Skip to main content

back to school...and everything that lead up to it.

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 accounts, and introduced them to the city of Vienna.

- Welcomed our niece Emily to Vienna....she's staying with us until December

- BBQ'd 55 kilos of ribs for a staff welcome back party

- Back to school meetings and orientation

- BBQ'd 105 Burgers for teachers from the association of Austrian Christian Schools (mostly Austrian elementary schools)

- First day of school...
       - Justin started 7th grade
       - Emily is in 11th grade
       - Rebecca back at ICSV, now as co-head of Student Ministries and Activities
       - Michael teaching Ancient World History, AP European History, Social Studies dept chair, and co-head of Student Ministries and Activities

- BBQ'd 125 burgers for first Coffeehaus event of the school year

So...these are just the highlights, but it has been a very busy couple of months. We're are very excited about the great things that God is doing here through all the new staff and leadership at the school.

Now that we've got you all caught up, stay tuned for more posts about how God is working at ICSV and here in Vienna!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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!

The day that changed our lives...

Today (Nov 10) is Justin's birthday. Obviously, the birthday of your child holds a special meaning. Over the course of the last three days, I have been reminded of how exciting a birthday truly is. His excitement reminds me of the excitement we felt in anticipation of his birth, and, I think the excitement that God feels as his children enter into relationship with HIM. Justin seems to think that we will forget that today is his birthday. I base this on the simple fact that he has reminded us no less than 5 times/day since Sunday. I'm not sure exactly why, he hasn't quite been this excited about his birthday in the past; maybe it has something to do with this being the first birthday in Austria...I'm just not sure. But the joy that he carries (and expects from everyone around him) in anticipation of this day is a bit infectious. As many of you are aware, Justin was born in the middle of our senior year in high school. We were so emotionally unprepared (being so youn...