Wheaton College Women's Chorale

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

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

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

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

Singing at a Mrs. Sporty Fitness Center

Performing at our church, Evangelikale Gemeinde Floridsdorf

Singing at the International Chapel of Vienna

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

Where the Cool Kids Are

Like many people of my generation (I'm barely a millennial), I have a complicated relationship with street evangelism. We can all easily conjure an image in our minds of the aggressive street preacher screaming at everyone or the poorly done puppet show just trying to draw a crowd. 

With this in mind, I was invited by a friend from church to go help him with a book table down in the city. They have a small table where they give away paper back books that are short biographies of lives transformed by the gospel or books like Josh McDowell's "More Than a Carpenter." The thing that got me intrigued with this was how they were doing it. Other street witnessing I've heard about here happens in pedestrian zones in the city during the day. But those areas are usually only occupied by tourists. This was in an area where a lot of people were going out to clubs and bars in the area. We definitely saw a fair amount of intoxicated people, but there were plenty of people that were just curious what we were doing. We explained what some of the books were about and tried to recommend some of them. We answered questions and started discussions with anyone that was interested in talking.

In the midst of all this talking two guys came up to us. In the beginning, one guy was clearly trying to play "stump the theist giving away books."  I'm not a big fan of arguing about stuff, at least not like I used to be when I was in college. I tried to just have a conversation with him instead. We kept talking, asking each other questions and discussing various arguments for God or why people would believe. I talked about the things that had convinced me, and also areas where I've struggled with doubt. I talked about the fine tuning argument for God. It talks about how many different parts of our physical universe generally but also our solar system in particular are perfectly tuned for human life. We talked for a long time, almost two hours actually. It was a really good conversation, one that I don't think is had enough both in America and here in Austria.

Part of me was pretty surprised that it was possible. I came into this evening pretty skeptical that people would be open to having this sort of conversation late on a Friday night. To be honest, there were plenty of people that either wanted their free book or didn't care at all. My friend who invited me had a bunch of smaller conversations with a variety of people. I was, however, really surprised at the openness that many people displayed to ask questions or take a book. That isn't the same as what I've seen from people on the street in this country up to this point.

Dialogue like this is also important for me in terms of taking many things that I've only every studied in detail in English and translating them into German. There is a whole set of "Christian" vocabulary that we had to learn in the church when we arrived. Learning to pray in German took a lot of time and listening to how others pray before we were able to do it. Sharing your faith is the same way. I think often times we as non-native speakers have an advantage where we have to use simpler words, because we don't know all the terminology. But it is still a muscle like any others that needs to be trained a bit. Every Christian should be able to quickly give their testimony, and this was a chance to learn how to talk about these things.

This was a good experience, and I'd be interested to do it again, but I'm still convinced that relationship is the most effective way to share about Christ. The gospel is best communicated in lives transformed by grace.

Our First Outreach

This Friday night was our first formal attempt to reach out to our neighbors. A musician who is friends with a few of my family members, Jason Harrod, reached out a few months ago because he was attempting to plan a small European tour. I helped him organize a concert at a bilingual church in Vienna, and then we decided also to host a small living room concert as a chance to invite our neighbors over. (House concerts is a common way that Jason performs and that was his suggestion.)

We decided a bit last minute to host this performance, because we wanted to see how we were coping with a newborn at home. Since things were going smoothly, we decided to go for it...but that meant we only had about a week and a half to invite people. Once we printed invitations and started going door-to-door, that meant just a week for people to decide to come and RSVP. We think this was a bit of a hindrance to people coming. 

Austrians also tend to be very private people, so our expectations of attendance were low because of this. It's rare someone will come to an event not knowing anyone else personally. However, despite these obstacles, inviting people to the event became a wonderful opportunity to introduce ourselves to our new neighbors and to "break the ice". Even for those who didn't come, we at least can put names with some faces and start to greet people we see in the neighborhood!

Four neighbors and one American friend attended. We had a great time laughing and talking before the concert and because it was a small group, there was much more time to get to know each other. We were able to tell everyone why we moved to Gerasdorf, why we are in Austria, etc. and also explain some of the tenants of the evangelical faith that make it unique from Catholicism (the branch of Christianity Austrians are typically familiar with).

Overall, it was a huge success. For us, it was about relationships and not about numbers. God truly answered our prayers, and we are hopeful this will give us the momentum to be able to continue inviting neighbors over for fellowship and deepening relationships. We want our neighbors to know us as welcoming, inviting, hospitable, and most importantly of all, loving in a way that points directly to Christ.

German Classes for Those in Need

Imagine being forced to flee your country because of war, other dangers or religious persecution. Imagine taking with you only the things you can carry and the clothes on your back. Imagine, then, arriving in a foreign country that will be your "new home", without any support or connections and not knowing the local language.

This is the position that thousands of refugees are in when they arrive in Austria. They are attempting to integrate into a new culture with no tools or support at their disposal. Some come alone, hoping to pave the way for family members to come later. How do you begin life in a new culture, if you don't even know how to communicate with the people around you?

 Because language is such a crucial tool and one of the greatest needs of the refugees coming to Austria, the evangelical church there, in partnership with a Christian non-profit, is now offering free German classes. It's a tangible way for us as a church community to reach out to our new neighbors, showing them the love of Christ by offering them the help they need.

The current class, being taught in our new church building in Vienna, has 70 refugees registered for 4 different language levels. The refugees enjoy coffee, cake and good instruction while they are there. We pray that they come to know not just the language, but why Christians of all people are offering to teach them for free. We pray they would sense a difference (the Holy Spirit) when they enter the building.

