Here's Anne and some of the other women folk who ran in the half marathon around the lake at Halstatt. Way to go ladies! 

Where'd you go?

To the funny farm.


OK, so nothing's been added recently. No excuses really - just haven't done it. Oh wait, I have a good one, our hard drive broke and had to be replaced. That's actually true. :)

So, we only have something like 9 days of school left! Yipppeeee!! Summer should be great. We're going to take a German class during June, do a few things to help prepare for the new staff coming in August, go to the U2 concert in July, and visit the USA for a few weeks. Most of that time we'll be in Michigan for a family reunion. But there will be a time for visiting but I'm not sure what day yet. Somewhere around mid July when you can come over to Bob and Meg's in Indianapolis, see a few pictures, remember what we look like, and maybe score on a little Austrian chocolate or something.

And since it's bed time right now, I'll just mention the other news - next year I (Chris) am going to have a new job at Vienna Christian School. Instead of teaching I'm going to be the finance dude. I think the official name is business manager or CFO - which sounds pretty big and intimidating. I'm really looking forward to it though. More on that another time.

Guten Nacht

faith comes by hearing

I've recently been challenged by this verse...

Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I want to grow in my depth of scripture so my faith will be strengthened. Then I will be able to see the things that God is doing in my students' lives, in my life, and in the lives of people around me. I've also been challenged to not just read the Bible to "study" it, but to just soak it in. To read and put the pieces together like a huge puzzle that is ever-growing.

Quotes from Fourth Graders

Here are some quotes from my precious fourth graders. They never cease to amaze me with their innocence and vulnerability. I have always only heard of kids saying things like this, but it's real in my class. I believe it now! I just prayed with my good friend Jana this morning that we would have the faith to see the things God is doing in our students, and that he would show us how worth it it is to teach kids about having a relationship with Jesus. Read on...

"God has to have better technology than we do, because our highest thought is not even as good as his lowest." Nathan

"I'm not really sure I'm a Christian. How can I know for sure?" Benedict

"I think that being a non-believer sounds really fun. You can argue and you won't know that sinning is wrong." Kiseok

"I have so may questions about the Bible. It's so weird to believe." Benedict

"I think God doesn't want me to have all the things I want because they might not be good for me." Wulf

I just added a link over on the right called "bruderhof". You might want to check it out. I was just referred to it by some friends here. We've been meeting together and talking about what does it mean to have "church". The people in bruderhof seem to have a very unique and Jesus-centered idea of community. Very interesting. :)

I've joined the dark side...

how about you???

Psalm 115

I just spent some needed time alone with God. It was good because I was reminded that his spirit is always with me. I have struggled with my attitude, feeling overwhelmed, selfish, feeling like I fall short, etc. over the past 8 months. This just felt like a much needed encouragement. I remembered a song I haven't sung in a long time based on Psalm 115. The words are:

Not unto us, not unto us

But to your name be all the glory and the praise

Because of your love and faithfulness

Be all the glory and the honor

All the worship and praise

All our deepest adoration

To your holy name we raise

All reverence and devotion

All blessing and power

Not to us but to your holy name be praise.

Thanks God, for sticking with me.

Not too long ago, Crispy was "Mystery Reader" for the 2nd grade class. He looked like this as he read the book "I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." They couldn't figure out who he actually was. Yes!!! 

Please Pray

I've been given a great opportunity in a relationship I have with a 7th grade student of mine. It's probably not necessary, but I'm going to call him Ronald instead of using his real name. Ronald is from a Muslim family but has been going to VCS for a few years. He's met with a few different teachers over the years to talk about the Bible, God, faith, etc. Well, he's asked to meet with me recently. Today was the 3rd time, during lunch.

He has great thinking questions, many based on what he's been taught or read about in a booklet he has that compares Islam and Christianity from a Muslim perspective. He asked me to read it over the next week or 2, so I plan to do that. Then we can discuss more things.

Today he also told me that he is stuck in the middle of Christianity and Islam. He hears a lot from both sides, but says he truly wants to know the truth. He also said every time he prays, he starts with asking God to show him what the right way is and that God would show everyone in the world the right way.

So please pray with me for "Ronald" and myself as I read this book and interact with him on these things. Dankeschoen!!!!!

Interesting Perspectives

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black
1. He called everyone "brother". 2. He liked Gospel. 3. He couldn't get a fair trial.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish
1. He went into His Father's business. 2. He lived at home until he was 33. 3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian
1. He talked with his hands. 2. He had wine with every meal. 3. He used olive oil.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian
1. He never cut his hair. 2. He walked around barefoot all the time. 3. He started a new religion.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish
1. He never got married. 2. He was always telling stories. 3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all--- 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food. 2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it. 3. And even when he was dead, He had to get up because there was more work to do.

