOP stuff was worthless then.  Now, I use it everyday here.


 I'll add more about the Junior Event and Fall Festival later this week.  For now, let's just say "we've only just begun..."...My only Carpenters memory.  Man, I feel old.