Vienna, round two

We left Haus Edelweiss and hit Vienna today....so tired tonight. We have walked all day. Shopped a lot, ate at a couple of interesting places where cafeteria style but not really. We saw Parliament, the Rathaus (city hall of Vienna), visited a beautiful park, St. Stephan's cathedral, rode the Straussenban (city bus), visited Dick and Ruth's old neighborhood from where they lived for 3 hours, and will continue to tour tomorrow. Vienna was very busy today and crowded in shopping areas.

Last Night at Haus Edelweiss

Last night was our last night at Haus Edelweiss. We spent the evening at a nearby restaurant called Stockerwirt. It was a beautiful authentic Austrian restaurant. We were told beforehand that it would be a 3 hour evening typical of dining out in Austria. The place was beautiful with a beautiful outdoor seating area. However, the weather was too cold so we ate inside which was also very lovely.

The food was excellent. I had a beef dish called Zwiebelrostbraten von der Beiried that was delicous with onions and potatoes. My dessert was Marillenstrudel with schlogobers (apricot strudel with whipped cream). It was a little more tart than expected but also good. Kelly and Robin had a chocolate dessert that was a baked chocolate melting cake in a small dish and it came with strawberries and vanilla ice cream also in small dishes. It was sinfully luscious!

The evening was very enjoyable and a last chance to say our farewells to the other short term workers and staff of Haus Edelweiss.

Today, we are off to Vienna for two nights, then onto Munich for two nights and finally to Zurich for the last three nights before we return home. I will post when possible.

Cleaning Day is Over....Hallelujah!

We have finished our cleaning. Here is a sample of what we had to do. Clean and sanitize the bathrooms. In the kitchen take things out of the cabinets and clean all shelves. They even took the stove apart to clean the parts and then put it back together again. I walked in to get water and Claudia was standing on top of the stove cleaning the hood! We stripped the beds, flipped the mattresses, sanitized them and remade them. Washed all the towels & linens including duvet covers, vacuumed, mopped, cleaned the windows, washed the walls, turned off the hot and cold water in the empty areas, scrubbed down the big dining room and walls, floors, tables, etc. We had at least 5 different buildings to clean and get ready for the next group coming. Teamwork got it done and everything is now sparkling and ready for the next session. Wish my house was this clean! As one of the workers likes to say: "We clean the clean around here!"

Here are some cleaners we have used while we were here:

oxygel (basic cleaner....love it) We use it for just about everything from cleaning door knobs to washing walls.

Suma-calc ( for cleaning build up on faucets, etc. from hard water...it is very strong and can't be used without gloves)

bleach- water for sanitizing

Tofix for room spray in the bathrooms

Lysoform for sanitizing

Tenn (like comet for cleaning sicks, showers, etc.)

CIF (an all purpose spray cleaner)



The toilets here are very strange....hardly any water in them at all. This is a very conservation minded country. They recycle EVERYTHING including dryer lint! They use it for starting the campfire if you can believe that! We have learned to recycle and not throw much away for sure! We have compost pots out for banana peels, tea bags, etc. every meal. They don't use paper towels much either...rags are used and washed to be used again. You don't drink out of paper cups much either...use glasses that can be washed and used again. It has opened my eyes to just how wasteful we Americans are!

Tonight we go out to an authentic Austrian restaurant and tomorrow we go to Vienna to check into our hotel. I may not have internet access as much but will post when possible.

Students Left Today

Today most of the students left right after lunch. I had told my prayer partner goodbye earlier when she left before lunch to go home to her husband and 1 1/2 year old daughter. I wish Sanda safe travels and will think of her often in her country, Romania. Natasha and Zhengy left right at the end of lunch. It will take them 3 days to get home. They are such a precious couple and I will remember them also in their country of Ukraine. I have their email address and plan to keep in touch.

As the students said their goodbyes, it was a bittersweet time. We knew from the beginning that our time with them was limited and that we probably won't see them again until Heaven. They have many trials in their countries...particularly those from the former Soviet Union. Some of the students shared how difficult their economies were since the Soviet Union dissolved. They struggle to make a living yet they are such joyous Christians! I will never forget the crazy antics of Vladimar, Maxim, and Ruslan. They know how to make people laugh and will continue to be great spiritual leaders in their homeland of Siberia and Latvia.

