Learning through the Crisis

These last few weeks have been challenging for many of us. Most are us experiencing this level of extended uncertainty for the first time in our lives. For those that have gone through a difficult season of life before, these feelings are an unwelcome friend that has returned. Here in Austria, we are a little over a week into the process of being in some sort of stage of "lock down." In the face of all of this difficulty, I wanted to share a few things that I've been learning and processing. I don't mean to say that I have mastered any of these things, but I see how the Lord is working in my heart through these uncertain times. I don't want to waste this time. It is valuable to examine our hearts and see where God wants to strengthen our trust in Him.

A Focus on Prayer:
We believe prayer is essential to the Christian life. It is our lifeline. It is a chance to share our troubles and struggles with the almighty God. As we confess the things we know to be true, our hearts are strengthened. We pull our gaze away from our anxieties and fears and fix them on the unchanging truth of the Word made flesh.

For us, this has taken the form of a daily prayer meeting with folks from our church. I (Nate) was looking for a way to encourage people in our church and also frankly feeling disconnected and struggling with a lot of anxious emotions. So we started a Zoom prayer meeting once a day. The first week we looked at a few different Psalms and heard David's words about distress and anxiety. This week has been focused on 1. Corinthians 15 and the resurrection as the foundation of our faith. It was really wonderful to connect and pray for one another where we were at.

We want to continue a focus on prayer in our church plant. We believe wholeheartedly that when God's people pray, He moves. Based on this, we want to be people of prayer. We want to cry out to God in our distress and carry this focus beyond these times.

Meeting God through Song:
Music has a special place in my heart. I can strum a few chords on the guitar in a worship band, and I also listen to a fair amount of music as I work and for fun. As I've been processing the stress and uncertainty of the last few weeks, I've had some powerful moments of connecting with God through song. There is something about a well-crafted piece of poetry that cuts through and delivers its medicine right to the heart.

A few days ago, I was on the bicycle trainer in the basement (which itself has been a huge gift). The song from Andrew Peterson called "His Heart Beats" came on my mix and I found it so moving.

He took one breath
and put death to death
Where is your sting, O grave?
How grave is your defeat
I know, I know his heart beats

These words put so much in perspective for me. We need these moments. We need to refocus our vision. I need to look to Christ and his victory as my only hope. Which brings me to my final thought...

Our only Hope - The Gospel:
I have been consistently reminded through this time that our hope lies squarely and singularly by one thing. The gospel itself. Our hope is not in a test or a drug, a vaccine or a government. Our riches and our homes cannot protect us. A virus doesn't care how many hit movies you've made or if you're a big-time pop star. We only have one hope. Just over a week ago, I preached to an almost entirely empty church and a webcam for our church's first ever live stream. I quoted the first question in the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?
A. That I am not my own,
           but belong with body and soul,
           both in life and in death,
           to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

The answer goes on, but this central theme is not to be overlooked. In body and soul, in life and death, as Christians we belong to Christ. He is our comfort and our safe harbor. We have a place to bring our anxiety. We have a place for our worry. The resurrected Christ is our hope.

Teach me to be Teachable

Our men's small group has been going through a topical study of the book of Proverbs. We have several passages organized by topic, and we've been moving slowly through the list. Our study has led to some great conversations. We will often hit these single verse statements of wisdom that are the best kind of a slap-to-the-face. One of our group members remarked recently how astounding it is that the phrases can be so condensed and to-the-point. One such Proverb we encountered was 12:1 which reads:
   
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
            but he who hates reproof is stupid."

The word "discipline" has a couple of different meanings in English. It can be what an athlete requires to train hard; they require discipline to focus on training. Discipline can also be what a parent does with a child when they are off course or doing things that are not right. The parent disciplines the child.

This second meaning is what the author meant here. When we understand that, the statement takes on a pretty arresting quality. Who loves to be corrected? Who loves to be called out for doing something wrong?

Running Around and Chasing a Ball

I (Nate) tend to enjoy solo sports. It is fun to compete against myself and see how I grow as I train and work hard. But when a guy at our church wanted to start a soccer group, I jumped at the chance to build relationships with some of the younger guys in our church. I also love the chance to stay fit and run around. I have accepted the fact that many of these guys have been playing soccer a lot longer than I have and are way more skilled, but I can run hard and have a good time. This last weekend, we had a practice tournament against a few other teams on Saturday morning. It can be hard for me to make time for an event like this. Saturdays are important family times, as well as the chance to spend time with people we are connected to inside and outside of the church. But I think this time with these guys is also important. So as we stepped out onto the field, I was genuinely curious how the day would go.

