BBQ with the 9th Grade Class

One of the cool things that teachers get to do at VCS is to sponsor a class. For us it was almost a given that we would choose the 9th grade as Thomas teaches them both Bible and Geography. We had our first party as sponsors the other day at the home of one of our students. Thomas was asked by all of the kids if he would cook ribs. Southern Bar-B-Q ribs are the new craze at VCS and so this was the second week in a row that Thomas cooked for students. All of the kids had a great time playing basketball, PlayStation, and jumping on the trampoline.

Davis and Weston. Both are MK's from the US. Davis' father ministers among Iranian ex pats and Weston's dad is the president of RCE, our mission organization.
Thomas showing Marson some grilling secrets. Marson is an MK from the Philippines and his father is the Pastor of a Phillipino church that meets in the VCS building.
Jannica, Paola, and Mariam enjoy their picnic time together. Jannica is from Taiwon and her parents work with Chinese Christians in Vienna. Paola is from Mexico and her father works with OPEC. Marian is from Pakistan and her dad works at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The more time we spend with these kids, the more we see what an impact VCS has on the nations. Everyday we share the love of Christ with kids from every continent and they in return bring that love back to their home nations. What a blessing to be part of this ministry!

Thad's Birthday Party

Our little guy turned 2 last week and so we had some of his friends over for a party Saturday. Several of our fellow teachers came as well as one of the other staff moms. Thad was very excited to see his friend Rebecca and share his toys and cake with her. Mollie made some awesome cake with the help of one of our friends (our oven is kaput) and designed them to look like Thad's favorite things in life....balls. Our son is currently working on being a sports prodigy in both basketball and soccer. Unfortunately, he seems to have natural basketball skills. Matt and Stephanie Richards (VCS Basketball Coaches) gave Thad a little basketball hoop and he can usually make 3-4 out of 10 shots from 6-8 feet away from the goal (no kidding!!!). He even puts backspin and arch on the shot (I am really not kidding...ask Tom and Karen...they saw him make 3 in a row on the webcam).

When Mollie asked Thad what friends he wanted to come to his party he immediately said "Oscar" and "Salil." Oscar and Salil have been babysitting him the past few times we've been able to go out. They are both great kids and have really ministered to us in how they care for our little boy. They came to the party and brought Thad a tricycle for a present. Thad was thrilled. He calls it his motorcycle like the ones that he sees on the streets. We were so thankful to the Lord for how he provided that tricycle for Thad. He loves it so much that the only problem we have is trying to get him off of it.

God is really teaching me a lot about relationship building through my son. Thad has so many people at our school (teachers and students) that just love him. He is so good about being friendly to everyone he's around. He doesn't really care who it is, he just wants to be around people. He connects with them through his smile, hugs, and just general excitement about seeing them. I am learning that when I view people from God's perspective I can't help but love them. It's so good just to see the people that God has put in our life each day and to have an opportunity to impact them with the love of Christ. Its such a contagious thing. If people can be so warmed by a little boy, how much more can true love that comes from the One who made us bring to us real joy and peace.

13 Miles is a Long Way

So I ran half a marathon and let me just say how much respect I have for my friend Daniel Scarbrough and anyone else who has run a whole marathon because as tired as I was when I ran to the finish line of my race, I can't imagine what it would be like for that to be the half way point of the race. It was a great experience although I wish I had trained a bit harder for it. I took me 2:28...which sadly was more time than it took the overall winner to run the whole marathon (yeah I'm slow but I was a goalie in soccer so what'd you expect).
This is my buddy Brian. He was the one who made me go running a few times a week in preparation. He finished ahead of me because he worked a bit harder in training. The whole thing was a pretty cool experience because we ran with over 25,000 other people.
This is me at about kilometer 8 when I was feeling pretty good about life. Fast forward another 8 kilometers and I was not a happy camper. Something happened with my right Achilles tendon and so I pretty much ran 4-5 minutes and then walked 1 minute for the last 4k. Mollie and Thad were waiting for me towards the end but I was too tired and in pain to notice. Afterwards, one of the teachers who lived near the finish line had all of us runners over for pasta. It was a good experience that I will take part in as long as we stay here in Vienna...but I will definitely train harder next time.