Please pray for this new outreach. Pray for enough teachers and help to make these classes possible. Pray for God to work in the hearts of the refugees who come. Pray for God to be honored as Austrian Christians seeks to love their neighbor, just as Christ loves them.

Open House

Saturday was a big day, both for our church and for me. For months, our planning team and I had been meeting to discuss and organize an open house event in our new church building. Our goal was to "peek the curiosity" of the neighbors, giving them a chance to find out who we are (and vice versa) and hopefully lead them to want to know more and visit us again. We offered a plethora of activities for kids, because we really wanted the neighborhood kids to have fun and to draw in the parents - face painting (a big hit), bubbles, crafts, sidewalk chalk, a scavenger hunt, a puppet show, a big inflatable soccer activity, and more. For the adults, we had a big buffet, information table, book table, chess, live music and informational sessions, where members of the church were interviewed about the various aspects of our church community.

The day went very smoothly from a logistical standpoint and although it was chilly and cloudy, it did not rain

(a huge answer to prayer)! Things were quiet in the morning, but we had many guests stopping in by the time midday rolled around. All in all, we saw many new faces and everyone who was there seemed to enjoy themselves and feel welcome. The church really came together to make this event happen - we had church members helping at every station, working hard to keep the buffet stocked, playing music, being interviewed, setting up, cleaning up...you name it. It was wonderful to see what a team effort it was.

The biggest answer to prayer, though, was to see new faces in church Sunday morning - people who had

visited on Saturday and were still curious. Most of these people came to the open house because of personal invites and relationships with people in the church, which is often the case and, in my opinion, the best way to reach out. But there were also a few faces of neighbors who simply wanted to know more! And what's more, Nate preached a wonderful and challenging sermon Sunday morning for these guests to hear, a sermon that he has gotten wonderful feedback about over the last few days. Another answer to prayer.

Thank you to the many of you who were praying for this event. We continue to pray that the connections from Saturday would continue and deepen. God is working in our new neighborhood and we are excited to see what is to come!

Book table

Buffet. Full of treats and drinks all day!

Crafts

The face painting was a huge hit!

One of our deaf members, talking about our church's thriving deaf ministry

Inflatable soccer activity

Kids, watching the puppet show

Our music team

Ping pong

Ellie sitting on my lap, watching the puppets

Advent Celebration

Thank you so much to those of you who prayed for our recent church event! The advent event was a wonderful celebration of "hidden treasures", our gifts and talents, and the giver of those talents. The evening included an arts and crafts exhibit, plus a stage performance that included music, theatrical performances, hand puppets, a film, poetry and more! There were many many guests in attendance and our sanctuary was packed to the brim. The guests enjoyed the performances, heard the messages from our pastor, and then stayed for Punsch, treats and the exhibit.

Please continue to pray for those in attendance, especially guests who do not know Christ and who are in relationship with people from our church. Pray for conversations to go further and deeper.

Here are some photos highlights from the evening!

Member of the string quartet

Hand puppets, who told the sweet story of a shepherd

The packed room

A skit

8-person acapella performance (Bethany is second from the left)

Rachel planned the event (with our assistance) and directed the orchestra

The art exhibition that Nate built!

Our First Bible Study

Bible study in our living room last Thursday

Last Thursday evening was our first official bible study meeting in our home. Up until the moment the evening began, we didn't know who would join us, what kind of a group would come together and what the dynamic would be. All we know is we had drinks, snacks and a clean living room ready for whatever would take place that night. But God answered all of those questions and blessed us with a great discussion, a good-sized group of people and an encouraging beginning to our study through the book of John.

We had four young adults join us, and we are already hearing of more who want to come when they are available. In fact, one of the participants has already invited an unbelieving friend to come this Thursday who is open to reading the bible and has questions about faith! This is exactly our goal - to create an environment open to dialogue about God, Jesus, scripture and faith. God is already working to answer our prayers and bring just the right people to join us.

Outside of Sunday morning church services, this is our first experience studying scripture in German. Please pray for us! It is definitely a stretch for us to discuss deeper topics in our new language, as well as find the time to prepare well for each week's discussion. It can be frustrating to want to share something with the group, but not be able to find the right words (or think of them too late, after the conversation has already moved on to a new topic). Please pray for clarity of thought when we participate and that God would give us humility as we make mistakes and step out of our comfort zones.

Please also pray for the new people that will be joining us in the coming weeks. Pray for them to gain a deeper understanding of who Jesus is through the gospel of John and through our discussions. Pray that they would see the sincere faith of the other people in the room and desire to experience that personal relationship with Jesus for themselves.

Christianity Explored

Adding stickers to what seemed like 10,000 CE postcards

Our Lichfield WorldVenture team is gearing up for starting a Christianity Explored course in the local neighborhood! Similar to the Alpha course, Christianity Explored is focused on helping new believers or people who are searching. It offers a safe place to ask questions and explore the basics of Christianity and what we believe.

We will be starting a 7-week course in early February and in preparation, we've been distributing postcards all over the neighborhood. Our teammates are really focused on their local neighborhood (which they call an "estate"), especially since the church meets in the community center. Last Wednesday, we spend an hour or two adding course information stickers to many, many Christianity Explored postcards. Then we ventured out, dropping them in every mailbox in the neighborhood! We each had a zone to cover and were out there for about 2 - 3 hours going door to door.

Although it was a tiring day, we're praying that a few people from the area have interest in the course and see it as an opportunity to get their questions answered in a safe, welcoming environment.

Would you pray with us, that God stirs the hearts of some local people to come and explore Christianity with us?