Things I Miss the Most

Notice that this list is about things.  Of course I miss people the most, so we're just going to jump over that category.

• Jalapeños - seriously I have not seen one fresh jalapeño anywhere.  Not even at the farmer's markets.  There are Birds Eye chili peppers, which are darn hot.  Plus there is one vendor at the Naschmarkt who sells habaneros.  But it's not just heat I'm going for.  It's that fabulous flavor of the mighty jalapeño.  I've heard there are a couple Mexican grocery stores who sell pickled jalapeños and I will definitely be buying a jar (or 4).  But next year I will definitely plant some jalapeño seeds on my balcony.  [Any Vienna friends who know where to find fresh jalapeños…I will forever be indebted to you!]

• Hmmm...

Apparently my list is quite short.  I mean, sure I miss my car, but it's kind of a pain to drive when public transportation makes everything so easy.  And now I'm in the groove of riding my bike to the store with my fancy bags I hook on the back, so I don't have to wrestle my groceries on the bus.

I don't miss my house.  I really thought I would.  Downsizing to a two bedroom apartment makes everything SO much easier.  We are grateful for our rooftop terrace, so we can still entertain groups.  In fact, we're having 20-25 study abroad students from Houghton College over for dinner on Monday.  We are REALLY hoping for good weather or it will be quite a tight squeeze!!  But you know?  You just make it work.  

The beach?  We have the Danube River.

Village Baker?  Being that the Vienna coffee house is listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage site, it's a suitable substitute.  Click here to watch a BBC clip on the uniqueness of Vienna coffee houses.  But it is true that nothing can replace those Village Baker pretzels!!

Television in English?  Okay, we do get BBC and CNN news, which is tolerable only in small doses during unfolding critical news events.  We have become more intentional about what and when we actually watch TV.

I remember when we had lived in Baku, Azerbaijan only a few months having this huge feeling of frustration.  It was only when I had said "I'll be happy when..." for the third time in only one week that I realized just how ridiculous I was getting.  I was really going to let my happiness be determined by curtains (granted they were lace and the streetlight was like a spotlight on my pillow) and cupboards (granted the landlords had filled every cupboard with their things for storage so we didn't really have a place to unpack)?  It was a huge lesson for me to really consider in which things I wanted to place my happiness.  Yes, acknowledge the annoyance, but don't let it ruin me.  Dave's mom repeats a great saying, "I will let nothing rob me of my joy today!"  More and more do I believe it's in these moments of real life that we see the power of the Holy Spirit manifest itself.  Left to my own nature I can be a real complainer.

I guess I really am enjoying my new life in Vienna! 

Labor Day in Vienna

May 1 is Labor Day in much of Europe.  Even Google is celebrating:

I was excited to see a maypole show up in our neighborhood last week.  I can remember dancing around the maypole in elementary school.  Okay, dancing might be overstating it, it's actually more like organized walking around the tall pole holding onto ribbons that are attached to the top.  Lucky for you, I heard a band playing outside my window this morning, so ran out the door and caught the children in action!

(be sure to check out the guy playing the accordion)

Once wound, the trick is to unwind, which proved to be quite a challenge.

Labor Day is all about celebrating the protection of workers' rights.  It has become a day for protests, though.  And not just about labor practices.  We received this notice yesterday from the U.S. Embassy:

U.S. Embassy Vienna informs U. S. citizens residing in Austria that the
Chechen Community of Vienna will hold a demonstration in support of the
Boston Marathon bombing suspect...on Wednesday, May 1, at 4:00pm.

That is one cultural event that I do not need to attend.

Being an immigrant

Immigration is a huge issue in Europe. You have all of these small countries trying to figure out how to keep their own culture and sense of identity intact, while allowing for more open economic trade. Our experience coming to Austria has given us just a taste of what the experience of being an immigrant is. However, we both have masters degrees, loads of money and a network through which we found an Austrian who helps people navigate the process. Seriously without Anneliese, we would be sunk. The rules keep changing and the documentation was quite a chore to gather and have properly certified. Again, that took knowing how to get the information and money to have it certified. Because we had college degrees the initial language requirement was waived. However by the end of year two we have to achieve an A2 level of German language proficiency. This is just one way that Austria is trying to limit immigration.