Well first things first, we lost... Every. Game. It was hard to be at the bottom of the pile. I played defense most of the game, and man, some of the other offensive players were small and fast and just way beyond my abilities. In no way did my few seasons of grade school and middle school soccer prepare me to face these guys. I honestly didn't expect anything different for myself. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I am not sure I expected it to go this badly. I had heard we hadn't done well in previous games, but I didn't know that we would lose all of our games. And that we would lose them so decisively. Most of the other teams were just better. But here is something I realized: this is practice. Not just actual match practice. Not that we are practicing soccer. We are practicing life. This brings up a basic question: How do I handle failure? What do I do when I screw up? What do I do when it feels like the failure of your team is someone else's fault? How easy is it to undervalue my own failures and overvalue others? Once you start thinking of things this way, it can be hard to stop asking these sorts of questions. Each question has a subtly different answer. Each question peels back the layers, showing us the selfishness and sinfulness in each of our hearts.

The challenge is we often face true failure so seldom in regular life, that it can be hard to apply the personal gains to the next instance. But in this environment, where we get to accelerate the exposure, we can also learn more about it in our own lives. I said this is retrospect to a few people after the games, and the more I process it, the deeper in strikes home for me. The way we win or lose is far more important than the outcome. Displaying godly character is far more important than a number on a page. Scoring goals is fun. Winning is fun as well, but my identity is not defined by the number on the page.

I think the ultimate question I'm sorting through here is: Is there a Christian way to win and lose? Can we glorify God and be a witness in how we treat people when emotions are high on the field? I've seen it before, and I strive to model it as well. I want to be someone that works hard, that pushes and gives it my all, but also someone who doesn't lose a kindness that stems from remembering the image of God in each of my fellow teammates and the people I'm playing against. It is possible to show people Christ as we play together because I've seen it. I've seen players that work hard, but are selfless and charitable. I've seen and made my best effort to grab onto the chances to encourage others and to tell them when they did well. This is a habit that should extend into our daily life. We should be generous with our encouragement.

I found this to a be a pretty valuable experience, even though my 35 year old body is hurting, and we lost every game. Where do you see unexpected discipleship opportunities around you?

Frame of Reference

A few weeks ago, Ellie and I went on our first Austrian camp out. We went with 3 other dads from our colleague's church in the city. All four families are at a similar stage in life. Each family has an oldest daughter with in a one and a half year span. Even though we don't go to their church or see them really often, we have stayed connected with these families throughout our time here in Vienna.

So we all packed up and headed to Neusiedlersee which is on the southern border of Austria and Hungary. Austria is not that big of a country and so it took us about an hour and a half to get there.

We had a really great time. It was Ellie's first time sleeping in a tent and in a sleeping bag. We got to go swimming in the lake, eat some ice cream and relax in the shade. Despite a light case of heat exhaustion (for me) and some car trouble, we had a ton of fun. All the girls did a great job playing together.

One thing I found really interesting after spending the weekend with the guys was how much our up-bringing affects our frame of reference. The first and most obvious example of this was what camping actually means. For me this is camping, and this and this. Camping is calm in the woods, it is cooking out on a fire, it is ready-made adventure. For me growing up, camping was vacation. But here camping is a little more communal. We were all together on a big grassy area with very little shade. It is just a different experience.

Another side of it was spending that much time with the guys and seeing how we each worked with daughters. I think every family is different in how the discipline and help their children. Culture isn't the only thing influencing these decisions. We were also a bunch of Dads that all didn't have to do the rhythms that our wives set up for our families...but that is a different post. It was a small window into these families and how we handle daily chores and tasks.

I was at a small get together recently where they had a cold buffet laid out. One food here that isn't in the U.S. is something called Topfen. It is a form of farmer's cheese similar to the cheese you would have if you took cottage cheese and blended it. They make all kinds of dips and spreads out of it, and I like it very much. I turned to someone in line I was chatting with and mentioned, "You know in the States, we don't have this. I think I would really miss it." He looked at me confused and said something along the lines of "really?" For most of us in the U.S. that sort of spread on bread just isn't a category. It's not something normally put out for cold sandwiches.

