...I guess that's old news. Aaron already covered that in the last post :) But since this is the first post that I (Molly) am writing...the first time I have found the proper combination of a) energy and b) time...I promise to ramble a bit. Just for you ;) I apologize for the lack of coherency that is about to ensue. I blame my brain being mush.
Whew. It's been a real whirlwind.
Since last time, here's a glimpse at what we have been up to:
- We are now official and legal in Austria..minus visas. But we are working on getting there. ;) Somehow, in the midst of everything, I overlooked the importance of having my name on my passport changed to my married name. Did you know that it's difficult to travel if your passport doesn't match the name on your plane ticket?? Who would have thought...heh. Poor Aaron booked our tickets under our current names without realizing the fact that his wife didn't think to change her passport. Clearly I didn't realize the number of problems it would cause...so I had to wait on getting a new passport before we could begin the visa process.
- Aaron found out what his role will be at ICSV! Yes, he was so willing to be used by God that he came here not really having any idea of what he would be doing. In an Aaron-like fashion, he repeatedly would say "even if it means me scrubbing toilets to further the kingdom, I am willing." What a man. A true servant's heart. Anyway, he is going to be filling in as the building facilities manager beginning the 23rd. Currently, the maintenance staff is severely lacking due to illnesses, so he has been working like a horse even when he's 'training'. So hard. Long hours. I am proud of him. He has a huge job to fill, but I am certain that God will use him! He is excited to further his German skills since it will require him to communicate with others in German/read legal documents in German. And....not going to lie, it will be very convenient as a teacher to be married to the building manager. Something awry in the classroom? Hmmm... :) We LOVE working the same hours (pretty much). It's been fantastic even though we have been getting to school around 7:40 and staying until 12 hours or more later.
- I have officially taken over as the 4th grade teacher as of this past Monday! The elementary/middle school principal had been teaching my class until I got here, and wow, she is AMAZING for balancing all of her duties and responsibilities while maintaining a great 4th grade classroom. I am so grateful for her AND all the other teachers who have been so encouraging to me since I've gotten here. I have felt the love of Jesus amongst the staff, and really, I couldn't ask for more. The transition has been interesting (to say the least), but we are coping fairly well. Everyday in the classroom feels more 'right'...for lack of a better term. It's definitely different not starting out at the beginning of the year!
- I feel that this is worth mentioning - day 4 of teaching, and our class already went on a field trip using public transportation. I was pretty nervous having to navigate a city & system I have only been exposed to for less than two weeks, but it went well! We went to the Haus der Musik (music museum) because my students just finished reading The Cricket in Times Square (which relates to music, if you aren't familiar with it). It was rather interesting corralling them to and from the museum (especially on the way home when the subway was completely crowded), but it was definitely a fun afternoon. I am thankful for willing helpers!
- We moved into our temporary studio flat this past weekend. The move was so smooth thanks to many helpers. We still haven't completely unpacked mostly due to lack of time/energy, but also, we are moving again to our long-term apartment in a couple of weeks. They are currently refurbishing it. It is SO spacious and beautiful! I can't wait. Our current studio is really nice, too. I didn't think studios could be this nice (I guess we had pretty low expectations from our previous apartment in Ohio.. :)). After moving our stuff, the Dossett's graciously offered to take us to IKEA. Going to IKEA on public transportation...a breeze. Coming home from IKEA using public transportation? Definitely not as easy (but it certainly limited what we bought for our apartment). :) But! Our place now feels more like home, and I adore our yellow duvet cover.
- We have gotten to walk around the city quite a bit. I hope I never tire of the beauty and architecture.
- We started our 'church hunt!' We miss our home church in Findlay a lot, but we are excited to embrace a new community. Churches here often worship at very 'non-traditional' times (in our American eyes) due to having multiple people renting the same space. So, we could easily attend church three times a day. We only checked out one church on Sunday, but we plan on trying two other ones this coming week. Both of us enjoyed the urban international church community (especially Aaron with the German/English translating!), but we certainly want to check out others before establishing our roots. I thought it was pretty cool that the pastor of this church is one of my student's dad, and the worship leader is another student's dad. We even got to share a meal with members of the church afterwards and had wonderful conversations :)
That's just a quick look at what we've been up to, and here's how we are coping!