Sunday Afternoon Soccer

As some of you know, Thomas has been playing for Vienna Athletes in Action (a Christian soccer team). It has been a neat experience for him as he has been able to make some Austrian friends and work on his German. Most of the games have been on week nights but their most recent match was played on a Sunday morning on the other side of the city. I took us around 2 hours to get there and back but it was a lot of fun because we decided to have a picnic lunch at the soccer complex. Thad was so excited about "Daddy play soccer ball" that he wore his own soccer uniform.

Here is an action shot from the game. Despite leading for most of the game Thomas' team ended up tying the game 1-1. Unfortunately they are currently second to last in the league and unless things get better they will be moving down one division for next season.

Thad sitting with two of Thomas' VCS soccer players.

Thomas called in some of his VCS players to help strengthen the team. The Austrians are always a bit skeptical of foreign players and so the boys had to sit out the first half. The number 12 is Oscar Pacheco from Costa Rica and 13 is Salil Kolamkani from India. Both the boys are in Thomas' Bible class as well as our home Bible study. Once they came on they were a big help for the team and were invited by the coach to keep playing for the team.

HALF MARATHON!

Well, I thought that everyone should know that Thomas has been training to run in the Vienna half marathon since January. He seems ready and I'm so proud of him!!! The goal he set back in January seemed a little daunting because those of you who know Thomas..... well like he puts it, "If I'm going to run, there had better be a goal to kick a ball into." So, I'm proud to say that he has trained and can run a half marathon!! YEA!

The Marathon will take place this Sunday and he'll be running with a few other VCS staff. Take some time to send a message encouraging him and check out the website for this awesome event. http://www.vienna-marathon.com/

Easter! He is Risen Indeed!

Here's a look at our sweet little boy all dressed up for church. He's quite a cutie! We had such a wonderful Sunday morning service complete with testimonials of the HOPE we have in Christ. Aren't we grateful for the death of Jesus Christ to free us from our sins and His resurrection which gives us new life!? In Him, we can have life and truly live for His glory through His power! He is risen Indeed!

Well, there they are.... all Four of them! :)

Thad and his friends just finished their egg hunt!

Now Thad is chowing down on all the chocolate!

Spring Break

We were able to go to an eagle show at a castle outside the city. It was such fun and the birds literally flew right over our heads, even hitting some people with their wings! Thad thought it was great and kept saying "bird" during the show. There were all kinds of birds from eagles to owls to a massive bird with a wingspan of 6 ft. ( I can't remember its name) But we had fun and wanted to share the unique experience with you!

He's huge!

We've had a wonderful and relaxing Spring break during this first week of April. There are so many things to do before the baby comes and we accomplished a whole lot! The Lord gave us some great family time and also some alone time... Matt & Stephanie, fellow missionaries here, gave us the best present this past week by taking Thad for an overnight stay so Thomas and I could get some things done and just spend some much needed time together! It was a refreshing week and we're thankful for the rest God has given us.

.

Junior Class hosts TV night

The junior class put on an awesome event last Friday night. Their theme was TV shows and the whole night reflected that theme through games, videos and crafts. They even had a little corner set up for the little ones to watch cartoons...and that's where Thad spent most of his time :)

They served dinner and dessert complete with a "candy corner" turning out caramel apples and root beer floats.
Thomas tried his hand at creating the best designed paint job on a vehicle. His was not so flattering what with the blazing fire ball on the side!
The juniors had a great time making small video clips of different songs and TV shows. They also acted out several of our favorite old time movies and cartoons. Needless to say they had us rolling with laughter!
We also got to see a traditional Indian dance....:)

This class is so much fun and we enjoyed helping them raise money for their Junior class events in the future.

Uncle "Bobby" came to visit

Thomas' younger brother, Robert, was able to come visit during his spring break. It was an enjoyable time and we loved watching Thad just cling to him saying "Bobby play soccer ball".

We were able to go to a castle right outside the city and explore the grounds with Robert. But before we started our adventure, Thad climbed into the driver's seat and told us he was going to drive us there. :)
Shortly after Robert arrived, Thomas was able to take him to Salzburg and Munich for an overnight trip. They went to a Red Bull Salzburg soccer game and had great "brother time" watching the sport they love most.
We miss you already Bob! Thanks for coming and encouraging us here in Vienna.

