Last Days in Wien....

Leaving Vienna has got to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. When I think about everything I'm leaving behind: my school with its incredible ministry, my students, the deep friendships I've developed with staff; my Austrian church, where I was finally starting to understand the sermons!; the German language, which despite myself I have come to love; this amazing city that has become home to me, along with my apartment that is awesome in so many ways.
So many times, I've felt that I don't have the strength to say goodbye. But I know that God is greater than my emotions, and that He is leading me in His perfect will. He will provide the strength I need for this time, and will enable to me to enjoy my last days here and say goodbye well.

Friends hanging out at Ursula's house on the Donau (Danube river)


My home: apartment building entrance, the Hof, and our front door


At Schloss Schönbrunn (with Judie) and the Riesenrad in Prater Park with Amanda and Carrie


Volksgarten with the Burgtheaterbehind it, and on the Graben


In my other favorite park, Stadpark: Mozart's statue and garden



In Eisenstadt with my roomie Rachel :)



Playing cards with freinds at Ursula's house; a one-way street sign






Some of my precious 2nd grade students - I will miss them so much!

God willing, I will be visiting this place that is now part of my heart many times in the years to come!

Butterflies!

I took my class to the Schmetterlinghaus Wien (The Vienna Butterfly House) last week to further our learning about insects. It was WAY cooler than I thought it would be! There were literally butterflies everywhere we looked; we saw them flying around, eating fruit, sipping nectar from flowers, even hatching from their cocoons! One newly-hatched butterfly was still waiting for his wings to dry out...amazing. Needless to say, my class and I had a blast, and learned even more about the beauty and intricacies of God's creation.

Read Read Read!

The Annual VCS Elementary Book Month just finished - it's my favorite month of the school year. The kids are SO excited to read because of the great incentives that our wonderfully creative librarian comes up with: Battle of the Books, The P-3 Reading Race, and Book Character Costume Day, for starters. My class won the Reading Race this year, for the second year in a row! They were so excited and received the delicious prize of a class pizza party!


The whole elementary school participates in the Book Character Costume Day, and it's amazing to see all the crazy, creative, often over-the-top costumes they and their parents come up with! My class trumped the rest of the school yet again with this competition - kids from my class won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize for best costume!


Here are the winners and their costumes. I love my kiddos!

Christkindlmarts!

One of my favorite things about Austria is their Christmas markets. They pop up all over Germany and Austria, and there are over 20 just in Vienna. The atmosphere is fascinating, inviting, and very unique to this area of the world: stands filled with Christmas ornaments, old-fashioned wooden toys, jewelery, hand-made smoking men; all kinds of warm goodies to nibble on, such as krapfen (Austrian filled donuts) and Kaiserschmarrn and crepes and huge pretzels; and best of all, warm Gluhwein and many varieties of Punsch (spiked punch and mulled wine).


We take our classes to the biggest, busiest (and most touristy) of the Christkindlmarkts every year - the Rathaus - and it's one of the highlights of the year. Vienna, as one of the best cities in the world to live, has wonderful opportunities for children all over the city. At the Christmas market, they have a whole winter wonderland set up inside the Rathaus (city hall) for the kids to make crafts. So we take our classes, let them walk around the market and perhaps buy something, and then they can make a craft of their choosing. This year my class chose to make pillowcases. What fun! :)


The Christkindlmarkts....just one of the thousands of reasons that I LOVE Vienna!

Fall Festival

Our annual Fall Festival was a smash-hit this year! Everyone had a fun time with face-painting, games, food, science experiments, and fellowship for the first half of the evening. Then we ended with a concert from the various choirs, and topped off the evening with a pie-in-the-face contest! Three lucky winners were pied by a student - it's the highlight of the evening every year. :) I think there were more people in attendance that evening than I have ever seen at VCS before. (Check out the photo of the crowd listening to the concert.) This is one of my favorite VCS events, because it brings together everything that is special about this school: the teachers, the students, the parents, friends of the school, fun and enjoyment of each other, and the practical living out of our faith which demonstrates the love and grace of God. I am so thankful and humbled to be called to such an incredible place.

An Important Request

Many of you already received this in email form, but here it is for those of you who didn't. Vienna Christian School is facing a big challenge and I would like to ask you to pray with us. Below is a letter from our director explaining the situation in more detail. We serve a powerful God, who is more than able to accomplish more than we can ask or imagine. We at VCS are confident that His purpose will be fulfilled throughout this situation. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us - it is truly the most powerful support you can give.
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Your prayers are always important to us but we particularly need your earnest prayer with regard to our current situation.

Before the end of this school year - by June 2009 - our teachers need to gain a different residence status to be certified to continue teaching here in Vienna. Praise God for the time He has given us to work on this.

One way we are trying to accomplish this, is by working with the US Embassy to find a diplomatic solution. The second is by working with Austrian Government offices to find a status for which we can qualify. Please pray that God would work through these efforts to find a solution for us.

It is easy for us to focus solely on VCS finding a solution that will allow us to continue to operate here in Austria. Please don't forget to pray that we would have a great testimony through this process and that God will be glorified through the result of it.

Thank you for your support. We will keep you posted.

