Austin's amazing, Fantastic Blog

My Last Post

2008-04-07T13:39:00.002-04:00

Since I have not posted in quite some time and since there simply isn't anything worth posting lately, I have decided to close this blog for now. In the future I may start a new one up when I have more time or if interesting things start happenning in my life again. Life has been good though! Teaching is great and I am much looking forward to the end of May! This summer I will be working on my Master's degree while enjoying my summer off from work! I am planning on returning to teach next year at LCA and will be continuing with my Master's degree throughout the school year. If any of you have facebook, I keep that updated pretty often so you may find me on there. God bless and take care!

An update!

2007-09-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

Well I have decided to come out of the silence and write something new...

Let me first say that teaching is amazing! I truly do love it. My students are all great and we have a great time in Bible class. All of my 8th graders seem to like me and I have already had a lot of compliments from students, parents, and the administration. Ok, enough bragging about myself. It is lots of fun though and I am in the right place. In 8th grade Bible we are studying through the Gospel of John and it has been cool to see the light bulbs turn on as my students are faced with the reality that Jesus was tortured and died on a Roman Cross for their sins. If they forget most of the things I say... and they will most likely my hope is for them to walk away from my classes knowing and loving Jesus more.

Well anyway, outside of school ,life is good and I have decided not to do any work on my Master's degree right away as teaching is taking up a lot of time! I basically have no curiculum for my classes so I am developing all of it. 8th grade has some but it is pretty out-dated. I am using some of it but am trying to make it relevant for today's generation. I am showing lots of media and trying to facilitate lots of class discussions. Any ideas?

First Week of School

2007-09-06T19:50:00.000-04:00

So I know I have one day of school left in the week but I thought I would go ahead and update the blog since I am motivated. So far teaching is awesome! My students are great and already I have had parents telling me that their kids have come home saying how much they love my classes! This is kind of surprising because I really tried to come across as strict my first week so that they would respect my authority from the start. Well they do respect me very well and we are having a great time. Ha ha, I have to tell this...
Today out of the corner of my eye I caught a boy throwing a wad of paper half way across the room into the trash can but he missed. So I told him, to hold on to his paper next time but if he is going to try to throw it into the trash to at least make the shot next time. Well this got a few laughs and then this girl says, "Mr. Buckley...did you just say if you can't make it to the bathroom to go in the trash can?" How this girl got that from what I said I have no idea but we all got a good laugh out of it to say the least!

Well anyway I am so glad tomorrow is the weekend as it has been a busy week and I am tired! All those papers to keep track of and organize! That really is the hard part. The teaching and the students are the fun parts. We will see if I still say that a few months from now!

new teacher orientation

2007-08-09T17:31:00.001-04:00

This week has been new teacher orientation at Liberty Christian Academy. So far all is good except for it's a lot of information all at once. There are so many procedures for teachers to follow! Today we went over emergency procedures and I cracked up at the form you are supposed to fill out if there is a telephone call about a bomb threat. You are supposed to ask the caller all these details about the bomb, where it's located etc. then ask the caller who they are and where they are calling from. Yeah right! Like the bomber is going to tell you all of that! I wish I coudl remember all of teh questions. They were hilarious! I saw the classroom I am supposed to be getting today! It is huge! There is even a huge window looking out accross the campus! I hope it's true and I get that room. Right now it's still being finished as it's brand new and so nothing is really set in stone. We will see! I will post pics soon of LCA and my class room once I get moved in.

Well I am thinking I will change the direction of this blog to stories from the classroom as I am now a teacher! I will try to keep it updated more and include humorous stories from my classes leaving out the names of course. Let me know what you guys think. First of all does anyone still read this blog? If you do let me know.

It's official!

2007-07-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's official I have been hired as a full-time Bible teacher at Liberty Christian Academy! I am so excited! The past few years I have really found a love for teaching and now I will get to teach my favorite subject every day. As far as I have been told I will be teaching 8th grade Bible which is great as this is my favorite age group. In addition to this I will be starting on my Master's degree at Liberty University since it will be free! So I will be very busy starting the middle of next month.

Right now I am in Lynchburg for the weekend looking for an apartment and on Sunday I will be signing my contract with the school! Camp has been going well although this week seemed long and tiring. I did switch from 13 year olds to 9-10 year olds and the younger ones require more attention and TLC. The 13 year olds are very independent and needless to say I will be switching back to them this next week. Man I need to post some pics. I will soon I promise!

A quick update!

2007-07-08T00:24:00.000-04:00

Well this is going to be a quick update as it's 12:30 at night and I have a new week of camp starting tomorrow but a quick update is better than no update! the past three weeks of camp have been so much fun! The first week I had what was described as the worst cabin of 13 year olds the camp has ever seen! This camp has been around since the 1960's just to give you an idea! They really weren't that bad but it was a cabin full of skater punks with bad attitudes. When we would catch them breaking the rules they lied to get out of trouble and one or two even sneaked out in the middle of the night to meet up with a girl at the riffle range in the woods. Of course they lied their way out of it. Some how through it all the kids all liked me and they all said I was a cool counselor. The last two weeks were great though and I had great kids who were all just there to have a good time at camp.

In other news, I have applied to two Universities to start working on my Master's degree in the fall. I have already been accepted to Liberty University where I got my undergraduate degree from and I also applied to Regent University in Virginia Beach. So far Liberty is looking good as I have also interviewed to be an 8th grade Bible teacher at Liberty Christian Academy. If I get hired I would get free tuition at the University as a benefit which would be huge! I could get a free Master's degree while working as a teacher teaching my favorite subject. This Thursday I have my second interview and I should know a few days after that if I am hired so I will let you all know.

Off to Camp

2007-05-26T13:58:00.000-04:00

As of this past week I am officially finished with the school year and my temporary job at Worth Your Wait doing the abstinence education! So tomorrow I leave for Virginia Beach to work at a camp as a counselor for the summer! I will have my own cabin of boys ages 8-13 as well as an assistant counselor most likely a high school student. Camp lasts for one week so each week I will have a new group of campers. It is a Christian camp so our goal is to share the gospel with the kids and hopefully to see campers come to know Christ.