We said good-bye to our friends and wished them God's blessings. Then 10 minutes later, we were working away getting this place cleaned up and ready for the next session. Of course, nothing is really that dirty but we have to wipe down walls, disinfect bathrooms, change and wash bedding and towels, mop, vacuum, and the list goes on and on!

Tonight the staff had a recognition for the short term & long term workers and the professors. At the end they gave us boxes of the delicious Milka candy! Yummy!

Tomorrow night after we work all day long, we go to dinner at a local restaurant for an authentic Austrian meal. Sure hope that I am not too tired to enjoy it!!

So Much to Share

I am very tired tonight but have to share a few things while they are on my mind.

Last night was the campfire time...reminded me of Kenaniah days. Songs were sung around a campfire but this time in more than one language. Then the testimonies....oh my!

A young man from a Muslim family shared of his life changing experience. It was a sweet, sweet testimony of how he had searched for God and happiness and felt empty inside. He tried drugs, alcohol, and breaking the law but when he turned to God and received Christ as his savior, his whole life turned around. He is a precious man of God now and his wife is so precious too. His family has not been happy with his conversion but one brother and one sister have also become Christians due to his influence. He could be arrested for his beliefs so I will not share his name or country.

Another man shared about how he never had a happy family life and always wanted that and how God brought him and his wife together. He was chosen by his church to attend TCM because he spoke English but he didn't want to be a minister..."just a normal person who attended church". Now he is one of the most charismatic, enthusiastic men of God that I have ever met. (He is the one who blessed me in an earlier blog). I have come to love Zhengy and his wife Natasha from the Ukraine! Tonight they gave me a sweet note with a candle and cards written in their native language. I will treasure them!

One of our short term workers, Rod, shared how he had prayed for missions since he was 8 years old and specifically for TCM. He and his wife are here because their children sent them for their 40th anniversary. They were here 26 years ago. He has a true love for this place. We were so blessed by his tender testimony.

There were some other sweet testimonies as well .....too many to share.

Tonight we had our last dinner with our students. Tomorrow is their exams and then they will start leaving. We have a lot of work ahead of us tomorrow and Friday. It will be bittersweet as we leave this place to continue on for the rest of our trip. We have made friendships here that time or distance cannot diminish. I am blesssed to have been able to be here.

Thank you Randy for encouraging me to come and taking care of my mom while I am here. I love you so much and can't wait to share pictures, etc with you and the rest of my family when I get home! As Zhengy likes to say, "God is good!"

Funny Things That Have Happened

Most of my posts have been serious but this one will be a little different. Today I want to share some funny things that have happened so far on our trip.

1. At the airport in Lexington, Kelly discovered that she had a 4 0z. bottle of hair product in her carry on so she was afraid it would be taken away from her. Robin told her to bury it in her bag and they probably wouldn't see it. She did not get stopped (which didn't make me feel great about airport security by the way). When we got to London however, she was told to open her bag. The woman security person was going through and laying her things out on the counter piling underwear, etc. in plain view for everyone to see. Of course, Robin thought this was hysterical so she proceeded to take a picture. The security person glared at her and took her camera! Robin starting saying "I'll delete it!" She had to show the woman she had indeed deleted it before she gave her the camera back. As they were walking away, Robin burst out laughing wildly and Kelly was stopped again to have her bag wanded. At that point, Kelly shhhhushed Robin so they could get going!

2. To be fair I will now tell one on myself. I was sweeping the outdoor sidewalks the other day vigourously when I heard a splash in the pond. When I looked down, I realized that I had flung the end of the broom into the fish pond. I ran over and grabbed it out before it sank and then looked around to see if anyone had seen me. Thank goodness, I appeared to be alone! I bet the goldfish in the pond wondered what in the world had invaded their habitat!

3. When we went to Vienna, we were told to meet the vans outside the mall by 6:00 pm or be left. Claudia and Kelly decided to go shopping in IKEA not realizing that once you get in, it is a maze to get to the cash registers and on out. Claudia had chosen some small something to buy and was frantically trying to get to the cash registers to pay for it. When they found the registers, the line for cash was very long so she gave up, laid down her unpaid for purchase and they began running around trying to find the way back to the vans. Claudia being the worry wart that she is was in a near panic! They got out the wrong door and ran around the outside of the mall. By the time they made it to where we were waiting, Claudia was flushed and overheated! We laughed and told her that one van had already left and we were all waiting on the next!