Change of Plans

Well, I'm no longer going to be playing the piano for the musical Seussical. I'm a little bummed because I thought it would be a lot of fun. Turns out that I'm just not experienced in the area of accompanying and playing extremely rhythmic music, like in this musical. There is even more a difference between classical piano and that style than I thought. I'm just out of my league - and it would have taken me way too long to learn all 28 songs. So now, I and a couple other people are looking for a good pianist to fill in. Not so easy. I'd appreciate it if you asked asked God for some help with this. Danke :)

Recognize this shot? Well, I just watched Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock) for the first time. It's a really clever movie. I was hoping to be able to show this to my 9th grade class to help them with their interpretation skills. One problem - I was watching it on a tape that had been copied from TV. Right when the movie was just about over (Judy dressing up like Madeline), the movie cut to some old TV show Simon and Simon. UUUGGHHH! So I just had to look online to see what happened. No one really wants to say what happened on their websites, but I have an idea: First there was Madeline, then there was Judy posing to be Madeline, then it turns out that Madeline never existed. But I don't get how.... somehow. I'd like to see some more Hitchcock. 

Anne and Kiseok had tons of fun at the ice skating rink last Friday.  

Please come!

A HUGE blessing for us is that you all sacrifice your finances and prayers for us over here in Vienna.

Another really cool thing would be if you could come and see what your money and prayers are supporting! I really believe that a short week in Vienna (or anywhere where God's kids are being loved) will open your heart to God's love for people of the world!

If you're planning a vacation for the summer or fall, please think about coming to Vienna. Granted, school won't be in session in the summer, but we can do our best to introduce you to the life we live here and are privileged to experience because of you.

We appreciate YOU and want to share what we do with you. Please bring your family to Vienna!

Free Thinkers

Another Kiseok moment...

I mentioned today how the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years because they wanted to live life their own way and not follow God's way. They made dumb decisions, they kept going away from God. So, punishment came. Life in the desert, wandering, wandering, and more wandering.
Kiseok raises his hand as I finish telling this little story that related to the day's lesson on God's judgment, and says, "Mrs. Frank, those Israelites must have been free thinkers. Just like Abraham Lincoln. I'm reading a book about him, and there was an example when people were asking him if God was real. He was a free thinker."
Then he proceeds to make the connection between sin and "free thinking" and how we can think freely to make our own decisions, and often sin results from that.

Did I tell you I think he's a genius? I just really appreciate all the things he has to share and his sweet spirit about doing that. He's curious, so curious about EVERYTHING.

His parents are not believers, either, so if you think of them, pray for them. Mr. and Mrs. Kim. (I know everyone in Korea is named Kim, but still!) Mr. Kim is a diplomat in the Korean Embassy, and Mrs. Kim does a lot to help out around school. They have two boys: Kiseok in my class and Kiju in 5th grade. Both boys' lives have been changed by this school. They will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus because of what they have experienced here.

Cool? I think so!

Genetics?

During Bible this morning, we talked about the time when Noah's descendants built the Tower of Babel to try to reach God and worship Him that way. God punished them, though, because of their disobedience, by confusing all of their languages from one into many. Imagine in a moment you and the 10 other people you invited over for dinner speak 10 different languages. It may be funny, but it may be stressful, too, and your party may be quickly over. So, as we were talking about this, a question came from Kiseok, a Korean boy, that has been continually coming up in my class......

Kiseok's words:
"I get where all the worlds' languages came from, but where did all the worlds' skin colors come from?"

My students are obviously confronted with this daily, unlike most Americans, because V.C.S. is so international. I couldn't answer his question, but other students tried with answers like, "black people got black because they live closer to the equator." Not quite.
To figure this out, I looked on the internet for some answers. I found out that the answer lies in genetics. Aha! I took a genetics class in college...something good comes from my zoology degree from Miami University!
So I read and printed this article about the biblical history of skin color, and just spent a few minutes explaining to Kiseok a simple punnett square (genetics term). He loved it! He asked more questions, and wanted to keep the article. I think the kid is a genius.

I LOVE this job. Thank you for being faithful supporters so I can do this.

Well, this is really intended for a certain special someone. You know who you are. We saw this huge sign near our place and thought of you. :) 

Orange Party!!

If you want to see pictures of the Orange Party we had in combo with Anne's birthday, CLICK HERE.

Die Unglaublichen

Confused? Well, this is the German title for the movie The Incredibles. Anne and I saw it recently (in English) and really loved it. Clean, funny, and action-packed! I recommend it - and you can check it out right now!

Ready to go! 

Katie is coming! Katie is coming!

Our friend and Anne's old roomate, Katie, is coming to visit us tomorrow! She has been in India for the last year as a missionary, and is on her way home to the U.S. We are SUPER excited to see her and hear about her year there. Yahoo for visitors!

Take the hint....we want YOU to visit, too! We have a room all ready for you!