This summer I will be praying about where to attend school in the fall for my Master's degree in Pastoral Studies. I have applied at both Liberty University and Regent University and am praying for God to direct me to one or the other. Regent is in Virginia Beach and last week I went for a visit and later that evening I was walking on the beach and I was sure that God spoke to me that I was to attend school there but I think it was the ocean talking, hmm. Well we will see.

I won't have many opportunities to update the blog this summer but I will try to post pics from camp from time to time.

Where's Austin?

2007-05-11T00:11:00.000-04:00

Well I know I haven't updated in a while so here is what I have been up to lately...
Basically I have been traveling all over Central Virginia and even to the coast! Traveling in Central VA has been for Worth Your Wait teaching abstinence which sorry to say WYW staff but I am sooooo sick of talking about sex all of the time! Only one more week of that though and the school year will be over for us at WYW! Then as it looks I will most likely be working a summer job at a Christian camp near the coast as a camp counselor for 8-13 year olds. I am also applying to be a Bible and History teacher at a small Christian School near Lynchburg in which I would start in August. In the middle of all of this I have still found the time to visit my two most favorite places in Virginia (Sharp Top Mountain and Virginia Beach)! This was a few weeks ago so there were still no leaves on the trees on the mountain tops. It's nice and green now though!

pics!

2007-05-10T23:55:00.000-04:00

At the top of Sharp Top Mountain in Bedford County Virginia. I made it up in a record 45 minutes! Well it's a record for me anyway!
At the top!
On the trail.
From the top of Sharp Top Mountain
Crap! No cursing at Virginia Beach! What a culture shock coming home to this!
Me and the girls at the beach!
Even though I think it's a good picture Mallory and Maggie would kill me if they knew I posted this!
Virginia Beach

A tragedy close to home

2007-04-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

As all of you know on Monday April 16 a student at Virginia Tech mass murdered 32 people at his University. Words can not even express just how shocked and saddened I was when I heard the news. It is one of those instances where you will never forget where you were when you heard about the shootings. I will always remember that I was in between teaching classes at a Virginia middle school when I heard the news. Like so many others I immediately paused to think if I knew anyone who would have been there. Even though everyone I know from there is safe, it is impossible to not be effected by this tragedy. I have never understood how anyone could take away the life of another person. Yet here is a human being who viciously murdered 32 innocent people and then took his own life. A University is supposed to be a safe environment for study and living yet here this week we see once again that there are few truly “safe” places left in the world.

One can never know when tragedy will strike. All I can think about now are the poor parents of those kids who were killed. How will they pick up the pieces? They will be forever scared by this senseless act of rage. My prayers go out to them tonight. All sorts of other thoughts run through my brain at times like this. What would I have done if I were in one of those dorm halls or class rooms? Am I ready to meet God like those 33 souls did on Monday? Am I making the most of the time that God has given me?
I guess I am typing all of this to get some of my thoughts out and to ask everyone to pray for the wounded survivors as well as all of the families and students affected by this event. Another important family to remember is the family of the student who murdered everyone. Not only are they grieving the loss of their child but they must also be going through a tremendous amount of guilt and shame right now. Let’s remember to pray for God to grant all affected by this tragedy peace and comfort in the coming days.

Back to Spring

2007-04-12T11:40:00.000-04:00

Ok so we are now back to Spring with temperatures in the 60's today which is at least better than snow. I am so ticked though because I come back from Holland and it's all warm and sunny and I see that Holland is all cold and dreary and now the tables have turned and it's in teh 70's in Rotterdam and still in the 50's-60's here. Oh well as long as it's not cold or rainy! Well not too much to blog about lately. I have had a bad cough for the past week and a half now and it's really getting annoying! I am tired of feeling like I am about to cough up a lung! Work continues though as does trying to find a good job in Lynchburg. I sent my resume into a really cool children's museum yesterday to be a part of their staff as they are looking for gallery staff. So we will see. I have to find something that will allow me to take classes as few days a week so say a prayer. Well I better get back to work. I have to do a presentation on STD's later this afternoon for my supervisors so they can see that I know what I am talking about in the schools, fun fun fun!

An update at last!

2007-04-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

Ok so it has been a while since I have updated my blog so I have decided to step out of the silence and write something. It’s hard to believe that I have already been home for two weeks! The week I got back I got right to work with the organization I used to work for before I left teaching abstinence education in the schools. This is only for a few months so that I can get on my feet financially then I will be moving to Lynchburg this summer and will start Seminary at Liberty Theological Seminary in the fall. So as you can see I am pretty much right back into the swing of things. Other than that there is really not that much to type. I have just been working and catching up with friends. The weather here has been so beautiful the past few weeks with warm temperatures and lots of sun shine and then yesterday winter came back and brought with her snow! So enjoy the picture of our house with snow and I will attempt at keeping this blog up and interesting.

My last European adventure...well at least for now!

2007-03-19T10:05:00.001-04:00

Ok so I am a little behind with writing about my trip to London. Last Friday I flew to London to meet up with a friend of mine from Virginia named Jeremy. Jeremy and I spent the whole weekend in London being typical tourists. It was a great time though! London is my favorite city in Europe! I don’t know what it is about that city but I love the atmosphere. It is filled with tourists who can be annoying even though you are one yourself but just being there and seeing all of the famous and historical sites is so fascinating! Friday we actually met at the airport and boarded another plane to Belfast which was a nice city. The reason we were there was to see a band called the Stiff Little Fingers which is a seasoned punk band celebrating their 30^th anniversary tour. It was actually a pretty cool concert! So the next day we headed back to London in the morning and were on the go till late that night. We met up with a friend of mine Alex then we all bought tickets to see one of my favorite musicals Blood Brothers. If you are ever in London and can see some theatre, go see this musical! Sunday I got up and met Alex to go to Hillsong Church London! It was an incredible service and God spoke to my heart and encouraged me greatly! The rest of the day we tried to take it easy but that was just too hard for me to do and I think I just about drove Jeremy crazy dragging him all around London to see the sights!

