Why are You Still in Language School?

Why are you still in language school?

 While most people don't ask us this question directly, I am sure it is floating around out there in the ether. Or maybe the question is something like: "if you can speak German right now, why do you need to go any further in the language learning process?"

The short answer is: we aren't there yet. The goal of our language journey is not just survival, but the ability to share on deeper heart levels. We canspeak German, but we have a lot still to learn.

Recently, we had an experience that illustrated this point. On Sunday, we were invited to have lunch with some friends from church. It was a really great time to speak German and connect with some people our age outside of the Sunday morning setting. We had a great meal and spoke only German the whole time. We laughed, told stories and had a great community experience. 

Towards the end of the meal something fascinating happened. Some long time friends of the people we were eating with stopped by. They heard us speaking German and the conversation continued as one big group. But the whole pace shifted gears. The conversation picked up the pace a little bit more and vocabulary got a bit more complex. No one slowed down for us - as they spoke, they sped up! For the most part, we were able to keep up, but I could feel a shift. I needed to concentrate more to keep pace, and I missed words or phrases along the way.

Neither the pace of the conversation at the beginning, nor the change that happened were intentional. And it wasn't wrong or bad. In fact, it was a really great conversation to be a part of. We love to be challenged in our skills and the relationships we are forming here. But it is interesting to experience the shift from a conversation that isn't requiring as much mental energy, to one that requires more focus to follow along. 

For me, this was a reminder of two big things. 

First of all, we have come a long way. It is amazing to me that we are able to have these conversations so soon after arriving here. The language learning journey is different for everyone and there can and will be road blocks for us in the future. I am a very verbal person and as I am able to express myself more and more in this new language, there is a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment that comes along with it. 

Secondly, I know that we still have so much to learn. We long for the day when we are "there", and we can begin the ministry we came here to do. But we still have a long way to go. It will be awhile before conversations with a group of native speaker don't move too fast for us. It would also be false to say that ministry begins when we are fluent in the language. That statement implies that the time we are investing now isn't "ministry time." But it is. One thing that was reinforced through support raising was that this entire process is ministry. It is not an end goal situation, but a journey of evolving ministry responsibilities. As we walk through this phase, we are reminded that God will continue to provide for our needs and open doors every step of the way.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Some fellow students on the hike (being around high school
and college age kids can make you feel a little old.)

**Note: click the images to see them full screen!

Last Friday, we took part in an adventure with our language school. Our language school offers a large variety of opportunities to visit important cultural locations and learn about the history and cultural significance that goes along with those places. We also get valuable time to speak the German language both with teachers and other language learners.

This time, a large group of us took a bus up to a local mountain called Kahlenberg. It has a beautiful church on top that commemorates the famous Siege of Vienna and the Polish king Sobieski who rescued the city. We got to see the beautiful view and then hike down the mountain (the hike up is a lot more intense than the hike down). I (Nate) would like to ride my bike up it some day, even though it is pretty challenging!

 An important part of the outing was getting to practice German as we walked down the mountain. It is very important that we have these opportunities to speak outside of class and practice naturally expressing our thoughts and experiences. It is also fun to get to know classmates and teachers outside of the more structured classroom setting. We learn everyday words that may not come up in class (like the word for mosquito) or ways of expressing ideas or experiences. So take a look at the photos and enjoy!

The view from the top!

You can just see famous buildings in the main part of the cities.

A Typical Sunday

As I was sitting in church this morning, I felt so thankful for our community here in Vienna where we now feel comfortable and welcomed. And I also realized that our experience on a Sunday morning is a bit different that what church used to look like for us in the States. So I thought I would share those things!

Here are some things about our church in Vienna that are a bit different that our U.S. church experience...

1. Relaxed pace. Sunday services are usually somewhere between 1.5 - 2 hours long and the length is determined by what needs to happen on a typical Sunday. If there is more going on, then the service goes longer. This has been a refreshing change for me. Because we're a small church and have only one service each Sunday, there's no need to worry about how long the service goes. It ends when it ends!

2. Group prayer. After a few songs at the beginning of the service, we always have an open group prayer time. It's an open-ended time where anyone can pray aloud. Since the room isn't very big, it's easy to hear everyone share. The purpose of this time is not designed to lift up specific prayer requests, but to praise God for who he is and what He's done for us.