Long Day

So, generally Friday is pretty fun because we get to wear jeans and most everyone is in a better mood because the weekend is flirting with us. In my 9th grade Bible class, it was good. I mean, I actually had a student ask me a question about Psalm 20 on her own initiative!! That was encouraging. But on the lower side of things, PE was pretty much chaos. I had the middle school boys doing an indoors study hall since there was snow outside and because there is an elementary chapel going on which we would be pretty sure to disturb (where we need to go). So, maybe I made the wrong choice, because I had lots of ignoring me when I spoke, talking to each other, disobeying, punching eachother (in anger more than fun), kicking desks in anger, knocking over shelves with binders and books going everywhere, others laughing at the mad one, ripping papers and throwing things all over the place, etc.
I felt like I was being too gracious probably, but I still gave out 4 or 5 tallies (punishments/warnings), and had a few serious one-on-one discussions.
So, another teacher complimented me on my patience that was around for a little bit of it, but I still was pretty frustrated. I think I was on the edge of just giving detentions out like candy. I'm not sure if I maybe should have done that... there are always so many factors to situations like that, that make it more complicated. History.
Then after all of that chaos, Anne and I got work done after school, ate kebaps for dinner (a turkish gyro thing), and then went to the high school coffee house. It was a fun time of playing cards and talking and line dancing lessons. Well, I opted out of the dancing, but Anne was loving it. :)
After that - the usual ride home on the Strassenbahn and the UBahn. A little walking in the COLD (maybe 10 to 20 degrees F), and then in our apartment and straight to bed and sleeeep. A long day. whew!

Snow in Vienna

It snowed ALL day today! Yahoo! Huge flakes, too. I love watching it out my classroom window. Snow brings different challenges in Vienna, though, than it does in the Midwest. For one, we have no car, so we have to walk a lot in the snow. Secondly, the UBahns and strassenbahns run no matter what, therefore NO snow days. Sad news. Thirdly, they don't really plow here. You plow your own way. It's especially funny when you have to run through snow to get to the strassenbahn before it leaves without you. So, tomorrow I'm breaking out my boots no matter how dumb I'll feel in them. My feet will thank me because I have outdoor afternoon duty this week, which means I stand outside and watch kids play from 3:20 until 3:45, snow or no snow. EVERY kid at V.C.S. loves snow. I think that's cool, only when I'm not on duty. So it goes:).

I just had the 9th graders do an assignment of translating Psalm 1 into another language. For half of my students, they looked at the NIV and translated to their mother tongue. For the ones that English is their first language, they translated into "surfer" or "valley girl" or "cowboy" language. They've been spending a lot of time studying Psalm 1 in various ways, and I'm trying to help them focus a little more on interpretation right now.
I think it went over pretty well and most of the students read it outloud for the class. It was cool to hear the passage we all have been studying in so many different languages - Greek (modern), Shona (Zimbabwe), Malayalam (India), pidgin English, Indonesian, Sinhalese (Sri Lanka), Swahili, and German. I wish you could see some of the scripts that they use to write some of the languages - truly amazing that they write with such intricate and detailed and ornate lines and curls and stuff. Wow! :)

So it seems

that Annie has been quite the blogger recently. Way to go ACF!
I don't want to be left in the weeds - plus I have some things to say.
In just a minute....

Living Hell

You'd never imagine a blog title like this from a fourth grade Christian school teacher, huh? Well, life is not so predictable in Room 104 at Vienna Christian School.
I started a new novel with my class today called Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume. Hilarious book, if you haven't read it. No further were we past making predictions about the book from the cover and title when I asked my class what their thoughts were about having siblings, since the book deals a lot with 2 brothers and their relationship.
Gabe, a boy with a U.S. passport but who has grown up his whole life in Austria, immediately stood up, growled (no joke) and said, "it's HELL, LIVING HELL."
As you can imagine, I was shocked, while the rest of my class howled with laughter. I never expected this to come from his mouth, but in retrospect it might give me an idea of the realities of some kids' households, whether public or private, U.S. or foreign.
It's easy for me to laugh now because my student growled and yelled, but the truth is that Gabe's story is probably common among kids all over the world. Kids need love. That's why we're here.

Islam

This month we've been studying Islam in fourth grade. Interesting because I teach at Vienna CHRISTIAN School. It's part of our Social Studies curriculum, and it's paired with a study of the Middle East. I've been learning just as much as the kids!
We've learned biblical history of the Arab and Jewish nations, similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the five pillars of the Islamic religion. It's been really interesting, but the best part is when the kids begin to think out loud how this religion mixes with what we learn in Bible at V.C.S. and what most of their families believe. Today I was asked questions like....

Did people worship Jesus even though he was just a kid?
Which came first, creation or dinosaurs?
Where do animals go after they die?
Why should the Bible make sense for me if my name is not in it?
Don't Muslim people KNOW that what they believe is wrong?

These questions boggled my mind, but they led to interesting discussions about what means to share about Jesus with Muslim friends of ours, what heaven and hell will be like, and why Muslim and Jewish people don't believe in the New Testament because it makes so much sense to us.

