Bon Voyage (soon!)

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Hello All!!!

Wow it has been an inexcusably long time since I last updated my blog!  In my defense I was out of town but I will do my best to make restitution by giving you a nice solid blog update today :-).  [side note:  I only know what the word restitution means from listening to Adventures in Odyssey - I don't know why this is necessary to share].

So since it's been awhile and a lot has been going on I'll give you a highlight reel version of everything leading up to yesterday...which was my goodbye party.  My highlight reel is regretfully lacking in pictures.  I'll make it up to you at the end I promise.

Highlights:
1.  Finished training in New York on July 6th...drove 4 hours home and took off at 2am the next morning to fly with my family to Florida.  Impressed my mother by having my laundry done and repacked at Houghton before coming home.  Felt smug.

2.  Went to Florida where my family rented a condo with my grandmother, family, aunt and uncle, and cousin and her husband.  Huge blessing that this was planned last year so that I had this bonding time with family...shared a room with my sister.  No one died.  This is a huge accomplishment.

3. Magic Kingdom (yay).  Got stuck in Haunted mansion seance room while riding BY MYSELF (mistake) for 20 minutes (weirdly terrifying and simultaneously annoying).

4.  Rode Harry Potter ride 3 times.  Argued with siblings about which house we'd be in.  Settled on this arrangement:

5.  Came home...confronted the fact that I need to pack all of my belongings.  Realized that I am a horrible packer.  Had panic attack.

6.  Successfully packed up all of my clothes, shoes, teaching supplies, DVDs, and began to sort out books.  Realized that packing up all of my shoes three weeks early was probably a mistake.

Okay so now we're officially caught up to yesterday!  Yesterday was a wonderful blessing.  Many of you who read this were able to attend and a lot of you already know that yesterday my family and friends hosted an ice cream social where I had the opportunity to say goodbye to all kinds of people that mean the world to me!  For those of you who couldn't be there here are some highlights!

My little friend who knows that sometimes you have to skip the ice cream and just
go for the brownies!

A former deer and merry (wo)man waiting patiently for ice cream

Enjoying Ice Cream with some beloved students :-)

Family and Friends

A display board about my missions work and how to support me

Getting a really special present from a really special girl

Enjoying the party!

The whole party was a huge blessing with an amazing amount of love from forever friends, students, and family.  I will be praying for EVERYONE while I am gone and really hope that everyone keeps in contact!

I'm at T-minus 2 weeks and counting before take off and everything is becoming more real every day.  I'll be updating you on how things are progressing and how the move goes and what I'm up to.  

I'm also still praying in more monthly support.  God's been good and I'm up to about 50% as of yesterday which is a huge blessing but I still have a ways to go.  Thank you for your prayers. Oh and check out the picture below ;-)

Much Love!!

-Amy

Okay so those of you who have followed my adventures in other yeas will know why this is AMAZING!
My friend Kelly has given me a whole toothbrush family to travel with!

Pre Field Orientation Adventures!

Hello all of my dear blog followers, skimmers, and casual observers!  I'm so sorry it's been a bit of time since my last update - for those that do not know I am currently on the second leg of my inadvertant farewell America tour - after spending time with my father out west I am now in upstate New York for two weeks participating in my Pre Field Orientation for teaching overseas.  Note:  Three days after I returned from Colorado Springs the city like almost burned down.  I apologize in advance to the state of New York, assure them that anything that happens has nothing to do with me, and hope sincerely that this is not some sort of a pattern!  

Pre-Field Orientation is taking place on the campus of Houghton College in New York.  It's been a VERY educational time with lots of seminars for us educators that will be leaving for specifically the international schooling foreign missions field.  There are about 80 of us here and between all of us we are traveling to every continent except for Antarctica.  It has been a fantastic opportunity to bond with folks who will be facing the same challenge as me.  The topics we have been practicing have also been great!  It's a bit overwhelming (the educators liken absorbing the information to drinking from a fire hose) but excellent nonetheless.  Some topics are:

* Language Acquisition

*Making a healthy emotional transition

*Classroom strategies for the International Educator

*Third Culture Kid Profile

* Personality Profiling

*And many, many more!  All taught by christian educators who have themselves spent many years on the field :-)

The added bonus of this experience is the opportunity to bond with fellow educators - particularly those who will be going to Vienna with me.  I've gotten to know my future roomate Sarah very well and also have met three other families and another single gal who will be joining us.  We're already turning into a family!  

Disclaimer:  I wanted to put studious pictures of us all learning but I was too chicken to take pictures during our sessions so instead here are some pictures of our trip today to Niagara Falls on our day off.  Enjoy and please keep all of us in your prayers!

Love you all!

 Amy

Part of our Vienna team.  We're in Red and White to represent for Canada day!
On the left are the Canadian Preusse Family and on the right you'll see the Wiisanen
family, Sarah (in the white shirt) and myself.  We're practicing our cross cultural skills if you
look closely :-) 

DeAnn (left) will be very close to Sarah (right) and I as she teaches in
Budapest next year.  They are practicing their best tourist expressions.
DeAnn is succeeding 

The Rainbow Bridge to Canada!

My Future Roomate Sarah and I are a very attractive Mountie and
her pet moose on the Canadian side of the falls :-)