July Highlights

 After our family reunion in Pigeon Forge, TN, we had the chance to visit some friends in the Nashville area and then Nate's grandma in northern Wisconsin, all on our way up to Minnesota. Here are a few recent highlights from those weeks!

Canoeing fun in TN!

Enjoying time with our TN friends

Milwaukee Children's Museum

Fishing at Grandma's house with Uncle Evan

Swimming with cousin Rosie and Uncle Neil

Cousin snuggles!

Fireworks on the 4th

Posing with Nana

Sparklers before the big fireworks show

Fun in MN, back at the Mall of America

Mini-golf with Rosie

Play date with MN friends

Home Assignment Debrief Week at WorldVenture Headquarters in CO

Our awesome debrief group

Receiving a certificate for reaching 10 years with the mission

Group photo of all the missionaries at the home office

The WorldVenture kids program! A huge blessing for the girls last week. They made pillow cases with various fabrics to remind them of special places and memories in their life.

Highlights from Malta

Over New Year's this year, we had the privilege of travelling to Malta for WorldVenture's Hope Malta Conference for all of the workers in Europe and the Middle East. It was an incredibly encouraging 5 days for us. They had a team come in from Texas to plan a great program for the kids and while they were having fun, we had the chance to worship, listen to great teachings from Mark Young (President of Denver Seminary and former WorldVenture missionary), attend helpful and practical workshops and spend time with other missionaries. We also heard updates from the home office on policies, training and health care, had important in-person meetings, and reconnected with friends with whom we'd attended training years ago. A highlight was a talent show and party on New Year's eve, where I (Bethany) performed the "Who's on First" skit with our teammate and friend, Beth, and performed a song with Nate. We came away from the week exhausted but also rejuvenated and encouraged.

Here are a few photo highlights from our trip:

Beth and I performing Who's on First

The full video of our shortened version of "Who's on First"

Nate and I performing a duet at the talent show

We had a free day and went to the island of Gozo. We got to go climbing there with some others

Pub Quiz night with our "hosts" (These are our direct supervisors! haha)

Worship in English - a huge blessing!

2019 WorldVenture Team Retreat

We just got back from our annual Spring Getaway, a 4 day retreat for our WorldVenture Team Austria. We were blessed with several special guests at our retreat this year...

• our speakers for the week were former missionaries to Austria. They were a big surprise for our supervisors, who are retiring this year!
• a visitor on a vision trip who is considering long term service in Austria
• a couple who works at WorldVenture headquarters in CO but was travelling Europe visiting community centers. This couple also used to serve in Germany and attended the Austria Team retreat!
• a couple from Ireland who will be our new supervisors when our other team members retire

It's a tradition for our team to keep the schedule light, so the week is truly restful for everyone there. We spent the mornings hearing from our guest speakers and then taking turns sharing with each other about our previous year and praying for each other. Afternoons and evenings were free for outings and games. The weather was beautiful, and it was truly a wonderful week together. I am so thankful for our WorldVenture Team!

Here are some highlights from our week together:

Joe and Calla Jean Wright, our speakers for the week

Team prayer times

Our sharing time

Playing near the lake

The girls loved just throwing rocks into the lake over and over again!

There's a special bond between these two!

My favorite little people being themselves!

The whole group!

Power Up

Downtown Vilnius

A few weeks, I had the opportunity to attend a WorldVenture training conference in Lithuania offered for all missionaries in Europe and the Middle East. Nate attended this conference in the spring and they offered it twice in the year so couples like us with little kids could take turns. I was so thankful for the chance to attend.

Sessions in the hotel

It was a really refreshing week for me, not only because it was a break from the everyday and a chance to get away and relax a little, but especially because of all the great training content and conversations with other missionaries. There is something special about missionaries getting together, even if they have never met, because we all understand each other and the experiences we've gone through integrating into a new culture and learning a language. The worship and prayer times were also incredibly refreshing, since on most Sunday mornings here I miss part or all of the service because of the kids.

The main thrust of the conference was about skills in interpersonal relationships. It sounds like such a basic topic, but all of us need to constantly be striving to improve how we relate with others. This affects everything we do - our ministry in the church, how we care for others outside the church, how we have healthy marriages and family relationships, and everything in between. We discussed topics like encouragement, trust, listening, healthy rest, moral purity and conflict resolution. It was especially interesting to discuss how these topics each play out uniquely in our culture where we live, in comparison to American culture where we may be most comfortable.

We visited a Lithuanian Castle midway through the week

New friends!

The leadership of Europe and the Middle East for WorldVenture was there at the conference teaching the content. Informally, though, at meal times and in between times, they were also there to discuss how we are doing and questions we may have about things at the mission. Having these conversations in person is so valuable, and I was really thankful to get some questions answered about some recent financial changes and to get to know some people in leadership positions that I hadn't met before.

I'm so thankful for WorldVenture and that it makes it a priority to offer conferences like these, where we can come away with practical learning and new relationships and connections. And I'm thankful for Nate, who stayed home with the kids so I could attend!

Power Up Conference

Every few years WorldVenture, our missions organization, plans a regional conference for everyone working in Europe. We missed the last one, because it was just a few days before Ellie was born. That conference took place over New Years with child care so that families could attend without school issues and bring their kids along. This time around, they chose a different model that we are really excited about. They are putting the exact same conference on twice, once in the spring and again in the fall so that families with small kids can attend, with the parents taking turns. Bethany is looking forward to having Maya weaned and having a new gal arrive on our field so that they can go together in the fall, so the spring time was my turn.

