A blessing in disguise....

Yesterday morning, I arose quite early at 5:30 am. Poor Mel, she woke up as well to take me to the train station so I could take a fast train to the airport. (by the way..thanks again Mel). When I got to the airport, I realized that I actually didn't need to wake up that early, because I was the only person in line. The good thing was that I got through check in and security in a matter of minutes. I was able to get a nice breakfast and then relax. The plane ride was quick, only an hour. By the time I got there, I was wishing it was longer, for I was sleeping so incredibly well. When I left Copenhagen, it was freezing. I had two layers on, two pairs of socks, a big jacket,thick gloves, and when I got to Vienna it was extremely warm. The sun was out and shinning brightly. It was such a warm beautiful welcome back home. I took the CAT, a fast train into the middle of town and then transferred to a couple different underground trains to get home. The whole way home I was wishing I had packed just a tad lighter. I was exhausted hauling my huge bag up and down the tall stairs of the underground train stations. It is amazing what people do here, no wonder everyone is thin... the calories just sweat off of you going up and down those things. As I was walking from the train station down the road to my apartment I noticed that there was a huge festival taking place really close to home. So, I got home, changed out of my Eskimo suit into summer clothes and walked down with my roommates to enjoy in the festivities. It ended up being a huge flea market with music and yummy food. I ended up getting a really pretty pearl necklace and a black watch, totaling 10 Euro together. Great deals, good finds. We then sat and ate sausage and listen to the fun Austrian music. On our way home, I suggested we head to the store since it would not be open on Sunday. I went to get some cereal while Nick and Marie got eggs. I noticed that they were talking to someone, so I went behind them and listened in. It ended up being this amazing lady who was from the USA and had been living in Vienna for 6 years. She is an art teacher at an international school. We stood and talked with her for a while, and then we ended up going with her to another store we had no idea existed a ways down from where we lived. She was so kind and helpful, showing us all the things we thought never existed here. It was nice because we usually have to carry everything 8 blocks, but she had a car, so we pilled our goodies up. You know how I was saying I wish that we had a Target, well this wasn't Target but it was like a Super HEB, so it had a huge selection. This was something we just weren't use to, and ended up spending hours just staring in awe. We even found fajita stuff, which we had been craving. She took us home and gave us her email and phone number in case we needed anything. She then asked if we had found a place to go to church. I told her that I was looking for one but hadn't found one, so she offered to take me to hers. I couldn't say no, so she told me she would be here at 9 am. That evening we made fajitas and guacamole. It was quite delicious.

So, this morning I was up and ready at 9 am. Her and her daughter picked me up and we went to the this church inside the Vienna International School. I sat with her family. They were abs. amazing. I truly felt as if I had known them forever. Her name is Terry and she reminds me of Laura Phelps :). She is so encouraging and fun to be around. The church was an English speaking, non-denominational church filled with amazing praise music and a charismatic preacher. I had a blast. The sermon was about Noah and how he was so dedicated to what God had told him to do, that he spent 120 years of his life building a boat. He compared his life to how we should live ours. I thought it was interesting that at that time Noah had never seen a boat of that magnitude, or had ever seen rain. Up to the point of the flood it supposedly never had rained before. So, Noah built tha ark even though he didn't know exactly what God meant by a flood. The preacher main theme was living by faith and not self rightousness and doing things even though it might not be familiar. The sermon went on and on with so many cool points. I gained so much out of it.. I could go on and on about what I leaned, but I won't bore you with it. The cool thing is that it was just like I was back in High school when Jon was still in Gonzales. There were so many college kids there. We all sat around and talked afterwards, we exchanged phone numbers and are planning to get together in the near future. They also have praise music and a bible study for high school/college age kids on Sunday nights. I was hoping to go tonight, but I'm not for sure since classes start tomorrow. Also, Terry is one of the youth leaders and she asked if I would come and help out with the younger kids when I had time. It sounds like this church is involved and does a lot of neat activities and retreats. All day, I have been thanking God for putting Terry and her family in my life, they are all a blessing. She said that she wants to have my roommates and I over this week for dinner, she offered to drive us wherever, as well as use her dryer. I mean you couldn't ask for a more amazing gift.

After church, I decided to take everything out of my closets and start over. I have gotten into the habit of not being organized lately, and it was starting to drive me crazy. So, I reorganized and it looks and feel so so much better in my room. This afternoon, I think we are going to go for a walk and then hopefully cook some chicken. I hope everyone had a wonderful day!! Mark, I hope your 18Th birthday was great!! Love you all so much.