When one of your students gets married

About six years ago I was teaching Spanish 1 to freshman and sophomores at Kaneland High School. It was my 1st year of teaching and I was completely overwhelmed but trying not to act like it. One of my students approached me and told me that she had been to Honduras and had learned some Spanish. I asked her why she had been to Honduras and she told me she had gone on a mission's trip connected with her church. I then smiled, and told her that I had been to Honduras for a mission's trip. We then both smiled and nodded our heads at each other with the recent revelation that we were both Christians in a very public school. I've come to love the instant connection that Christ brings between people.

A few weeks later she came up to me with two of her friends and asked if we could start a small prayer group at the school. Since it was a public school, we were not allowed to have the prayer group during school hours. The girls offered to meet before school at 7:15am for 30 minutes. I was very much impressed and challenged by these girls. When I was in High School there was no way I'd get up early for a prayer group or bible study and I even went to a Christian school.

We started meeting every Tuesday morning and prayed together. I would always bring Dunkin Donut munchkins that were quickly consumed. Our small prayer group started to expand as the word got out. There were students from every grade and walk of life in our group. Soon the prayer group changed into a bible study. We studied different themes in scripture, books of the bible, shared our testimonies, and what Christ had been doing in our lives. I was so amazed by what the Lord had done in such a short amount of time. There were so many young teenagers who were thirsty for the knowledge of Christ and burdened by the depravity of each hallway. This group became a safe haven for so many students, myself included.

After 2 1/2 years of this bible study, I got the call to move to Austria. Telling this group was one of the hardest goodbyes I had to face. We had become a family and I did not want to leave them alone. In moments like these I was reminded that ultimately Christ has the control over his children, and not their earthly leaders.

I am writing this post because the girl who first approached me about the prayer group just got married last week. It was an incredible, God-honoring wedding and I know this union was and will be sculpted by Christ. I was able to see many of the girls that were in this group and so many amazing memories came flooding back. I was greatly blessed by these girls and the rest of the group at Kaneland.     

  

This is a group that I will always hold very close to my heart.

 

Summer Blessings

While I do love teaching, it is such a blessing to have the summer off and decompress from the year. Here is a little summer update:

1.  Traveling with my family
Three of my cousins came to visit for three weeks this summer.  I loved being able to share my life with them here in Vienna and to explore a bit more of Europe.  We had a lot of good times and made some pretty incredible memories.  I am blessed to have a family that is willing to come and spend time with me here.

2. New Staff Orientation
Every year we have a few new teachers come from America and are in need of assistance in adjusting to the culture and to get situated here.  Since the majority of the ICSV staff went back to America, I was in charge to helping the new teachers get acclimated to Vienna.  This involves visas, apartment furnishing, bank accounts, US Embassy visits, internet, phones, etc.  It was a very busy week but I enjoyed spending time with the new teachers and excited for them as they begin their ministry here.

3.  Preparing 
This summer was also spent preparing myself for the upcoming year and anticipating what to expect.  A big part of my heart for this school year is training and teaching these students how to be disciples of Christ.  So many times students leave Christian schools and struggle adapting to the "real world".  Many students know what it is to be a Christian in a Christian school but once they leave they are bombarded by the lies of the world and become easily confused.  I will be involved in more ministry opportunities this year at ICSV and am excited to disciple more young Christian students.

Café ou Thé? C'est gratuit

We have returned safely from France!  Thank you so much for your faithful and continued prayers for our team as we ventured into Northern France.

ICSV Team in France

 First off, Northern France is beautiful and delicious!

I could've eaten this bread all day long

Beautiful streets everywhere

The main plaza

                              

When we arrived in France, our first mission was to set up coffee tables (see below) and offer free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to anyone who walked by.  The students learned how to say "Café ou Thé? C'est gratuit" (Free coffee and tea) and invited everyone to have some drinks.  Once they came for their free coffee or tea, the students would engage them in conversations and attempt to share Christ's love or their testimonies with the people.  I was so encouraged to see how bold and courageous our students were.  We also connected with other churches who had started their own coffee tables in Northern France and were able to minister with them.  

