Spiritual sketch of Austria

Today we had the privilege to take a trip to Linz, Austria. It was roughly 144 Kilometers (90 miles) away from our base and our team traveled there by van in a heavy snowstorm. We made it safe and sound but it was our first driving experience out on our own. In Linz, we met up with the team leader for OM Austria (Operation Mobilization) and he presented to us some religious history of Austria and how that has played out in the current spiritual expressions of modern day Austria. I thought I would share a few facts about Christianity here to give you a depiction of missions in this part of the world. But keep in mind that in Austria, Christianity means something very different than what most of us would presume...

Austria Today
-Austria has about 8.2 million people and is smaller than Tennesee.
-71% of people are Roman Catholics (20 years ago it was over 90%)
-2nd largest religion: Islam with about 350,00 people
-Major growth in cults and esoteric groups
-Nearly 50% of all marriages divorced
-"World Champions" in alcholism and suicide
-4th richest country in Euroupe, 7th or 8th in the world

Evangelical Churches in Austria
-Today there are around 200 evangelical churches
-0.3%-0.4% of the population are evangelical, roughly 30,000 (twice as many as 20 years ago)
-Average church has around 30 members
-A rare commodity: Austrians in full-time Christian service
-In some rural areas evangelicals are still seen as a cult

Missionary work has been so difficult within Austria that that Austria has been coined the 'Grave of the Missionaries'.

I ask for your continual prayers for the people of Austria and for our team as we represent Jesus in our lives here.

Wein and Weiner Schnitzel...

(Stephanzplatz, famous chapel in the center of Wein, the black you see is from a bomb dropped nearby in WW2)

Wein (pronounced "Veen" in German) or Vienna in English was where we spent the entirety of yesterday. We familiarized ourselves with public transportation, which might I add, is extremely accessible and well thought out. For example, there are three different types of trains; the U-bohn (underground subway), the Schnellbohn (a commuter train lines that runs throughout the surrounding zones bordering Vienna), and the Strassebohn (street car, similar to the light rail). So we spent part of Thursday having to work in pairs to plan out our route to various locations in the city.

I have heard people say that most big cities generally are the same which makes sense because most are international hubs catering to a wide spectrum of ethnicities and millions of people. What was so remarkable about Vienna was the ornate architecture amongst the bustling city life.

It's something we don't really see in the states, buildings that have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. It got me thinking about how, for the most part, my generation in the States is in touch with maybe two or three generations in their family line, their grandparents and maybe their great-grandparents. It's rare to find people who know (or care about) much past that. I'm curious to interact with folks here and get a grasp for familial history in the town we're living in. I'm sure it has its pluses of having a set family line and identity handed down from generation upon generation. But the downside of a deeply set history of doing things a certain way is the inability to introduce new things/concepts and almost an immediate opposition to change. Notice how the Pharisees couldn't handle Jesus' teachings because it went against the religious traditions of the time.

Anyhow, I'm absolutely inspired being over here. I am really hyped to start learning German (our course starts in February) and learning as much as I can in the time I've been given here. We just got bikes so I went cruising around this morning the quaint Austrian town of Stockerau. Later today, we were invited to a progressive dinner so we'll be trekking from house to house for a different course of a meal. I'm anticipating a full stomach, but nothing compares with the amount of Weiner Schnitzel I ingested last night!

(Me last night with a full belly of Schnitzel)

Gruss Gott!

Greetings from Stockerau, Austria!
I made it here on Sunday night despite several flight complications. At one point it looked as if I was going to be stranded in Amsterdam for an extra day because of a blunder on the airlines part, but fortunately a female teammate was along with and they assumed we were "together" so they put an extra effort towards getting me on the flight with her. I tried to tell them that we were only teammates but the Dutch airline attendant for some reason was really excited that we were "official". So they flew the two of us to Paris and then Vienna. It worked out, but it was very draining and I am still feeling the effects of jetlag.
Our team has been going through orientation the last couple of days and meeting the missionary team we'll be with during our time here. They're a pretty fab group with diverse backgrounds and ages. It'll be neat to come alongside and learn from these folks!
We cruised around Vienna last night getting a feel for the transit system and the city. The architecture is absolutely incredible and the train system is phenomenal. I haven't had much time to digest everything that's happened and even process the reality that I'm in Europe! I woke up this morning and had to remind myself where I was! Fortunately we have the evening free, so I am going to take some mental health time and chill out (after I unpack, that is).

