Reasons to smile...

The Lord graces us with many joyful moments throughout our days.  There have been so many recently that I thought I should tell you about some.  Due to the sheer volume of joyful moments, I will only list a few from the past two days!  :)

1. Snails:  In third grade we are studying the structures of life.  We are highlighting plants and snails.  My students crack me up.  There are two of them (out of 14) that are so excited they cannot handle their excitement.  They brought in snails and the class said, "ewww, Miss Brunker why would we want to study snails?  They are gross and slimy."  That was Friday's exclamation.  Then today, Wednesday, I had to feed the sails (who knew they LOVE cucumbers?!).  So, I was feeding the snails and then one by one the kiddos were around me squealing with delight as I let them touch them and feed them!  They now LOVE it and my heart smiled because of it.  These kids are so precious and they make learning about slimy things like snails so much fun!
2. Hair:  The second grade girls were playing with each other's hair during recess.  They decided to play with Carrie's hair and were shocked that her hair is softer than their African hair.  Carrie then told them that Miss Brunker's hair is probably the softest she has ever felt and they should feel it later.  Well, they found me in the hallway and were shocked to discover how soft my hair is.  They giggled so hard while feeling our hair!  It was so cute and definitely made us smile!

Thank you for sharing in our moments to smile!  I hope you are able to see many evidences of God's hand and joy in your life today!  :)

Faith in Action

I get cute handmade cards (or love notes as I like to call them) from my students quite frequently.  One particular student always reminds me of one amazing truth at the end of each love note.  She always writes "I love you Miss Brunker and so does God"  This makes my heart melt because every time I have received a note from her I have needed to hear those words and believe them deep down.  I recently remembered that this little one accepted Christ as her Savior this school year.  I can already see her living her faith by encouraging others and reminding them  of the truth.  Thank you Lord for allowing me to minister to these children from the nations of the world!  Thank you to my financial supporters and prayer partners who come alongside my ministry here in Vienna.  I most certainly couldn't reach these nations without your faith in me.  Thank you!

13 May 2010

As of May 13, 2010 we've been...
Buying: orange juice
Considering: the fact that it will be very difficult to put together a bed without the screws and bolts
Cooking: Perfectly Chocolate White Chocolate cookies and lasagna
Eating: mini cucumbers
Googleing : scarlet fever
Learning: that sun dresses are cute but I do not fit the European sizes - Where is Kohl's when you need it!
Listening:  to Carrie hum amazing grace
Loving: our time at Family  Fun Day
Planning: meals for next week
Reading: A Thousand Suns
Watching: CNN International - simply because everything else is in German
Wearing: a light jacket - the weather is a bit damp and chilly here today
Wishing: that friends would always continue to care about one another
Thankful: that our God loves us more than all of the stars in the sky
Writing:  the April/May newsletter
Hoping: that our friends and family know how much we love them

May update

As of May 9, 2010 we've been...
Buying: chocolate covered rice cakes
Considering: the fact that I will turn 30 in a few days
Cooking: German Potato Salad
Eating: butter keks (they're kind of like vanilla wafers)
Googleing : how to melt wax for water color batik
Learning: that the temperature inside of the church gets swelteringly hot on warm May afternoons
Listening:  to the dishwasher
Loving: the sunshine we had today.  We've missed it.
Planning: Amanda's birthday party
Reading: The Meanest Doll Ever
Watching: a marathon of Monk
Wearing: comfy socks and no coat to church today
Wishing: that life could just stay the same
Thankful: for our mothers on this Mother's Day
Writing:  this blog post
Hoping: that we make it on time to the meeting at 7:30am tomorrow morning (Monday)