Coffee Tables 

We were able to worship in French on Palm Sunday which was quite different, but a really neat experience.

ICSV Team on Palm Sunday

One day we went to an Anglican church and cleaned/organized their entire basement.  We were happy to be of an encouragement and help to them.  The students didn't complain once about cleaning and really helped the church in a time of need.

Hard at work

The best sweepers you'll ever meet

The organizing queen

We also went to a community center one afternoon and taught people how to speak English.  These people were from all over the world.  Our students had brought pictures of their families and materials to use in order to teach English.  They were very encouraging and helpful teachers and I was amazed as to how quickly they formed relationships with these people.

Teaching about their families

She mastered the high five

In a plaza where the Austrians were defeated by the French

Thank you, once again, for your continued prayerful support.  We had an amazing time and we're greatly encouraged by what the Lord did in the lives of our students and the people of France.  Two days after we left France, two people accepted Christ at the coffee tables - something we had been greatly praying for.  Our students now want to bring this coffee table ministry to Vienna and reach the people here.  We pray that this ripple effect will continue throughout Europe.

France 2014

On April 11th (Happy Birthday, Mom!), I will be co-leading with my roommate, Becca, and our friend from church, Adam, on a mission's trip to Lille, France!  

We will be taking 8 High School students and partnering with a team from Wheaton Bible Church who has been in France for sometime now.  Our main mission will be to evangelize to the people of France, help the WBC team in any way possible, and to disciple these students.  These students have been preparing for this trip for 6 months.  They have been participating in discipleship groups, street evangelism, and were trained in sharing their faith.  For many of our students, this has been and will be the first time they are actively sharing their faith.  Many of the people of France see no need for a God in their lives and it is a very spiritually dry place.  We will be entering a battlefield; however, we have been greatly encouraged by how excited our students are to share the gospel and how the Lord has greatly blessed us as we prepare for this trip.  

  

As we leave we would love for you to pray with us for...

• Unity
• Boldness and courage
• Coffee Tables on Friday and Saturday (where we will share coffee and the Gospel with people who stop by - pray specifically for English speakers). 
• Encouragement for the full time team in France
• Our students to see more of God's love and His heart for the nations
• Wisdom for us as leaders

Colossians 4:3-4 - Theme verse

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.  Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

I'm not a Poet and DID know it.

Happy New Year 

Well it is now 2014,

I am still working with LOTS of teens

And probably will need much caffeine

because I don't want to turn into one of those teachers that are mean

Instead, I hope to be serene

And yes, I am a rhyming machine

And this is the worst poem of 2014

:)

Being a teacher, my "year" does not begin in January.  I find myself saying "New Year" more in August when the school year begins and celebrating its end in June.  July is just a freebie.  Even though the rest of the world is beginning a new chapter in their lives, I feel like I am only 1/2 way there.    This next 1/2 year has a lot of events to look forward to and many things to be praying for.   

Here are a few highlights of what's been happening in our school and in the classroom.

France

I am really excited to share that my roommate, Becca, and I will be partnering up with Wheaton Bible Church and going to France this Spring Break (April 11th - April 16th).  The past two years I have led mission trips to an organization called River of Life in Romania.  The trips to Romania mainly focused on service and were wonderful.  In France, we want to take students that are growing Christians and teach them about evangelism.  We will be training these students to share their testimony, talk to complete strangers about the gospel, and share the love of Jesus Christ.  So many students that attend Christian schools learn how to be Christians inside that school and never truly make their relationship with Christ their own.  Our vision is to train and disciple these students to be Ambassadors for Christ.  We want them to be equipped for the world when they leave ICSV.  

