We have arrived.
In some ways it still feels a bit surreal to be writing this email, but the reality is ‘wir sind angekommen’… we have arrived. We have arrived in Austria. We have arrived in Linz. We have arrived at our partner church, Baptistengemeinde Linz and at the OM office. And we have arrived at the beginning of a new chapter.
It has been an incredible journey of faith and perseverance so far, and we have no doubt that it will continue to be as we live and serve in Austria. This past week and a half have been filled with a lot of the admin of moving to a new country – unpacking our bags, registering our arrival, submitting finger prints and collecting our residence permit, starting school, meeting the OM Austria team, finding some proper winter clothes, and even getting chest x-rays to check we don’t have TB (a very unexpected requirement).
But in amongst this we have been very blessed with opportunities to strengthen existing relationships and even start some new ones. We’ve been to church twice and have felt very welcomed by the Baptistengemeinde Linz (the Linz Baptist Church/Congregation) who have been praying for our preparation since our decision in February to serve in Austria. This past Sunday we had an unexpected introduction and conversation with a couple who have planted a Vineyard church in Linz, and we look forward to continue strengthening that new connection. We have been welcomed by the OM team and spent some quality time preparing the quarterly magazine, der Pulsschlag (the Pulse), with the office team. We have even had the chance to make some good family memories, embracing the fact that for now we are still very much visitors or tourists in our city.
We will be spending the rest of December settling in, completing the remainder of the admin tasks, attending OM team meetings and gatherings and hosting some friends over Christmas and New Years.
Steps of faith
As we shared last update, there are 2 keys things we are trusting God for in the coming months:
Confidence in making new connections – as we begin taking on our specific ministry roles with OM, we firmly believe that following Jesus encompasses all of life. Please give praise! and continue to pray with us for the connections we will make with neighbours, at church, in the office, at the girl’s school, at the park and all the other places in between. Please also pray for the language and cultural learning needed to build on these new connections well.
Further Financial Partnership – God has been faithful in so many ways over the past year and particularly in the financial provisions needed for residence and visa applications, flight tickets and set up costs. Please give praise for this and continue to pray with us for the additional €750 in monthly partnerships we still need to raise in order to remain in Austria. We are trusting God for between 15 and 25 new partners giving monthly financial contributions of between €20 and €100 each to meet this need. Please pray with us for wisdom in approaching potential partners and that unexpected new partners would join us at the right time. Please also consider praying about whether God wants you to partner with us in the work of caring for, coaching and encouraging Jesus followers in Austria.
We really are so grateful to have you journeying with us, please feel free to share this update with others that might be interested in the work God is leading us to do. We would love to pray for you too, so please let us know if there are specific things we can bring to God on your behalf.
In His light and love,
Zippy, Dané, Cori and Lily
The Benns 