4. One evening, we made a trip to downtown Heilegenkreuz for dessert at the Stift restaurant. When the waiter came to take our order we didn't know exactly what we wanted but finally figured it out. Claudia kept saying "tap water" because she didn't want to be charged for bottled water. After eating, we signaled for our ticket...they don't come back until you do. You can have the table all evening if you want! After getting our bill, we started trying to figure out our Euros...first time we had to do this. It was hilarious! Then we couldn't figure out if we could pay separately or not so we were trying to put all the money and tip together. Since we didn't have exact amounts, it got more and more confusing. Finally, we thought we had it so we signaled the waiter over and the first thing he asked was separate? We all looked at each other, took the money back from the middle and said YES! He probably thought we were crazy Americans!

There are more stories but I will share them at a later time!

It's another Monday in Heilegenkreuz

Back to work today....lots to do! For lunch dessert today we had apple streudel with schlag (whipped cream). Delicious! Tonight, Ruth and Dick (Kelly's parents) took us into town to the Abbey for vespers. You must be absolutely silent in the abbey when you enter and until you leave. The monks sang the Gregorian chants...very soothing and beautiful. From there we drove on to a restaurant in the country where we had delicious coffees and desserts. Shortly after we arrived, the music turned to Beach Boys and on to Bing Crosby. We figured they put the "American track" on when they say us coming.

I got a very special card today from Tyler....he drew me an airplane and wrote "I Love You" inside. I do miss those sweet grandbabies! Really miss all my family. I so wish that Randy was here to share this adventure with me. This week will fly by and then it will be on to Vienna, Munich, and Zurich!

Praise God It's Sunday!

Wow, how do I even describe today? It has been an awesome day even though the weather is cold and rainy. I will begin with something that happened just after breakfast today. I have made friends with a couple from the Ukraine named Zhenya and Natasha. They are beautiful people both inside and out. Zhenya has full time ministry in two different churches in the Ukraine. They have two children: a boy and girl, 7 and 8 years. So, after breakfast, we were gathering dishes together to be washed when Zhenya says to me "Our God is an awesome God!" I repeated that to him and Natasha. He put his hands on my shoulder and said, "Carol, I would like to give you a blessing". Then he proceeded to say a blessing over me that was so moving that it brought me to tears!

After breakfast, we went to our church service where the service was led by the Russian group. They did a fabulous job of leading us in music and Vladimar, a fine young man gave his testimony about serving God. After that, the Uzbekistan group sang a beautiful praise song. I have no idea what they were singing but it was truly beautiful and many of us were brought to tears knowing the persecution they daily try to avoid and still they continue to be so in love with our God. The speaker for the service was Dr. Detlef Bloecher from Germany, an older man who had speaks very fluent English and taught an entire lesson on the first 3 verses of Psalm 96. He was very inspirational and motivating challenging all of us to remember that our main purpose is to praise God. I cannot describe the beauty of so many nationalities worshiping together. At the end of the service, we all sang Blessed Assurance in our native tongues....awesome! That is what heaven will be like I am sure...but then we will all understand each other!

After the service, we gathered out front to take a group picture. Then we prepared the tables for dinner and got ready to go to Baden. It is a beautiful town in Austria that is a spa resort community since there is sulphur springs there much like at the Greenbrier in WV. Most of the stores were closed so we wondered the streets, visited a park in Baden that was beautiful, and had some delicious ice cream!

We returned to the Haus to eat dinner and set up for breakfast for tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be busy getting back to work on cleaning.

As my new Christian friend Vladimar likes to say, "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord."

Drizzly Saturday

Big storms last night left the weather overcast, windy, and cool with occasional showers today....no complaints here though! I will take cooler weather over yesterday's sweltering heat anytime. Rumor is it will be down in the 40's by Monday! Yikes! I might have to buy a sweatshirt tomorrow when we go to Baden.


Baden is a small town nearby that is supposed to be very picturesque and quaint. I am looking forward to going. We leave after church and the noon meal tomorrow. The Russians are doing our morning service...can't wait to see how it goes.


