Dedication Sunday

Yesterday was yet another special milestone and celebration in the life of our church! (We are in an exciting season!) We had a special Sunday service to celebrate the new church building - a "dedication Sunday". The service was held in the afternoon, so that friends, former pastors and many others could join us to celebrate (and still attend their own churches in the morning). There were special messages and thank you from several people, special music performances, and Nate shared the story of the new building and renovation. We thanked God for all that he has done over the last few years and especially since we first visited our new space in December 2014.

The theme of the event was "Many Nations - One Goal". We highlighted that we have 23 countries of origin represented in our church but we are united in Christ. It's wonderful to celebrate our diversity, as well as our unity, together! Everyone brought sweet treats to celebrate, each representing their county of origin (I baked american chocolate chip cookies, of course!). The buffet was very large and well enjoyed by everyone afterwards. People stayed around for several hours to chat and mingle after the service concluded.

Here are a few photos from the day:

Opening musical performance

Bethany sang on the worship team

Nate, sharing the story of the building renovation through photos

The very full sanctuary!

Minnesota Highlights

We flew back to Minnesota in April to celebrate Nate's brother, Neil's wedding. It was such a wonderful time with family and friends, and we were so thankful for the opportunity to be there! Here are some photo highlights from our visit.

We remembered to take a family photo!

The Wedding Party on the Big Day

Nate and his brother, Evan, with Grandma

Cutting the cake. What a beautiful couple!

The Best Man Toast

The Mother-Son Dance

Ellie in her flower girl dress

The three Johnson brothers at the rehearsal dinner

 

Caitlin & Neil

Ellie, rehearsing her flower girl entrance

We visited my (Bethany) family in Chaska and met my cousin's Fiance

Family photo with Grandma

Ellie explored the kitchen!

Selfie with Oma & Opa

Celebrating Nate's birthday at a mexican restaurant

Riding the rides at the Mall of America

The big Lego Store

Selfie with Opa

Crawling around an indoor playground

Ellie's first time meeting Nana

  

Ellie's First Birthday Party

Here are some photos from our celebration of Ellie's first birthday this month!

Opening birthday presents

Posing with her special candle and cupcake on her birthday

Very unhappily being fed her cupcake...she was not a fan.

A "Very Hungry Caterpillar"-themed birthday party a few days later

Wearing her new hungry caterpillar bib

Monthly photos from her first year

Posing with Mama and Papa before her second cupcake attempt...

...which went poorly and ended in tears!

Two Years

Posing with our team leaders at the airport on October 6, 2012

Pushing our carts of luggage through the Vienna Airport

Two years ago today, we stepped off a plane and arrived in Vienna. Two years! It is one of those things that seems like yesterday and seems simultaneously like so long ago. The longer we are here, the farther away our life in the States feels and the more Vienna feels like home. We have gone through so much change since the fall of 2012 - learning a new language, acclimating to a culture, finding and being blessed by a new community and church, making a home and expanding our family. No wonder our "previous life" feels like a distant past!
Through all of this, the Lord's hand has been so clear to us. He has directed and guided us each step of the way and continues to bring encouragement into our lives. We still feel very confirmed and certain that this is where He wants us to serve, and it has been exciting to get more and more involved in practical ministry over these last few months. From finding an apartment and getting settled, to discovering and being welcomed in by our church, to picking up German...God has blessed every step and we are so thankful. We look forward to seeing what the next two years in Vienna will bring!

Big Announcement!

Watch this month's update video to find out about 
a big development in our life!

Serious Pictures, Happy Faces

Today is a very exciting day.

Today is the day that we were handed our visa cards to live in Austria.  

Today it is completely legal for us to live here, and we are so excited for God's provision. Today is a day of rejoicing at what God has done on our behalf. But today was also a day where we breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Yesterday, however, was challenging. Yesterday we weren't sure what would happen. Yesterday was a heavy day of stress.