We feel like we are in the constant state of 'catch-up' here--meaning we are always behind. Our heads are just above the water. Now for someone who has forever worked AHEAD, this drives me (Molly) absolutely nuts. Seriously...even in college where the norm is to be a procrastinator, I honestly couldn't. I like to do things way in advance (except if it's packing).
So needless to say, settling into life & teaching in Vienna has been anything but boring :) And since I value honesty, I'll be real: we feel like we are just surviving. Jet lag had never really been an issue for me up until traveling this time. It was brutal, but I just kept telling myself to suck it up...because that's what you have to do :) We jumped straight into things. When we weren't running from place to place becoming 'official' in Austria (the consulate, bank, & all of those fun places), we were at school, trying to become acclimated as quickly as possible and preparing to take over as the teacher. After the first week, I felt utterly run down...& we hadn't even moved into our place yet OR officially started our jobs. But- it was still all new. Still is! I felt the need to soak up every opportunity and moment and neglected to listen to my body and what I really needed: rest.
But that's okay. I knew coming into this that I wouldn't truly rest for a long while because there was so much to do. So much to learn. And in a few weeks, I know we will look back on this as just a season of life. In these past two weeks, God has taught us to find JOY in everything. And this season of life right now is survival. We are not thriving yet, but we are still finding joy. If He is able to find joy in the hardest trials anybody has ever had to face, we can certainly find joy in surviving!
We are grateful that the exhaustion is of the good sort. I absolutely ADORE my students, and no, I'm not just saying this because of who might be reading this post. I genuinely love these kids, and I've fallen in love with the class more quickly than I ever have any class before. I have 18 students- 12 boys and 6 girls almost all from different countries. The diversity is rich. I feel humbled privileged that God has called me to this place. These kids have so much LIFE in them...so many experiences...so many languages and cultures. It is a very humbling experience to be their teacher. And, I am grateful for their adaptability and enthusiasm. They fill me with life each day & somehow give me MORE energy when I feel like I have none. They welcomed me with open arms, and just in a week I can see how much we've grown as a community in Christ. They are quick to laugh, quick to forgive, eager to please, excited to learn. Mostly, of course. Not always, but the personality of this class is amazing and far more than I expected. We have our challenges, but the good always outweighs the bad. Despite already being in October, I kind of treated this week as the "first week of school" (just not to the same level of intensity) so I could establish a solid framework for the rest of the year. Procedures, expectations, new seating arrangement, team names/cheers, organizing, decorating...all that fun stuff. There's so much more to do, but really, there always is!
I joke around with Aaron that God keeps using situations like these (my semester of student teaching in Brazil & now jumping into teaching after the school year has started) to increase my flexibility and adaptability. Because the good Lord knows I wouldn't do that well left to myself :) He is teaching me (& us, but more me since Aaron's always been good at this) to be OKAY with messy. Things don't have to be perfect. My classroom doesn't have to look perfect. Our apartment doesn't have to be perfectly spotless and perfectly decorated. Cut yourself some slack, Molly. Something I'm not necessarily good at.
I can rejoice in these hard times though because my hope is in Him. Truly. He brought us here to have us rely on Him more fully...everyday...all day. I used to rejoice in knowing Jesus but was guilty of spending the most time with Him per MY agenda. I never really consciously chose to rely on Him in my everyday decision making. Most of the time, I thought I was doing fine and only went to Him in times of great trouble or great joy.
But He has taught me how wrong this mindset is. He has lovingly forced me to cling to Him because He has shown me how weak I am without Him.
Thanks for all of your love & continued support. We would appreciate prayers for our continued adjustment/transition and reliance on the Lord through it all. Please pray for my classroom & students, that above all else, they would learn to love and trust in God. Pray for Aaron as he embarks on a completely new job. Prayers for continued financial support along with the VISA process are needed, too.
Peace.
~Molly