VCS Musical pictures....finally

It's been over a month since the musical "Guys & Dolls" but we just got some pictures to show you guys. Mollie was extremely busy in the month leading up to the performance but it was well worth it as she was able to get to know several of the kids that she hasn't spent much time with.
This was most of the cast in one of the final scenes. The kids were hilarious and worked really hard to make sure they put on a great performance for all of the parents and teachers.
In the middle of all the hard work and preparation, Mollie was really reminded about how awesome the ministry at VCS is. One night during rehearsal, the drummer for the orchestra, who is a church planter here in Vienna, had to take a phone call that involved church business. While this man was counseling someone, his son was enjoying acting out his part in the musical. It was really cool to think about our role in the lives of this family. VCS provides a stable situation for the kids of missionaries in Austria and in turn allows the parents to be more effective in the field. Thank you all so much for supporting us and making this ministry possible!

MOM'S GROUP

THE STAFF MOMS AT VCS GET TOGETHER AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH FOR FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP. I WAS ABLE TO HOST THIS MONTH'S FELLOWSHIP TIME AND IT WAS AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO ME TO HAVE THEM ALL COME OVER. THESE ARE THE LADIES THAT I SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH! THOSE OF US THAT HAVE YOUNGER KIDS LOVE TO GO TO EACH OTHERS HOUSES MORE OFTEN AND LET THE KIDS GET SOME ENERGY OUT! BUT I'VE BEGUN TO FORM A BOND WITH EACH MOM AND I LOVE GETTING TO KNOW THEM AND WORK ALONGSIDE THEM AS WE MINISTER TO THE SCHOOL IN VARIOUS WAYS.

I GOT TO MAKE SOME YUMMY SCONES AND SERVE THEM WITH A FRUIT TRAY... :)

THIS IS THAD'S FRIEND REBECCA WHO ALSO CAME OVER THAT DAY. THEY ARE THE SAME AGE AND LOVE TO GIGGLE TOGETHER AND PLAY TILL THEY DROP. WE'RE THANKFUL FOR HIS LITTLE FRIEND AND HER FAMILY!

BIBLE STUDY

OUR 9TH GRADE BIBLE STUDY CAME OVER THURSDAY NIGHT AND WE SERVED THEM BIG PLATES OF NACHOS! AFTER NACHOS AND FELLOWSHIP, THOMAS WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDY IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL.

THEY WERE TONS OF FUN TO HANG OUT WITH AND THEY LOVED PLAYING SOCCER WITH THAD. WE'RE SO THANKFUL FOR THIS GROUP AND LOVE IT WHEN THEY COME OVER!

Here we are!

Here are my two boys, I love them so much!

Thad's new bedspread for his big boy bed. He loves sleeping in the twin bed and always reminds us that he has "big boy" sheets now. :)

Well, here's me and the little guy at some castle ruins we hiked up to. That's right, I hiked up a mountain at 6 months pregnant! This castle in Durnstein is right outside Vienna and provided a nice day trip out of the city.

Here's the new school video for VCS. It's updated for the 2006-2007 school year. Please take a few minutes to watch it and we hope you will be encouraged by what you hear and see in the halls of VCS. After clicking on the link they are three different videos to watch. Choose the first one on the mission of VCS to view the new video but enjoy watching the others if you choose.

http://www.viennachristianschool.org/media

Our First Home Bible Study

We were very excited to host our first Bible Study in our home for some of Thomas' students. We had about 7 kids total. The kids came over after school and we cooked some supper and got to spend some time with the kids just talking about different things. One of the coolest things was that we were able to speak with Rifat for quite a while. Rifat is a Muslim student from Bangladesh. He had several questions about life and especially about marriage and love. He comes from a family where his parent's marriage was arranged and so he was very interested in how we met and "decided" that we were in love. It was a special thing for us to recall our dating years and tell him about how God used all sorts of circumstances to bring us to each other.

The Bible study went really well. We are discussing the idea of an abundant life through a study of the book of Daniel. The kids are really interested in all of the History and prophecy that Thomas has been teaching them about.

We are really excited about this group. Please pray that this will be a study that would encourage these kids to live their lives in a way that makes them available to be used by God.

