End of the Adventure

Home sweet home. There is no place like it in the world. My place of peace, love and rest. I thank you all for coming on the journey with me. I don't believe that I could have done the work that I did without your prayers and support. I was not in very good shape. I don't think that I did this work on my own by with God's help and through your prayers. What did I learn? God can accomplish wonders on his own without me having too much input. I am humbled. Though the trip was hard there were so many blessing along the way. I made a quick list of 25 or so this morning just to be sure that I was see all the blessings along with the challenges. God as usual as been abundantly good. So till the next trip, may God richly bless you in an abundance of ways. Love to all and thanks, Christy

I'm in my little "cabin" that is about 10'x12' and very comfortable. Europeans are awesome at efficient use of space. You come in the door and there is a little bath complete with shower on the right. In front of the door there is a table folded against the wall and the chair is hanging on the door. The bed is to the left of the door and it is a bunk you climb up into. It is clean, comfortable, quiet and safe. I love it. I slept for 7 hours.
Now for the last leg of the journey. I will start trying to sleep and eat on Oregon time now which is difficult because you are all just about to go to bed. But I think once I get on the plane I will sleep again. I am reflecting over the trip and impressions I have. I was so impressed by the love of these missionary families for their children who was so sweet. They all bonded with each other quickly and played together as well as cared for each other. I was impressed with the families for each other and the staff's love and care for them. I was like the hotel became a little slice of heaven on earth. It was obvious to anyone who was there (especially the hotel staff) that God is real and living by His commandments gives people a very special life of love and service. Well I have to catch a plane. Love to all, Christy PS the picture is of the Danube and Vienna West

March 7th PM

I had a great morning with Joe and Rosemary again. This time we found a beautiful Italian Gothic church with a huge painting on the last supper on one wall. There were multiple paintings on the other walls. No one was there so we went in and prayed since it was sunday morning. Then we went to this famous coffee house and had their special coffee. I had hot chocolate since as you all know I don't drink coffee. The HC was awesome. Not your Swiss Miss. It is famous because many writers have come there and sat and written or been inspired there. Then we went to the Blue Danube Tower and looked out at the city as a whole. I thought we had covered a lot. But we had only covered a little. ...... Now I am at the airport and yes I got here all by myself. I just had dinner and will fly to Amsterdam at 8:30 stay the night and fly out at 10;30 tomorrow. So the first leg is pretty much in the bag. I'm feeling okay. I did realize that Vienna is very smoggy when we went to the tower. No wonder I can't breath. Thanks for your support. See you all soon. Christy

These are the angels of mercy that the Lord sent me today to have a fun time touring Vienna. Joe is the magician and his wife Rosemary are great at finding great places to visit and navigating the transit systems to get there. They were so gracious to include me and I held the cameras while they shopped etc. We were amazed at all the grand and ornate structures which are every where in Vienna. You can turn a corner and have your breath taken away by some amazing view. We visited the summer palace of the Emperor, the Opera House, St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Parlament building and several other places as well.

The people here seem to have adjusted to the beauty because when we came the this one gorgeous building we found that the city had constructed an intricut ice arena maze in the front yard. Everyone was having a great time skating. The snow was even falling and it was very cold but no one cared. We finished the day with a great Austrian meal and streudal for dessert. Today I'm feeling quite good and have overcome the jetlag. Now tomorrow I go home. First I will tour in the morning with my buddies and have lunch at the Blue Danube Tower. Then I will make my way by myself to the airport and fly to Amsterdam. I stay the night in the Yotel Hotel at the airport and then fly home to Porland Monday morning arriving at 12:30 your time. Please pray for save travel and that I don't get sick again. The return jetlag will be enough. Blessing to you all.

March 5 PM

Okay, is this awesome or what. This is the view outside the window of the hotel I will be staying in till Sunday night. I have no idea what this structure is but I will find out. Today I spent the morning sitting at a conference table and parents could just come and talk to me - sort of like the psychologist is in thing. It still just amazes me the variety of issues these people are facing. I have no idea how to solve their problems but I can sort of prioritize them and head them in a hopeful direction. Then the multitude of kids put on a performance for everyone which was great. There has been a magician here all week and he has been a great hit. His magic just astounds the kids and always has a story with a little moral attached. Then we all packed up and sorted the stuff. I returned all my testing materials and made some needed suggestions. I made sure that all the materials were in the correct cases and put others in bags so they would not get separated. Most of the HQ people have no idea what is supposed to go with what. I hope my organization will be helpful. Then we said our goodbys and got on the bus for Vienna. It was a 1.5 quiet hour ride everyone was tired. Now we are regrouping to go to dinner at 5.

