Last week in Vienna

My host mother and me !

The summer has past by in a blink of an eye. Through the past months I have been able to experience things most will not in their lifetime and I am grateful to everyone that has got me here. Vienna as a local for one more week. I have bought my underground ticket and can travel throughout the city from below. When I am ready I can get off and walk the city from one side of the Danue to the other. Stopping anywhere, the city is my limit - the experience and companions welcomed.

Don't worry... abandoning my weekly tasks is not part of my agenda. I will be listening to my European momma preach on Wednesday as well as enjoying laughter with the youth as we encounter God during our Monday night meetings. Each Friday night is time for outreach as we pass out flyers in the middle of the city. After outreach we sit in a quaint pizza parlor playing a rambunctious game of spoons or whatever pops into our minds at the moment. These moments in my week will be missed as they will be the last ones for this trip.

In the end I am grateful for every encounter. The people here have brought me into their family and unlike most families this one spans the ocean.  It is filled with what I call "a small slice of heaven". Including blended cultures and expansive languages. Even when words are not understood gestures are caught and emotions are stirred. I have fallen in love with a city most have not even thought of visiting.

After my second time spending my summer in this home away from home. I look forward to returning. Some people spend their summers at the beach, being a Cali girl it would make sense but when I think about it I am not drawn to the beach I am drawn to the purr of subways. I enjoy the stir of people and feeling a desire to know what everyone is talking about as they too take in this majestic city. I love being able to hear three languages sung all in one song and understanding what I never thought could be possible. I cherish laughing into the wee hours of the night in front of a bonfire at the lake and the surrounding echoes of your voice off the water making it sound like the world around you is laughing as well.

In the end I plan on spending this week enjoying every day, encounter, moment, and memory. To make sure this is not just something I check off my list of things I want to do but something I will be able to recount at a moments notice years down the road. When goodbyes are needed they are long and overdrawn - filled with smiles and see you soon but no fair-wells.

Bible Seminar

The past two weeks have been amazing. Practically the whole church has been at the summer Bible Seminar. We all traveled by train to Strobl which is a small town between Bad Ischl and Salzburg. I say that simple because I like saying Bad Ischl. It is fun to pronounce and I recommend you trying it. Well can I say traveling by train may be the funnest way to get somewhere. Not only do you get to see the scenery but you don't have to drive. You also meet new people and can spread out instead of having four people in a car you can have four people in a train on different levels and still have room to spare. That was my tangent on trains, now on to the seminar.

The first day I got there God and the women (a small number of them) tested my faith. We climbed to the top of a mountain and though I have never been scared of heights climbing a ladder attached to the side of a cliff with little room for error definitely tested that fear. The four hour hike also tested my endurance but we all made it and can I say the view was amazing. I am sure that mountain was meant to be climbed when God created it or he would not have made the view so grand.

During the week we had four teachings by the pastor and his wife.  During the days we ate a lot and played soccer. Actually, the men played soccer, I simply tried not to get in the way. On each Friday the whole group climbed up 200 stairs and got to take in the beauty of a lake right in the middle of a mountain. Not only was I able to dip my feet into the famous St. Wolfgang lake but I was able to sit on the shore of a little hidden treasure.

View from the Top

Now you may think that is a small amount of information for two weeks. Well I spent my nights with four lady's who made me laugh as they sang to oldies, a roommate I shall never forget, a slight flood in the flat by a suspicious washer, as well as a reference to Sigmund Freud I think was considered a complement. My attempt to be out doorses was walking an hour on the side of a freeway, unsure of how to get to the meeting place I had only visited once before. Though that walk only lasted 45 minutes then I climbed down an embankment and took a side street I was most delighted to find. I attempted to ride a bike which did not turn out so good. I enjoyed a late night bon fire lakeside with the youth.  Sausage was cooked using sticks. My host mother's birthday was spent on a five hour train ride. Then, who can forget a new form of bowling that I had never seen which was quite entertaining. Lastly, but certainly not least, my first movie watched completely in German with my own personal translator. Interwoven between all of this was of course a lot of laughter.

Finding the plus side of every situation

The First week of August has begun and I have officially been in Vienna for one month. After the conference the church settled back into our normal routine. We said farewell to one of the interns as he traveled back home. Now there are two interns left and we are about to get ready for summer Bible Seminar. But, before we can all head out on holiday we have to finish off this week.

On Wednesday my host mother and I got to speak for mid-week service. We settled down on a nice couch and let the congregation see how we live. It was nice being able to speak again, I am getting less and less nervous. This weeks discussion was on difficult people. How do you handle someone who is being difficult? Also, what does the Bible say we should do when we encounter a difficult person. While preparing what we were going to say my host mother and I got to enjoy many of the situations we have encountered and many difficult people we have known over the years.  At the time people who get under your skin may seem to never leave, looking back there is a sense of joy knowing that you made it through and have the stories to prove it. It was a joy being able to give the topic at church and a nice bonding experience.

You may be wondering how I have not shared any horror stories from my trip. Like most people who work overseas, the joys out weigh the hardships. This is not to say that some points haven't been hard or trying - they have. Here is a silly thing that happened just the other day. I scraped my elbow while jumping on a trampoline - jumping on a trampoline with some new friends out weighed the scraped arm!  Also, for those who know me well and those who don't ATM's have never been my strong suit. You may think, "how can someone not know how to work an ATM?" apparently if you forget your password then your credit card will get eaten by one.  Mine did!  Not to fear, it was my fault for pressing the buttons t0o many times. Here is a heads-up, if you ever go out of the country make sure you have some cash tucked away since ATM's can keep your credit cards. On the bright side, I learned something new.

Like I said before, Summer Bible Seminar is coming up and for the next two weeks I will be enjoying a different part of Austria with the church. Our week will be filled with fun, preaching, and food. I will write about those adventures when I return but until then remember to enjoy the scenery for their is someone wishing they could be where you are.