PRAYER UPDATE MAY-JUNE 2015
God has been good, are you surprised? We have had an eventful couple of months and are excited about where we are going. One thing we have done, if even for a day now and then, is make a trip out of the city, nature is good for the soul. Check out our stories, as you read you will find prayer requests, take a moment to pray for those things - when you finish, send us your prayer requests.
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A Crazy “Circumstance”
On one trip to Russia Lori met a woman named Lena and they became friends. It turns out that Lena and her husband Vitaliy were studying at a Bible School that is close to Vienna and is designed for church leaders in Central and Eastern Europe called TCMI. Lori invited them to come and stay with us on their next trip to TCMI, and they came! We not only had a great time with them and were able to show them around Vienna, but we had the honor of attending their graduation from TCMI. How fun it would be to continue that relationship helping them with their church plant in Moscow. We are hoping to meet again wiht TCMI leadership to explore how we might work together in the future. Pray for God’s leading in this and in all we do. |
Church News
We have enjoyed being a part of and helping to lead one of the English speaking small groups at our church. We have studied 1 Peter and the first six chapters of Daniel together and are going to look at some Psalms over the summer. It is English speaking, but still culturally interesting as there are numerous countries of origin represented. One of advantage of a small church is you can have a retreat and invite everyone. The teaching, worship and fellowship times were all sweet. The teaching was great, really helping us explore our own heart issues. Please pray the people in our church here will continue to grow in their faith. |
Mostly photos of our retreat. But watch for our small group photos mixed in.
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The Eck Family
Many of you know this already, but the Eck family is back in Vienna with us! It has just been good to get time with them, to have them at team meetings and to dream about future ministry together. They bring a certain intangible something to our team dynamic that we are thankful for. Praise God with us.
Many of you know this already, but the Eck family is back in Vienna with us! It has just been good to get time with them, to have them at team meetings and to dream about future ministry together. They bring a certain intangible something to our team dynamic that we are thankful for. Praise God with us.
Seelsorge Seminar in Bonn, Germany
It was so amazing to see 200+ church leaders gathered together for the sole purpose of learning more about caring for hurting people in the church. It reminded us of the ABC conferences we have attended with some of you in the past. The talks were great, but the fellowship with people we just had met was even better. Even though we were the only conference attendees registered from Austria, and the only native English speaking attendees, it was extremely encouraging to learn how God is moving in German speaking Europe through this work. We also were able to see some countryside as the least expensive way to travel was by rent car. Please pray God will give us wisdom as we explore becoming a part of bringing this kind of thing to Austria. |
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Refugee Ministry
You have probably heard about the “refugee problem” here in Europe. Literally thousands of people are fleeing Northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of Central Europe and coming to our doorstep. Jim Brosch has described the refugee center near Vienna as a river of unbelievers with many being open to hearing the good news. Europe’s problem is a real opportunity for us!
Right now there is a young man Russ has spent much time discipling and doing ministry with who has a heart for evangelism and a desire to grow in his faith. We will just use his first initial to refer to him as F. F is on what might be described as the refugee bubble - not knowing if he will be deported or not and not having papers giving him authorization to work.
You have probably heard about the “refugee problem” here in Europe. Literally thousands of people are fleeing Northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of Central Europe and coming to our doorstep. Jim Brosch has described the refugee center near Vienna as a river of unbelievers with many being open to hearing the good news. Europe’s problem is a real opportunity for us!
Right now there is a young man Russ has spent much time discipling and doing ministry with who has a heart for evangelism and a desire to grow in his faith. We will just use his first initial to refer to him as F. F is on what might be described as the refugee bubble - not knowing if he will be deported or not and not having papers giving him authorization to work.
Recently a young lady several team members know, Laila, was being sent back to Bulgaria because it was her first EU country she visited as she was seeking asylum. She had been trafficked into Bulgaria originally and feared the people who trafficked her would try and extort more money from her. Using social media and other means, her church rallied many to pray for her – in the end she was put on a plane back to Bulgaria, but the Austrian Airlines crew let her off before takeoff.
Pray for F and for Laila. Pray too that we, the church universal, will seize this opportunity for evangelism.
Pray for F and for Laila. Pray too that we, the church universal, will seize this opportunity for evangelism.
As always, we can not thank God enough for you!
We praise Him for your love and friendship.
We praise Him for your prayers.
We praise Him for your financial support.
Even though we thank and praise God, please know .......
YOU are each appreciated.
We praise Him for your prayers.
We praise Him for your financial support.
Even though we thank and praise God, please know .......
YOU are each appreciated.
Please let us know via email how we can be praying for you.
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