I think it is valuable to set aside our frame of reference and seek to see things from someone else's perspective. It gives me the chance to evaluate my preconceived notions about the world; it helps me to see myself more clearly. It holds a mirror up to me as I see different ways of doing things. We continue to unearth small things in this culture that are like that, simply a different way of solving the same sets of problems.

This is why we need each other. This is one of the values of cross-cultural relationships. It is a mirror held up to you where you can see the weaknesses of your decisions, the places where the light of God's glory doesn't shine as bright. This shows us places where others do things better, and it is up to us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to act on those things.

The great thing about this is you don't have to live 4,700 miles away from home. You have neighbors and friends close by where that same feeling is available. I want to encourage our American friends to seek out a neighbor or co-worker from a different culture and learn something about yourself.

Our First Intern Experience

This summer marks the first time we have hosted WorldVenture interns. In fact, it has been many years since anyone from Team Austria has hosted interns for the summer. In truth, it seemed a little intimidating to us when to consider hosting interns after just 3 years on the field. We still feel like missionary babies in many ways...are we ready to oversee college students here in Austria? Do we know enough about ministry and the culture here to guide them through a cross-cultural experience? What do we have to offer?

God placed three wonderful female interns on our team this summer. I'm pretty sure going in, they knew they were our "guinea pigs" in this process. We are all just figuring things out as we go along and enjoying the journey together!

Having the interns arrive here just a few days after we did was definitely a bit exhausting. We were still settling in to life here when they joined us, and it was a busy first two weeks with them. However, it has also brought us so much joy to watch them learn and process their experience here, to see them offering valuable assistance in a variety of ministries, and to discuss all of their learning with them. I have especially enjoyed meeting with them once a week to do a bible study together and check in about what they are learning and how they are doing.

We knew this summer would not be perfect and that we would likely tweak the intern program after our first time through. It has been hard to watch them struggle at times and to wonder if we should have done things differently. On the one hand, cross-cultural living and language learning naturally comes with some struggle. If they weren't being challenged, they wouldn't learn as much. But we also don't want them to flounder, feel overwhelmed or come away from their summer experience feeling negatively about the time and resources they invested in their time here. 

Their biggest area of struggle has definitely been learning German. Because of the calendar, they unfortunately had to start in German class a week later than the rest of the students. Most of the other students in their class had already lived in Vienna for awhile, so they naturally had more language understanding than our interns, and the girls were frustrated with feeling behind and incompetent in the classroom. That was hard to watch, and I wondered if we should have done things differently. At the same time, seeing them struggle reminded me how hard language learning is at the beginning, no matter how many advantages you have going in. Perhaps struggling a bit was a valuable experience for them in understanding missionary life and cultural assimilation. And sure enough, the class did get a bit easier as they caught up and got more experience and time with the language.

We are excited to see what God does through this summer experience in each of their lives. And may He continue to guide us as we guide them!

Making fresh pasta in our kitchen

Dinner with the interns

Kylee on the team scavenger hunt

Emotionally Intelligent

After our first week in Colorado at Renewal Conference, we came to the WorldVenture home office and spent a little more than a week there for a debrief seminar. The debrief seminar was a chance to connect with other international workers and share about our last term on the mission field. We also had the chance to visit with supporters, friends and family in the Denver area.

One thing we addressed was especially valuable to us. We talked about emotional intelligence, which is our ability to read a situation and a person emotionally and take that into account. This is also valid for our own emotions. It is our ability to take in and understand the information that emotions provide and act in a way that takes that information into account.

American culture on the whole has not had a great relationship with emotions, especially my (Nate's) gender. We see some emotional expressions as signs of weakness and someone that accesses that part of themselves as out of control.

The challenge is that our emotions are a part of us, just like anything else. When our finger hurts we pull back from the source of the pain. When something feels good, like a massage at the spa, we want to go back again and again. Our emotions give us cues to what is going on in our hearts. One example the presenter used was really powerful.

