Two Years Later

On Friday, we returned from a week-long retreat in mountains with our WorldVenture team. We attended this retreat on our Vision Trip two years ago, and it was so special to return with our team to that same guest house in Grundlsee, this time as team members! I kept thinking back to our first impressions of Austria in 2011 and all that we were taking in during that trip. It's amazing to look back and see how far God has carried us on our journey these two years.

Here are some highlights from our time this past week with our team:

Leading worship for the group each morning and evening

Going on a hike and finding an old water mill

Toplitsee - a lake nearby that supposedly has Nazi treasure hidden at the bottom...

The whole group!

Mental Exhaustion

After our 2-week trip to Austria in April, we were often asked about our trip and what we learned. And I think the best way I’ve come to describe it is to explain the sheer mental exhaustion we felt at the end of some days in Austria. We were learning and absorbing so much every day that by 8 or 9pm, we were eager to turn off our brains and crash into bed! Conversations with missionaries on our team, missionaries from other countries or organizations, church and ministry leaders, and Austrians were consistently teaching us new things and it was a lot to process, but SO VALUABLE…

I believe we came home from our two weeks better equipped to share and answer questions about Austria. Before our trip, all of our knowledge came from the words and stories of others, but now we can share our own stories and speak from personal experience. We learned a lot about…

• Cultural expectations, traditions, and standards in Austria
• Church dynamics in Austria and the differences between Catholicism there and in the U.S.
• The complex ties between church and state and how is has affected many Austrians perception of the “church”
• What evangelical church looks like in Austria and how the gospel is manifested in their culture
• The role that missionaries play in the evangelical church in Austria and why more are needed
• The challenges we should be prepare for when crossing cultures
• The adventure of language acquisition and culture study, which will be our focus for our first 2 years in Austria

This only scratches the surface of what we absorbed. Our learning may not be something we can tangibly show someone as a result of our trip, but I believe it was the most valuable part of our time there and the take-away that will most impact how we prepare over the next year.

I'm sure this is only the beginning of our mental exhaustion. Once we begin two years of full-time language school, I'm sure our brains will feel "fried" at the end of the day most times as we try to master the German language. But it is all so worthwhile and even though it will be hard, I'm so excited to begin. Bring on the exhaustion!

Spring Getaway in the Alps!

 By far one of the most crucial parts of our Vision Trip was connecting with our WorldVenture team. WorldVenture has 9 missionaries on the ground in Vienna, and we are excited to join them in ministry. At the start of our Vision Trip in April, after spending 1 day getting over jet lag (at least a little), we spent the next 5 days on the “Spring Getaway”, a WorldVenture team retreat in a mountain town in the Alps. We stayed at an affordable hostel that allowed us to use a large room for worship and study time, group meetings and sharing time. In addition to the Vienna missionaries, the WorldVenture teams from Germany and Slovenia joined us for the retreat.

We were really blessed by this time on retreat. Here are some reasons why…

Our Vienna WorldVenture Team

• Conversations with our fellow missionaries over meals, hikes and down time allowed us to absorb so much about Austria, ministry and what to expect when we first arrive. 
• Each missionary or couple was allowed 20 minutes of sharing time in front of the group to talk about their last year in ministry and what they have been learning. It was valuable to get a broad perspective of where and how God is using each missionary.
• We were given the chance to share our story with the group – how God led us to Austria and what we envision for ministry.
• We got to know all of the missionaries and began building relationships with people who we will be serving alongside for decades. When we move to Austria, we will see familiar faces!
• We were blessed by quiet times with the Lord where we could pray and process all that we were learning and absorbing. God really spoke to me (Bethany) there and used that time to give me an overwhelming sense of peace about the next year of our lives and the journey we are on.

Sharing Time at the Hostel

• We got to worship the Lord together and we listened to sermons from the Willow Creek leadership conference, which led to some really encouraging and challenging discussions.
• We conducted video interviews with missionaries, asking them all about the spiritual needs in Western Europe and where they see God working. We are excited to share these with you over the coming months.
• We spent 3 hours in the car to and from the retreat with our team leaders, Celeste and Peter Persson. We talked the whole time both ways, all about their 28 years of service in Austria and what God has been teaching them. We asked questions and learned so much just in those conversations. 

We felt the retreat was the perfect way to begin our Vision Trip to Austria. It laid a solid foundation for the rest of our 2 weeks by connecting us with our team and with God, before the fast-paced experience in Vienna that followed. We were so thankful for this time!

Video Blog: Wrapping Up 2 Weeks in Austria

The day before we left Austria and concluded our Vision Trip, we spent some time looking over Vienna and reflecting on what we learned. Here are some of those thoughts...

Vision Trip Wrap Up from nate johnson on Vimeo.

Vision Trip Recap

We're home, safe and sound! We arrived back in Chicago Thursday night and since, have been reflecting on how valuable and educational our two week trip to Austria was. We learned and absorbed so much about the Austrian culture, church dynamics, our WorldVenture team, and ministry opportunities. The trip deepened our passion for serving in Austria and gave us many stories to share with friends and family here. We're so thankful for the opportunity we had to visit. Thanks to so many of you for helping to make the trip possible and praying for our time there!

We are still sorting through all of our photos and video from the trip. Over the next few months, we will be blogging and sharing about what we learned during our visit. For now, here are some highlights...

Our first 5 days in Austria were spent on a retreat with the WorldVenture teams from Germany, Austria and Slovenia. It was a great time of developing relationships, discussing ministry, and learning about missionary life.

We met with the leadership of an Austrian evangelical church association called the BEG. We will likely be partnering with the BEG in church planting projects in the future.