The first reason had more to do with the situation at hand and the importance of our visas being processed. There is a special quality to an experience like this, knowing that it "isn't real until it is real." Even though things had gone along as best as we could hope for up until yesterday, we still hadn't finished the process. We still didn't have the visas in our hands. For me (Nate), this added an undercurrent of stress. Before this trip to Vienna, as we set up meetings to view apartments and evaluated online listings, there was this nagging fear or doubt in the back of my mind, because the visas weren't in our hands. We were doing our best to plan for a future that still wasn't 100% certain.

The second reason yesterday was stressful was a bit more challenging. In our meeting at the visa office Thursday morning, there were new questions being asked and a new document that needed to be provided up before we could receive our visas. As we rushed to find the needed parties and get the signed pieces of paper, there were serious questions about whether or not we would be able to receive our visas or if we would have to wait until next year to start the process again. This is why this morning was so heavy for us...why we walked out of the visa office with so much adrenaline in our veins and our hearts pounding. Because there is always the possibility that they will say, "sorry, you did this wrong" or "you broke that rule and we can't give you the visa." 

These last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions. I think this was a reminder to us that we are not in control, but we serve the One who is. We can think we are in control sometimes, but the reality is that we are only stewards of what we have.

I read a prayer last night I read a prayer from the Valley of Vision. A few of the last lines cut me to the core:

I do not crouch at thy feet as a slave before a tyrant,
but exult before thee as a son with a father.
...
Preserve me from the intoxication that come of prosperity;
Sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee.
Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,
not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.
I request only to see the face of him I love,

That last line caught me most of all. Any time we hold onto something more than our desire for Christ, it needs to be pushed back into its place. The question I asked myself last night, as we wondered what today would look like, was "is Jesus enough? If this dream or desire I have goes on hold or even goes away, is He still enough?" It is a question we all must continually ask and one that is not as easily answered.Even if we know what the answer should be, we need to examine our hearts to see if it's what we truly believe.

Thank you for celebrating with us and praising our great God! Thank you for praying for us! Now on to the next stage...

The Last Day

Today, we get on a plane and fly across an ocean. We have sold or stored everything we own except for the seven suitcases we are taking with us to the airport today. We sold our car yesterday. It was the last piece of the puzzle. Our world has already changed in so many ways, but today we step off into a huge pile of brand new things. I can't explain what it feels like to be here. I really wish I could. Overwhelming sounds like a really great explanation, until it happens to you. Then it gets a little more complicated.

The question we have received most often recently is, "what does it feel like?" I wish I had a straight forward answer to that. It feels like so many things. When I reach into my "feelings bag", so many emotions vie for my attention. I am somewhere between excited but not sure what to expect, afraid of the unknown, and saddened at the loss. Most of the time I'm not sure how I should feel.

All of this brings me to yesterday, where I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. We had just sold our car, and I was feeling the weight of all that was going on around me. I have been reading through Isaiah (more like slogging through it...reading all of the oracles concerning this people and that people was challenging.) In chapter 40, Isaiah launches into a very poetic expression of the character of God. Much of it Handel grabbed for the Messiah oratorio. The end of the chapter was exactly what I needed.

Isaiah 40:28 - 31
²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;    they shall walk and not faint.

The whole chapter is about how frail and weak we are, reminding us that we serve a God that does not change. Reading this passage was an important reminder for me. This journey fits into the context of God's plan and He will care for us.

The Last Year of My Twenties

In 2011 when my birthday rolled around, I thought it would be my last birthday in the States for awhile. Although I was wrong about that, I'm so thankful that God has opened the door for us to depart for Austria soon. Buying tickets for Vienna was an early birthday present!

Nate and I celebrated my 29th birthday last Wednesday, a few days early. (On my actual birthday, we had to drive 15 hours to Connecticut, so Wednesday was a much better day to celebrate!) Here is our birthday adventure in pictures...

Crepes for breakfast from Chef Nate.

Nate bought me my first pair of Toms shoes!

We had lunch downtown at RJ Grunts - delicious burgers!

A cute owl at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

 

Beavers - they were so cute!

I'm bonding with my new friend.

Giraffe

Gorillas

The Meerkats look right at you!

Nate's favorite animal - the River Otter.

A huge tiger

Zebra!

Gourmet cupcakes :)

Dinner Menu from Volare - a delicious Italian meal...also where we dined after we got engaged!