Our trainer talked about a pastor trying to decide between two future ministry opportunities. With the first option, he explained it very matter-of-factly. He went through the advantages and disadvantages straightforwardly. Then he got to the second option. His eyes lit up and his whole countenance changed. You could tell this second option accessed something deep within him, and he was very excited. At the end of explaining the two options, he finished by saying that he wasn't sure which option was for him or which direction God was leading.

The counselor pointed out the difference between the two and said that maybe he already had a decision. His emotional reaction had displayed what his deep desires were. That doesn't mean that is where God is leading this man 100%, but it should be a clue. Furthermore, recognizing this is a big part of emotional intelligence. It is the ability to read the clues that our own and other's emotions are giving and then taking those into account.

One good question in the face of all this is:

How has this helped us?

Our lives are full of change and transitions. Often we don't notice to toll those transitions are taking on us, but our emotions are a very helpful cue. I have seen many times over the last few years where my own personal emotional reaction to a situation goes far beyond how I would normally react to that situation. These emotions are an important clue that I have something I haven't thought about or processed.

Ultimately, there is a continuum to emotions. We can either shut out all emotions, or we can overindulge in them. In German, there is a phrase, "you can fall off either side of a horse." This is as true with emotional engagement as any other part of life. When we shove our emotions down, we are setting ourselves up for them to explode or come out sideways. When we go to the other side, we can wallow in self pity or become overly sensitive. But when we healthily engage our emotions, we can fully experience the life that God has for us.

How has emotional intelligence helped you handle situations in your life?   Leave your answers in the comments below.

Great Moment at Bible Study

So many of you have said you enjoy reading my (Nate's) "Word of the Day" or "Phrase of the Day" that I post semi-daily on Facebook. Most of the time, this is just a new word that I learn and a way to have additional touches with the word. Part of this is because they say you have to have contact with a word at least 6 times before it comes into your vocabulary (the same is true in a native language as well), and I want to maximize the amount of contact I have with a new word or phrase.

But often times, there is a second reason that I post these words, and that is because there is a great story attached to them. Sometimes I am the star of that story, bravely carrying my new word into unexplored territory. More often, I am simply the "Dick Van Dyke" of the story, tripping over the same ottoman again and again.

Yesterday was one of those days. We were talking in small group about someone writing a card, and then someone else, in response to saying what would be in the card, said, "oh yeah, then you know schleim schleim" (it sounds like slime but with an "sh" on the front). Bethany and I both looked at each other and gave a collective "what?"

"sich einschleimen" is a verb that means to kiss up to someone or suck up. It has the same negative connotation that our phrases do in English. So in the context of the conversation, they meant "yeah and then you just fill in the card with things that butter them up."

First of all, can I tell you how much I love this word?! It is onomatopoeia (words that sound like what they are) at it's best! "Der Schleim" is actually slime or phlegm (another great word). This is just a fun word to say.

Second of all, it illustrates a point that I think is important. A while ago, I was using a language tool we have that is a series of question cards for starting a conversation. The question was: "If you could learn any language over night, what would it be?" The challenge with that question is that language learning is tied to relationships and memories. I can't disconnect my knowledge of the word "einschleimen" with the memory of last night, and I would say my language learning is richer because of those memories.

We will continue to have "wait what?!" moments for a long time, but this one was far more fun than embarrassing.

The Meat Counter

We are coming up on the 2-year anniversary of being in Austria. In some ways, that seems and sounds like a long time; we feel very at home here and have learned so much in terms of the language and culture. We have found friends and a community of both German and English speakers. We are in the midst of serving and done with our official language study phase. Our life in the States before this feels like a long way away.

And yet, we are still babies, learning how to crawl. As I watch Ellie figure out her body and how to move around, I see a lot of similarities with our journey. Each opportunity to learn how to live and serve here builds on the previous one, much like a baby strengthens her muscles and learns how to put movements together. Before we know it, we will be full-out walking!

Sometimes, it feels like I am walking already...but then I have an experience that reminds me that I'm still learning and I'm still reaching new milestones. This week's success: the meat counter.

When we first moved here, everyone would tell us hilarious and embarrassing stories about trying to order meat at the supermarket. Not only are you attempting to use your new language skills to order food, but you are also figuring out how much to order in kilograms instead of pounds. This makes for some entertaining accidental mix-ups. (Similar to the time I tried to order 100 Kilos of dried cranberries at the market. That's 200 pounds, people.)