At lunch and dinner today I had Polish men at my table. They are so funny! Of course, I don't always get what they are saying. They call me "madam". Ha! I also had a couple from Uzbekistan. They are very sweet people who risk everything to be here.


I was able to attend a class today. We have the option of doing that once while we are here. I attended the class taught by Meego Remmel from Estonia....a brilliant man. It was on Virtue-ethical Approach in Biotechnical Problems in Postmodern World. Yikes! These are some highly intelligent people! The conversation was lively. There was a Polish interpreter since the class was taught in English (thank goodness). They discusssed such things as abortion, euthanasia, quality of life, etc. Anyone who thinks that Europe is behind America should visit here. These are some of the brightest people. Many teach at universities, own successful businesses, or translate for a living but their hearts are in preaching and teaching others about God and redemption. Some risk what they have everyday to do just that. Amazing people!

View from Vienna

Today we spent the day in Vienna....such a big city! We visited an outdoor market with every possible food. The veggies and fruits were outstanding. We ended up eating at a little cafe there. I had a delicious fish dish while Robin and Paula tackled these huge sandwiches called Falafels. I think maybe some of the rest of the group had those as well.

From there we toured the Vienna Opera House....a beautiful place...very old. Unfortunately, the English speaking tour guide we had was very difficult to understand!

We checked out Swarvoski Crystal Store and a couple of other shops before heading back to the mall on the bus. It was much cooler there. We had some more of the fabulous ice cream and shopped until time to head back to Haus Edelweiss just in time for dinner....very, very tired.

I learned today that the greeting that Austrians use is Gruss Gott which means God's greeting which I love!

Things I Miss

Last night we walked downtown to the Stift and had dessert. I can't pronounce or spell the dessert but here it is.....puff pastry, real whipped cream, vanilla sauce, and wild berries. It was delicious!!




Here is a list of the things I miss from home:

my family!!
my bed
my shower
diet coke with lime
drinks with ice!
something besides water with lunch and dinner
Greek Yogurt
Triscuit Thins
Baked Lays chips
having fruit whenever I want it
driving
my laptop
church at SCC
K Love radio



Things I am surprised I haven't missed:
TV

Tomorrow we go to Vienna for the day. I will have much to post I am sure.

Goodnight from Austria!

Wacky Wednesday

Temperature is back up to 90! Spent the morning doing the usual routine. At lunch today I had 1 staff member from Russia, 1 student from Russia, 2 from Latvia, and 1 from Uzbekistan. They all spoke Russian except me! However, the staff member Tanya was nice enough to interpret much of what they were saying. Vladimar, the student is very funny...always kidding and smiling. He told me about how cold it gets in Siberia where he lives. So dangerously cold that they cannot be out long at a time for fear of freezing to death! He said it gets warm in May and starts getting cold again in August! He said summer is really only 2 days and grinned!
The lady sitting next to me was from Uzbekistan and spoke fairly good English so we were able to communicate. When I asked her what she did, she told me that she teaches an underground Bible study. She went on to say that Christians are persecuted in her country since it is mainly Muslim. Blows me away to realize that some of these people put themselves in great danger to preach the gospel. I was a little ashamed to think that sometimes I don't stand up for my faith when there is no danger of being persecuted. God is so good. Please pray for these students who will go back to their countries and have to hide what they are doing in God's name.

Most of the group is taking a pool break but since I didn't sleep well last night, I think I'll have a little resttime instead. Love to all,

If It's Tuesday, this must be Austria!

Checking in tonight from a tiring day. We really hit the ground running today. Setting tables and serving almost 100, cleaning bathrooms, offices, kitchens, sweeping and mopping. No job too small to serve God.

I have met some wonderful students and professors. Last night a young couple from Latvia shared dinner at my table. Tonight there was a group from Poland. These are highly educated people with a love for learning and the Lord. We have one student from Iran and some from Uzbekistan....both Muslim countries. It is dangerous for them to even tell why they are traveling.




One group got in late last night and had traveled 3 days to get here by bus and train.

We were given some statistics today about graduates from TCM:

53% are preachers or missionaries
19% have other church positions
10% belong to para church organizations
8% are professors or directors
5 % are lay leaders in their churches
3% fall under other categories
2 have deceased
1% immigrated to America

Students present and past represent 24 different countries.