Some of the France team and I

The Responders

Every Monday morning I have been meeting with a group of High School girls.  We are currently studying the book Growing in Christ published by The Navigators.  This book goes through the assurance of faith and teaches students how to have a relationship with Christ.  We started these groups last October.  Not everyone in my group claims to be a Christian and I just ask for your continued prayer for these girls.  

ELL Class Moments and Quotes

1. I had my students right down some NY's resolutions and 5 out of 10 said they wanted to read the bible more!

2. "Ms. Johnson, the bible is really interesting and I like reading it." - Muslim student

3. "Ms. Johnson, do we turn into Angels in heaven?"

4. A 6th grade Korean student approached me asking if she could YouTube the cartoon Prince of Egypt so she could experience the power of God over and over again.  

5.  "Ms. Johnson, your hair looks different.  Did you not wash it again?" :)

6.  "Ms. Johnson, does God allow us to experience bad things so we can love Him more?"  

12 Moments of 2013

"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus" 

1 Corinthians 1:4

Every time I return to America, mainly Chicago, this verse always pops into my head.  I feel so blessed to be able to enter a community of believers that provides such encouragement, prayer, and laughs every time I come home.  I am so thankful for this community.  

Over the Christmas holiday I spent a lot of time with my family, extended family and friends.  It was very refreshing and relaxing and difficult to say goodbye.  

I sent out a Christmas letter and in case you didn't receive one, here it is below.  

To sum up my year, I’d like to briefly share 12 moments from 2013 to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  

12

 months that I had been out of the United States. 

This past year I decided to stay in Vienna for a full year.  My family came out and visited me last Christmas in Vienna which was a wonderful experience. 

11

 times I have eaten the Wiener Schnitzel.

The Wiener Schnitzel is the traditional Austrian dish.  A breaded pork dish, it is a staple at almost every restaurant in Vienna.  Whenever I have had visitors, I have always introduced        

   them to this meal. 

10

 girls on my volleyball team. 

I had the privilege of coaching two teams of 10 girls on the Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams.  The Varsity team took 3^rd place in our end of season tournament in Budapest.

9

 different nationalities that make up my classes.   

This year I have students that come from 9 different countries: America, Austria, Germany, Jordan, Korea, Nigeria, The Philippines, South Africa, and Thailand.  I love learning about their 

cultures and assigning projects in which they must bring in their national food for the class, aka

      me, to eat :). 

8

 students that have decided to go to France for a mission trip.

Becca, my roommate, and I will be partnering with Wheaton Bible Church and leading a missions trip to Lille, France this April.  Our focus will be training our students in evangelism and how to   

share their faith as we are among the French and immigrants from North Africa. 

7

 different classes that I taught this past school year at ICSV. 

Similar to my first two years at ICSV, I am teaching Spanish to High School Students and ELL (English as a Learning Language) to Middle School students. 

6

 High School students that are a part of my bible study group. 

This past fall I started mentoring six girls.  They come from all different faiths and backgrounds.  With a fellow teacher, we are teaching them about the assurance of their salvation and how to live      

a godly life.   

5

  different groups of friends that came and visited my roommate, Becca, and me. 

Living in Europe encourages many family members and dear friends to visit and explore.  We created a lot of memories with close friends who came to see our lives in Vienna. 

4

 students that have made a profession of faith to Jesus Christ.

Our students hear the message being preached everyday.  Our prayer is that their ears would be open to this message and accept it.  Thankfully, this prayer is being answered at ICSV.  Our hope     

 is for them to take this message to their home cultures and spread the Good News.

3

 German classes that I took in order to better communicate with Austrians.

Still need a lot of practice :). 

2

 fundraiser events that I hosted in order to raise money for different charities. 

One way to teach our students about “giving back” is to host events at our school in which the students raise money and then donate to a local charity or ministry.  In the Spring of 2013, I led a 

 mission trip to Romania and we hosted an event titled “ICSV’s got Talent”.  The students raised    

      over 1,400 euro and donated it all to a care home that we serve.  This past month our school also 

      hosted an event to support those affected in the Philippines.    

