It is amazing to think that we have been for a little over 2 weeks already!
It has been a good time. Filled with challenges and yet so many other good things that it makes the challenges seem small and insignificant.

On our arrival, all that Glenn wanted to do was sort all of our ‘things’ out that would make us a little more independent i.e get cell phones, sort out all of the official papers, bank account, sort out the school for the children and even look for a car!!! But, as the Lord would have it, it has taken a little longer than what we wanted, and so the wonderful lesson of patience is being taught and learned! Much to our frustration! Hence the lesson!

Once we were able to truly rest in Him, did all of our ‘things’ begin to fall into place. We now have a cell number, our papers that we needed are slowly coming in ( Austria requires many official papers to join the country ). Today we are going to see the principal of the school in town, bank accounts have been opened, and as to the other things – we are resting in Father and trusting Him for our car as well as a place to stay!
( Not that staying with Glenn’s mother, is a problem at all. She has been spoiling us so much and we have all loved it!! )

We have already had two Sunday services and they have been good. The faithful that have been coming have been exactly that, faithful. These are amazing people who love God and they have crept into our hearts. We have our services in “the upper room”. It is truly an upper room! We can look out on parts of the city.

Through a lot of good advice from Markus Marosch and Wolfi Eckleben, we have decided that we are not going to introduce any programs of any kind right now. We are just going to build relationally with the people here. We will look at launching the church in the new year.

In the mean time we have spent a lot of time praying for the city of Salzburg as well as the little town that we live in, Grodig. Glenn and I have started walking early in the mornings and every Tuesday Julie and a group of other city pastors and ministers do an early morning prayer walk in the old city ( 5 am! ). This has been truly effective as many changes have occurred since they began doing this. We realize that building God’s kingdom is His job, but we need to pray for the people in this city.

 

We are going to be helping Julie with her seminars too. This will bring in some extra income for us. It seems as though our Bloemfontein ‘stint’ with the catering at our National camp has come in useful as this is what Laura will be doing for the seminars once a month. The seminars are for about 25-30 people, so it is most definitely at a level that is manageable, certainly not 500, as the camps were!! For those of you who helped, if you have any advice, recipes, good ideas – I’d love them all, send them on!!!

More and more each day we realize that it is by God’s grace and favor that we find ourselves in this beautiful country. We are very grateful and thankful for all the prayers, the time, and the finances that have come to make this, our new amazing journey, adventure possible. Thank you to all of you, but mostly to Father, who somehow sees the potential in us to bring a small change in the land of Austria. We are humbled and overwhelmed, grateful and full of joy!!!

In Him we live and move and have our being!