After a long delay...

The summer is flying by. We have had six teams come to help with our new building and the progress and the change has really been amazing. We will have a five week break through August and then the teams start back up again in September. Not as steadily as it has been for the summer but right now we have five teams scheduled for September and October.

Last week we also had youth camp. We ended up having to do the speaking, worship, morning devotional, activities... you get the picture, ourselves. But it was a great time with the teenagers and a great time with the leaders from our Austrian fellowship's youth ministry. Two of them helped out by preaching on consecutive nights. On the final night we had some youth baptized in the Holy Spirit and the presence of God was very much around us. It was a fun week and it was great to see the girls and guys get to know each other and really form a community. There were 10 students total and their nationalities were literally worldwide. A few from China or Taiwan, one from Ethiopia, a few Austrians and a couple of North Americans/Europeans. It really was an international group!

travel itinerary and updates

I like this blog thing. I just don't use it enough. I will follow the lead of a friend and try blogging a bit more regularly.

The next month has a lot of away from home time for me:

yesterday I went to England to get my passport stamped
Monday I go to Greece for a week
Feb 4-7 I go to Czech to help a Bible school get their office up and running for the English speaking needs they have
the week after that I go on the Pastor/Staff ski retreat week over in Imst
the week after that I'm in Gutenstein at our retreat center cooking food for Bible School students who will be there for a one week intensive course.

March will have 4 days in Switzerland as well. Nothing for April, May or June but the Czech thing came up just last week...

all apologies

I don't really keep up with this thing like I should. Sorry!

Life in Vienna is beautiful. I love the city and I'm learning to love the people. Work at the church is crazy and hectic but it's so much fun. My roommates are from all over with all these different life experiences and living with them is a joy. There is a serious sense of community in our little tribe.

I don't know what else I should tell ya. Maybe I'll think of something later.

3 weeks have gone by.

I have now been in Vienna for three weeks and I love it. I am so busy it feels like I have been here longer.

Still no computer but I do have keys.

We had kid's camp and it went really well. Rainy and cool but the kids enjoyed it anyway and they had a good time of meeting with the Lord.

Last week I started secretarial duties.


This week, I'm in and out of the office helping with day camp.

In August I start language studies.

I'm dancing on the inside.

I can't believe it, it's ok if you don't. I finally arrived. No problems, kind of a tall guy sitting next to me on the long ride over and he kept elbowing me in the ribs. Only three crying children! On the short flight from Dublin to Vienna I had a plush exit row seat with the seat next to me empty. It was heavenly. There is something about the take off of a plane that if I'm a little bit sleepy I'm out like a light. I fell asleep both take offs and slept for over an hour. Good for the second flight because it was only 2 and half hours long. Bad for the first one because it was 7 and a half hours long.

I walked around like a zombie Monday but refused to go to sleep. Went and got groceries for the week (not by myself of course, are you crazy, I can barely make it from the church to my apartment and they are connected to each other). Slept like the dead the first night, helped out with stuff all day yesterday. Last night I barely slept at all then I helped out with stuff all day today and went to this mall thing and got dinner and icecream, again not by myself because of the above mentioned problems. Tomorrow it is grocery shopping and getting things ready at the retreat center for kid's camp. Friday I don't know what I'll be doing yet, not Saturday either. Sunday I know I have to be at church by 8:30 (or maybe it was 8, I should probably check that) until 2:30 and then I head back up to the retreat center with the American team that is helping out as counselors. The kids arrive Monday.



I won't have email at camp so there won't be any other blogs for a little over a week.



I do have a desk though in the office and I will be getting some sort of computer eventually. I don't have keys yet either, which makes leaving the apartment by myself a bit difficult.

Yeah!

I fly out Sunday the 24th arriving Monday the 25th (my older sister's birthday)!

WOOPS!

It's been awhile since I posted anything new, not because I've been Oh-So busy but because I update my MySpace and forget to update this one.

Well, since I last posted I received an email saying the missionary I'll be working with would try and get my budget decreased. This has finally(!) happened after a week and a half between him and World Missions. They finally got everything squared away and in the proper columns and I should have my approval by Tuesday at the latest. I will then buy my plane ticket, hopefully for sometime next week, although that may be too quick, I need to discuss with my missionary before I make the purchase.

So hopefully I'll be posting in just a couple days about when I'll be leaving and then after that it will be about my first experience of Vienna!

I'm excited!