We are the happy recipients of residence permits for one year. Our advisor told us that we broke all records. Americans receive an automatic 90 day visa, after which the letter of the law requires a person to leave for 90 days before being allowed back into the Schengen Zone (many countries in Europe are a part of this free immigration zone) if one doesn't receive a residence permit by then. We were a bit stressed trying to figure out what we would do if the 90 days passed before we received our residence permits, which we were told was a real possibility. One of our choices would have been to stay here illegally. Wow. We are thrilled, relieved and thankful we will not have to make that choice.

I have a heightened empathy for immigrants who don't have the resources we have.

Those of you in West Michigan have an opportunity to attend a workshop on immigration issues. I wish I could be there. I am thankful for the work of Rev. Christy Lipscomb, City Life Church and the West Michigan District of the Wesleyan Church for their work in helping the church wrestle with these issues. The details are below. Please send me a report if you are able to attend!

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Wednesday, March 13, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., the West Michigan District of The Wesleyan Church is looking forward to hosting Matthew Soerens, an immigration training specialist with World Relief.

Join us at CITY LIFE CHURCH
564 S. Division
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
(616) 260-1477
www.citylifeonline.net
christy@citylifeonline.net

Cost is $5 at the door but please pre-register. (I can forward the details to you if you comment below or message me.)

There will be opportunities for discussion and Q&A with the speaker.

Immigration can be a complicated topic. On our West Michigan District Board, it's something that we wrestle with quite frequently. Our district is increasingly diverse, with Hispanic folks quickly becoming the fastest growing demographic. In the past, some of our strong minority pastors have been undocumented, and we have faced all kinds of tensions in being obligated to our country's law, while also being compelled by the need to reach lost people for Christ as quickly and effectively as possible. Demographers tell us that immigrant churches are the fastest growing segment of evangelical churches in the U.S.

The WMD is offering a top-notch event on immigration and faith that I believe you will find to be very practical, thought-provoking, and clarifying. Mr. Matthew Soerens comes highly recommended by Dr. Jo Anne Lyon as an excellent resource for churches on the topic of immigration. Soerens is an immigration advocate for World Relief, and is co-author of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2009). Please join us for this special training session on faith and immigration. People from other churches, non-profits, and interested laypersons are all welcome.

Ja, Bitte!

My favorite word to use in German is bitte.  It can mean:

please

you're welcome!

sure!

sorry

pardon

excuse me

may I help you?

here you go

Sure is great to know a word you can use for almost everything, but I should probably go learn a few more words, too.

Church Hopping

We're having all kinds of new experiences here.  Like shopping for a church.  Most of you have probably searched for a church before.  The pastor's family doesn't usually have this experience.  In fact, the last time Dave and I went church shopping was during seminary days in Columbia, SC.

[insert going back in time sound effect]

We walked into this big church and must have been cutting it close to starting time because we recall the sanctuary being quite full.  Thankfully there were some empty rows toward the front right.  We found our seats and the service began.  There was a strange greet-the-visitors time when everyone else remained standing while the new people sat down.  I just remember everyone towering over us speaking very loudly, "NICE TO HAVE YA'LL JOIN US TODAY".  It all made sense when the sign language interpreter took her seat to face our section during the sermon...

[returning to present day]

The first few weeks here we went to Grace International Church.  Great community with fellowship groups from Iran, The Philippines and Nigeria.  It's a wonderfully diverse congregation.  Our first Sunday Emma and I were already invited for dinner from a British diplomat's family while Dave was back in the states for meetings.  What a nice welcome!  The sermons are translated into German.  The pastor lives below us, and we've enjoyed getting to know his family.

The easy thing would be to keep going back.  But we want to branch out.  To fully engage in this new opportunity to see what church opportunities there are for us.  To see where we can serve and fellowship.

This morning we visited the local Antiochan Syrian Orthodox Church at the invitation of our landlord.  What a fantastic experience.  Hard to communicate it, so let me use a poem and some pictures to try.