Fourth graders are amazing. I am shocked daily by what they say and how they think about life and God. The other day Benedict asked me if Abraham was the hairy on the in Bible. I think he meant Esau. :)

Thank YOU for allowing me to teach them here. It's my favorite.

In Case

the link to the pictures that we sent in our email didn't work for you, you can click on this below. It should work.

Frank Fotos

Orange Party

Hey!

We're having an ORANGE PARTY tomorrow night for my birthday!

Yahoo! I'm so excited!

Fourth Grade Meets David Crowder

This week in fourth grade Bible we've been talking about how God made man in His own image, which means for them that God knew they would have freckles, be athletic, or have hazel eyes before they were ever conceived, and that when God looks at them, He must see some of himself too.
On Wednesday we talked about David, and how God planned all the days and events of David's life, and we recounted what we knew about David and read some in 1 and 2 Samuel, too. On that same day I told my class that in the Bible it tells of a time when David had such exploding love for God that he felt compelled to remove most of his clothes and dance in the streets while the ark of the covenant was being brought into the City of David (2 Sam. 6:12-16). 2 Samuel 6:14 says that "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might." As you can imagine, my ten year old studnets cringed at the though of David dancing in his underclothes in public, but after we moved beyond that, I explained to them the reason why. He loved his LORD so much that he was moved to dancing. I want to be like that, and opened the kids to that idea, too.
I then remembered a song by the David Crowder Band that fit this idea, so I brought it in today. The song goes like this...

I will dance, I will sing
To be mad for my King
Nothing, LORD, is hindering this passion in my soul
And I'll become even more undignified than this
Some may say it's foolishness
And it's all for you my LORD

The song repeats these words, and recounts that event I told my class about David dancing. I played that song for my class today, and they loved it so much we played it three times! My day is made when things like that happen. I teach for that reason. To see kids get excited about something true. David danced for God in his underclothes, and hopefully my fourth graders will be moved in that way, too.
Thanks for praying for them, and please continue to pray that God will open opportunities like He did today with that song, and that I will take each opportunity like that to better prepare my students for eternity.

Comings and Goings

Winter is a time at V.C.S. when lots of students come and go. It seems strange to leave or begin school halfway through the year, but it's a reality here in Vienna. Many of the students' parents are diplomats from their home countries to Austria. Therefore, they are not governed by the school calendar so much. This is specifically true for Korean families.
Many Korean families come to Vienna because one of the parents is a Korean judge. Korea has a program where they send judges to other countries for one year to study another country's judicial system with the intention to come back and better the Korean system. This exchange year begins each February.
I have a student who will be leaving V.C.S. February 1st. Her name is Jeong Eun, and her father is a Korean judge. She has learned proficient English during her year here, and she has made friends too. She will go back to Korea in a few weeks, where she will return to one fourth grade class of five in her school, where each class has between thirty and forty students. She told me today that she was sad to think about leaving Vienna and V.C.S.
I believe, because of Jeong Eun and other students, that V.C.S. leaves a special imprint on students' lives forever, regardless of whether they come for one year or ten years. It is truly a place where God is honored and the goal is to prepare kids for eternity along with preparing them for the next grade. Kids frown at the thought of going home each day, let alone leaving for what may be a long time like Jeong Eun. I'm really not joking, either. My students are sad to leave each day, because in this culture lots of kids live in apartments in the city and their friends live far away. There is little opportunity to just play with neighborhood kids like in the U.S.
So, all of this to say, it's sad to anticipate Jeong Eun leaving, but I'm trusting that God will go with her back to Korea, too, and bring new students for us to love here in Vienna.
Please pray for those students leaving and coming, that V.C.S. will hold a special place in their hearts and that they will trust Jesus with their lives because of what they experienced here.

New Units and Hot Cocoa Club

When January comes, it's a great time to begin new units with fourth graders, so this week we've begun many new things! We are studying the Islamic religion and culture along with the Middle East, and we're reading books about how to do and make things so we can then present some new skills we learn to the class. We even have parents coming in to do guest workshops next week. Hopefully this will motivate the kids to do their very best. So that's just an idea of what happens in fourth grade every week.
Just for the month of January as well we have Hot Cocoa Club. This is a time when students can enjoy a warm, fresh cup of hot cocoa from the U.S. if their behavior has been good that week. It's usually on Wednesday afternoons after recess. The kids really love it, but the only missing piece is falling snow outside. Unfortunately, we've only had flurries this year, and that was in November. Shucks. Hot cocoa is still worth it, and it spices up the January blues of being in school with no sight of spring yet.

Vacation

I guess we really took one. I mean, we had just over 2 weeks off for Christmas time, and we didn't write anything on our blog since Christmas Eve. Woah.
Now we're back and fresh into the new year. I guess that's not really such a big deal, cause so is everyone else - fresh into the new year.

