A Crisis Becomes Personal

Some of you know that the refugee crisis has been going strong here in Europe. Thousands of people have been streaming in from Syria and many middle eastern countries trying to reach western Europe. The response here has been mixed. Many fear terrorism or the importation of these conflicts. Others have pushed back against this with things like the #refugeeswelcome hashtag, demonstrations, and volunteers at the main train station here. We have seen really cool uses of social media with Facebook groups, set up to provide real time information about what is needed and what they already have enough of.

This whole issue is incredibly complicated, and I am no politician or a person with an answer to every question. We knew that there were people suffering and needing immediate help. We donated a few things like medicine and clothes based on the needs that were communicated. We also had some friends here that talked about an opportunity to give refugees a warm place to stay for a night or two as they are in transit or waiting for more permanent housing. We jumped at the idea to practically show the love of Christ like in Matthew 25. We put our names on a list while we were donating and and then didn't hear anything for a while.

Two weeks ago, we got a call asking if we would be available for two young guys. We picked them up on Tuesday and they were with us until Friday. It was an intense few days, but fun as well. We were able to use google translate to communicate (though it did not always work). They had also met another guy that had been here longer that could speak English and a bit of German, as well, and he met up with us sometimes to translate (he also met the guys during the day to help them get around). We were able to offer a warm place to sleep and do laundry. It took up some time, but we didn't have to put our lives completely on hold while they were with us.

One of the hardest things about this whole process, was recognizing how small our impact was in all of this. We can offer a few nights in a warm room, but that is far less than most of these people need. They need short term or long term housing. They need help learning German and navigating in this new culture and the massive bureaucracy through which they may be able to get asylum. On top of this, many people have come out of war situations and are dealing with real trauma. Spending time with these two guys and seeing how massive their needs are made me see how big this whole issue is. By no means should we give up or stop helping, but my vision of the need has exploded. There is a real feeling of helplessness when faced with challenges of this magnitude.

Spending time with these guys has also humanized the issue for me. It is important to talk about laws, systems and policies when dealing with issues like this, but we need to remember that these are real people. People for whom it was so bad where they lived, that they risked everything to escape and start over. I can't imagine that kind of personal calculus. Our reasons for coming here were so different, I can't imagine a war raging so bad or a government so oppressive that I decide to leave and create a better life. But millions have made or were forced to make that decision. Most sources are saying that 50% of the population of Syria is currently displaced. Many have said this is the worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II.

Numbers are important to understand issues, but for me it is the people behind the numbers. The individuals that are affected. Meeting these two guys made this crisis not just about numbers of people displaced or the magnitude of the need, but people, image bearers of God, that are hurting and hungry. People that God desperately loves are in need. We can debate politics and legality, and we should. But let us not forget that the love of God compels us to help others not based on their passport, but based on their worth before a holy and loving God.

I want to write more about this in the future, but these are my thoughts for now. Throw me a comment below if you have experience with this crisis and others. 

Church Retreat

This year marked our third annual retreat with our church in Meidling (the 12th District). We enjoyed the time spent eating, worshiping, studying and playing together. The speaker who joined us especially challenged the group to be praying about what is next for our church as we move into our new building. Who will God reach there? What do we want people to experience and see when they encounter us there? What are we leaving behind and what are we taking with us? These are valuable and challenging questions to be asking ourselves and praying about.

It's fun to look back on the last two retreats and how each year has been different. At our first church retreat, we were exhausted by speaking German all weekend, I was early in my pregnancy and we were just getting to know people. Last year, Ellie was 5 months old and pretty high maintenance, so we were not as engaged. I remember spending lots of time listening to the baby monitor! Nate played guitar last year and was introduced to the church as the new intern. This year, we were able to be more involved in the retreat and Nate is getting close to wrapping up his year in his internship already!

Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Playing at the back of the seminar room during a session

Nate leading the Sunday morning service

Hanging with Papa while he preps for Sunday morning

Hiking. We found cows! (One of Ellie's favorite animals)

Very friendly Llamas

Llamas!