Monday we didn’t fly out of London until late in the evening so we were able to spend the day taking touring again. At about 1:45 or 2:00 we made our way back to Westminster Abbey to take some pictures and the whole area was blocked off by the police and we saw a fancy car parked outside of the cathedral. I looked and saw it was not the queen but my curiosity was peaked by this time so I had to ask someone what was going on. So I found an official person who told me that the queen was to arrive in an hour and fifteen minutes. So we waited around for like 30 minutes watching a bunch of foreign dignitaries go into the cathedral and then our hunger got the best of us and we both decided that waiting around for another 45 minutes to get an old lady’s picture just wasn’t worth it! So yes I almost saw the queen in London! That night we went to the airport and made our way back to Rotterdam where we crashed in our beds!

The rest of the week Jeremy and I pretty much chilled out in Rotterdam and this past Saturday we spent the night in Amsterdam at this totally nasty hostel (it was just dirty and old). We had a great St. Patrick’s Day evening though in an Irish pub enjoying a live Irish band and dancers! Sunday morning we headed to Schiphol airport and I said goodbye to Jeremy who headed back to the States. So as I type this all of my European travels are officially finished for now as this Sunday I head back to the States! I have truly had a great time in Europe the past 7 and a half months and I will greatly miss the friends I have made here. So for those of you who are wondering what is next. I plan on returning to live in Virginia where I will be starting Seminary in the fall to pursue a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies.

London and Belfast!

2007-03-13T11:01:00.000-04:00

West Minster Abbey London
The Wellington Arch London.
Winston Churchill looking on as war protestors camp close by. I wonder what he would have to say about the whole thing.
Trafalgar Square London
The National Gallery London
St. Pauls Cathedral London
Piccadilly Square London

Me on the underground in London
Me in Belfast
Me at Buckingham Palace
Me and my friend Alex in Blood Brothers
London Bridge in the background
Crown Bar Belfast
Camden Town
Me by the river Thames
Buckingham Palace
Near Buckingham Palace.

My favorite musical Blood Brothers.
Big Ben at night
Big Ben
Some grafitti in Belfast
Belfast City Hall
A view from our Hostel window in Belfast.
A view of Belfast from our Hostel window.
The streets of Belfast near the hostel where we stayed.

Going home

2007-03-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

Well as some of you know I have decided to come home earlier than expected. Instead of May I will be coming home March 25. So todayI told my friends at church and since I don't know if I will be able to make it back to church before I leave we took pictures. So now you all can see some of the people I have been going to church with the past 4 months. I will miss them and our little English service dearly. This church has meant so much to me the past 4 months and has served as a huge encouragement along the way.

English service regulars

2007-03-04T15:51:00.000-05:00

Left to right: Paula, Glenn, Pastor Henk, me, Martin, Magda, Thirza.

Back to Slovakia!

2007-02-28T07:22:00.000-05:00

As some of you know last week I traveled to Slovakia to visit my friend Nathan who is serving on the mission field there. It was such an awesome week! On Monday we went to Prague which was a very beautiful city even in winter. I wish the pictures could do it justice but they just can’t. The city is filled with beautiful old buildings and the focal point of the city is a huge old castle on top of a hill. It was just so beautiful! The rest of the week we pretty much just chilled in Zvadka, the village where Nathan lives. We watched movies, played video games and just basically chilled. Thursday night we went to a city about an hour and a half away to see a band called “The Backwards” who are a Beatles cover band. They were incredible! They sounded just like the Beatles. They are actually Slovakian and they travel the world doing concerts and competitions in which they have won many. Afterwards we ate dinner with the band at a restaurant because one of the guys who were with us went to school with one of the band members. We did do some work the week I was there staining some doors in the missionary’s house as well as leading three Bible studies and on Sunday I taught the lesson at the kid’s club which was so fun. All in all it was a very relaxing week and boy did I need it! Well in two weeks I am going to London for the weekend and then I will only have like 2 and a half months before I come home!

Prague Pics! Click them to enlarge.

2007-02-28T07:03:00.000-05:00

The river that runs through Prague with a view of the castle.
Jerry should know his hotel in Prague has a bar!
A soldier on duty at the castle.
Looking down from the castle.
Prague's Eiffel Tower.
The streets of Prague.
Some buildings in Prague.
O n the cathedral walls outside.
Nathan
Nathan lost!
Me sitting on the Castle steps.
Me looking like a Eastern European with no smile!
Don't I look so Euro?
Just out of reach!
Cathedral roof
Buildings within the castle walls
A square in Prague.
A soldier at dusk.

I am still alive, I promise!

2007-02-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since my last entry and so I thought I would update everyone who still reads this thing on how life in Europe has been going. Well to be honest the past month has been very trying! It has been a little tough transitioning into the new family but I am pleased to say that this past weekend I talked with the family about some of the issues that I have been having and they seem to be resolved. This past week has been the best week so far with the new family. I know that God wants me here in Holland for a season and I am determined not to leave until God reveals to me that the season is over. Since I arrived in Holland God has taught me so many lessons and He has given me abundant strength for every trial that I have faced. Trials and temptations come and go but the strength of our Lord endures forever! Every day it seems I am given new opportunities to share the Gospel with non-believers and this has been truly a blessing.

On another note...God is so awesome! This Sunday I am going to Slovakia for a whole week as the kids are going to France for a week because they have a week off from school. So anyway my friend Christine in Texas had asked if she could ship me a few books to give Nathan in Slovakia as shipping to Slovakia can be a little sketchy sometimes. So I agreed and didn't hear anything from her until yesterday when she asked me if I had received the package (which included some American candy for me!). I told her that I had not received it yet but hopefully I would on Friday or Saturday as I leave on Sunday.

Well all day I prayed for it to arrive and when I got home this evening it was on the kitchen table! I know this seems small but all day I prayed believing in faith that the package would come as I know those books will greatly encourage Nathan who is serving as a missionary. Well they came and just on time! Some of you reading this need a miracle from God or know someone who does. Why not pray believing God in faith for Him to breakthrough in your life? He knows the desires of our hearts and Ephesians 3:20 says that He is able to do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think"! Never forget that He is always there for you and He loves you more than you will ever know!

They really got me!

2007-01-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

Well the 6th graders really got me today at my English conversation class! My lesson today was on different basic foods and "likes" v.s. "dislikes". I had 25 foods and out of the 25 foods I told the kids that there were 4 I didn't like and they had to go through the list asking me in English what I liked and the 1st person to guess all four that I disliked won the game. So we get to ham and this boy asks me, "Austin do you like Snikkel?" (if you speak Dutch you already get it!) I said naively, "what’s that?" Another boy says, "Well, it's like ham but long". I said "well maybe I would like it". Then they all busted out laughing. I was like "what? What is it?" So the boy pointed down and I knew, they got me! So I said oh! No! No! Thank goodness it happened at the end of class as the lesson was shot after that.

