I just had another amazing conference. I spoke with a mom who is a Christian, but her husband is not. Her son became a Christian when he was in first grade. She spoke with me about how much this school means to her and her son because her son is not allowed to attend church with her, but that Jesus has allowed him to be in this school. She shared with me about how excited her son is to have Chapel here each week because that is church for him.
She asked that we pray for her family, for her husband’s salvation, for God’s continued grace to allow her son to attend our school, and for her son to continue to love God with all his heart. I can’t wait to pray for them!
Today is parent/teacher conference day. I actually love this day because it’s the one time during the year that I get to really have a focused conversation with each of the parents. Today I was reminded, in the best possible way, of the impact we are having on our students.
One of the parents I met with today said that she wanted to thank me for doing something special for her daughter. They have been talking to their daughter about what she wants to do when she grows up. Her answer is that she wants to grow up and be a missionary teacher! Her parents are so excited.
Here’s the amazing part of the story, though. This family is from Vietnam. However, their daughter has never lived there. She was born in Holland, has Australian (yes, the one with kangaroos) citizenship, and lives in Austria. She is fluent in German and English and understands quite a bit of Vietnamese. She often talks about not being sure who she is or where she’s from. But – and this is the amazing part – she feels now like she has found Vietnam in her heart. She wants to be missionary teacher in Vietnam so she can tell the people about Jesus!
Her mom and I were crying and getting so excited. Please join us in praying for her that the Lord will continue to grow in her a love for Jesus and desire to share him with the world.
Posted on November 18, 2007 by Tricia Klein in School, VCS, humor
Our high school video class has been doing a tremendous job this year. If you have some time to spare, you can check out their videos here: VCS Videography Scroll down a little and click on the link that says, “See all videos.” My favorites are Mountain Dew VCS, 2V Emotion, and Dodgeball – Teachers vs. Students. Although, the appearance of the high school track uniforms in the Dodgeball video is a little disconcerting. There are some ongoing jokes that run throughout the videos. If you watch them all in order (Mountain Dew VCS is first) you’ll see a pattern or two. Enjoy!
Here is the latest video released by my videography class. I even got a small role in this one. And just in case you’re wondering, the uniforms are actually official VCS track uniforms. Enjoy!
Posted on November 15, 2007 by Tricia Klein in Faith, School, VCS
For the past few weeks we’ve been learning about the attributes of Jesus: He is divine, He is human, He is our substitute. This week as we discussed what it means for Jesus to be our substitute we talked about why He had to be divine and human in order to take our place. I asked the students who know Jesus to tell me about when they accepted Christ, and those who don’t to tell me about questions or doubts they have. Here are some highlights from what they said.
When I was small I got baptised with floaties on. After that hapened I was so proud of my self! We got to go to KFC to celebrate Jesus.
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When I prayed for Jesus to enter my heart I never dreamt bad dreams any more starting from September up till today.
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I accepted Jesus in my heart when Jerry Jecoby was haear when I did it I felt so so so happy.
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I think jesus is my savior and my superhero because his better than superman spiderman….., Before my aunt tell that jesus is with me because I was scared that time when I’m sleeping so I pray to jesus after I pray I dream jesus is with me.
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I have asked Jesus into my heart and I believe that he is going to be with me forever. Jesus is only one that can help us. He never sin because he is the perfect man. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was in third grade.
Posted on November 14, 2007 by Tricia Klein in Faith, School, VCS
This was our journal question a few weeks ago. Here are a couple answers that I just loved.
I think about God that he is the best person ever and he give us our lives and I believe in him. I think about when I go to heaven that it would be awsome because I am going to be with the person that I always want to be. I love God and Jesus and I believe that Jesus died on the cross for take our sin and I believe that Jesus will come back.
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I think God is a hero because he saves, and protects us. God is such good God because he died for us. He is the one and only God we should love and praise. When I go to heaven I will love and praise him more.
No video this week due to some rendering problems. So we’ve got so more audio for you this week.
I have my freshmen write and record interviews with famous Geeks throughout history. One particular student asked me if he could instead do “one of those things you do when someone dies.”
“Oh, you mean a eulogy? That’s what the preacher says at a funeral.”
“No, not that. It’s what they write in a newspaper.”
The first year I was in Austria, my friend Jean came over for a visit. She had a meeting in Budapest and picked me up on the way. Admittedly, I am a terrible history student, so I really had no idea of Hungary’s past other than the fact that it used to be under communist rule. When we went into the city of Budapest, I remember telling Jean that it felt like there was a heaviness in the air. Kind of a feeling of oppression.
Today I finished reading the book The Bridge at Andau by James Michener. While it’s not a complete history of Hungary, it is the story of what happened to Hungary under Russian rule. The book tells the story of the Hungarian revolution/uprising in November 1956 and the subsequent exodus of a large number of Hungarian refugees into Austria. The story is told from the viewpoint of several composite characters. These are characters that Michener created from the dozens of interviews he did with Hungarian refugees who crossed the bridge at Andau.
I can’t wait to go back to Budapest now. I feel like I will see the city in an entirely different light. I have a better understanding of what the country and her people have gone through and an amazing respect for them because of it. I also want to go to Andau, Austria which is just an hour and a half away. They have rebuilt the bridge, created a monument to the refugees, and built an open air museum in the city.
If you are planning on traveling to Budapest, I highly recommend reading this book. Just a warning, though, it made me cry on the U-Bahn more than once. So if you’re going to read it in public, bring some tissue.
Ok, so this really isn’t a sign, but I did find this in a local grocery store the other day. Maybe it’s a sign I need to get out more. I must admit I ate a lot of bologna as a kid, and my favorite slice was always the one pressed against the front of the package because it was indented with the Oscar Meyer logo.
Anyway. Just in case you needed more proof that bologna is a sketchy meat, here you go. Any meat that can be mass produced in the shape of a smiling bear is suspect at best, though I can’t imagine actually turning down the opportunity to eat a Bear-Bologna sandwich.
It kind of reminds me of a gummy bear…except made of meat. Random mystery meats…and flatter. Yeah…definitely flatter.
No video this week due to some rendering problems. So we’ve got so more audio for you this week.