Group sessions & discussion time

Hearing from our speaker, Axel

Learning From Colleagues

Yesterday, we helped some friends pack a container as they head back to the States to start a new season of ministry. It has been a bittersweet time to watch them go through the heart-wrenching stages of saying goodbye to friends, co-workers, and the city that's been their home for the last few decades. 

I am often unsure whether it is harder to say goodbye to your home country and previous identity, or to leave the place into which you've poured decades of sweat and love. As we have watched our friends process this change, I have made a few observations. Mostly, these are things that I hope can be said about me in the future. They could even be called "ministry goals," though they are probably too general to be considered that. So here we go... (to see the panoramic image full screen just click on it.)

1. Grieving is a skill - like sharing, grieving is not something the we are born being able to do well. Our hearts mostly shrink away from loss. It is messy and painful to grieve, but it brings our heart to a place of health that can't be found any other way. Loss that is not acknowledged and processed will continue to weigh us down. It has been wonderful to watch our friends weep tears of pain and tears of joy. They have celebrated the work that God has done through them and the stories of lives that God has changed. But they are also mourning the separation from people that they love and care about. Both of these are important.

2. Where you start is rarely where you finish - Over their time in ministry here, their role and ministry vision has changed. They have even changed missions organizations along the way. As we have talked to more and more people about their journeys through ministry, we have found this is more and more the case. God moves us through different seasons of life and ministry as we grow and mature. This is not to say that we should constantly look for the greener pasture. I see our plans more as a child's coloring book that is loosely sketched but waiting for a creative color-er to come and fill in the details of a given moment or time of life. 

3. It is worth it - Life in general is full of change. Any of our friends that are expecting or recently have had a child can affirm this. We aren't the person we were last week or last month. Crossing oceans and cultures adds another level of change and transition to life. One of the temptations as relationships change, people come and go or life situations change, is to say that it is too hard and then to disengage. The challenge with this is that it insulates us from the community and connection that we can have through Christ. As we have gone through the transition process coming here, God has taught me that it is worth the risk and pain to engage and dig into relationships. The people we saw coming out to help our friends was a reminder that relationships are worth it. The pain of saying goodbye is worth the blessing of friendship.

A New Perspective

The Augarten on a foggy morning run

Our temporary apartment in Vienna is right next to a gigantic park. I have absolutely love being so close to a green space full of paths and trails where I can run a few times a week. Since arriving here in October, I quickly got into the habit of heading over to the Augarten regularly and running two times around the perimeter, always running counter clockwise for some reason. I suppose I'm a "creature of habit".

But this week, I decided to switch it up and run the opposite direction. It changed my world! I noticed things about the park that I had never seen before, like interesting plants, buildings I hadn't seen, pathways, and hidden nooks and crannies. I felt like I was running through a completely different space.

As I was running, I began pondering this new perspective I had on the park and how it often parallels my perspective in life. When facing new challenges, I tend to harken back to old habits and approach them with the same opinions and perspectives I've had before. I make assumptions and follow routine. But there is so much value in stepping back and allowing space for a different perspective, even on a situation or challenge that seems familiar.

God is faithful to His promises and character - this we can depend on. However, I believe God is not a God of habit. We see throughout scripture that He works in the world and in people's lives in a LOT of different ways; He takes people of all shapes, sizes, colors, perspectives and ages and uses them to accomplish His purposes here on earth. God is not predictable! So when I assume that I know what He's doing and take on the same perspective I always have, I don't leave room to see how God might be working from a different angle this time...or trying to teach me something new.

Sometimes in order to hear God speak or move ahead in a difficult situation, you need to step back, turn around or head in the opposite direction to see things from a new perspective.

What situation do you need to look at from a different angle?

Photo credit: Alex Gewessler

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.

One year ago...

Our garage sale where we sold most of our stuff - June 2011

One year ago today....

...we left our apartment behind and began a nomadic lifestyle.

...we gave up "feeling normal" and having a place to call home.
  
...we put our belongings in storage and learned to live more simply.
     
