End of the year class party

End of the year class party - Class of 2012

We had an end of the year party for the class that we co-sponsor...the now Senior Class of ICSV; class of 2012. It was a long event (13:00-22:45) but it was well worth it. Swimming, bridge jumping, rib grilling, tearful goodbyes, school paper bonfire, and a return to school to hang out and watch a movie in my classroom. All in all a fantastic way to end the school year.

We were able to convince Justin to jump off the bridge

The very crowded bridge railing

Justin, Josh, and I decided to all go at the same time

Here's some video of the students jumping off the bridge

grilling the ribs...delicious

Saying goodbye to the members of the class who are leaving ICSV

Lots of laughter from all the good memories...tears too.

Burning papers from the last school year.

Rebecca and I with our friends (and downstairs neighbors) the Wells

Comments

and baby makes four...

that's right...our little family will soon become a foursome. We have found out that Rebecca is 6 weeks pregnant! There is definitely "something in the water" as all the families that live within our block have recently had a baby or are currently pregnant. Our baby will be the 6th baby born to ICSV staff in a span of less than a year (first one was born in early November and we will be welcoming our new addition in September). So, kind of unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!

Who are these kids at ICSV...

Hi everyone... The first week and a half of school has been absolutely amazing! We have had some great opportunities to begin building lasting relationships with the students that God has brought to Vienna to be educated at the International Christian School of Vienna. Rebecca has been adjusting well to her role as secondary secretary. She is learning quickly the many demands of her new role and is doing quite well in supporting us teachers and the rest of the staff. Rebecca hard at work I have been really enjoying my classes. I have a total of 43 students spread out over 4 periods. The students I have represent 14 different home nations, with many of the students who are "Austrian" are first generation, so they are of other nationalities as well. I have also had the opportunity to begin working with the soccer team...again, many nationalities are represented on the field, truly an international squad. Here are some pictures of the team training at the local club...

an update on the transition and the simplicity of obedience.

As many of you might know, it has been over a year and a half since we moved back to southern california. It been a wonderfully difficult time. The reminder in James 1:2 to "Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds" has never been more real to me than this year. These past months have been a experiment in examining the "various kinds"...and in God proving the promise that these trials will produce steadfastness. It's been too long since I have updated this page. In some ways, I think it is losing its "effectiveness". With our mailchimp updates and our facebook group page, it almost seems like we're falling in to the trap of over-communicating...and in this trap, updates are lost. But...I think over-communicating is "better" than isolation. Plus...God has done some amazing things during this time and through the challenges, has placed our entire family in positions of growth while stretching and strengthening our faith. For...

Johnstein!

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