In an attempt to avoid making some of these same mistakes, I have been avoiding the meat counter. Today's supermarkets have plenty of pre-packaged meat options, so it hasn't been difficult for me to just look at a package and decide if it's the right kind and amount of meat that I need. But this week, I took a sample of a new lunch meat at the counter and really wanted to order some. Thankfully, the man asked me how many slices I wanted. Now, slices are something I understand! I ordered 15 slices and felt accomplished. That gave me the confidence 2 days later to order ground beef from the counter. I wasn't sure how much I needed, so I asked her, "Can I see how much 250 g is?" And that was a good way for me to judge if the amount was right for my chili recipe.

Even after two years, I am still experiencing small little victories like this. They remind me how far we've come but also how far we still have to go. We are always learning and with God's grace, we hope to keep a learner's attitude the whole way through.

[Side Note: sorry for the slow down in our blog posting lately! Life has been chugging along and keeping us busy. We will try to post more often in the weeks to come!]

Photo credit: Seemann from morguefile.com

Cultivating Thankfulness

This past week, I started reading Ann Voskamp's book 1,000 Gifts. I had heard good things about this book, but hadn't picked it up yet because it had been so wildly popular over the past few years. For some reason, I tend to be a bit skeptical of popular things...or perhaps I just don't want to feel like a lemming, going with the crowd. Either way, I finally got over that.

It was truly God's timing that I began reading this book last week. I was having a rough week with Ellie - I think she was teething or constipated or learning a new skill or something (I'm not 100% sure which one and she can't tell me!) and was in a difficult mood many days in a row. I was struggling to be patient and was having trouble sleeping, both because she was waking up in the night and I couldn't always go back to sleep. I was becoming resentful of her moodiness and how difficult it was to get through each day. I was just trying to survive, but I was doing so without a good attitude.

Simultaneously, I remembered that I wanted to read this book and decided to download it to my kindle. I started the book during Ellie's morning nap, after a particularly bad night, and the first chapter hit me square in the face. Right off the bat, Ann tells the traumatic and heart-wrenching story of her baby sister being hit by a car and dying when Ann was only a few years old. Ann describes the grief of her and her parents in such amazing detail and also in a way that really affected me. I was instantly moved to tears.

After I had spent the week harboring resentfulness toward my daughter, I was instantly convicted of my ungratefulness. How could I dare to take her for granted, when there are families who have lost children and families who can't have children? I have a beautiful, healthy little girl! She is a precious gift from God and I need to cherish her. Yes, there are hard days...that will always be true. But I have so much to be thankful for, and I cannot even imagine the thought of losing her.  It would break me.

God has an amazing way of pinpointing our areas of sin and speaking truth to us, doesn't he? As long as we're listening, I believe God is constantly wanting to speak to us and convict us, in order to spur us on to be more like Christ. Christ, who on the night he was betrayed, "...took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you.'" Christ was about to suffer and die and he displayed thankfulness. How much more so should we be thankful to God. 

What area of your life are you struggling to be thankful for this week? How can you thank God in the midst of that struggle?

Processing My First Sermon

...or "2 Corinthians 12:9 Lived out"

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I have had a week and a half to process through preaching my first sermon in German. It was a huge honor and a great learning experience. This is one of those milestones that we can point to along the road. It is a stone of remembrance at which we can say, "up till now, the Lord has helped us."  Now that it is over, I am starting to get some perspective on what God taught me through the entire process.

1. Preaching in German Highlights my Weaknesses

At Moody, I was able to take a preaching class and learn the basic nuts and bolts of preparing and delivering a message. Also in our preparation to move to Vienna, I had the privilege of speaking in various contexts, as well as preaching. Through all this, I have become acquainted with my weaknesses as a speaker. While I am generally not very nervous when speaking in front of groups, I am also a verbal processor. This means I can verbally chew on an idea (too long) while I am speaking until I craft it the way I like it. The big way to work on this is two-fold. The first is spending more time in preparation, crafting specific statements to make them just right. The second is practicing a sermon once it is prepared.

The great thing for me about preaching in German has been that crutch of being able to "verbally chew" an idea in English is greatly diminished in my German. If I tried to do that, we'd be there for a long time and many words would just not come to mind. Because of that, I had to manuscript the sermon and practice it far more than I have in the past. I had to stick to my notes because they were my lifeline!