Sesame Chicken at last!

2007-01-21T14:45:00.000-05:00

Well tonight I finally got some good sesame chicken here in Holland and from my own kitchen! As some of you know my favorite Chinese dish is sesame chicken. I have not been able to find it anywhere here and it has almost driven me crazy! So I finally decided to just go ahead and try to make some. So I got online and found a good recipe for the sauce and Coen and I decided to go ahead and make it. Coen (the father) fried the chicken and I prepared the sauce and I must say that it was pretty good! I will work on the sauce a little and maybe try a different batter for the chicken next time but it was pretty tasty for my first time making sesame chicken. So here is a picture and if you have never had sesame chicken go out and try some at your favorite Chinese establishment! (If you live near Lynchburg I recommend the Shanghai Express on Wards Road)

Funny Farm

2007-01-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Well yesterday was a beautiful day here in Rotterdam with temperatures in the 50's! It was sunny also which made it even nicer. So I decided that I would take Coen out to this animal farm nearby that Mase had told me about. Here you can buy feed to give to the animals by hand and there is also a playground to play on. So I was excited about it but at first Coen was not. After some influence by Mase though Coen was ready to go. After a very short walk we arrived and bought our corn. We walked around and looked at all of the animals but none were worthy enough to receive the feed except for the goats. Now we were having a good time. The goats went practically crazy over the corn feed and they were jumping up to the gate and knocking each other over to get to us.
On the way home we ran into Joris who was on his bike loaded with fireworks. Joris is the 12 year old mind you and if there is one thing that he is crazy about its fireworks! So we set off a few in the field and made our way home. So it was a fun afternoon but alas as I look out of the window today the weather has changed and the warmth and sunshine are gone for now. I am definitely ready for spring!

2007-01-16T09:28:00.000-05:00

Once we got there and found the goats we both had a good time.
Feeeed Meeeee!
Coen very excited to be going to an animal farm, can't you tell?
My new surroundings.
A view of the neighborhood from the street.
Another view of the neighborhood.

Driving Miss Daisy

2007-01-12T04:21:00.000-05:00

Well today I drove the kids to school with Mase (the mother) for the first time. First off let me say that’s driving in a foreign country is definitely an expereince every driver should have. I did drive when I lived in Ecuador and that is where I learned to drive with a stick shift and I am sure that I gave the missionaries there a few near heart attacks. Today was not so bad but there were a few mistakes and with my luck they all took place right outside of the school! First I tried to Parallel Park the van as most parking in the city is parallel. This was not a success as the spaces in my opinion are made for small cars. So we decided to drive around the block and park on street behind the school where there is regular parking. Well that’s when I had the bright inclination to go down a one way street the wrong way! I wish you could have seen the look on Mase's face and then on the onlookers faces as we proceeded try to make it to the end of the street of course pulling to the side a few times to let cars and bikers by. Of course when I get nervous like in situations like these I tend to stall out so I did that a few times as well. So we made it out of there and into a normal parking space, thank God! The rest of the driving went pretty well I thought.

So all in all things are going well with the new family. The kids seem to like me and we are having fun times playing games and just hanging out together. Today is Friday and that means McDonalds for dinner or so I have been told, yippee! I am also learning that there are preferred nationalities when it comes to having au pairs. Unfortunately Americans are not ranking as high as we are spoiled and do not want to work very hard at cleaning and such. Philippino girls don't rank high but we will not talk about why. Polish girls rank very high apparently as they work hard and are ok taking orders and such. So I am here to prove all of the negative thoughts towards Americans all wrong. Pray for me and wish me luck.

The new family

2007-01-04T09:21:00.000-05:00

The Sutterland house (it's like a duplex)
The phat new ride I get to pimp around in.
The house
A view from the back of their garden (I am not allowed to show the rest till Spring)
Joris (12), Marjolijn (14), and Mase
Coen age 7

As many of you already know I am au pairing now with a new family here in Rotterdam, the Sutterlands. The new family has three kids who live in the house Coen (7), Joris (12), and Marjolijn (14). The parents are Coen and Mase (ages withheld so I will not be fired). Mase and Coen are both physicians and own their own practice in the city. I am now living in a residential neighborhood about 15 minutes by car (30 min by bike) into the city. Most of my duties will stay the same except I will mainly be taking care of the youngest boy Coen although I will be hanging out with all of them. Coen and Joris go to the same school as the other children I was watching (http://www.oldenbarneveltschool.nl/) so I will still be teaching (volunteer) twice a week with the English program for grades 6-8. I am also attending the English services at The Church on the Way Rotterdam which meets in the World Trade Center in the city. They have one service in Dutch and one in English. They just started the English service a few months ago and it is very small but growing as the Lord seems to bring new people every week. You can also check them out on the web at http://www.en.tcotwr.nl. As always make sure to check out my new pics (more inside pics of the house to come later).

2007-01-04T07:40:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas Tree
Christmas Dinner!
Cocktail weeners, meatballs, and sausage balls
Bobbie Sue going nuts over her cat nip!
Our dog Shauna getting in on the Christmas excitement!

The Buckley family Christmas, drama on flights, and more!

2007-01-04T06:57:00.000-05:00

I wish I would have posted some over Christmas but I was either too tired or too busy so there are my excuses to start with. Well anyway I had a great Christmas with my family in Virginia! There's nothing like being at home for Christmas. There was definitely drama though on my long flight over let me tell you! For a minute I thought I was going to be on the evening news! No not really but basically I ticked off a flight attendant for sitting in the "Crew Seating" which on this plane were just regular seats in which not all of them were labeled.

So I am sitting there with my legs stretched out watching my TV and this flight attendant yells from across the plane, "Hey who's that guy sitting in our seats?" I was then abruptly and very rudely told to get up and go back to my seat. I explained to them that that there was no sign on the seat I was sitting in to indicate that it was for the crew and that I had switched seats because the TV. was broken at the other seat. Then I told them that I really didn't appreciate being yelled at especially in front of half the flight. I told them that it was unprofessional and out of line. So in the end I was moved to a better seat with a little more leg room.