1

 more year that I have committed to teaching at ICSV. 

After much prayer, I have decided to commit to one more year at ICSV.  

A Bit of an Update

Happy Fall everyone!  I realize that the last time I updated my blog was in September! Yikes! I'm sorry for the delay and hope you forgive my lagging bum.  I'll break this post up into sections so you are not overwhelmed with too many words :).

Teaching:  My classes continue to go very well this year.  As mentioned in an earlier post, I am teaching all of the same lessons which makes prepping this year much easier.  My students are very well behaved and truly enjoy learning.  One of my personal goals this year was to biblical integrate more into the classroom than I was previously doing in hopes that more discussion would arise about Jesus.  Thankfully, the Lord has reminded me to biblically integrate more and the results have been wonderful.  Instead of just choosing verses to connect to my lessons, I've decided to focus on biblical stories and apply them to stories that we are reading in English class etc.  The students have really absorbed these stories and many of them are bran new to my kids.  Seeing God constantly work in the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago and still being faithful today has encouraged a lot of my students.  Please pray that they will continue to soak up Jesus and enjoy learning about him through the bible.

Students with the Ambassador of Korea

Junior Class pizza party at my apartment

Volleyball:  I only have one week left in my volleyball season which is bittersweet.  This year I really encouraged the girls to bring The Fire to the court when they played.  I followed it up with a verse from Romans 12:11 which states, "Never let the fire in your heart go out.  Keep it alive.  Serve the Lord."  The team really took this to heart and greatly encouraged each other to bring the fire when they played. Soon it overflowed into bringing the fire into their personal lives.  I really encouraged them to be zealous in all that they do, especially when it comes to serving Jesus.  When a fire comes into our lives it is sure to leave a mark somewhere.

Varsity Team

Junior Varsity Team

 

Discipleship:  A few weeks ago I began mentoring a group of six High School girls.  These girls age Freshman through Senior and are looking to deepen their relationship with Christ.  When students become Christians in a Christian school, they tend to have a more difficult time of making their faith their own.  They know how to be a Christian in school, but are never trained for "the world".  My goal is to disciple these girls to have a solid and ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ.  I pray that these girls learn how to pray, read their bible, memorize scripture and fall deeper in love with Jesus.  The girls in my group fall into every category of "Christian".  Please pray that they make their faith their own and not that of the school.

Worship night with the High School students

Events: Our school recently hosted an event titled "Fall Festival".  We invited all the students, their parents and much of the community to come to ICSV and enjoy a fun fall evening.  There were games, international food, songs and dances by our choir students and even a pie in the face which I unfortunately took part of.  All the money used to purchase food, play games and pie teachers in the face went to a charity.  Therefore I can't complain too much.  It was a lot of fun and I am thankful that I was able to be apart of it.

Pie in the Face crew "before" picture

"After" picture

One of my sweet ELL students

Fall Break:  This past week my roommate, Becca (check out her blog here) and two of our other friends went on a short little trip to the UK.  I have some friends that just recently moved to Edinburgh and it was wonderful to see their new home and spend time with them.  It was such a great, relaxing and fun trip.

                                                                                   Cliche? Yes.  I had to.

Lake District, England

Drinking our tea like proper British girls

A sweet visit with Andy and Allie Blaski in Edinburgh

Spiritual Emphasis Week:  This upcoming week our school will be having our annual Spiritual Emphasis Week.  This week consists of Chapel every single day.  In the past it has proved to be a very powerful week for both students and teachers.  Many students come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ!  However, when Jesus is greatly preached, satan is greatly active.  Please pray that our armor will be strong against the devil's attacks and that the message of truth will be preached!

Well that was a bit more wordy than I had anticipated.  Please continue to pray for my students, my discipleship group and this upcoming week!