Christmastime is here

and so are the Luginbills :)
It's been fun hanging out with Anne's family the last few days. And they've been flex, living in an apartment with us for this time. But it's not too cramped.
So, we were going to go to a castle tonight for a Christmas eve service in German - but we opted out of that just a couple hours ago. It would take about 45 minutes - an hour to get there, would last 1.5 hours in German (not so good for some of us that speak no German), and public transportation basically doesn't run anymore past 12:30am. So, we've decided to stay here.
We just ate a yummy dinner that Anne made - black bean casserole (except it was pinto beans), thanks to Mom for the recipe. Now, I'm not sure what we're going to do - maybe watch a movie, maybe open the "family gift".
Meg has done an impressive wrapping gifts - but we're waiting to have our Christmas until the morning of the 25th. Austrian tradition is to do that on Christmas Eve.

OK, so Fröhe Weinachten to all of you!!! (Merry Christmas/Happy Christmas)

Guess Who's Coming To Town?!?!?!?!

Nope - it's not Santa. It's Bono! He and his musical gang (AKA U2) are almost for sure stopping in Vienna to put on an amazing show in the first week of July!!! I'm super excited - want to join me? It's going to be at the Ernst Happel Stadion which is only a mile or 2 from where I live!! Perfect walking distance so I don't have to try to ride the bus or something along with 50 to 70 thousand other people. 

Looky here!! It's our Christmas tree! There's even a few presents for some of our lucky viewers. All you have to do is swing by our place to pick it up. See ya then. :) 

Wierdo, I guess

Anne and I were just riding on the U-Bahn (subway). There was an older couple sitting across from us and he was looking at me in the "normal" Austrian way. Just kind of observing me - not a big deal. I was checking him out too, cause he had this interesting ear warmer thing on with a big Edelweiss flower on it. After 5 minutes or so, he said a few things to his wife which I didn't try to understand. I just noticed he had a strong Viennese dialect - which is very different than the "high German" taught in schools in Germany and Austria.
Then, 1-2 minutes before we were getting off, this guy started talking to me. Honestly, I couldn't understand really anything he was saying. Normally, I can pick up 50-75% of what people say, and at least a little if they speak the Vienna dialect. But with this guy - gar nichts (nothing at all). He started getting more and more worked up with whatever he was talking about and then was talking to me and Anne. He wasn't asking us questions, but just kept right on talking while his wife just ignored the whole situation. It became sorta funny because he just kept right on going eventhough we said nothing - just sorta nodded our head like we understood. After all that, there was a lull in his talking and it was time for us to get off the U-Bahn, so I said to Anne that we needed to get off (in German). We got off and I don't know if that guy even knew that we didn't understand what he was saying at all.
Anne and I were sorta stunned and wondered what he was saying. I told her that the only words I picked up were "explosion" and "Russia", and maybe something like "down here". He seemed pretty upset about whatever that was - maybe something to do with WWII, since Russia occupied Austria then and supposedly were not nice to the Austrians.

Maybe that whole story was boring to you, but it sure was amusing to us. :)

Why do they argue?

Those 7th graders - well not all of them... but it sure is frustrating when they do. They have little logic, and what logic they do have they over-use. Then in this case they refuse to listen and interrupt over and over. Uuuuggghh.
Ok, so that's my frustration for the day, but it's Friday and I have a couple days off! Tonight is the elementary Christmas program at VCS, and it's bound to be entertaining. Anne is leading the 3rd-5th graders in reciting Luke 2 with hand motions. :)

An Indiana Minute

Whew! I just returned home about an hour ago from spending the quickest weekend of my life in Indiana! I went home last Thursday for my friend Heather's wedding in Indianapolis. Heather and I have been friends since high school, so it was great to be a part of her big day. I stayed at my parents' house and ate a yummy Dairy Queen heath bar blizzard in my few minutes of non-wedding free time. I also hit Target, Old Navy, and the grocery for a few goodies we miss. And I saw all of my grandparents. Cool. Ooh, the blessings of America. I realized, too, how thankful I am to have the opportunity to live in Austria and teach kids, which I LOVE. Despite the things that are different and annoying, I'm excited to be back in Vienna. I think I'm moving out of the major part of the transition experience that has plagued us over this first semester. Sometimes a dose of home is good medicine. So, overall it was a great weekend, and I'm happy that I don't have to board any airplanes for a long time!

Thanksgiving weekend

We've had a really great guest the past couple days - Kelsey. She's a friend of ours from Bloomington and was in our Bible study. She's been a lot of fun - and we've been showing her around Vienna at some touristy things and enjoying some more western/American type things here. She's been in Romania for months and they have much much less variety and choices with food and other things there. So she's been loving things here like vegetables, beef, butter, etc. that just isn't the same in Romania. Today we went to a cool outdoor Christmas market and to the main Vienna cemetary (to look at gravesites of lots of famous people like Shubert, Beethoven, Strauss, Schoenberg, Brahms, and more).
See the picture below for visual help.