Christmas and New Year's were all very nice, just good times with family and friends. Christmas eve we went to church where my parents both sing in the choir and it was a very nice service. Then we went home for food and Christmas movies! Christmas morning we opened our presents and spent the day vegetating in front of the TV and eating more and more till there was no room left! The rest of vacation was spent shopping and catching up with old friends!

My flights back seemed to go by quickly but again more drama with me passing out! Now I have passed out before but really never like this! I was sitting there in my seat and started to feel dizzy and sick so I woke up the lady next to me and told her I felt sick and had to go to the bathroom. Before I could even open the lavoratory door I completely passed out and fell to the ground. I woke up with this shocked man standing over me asking if I was ok. Then the flight crew rushed over and sat me on the ground out of the way while they brought over an oxygen tank. So they hook me up to that and start asking me all of these questions like did I do drugs before the flight, you know just your normal questions. I don't really know why I passed out but I am pretty sure it was due to dehydration as I had only drunk a little water. So bottom line is, make sure you drink plenty of liquids on your next flight because you may end up on the ground hooked up to oxygen!

Well this blog entry is getting long so I will close but before I do, make sure to check out the Christmas pics and everybody have a Happy New Year!

No wonder people hate America

2006-12-21T10:03:00.000-05:00

Last night I was watching a little T.V. and stopped on MTV for a bit and some stupid show that gets on my nerves was on but for whatever reason I decided to watch a few minutes and was so mad within a few minutes that I had to turn the channel. It was this show called "Sweet 16" or something like that. It is a reality show all about these teenagers who turn 16 and who’s parents throw them a huge (and I mean huge) sweet 16 party. Well all of the kids are complete spoiled brats. In this episode the girl turning 16 was no different. She was talking to the camera about how she was turning 16 and that her grandparents were going to buy here a new car probably a Lexus, Audi or BMW or something.

So then they cut to her and her grandparents in their SUV and they are on the way to the dealership. The Grandmother tells her that she spoke to the man at the dealership and he assured her that they had some great used cars about 4 years old. The girl then goes ballistic, "What? Used! 4 years old! I don't think so! I am getting a new car!" Well they get there and the salesman shows them around and shows them some very nice used cars that the girl turns down. Then they go inside and there is a brand new Audi sedan with a big red bow on top with her name on it.

When I was 16 I was grateful just to be able to drive my dad's Buick. Now I realize that this obviously does not represent every American but it made me realize why the world hates America. All they see are the Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie types on T.V. Then throw in all of the negative war news, political scandals, and a few other things I can't think of and there you have the reasons why we are hated. World citizans...please don't think we are all like the Americans you see on TV. Americans...stand up and prove them wrong!

My Celebrity look-alikes!

2006-12-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

Ha ha, check out my celebrity look a likes below on the side. Now believe it or not... someone actually did say they thought I looked a little like Leo DiCaprio once as well as George Clooney. I just love it that the computer chose Forest Whitaker though, thats freakin hilarious! You guys should totally go to that website and do your own.

The Cow Statue in Delft

2006-12-08T06:36:00.000-05:00

Some time ago I went to Delft and posted all sorts of pictures on my blog about it (remember me getting propositioned by the prostitute?). Well just last week I was watching T.V. here and realized that they were filming this show in a small square in Delft that I had been to. I knew this because there on the T.V. was the cow statue! Sadly the statue did not make my earlier entry on Delft so I thought I would post it today for all to enjoy. It is now a famous staute so now it can be on my blog.

Before and After pics!

2006-12-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Me after
Me before loosing the 24 pounds

Well I am not bragging but since I have been here I have already lost 24 pounds! I thought I would post the before and after pics. They are not full body but you get the idea. Click the pic to enlarge. It is almost like looking at two different people I think. Just keep in mind the before pic wasn't a good pic of me anyway.

My mom said to tell you all this...

2006-11-30T08:13:00.000-05:00

For a better view make sure to click the pictures to enlarge them.

(lol, Sorry mom)

The past few weeks

2006-11-30T07:28:00.000-05:00

Well as said yesterday in my post, I have not blogged much here lately so I thought I would catch everybody up on some news and such. A few weeks ago Ineke and I had an outing with the art history class we are in here at an art museum in the city. It was a very nice museum with some great paintings from such artists as Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and others. Below you will find some pictures. Make sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Well a few weeks ago I also started teaching English conversation twice a week for a few hours at the kid's school for grades 6-8. I get small groups for 20 minutes each to lead in English conversation exercises. So far it has been lots of fun and the kids all seem to enjoy it too. I have also found a great church here to be involved with on Sundays. It's called Church on the Way Rotterdam and it is a part of the four square denomination. The pretty much believe all of the same things I believe being raised as a Baptist but they are a little more charismatic. They always have good worship though and the messages are deep and theologically sound which is of major importance for me. They have a Dutch service at 10 AM and then the English service at 12:30.

Well the big news here is that after much thought and prayer I have decided to switch families after I return from the States on January 3. The main reason being that I just have not connected well with the kids here in the family I have been with. Although they are a great family, the two youngest are only four and five years old and I am finding that I work best with kids a few years older. Also three small kids have proven to be just more than I could handle at times. The new family I will be working for lives here in Rotterdam and although they also have three kids living at home the girl is 14, the middle son Joris is 12, and Coen is 7. This past Sunday I went over to their house and had a good time visiting with the family and getting a feel for what the new job would entail. The older kids pretty much take care of themselves so although I am sure we will all have fun together I think the seven year old will be my main responsibility.

After the New Year my friend Alex Harper is moving to London to au pair so hopefully I will have a friend to travel a bit around Europe with in the New Year! I hope to visit England, Ireland (again), a few parts of Italy, Germany, and maybe a few other places if I can fit them in. We will see. So all in all things are going well here in Europe and I am excited about what the New Year will bring with it.

2006-11-30T07:19:00.000-05:00

This is the Erasmus Bridge, one of Rotterdam's great bridges.
This is a small harbor. I know it is a little dark but I thought it was a pretty scene.
This is a painting of the empty tomb.
This is a painting of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.

