Rafting on the Vltava

We had a great weekend in Cesky Krumlov with four other families from our school and Grandpa and Grandma Falk. Rafting was the flavor of the day. You can click on this link to see more photos of this great weekend get-away. Cesky Krumlov

Awww Cyprus!!

Early this July we spent 8 fabulous days at a beautiful resort in Cyprus. Al's parents are with us for much of the summer and joined us for the holiday. We had a great time together and the timing (in many ways) was just perfect! We finished the school year on Friday the 26th of June and on Monday the 29th we were off to Cyprus. Click on the following links if you are interested in seeing some photos:

Cyprus 1
Cyprus 2
Cyprus 3

Highlights included: swimming in our private pool, a private tour at a mountain village winery, seadooing on the Mediterranean, snorkeling in the Blue Lagoon! A fun time had by all.

Nightmare of the holiday...the boat ride to the Blue Lagoon. If any of you know my parents well, you will know that they do not like water. Well the winds were very strong and the water was, well,...lets just say a little more than choppy ;) Mom and dad were not dressed to get wet...but boy did they get wet...we all did! The water was crashing over the bow of the boat, smacking us in the face and getting us all drenched! At some points it actually felt a little unsafe. This was not a nightmare for me or the kids (in fact Mark was loving it!), but for mom and dad it was torture! And Connie, having that gift (or curse) of empathy was struggling as she could feel the emotional pain and stress that my parents were experiencing. In fact we have laughed about this experience more than any other. It was definitely memorable (if not enjoyable) for all!

The calm after the storm. Our boat trip to snorkel in the Blue Lagoon.

Riverside's Jungle Book!

Riverside Primary School's Spring Production of Jungle Book. Mark plays Baloo and Sara is a Monkey.

It is now available on YouTube. You can view it at:

Jungle Book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8fi8wS4EoM

Enjoy!

SPRING 2009 ROAD TRIP

We just got back from a fantastic 2 week road trip with Connie's parents (Jake and Jeannie Janzen). 20 minutes into the trip (and barely on the highway) I attempted to put up my window with no success. A brief pit stop...removing the door panel and discovering a short in the electrical...and we were back on the road (no use of my window after that moment and only 3000 Km's to go!). We went to Bad Wimpfen and Heidelberg in Germany, Diekirch and Vianden in Luxembourg, Brugge and Brussels in Belgium, various battle of the Somme sites (WWI) in Northern France, Normandy and La Manche in Western France and Paris. What an incredible experience!









Have a look at the photos by clicking on the following links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116714&id=698835364&l=206be9e9dd
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116715&id=698835364&l=a5823b7866
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116719&id=698835364&l=2f445772cc
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116720&id=698835364&l=63261ba3b3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116726&id=698835364&l=919f12c833
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116729&id=698835364&l=8cfc375943
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116730&id=698835364&l=ae5f72a49d

Suprise!!!! An update.

An update has been a long time coming. I have included excerpts from our Christmas Newsletter below and added some photo links.

Greetings from Prague.

How time flies! We have been in Prague for three and a half years now (arriving in August of 2005). This being our second stint in Prague means we have lived in Europe for 5½ years – half of Mark’s life time!

Our highlight this year was spending our summer holiday in Canada. We spent 5 1/2 fabulous weeks with family and friends. We made great memories in Whistler with Al’s family and hanging out at the farm with Grandpa and Grandma – the kittens and motorbike sure received a lot of attention! It was awesome to spend time with good friends from Abbotsford, Walnut Grove, Moose Jaw and South Dakota. Green Lake, Lac Des Roche, camping in Sechelt, fishing with the boys…life doesn’t get much better than that!
We also spent a couple memorable weeks in Kelowna with Connie’s family. We were grateful to be able to attend Connie’s niece’s wedding and hang out with Nana and Papa, Connie’s brother and her sister’s family.

Connie and Al are still working at Riverside School (in Prague) and our 3 kids attend there. It is quite a special environment to work in and we are grateful for the opportunity. Connie is teaching a Reception class (like Kindergarten) in the elementary – 3 days a week. She absolutely loves teaching. Connie has started an outreach bible study for moms at Riverside. It is so exciting to see how open the ladies are to hearing about how they can have a personal relationship with Jesus - some of them for the first time ever.