3. Birthdays.  Every week, the people who have birthdays that week are announced and a special verse is chosen for the group to encourage and bless them.

4. Sharing time. At the end of the service, there is an open mic and anyone is welcome to come up and share. People often share prayer requests with everyone or updates on previous requests. This is also a time to share what God's been teaching someone or some specific thoughts based on that day's sermon.

5. Lots of music. I'm pretty sure we sing at least 6 songs each week, which is more than I remember singing in most churches in the States. They are scattered throughout the service time.

6. Simultaneous translation in two languages. We have two unique groups of people in our church who benefit from translation. Up at the front right side of the room, there is a group of hearing impaired church attenders and a translator who translated the entire service for them into sign language. It's so fun to watch! We also have several Romanian families in the church and there is usually a young person in the church (fluent in German and Romanian) who translated the service into a microphone. The Romanians who need translation listen to the Romanian version with headphones.

7. Social time. Austria is a very relational and social culture. They love spending time chatting and are laid back about how long this time lasts. After the service, most people stay for at least an hour or more to chat and socialize with other people in the church community.

8. Pot-luck lunches. Periodically (about once a quarter), we have a big lunch after church where everyone brings something to share. And of course, there is always tons of food and desserts to go around. This lasts at least 2, maybe 3 hours. In my experience, Austrian culture is a bit less schedule-oriented than the U.S., especially when it comes to social time, so these lunches can last for as long as people will stay!

I've really grown to love these aspects of our church experience here and as we become more and more comfortable with the language, I feel able to worship more and more on Sunday morning. This is a huge blessing and a feeling I had looked forward to for awhile. God truly blessed us when he led us to this church!

Church Retreat

May 30 - June 2, we traveled south to attend our church's annual retreat. It is a longstanding tradition in many of the evangelical churches here to have an annual retreat where the whole church is invited. It's a wonderful opportunity to go deeper in relationships, build community, and be challenged together by a speaker. It was a wonderful four days, filled with sermons, worship, game playing, meal times together, hiking, and lots of rest in between!

It was our longest experience in German to date and, therefore, quite exhausting for us. But a huge blessing, as well! It helped us to feel more a part of the church community and to meet many new people. And of course, it was a wonderful opportunity to practice German. We look forward to continuing these relationships throughout the year!

Breakfast time with new friends

Mealtime discussions

Worship time

Our speaker, Tom Hoppel, was also a talented musician!

As soon as the rain stopped, we ventured out for a hike!

Chatting in the coffee area of the hostel

Hiking

Scenic overlook

This photo is hilarious. We were obviously not ready to be photographed!

Hiking Adventure

A few weeks ago, we have the opportunity to go on a hike with a group from our church. Hiking is very popular here, because of the beautiful landscapes and hiking trails available. The outing was open to the whole church and a substantial group joined us, despite pouring rain for the first few hours! It was a great way to meet some new people and have an extended period of time to talk with new friends. (Sundays are always a difficult time to really connect with people.) Needless to say, we were exhausted afterwards, both from hiking and speaking German for 6 hours! But it was a great experience.

Here are some photos from our outing:

Overlook

The view from the top of a tower

Scenic overlook tower

Group photo

Worshipping in German

We had a great morning at our new church today! After arriving to the service late last week and having to leave early (not a good combination...), we made sure to get to church early today so we would have time to meet some new people and chat. We survived quite a few German conversations and met the pastor for the first time. We saw some familiar faces after the service and connected with people we knew. It felt comforting to be there and see ourselves progressing in terms of feeling "at home" in this new community.

One of the highlights for me was getting to sing some new songs in German - familiar melodies that we sing in English but with new words! Singing a song I'm already familiar with in this new language really helps me to understand the meaning and connect with the message I am singing. One of those songs today was "You are the Lord, the Famous One" by Chris Tomlin. Just to give you a taste of what the song sounds like in German, and to show you our church, I took a quick video. Enjoy!

Our Final Commissioning

Nate talks about European mayonaise during our commissioning!

Last Sunday, we were commissioned at Parkview Community Church, our home. It's been really special for us to be commissioned at 3 churches these last few months - at my home church in CT, Nate's home church in MN and now our sending church. We really feel blessed and supported and loved as we go out.