March 5th

Wow! It is hard to realize that I finished the job I came to do. It is kind of a big blur. But I thought I would tell you how the conferences went yesterday. The family with the young gifted young lady was pleased that she tested into the gifted range and can pursue her goals. The mother was also relieved because she has a greater understanding who why she can't comprehend her thirteen year old child at times. The girls verbal IQ is 146 - the gifted range starts at 130. The parents were glad that their child actually had the capability to pursue the dreams she has. Speaking of dreams, one of the questions I asked this young girl on the test was how are reality and dreams alike. She said well they both hope to become the other - dreams hope to become reality and reality then hopes to become a greater dream to invision more in life. The funny part is that the test did not have then answer listed as one of the options so I had to give her a lower score. Too much. :-) The other family I met with lives in Croatia and has three boys - one is ADHD hyper type, another is ADHD inattentive type, and the last a strong-willed boy with high potiential. The dad is also ADHD. The twins, ADHD inattentive and Strong-willed have speech problems and all three have eye-hand coordination issues which hinders their writing. The twins are in the Croatian schools and being taught in that language. There were so many issues that the mother did not know where to focus. So she was pleased to know that all the boys are smart and they need to be challenged - not given pity. That only encourages them to whine and make excuses. So I helped her create a list of priorities that need to be dealth with. Then I gave her a book for ADHD parenting. I will also look for some means for her to support the poor eye-hand coordination problems in a country that does not address such things. In facts the schools are so poor that the boys only go to school 1/2 day and the teachers sends the rest of the work home for the mother to do in the afternoon. I just hope that the mother felt relieved by some of the information and ideas I was able to provide. She is really a dear person with a big load. Must go to breakfast. More later.

March 4

The day is just dawning and I'm looking at a full day of writing test write ups and conferencing. Of course the write ups need to be done by the time the conference rolls around so the pressure is on. I'm not as far as I would like to be because yesterday I kept falling asleep due to the cold and jet lag. Today I feel better. I can even breath. So you are wondering if we have made a difference yet and the answer is YES. One young lady has the desire to apply for Stanford University's online high school for gifted kids. Then she hope to go to Princeton. First she has to qualify as a gifted student. Enter the school psych. I tested her and she is a gifted student. That will be a fun conference today. Also I tested a Junior girl whose mother thought that she would need to have adjustments for her to take the SAT's and for college. It turns out the with some strong intervention in the next two years I believe that she can go it on her own. The national schools here do not teach math reasoning - just calculations and some kids need direct teaching in math reasoning for math to make sense. Also she needs some good teaching in language structure - outlining, paragraph types etc. Then she will be good to go. So its good so far. Now I have to get in the shower or there will be no hot water. :-) Please pray for the conferences to go well.

March 3rd

Today is a better day. I got 6 hours of sleep which was an improvement. My cold seems to be dissapating finally. I guess that getting a cold from flying is very normal according to the folks around here. I thought I'd talk about people today. The Hungarian people of Sopron are sturdy shorter, dark-haired people. They are clean and neat but not sopohisticated They are diligent and yet not overly busy. It is a quiet, peaceful town with little crime. The ones who serve you are eager and mannerly about it. You don't dare leave your plate alone or it is whisked away to the kitchen. All in all the town has a delightful country feel.

The staff here at the conference are very kind and supportive. There is a real team mentality among the group. I was missing a crucial test and someone went to Budapest and got it in time for me to use it yesterday. The children are amazing. They are very savey because they have lived in or traveled to many places. They are not shy and usually very talented. I am amazed at their ability to carry on a conversation with just about anyone. Well I must go. I have two little ones to test today. I'm loving using the WJIII Cog with little people especially the ones that are bilingual. You have few issues with the test being compromised because it is more visual. Please pray for my health, sleep, and to get all the work done for the conferences. Love to all.

March 1st

I just finished my seminar on attention issues in children. Each situation you walk into is always unusual. The room was so light that you could hardly see the powerpoint on the screen. There were these decorations hanging up everywhere. But inspite of the challenges we had an interesting session. These parents face so much. Many of them live in the old Soviet block countries where the teach is the master of education. They do not work well with parents when the students have struggles that need to be addressed. So at times I feel so inadequate because I have no answers for their particular situation. I can give them information about the kids' learning issues but have no answers about how to educate them in their countries. This morning I tested a young lady who is a high school Junior. These kids are amazing. They speak several languages and have traveled all over the world. Yet they are very sweet and fun to work with. The weather was wonderful and I went for a walk. I'm feeling much better so thanks for your support in that area. We still don't have the test yet for tomorrow. It will be a miracle if it shows up. I'm going to town for dinner so I'm excited to see Sopron. Later.