Al is the principal of the High School. It has been a busy few years as we have been through three accreditations and have recently been approved as an IB (International Baccalaureate) World School. The process of accreditation (by some of the top accreditation organizations in the world) is very rigorous and emotionally draining. The staff at Riverside have really come together – worked hard and shown their commitment to excellence in the classroom. We are very proud of Riverside, our staff team and students and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us all. Feel free to check out our web site for more information about the school – www.riversideschool.cz

Andrea just turned 13 this December. Hard to believe we have a teenager in the house. We thank God each day for the miracles he has done in her life. In May – 7 months after her treatments – tests revealed that Andrea had no sign of thyroid tissue or thyroid cancer in her body. Andrea’s follow-up tests in November confirmed that she is cancer free! Praise God! Please continue to pray for Andrea. Her health will be monitored closely – 3-6 month check-ups for the next few years and once a year for the rest of her life. Thanks again to those of you who have continued to keep Andrea in your thoughts and prayers and have helped our family in practical ways.
Andrea continues to do well in school. She is incredibly organized and hard-working. We are very proud of her accomplishments. She is active in school life – taking part in various clubs – and swims three times per week. Andrea started to attend youth group this fall. She is really enjoying it. Andrea misses deeply several of her close friends who have moved away over the past two years.

Mark is living life to the max! He is doing well in school and is a great friend to many. He has the ability to mix with kids from all grades. He is active with mountain biking, soccer, swimming and rugby. He would desperately like to play organized basketball -unfortunately opportunities are few and far between. Mark is a talented musician and actor. He is taking guitar lessons and has had several significant roles in the school’s and church’s productions.

Sara has an incredible smile and loves to laugh and have fun! We are enjoying her sense of humor and zest for life. Sara has a keen interest in school and has enjoyed learning about the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. She loves to play imaginary games swim, sing and attend Prague Kids – a Christian kids club that takes place after school. The doctors are keeping a close watch on Sara’s thyroid. They discovered a small nodule on her thyroid in June. The nodule grew slightly, and in October she started to take thyroid medication. We are hopeful that the medication will prevent the nodule from growing and causing any further complications.

Well that’s a brief update on what’s happening with our family.

Blessings to all of you,
Al, Connie, Andrea (13), Mark(11) and Sara(8)

Here are two links to photos dating back to September.
Falk Happenings - Sept - Dec 2008
Christmas 08 / New Year 09

Summer 2008 - Oh Canada!!!

We spent 5 1/2 fabulous weeks in Canada this summer. We had an incredible time with family and friends.

Highlights:
Spending time with great friends from Abbotsford, Walnut Grove, South Dakota, Kelowna
Hanging out at the farm with Grandpa and Grandma (kittens and motorbike!)
Whistler with the Falks
Green Lake
Lac Des Roche
Camping in Sechelt
Fishing with the boys
Tiera and Kenny's wedding
Hangin with the Janzen and Loewen families in Kelowna - of course the beach!

You can check out links to some of our summer photos:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71849&l=3667a&id=698835364
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71988&l=2eeb8&id=698835364
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71991&l=25230&id=698835364

CANCER FREE!!!!

Today is a day of celebrating as we are first-hand witnesses of the miraculous hand of God in the life of Andrea. We visited the doctor this morning to ask a few questions and to find out the details of the results. He told us that she has no sign of thyroid tissue or thyroid cancer in her body. This means that she will not have to go back for another 6 months at which time they will do an ultra-sound and blood-tests as an out-patient. If everything remains clear, she will only have to go back on a yearly basis (every 2 years with more involved testing, but still as an outpatient). Every 5 years she will have to have the small dose of radioactive iodine and stay for a few days in the hospital for the whole-body scan.

We felt so relieved after talking with the doctor today—to actually see the pictures from the scan and to have our questions answered. There are many cultural differences even in the way they communicate with patients, so it has taken a bit of bending on both sides to learn how to understand what we are trying to say to each other. We prayed that God would make things clear today and that our Dr. would have time for us. These prayers have been answered and we are so grateful.

We are going to enjoy our weekend with 4 other families as we head to a place a few hours from Prague (Cesky Krumlov) where we will spend Saturday rafting (drifting). Not B.C. rafting, but it will do.

Thanks again to those of you who have continued to keep Andrea in your thoughts and prayers and have helped our family in practical ways.

Our love to you all.

Al, Connie, Andy, Mark and Sara