Sinterklaas is here!

2006-11-29T05:25:00.000-05:00

Well this post comes a little late but I have just not been into blogging recently, so there you have it. Well anyway almost two weeks ago Sinterklaas came to Holland on a boat from Spain to spread joy and happiness to the children of Holland. (of course it was an actor who boarded a boat somewhere in the city and rode it to the harbor where the kids were waiting.) So Sinterklaas arrived with his helpers known as Zwarte Piet who's faces have turned black from going down the chimneys for Sinterklaas. They throw out small cookies called kruidnoten into the crowd while singing and dancing. It was a fun event to go to and neat to see how children in another part of the world celebrate holidays. The children also put their shoes in front of the fire place a few times per week till Dec. 5th (Sinterklaas birthday) and sing a song to Sinterklaas. If they sing Sinterklaas will leave something in their shoe over night. So as you can see Sinterklaas is a very busy man. Then on Dec. 5th it is Sinterklaas' birthday and everybody writes a poem to somebody about that person and people give each other funny presents that have to do with that person. (Ineke please help me out if I am getting all of this straight)

So Sinterklaas is not associated with Christmas here and he is a totally different figure than America's Santa Claus. I am still trying to figure it all out but that is what I understand anyway. So look at the pics and leave a comment if you have more info. on Sinterklaas.

2006-11-29T05:22:00.000-05:00

2006-11-29T05:21:00.000-05:00

Some videos!

2006-11-01T07:49:00.000-05:00

Well these videos arenot good quality at all but my digital camera isn't made to take good videos either but at any rate they are from my trip to Slovokia. The one of me and Nathan was taken by a stranger who thought he was taking our picture. It is kind of funny. Just follow the link below and enjoy! Leave a comment to let me know if it works.

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=201467&cdate=20060704

2006-11-01T06:20:00.000-05:00

A beautiful cathedral in Vienna.

2006-11-01T06:19:00.000-05:00

Me trying to make it look like I am holding the house up. This is an art museum in Vienna with a house thrown on top of it. Don't ask me why, but it was very cool looking.

2006-11-01T06:16:00.000-05:00

Not the best picture of me but me and Nate only got one shot of us together so there you have it.

2006-11-01T06:15:00.000-05:00

Here is the helicopter in the sky. (taken my Nate)

2006-11-01T06:13:00.000-05:00

While in Vienna there was a military show going on to commemorate something important in Vienna.

2006-11-01T06:09:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture taken in the heart of the heart of the upscale shopping district of Vienna. They had Armani, Tiffany and Co., and several other very upscale stores.

2006-11-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

A beautiful side street in Vienna. There are so many little nooks and crannies like this found all over the city and if you don't look you could miss them. They are filled with old beautiful buildings, shops, and cafe's.

2006-11-01T06:03:00.001-05:00

Another building

2006-11-01T06:03:00.000-05:00

A big building in Vienna. (You can see me standing underneath the bottom canopy below)

2006-11-01T06:02:00.000-05:00

This is a big Govt. building or museum, not really sure which but the building with it's statues were amazing!

2006-11-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is a statue on top of a big Government building I think, could be a museum. Many of the buildings there are topped with great statues.

2006-11-01T05:59:00.000-05:00

This is a shot taken of the Rose Garden in Vienna with the beautiful city in the background.

2006-11-01T05:58:00.001-05:00

This is what apears to be an old Roman building in the Rose Garden in Vienna.

2006-11-01T05:58:00.000-05:00

Not a clear shot but I am standing in front of Mozart's old apt. building in Vienna.

2006-11-01T05:57:00.000-05:00

Me in Vienna trying to look cool. On a side note, as I type this it is lightly hailing outside here in Rotterdam!

2006-11-01T05:54:00.000-05:00

I know this is not a good shot but I wanted to try to show this beautiful statue from inside this catholic church in Vienna. They truely had some of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen with amazing statues and art work. The sad part though was just how much Mary was the focus and center of the churches instead of Christ. You would see a beautiful picture or statue of Mary right in the center of the main part of the church and then off to the side in a small closed off part of the sancuary would be Jesus dying on the cross. It kind of made me sick. I mean no disrespect to Catholics but this is something that should be considered.

2006-11-01T05:48:00.000-05:00

A statue in Vienna in memory of the Black Death. They have these all over Europe it seems.

2006-11-01T05:42:00.000-05:00

Monday was so cold in Slovokia, something like 4 degrees C. That is somewhere around 40 F, I think. If you look into the distance you can see the mountains lightly dusted with snow.

2006-11-01T05:38:00.000-05:00

This is a shot taken from the upstairs window of the Baldis' house of their village and the mountains. The scenery was so beautiful there.

2006-11-01T05:37:00.000-05:00

A Slovok nunery! It actually used to be a castle, well I guess it still is but with nuns living in it. Me and Nathan thought about dressing up as nuns to sneak in like in that movie "Nuns on teh Run" but alas we were on a time schedule to get me to the airport.

2006-11-01T05:35:00.000-05:00

Another picture in that Slovok city that I forgot the name of.

2006-11-01T05:34:00.000-05:00

This is teh town square at another city in Slovokia. Nate, help me out with the names here as I am having trouble remembering.

2006-11-01T05:33:00.000-05:00

Nate and Vicky leading the singing at kid's club. (no they are not a couple)

2006-11-01T05:32:00.002-05:00

Nate and Vicky in the Brezno town square

2006-11-01T05:32:00.001-05:00

kids club again

2006-11-01T05:32:00.000-05:00

Kids club

2006-11-01T05:31:00.000-05:00

Every Sunday afternoon at 3:00 the church does a kids club with music, games, Bible stories and more.

2006-11-01T05:30:00.000-05:00

Janet and Tina Baldis cooking some tasty chicken nuggets. They actualy tasted like Chic-fil-A nuggets!

2006-11-01T05:29:00.000-05:00

Me pretending to fall into a fountain. I am sure the Slovoks got a real kick out of seeing three Americans making fools out of themselves in the town square.

2006-11-01T05:27:00.000-05:00

This is a Jewish Synagogue in Brezno that was emptied during WWII with all of the members being sent off to the concentration camps. It has not been used as a synagogue since.