2. Encouragement is Legit

Austrian culture is not always known as an encouragement-oriented culture. We Americans often get lovingly made fun of for how we are so positive and exuberant about things (eg. what awesome hair do you have there! or It was the best night ever!). There is a phrase in German that you hear all the time here, which is "schau mal mal." It basically translates, "eh, we'll see." Neither response is 100% correct. Americans can be too flippant. In a world where everything is "awesome" or "legendary", do those words lose all meaning?
In this respect, our church is very counter-cultural. After my sermon, I received emails, facebook notes, and in person encouragements that were so wonderful. In all the ways that we try to put ourselves out there, we are consistently met with encouragement and love from our church community. For me, this shows how the body of Christ can be counter-cultural and display the gospel to one another. It has even more impact when we see it countering deeply-held or automatic cultural responses and to see it as a natural outflow and not something forced. 

3. I am far more weak, broken and frail than I usually am willing to admit to myself or others

During the preparation process, I had a few moments of shear doubt and fear. That feeling of dread, like when you are really caught, came over me. The source of this doubt was, "What happens when Sunday comes and I am not ready? What happens when I get to that point and it is just not there?" To be honest, there is a twinge in me just writing it out again. But it is in those moments of desperation that we are able to cry out to God. It means trusting him to supply our needs and taking steps of faith forward.

Don't be discouraged if you have moments like this. If we take no risks or never put ourselves in a position where we can fail, we are also missing the chance for God to do something through us.

Learning About Train Tickets

I had an interesting experience on Saturday. I spent 5 hours in total at the airport waiting for some people that were flying in to do a short term trip...but that is a story of delayed flights and lost baggage, not the story I want to tell today.  No, the story I have today is about riding the train and continually learning.

Up to this point, we haven't needed to buy a car. We can use public transit to get most places that we need to go. To be honest, it is really great most of the time. Unlike transit systems in other cities, there is no pass to scan or long lines to wait in. With our year long rail pass, we can simply go to the platform, get on the train and ride. It is really slick. Every now and then, you get randomly checked by a person in plain clothes that shows you a badge, but since we never "ride black", this is not a problem. It is usually a stroke of my rule-following ego that I in fact follow the rules, unlike those other miscreants. 

Another thing you need to know is that our year-long passes are good for all the bus, tram, and train rides we can handle (and here comes the important part) inside the city limits of Vienna. The airport is outside these city limits by only 2 stops (come on people, really?!). So we need to use another ticket to supplement these rides.  For this, we usually buy these tickets that have spaces numbered 1 - 8 with a small machine at the entrance to the train that stamps one of the spaces.

Ok so here is my story. I was riding along listening to my podcast and enjoying the time. The checker came by to look at my ticket and so I produced a ticket and my year-long pass, as I usually do. He looked at it for a second and then looked at it for a few more seconds. I was a little confused, but he told me that there was something wrong. At this point, I was glad for my language skills because I could A: understand what he was saying and what he meant, and B: explain to him that I had never heard what he was explaining to me before. I was also glad for point C: I sound like a foreigner so that it is plausable that I made an honest mistake. Basically, he told me that you have to punch the ticket in number order from 1 to 8 and not just any given point on the ticket that you feel like. For some reason I had punched 1-4 and then on another day some time in the past I had punched 8, before going back to punch 7 today. He said that because 8 had been punched before 7, technically when I punched 8, I had also punched 5-7 along with it. This actually makes a lot of sense because sometimes, you travel through multiple zones which each require their own punch, but I had no idea this was really a thing.

Looking back on it, because I hadn't left the city limits (there was still one more stop until then), I could have gotten off the train, got a fresh ticket, and caught the next one. And because the flight of the guys I was picking up was delayed, it would have meant waiting for the same amount of time in two different places instead of just at the airport. The ticket checker let me go because he recognized an honest mistake, and I am still out those few Euros for the ride that I accidentally overpaid for.

I think oftentimes it is easy to say, "language and culture learning time was the first section of our time here in Vienna and now we've moved on," which is a very results-oriented (and frankly, American) way of thinking. The reality is we will continue to learn for as long as we live here. I hear stories all the time from people that have been here 30 + years that still learn a new piece of language or a cultural nuance. It is humbling to know I will never truly finish this stage, but it is also the joy and challenge. Experiences like this reinforce my need to be a learner in this adopted home of ours.

