Linz in Focus

We  are having a really good time here at All Nations. God is stretching us both so much there are no comfort zones right now.

Before we came to All Nations I thought it would be a great chance to lose some weight. I thought oh the food will not be too good and they will serve a tiny portion and there would be no daily contact with chocolate. Boy was I wrong!
The meals are fantastic! and there is a lot of cake and biscuits on the go every coffee time so that plan is not working yet!

We have done a week and two days of our course and today we did our Myers-Briggs test which for those who don’t know, it helps you understand differences in personality types.  It was very interesting to find out what we both were. They worked out that I was very outgoing and liked change and new challenges and Johnny was very intraverted and did not like change or new challenges. Which was a surprise to both of us! Ha! Ha! Ha! bet you can work out the real way round it should be!                                                                                                                                                                            

There is a lot more to the outcome than just that but it has confirmed to me that God can use anyone no matter what their personality type. People respond in many different ways and difference is good because Johnny will reach some people in a differant way to me. I think when you do a test like this you have to come away saying God is good! and he has made us who we are in his image! Difference is not always a bad thing.

The kids are still enjoying the freedom of being able to play outside. They are also enjoying the fact the Johnny is about more and that he can take them to school or pick them up on a daily basis.

Meal times here can sometimes be a challenge because the kids don’t always want to eat what they are given. We went in for dinner one evening and Rachel told the chef who had spent time cooking this meal that it looked yukky- I was embarrassed He thought it was funny. After us persuading her that it was indeed yummy she did try it and loved it! So meals can be challenging.   But there are no complaints from this mum or dad about meals being made for us!

Thank you to all who made suggetions and to those who just did not have a clue! And to those of you who cheated…. you know who you are!   …well all I have to say is shame on you….  Well drum roll if you please drrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

St Trinian’s "The Belles of St Trinian’s" with Alastair Sim made in 1954

Can you guess in which film the front of All Nations Christian College was used?

Anwser will be posted in a couple of days!!!

you can click on comment and leave your anwsers.

Well when we got back from the biannual we had 3 days to finish packing the house, say goodbye to family and move to Hertfordshire. (Where we are attending All Nations Christian College). What a 3 days we had they were so busy they went by far too quickly! 

When we arrived last Thursday it was late and the collage is in hibernation. A lot of the students are away on Easter holidays there were only a few around. They all came to help us take our stuff to our rooms it was fantastic. What would have taken Johnny and I about 1 hour to do ourselves only took about 20mins it was so good. It had been a long drive down from Scotland to Hertfordshire. We also had to make a stop at Northampton to drop off the bulk of our stuff which took a couple of hours to unload. We had hired a van and a trailer. My dad towed the trailer down thanks Dad!!!! he and Margaret left at 4am thanks guys!! It was sad to say goodbye when they had to leave on Friday  

When we got here we were told that the college were doing some essential maintenance on the heating and hot water, so the first three days of our stay were a challenge and a cold one at that!    

We have met some lovely people since we got here.

We have only had one cross cultural issue since we got here and it was not with the international students we are living with! We went to a bakery to get some lunch and when we tried to pay for it the lady told us that they did not take Scottish notes they only took sterling!!! Johnny and I looked at each other and Johnny said that Scottish notes were sterling and the lady replied "yeah but we don’t take those!" We said that we would have to find a bank to pay then this man said I’ll take your Scottish money I am not fussy! He then told us he too was from Edinburgh and had been living down here for the past twenty years! "Thanks Mr" whoever you are our lunch was fabby and next time we go we will take English notes!!!

The kids started school on Monday. Lee has slotted into school life very well down here. The girls in his class are asking him to say different words because it sounds funny. He seems to be doing a lot better and fitting in well. Rachel has started big school and has also settled in very well, she has also not been very well but now seems to be recovering! She came home the second day claiming she could now read! School and Rachel seem to be a good mix. Please just keep them in your prayers that things would continue to be positive for them. It is a real answer to prayer that they have coped so well with everything we have done so far! Thank you all for your prayers.

Johnny and I start our course this Monday coming and everyone keeps telling us that this is the calm before the storm! We have had a bit of a holiday week it is strange not having any kids during the day it is very cool having time for just us. It is so good when the kids come home because they are full of stories of what they have done and learned. long may the excitement continue!                                                   

Greetings from sunny Spain!!!

We made it in one piece, I had my eyes closed in car most of the way to the hotel!  It took a while to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road! (Johnny is enjoying the challange as always!)

It is the middle of the afternoon and we have been to some really good meetings this morning, then after lunch the kids had a swim! We are having a great time! No cooking, no tidying and definitely no packing boxes!!!!!! hooray!!!!!! 

We are enjoying meeting up with friends that we have not seen for a while, catching up on what they are doing. The kids are having a fabby time. Lee is enjoying playing with friends he met at the last conference and now Rachel is older she is making friends of her own which is so good to see. We hope that these are friendships that will last a lifetime!  

When we get back to Scotland on Sunday 6th April we only have 3 days to pack up the rest of our flat and get it into the van to head to All Nations. Our course starts on 19th April but Lee and Rachel start school the week before. We are not looking forward to saying goodbye to family and friends but we are looking foward to starting at All Nations. Please pray that all will go well with the move and that we will manage to get everything done!

Praise God we have sold our car. You may remember that back in September it broke down on the way back from Orkney, well we had been looking for a new engine but could not find one, but just last week we finally sold it (without an engine!).  We have also managed to rent out our flat too! So that is two big issues sorted. We feel so blessed that these things are finally getting sorted.