2006-11-01T05:25:00.001-05:00

This is the Catholic church in Brezno.

2006-11-01T05:25:00.000-05:00

This is the town square in Brezno, the closest city to the village where Nathan lives.

Amsterdam

2006-10-24T15:44:00.000-04:00

I finally made it to Amsterdam this past Saturday! Amazing, I have been here for over 2 months now and I had not gone. I must say that I was very impressed! Of course the last time I was there in the city was 10 or 11 years ago when I stayed there on the way back from the Ukraine. Gosh it is so hard to believe it's been that long, I'm getting old. Well anyway Amsterdam has to be, if not the most beautiful, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to in the world. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder but in my opinion it is one great place. Romantic old canals lined with picturesque old houses, you just can't beat it. Oh well, I will let you know when I have been to some more European cities. So anyway, I went to Amsterdam on Saturday with a girl from my Dutch class (Joanna) and her Dutch boyfriend. We had a good time and most of the time I did not feel like a 3rd wheel surprisingly enough. We first went to the Van Gogh museum which was fantastic before enjoying a lunch at one of the local restaurants. Then we went to the Anne Frank house where she and her family hid in a secret annex of her father's warehouse during the German occupation of Holland until they were discovered and captured by the Nazis in WWII. That was the highlight of the day for me and a very moving experience. I highly recommend visiting it if you are ever in Amsterdam. After that we walked around the city for a bit talking in the canals before heading to the car and back to Rotterdam.

It doesn't sound like we did a lot but there is so much to see and one really could spend a whole week in Amsterdam alone and not get bored I am sure. Well it seems lately I am being exposed more and more to stories from life in Europe during WWII. First the meeting of Ineke's 92 year old grandfather (see previous blog entry), and now the Anne Frank house. At the museum I picked up a book "The last seven months of Anne Frank" which contains the stories of six women who were in the concentration camps with Anne Frank. It seems the more I learn about the holocaust it just rips my heart out even more. The stories in this book are so vivid and the mental pictures are frightening. Eating dinner tonight I could not help but think about the starving Jews in the camps and how blest I am to simply have a good meal and a comfortable place to live. Well it certainly has made me appreciate what I have and makes me want to fight for human rights or some worth while cause . Maybe I will join Bono and fight for Africa or something.

Well I probably won't blog until next week when I get back from Austria/Slovakia. God bless you all and don't forget to leave a comment or two so I can know who reads this stuff.

2006-10-24T15:36:00.000-04:00

This is an old government building in the center of Amsterdam with a carnival going on. I was told it was the royal palace in Amsterdam. Is that right Dutchie?

2006-10-24T15:34:00.000-04:00

This is the Rijk Museum which is the national museum for art and history. It is located at museum park.

2006-10-24T15:32:00.000-04:00

Another canal house

2006-10-24T15:31:00.000-04:00

Very old canal houses. I would have to say that Amsterdam is perhaps the most beautiful city that I have been to. The old houses and buildings along old canals, what more could you want? Why did those freakin' stupid Germans have to blow up Rotterdam? It was supposedly once a beautiful city as well. Don't get me wrong, I like Rotterdam a lot and I enjoy it's sleek, modern look but you can't beat beautiful old houses and canals. Sorry if you are German. I have been reading about the concentration camps during WWII so I am a little ticked at the Germans right now. Well I know things have changed.

2006-10-24T15:24:00.000-04:00

Typical canal tours in Amsterdam. Haven't been on one yet, maybe I'll catch one in the Spring. Come over and we will go one one together!

2006-10-24T15:21:00.000-04:00

Another canal shot

2006-10-24T15:20:00.000-04:00

A canal in Amsterdam, the pictures just don't do them justice. Thay are so beautiful and Samantha Brown from the travel channel was right that no matter how many canals in Amsterdam you see you never grow tired of them.

2006-10-24T15:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a bag piper in Amsterdam. He is kind of out of place here and a little far from home. I guess he was just sitting at home in Scottland and thought to himself, "Hey I bet that there are tourists in Amsterdam who will pay good money on the street for some good bag piping". Well I have heard much better. So there you have it.

2006-10-24T15:14:00.000-04:00

This is a statue of Anne Frank in memory of her just around the corner from the Anne Frank house. Sorry there are no pictures of the house but it would have been a tough shot to take as with my camera you have to stand far back and I would have been standing in a canal to get the shot. So you can check it out on the web if you really want to see it. It wasn't a pretyt building though as it was not a canal house but a warehouse.

An unforgettable meeting...

2006-10-20T06:40:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday I had the honor of meeting Ineke’s grandfather who is 92 years old! Realizing his age it dawned on me that he lived here in Rotterdam during the German occupation of WWII. I love history and prior to now have only spoken with US soldiers who fought during the war here in Europe. So I asked him if he would tell me a little about what it was like living here during those times. He began to describe to me how terrible it was. He told me about his good friend who was a Jew who had all of his rights taken away, then had to go into hiding but was eventually captured and shot to death by the Germans. Tears began to well up as he told me how terrible it was to see the city where he had grown up burn down. He said how he remembers the day the Italians surrendered and he heard it over the radio. He said he remembers jumping up and down screaming and his little girl thought he had gone mad. During WWII and after he worked as a meter reader for the city. He said that he will never forget going into one house and seeing a picture on the wall saying “After life you will spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell, where will you be? Coming from America the majority of us really have no clue what living through a war is like. We have only read about it in our history books or watched a war movie or two. This was this man’s reality! He told me about his friends who went off to fight, some of them never to return home. I was reminded by him that freedom isn’t free. It is paid with a great price and we all have forgotten that. Men have bled for freedom, suffered for freedom and we have forgotten. We live out our comfortable lives forgetting that someone had to die so that we could have the comforts that we have today. Let us always be learning from the past and living our lives to preserve the freedom that we so enjoy.

Embarrassmints

2006-10-20T05:39:00.000-04:00

Ok, allow me to say something first...I am still a conservative Christian who supports his country and president! These are national embarrassmints and they were given to me as a gift because I am American. I must say I got a good laugh and the mints are quite good. I can't approve of the Bible being brought into it but if you left that out of it then it would be a stitch. This is a pretty good representation though of what most of the world thinks about our president. In fact one of the first questions most people ask me is if I support Bush. Interestingly enough the mints were made in the USA but the tin was made in China! Now what do you think that tells us?

