Two Weeks Already?

it is hard to believe than in a couple of hours, when we wake up tomorrow morning our time in Austria will be over.
I can't believe all the things I can seen and all that God has done here especially through the team.
To say the least this past week was very challenging with the new group of kids. We had a lot of older kids who were "too cool" for camp and it was very hard to keep them entertained for long with any actvity. After the first day i think that the team was worn-down and i know we all were very unsure of how the rest of the week would go. But in the end i hope we can say it all went well and we were blessed with significant opportunities to share with these kids.
One thing that i never thought i would want to remember but now i am learning to see that God used it more than we can imagine...
On wednesday we take the kids on a camp-out and walk 3 miles with them to get there, this week on camp-out day it was nearly 100 degrees, humid and there were what seemed like a milions mesquitoes out.
After walking to the camp-out site, the kids even with bug spray looked like they were eaten alive, we were all drenched in sweat and none the less after dinner it starts to rain.
I'm pretty sure at this point we were all thinking ´what in the world are we doing here?`
We quickly rushed all the kids into a tee-pee and started a campfire, it was at this time when all we could think was i want to give up. God spoke big.
I know He really spoke to me and my team as we were crammed in, wet and tired that this is where you shine through.
This could be a horrible moment for the kids and everyone will complain about how much they hate it or as God told me this is what we are here for. To show them a difference, to put ourselves aside and let them see in us the Lord.
What could have been a nightmare turned into something beautiful as we all sat around the camp-fire singing, telling scary\funny stories and having an on the spot talent show.
Then the next day my team leader and i were in charge of telling the bible story of the prodigal son and as we did Ashlee was able to tell the kids her testimony and why we crazy americans would come all the way over here to Austria to teach them English, it was a huge blessing that i am very thankful for! :)
At the camp-fire on friday, we had a lot of parents....surprisingly the ones whos kids seemed to hate camp and always be bored tell us that the kids actally loved it and wanted to come back next year!
All in all, it's funny how something we see as a nightmare God can use as a miracle.
Thank you all so much for your support, please pray for safety as we all fly home tomorrow! :)

"Whatever happens conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ..."
Philippians 1:27a

Week 2

The end of week was very eventful, we had a fun last day for the kids with campfire and barbeque for them and their families. We had some of the sweetest kids at camp and it was none the less exciting.
Throughout the week i somehow gained the nickname "Bombay" which means ´the bomb´ in German from a group of 11-12 year old boys that i had played soccer with! :) haha!
Each day is something new and exciting here in Austria and I cannot believe how much I am learning and all that God is teaching me here. This has been a much different mission trip from those i have been on before but i know that i am growing alot from it.
God has really been taking care of a lot of stuff inside of me, that i didn't know was there and teaching me how to live my faith more relationally. At camp we share a bible story but it is very hard to teach the kids more than that because they take religion classes at school and so it is almost boring to them. They know the names and stories, and it is almost like a culture to them but many do not understand what it means to live for Christ daily.
I have am definitely what it means to live the gospel.
That is all for now, please pray as we start week two of camp in the morning for energy, meaningful conversation and boldness with these new kids! :)

"For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" 2 Corinthians 4:5

Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.

Day Camp Week 1

WOW. i cannot believe we are almost finished with one week of English day camp!
This first week here has been absolutely amazing, we have about 22 kids attending the camp and i have the youngest group of 5 7-9 year old's.
Although at first the language barrier proved hard and i wish i knew more German to communicate better with the children i have totally loved my time here.
Out of no where it seems i was swept off my feet from the middle of summer in America to be blessed by coming here.
I have fallen in love with these kids, and although the days are long i am so rewarded to do this.
We have done lots of fun activities with the kids who range in age from 7-12, 14 boys and 8 girls. I have never laughed more in my life than just this week!! :)
Last night we took the kids hiking and camping and while we were at the campsite which is in a national park here another girl on my team and i played hours of soccer with some of the boys.
At one point i was laughing so hard playing with them that i was crying and could not run because i could hardly breathe.
This may be challenging but it is one of the most rewarding things i have ever done.
I don't have much time, and there is no way to simply write down all that i have learned in the past week.
For now here are a few short testimonies of what God has been doing and taught me this week.
After camp one day a parent came to pick up thier child Markus and they were telling us how each night he comes home so excited to come back the next day. The important part though is that they said to us that there is a difference in him after camp, and while he is with us. They can tell that in is more than an English camp we are doing, but that God is doing something big here as well! :)
Vienna is trully known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, this is in a large part due to the history behind some of their large anciet buildings. One night after camp we got the chance to go downtown and see a lot of what makes this city so popular. We spent hours sité-seeing this amazing building built hundreds of years ago.
Now while it was an awesome experience to see all this, and let me tell you these building were impressive...at a time where is was so easy to get distracted God had to remind me what i was here for.
That night as i was reading my bible, i looked at Habakkuk 3:6 where it says "He stood and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble, the ancient mountians crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed, His ways are eternal"
It just reminded me that while all these attractions we saw were quite amazing, even they will pass away, God is what i'm here for and He is Eternal, He will never pass away.

Pray please for the last day of camp this week as it will be the last time we get to share with this group of kids before we get a new group next week! :)

Cheers!

We're Here!!!

Hey everyone!!
Just a quick note to say that we got to Austria!! We got here and met our host-homes for the next couple weeks, ate dinner and now have some free time before bed. Everything has gone really well so far, we learned today that the church we are working with has only fifty members. Although small, i am looking forward to learning what God is doing through them here.
Also we learned that most of the children we will work with have started to learn English in school although we will have some who may not know it at all!
Vienna is a very large, busy city and the people we have meet so far have been wonderful!
Please continue to pray for children that come to the camp, and for meaningful conversations with them.

one word of encouragement God gave me as i was coming here, praying He would not only prepare myself but my team and the children as well.

Isaiah 30: 21 "Whether zou turn to the right or to the left your ears will hear a voice behind you saying This is the way walk in it".

I know God has so much in store for the next couple weeks and i am blessed and excited to be a part of it!

I'll write more soon as we start the day camp. :)

Happy 4th of July!