Anne and Kelsey at a Christmas market eating monster-size pretzels. I helped, too. :) 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Well, it was just on Friday that the big day happened. Anticipation was in the air. An extra pot of coffee was brewing in the staff room. Ties adorned the chests of every male teacher in the hopes of a professional display.
But theses weren't just any old Parent Teacher Conferences - many were meetings with parents of very different cultures. Anne met with an animated Nigerian father. Chris met with a father, whose children have Indian decent but have been raised in Austria. But what made this meeting that Chris had so interesting, was the non-verbal communication between Chris and the Indian man. He was asking some great questions about how I try to make the Bible interesting since he finds it hard to communicate that to his kids. As I was explaining, he was shaking his head no. The more I spoke, he would verbally affirm that he understood and agreed, and then proceeded to shake his head no.
After a few minutes of me trying to ignore his mixed up verbal and nonverbal cues, I remembered something: shaking the head from side to side meant "YES" for his culture! Oh duh, Chris. I should have remembered that from when I spoke with refugees from that part of the world. So then I found myself nodding my head up and down in agreement as he was speaking. I thought, OH NO! I'm saying "NO" to him. So I tried to stop but it was so hard. :)

Anyhow, it was really funny in my head, but the father probably had no idea what was going on for me. :)

Panel

I had a panel today for my 9th grade Bible class. It was made up of some VCS staff who answered questions that the students wrote on cards about studying the Bible. It was pretty cool, and tomorrow there will be another one for my other 9th grade class. There were some good questions asked like "Do you think it's better to use a devotional book with studying the Bible, or just the Bible?" and "How do you keep from getting distracted when you read the Bible?" and "What exactly do you do when you study the Bible?"
I think it was helpful, at least to some of the students. :) Do your work, God. I'm just your weak servant.

WOWZERS!!

An awesome thing happened yesterday!! Two students decided to commit to following Jesus with their life!! Both are new students, speak very little English (they speak German, actually), and are brother and sister. I think their nationality is Macedonian or something in the Balkans, but they are Austrian. The boy, Dejan (day YAWN) is in my PE class and his sister Sonja is in my 7th grade Bible class. I could see a difference today in the light in their faces. And I feel privileged to just be a part of their lives and exposure to Jesus - the way the truth and the life. If you remember, a few weeks ago, I mentioned Dejan (I think) as the student who said I was his favorite teacher. I think that was just because I spoke to him in German and most teachers at the school don't speak much German. He's a cool kid, just gets distracted easily. I guess that's not rare with Jr. Highers. :)

Another awesome thing is that I've been getting to know another 7th grader named Rifat (RE faht) from Bangledesh. He's in my PE and Bible class - very smart and much bigger than all the other kids. He's Muslim and has been celebrating Ramadan. But he also believes some things about Jesus and the Bible. He and I met during lunch (but we didn't eat) to talk about some questions he has. He's really feeling stuck in the middle of both religions and seems to genuinely want to know the truth.

Please pray for these three kids if you can. Dejan, Sonja, and Rifat. Maybe I'll get a picture of them on here sometime. :)

The best ice cream in town, in our opinion!!! 

finally

It seems like it's been forever since I've had a complete day that I feel good about. I didn't get frustrated with lesson plans, difficult students, reprimanded by Austrians ("schimpf-ing"), or just totally wiped out by a long day. I actually got home around 5pm. amazing. einfach erstaunlich.

so it seems wierd that it's election day in the US. There just isn't any hoopla about it here. Good thing - but they sure do talk about US politics here more than Austrian politics (as far as I can tell). Maybe it's more interesting or entertaining. It sells, I guess.

Anne and I went on a walk for an hour and a half or so around "the Ring". It's basically the city center that has one main street that goes all the way around it. We saw all kinds of cool restaurants, cafes, a music museum, some old churches, and of course some Leckerbissen.

What is Leckerbissen you ask? It's German for a "tasty treat" - e.g. ice cream at Zanoni and Zanoni. :) it's open 365 days a year!! see the picture above

Spotlight on the Strassenbahn

We want you to get to know a bit about something we do everyday - ride the Strassenbahn (say SHTRAHssen bawn). So the following pictures and descriptions show a little bit about what it's like. :) It's basically a streetcar - of which there are probably hundreds around Vienna going all day long on various routes. They run on electricity and there are usually two cars attached with one driver in the front. Smoking isn't allowed on them (good thing!), but eating and drinking is. You see and hear all kinds of people and can learn about the Austrian way of personal space, eye contact, right-of-way, etc. It's pretty fun if you have the right attitude! Hope you enjoy it!

The sign to look for is the one that says Strassenbahn Haltestelle. It means "streetcar stop". 

What's that off in the distance?? It's a bird. It's a plane! It's a Strassenbahn!! 

Almost here..... 

Now The Strassenbahn is here and it's time to get on! 

The entrance to the Strassenbahn. That's Lisa and Andy Larson getting on (Andy's silly). To get on, you have to push the button above the Blue sign that says "Entwerter".
 