Another birthday!

2006-10-17T07:33:00.000-04:00

Well today is Caroline's birthday and she is turning four! That means that she will go to school all day starting tomorrow. So today Ineke and I picked Caroline up from school and we all said goodbye to the friends and teachers that she has been with for the past year and a half. Now she is a big girl and will be going to school with the big kids. I think she is excited as yesterday when we picked up her brothers from school she was excited to show me her new classroom. So we will see how it goes tomorrow. Well I thought I woudl post some random pics today of the neighborhood as my friend Alex reminded me that I have not posted any of the neighborhood. So here it is and a few other random shots as well. I will try to take some more shots of the city and post them soon. As far as traveling...In two weeks I will be going to Vienna, Austria to meet up with one of my best friends Nathan Emerick who is serving as a misionary in Slovokia. We will spend Friday touring Vienna and then head out to Slovokia to where he lives. I am so excited and will take lots of pics to post! So

2006-10-17T07:32:00.000-04:00

Timo eating some tomato soup and a sandwitch.

2006-10-17T07:29:00.000-04:00

Caroline and Ineke outside the school.

2006-10-17T07:28:00.000-04:00

Caroline saying goodbye to her friends at her school. Now that she has turned four she will start going to school all day with her brothers at their school starting tomorrow.

2006-10-17T07:27:00.000-04:00

Me sitting on a bench in the neighborhood enjoying perhaps the last nice day till Spring or so I have been told.

2006-10-17T07:24:00.000-04:00

Som the Male cat, well not anymore since we fixed him.

2006-10-17T07:21:00.000-04:00

This is the bakery "De Pistolet" that I go to about every day, mostly for bread. I have become addicted to the apple flaps sold here as well. Apple flaps are an amazing pastry filled with an apple filling. No matter what is going on in your life you can eat one and all will be well.

2006-10-17T07:15:00.000-04:00

"This here is the best apple flap in the city, perhaps in the country, definitely the world!"

2006-10-17T07:14:00.000-04:00

Apple flaps make me go crazy!

2006-10-17T07:12:00.000-04:00

Alex, you said that you wanted to see some pics of the neighborhood so here they are. This is right out our door looking to the left.

2006-10-17T07:10:00.000-04:00

This is just out our front door looking right, if you keep going you will run into Central Station and the city center.

2006-10-17T07:09:00.000-04:00

Here is the street where I have walked amost every day taking Caroline to school.

Another Year Younger!

2006-10-16T09:20:00.000-04:00

Yes it's true, Sunday I turned 25! Ahhh! The big 25. My dear brother reminded me that this means that I have now lived a quarter of a century. I definitely had a great day of rest and in the evening Robbert and Ineke took me out to a very nice restaurant in Den Haag for seafood.

As I have looked back in my mind, this past week, over these 25 years that I have been alive I can truely say that I am blest. I have a college degree. I live in Europe! I am healthy and I have just about the best family and friends that one could hope for and I have fulfilled many live goals and dreams. I was reminded though this past week that the greatest acheivement of my life is one that I did not accomplish. It is the salvation that I have been given by God through the Lord Jesus. Take everything else away, all of my accomplishments, my dreams and goals fulfilled, my college degree, EVERYTHING, and simply leave me with the salvation given to me and that would be more than enough. In the end and in the over all picture of life all is rubbish and there is nothing great compared to the riches of the love of God. I am so glad that I can say that I have been caught in the reckless raging fury of the love of God!

Birthday pics

2006-10-16T08:53:00.000-04:00

Birthday pics

2006-10-16T08:48:00.000-04:00

The past few weeks...

2006-10-08T13:02:00.000-04:00

Well hello all you faithful readers of my blog. I am sorry I have not posted in a while. I need to do better! I had a nice past few weeks and I have been keeping very busy it seems. I am enjoying my dutch class that meets every Tuesday night form 8-10pm. There are about 5 or 6 au pairs in the class and I have enjoyed getting to know my classmates the past few weeks. I finally have some people to hang out with! I have also been attending a small Baptist church here in Rotterdam the past few weeks. Today was awesome as 5 people accepted Christ today! This is huge considering that there were only like 17 adults there today. The message was on why Christ came to Earth. The pastor had a very different appraoch than what I am used to but I kind of liked it. He gave the invitation and asked all who would like to receive Christ to come forward. Then he stopped the music and took the time to hold each one's hands individually and then pray individually with each one out loud. At first I was thinking how uncomfortable they must feel infront of everyone praying like that but then I thought how great it was because this pastor wanted to make sure that these people were serious about the decision that they were making to follow Christ. After each one prayed we all joined them up front and prayed for them to follow Christ and to live for Him. It was very encouraging.

Later today I went to a horse show with Ineke, Caroline, and Morten but it had already ended by the time we arrived. So I snapped a few picks of the horses and watched the concert that was going on inside. Man these Dutch like to party! This past week I finally got around to making the family dinner! I have started dinner for Ineke and Robbert before but this time I cooked it all (with some help from the kids). I decided to give them a taste of the South with one of my favorite meals meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, and for dessert banana pudding! It was delicious if I do say so myself! I was actually surprised just how good it all was. It was pretty close to what mom would have made. For the banana pudding I followed Paula Deen's recipe for "This aint yo momma's banana pudding". I had to cut a few corners as they don't have frozen whipped topping here (no coolwhip) and they don't have sweetened condensed milk either. It was stll pretty darn good and everybody seemed to enjoy the meal. Ok enough bragging about myself. I am actually getting ready to head to an evening praise and worship service at the Pilgrim Father's Church (Dutch Reformed). Well I would love to hear how everybody out there is doing. Don't be a stranger, drop me a line.

2006-10-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

This is the "southern" meal I fixed for the family this past week. As you can see we had mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans, and meatloaf! Morten and Caroline both helped. Morten really enjoyed helping with the meatloaf as you get to use your hands to mix the ingredients. When I told him to use his hands he got a big grin on his face and was like "really?" Well he had fun.

2006-10-08T12:57:00.000-04:00

This is the yummy lekker banana pudding I made for desert! It was amazing if I do say so myself! I am so humble but seriously you should have been there!