...we began a grand adventure that I has been hard, but so rewarding! And I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The view from our car the first day on the road - July 1, 2011

It's interesting to reflect on the fact that it has been a year since our big transition. As with many things, it seems like it's flown by so quickly and like it's been so long...all at the same time. As time goes by and we are "nomadic" for longer, I can admit that it gets more difficult. At first, the newness and feeling of adventure was enough to keep us going. The excitement of taking the next step and getting closer to Austria made the transitions easier. But it is beginning to wear on us. We miss having a place to call home, a retreat and a safe haven. We miss having a kitchen to cook in and we miss having access to some of the hobbies and things we enjoy doing together. We miss not having to pack and unpack every few weeks. But most of all, we miss stability. And we look forward to the day we will have it again in Austria. Each day, that stability and home get closer!

The Bells On Christmas Day

For me (Nate) Christmas can be some what of a mixed bag. I really love an opportunity to remind myself of the incarnation. I love to remember this beautiful, impossible, redemptive act of the God who pursues us. I also love wonderful times with family and friends to celebrate and enjoy each others company. It is always a special time of year, one that will be especially hard when we are over seas.


But as my wife will confirm, I am not an intensely sentimental person. I am not usually one to get caught up in that part of any holiday. The consumerism built into the American celebration of Christmas and the ways that plays at my heart also can make this time of year challenging.


This Christmas I have meditated on a carol by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Besides being an amazing piece of poetry, it is a moving exploration of how it often seems as though God is far off.


Here is Johnny Cash singing the song.

to read the full text of the poem hit the read more link (I really encourage it, there are some great extra stanzas in the poem that the song omits).

Lily's Story

A while ago, we were up in Detroit Lakes sharing with a church. We had a really great time up there and we were really blessed by the wonderful community.  While we were there, we met a woman named Lily*.


When we arrived at the church and got into the sanctuary before the service began, I took a second to look around.  In a room full of people chatting and greeting each other, I saw one head bowed and hands folded.  An older woman was deep in prayer before the service began.  I noticed her against the contrast of chatting but didn't think much of it until after the service.


We had a fellowship meal afterward, and Lily stopped us in line and asked if we would stop by her table to talk with her. When we had a second, we broke away and went to visit her table.


She told us about her many friends and family that were in religious traditions focused on works and not salvation by grace through faith.  As we talked with her, you could see her heart breaking for those that knew who God was, but had never had a true relationship with Him.  The more she talked, the more we could see how emotional of a subject this was for her.  She told us how glad she was for our ministry and promised to pray for us.


We are very passionate about reaching lost people in western Europe, but I was truly challenged by the fervency of this woman.  We need to continually ask God to break our hearts and show us the world through His eyes. Our prayer is that we can have a heart like Lily's for the lost people around us.


How is God breaking your heart for the people around you? 


Do you need him to break your heart again?




*Lily isn't her real name
Photo credit is here user TACLUDA on rgbstock.com

Welcome to Detroit Lakes

Our display in the church lobby

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of visiting First Baptist Detroit Lakes, about 3.5 hours north of Minneapolis. We arrived there Saturday evening and spent the night at Pastor Jim Hinson's house with his family. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed in and had an enjoyable time getting to know the Hinsons.  On Sunday morning, we shared our ministry story with several Sunday school classes and then also during the worship service.

Nate preaching on I Samuel 10 - the anointing of Saul as king.

Sharing about Austria in the Sunday morning service.

A highlight for me, though, was seeing Nate preach the Sunday morning sermon. He brought to life the story of Saul being anointed as King of Israel by Samuel. Through the story, he reminded us that there are times when we are in over our heads and when God brings into our lives situations that we cannot handle on our own. Our natural reaction can be fear and uncertainty. But God uses these difficult times to draw us closer in dependence to Him and to bring Him all the glory.

I was very encouraged by Nate's sermon and it is so applicable to where we are at in our process of moving to Austria. This journey has been difficult, especially during the times when it feels like progress is slow and we may never get there. But we have been pushed to depend on God so much more than we ever have before. And in the end, when He provides the funds and the support to make it to Austria, it will truly be miraculous and He will get the glory!

Journey Through the Wilderness

[Author's note: This is a long one! But it was so helpful for me to type out my thoughts...I hope they are helpful and insightful for you, too.]