Church from an Old World in My New Country

Incense and smoke sting nostrils and eyes

Boys chant scripture 

Mentoring of old to young

Passing on the candle light

Holding hands, touching face, kissing Scripture

Community fellowship

Aramaic Arabic Turkish German

Notes on iPhone to speak an ancient language

Worship Jesus without words

I especially liked how the priest faced the altar most of the service.  

The focus was on the cross and the Bible.

 We lit our candles three times during the service, passing the light along generation to generation.

 The liturgy is all in Aramaic, the language of Jesus.  The church has classes on Saturdays to teach the children the language, as no one speaks it anymore.  The screen had the words all in Aramaic, Arabic, German and Turkish.  Darn, no English.  I was thankful for the pictures that showed when I was supposed to stand, and when I was supposed to sit.

At the end of the service there was a procession of the Word and the cross.

Atilla, our landlord, showed up about halfway through the service.  He laughed at us that we came for the whole thing.  He said he doesn't know Aramaic, so he comes to hear the brief message (which is shared in Aramaiac, then Arabic, then Turkish) and say his prayers.  Atilla then invited us to stay with his family for a special lunch they were having for the children.  It was so delicious.  He told us about how he met his wife (arranged by his parents) and how God changed his heart.  It was such a moving story I cried and embarrassed Emma.

A week of blog beginni...

We arrived a week ago Saturday.  Our dear friends and mentors Dave and Brenda Babcock picked us up at the airport.  The Daves went directly to Budapest by moving van to pick up the furniture left behind by the previous Area Director, 3 1/2 hours away.  Thankfully a few guys from the Czech team met them to help load and then unload all the furniture at our apartment here in Vienna.  Emma, Brenda and I stayed in Vienna to do some grocery shopping and schlep our 6 50-pound bags up to our third floor apartme...

I have 5 keys now:  door to courtyard, 2 to our door, padlock for cellar storage, post box.

New Year's Eve in Vienna is ridiculously amazing!  Fireworks go on and on for hours in every directi...

Spent the night in line [outside] to apply for our residence permit.  That's kind of a lie.  Dave and Jason (friend from Czech team) spent the night outside while Emma and I (and others) took shorter turns.  Little sleep a few days after just getting the time zone straight will really mess with...

It's raini...

Bought our transportation passes so we can travel anywhere in the city:  Ubahn, Sbahn, tram, bus. My favorite find is the Qando App to know the best route with all transportation modes, even walki...

We live in the 21st District of Vienna, which is more of a rural district.  That helps explain the neighbor's rooster.  I just don't understand what time zone he belongs to.  Seriously, 2 am is a strange...

Austrian Rooster by Don Young

(too bad, already sold for $1250)

Our apartment is so lovely.  Still trying to get it all arranged and furnished.  Spent 5 hours in Ikea. Still married!

Groceries are heavy.

Strange watching SLWC online.  

Went to an International Church.  Figured out how to get there by ourselves!  On public transportation!  Thank you Qando App!  Enjoyed the diverse congregation.  Emma said she likes how you learn about Jesus and learn German at the same time.  Already have a dinner invite for tonight to a home of a British Diplomat family with two young childr...

Dave left this morning for meetings in Indianapolis.  We would have never moved knowing he has meetings back in the States already, but we all had to be physically present to apply for our residence permits on the first business day of the...

It's snowi...

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So I've felt a little scattered.  Don't tell Dave but now that he's gone I think everything will slow WAY down.  I am looking forward to a little bit of a leisurely pace to wander my new community and do some nesting.  Emma has her first basketball practice today, so it will be my first real alone time for a long time.  I love people and activity, but it sounds so indulgent to have time just to myself.  What to do with that hour?

Back before Instagram

Uncovered some new treasures today.  Dave took a photography class back in the day at Taylor University.  Must have just heard an Ansel Adams lecture (are there lectures in art class?).

I went to art college.

I got the art knowledge.

[Prizes awarded to whoever can name the band.  

If your last name is Horne, you are disqualified.]

Okay, back to the post.  Just got a little distracted.

 This gem has been waiting in a basement file to be uploaded to Instagram.

[no filter]

Dave Horne, the original hipster.

Prizes awarded to whoever can name the band on my tshirt.