…in rain, sun and snow
I (John) love travelling ‘zu Fuß’ (by foot). It is something that we do a lot of now that we live in Linz. My favourite way of going by foot is trail running, where my feet take me deep into nature and away from the busyness of life. It helps me connect with God, think through problems and refresh my perspective and optimism about life. Three ‘zu Fuß” related ideas that I have found useful over the years and that I keep with me as I go are:
“Solivitur ambulando” which is a Latin phrase that means “it is solved by walking”.
“The way is made by walking”, an adapted line from a poem by Spanish poet Anthony Machado
and the African proverb,
“If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together”
Each of these ideas ring particularly true for me as I think over the past 3 months of life, work, ministry and mission here in Austria. In all areas of life there has been a lot of figuring it out as we go along, learning as we ‘travel’ and relying on others as we walk together in the Way of Jesus.
For me (John) the work highlights have been:
The Missionkonferenz Wels
This was the first missions event I have been responsible for. It’s organised by FCG Wels (a Pentacostal Free Church in Wels, Upper Austria) and is considered the largest missions conference among the Free Churches in Austria. Over the 2 days we had many good conversations at our new missions stand and had a number of people show interest in staying connected with OM. We also had over 55 people go through our One Mission: Escape Room, an escape room experience with a persecuted church focus.
The DACH Klausur
For the first time in more than 6 years, the majority of the teams from all 3 German speaking field (Germany – D, Austria – A, and Switzerland -CH) met together for 2 days of fellowship, friendship building, encouragement and ‘austauch’ (exchange). In addition to getting to know fellow OMers and learning about the challenges, successes and dreams of the other fields, I was able to share an ‘input’ (devotion) and lead a time of ‘lobpreis’ (worship) for the Mobilisation and Church Partnership group time.
ÖSM Forum workshops
This was perhaps my main ministry highlight since we arrived in Austria. Once a year the Austria Student Mission meets together for a time of retreat, fellowship and learning. OM was invited to share on Tentmaking during one of the evening meetings and to present a workshop on ‘creative mission’. A colleague of mine challenged the students to imagine how they could build Kingdom business that bring glory to God, meet people’s needs and introduce them to Jesus. I was able to spend time with 18 students discovering and engaging with 5 missional habits – Blessing others, Eating together, Listening to the Spirit, Learning Jesus, and seeing ourselves as Sent – that I believe could transform the way we as Jesus followers and the church understand, experience and ‘do’ mission. I was very grateful that I was able to lead the workshop in English and have the opportunity to do my favourite thing of coaching and encouraging Jesus followers.
“Wir sind nicht aus Zucker” – we are not made of sugar.
Over the past few months, I (Dané) have found a depth of resilience in myself and our family that I didn’t think was possible. We are learning and adapting and growing and stretching in ways I couldn’t imagine before moving to Austria. In some things, we have very quickly embraced the Austrian ways, and in others, a bit more of a cautious handshake has seemed appropriate. It’s taken some time, but we are finding our “European walking legs” and I’ve come to enjoy and even look forward to taking walks in all kinds of weather – we are not made out of sugar, we will not melt in the rain.
This saying can also be applied in so many other circumstances here… we will not melt in the situations that push us far out of our comfort zones. Learning German has been a huge challenge for all 4 of us, and I admit I’m a bit jealous about the speed with which the girls are racing ahead of me and John. Cori is already conversationally fluent, and has been reduced from 2 hours/day to 1 hour/day in the German learning class, the first child in her class to be “promoted” since she started at the end of November! Lily is enjoying learning and singing all the German nursery rhymes, and the two of them have now started playing around the house in German. Cori takes great pride in “rescuing” me when her superior language skills are needed to navigate certain situations 🙂
I am currently doing the first part of an A2 language course at the Adult Learning Center not far from our home, and I’m enjoying getting to know the other students in my class, and the increased confidence in trying out my German abilities. Because of work and school commitments, John will start his course in May once I’ve finished, and then we will do the second part of the course together in September when the girls have a place in the aftercare at school. We need to have completed the A2 exam by August 2024 for our visa renewal process.
We have started a home group (Hauskreis) for young adults (both Austrian and immigrants) in our church, and while regular attendance is still struggling, we really believe that this a wonderful place for us to minister and build community. A big challenge here is that most immigrants have very physically demanding jobs, with long hours and strenuous work, so not all people in the group can attend every week, but we feel God is calling us into a season of patience and perseverance before we will see the fruit of this home group.
Our Spare (r)oom has also been a huge source of joy and fulfillment, and we have had the opportunity to host a number of guests already. I love having the chance to welcome people into our home and our family, to whichever extend they need, or feel comfortable with. I love having a space in which I can practice my gifts of serving and hospitality, and the invitation is always open to anyone who needs a place to stay, whether its on the way to somewhere else, or just as a place to come and rest and hang out with us. You can click HERE to find out more information or to contact us about staying over.
in His light and love,
Zippy, Dané, Cori and Lily
P.S. For those that miss our faces, here are some pictures of the family fun we’ve had over the past 3 months… new Easter traditions, fun in the park, a real castle (Schloss Klaus), coffee dates, silly faces at supper, LEGO and princess dresses for 9th birthdays, getting some green for the apartment and after Christmas snow.
The Benns 