As of 12/31/09 there have been 100 Master of Divinity degrees, 462 Master of Arts degrees, 99 Certificates studies, and 79 provisional certificates given from Haus Adelweiss.

This evening the staff hosted an appreciation ceremony for all the short term workers (us) and the professors. We were treated to tortes, chocolates, and a special Austrian soft drink that is a combination taste of ginger ale, apple juice, and carbonation....very refreshing. We were told to fill our pockets with chocolates when we left and we did! So yummy!! We were also given a cookbook with Haus Edelweiss recipes....can't wait to try some of them at home. The picture shows the cookbook and some of my tasty chocolates laying on my bed.

Another busy day tomorrow so I will sign off for the night! Auf Wiedersehen!

Monday, Monday

Getting into the nitty gritty now. We began the day with some reminders about our tasks and then on to a house that some of the students will be staying in. It had sat empty for awhile so we cleaned out the cobwebs, dusted, vacuumed, cleaned windows, bathrooms, and mopped. Looked pretty good when we were finished....not us but the house! We were a mess!

Everyday we set out dishes for the next meal. We are now setting for 98 people so it does take awhile. There is a definite system and we must follow it. I understand that though since it would be chaos otherwise. I am the water lady who fills all the glasses and carafes for the tables. Robin is the coffee lady in charge of making coffee and tea for each meal. Kelly, Claudia, Anna, and Georgianna are in the kitchen helping prepare the delicious meals we have. I cannot believe how well we are being fed here!

We are also the host/hostess of our table. Tonight at my table I had two new arrivals from Hungary...Evan and Andrea. They were so friendly. Evan spoke better English than Andrea. We had creamsicle floats for dessert. They had never heard of a float but tried them and liked them. We discussed our countries and what kinds of foods we like to eat.

During the introduction ceremony tonight for the students and professors, there were 3 different interpreters. We have students from Romania, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Uzbekistan, and several other countries. One group said it had taken them 3 days by bus and train to arrive here. This truly is a taste of what heaven will be like with believers from all over the world worshipping together.

I got a wonderful surprise today when I opened the first of 3 cards that Stephanie sent with me. It was a picture of my beautiful grandchildren. Oh, how I miss them, Stephanie, Jeff, and most of all Randy!



I am in charge of breakfast set up tomorrow morning which means up and at the dining area by 7:00 (which is 1:00 am Kentucky time) so I better get to bed.
Love to all,

Pictures from Melk and Durnstein

Melk and Durnstein adventure

Today we went to visit the towns of Melk and Durnstein......absolutely beautiful ride through the Austrian countryside. We passed fields of sunflowers, windmills, corn, vineyards as far as you could see and orchards of apricots which are now in season.

Both towns are on the Dunube River which was surprisingly muddy!

At Melk, we toured a huge Catholic Abbey that was build in the 1000's. Difficult to even conceive that far back. As most of the cathedrals, etc. are, it was very ornate. There were some ancient documents and artifacts there as well. It was quite an intersting place!

I especially enjoyed our trip to Durnstein. It is a lovely little village built below the ruins of a castle that was supposedly where Richard, the Lionhearted lived. The town had twisty little brick streets with quaint little shops. I had some of the most delicious yogurt there made with cherries! Robin and I visited a cemetary there that has an interesting story. It seems that here in Austria, a family has one plot for burying family members...one upon another. When the grave is six people deep, the first person's bones are removed and put in a common place stacked on top of each other to make room for the next person being buried. The graves were all beautifully planted with flowers. It is considered disrespectful to not keep the grave well tended and a family can actually be thrown out of the cemetary if they neglect their family plot....having to move the bodies!

When we returned to Haus Edelweiss, we had a church service that was very special. One of the translators showed a power point from one of the former Russian students who is now serving in India. She and others there have taken in 18 of the "untouchable" children from the streets and are providing them with a home and everything they need. It was a very moving presentation. She spoke of the difficulty of living in a whole new culture away from family and friends but of the assurance that she is doing exactly what God wants her to do and the peace that has been given to her.

After communion, Claudia and I joined a group of female students from Russia for the prayer time. Everyone is encouraged to pray in their native tongue so even though I couldn't understand them, I could tell that they have a deep love for the same God that I do! That was a very special ending to the day.

Finally, I was able to call my mother and wish her a Happy Birthday. She is 95 years old today.

