Wheaton College Women's Chorale

When I was a student at Wheaton College, I sang in the Women's Chorale for 3 years. It was a really memorable experience singing in such a talented choir and getting to not only perform concerts but also go on tours as a group. In 2003, my first visit to Vienna happened on a European tour with the Women's Chorale (along with the Men's Glee Club). We visited Slovenia, Prague, Moscow and Vienna. I loved my time in Vienna, but had no idea that God would lead me back here someday!

Over the years, I stayed in touch with my choir director, Dr. Mary Hopper (whom I try to call Mary now, but most of the time, only "Dr. Hopper" comes out of my mouth!). She stayed up to date on our ministry and really displayed a heart for ministry in Europe, cultivated by quite a few trips she'd taken to Europe working with missionaries in various cities. The concerts performed in Europe would often be used as outreach opportunities by the local missionaries Mary was in contact with.  About 18 months ago, Mary wrote me and said the choir would be coming to Europe again for a tour and asked if they could come to Vienna and be used strategically by us for some outreach concerts. Of course, I took her up on the offer and began planning concerts for May of 2019!

This month, the weekend finally arrived and the choir performed at a variety of venues - a women's fitness center (owned by a Christian woman from our previous church), two churches on Sunday and even our kids' kindergarten! Their performances were really amazing and everyone who attended gave incredible feedback on the quality of the music. But what we hoped would really make an impact on the listeners were the words shared by several students in between songs, testimonies of how God had been working in their lives and how those experiences tied to the meaning behind the songs they were singing. It was very moving to hear and many people heard this message that don't have a relationship with Jesus. We are praying that these concerts bear fruit!

Here are some photos from the performances. It was such a special time, and we look forward to having them back again someday!

Singing at a Mrs. Sporty Fitness Center

Performing at our church, Evangelikale Gemeinde Floridsdorf

Singing at the International Chapel of Vienna

Posing at the Kindergarten with their mascot stuffed animals (which they gave to the kindergarten kids)

A Global Reunion

My senior year of college, I was blessed to live with three wonderful women. We shared so many special memories together, both serious and completely silly. Since that time, God has led us each on a unique journey and we have literally gone global! In 2004, we were all senior students at Wheaton College. Now, we are a missionary to orphans in Uganda, a missionary teacher at a school in Moscow, a PhD student at Dartmouth, and me - a missionary appointee to Austria. God has led us apart, but it is so amazing to see how each of us are following the Lord and using our gifts for the Kingdom!

Last week, we had the rare opportunity to reunite in Chicago for 3 days. Furloughs and travel schedules aligned and we spent the week laughing and sharing and reminiscing. Here are a few photos from our "global reunion".

Cori, Me, Sarah and Rebecca

Hanging out at Rebecca's

One afternoon, the spouses watched the kids while the girls went out. Here are Rebecca and Cori, exploring all that downtown Elmhurst has to offer...

Nate gets to know Rebecca's littlest one, Jonathan.

Taking a funny face photo is an important tradition

Hanging out, sharing stories and playing games...it was a great week!

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)!