We visited the site of a future building and development project east of the city called aspern seeschtadt. By 2028, this area will house 20,000 people. When the first 5,000 move in 4 years from now, the BEG envisions planting a church and sharing the gospel in this new community. We hope to be a part of this project!

Caro, a friend from church, took us climbing in Modling. We enjoyed getting to know her and hearing about her experiences in an evangelical church in Austria.

Celebrating Christ's resurrection Easter Sunday morning.

We learned a lot about the Catholic church in Austria and the challenges it is facing today. Many Austrians are cultural Catholics, but do not know Jesus Christ personally. We are passionate about giving more Austrians access to the gospel!

Walking the grounds of Schonbrunn Palace with a WorldVenture teammate. Thank you, Greta, for taking photos of us!

We helped set-up and participate in a Passover Seder service at the Evangeliumsgemeinde (our team leaders' church). We enjoyed meeting church members and reflecting on Christ as the passover lamb.

Making new friends at church on Easter!

For more photos, visit www.facebook.com/nateandbethany. 

Glimpses of God's Big Picture

Right now, Nate and I are in Grundlsee, Austria on a retreat with the WorldVenture teams from Germany, Austria and Slovenia. It has been a blessing to get to know our fellow missionaries. Through talking with them, we have been absorbing knowledge about living cross-culturally and what it is like to doing ministry in Western Europe.

We are meeting many missionaries for the first time. However, I met one of these missionary couples here back in 2003! The summer after my sophomore year at Wheaton, I had the privilege of touring Europe with the college's Women's Chorale and Glee Club and we visited Prague, Moscow, Vienna and Slovenia. It was my first time in Europe and the only other time I have been to Vienna. In Slovenia, we partnered with Mel and Patty Davis and put on some concerts that served as outreach opportunities for them in the community. It turns out that Mel and Patty Davis are WorldVenture missionaries and are now on retreat with us! 8 years later, it has been fun to reconnect with them and think back to my trip to Slovenia back in 2003.

When I went to Slovenia, I acted like a lemming... I did as I was told, sang many concerts in a variety of venues, and participated in all aspects of the 3-week trip, but I did not really know the impact we were making or the "big picture" reasons we were there. Talking to Mel and Patty this week, I now have a different perspective.

Our choir trip in 2003 opened many doors for the missionaries in Slovenia, allowing them to make new connections in the community and get a foot in the door in the local public school system. They were able to use our concerts as an important outreach and to follow up those connections and share the gospel with many new people. Now, the Wheaton choirs have been back to Slovenia 3 times and those connections have expanded.

It is neat to come full circle and see how God used our time there not just to praise His name through music, but also to strengthen the ministry there. I think the lesson I am learning is when we are faithful to serve and do what we believe God calls us to, He is faithful to use our efforts for his Kingdom (even when we don't know it)!

We've arrived!

Here are a few photos from day 1 of our Vision Trip to Austria...

Nate going into the "Opera Toilet". It plays music while you do your business!

A statue of Mozart in downtown Vienna, with a floral treble clef.

Hit the 'Read More' link to see the rest of our pictures!

Video Blog - Austria Bound

We are excited to board the plan Thursday night for our two week visit to Austria! (Can you tell?!?!) We also just got some video editing software a few weeks ago that we've been practicing with. The result?

Here are our thoughts on our visit to Austria...

Vision Trip Thoughts from nate johnson on Vimeo.

Vision Trip Schedule

In less than 2 weeks, Nate and I will board a plane for our Vision Trip to Vienna, Austria! We are so excited to finally visit Austria, after years of anticipating our ministry there and learning about our future mission field.

The plans for our trip have been coming together over the last few weeks. To give you a sense of how our time will be spent, here is an overview of our current itinerary:

Thursday, April 14

• Depart Chicago at 10pm

Friday, April 15

• Land in Vienna
  
• Travel to our team leaders' home (Peter & Celeste Persson), where we will stay throughout our time in Vienna

Saturday, April 16

• Spend the day visiting downtown Vienna with Celeste
• Meet Wheaton College friends for a traditional Viennese dinner
• Get over jet lag!

Sunday, April 17 - Thursday, April 21

• Attend church Sunday morning at the Gospel Church of Vienna, where Peter and Celeste serve and where we will likely serve during our first 4 years in Austria
• Spend 4 days on the WorldVenture Austria team's annual retreat at this hostel, spending time in prayer, study and fellowship. We look forward to connecting with our future team members and throwing many questions we have about Austria their way!

Friday, April 22

• Visit the city and gather photos/video to share with supporters in the U.S.
• Attend Good Friday services at Gospel Church of Vienna, including an exciting baptism service!

Saturday, April 23

• Travel to the other side of Vienna and attend an evening house church service with Tim and Mary Lou Tiner (fellow WorldVenture team members). This church could also be a potential place of ministry for u

Easter Sunday, April 24

• Attend Easter morning services and a fellowship breakfast at Gospel Church of Vienna

Monday, April 25

• Travel out of Vienna with a church member to go rock climbing and to learn more about the outdoor culture of Austria

Tuesday, April 26

• Meet with some missionaries with TEAM (another missions agency) and the leadership of an Austrian Evangelical Church Fellowship to discuss a 2015 church planting opportunity
• Visit the future site of the 2015 church plant
• Spend the afternoon visiting with the TEAM missionaries, getting to know them and their family

Wednesday, April 27

• Take final photos and video to add to our ministry presentation
• Purchase food and items to bring home to share with family and friends

Thursday, April 28

• Fly back to Chicago
  

We would appreciate your prayers as we embark on this adventure. Please pray for...

• A renewing and restful spiritual retreat with our WorldVenture team
• Great times of connecting with our future team members, including the opportunity for all of our questions to be answered
• The Lord to clearly lead us in how to spend our time
  
• Effective and encouraging ministry meetings
• Safety in travel