Nate and I found Parkview back in early 2008, at the suggestion of our WorldVenture recruiter, Phil. He had attended Parkview when he lived in the Wheaton area and knew the church had a welcoming community, solid biblical teaching, an outreach focus and a heart for missions. All of that turned out to be true. Since coming to Parkview 4 years ago, we had the opportunity to perform in Children's ministry skits, sing on the worship team, join a small group, help facilitate bible discussions for new believers, and lead a men's morning bible study (that was Nate, of course). I was baptized at Parkview as a believer in early 2009, having previously been baptized as an infant. We were married at Parkview, we are members there, and now we are being sent out from there. It has a really special place in our hearts.

Chuck prays for us

This past Sunday, we sang on the worship team for the last time - very bittersweet! Then Pastor Chuck Howard, who oversees Parkview's missions efforts, invited us back up on stage. He allowed us to share a bit about the needs in Austria and then he encouraged us with the Great Commission, reminding us that we go out with Christ's authority and that Christ will be with us. He then prayed for us. It was really wonderful to get to share a bit of who we are with the church and to know that they will faithfully pray for us and support us on this journey.

Thank you, Parkview, for welcoming us in 4 years ago and walking with us through this journey!

Experiencing Community

Over 40 adults and 30 kids that attending SPLICE training with us

Last Friday, we finished up the SPLICE training at MTI and said goodbye to most of our fellow missionaries (just a few are staying on for the next two weeks with us). It is amazing how close we got to these new friends during our 3 weeks at MTI. We lived in community together, which meant we ate all 3 meals together everyday, lived in the same building, and spent time hanging out and playing games nearly every evening. We also went through very emotional times of processing together in class, sharing our hurts, fears, grief, loss, joys and anxieties. We worshiped and studied scripture together. We bonded over the fact that we don't have homes to go back to, we don't know what our futures hold, and we are in transition. We identified with each other in the challenges we're facing and those that are ahead.

It was sad to see our many friends leave, but we are so thankful for the chance to live in community with them. After being "nomadic" for so long, Nate and I were really refreshed by times of just having fun with friends! We haven't lived near close peer friends for awhile, and this was a void we didn't realized until we got here.

Lord willing, we will get the chance to meet up with these friends again in cities around the world, as we continue in our missionary careers. We look forward to seeing how God will keep us connected and use us all in our respective ministries!

Christ and Culture: Two Simple Questions

I just read a quote about missions that applies to all of us:

"If [Christians] are to have any influence at all, [we] will touch upon culture every time [we] speak and wherever [we] work. For better or worse...[we] are agents of cultural change in accordance with the commands of Christ (matt. 28:20). It is important, therefore, that [we] have a biblical view not only of Christ but also of culture.  [We] must recognize that every culture has elements of divine order and satanic rebellion; each has potential for the revelation of God's truth and for its concealment or mutilation." - David Hessselgrave

For better or worse, we are all ambassadors for Christ. There is a tremendous need for the people of God to understand and engage with the culture that surrounds them.  This doesn't mean that we seek to blend in; we are not cleverly disguised.  


The question of cultural engagement is a challenging one, and not something I hope to tackle in this post, but the reality is that every action we take is in a cultural context.  


The questions become: 


Are you aware of what you are communicating? 


Are you communicating what you want to be communicating?


These aren't questions to answer easily, and they must be answered prayerfully and in community.


Photo credit: grietgriet from morguefile.com

Surviving the Shelling

I just read an interview on Leadership Journal with Tullian Tchividjian about the very public challenges he faced when he took over Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.  He faced something that I hope most pastors won't ever have to face: open and personal opposition to his pastoral ministry.  What resulted from this intense period of time is a wonderful closeness with his savior and a renewed passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ!  Here is one of my favorite sections.

"There is only one thing that will enable you to survive, and that's the gospel. It's not whether your church grows or not. It's not having the right leadership principle. All of those things might be helpful, but the gospel is the only thing that will save you in ministry." You inevitably face crises, slander, unfair criticism, pressure to perform in your professional and personal life.

While this quote is directed at pastors, we can just as easily say that the only thing that will keep you alive in ministry, in marriage, in your profession or in family is the gospel.  