A Card for my Grandmother

About six weeks ago, my Grandfather, my father's father, passed away at the age of 91. He is now singing with the angels, and is happier and more fulfilled than he could ever imagine. I can't wait to join him! Of course, along with the joy we feel knowing where he is, there is a Granddad-shaped hole left in the lives of those still here in the Shadowlands (as C.S. Lewis called this earth). I have been especially burdened for my Grandmother, who was married to her husband for 67 years. Wow. What a testament to faithfulness, commitment, and love!
In order to encourage her a bit, I had my class make her cards. Many of them said things like "I am sorry your husband died. But I know he is in heaven, so you can be happy." Or "I am praying for you. Jesus loves you." Or "Jesus will give you joy in your heart." They were precious. We took pictures of the class to send to her as well. The kids really enjoyed this time of focusing on the hurts of another person, and doing what they can to encourage her with the truth of God. I pray that she is encouraged when she receives that little package of love from Austria.

A Whole New Class!

I sometimes feel like my blog is in the same category as my journal - I love it, always enjoy writing in/on it, etc. But I never seem to keep up with it enough! I hope somebody out there will read this entry - hopefully you haven't all given up on finding something new on here!
So it's a new school year, which brings along a new class. I've already taught most of them when they were in Kindergarten, so it's round two! I tell you what though, as challenging, active, and emotional as these kids are, they are my favorite class ever! They do keep me on my toes though - there's literally never a dull moment in Miss O'Day's 2nd grade class!
These kids love each other, they love Jesus, and they try to do their best. What more can you ask for?

Frauenlauf! Run, run, run!

Last weekend I joined a bunch of staff members, and about 15,000 other women, to run the Annual Frauenlauf (Women's Run) in Vienna. It's a 5k run and Elizabeth and I, who are NOT runners, have been training for it for a few weeks. It's been wonderful to get in shape and realize that I actually am able to run. :) The race itself was a blast - we got a free shirt and a bunch of other little gifts, as well as the pride that comes with finishing a race (even if you're like the 703rd one across the line)!

Whew!

The end of the year is fast approaching! There are two weeks left of school, and things are crazy! Inn the past couple weeks, I feel like I've been going non-stop with all the things happening at school and in my personal life. I was in charge of the Spring Music Recital at VCS, which was at the beginning of May, and which I also played the violin in! Yup, I've been taking lessons as well as giving them this year, and it's been fun, if somewhat nerve-racking to play the violin in front of a roomful of people! I think I've finally learned how to play the violin without TOO much squeaking!

The Staff Appreciation Dinner was that same week, which is an evening put on by the school board for all the teachers and staff at VCS. It's a time to recognize those who have served at VCS for a long time, as well as those who are leaving at the end of the year. We also were blessed by RCE with a cruise down the Danube the week after that, and the theme of the cruise was Country Western! I thought, why not use this opportunity to dress up in my "cowboy" boots and hat? I won second place for best costume. ;) There was also a good amount of line dancing going on that evening too - it's surprising how well Austrians can dance to Country Music!

Just last night my roommate Elizabeth and I hosted 4 girls from the Moody Chorale, who sang with our High School Choir last night. It was great to spend time with them as they travel around Europe on their choir tour. Half the songs they sang last night were in the Judson Choir repertoire when I was in college - talk about deja vu! I also sang most of them when my choir was touring around Europe in 1998...weird. The Moody Chorale also going to Germany, Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, and Hungary.

My class has been busy, busy, busy over the past few weeks! We just finished units on Plants and Ancient Greece, and have begun units on China and Insects. They are really enjoying these units. We also started a unit on Fairy Tales, and have enjoyed reading some of the classic ones as well as fairy tales from other countries. It's definitely the end of the year though, and the natives are restless! At least there are only a few days left until summer! They're not the only ones excited about that, let me tell you!
I have to share one really cool thing that happened a couple weeks ago. Some high schoolers from VCS went on a missions trip to Romania, to serve at a women's and children's care home there. They held a drive beforehand to collect clothes, toys, and money for the home. And one of my girls brought in 20 Euros - of her own money - to give to the drive!!! I asked her if she was sure, and she said, "Yes, this what I want to use my money for. I want to help the kids in Romania who don't have much." How humbled I was! Her heart is so full of love and concern for others, and how often do I only focus on myself? It is one of those great mysteries that God uses the wisdom and faith of children to teach us distracted and desensitized adults.

If you think of it, keep my student Damien in your prayers. His family is going through some hard times, and he's been struggling with lots of fears. He claims to know Jesus as his Savior, so please pray that he will learn to trust in God through this time. Also pray that God will give me wisdom in how to help and support him and his family the best.

Spirit Day!

Every year, VCS dedicates one week to a celebration of our school - Spirit Week. Inevitably, the week becomes more of an excuse to dress in crazy outfits and wear jeans each day rather than spend time discussing the good points of our school (those conversations DO happen, but not so much during this particular week!). Nevertheless, it's one of the highlights of the year and the students really get into it! This year, there was a school-wide contest to see which class out of all the K-12 classes participated the most each day by dressing up according to the theme of the day. My second graders tied for first place with the first graders - imagine that. Of course the littlest ones in the school would be the most excited about being goofy and wearing ridiculous outfits - it only makes sense. They were rewarded with an ice cream party...in my opinion one of the best prizes ever.
Enjoy these pictures - they're just a taste of the wonderfully zany world of Vienna Christian School's Spirit Week. Go Eagles!

Fairy Tale Day. I was Cinderella; my friends Sally and Becca were the wicked stepsisters. Heaps of fun was had. :)


Fairy Tale Day - can you tell? I love her hat!


Fairy Tale Day


Twin Day!


Superhero Day


Favorite Sports Team Day


Pajama Day - my personal favorite