Johnstein!

The last couple of weeks have been full of events to keep us busy (as always, it seems), challenges to keep us humble, and community to keep us grounded...and through it all God continues to remain faithful in confirming our call to ministry here in Vienna... We were able to celebrate Rebecca's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants (one of very few Mexican places). We had a great time...we laughed entirely too much...if that's even possible. It was a bit bittersweet as this restaurant (like so many other places in the city) reminds us of many of our friends who have left Vienna recently... Rebecca and Tawni enjoying their beverages... Back to school night was a success...Rebecca and I had the opportunity to explain our vision for student ministries with all the parents in attendance and I was able to share some time with some of my students' parents. As Kailyn's birthday party was the next morning (we decided to host it at school), we enlisted the help of...

A year ago we were hanging out in the hospital in Klosterneuburg, Austria...the bells from the 300 year old monastery building (although the location has been a monastery since the mid 1100's!) rang as our baby girl opened her eyes for the first time to look around and explore her world...looking back on this year she has had quite a beginning...here are some highlights. - Austrian birth certificate - Visit to the consulate to get US citizen born abroad certificate and passport - Staff retreat into the Austrian Alps...9 days old. Dedication service with all our ICSV family - First rock show - Switchfoot - Trip to Czech Republic for her brother's baseball tournament - First international plane trip with mommy to the US right before Christmas - First long distance train ride (to Prague) - Second rock show (and running the merch table with mommy) -  Good Weather Forecast - First move (2nd apartment) - Second long distance train ride (to Innsbruck) - Trip to Croatia - ...

So much of what we do as educators is about helping students understand who/what they are. We do our best to help them; we rejoice in their victories and we grieve during their loss. Over time we see them grow; yet most of the time we don't even have a clue as to how deeply these kids change. Sometimes you're able to catch a glimpse...sometimes they let you in. At the end of their Senior year, I had the students read "Till We Have Faces" by C.S Lewis. As the cumulative project, they created a retrospective book that documents the changes that occurred during their time at ICSV. Last year's projects blew me away. While I am fairly close to these kids, it is still amazing to see all that they have dealt with and how they are stronger as a result. There is not much more I can write...these projects left me speechless. Really though, it reminded me why it is such a privilege to serve at this school in Vienna, and how we can we rejoice in the REALLY small...

Wow...basically 3 months since the last update. So, bullet points it is! - Took the senior class to Croatia. - Enjoyed a great grad ceremony with an amazing Salutatorian address by Nicholas Hamm. - Our second year at ICSV ended well, but lots of hard good-byes to friends and students. - Flew to America with 3 mostly empty suitcases to spend the summer with family, friends, supporters. - Michael spent a week in Monterey for an AP European History conference - We were able to visit Apple Valley Baptist (twice), 1st Lutheran Long Beach, and St. Paul's Orange - Family vacation at the Welk resort with ALL the members of the Johnstone side of the family - Lots of food... - Flew back to Vienna with 4 completely filled suitcases - Destroyed by jet lag (took a full week to recover) - Welcomed new staff (Michael made 8 airport runs in the course of 10 days) - Helped newbies get settled by taking them to get registered in Austria, helped them shop, set up internet acco...