We're in!

We made it, and we're in! Last weekend, our church officially relocated to our new location in the Meidling district of Vienna, and we have already celebrated two Sundays there. We are so thankful for the new space! It has already been a blessing to us as a congregation to meet there, with more open space, cleaner classrooms and room to grow. We look forward to the space being a blessing for many others soon.

Click below to see this month's update video about the new building, the relocation and how you can be praying this month for us and our church!

May Video Update

A Video Update 

from our new church building

We Have Walls!

Great progress is being made at our new church building and excitement for the big move is ramping up! A team of paid professionals and LOTS of volunteers has been working hard to get the space renovated and ready for us to relocate there at the end of June. Here are a few photos of how things are looking now!

Putting up the walls and spackling in the sanctuary

The hole in the wall to the left is where the window to the baby room will be, looking into the sanctuary.

Our New Worship Space

As we've shared before, our church is moving to a new facility. Because Vienna is a city of catholic cathedrals and not evangelical churches, finding a new worship space typically means converting an empty facility into something suitable for a church. God was so faithful in providing us with a space that will be a great fit for our conrgegation. The new building....

• has huge windows across the front, making it very visible to those walking by
• is located in a residential area full of apartment building and pedestrian walkways. We hope to welcome and invite our new neighbors to join us!
• has large space suitable for a sanctuary, which will accommodate at least 80 more seats than we currently have
•  is a big, open, empty space which we can renovate to suit our needs
• is located at the bottom of a building that has a swimming pool on the roof. We can do baptisms up there!
• boasts lots of storage space

We are currently working with an architect and contractor to renovate the space. Here are some photos of it as it currently looks:

Where the sanctuary will be located

Several bathrooms, which will be renovated and expanded to meet code

An example of how the space will be laid out. This is an old plan, but you get the idea!

We are so so thankful for this space and look forward to seeing it transform over the next few months! Church members are currently donating their time to help with the renovations, scraping walls, painting, repairing and a whole lot more. This is a beautiful example of our community coming together and working together!

Packed Up, Shipped Out

Yesterday, we spent the day at our friends' Tim and Rebecca's house. Why? Because they were generously storing our household belongings for the last15 months! Thank you, Tim and Rebecca! And yesterday, we were finally able to move out of their basement and take our belongings off their hands.

We hired a shipping company to come pick up all of our belongings and prepare them to be shipped to Austria. And let me tell you, this was quite the process! They had to open each box to verify it's contents, create a log of what was in each item (there were 102 items/boxes in all), record the serial numbers of all electronics, and then pack them like puzzle pieces into these two lift vans (large wooden crates).

When we had it all brought out to the garage and we looked at the crates, we were all worried that it wouldn't fit. There was no way! But sure enough, our belongings actually fit in the two lift vans with room to spare. We had originally budgeted for the 2 crates PLUS an extra smaller container...and we didn't need the third container! This saved us money, which was very good news.

It was exciting to pack it all up and watch it drive away. It's just one more step that makes moving to Austria very real. We haven't been able to access or use our household items for over a year now and seeing it all packed into the crates makes me excited for the day when the container arrives and we get to make a home for ourselves again. It will be like Christmas! Although this is still 6 - 8 months away, the day is coming! (Our belongings will be stored in the States until we receive our longterm visa and sign a long term lease on an apartment. Then they will be shipped to us in Austria, probably in May 2013.)

Just a few more days until we are also 'packed up and shipped out'. We're ready for the adventure to begin!