Johnstein!

Had a pleasant surprise today...one of our students' grandfather is visiting him in Vienna. He wanted to show his appreciation for staff members at the school so he offered to cook lunch for whoever was around. Fortunately, I was at school today...and it would have just been rude to go home before lunch. :) On the menu was grilled chicken, rice, and an amazing tomato based soup. I called Rebecca and Justin to come and join me and the rest of the 20 or so staff and student workers that were hanging around school...AND it was the first sunny, non rainy day we've had in over 2 weeks...so all in all a pretty good afternoon. Group photo with the cook The chicken marinated for two days before it reached the grill...so good. appreciating the spread The cook enjoying the "meats" of his labor. 

We went to the zoo at Schönbrunn today...this zoo is the oldest in the world and has been voted as the top zoo in Europe. It was f ounded as an imperial  menagerie  in 1752 by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I on the site of a small zoo that had existed since 1540. It finally opened to the public in 1779. Many of the original exhibit locations still exist with original buildings and designs. The jahreskarte (year pass) is quite affordable, so we will be returning on a regular basis. It was nice to spend a couple of hours wandering through the zoo, but we only saw a small percentage of the animal population. Enjoy some pictures from our first visit... sleeping Koala Justin interacting with the Pandas delicious bamboo here's lookin' at you   Rebecca in front of the former Imperial breakfast pavilion enjoying a traditional after lunch nap delicious lunch just in case you felt like climbing...don't do it here! two new types of penguins ...

It’s been almost a year since we got on the plane. Knowing that we were leaving friends and family; we would never be the same. What has it been like leaving everything we know? Laughter and tears; sun and snow. Up and down; love and fear. All while trusting God for the reason we are here. Relying on support and prayers from the ones you care for, Though scary, freeing, challenging; it means relying on God even more. I’m so thankful to be part of a team who sees that Christ is our need Whether they can see the impact first hand or not, they have blessed students at ICSV. The students and families are so precious, eager to learn and understand What it means to love the Lord with all their hearts and to follow His command. At times I feel so left alone and wondering why God has called me here But then I talk to a student, or go to a school event, that’s when it all becomes clear. God never said life would be easy or even how we think it might be We just need to rely on Him, as He ...

Thanks to an offer from the Schras to have Justin stay at their house for a couple of nights, Rebecca and I were able to have a little getaway to Budapest, Hungary. We stayed at a very pleasant and inexpensive hotel within easy walking distance to all the sights. Plus, it had air conditioning (a rarity in most of our part of Europe other than some of the grocery stores)! The train left right on time! The Budapest  Keleti Pu train station built in 1884...very cool. No locations outside of Hungary :/    The Heroes' Square Oktogon Station on the 2nd oldest underground line in Europe/the World...opened in 1896  Revolutionaries tore the emblem out of the flag during the 1956 revolution...the hole in the flag is a symbol of Hungary's freedom after the collapse of communism. This flag waves next to the grave of the unknown soldier in the garden infront of the Parliament building.   Statue of Imre Nagy , who was elected as prime minister a...

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful here in Vienna, and yesterday was no exception. We decided to head downtown and try to see something new before heading to church in the afternoon. We were going to check out Stadtpark, but the tram that I wanted to take to get there wasn't operating due to a bicycle race on the Ringstrasse. So we watched the bike race instead...as we watched we realized that it was a lap race, so we decided to walk along the Ring to try to find the finish line. We didn't get there in time, but we did get to watch the riders on every lap. Turns out, we were watching the final stage of the 63rd  Internationalen Österreich Rundfahrt (International Tour of Austria). Not quite the Tour de France...but fun to watch, none the less. We walked through a part of the city that we hadn't walked through before AND we got to watch an athletic event that we have never seen before live. All in all, a pretty fun, unexpected afternoon. The w...