1 Cor. 3:18-19a "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God."  (ESV)

Milestones

When we started this language learning process, I was unsure about the middle stages. To be fair, I still am pretty unsure. I had a sense of the beginning...I knew what it was to start. It is easy to envision learning (or relearning, as was my case after a few years of high school German) basic verbs and nouns. I could envision learning basic sentences about dogs jumping and people running or cooking. But I have been amazed and encouraged at the other milestones we have encountered along the way. Here is a brief recap, in no particular order, of those spots along the way.

I clearly remember my first conversation when I felt like I spoke mostly German for an evening. I was at a restaurant with a few guys and celebrating Reformation Day. I remember the conversation was about language learning, and I was so amazed as I walked home that day, thinking that I actually had a conversation in German! The interesting thing about that memory is that later, I got together with the guy I talked with that night and his memory of the evening was the opposite of mine. He remembers that we spoke mostly English that night! I think it reminds me that this process is just that - a process. 

Today, I went into a climbing store because I wanted to look around. I mean come on, it's a climbing store and I like climbing. So I wandered around for a little while and finally someone looked at me and asked me if needed help. I asked a few questions and laughed with the guy behind the counter (most climbers are laid back and willing to chat about stuff). Later on in the afternoon, I was talking to a fellow language learner and I realized that I hadn't done something earlier. I hadn't rehearsed. One stage of language learning involves a lot of mental rehearsal before a social interaction, especially with a stranger. To be honest, it is emotionally draining. You think through exactly what you are looking to get out of the conversation and then what you expect them to say, or what questions you expect them to ask. So the fact that I went to the climbing store without mentally rehearsing anything, had a comfortable conversation and had no stress was an important milestone.
I would definitely not say that I am through the woods regarding language learning. I still have a long way to go, but it is great to look back and see times that were once difficult are not so hard today. It is great to see growth. 




Photo credit: Seemann from morguefile.com

Mission Training International Week 1

Bethany and I have been at Mission Training International in Palmer Lake, CO for the last week. We have made it through dehydration (we are up at 7,000 ft or so), new people, and full days of discussing challenging issues we will face as we go about the process of crossing cultural barriers.

We have been talking about different metaphors to help us process through the changes that we have and will experience. We talked about two ducks. The first is our "yay" duck. These are times in our life where we have things to celebrate; these are the things we are excited about and thankful for. The other is our "yuck" duck. That duck is the times in our life that are hard and the challenges and struggles we face.

The hard part about transition, including going to the mission field, is that the two ducks travel together. When we experience change, we have things that we look forward to and things that will be hard. And we can't separate them - they move together. This is the paradox (pair-of-ducks) of transition.

We will continue to share what we're learning as the weeks progress. For now, here are some pictures from our time here. Enjoy!

Nate was a visual aid for how we are all affected by expectations

The mountain behind the MTI building

The sun setting behind the mountains

This is our part of the valley

The MTI building

We're Here!

I apologize for the lack of blog posts this past week. Nate was up in New Hampshire on his annual ice climbing trip, while I was working at an event in San Diego. We meet up in Denver today at WorldVenture headquarters for two weeks, and we're excited we are finally here!

Our first week at WorldVenture...we will be going through Pre-Departure Training (thanks to the prayers and support of so many who helped us reach 60%!). These 3 days are focused on preparing for departure. Part of the training is about the logistical side, discussing things like visas, shipping containers, departure requirements, and the like. But another very important part is the emotional and spiritual side. During this training, we will meet with staff and counselors to begin talking about saying goodbye and going through the major transition of moving to Austria.

This training comes at the perfect time for us. We are just beginning to do things or see people "for the last time" and the goodbyes are slowly ramping up. We have been focusing for the last year on building our team of financial and prayer supporters, but now we must shift our focus to also include how to emotionally, spiritually and mentally prepare for the stress, sadness and adjustment that a cross-cultural move can create. We are looking forward to what we will learn this week about culture shock, maintaining connections to home, and saying goodbye well.