Piano ministry

These are two of my piano students Madeline and Nathan Schwartz. They are great students and I love teaching them! With a total of three students to teach, I have enjoyed each time I get to come to the school and spend time with them. I'll be taking on another student this week and I'm very excited about this opportunity! It is a new kid that just moved here from Colorado. Pray that I will continue to use my piano skills to minister to these students and help them feel at home here in Vienna. They are a bright part of my week!

SNOW!!! finally :)

Well, we finally got some snow here in good old Austria. It took some time but it sure did come down!
Complete with thunder and lightening, we got a good 4 or more inches!




Thad had a ball playing in it until his fingers got cold!



At one point you couldn't even see outside very well....

"Oh precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow

No other fount I know

Nothing but the blood of Jesus! "

IT'S A BOY!!

That's right...we found out we're having another boy! We wanted to share the news and make sure everyone is praying for us. Two little boys????? What are we gonna do!!!?? :)

We're very excited and think it will be great for Thad to have a little brother!

Late Christmas pics

Well, it was a full holiday for us here in Vienna! With my sister, Brittany, and her husband, Jordan, here for 10 days and a full week of family time after that, we were so thankful for all that we got to do during our break. Thomas didn't have to go back to work until January 8th, so we had a great time being together. Here are some pics of our break and some on Christmas morning.

Taken at a Christmas market

This week (Jan. 8-12) has been so busy with jumping back into the routine and adding a couple extra events in there as well. I (mollie) have been helping with the musical at school everyday this week including staying after school until 6pm. It's been exhausting going in the morning and getting back to get Thad a nap and then head to the school for afternoon practice. But I have to say that this has been the most fun I've had all year! I love getting to know the students and being a part of their school day! So, we're thankful for this opportunity and look forward to the nights we perform on the 18, 19, and 20 of January. Thomas has been enjoying getting lots of time with Thad during this week and you can tell that they are big buddies! God has been good to us and we love what we are doing here at VCS.

Thank you for praying and giving .....we love being in this together with you!

I Thess. 5:24

A Quick note

Some of you have asked if we receive your comments and such on the blog. YES! We love to read everything you post and are so excited when anyone takes time to leave a little note. Thanks so much! Also, you can always email us at molmc1@juno.com . We check it often!

Check out the post below about the goings on in December!

The Giant Gardner Christmas/December Update Post

A Little Christmas Shopping

Well, the Christmas season came upon us early this year (they put up stuff here in mid November). My wife held out as long as she could but had to have a tree in the first part of December and so off I went. The problem is that we don't have a car and the nearest Christmas tree place was like 2 miles away. Being the highly intelligent and enterprising person that I am, I decided to make use of the fact that you basically "rent" shopping carts at the grocery store. So yes, I wheeled a shopping cart two miles each way...yes I did get "You're and idiot looks" from people but what the heck, we got a tree.

Full House

Right before exams, Mollie decided it would be a good idea to do a review session for my 9th graders. I agreed and we ended up have all but two of the kids in the whole grade come to our house for a review. It was really an awesome opportunity as I was able to share a small devotion about the lives of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot (we were studying South America and so we talked about Ecuador and tribal missions within the region). The review game went really well and the kids even asked us to have another party at some point but one that didn't involve school work!
One of the Best Christmas Presents Ever

Jordan and Brittany came to visit and Jordan decided to take me away for a couple of days to Milan, Italy. We walked around the city, ate good Italian food, and just talked alot about my ministry and what God is doing in our lives. The city is beautiful and if you have an opportunity to visit, do so.

Italian Flare

Fortunately I was able to talk Jordan into going with me to the San Siro. For those of you who don't follow European soccer, the San Siro is one of the most famous stadiums in all of Europe. We are able to go and see Inter Milan play Atalanta. It was great because they lived up to every sterotype that I have of Italian soccer fans (especially throwing flares on the fields). Inter won 2-1 and the game was temporarily suspended because the Atalanta fans were throwing flares, bottles, and who knows what else on the field. It was awesome.

Christmas Morning

Mollie will post more about Christmas, but this is Thad getting into his presents. He didn't really need any encouragement to open his presents. It was a great day that was very relaxing.