So I'm going to take care of that, I just wanted to let ya' know that I made it.
Peace and Love,
Jake

one, two, skip a few, 99, 100!

I hit the 100% mark last week, officially allowing me to embark on this incredible mission ahead! It was absolutely phenomenal how the remaining support came in. The last two weeks were full of surprises, random anonymous donations, and divine "coincidences". It was cool to see this happen the way it did, because it has been a challenging faith-walk throughout the last 4 months. And the fact that I'm sitting here, about to leave in two days with all the money pledged, is so rewarding! There were definitely times when I grew faint-hearted and wondered if this was even going to work out. Thoughts would pop in to my head like, "What am I thinking? It's the worst time to be raising support with the economy the way it is." or, "What are you even going to be doing in Austria??" But I knew that I couldn't let discouragement drive me away from fully trusting Him this time. God was in control and that He would lead me as a good Shepherd. I had to just hide myself in Him, knowing that when I trust in Him with all my heart, lean not on my own understanding, in all my ways acknowledge Him, He would make my path straight. (proverbs 3.5-6) It was pretty dope seeing Him leading me each step along the way as I banked on His faithfulness. I don't know what Austria is going to look like, but I am settled in my heart that God has some awesome things in store for our team. The lesson of dependence on God when facing seemingly impossible circumstances that I learned through this season of support raising will most definitely come into play as our team seeks GOd to use us in Austria!
Yee Haw!

10 days left, 86% and climbing....

Ever since I hit the 75% mark and was able to buy the plane ticket (about 2 weeks ago) I have really started realizing, Oh snap!, I'm actually going to Austria! So I've begun processing all the logistics (not my specialty) and brain-storming, more like brain-hurricane-ing, everything that needs to happen between now and January 16th. Generally speaking, I'm a down to the wire guy, which could mean that on the night of January 15th, I will be frantically scurrying about while jam-packing my suitcase full of all those last-minute necessities. I'm trying to do everything I can to prevent that from happening, but I just know myself too well....

With the progression of the support raising, life has been interesting to say the least. I haven't worked since mid-December, but I haven't lacked busy-ness or business. I have been kept occupied with one art project after another! Whether it has been a 4x8 board of a name in graffiti, or a bedroom, I've been spray-painting my little heart out. The funny thing is I've made a decent amount of money off of the projects, which has been nice being that I'm unemployed and raising money! Here's examples of the art I've done:
"Emily" and "Alice"



I was having a tough time towards the last part of December. Christmas was great, being with the family was the highlight for sure. But I had been experiencing some anxiety and lonliness which all seemed to consumate on New Year's eve. I had nothing going on that night and was really hoping to do something fun. My few friends were either working or out of town. I realized how I don't really have an intimate community base here at home. I started feeling really isolated and disconnected and looking back in life, these have been feelings I have desperately fled from in the past. Anyhow, after a few more unsuccessful attempts to find something to do , I decided to stay in for the night. I remembered that the International House of Prayer (IHOP, not to be confused with the pancake joint) had a conference going on over New Year's with a live webstream. So I tuned into that, and no less than 5 minutes of watching the worship, I broke down. I don't cry a lot, in fact, I hadn't cried for almost 3 years before this month! But I wept. Man, it hurt so good. I needed to be where I was that night. I'm glad I didn't force my way into a situation just because I couldn't face being lonely. God is my portion. People just can't give me the fulfilment what I'm looking for, only God's love can. I'm a broken man and I want 2009 to be a year of resisting all the things that I turn to in place of intimacy with God.
Amen.

Jake