A sign inside the Strassenbahn above the door. They basically say "Warning - keep the doorway clear - the doors close themselves" and "Want to get off? Please push the button at the right time." By the way - what is the "right time"???? Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....... in Austria.
 

A view inside the Strassenbahn including Anne. :)
 

The 9th graders in one of Chris' Bible classes. 

But it's coooooold!!!

I just finished teaching P.E. to the middle school boys (6th-8th grade). It's a very energetic group, and not always so easy to handle. Good thing that I have a co-coach, Dan Hanna, to help me out.
So, we've been teaching American Football - totally new and confusing to some, and very familiar to others. It's been pretty fun - eventhough I'm not so good at football. Anyhow, today has been probably the coldest day here so far - maybe around 40 or 45 degrees Farenheit. And it's windy also - making for some cold little hands on those boys.
Cold weather + middle school boy hands + wind = whiny time. It was funny at times and sometimes bothersome - but we made it through. They were running around with their hands inside their shirts and sweatshirts, while still trying to catch the ball. Some of them just couldn't believe that people play that game in rain and snow and really really cold weather.
I think that will help them remember to bring their sweatshirts from now on. :)

The Staff Retreat

I'm not sure if some of you were praying for the past weekend we had at the VCS staff retreat. If you did, thank you so much! It was so great to be there. Really refreshing, some great speaking by a guy I knew from my time in Austria a few years ago, playing lots of sports, and a fun "not so talented show". I think our upcoming newsletter in the mail will have a little more details so I'll leave it at that. I feel more rested after this weekend than any yet - plus encouraged about how God is working in me to change me and use me for whatever he wants here at VCS and wherever else.

This is us and our friends and neighbors, the Hannas, overlooking the city of Vienna. 

Hey Dad!!! Does this shirt look familiar?? :) 

my fourth grade class outside VCS 

that was ME

hey...the fourth grade one was from ME...anne.
thanks!
i'm so excited to be ON THE BLOG now.

a note from fourth grade

Okay, so I never thought fourth graders could come up with questions like the ones I've been hearing over the past few weeks. Wow! One boy asked me whether all water is holy because his father's priest says it is. Another boy asked me if God created only one continent and then it split apart into seven continents years after creation. I mean, really!
I have 13 kids in my class, and I think seven nations represented. Four kids are from South Korea, one from Nigeria, one from the Phillipines, one from Pakistan, one from England, a couple from Austria, and a few from the U.S.A.
It's been so much fun for me to watch kids from all over the world play dodgeball, eat lunch, speak English, and laugh together. Kids are the same everywhere...wow.

This is a cool shirt!! It's sorta bitter-sweet though, since Fisher's amazing shot was all for naught in the end. And now he's left us for Golden State. Oh well 

Volleyball and other sports

I've started being an assistant coach for the girls volleyball team at VCS. It's pretty cool, but athletics just aren't quite as serious here as they are in the US. The school here is much smaller (200 something students) so there aren't as many interested or that are very experienced. Also, it just seems that sport in general isn't quite as big of a deal (in Austria) - especially women's sports. VCS is a little different since it's an American-International school, though. Anyhow, we practice two times a week, and I feel like I'm the mean coach - I push them more. I think that's thanks to Eugene Kim (if you know him, you'll appreciate this more) since he taught me most everything I know about coaching volleyball. And compared to him I'm a softy.

Anyhow, we have only had 2 practices so far, and we have our first game next Monday in Bratislava. That's about an hour away - actually across the Austrian border just into Slovakia. I hear that this school is even smaller than VCS, so I think we have a chance of competing and winning.

Also, I'm co-teacher of 2 middle school boys PE classes. It's pretty fun most of the time. We're teaching them basketball now, but we they can't seem to focus very well or we feel they just need a good work out - we drill them. :) We use everything from leap frog to push ups to wheelbarrow races to "up-downs" (a football drill). It's pretty fun to watch them work themselves into shape. But don't worry - they are STILL junior highers and they still go crazy, we just try to get them in shape in the mean time.

Lieblingslehrer

I'm not sure if that is the right word in German for what I want to say, but I just wanted to say that I was just called that by a kid in my PE class. It's a kid that joined school late and his name is Dejan (say day-YAWN) - he was born in Austria and speaks alomst no English. So it's good practice for my German to speak with him. He's a 7th grader I think...
And just now in PE he said that I'm his favorite teacher - that's what the subject of this was supposed to mean.
Well, time for the staff meeting. Tschuss!!