The conference was called Power Up and took place in Vilnus, Lithuania. For those that think this sounds like a really exotic location, remember that A) This is still EU, which means easier travel for most of us who already have EU visas and B) it is a lot cheaper than having something like this in a place like Switzerland or France, where everything would be more expensive from food to lodging. It was a really pretty city and a place that would be fun to go back and visit. There was an interesting mix of old world monarchical history and the recent soviet influences. It is still a country stuck between and influenced by both Moscow and Europe. The old city was a great place to just wander around and find little corners and shops.

the view of the city from our hotel

evening wandering in the city

The conference itself was on interpersonal communication. This is a topic near and dear to my heart and something I find very important. Here were a few key takeaways that I gleaned from our time.

1. The first thing I wanted to share was from a session called "Loving Listening." They talked about how we can show people we love them by making them feel truly heard. There was a quote from David Augsberger: "Being heard is so close to being loved, that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable." We often don't realize the power that we hold, simply by listening to people. Life can be so hectic and full of running from thing to thing, that there is a huge relational power in stopping what we are doing and truly listening to what another person has to say. Not just hearing them, or trying to break in and make our point, but listening to them and understanding where they are coming from. This can help all of our relationships from casual acquaintances all the way to the people that are dearest to us. How can we show the people around us we care for them by listening to them?

2.  Another key group of sessions was about the book Crucial Conversations. They defined a "crucial conversation" not necessarily as conflict, but just like the subtitle of the book says "when things are at stake." When we disagree and decisions need to be made, we get into the realm of a crucial conversation. One of my main take-aways was a pretty simple observation. It is the idea that when we are in a conversation and someone says something we don't understand or it seems to be negative or critical, we create a narrative in our own minds about what that could mean. We set their statement in a context which answers the question "why would someone say something like that?" Often the answer can be something like: "They think I am stupid" or "they don't believe I am capable of succeeding here." We then go forward with that internal story and begin to believe it is true. But what happens if that isn't true? Do we really take time to expose those underlying stories to the light of day and check if that person really believes that? There are often totally reasonable explanations that also fit the facts of a situation, and it is our personal fears or insecurities that drive it forward.


There were many other key takeaways from the time there from personal soul care and rest, building trust in relationships, and personal moral purity; just to name a few. I am very excited for Bethany to be able to go to the same conference in the fall so that we can debrief and compare notes.

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.

Debrief Week

Every step of the way, it continues to be confirmed for us why we partnered with our missions organization, WorldVenture. The staff there care for us and our ministry deeply and continually offer us great support to continue serving on the mission field. We are so blessed.

We just finished up a week and a half training session at WorldVenture headquarters, where we debriefed from our first 3 years in Austria. We went through this training and debrief with two single women who also just finished their first term and then (3) older couples who have served for decades on the field. The variety of perspectives around the table was incredibly valuable, as we discussed what God did and taught us during our previous term of service.

In addition to group debrief sessions, we were also given time with professional counselors to discuss how we are doing in all areas - emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically, both individually and in our marriage. These sessions were incredibly valuable for us and we were given specific tasks and tools to use going forward.

Another important piece of our time there was having the chance to hear from and meet with various departments at WorldVenture - finance, medical, communications, etc. Each department supports our ministry and it was helpful to be able to ask questions and better learn how to make use of their services.

Each missionary or family shared an update with the WorldVenture staff, reminding them of the great work that their efforts back in Colorado support. We would not be able to serve without them and we want them to know how thankful we are!

It was an incredible restful time in CO. Outside of our meetings, we were able to rest and enjoy a quiet place to stay. We were very thankful for this respite before our busy travel starts up again!

Renewal Conference

 To many people, the words "renewal" and "conference" may seem contradictory. Conferences are typically filled with busy schedules, lots of people, breakout sessions and very little down time. Not too many conference experiences are restful or rejuvenating. So going into a week called "renewal conference" might lead someone to be skeptical. We are thankful, however, that WorldVenture (our missions organization), keeps true to its word and takes the conference name seriously. 

Last week, we gathered with WorldVenture home office staff, regional staff (recruiters from different regions of the U.S.), board members and missionaries for a week of worship, prayer, teaching, learning and networking. The entire first two days were dedicated to just prayer and worship, allowing us to spend time praying for our world, our staff, our missionaries, people groups throughout the globe and many specific needs. We also each had the opportunity to experience an hour long "prayer labyrinth", where you walk a path in a room, listening to an audio track that guides you through a prayer exercise.  These first two days were very renewing.

 The second three days, we were blessed to hear the challenging and engaging words of Ryan Paulson (pastor of a local church). His message on worry and anxiety really hit home for me, and I really felt the Holy spirit speaking through him to me about releasing my worry. We also got to hear from WorldVenture leadership and attend breakout sessions about medical coverage, finances and other helpful topics. At every meal, we sat down with different staff and missionaries. These impromptu conversations were always great, as we compared cultures, swapped language learning stories and discussed thoughts on how to challenge the next generation to consider missions.

Childcare was provided for kids under 5, so Ellie was in good hands all week. I was quite nervous about this going in and the first day was a bit rough for her...but each day was better and better. It was such a gift for us to be able to attend all the sessions and to know she was having fun while we were doing that.

We came away from the Renewal Conference truly renewed!