Most of us will never encounter someone sending out slanderous mass emails about us or anonymous blogs decrying our professional abilities.  But we will be given things we can't handle.  God uses the things we lose sleep over to pry our idols out of our hand and sets our focus on Himself.


Here is the link to the full interview "War and Peace" LeadershipJournal.net

Your Turn: How is God prying idols out of your hand? Pop your answer into the comments below.

Surprised by Community

Last night, Nate and I drove an hour south to Kenyon, MN, to share about our ministry with a small group of New Life Church-goers. We first got connected to New Life Church through former missionaries to Austria and the church invited us to share during their missions Sunday in late July. It was a wonderful experience; we were immediately welcomed into the community from the moment we stepped in the church that Sunday. While there, we met a couple who had lived in Vienna for 3 years, working at the International Christian School of Vienna. We immediately connected with them, and after a few months of effort, they were able to pull a small group together last night to learn more about our ministry.

When we entered the farm house of our hosts, we were welcomed by smiling faces, sweet treats and the scent of brewing coffee. After enjoying cake and introductory conversation, we sat down and shared about our ministry and the darkness in Austria. Seven adults gathered to hear, and we enjoyed an evening of dialogue, thoughtful questioning, scripture reading, encouragement and prayer.

Coming from a small rural church, it was evident from the moment we arrived that these people knew each other well and cared for one another in a way that was refreshing. Their sense of community with each other was contagious and their laughter inviting. We had only met them once before and several months ago at that, but I felt like I belonged even after a few minutes. And God used them to provide great encouragement for us in our journey to the mission field through their prayers and the words of scripture they shared. Although they didn't know us well, their words were exactly what we needed to hear.

I walked into the evening thinking that Nate and I were there to talk about Austria. But as I reflect, I think the more important reason we were there was to be encouraged and to experience community with other believers. This group set the example for me in how to welcome someone new into fellowship and how to be united with new friends by our common faith. When we are in Austria, our Christian community will be small and close-knit, and I pray that we can welcome others in just like this small group did for us last night. Isn't this what it is to live out John 13:35, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."?

What was a time when you experienced sweet fellowship and community with other believers?

Photo credit: fieryn from morguefile.com

Intentional Community

Recently, I have been thinking about community. I know the word "community" is possibly the broadest term out there, so let me bring it down a few notches. Digital community is all the rage. Online, you can attend a church service, do a service project, or even "have community". A lot has been made about this in recent months...you can read some comments on Out of Ur by Bob Hyatt. While I don't really feel the need to weigh in on this is debate, an aspect of this discussion has stuck out to me in recent conversations and readings.

I was reading a newsletter recently that was talking about the use of Facebook as a marketing tool. The premise of the piece was that the beauty of Facebook is that you can check in on someone's life (stay connected, follow what someone is doing) with little to no actual interaction with someone. Some may just call this "Facebook stalking" and there isn't anything inherently wrong with this. The article was praising it is as good thing. From their perspective, your customers can tell everyone via facebook that they are involved in your brand without actually needing to say much in person.

Sushi and Living Life Together

This weekend we learned a few important things,

first and foremost we learned that ingredients for sushi go a lot longer than we thought they would.

On Saturday we had a couple from Bethany's old harvest small group over to make sushi and enjoy some good food and good times together. We definitely had plenty of both. We had a ton of food. From Pot Stickers and edamame to our very own sushi rolls full of all kinds of fish and veggies (who knew that cooked Eel would be any good?). Actually...we had so much food that we were able to have some friends over from church for another round of sushi making on Sunday! And, Bethany still made 4 more tupperware containers full of left overs to take for lunches (as long as it lasts).

The most fun was being with the people. There is definitely an intimate dynamic that is present when you share a meal with some one especially in a home setting. I wonder if our cultural values of "food on the run" and "go out to eat" are actually the most intimate of things. Not to say that dining out is bad and can't be a great special occasion. But there is something simple and wonderful about a meal in a home around a table. As a single person, I found that I did that very rarely, but I do hope that I get to do that more once we are married.

Along these same lines, we have started a ministry tradition. We try to have lunch with a group of people or a couple after church. It is a great way to connect with people that you may or may not know from church and bring people together is a very relaxing atmosphere. It also is another way in which we are trying to not just attend our church but engage with people there. It is great that we can use something as simple as eating to do life together.