As I type

There is a Polish guy in our apartment repairing the walls. He actually speaks less German than me since he's only been here one month. But I guess he knows what he's doing - speaking the international language of wall and tile repair. :) I'd take a picture, but I don't want to freak him out. By the way, he must be 6'6" - and I'm sure he could hurt me if he wanted. But he seems really nice.
Yay for Polish repair men!!

prayer

I (Chris) could use some prayer for something....
There have been some random small things happening - like missing the train, water leaking in our apartment, pieces of furniture breaking, etc. - and those things normally wouldn't be such a big deal. But recently it has been really frustrating to me - enough that I've been struggling with just getting mad. And then getting mad that I get mad. I feel like the key is my perspective and my attitude, plus my personality that really likes to have everything organized and "all my ducks in a row." It has to do with spiritual warfare, and I also just need to learn to let go of things and not feel like everything has to be just running right and organized and controlled. Uuuuggghh.

I'd really appreciate prayer for that because it's been controlling me at times, which really effects all of life. Thanks for reading. I'm feeling humbled and very weak.

Another sort of butt shot :) 

This is a nice butt shot of Dan, our neighbor, who was helping us with the initial stages of our water leakage problem. 

3 days and counting

It's hard to believe that on Monday we'll fly to Vienna.  dangit.

THAT, my friends, is exciting. :)

Today, we're going to the Lilly corporate center, and according to Meg, "This is the Lilly Corporate Center.  You don't wear jeans."  Hmmmm, does that mean cotton shorts are ok?

I guess I'll be looking in my pile for some cotton pants so I look respectable.  Because that is what truly matters. :)

Checkitout Checkitout Checkitout

Look over to the right part of your screen.  Do you see that number one hundred??  Yeah - it's for real!  God has really provided for all we need - like I should be surprised.  But he has and we're stoaked about that.  That is such a blessing and thank you to those of you that have prayed about this. :)

Inner Torture

How could you do this to me, Lakers?? 

 
I mean, come on.  I know he started in LA, but he was with the despised Kings.  And he's The Flopper!  ugh.  This photo hurts.
But, in the shadows of the hoopla in Miami with all the love going on down there, The Flopper isn't all bad.  I mean, he's old, but he can still move alright and he can definitely still pass the ball.  It might be good for me to not see Vlade fall on the ground over and over trying to stop Garnett or Miller or some other beast (heaven forbid Shaq) - and that's just another benefit of me moving to the other side of the ocean.  I'm just going to run and hopefully not feel the full brunt of the heavy blows dealt by the mocking media on my poor Lakers. 

Here's your chance, Kobe.  Please show me you're not a rapist and that you ARE a slice of Michael. 

Sorry

It's been a long time since I've done much of anything on this blog.  I haven't had much time or access to a computer since we were in NY and MI.
So, how are all of you doing today?  I hope really well.  Anne and I are going to go see Spider Man 2 today, so that should be fun.  We're also going to go on a bike ride to get ready for the Indianapolis Night Ride that we're doing this Saturday.  It's a 20 or 30 mile bike ride around Indianapolis at night.  Unique for sure, I've never done anything like that! :)

OK, I'm going to try to add something else....

Third Culture Kids

Anne and I are at Pre Field Orientation right now in Houghton, New York. Small town with Houghton College and not much else. There are people going all over the world here to teach, be administrators, counselors, and more. We're learning a TON about different things - culture transitions into the country we're going to (20+ different countries), third culture kids, getting to know the others going to Vienna Christian School also, Christian education philosophy, etc. This stuff has been much more helpful and interested than I (Chris) expected.

Third culture kids, I learned, can be kids of missionaries, military kids, kids of diplomats, or kids of international businessmen/businesswomen. There is a ton that they go through, learn, change, etc. They're part American (or western), and part Austrian (or whatever country they live in). It makes for a very interesting and unique person with unique desires and needs and perspectives.

Anyhow, I better go now because Anne is looking at the Austrian IKEA website to dream about what we can get to furnish our apartment in Vienna. I want to look too. :)
So long....

Goodbye, Old Honda

This afternoon, we're making the offical transaction of selling our Honda Civic to some friends. Such a blessing from the Lord to work this out, and at such a convenient time.
We'll miss the white paint, the nice cd player, the speediness (sortof), and the low-to-the-ground feeling while driving it. Really, I think the speediness is due mostly to the fact that the car is lower to the ground, not that is has a huge engine or anything. Imagine a Civic with a V-8 or V-12. Yikes!!!

We're really doing this moving to Austria thing! We will no longer own any cars in just a couple hours! :) Love it!

Can you say LOUD?!?!?! This was the view from our seats at the Indy 500 a few weeks ago. 

California knows how to party

What's up what's up what's up???
We're really enjoying our time here in San Celemente, especially now that I am not sick anymore - well, I'm almost all better. Yeah!
We had a really fun fiesta - got to meet some new friends of my parents, catch up with old friends, and play around with my nieces. And besides that, we've walked around town, visited some friends, etc. We saw our niece Danielle's baccalaureate, Emilee's dance recital rehearsal, played croquet with all kinds of family in the back yard, etc.
Now we're heading up to Ventura (2 hours north of here) to hang out with Garret and Sarah Hamner. Ventura Pier, here we come!

ciao for now