October 6th: Normal Work Day

House in the neighborhood next to Haus Edelweiss

Back to work today from a nice day off in Vienna that was somewhat relaxing.  I was a bit tired still in the morning and it seems to be getting more difficult to get up in the morning now.  I have been sleeping much better and pretty well here for some reason.  It was a good devotion this morning on just taking time to “look up” and see the stillness and what the Lord is doing in your life instead of getting caught up with the business of life and how quickly it moves by.  Kevin compared it too watching the lines on the highway as your driving and how fast they move then to looking up at the mountains and seeing how slow they move and God’s creation and perfection in life.  It is always good to sometimes just take a step back and look up and remember that God is there and will always take care of you and not to worry about things sometimes.  I really enjoy our mornings together as a group before going to work and the time of prayer, learning about a different country and the devotion time.  I feel it really is a good way to start the day of work and just a little reminder of why we are all really here in Austria and something to think about as we go about the day.  We also prayed for continued strength for a lot of people to continue with this upcoming week with their health as some of us may be getting tired from all the activities going on and work.  God is so great and will give us strength in time of need.  The work today continued with more painting of the balcony and a shed behind one of the houses and we finished with preparing firewood for the campfire one night this week.  Work is going by quickly each day and before I know it we will be all saying our goodbyes to the students then each other on Friday night as we all depart our ways on Saturday morning.  It has been such a blessing here and I look forward to what the Lord has done in many people’s lives and know that this is only just the beginning for many.  I have been getting to know some of the students more and has been a pleasure talking with them during meal times and just joking with them together and the fellowship that comes from that.  The church history from Eastern Europe is very interesting and some things with the persecution and how little of a presence there is eye opening and you would never think that things like that still happen today.  The States seem to be in their own world and we are an extremely lucky country in many ways that we take for granite most of the time.  I am amazed at what the Lord has shown and taught me in only these 23 short years so far and am so excited to see what other doors he opens for me in the future.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” - Psalm 121:1-2