A Confession...

All 5 of you that read this blog won't believe this but guess what?  I, Amanda, am the Elementary Chapel Worship Leader this year.  I know...you cannot believe it can you?  Please feel free to reread the second sentence again to really, fully, understand or believe what you have just read.  Now, let me explain.  This is a "job" I volunteered for.  Yes, I know you are still shocked.  Trust me the complete understanding of the "job" didn't hit me for a while!  Guess, what??  I LOVE IT!!!  It is so much fun to get my rambunctious group of 5th grade worship team participants together each week to practice and see the love of worshipping the Lord in their eyes.  I love choosing the songs and having the kiddos offer their suggestions and favorites.  I love listening to the songs each week over and over to get the words deep within my soul.  My most favorite things is to worship our wonderful Savior each Thursday morning with about 100 of the cutest children in Austria!  Their voices bring tears to my eyes and actions to the songs start asthma attacks within my lungs!  :)


Here is a link to a song (song link) I am sooo excited to try with the kiddos.  I really love the words and hope they are a blessing to you and 100 of the cutest kids in Austria!  :)  

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

So, Carrie and I have some natural comedians in our classes this year!  They are hilarious.  Here are some of the funny comments from the last few weeks:

• We all have these vents that sometimes blow air in our classrooms.  One day it was quite warm and several of my students were sitting in front of the "fan" to read.  It suddenly turned off (this is normal) and a cute kid shouted out, "Miss Brunker!  The furniture is broken.  It just turned off!"  Apparently he calls the vent/fan a furnace but instead used furniture!  Hahaha!

• One student has braids in her hair almost daily.  One day while walking down the hall to recess another student exclaims, "She has only 6 hairs today!"  I turned around and said only six hairs!  Wow, it looks like she has many more than that but only 6 braids!  We all had a good laugh about that!

• In computer class one student helps another and as a thank you the other student says, "Thanks for the expression, dude!!!"  He meant to say thanks for the explaination!

• Memorizing Bible verses each week is hard for some students.  Several students in my class decided to be encouraging after some of their classmates finished saying their memory verse to me for their test.  I blessed my heart to hear one student say, "You are really good at hiding God's word in your heart!"  

Reaching the nations...one child at a time.

There are approximately 50 nations represented at ICSV this year!  I am excited to see what the Lord will do.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we minister to these nations the Lord has entrusted us with.  

ABCs.... Summer Review

To review what our whirlwind summer looked like here the ABCs:

• A - automobiles - We HAD to drive to get anywhere.  It is not either of our favorite things to do!
• B - books - We visited bookstores and loved the selection all in English!
• C - collecting items that we would need at home and school for the year
• D - dentist - Amanda had to have an expensive root canal and crown
• E - easing back into American culture and volume...this took a while!
• F - Food - enjoying American food and mom's home cooking!
• G - gas/petrol/benzine (whatever you call it) - it was expensive but necessary
• H - Hiking in beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park
• I - interview - we did a video interview for our church's Mission Month in October
• J - Jeans - Finding ones that fit and will last a year, hopefully more, was a trick.  They were even on sale!
• K - Knitting Socks - Carrie learned how and now there is no stopping her!
• L - Lost Luggage - When we arrived back in Vienna our luggage simply disappeared for a week! 
• M - Michigan - We visited our friends Cindi and Kerry in their lovely home in Michigan.
• N - New Haven, IN - We spent a weekend with our friends, nieces, and nephews.  It was wonderful to catch up after four years.
• O - Operating Room - Amanda's brother, Trent, had brain surgery.  He is doing well.
• P - Praising God for his Faithfulness in always supplying just what we need right when we need it.
• Q - Quilling - We learned how to paper quill and it is a new favorite craft.  Liz is very good at it!
• R - Race - we ran in a 5K in Parker, Colorado and the altitude just about killed us!
• S - Sharing pictures of our ministry here in Vienna.
• T - Time - there is never enough time when you only get to see people once a year!
• U - Underwater - We went rafting with friends down Clear Creek and were glad that we didn't go underwater!
• V - Visiting family and friends in Colorado, Indiana and Michigan
• W - Watching tv with Grandma Wiggins - We just love her!
• X - eXcited - Excited to hug my little niece Elsie and I was there to watch her learn to walk!!
• Y - Yogurt - Frozen yogurt seems to be all the rage in CO!  It is yummy and we enjoyed it!
• Z - Zug Um Zug - This is a fun board/strategy game that we were able to play with friends

And We're Off To The Races....

Hey Faithful Readers!

Sorry we have seemed to disappear from the blog.  No worries!  We are back but are catching up from summer support raising efforts, visiting family, praying for family that are sick or having surgeries, renewing passports and visas, setting up classrooms for the new school year, trying to stay healthy, teaching, and getting to know new students that seem to appear every week.  The school has a new high in enrollment and Carrie is directly impacted by this on a weekly basis!  We now have 50 different nations represented within our student body and staff.  Praise the Lord!  He is ever faithful!  

As of Monday Carrie will have 18 2nd graders to love and mold this school year.  Please continue to pray for Carrie and all of these nations.  These are the nations represented within Carrie's class:  

• Ukraine
• Peru
• India
• Philppines (4)
• Germany/Nigeria/Austria
• Great Britian
• Austria/India/S. Africa
• South Korea
• Namibia
• Netherlands
• Austria/Philippines
• Slovenia
• USA
• Mongolia
• Austria/Nigeria

Amanda's class only has 13 kiddos.  They are great kids and Carrie has prepared them well for 3rd grade.  Here are the countries they are from:

• Iraq
• Namibia
• Philippines
• South Korea (3)
• Bulgeria
• Zimbabwe
• Ethopia (2)
• USA (2)
• Peru