This weekend... we will attend two days of a Missions Symposium at Denver Seminary. This is a first time event and we look forward to hearing from experienced and charismatic speakers who are well-known in the missions community. We will also get to meet and network with many other missionaries and missions support staff, learning from them and building new relationships.

 
Next week in Colorado...we will attend WorldVenture's Renewal Conference. This week-long event is a time for WorldVenture missionaries and staff to come together for worship, prayer and updates. We will spend time sharing and hearing from the field and home office, praying for one another, and seeking the Lord's guidance in our lives, ministry and direction as an organization. Nate and I are especially excited to spend time with several Austria team members at this conference, whom we haven't seen since our Vision Trip last April!

Please pray... for 2 weeks of blessing, encouragement, learning and growth. Please pray that the Lord would protect us from feeling overwhelmed, stressed or fearful of the transitions ahead, but that instead, these 2 weeks would excite us about the journey He has laid out for us and the team that surrounds us at WorldVenture.

Thank you for your prayers!

BWCA Canoe Trip

Last Sunday Bethany and I set out on a great adventure.  We traveled to one of the great wilderness areas of the US for 4 days of canoeing, camping, and adventuring.  The weather was perfect and so were our times together.  It was wonderful to see God's creation.  Over and over that place confirmed Psalm 19:1-2


¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,
   and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
   and night to night reveals knowledge.


I hope that the photo slideshow does just a bit of justice to the glory of God in creation we experienced.


How have you seen God's glory in creation recently?

Structure, Structure... Where are thou, O Structure?

Photo credit: roganjosh from morguefile.com

Most people who know me know that I embody the "task oriented" personality. I enjoy and find satisfaction in making lists, accomplishing tasks and organizing people, places and things. This is probably why I spent 6 years in the events industry...

Ironically, my current lifestyle completely lacks structure. Each day is different and although we have many tasks to accomplish, the regularity and predictability of our life has completely changed. Knowing my personality, I knew that this season of life would lead to new challenges...and I was right! Nate and I have been learning how to create structure within our days when there is none. We have been wrestling with finding a balance between working diligently and finding time to rest and relax. We have been learning how best to communicate about daily tasks, work together and compromise.

Through practice and the guidance of some valued mentors, we have devised several "strategies" to discover structure and balance in this phase of life...

• We schedule "work hours" into to our day, so we can be sure we're working diligently and faithfully on ministry, but also not neglecting rest and fun
• My mind is always mulling over details...but now I write down my ideas and thoughts when I think of them, and share them with Nate when we are "working". This way, I don't bombard Nate with details all the time. 
• Nate and I share google documents and calendars to keep track of tasks and our schedule.
• In ministry, there is always more to be done. And life is like that now for us, too. There are always more people to call, more books to read and more german lessons to complete. We are discovering strategies now to create structure and balance that we will surely use on mission field!
• When we are not traveling, I have decided to make certain things a daily priority, such as prayer, bible study, exercise, reading, and german lessons (with Rosetta Stone). I don't always succeed in accomplishing all of these, but focusing on them helps to keep my actions in line with my priorities.

What do you do to create structure? When do you avoid structure to allow for flexibility?

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!

What I'm Learning About Titus

I’m currently working through an inductive bible study with my mentor on the book of Titus. (Haven’t heard of an inductive study? It’s basis is using scripture to study scripture. Check it out.) We had a great first meeting this morning where we worked through our thoughts on the first lesson together. Here are some highlights of what I’m learning…

• In his letter to Titus, Paul talks a lot about the importance of good deeds. Not good deeds that can save us or earn us salvation, but good deeds that are a reflection of the sound doctrine by which we live our lives. A lot of people say that Paul is “all about grace” and James is “all about works”…but I think Titus is a good example of Paul emphasizing the importance of living out our faith through actions. “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)
  


• Paul established the several churches in Crete and then left Titus in charge to lead and appoint elders. But the text infers that Titus was young for a leadership position like this. Paul urges Titus to not let people disregard him because of his youth, but to be an example in his leadership and godly nature. This is an important thing for Nate and I to keep in mind - that God can use us to serve and lead, even though we are young.
  


• The best defense against the opposition? Living a life that is above reproach. If we focus on integrity and godly doctrine, the evil one will have no footing to stand on. “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7 – 8)

Feel free to share comments...any other insights on this book? What are you learning from your bible studies right now?