When I get my pictures downloaded from today, I will post them.

Thanks for the prayers being sent up for all of us. Please remember the students who will be traveling to join us tomorrow. When everyone gets here, there will be about 100 of us! I am going to be busy this week: cleaning, setting tables, doing laundry, etc.

Pictures from Austria

Haus Edelweiss:

• built in 1892 by Anton Spanner



• bought in 1908 by a rich Hungarian Jew named Dora Stein; she imported horses and had riding stables



• 1940 Steins were forced to turn the property over to a building company by Germans



• 1945-47 Soviet soldiers occupied Haus and stripped it



• 1948 Haus returned to Stein family and sold to Paul and Christine Lewinter who turned it into a Pension (hotel)



• that same year, the wife died of cancer and the distraught husband committed suicide



• house sat abandoned for many years and was overgrown by trees & plants



• 1971 Haus purchased by TCM and renamed "Haus Edelweiss"



• situated in the Vienna Woods, which was once a recreational area for royalty



• Now this historical place serves as a training college for Europeans who are teaching the gospel in their individual countries

Greetings from Carol, Robin, Claudia, Kelly, Anna, Georgianna from Haus Edelweiss!

We're Here!

After some delays and excitement, we have arrived at our first destination: Haus Edelweiss in Austria. To begin with, our flight from Lexington to Chicago was delayed from 2:40 pm till 4:00 pm which made it almost impossible to make our connecting flight in Chicago to London. By the grace of God and the kindness of strangers, we made it just in the nick of time! But let's back up to the Lexington airport where Anna noticed a fellow flyer and commented that he looked just like Mike Rowe from Dirtiest Jobs in America.....a favorite show of hers. The more we watched him, the more we decided it had to be him. I walked over to him and asked him if he was Mike Rowe. He played dumb and asked who that was. You can't deny that distinctive voice however. When I told him that the young lady traveling with us was a huge fan, he told me to give her his regards! He spent the rest of the time on his cell phone trying to work out his travel arrangements due to the delay. We had to wonder if he had been in the Lexington area filming an episode for his show.

Okay back to Chicago. When we got off the plane, we had about 15 minutes till take off and a long way to go to the next gate.We stopped and asked a representative if the plane had left and he said they were making the last boarding call and we might be able to make it. So off we went as fast as we could run and got there just as they were closing the door. We were allowed to board and off we flew through the night. Thanks goodness that flight and arrival were uneventful. We arrived in London where we had some time to kill before boarding our flight for Vienna. Weather in London was cool...57 degrees but when we reached Vienna, it was almost 100.

Kelly's dad, Dick Brown, met us at the airport and drove us to Haus Edelweiss, a beautiful authentic Austrian structure that has parts that were built in the 1800's. Of course, the inside has been updated and other buildings have been added on. We got settled in our rooms, had a short orientation and then our first dinner which was delicious.

Kelly went to bed right after dinner, while Claudia, Robin, myself and Kelly's parents took a short walk around the area where we were eventually joined by Georgianna, Kelly's sister in law. The Browns showed us a hiking trail that we could follow one evening to a marvelous restaurant where we are told the desserts are fabuous! I will report on that when we have tried them.

Well, the jet lag is getting to me and we have orientation for our specific jobs at 8:30 tomorrow so I better call it a night. So thankful that I have been able to make this trip and I look forward to what God has in store for me.
I will try to get some pictures posted tomorrow if time allows.

Leaving Tomorrow

Well, almost finished packing. We leave tomorrow afternoon at 2:40 pm. I have said my goodbyes to family except for Randy who will take me to the airport. Looking forward to new adventures and new challenges. I probably won't be posting until Saturday. Check back to see how the trip goes. I appreciate prayers for safe travel and that my mom would be well while I am gone.

Training Christians for Ministry (TCM)

Some have asked me about Haus Edelweiss. I thought I would post their web site for those of you who want to know more about this training center for European Christians.

www.tcmi.org

Assignment Received

I received my assignment today from Haus Edelweiss. I will be working in guest services which includes cleaning, laundry, setting tables for meals, and other such things. I pray that this service will be a blessing to those I am yet to meet. 6 days till we leave!

Countdown is on!

We leave a week from today! Wow! This time next week I will be on a plane flying toward Europe.