We had a great time on our recent canoe and camping trip. We laughed, enjoyed the scenery, rested, and spent quality time together. But it wasn't always easy. There were tough portages when we carried the canoe further than we wanted to, sore muscles, tired legs, and long nights of sleeping on the ground. But we endured and we were proud to make it through to the end

As I've reflected on our journey through the wilderness, I've begun to see how our time in the boundary waters is similar to the journey we're on right now towards the mission field.

A long, challenging journey inevitably has ups and downs.
Throughout each day on the canoe trip, we would go from a relaxing morning, to a grueling paddle across a windy lake, to a long, intense hike, to an enjoyable evening in front of the campfire. Each day was a tumultuous series of highs and lows.

Similar to our days in the wilderness, our journey to Austria has been fraught with mountain top experiences and low valleys. Some days, we are excited, encouraged and focused on God's hand working in our lives and ministry. Other says, we are giving in to feelings of discouragement, rejection, fear and worry. 


The difficult times can feel long when you're in the midst of them.
When Nate and I were carrying heavy packs, paddles and a 70-lb. canoe for a mile, there were times when we thought we would never make it to the next lake. In the midst of a difficult portage, the road seemed endless.

And in this journey to Austria, we sometimes feel the same way. We find ourselves asking, "Will we ever make it? How will we stay strong and persevere to the end? Can I take one more step towards our goal? Will it ever get easier?"

A journey through the wilderness requires simplicity.
When you're backpacking or canoeing, you are forced to carry everything you need with you. To make the journey easier, simplicity is key. You pack light and you pack only what you need.

Our nomadic life has also forced simplicity on us, and this has been difficult but also freeing. To be living unencumbered by "stuff" helps you realize how little you really need and makes you more dependent on the Provider of all things.

There is strength in a unified team.
Our camping trip required team work and unity. If we were carrying the canoe together, we moved quickest when our feet were in step and we were communicating clearly. When we paddled across a large lake, we needed to work together to accomplish the job.

Every day, we work together as we pursue God's calling on our lives to move to Austria. And when we are unified, it shows. When we are encouraging each other, communicating well, and bathing the process in prayer, we strengthen each other as a team.


Surviving one "valley" better prepares you for the next one.
A portage is when you carry your canoe from one body of water to another. And our trip included a lot of portages. The first few were rough, as we experimented with strategies to best get us and our equipment from point A to point B. After working through a few of them, though, they began to get easier. We were better prepared as each portage approached, knowing the best means and methods to make it through.


Raising financial support has led me to hit a couple of difficult low points. There have been times when I've hit bottom, broken down and felt uncertain if I could make it any further. But God has carried me through and taught me something new about Himself or myself each time. And now, when I approach a difficult time or sense those feelings returning, I am better prepared to face them, knowing God will continue to be faithful as He has been.


It is the tough stretches that make the fun times that much better. 
At the end of a long day of canoeing and portaging, sitting by the fire enjoying mac 'n' cheese felt so fantastic! Working our muscles hard and pushing through made our times of fun and rest so much sweeter.

And that has continued to be true each and every day for us. In life, we experience joy and sorrow, ups and down, difficult times and celebratory ones. But if it weren't for the sorrow and frustration and struggle, we would not revel in the celebration like we do. We thank God for the lessons we learn in difficulty and celebrate the joys that much more! 

What Color Is Your Underwear?

If a stranger walked up to you and suddenly asked, "What color is your underwear?", how would you respond? In most cultures, this question would be considered personal, offensive and inappropriate.

Click below to hear a story from WorldVenture missionaries Mark and Lisa DeNeui about how this offensive question relates to sharing the gospel in Western Europe.

Fighting the Wind

The seasons have been changing for a little while now. The weather is now finally to a point where we can get out our bikes and ride.

I love cycling. I love the freedom and the speed and the feeling of finishing a long ride.  Today, however, was one of those adventure days.  The wind was blowing.  It wasn't constant but there were moments when I rounded a corner and got blasted by a gust.  And it didn't stop there.  Head down and peddling hard, there were times that I would get hit by another shot that made me wonder how much longer I could keep this up.

I think there are many times that we feel as though we are peddling into the wind.  It is hard, but I know I am a better rider for taking it on.   Challenges in life breed strength. Even when it feels as though you are getting hit by a gust, thank God that he provides the stength to keep peddling and thank God for the things he is teaching you.