I know that most everyone has taken down their trees by now but I wonder if you will allow me to make one more reflection about this Christmas season.

Maybe it was because Liz was pregnant and we were constantly on the road due to a foreign government’s decree, but this Christmas I found myself thinking of the Christmas story from Joseph and Mary’s perspective. I’m sure anyone who has either been pregnant or helped a loved one through a pregnancy can tell you that travel, especially late in the game, is no picnic. Of course Mary and Joseph didn’t have to worry about things like compression stockings and economy class transatlantic flights 2,000 years ago, but those things would have probably seemed like luxuries compared with the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We were also fortunate to be able to stay with friends and family during our travels. I could not imagine the shame (let alone the discomfort) of staying in the stable of an inn, in a culture that is so much more concerned with hospitality than our own.

And now as we put our crib together and get our little girl’s things in order I can’t imagine having to put her in an animal trough on her first night outside the womb. That’s what really hit me this year as I was reading Luke 2 just before we opened our presents. Verse twelve says, “’ ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’” (Luke 2:12 ESV) Did I see that right? The sign that the shepherds were to seek, the mark that would tell them that this is the promised anointed-one of God, was that they would find a baby lying in a feeding trough? I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever asked themselves, “Why must we travel during this time when it is so difficult to do so?” “Why is there no one to take us in?” “Why is the only shelter available an animal stable?” “Why is there nowhere to lay our child but a trough?” Then the shepherds show up and reported to them that it was the sign that the angels told them about, a sign appointed by God. I wonder even if these were some of the things that Mary was treasuring in her heart as the Shepherds told her what they had seen.

I still don’t know the purpose that God had for us as we were traveling during this time and I’m sure it is not nearly as wonderful as the purpose He had for Joseph and Mary. I do know this; He does have a purpose for even the difficult things in our life. Whatever circumstances we go through, we know that our fundamental task, or purpose is to walk obediently with God, desiring that He be glorified and shown to be worthy of praise in our words, thoughts, and actions. When the people around us see this reaction, they will see and hopefully come to encounter the hope, joy, and peace that is beyond circumstances. For this reason may we grow by God’s grace in saying with Mary, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1: 38a ESV)

Snow globe museum in Vienna – latimes.com

Liz and I are enjoying time with family and friends down here in my home town of El Campo, TX. We’ve even caught the annual Christmas parade complete with floats, the high school marching band, cowboys, and tractors decked out with Christmas lights. It’s great to be with family, especially during this time of year, but we miss our friends and ministry at home in Austria. We have been encouraged lately, however, that in our absence God continues to work in the seeds that we have planted there. One example is in our friend Djudji and our neighbor Melanie. Djudji, a friend of ours from Church, asked if she could stay in our apartment while we are gone. This was a huge blessing to us since now we have someone watching over our place while we are gone. We encouraged Djudji to get to know our friendly new neighbor Melanie. We have been getting to know Melanie for the last few months and have been praying about how we can minister to her and were praying that Djudji could continue while we were away. Sure enough, one night when Djudji was hosting a Bible study group in our apartment Melanie came over to see what was going on. Since then Djudji tells us that Malanie comes over regularly and that they both watch out for each other. Djudji has been sharing the gospel with Melanie and has invited her to take part in a woman’s Bible study group. We are thrilled to know that God is ministering to our neighbor even while we are gone. It makes us want to be there all the more, but we are also encouraged that we are here at this time for a reason. Please continue praying with us that God continue to draw Melanie to Himself, and that He would show us His purposes even in our visa difficulties.

I was praying today and thinking about an article I read about the hardening immigration policies in Austria. We had to leave the country over a week ago because our application for a residence permit was dismissed. We found out on a Saturday and left in less than a week. It was and is stressful, but I am so thankful that we are able to leave voluntarily this way. I was thinking about those immigrants and asylum seekers that don’t leave voluntarily. Why don’t they leave? Some don’t want to leave because they fear that they will not have work, or not be able to take care of their children, maybe even children they decided to have while in Austria. Some may even be going back to hostile situations, not even sure that they will be able to live or survive.

I was thinking about this not because we had to come back, but because I found out that a friend of mine is being deported. Uche and I have been meeting together every week for the last six months or so. He came from Nigeria over six years ago when he was only a teenager. Uche can’t read. I met him when I went over to his friends house to lead a Bible study. He was the sweetest guy. He had a gentle and trusting way about him. I could tell he had a heart to serve. He loved the Lord.

Uche really wanted to participate in the Bible study. My friend and I who were co-leading did our best to help him, but Uche quietly stopped coming one day. My friend decided to teach him to read. When he left on furlough six months ago, I took over. Uche and I became friends. I enjoyed getting to know him. I enjoyed the challenge of teaching him to read. He is reading short words and sentences now but I wish we could have read the Bible together. That was his goal.

I don’t know why Uche is being deported. He certainly is not the model immigrant. His German wasn’t great. He sold newspapers to make money. “Schwartze Arbeit” is what they call it, “working black”-illegally. It is very common. He was a refugee. He was accepted into the system, but he either didn’t take the systems help or the system just didn’t’ help him much. I’m not trying to blame anyone. I’m just sad for my friend and wish that he could have been better off for his six years spent in Austria.

I’m also sad that another believer will be leaving a country where the evangelical population is so low (some estimate as low as .5 %). In many ways I am losing a coworker in the gospel. Please pray for Uche. Pray that he will be able see God’s hand in this and that he would use this time to grow in his faith. Pray also for more workers for Austria, weather they be nationals, missionaries sent by large congregations, or missionaries sent by persecution as the believers in Acts 8:4 who were scatterd and went everywhere preaching the word.

A picture of our Bible study. Uche is on the far left.

Check out our August 2010 newsletter

It’s early Saturday evening and we Ecks make our way to the 10th district of Vienna for our once-monthly visit to the Iranian church. Actually, it’s one of four Iranian churches in Vienna, but we are familiar with this one because our friend David is the pastor. He has asked Matt to preach once a month while he translates the message into Farsi (the language of Iran; understood by Afghans also). We are happy to help out David however we can, as he also holds down a full-time job in addition to being a pastor and volunteering at the Oasis two nights a week.

Matt and I arrive early and are able to join a few other church members in a time of prayer before the service. Our friends Anwar and Reza are there, both of whom also volunteer at the Oasis with us. Anwar also attends Calvary Chapel with us and was the first to invite us to Calvary. A young woman named Linda is also in the group. She, along with David, will eventually start taking piano lessons from me, with the goal of being trained as church musicians to provide live worship music for the service. We take turns praying around the table, and after each person’s prayer, the group says together, “Ah-meen.”

We conclude our time, and Matt and I are invited to take our seats in the meeting hall where the service will take place. We walk in to find two long rows of tables beautifully and simply decorated in citrus colors with napkins, candles, and dried flowers. Anwar comes up to chat with us in German and admits to the handiwork. Tonight there will be a big meal after the service, and already the smell of exotic spices wafts in from the kitchen. I try to name the spices I’m smelling. Is it turmeric? Cardamom? Alas, I’m not as familiar with these aromas. This will be Matt’s and my first experience with Persian food. We are excited.

People begin entering the church, shaking hands with each other and greeting each other with “Salaam.” After everyone takes their seats, the service begins. There are several times of scripture reading and prayer interspersed between the Persian worship songs, which are played from a recording and displayed with slides on the screen up front as everyone sings along. Matt and I participate by clapping on the beat with everyone and trying our best to figure out some of the Farsi words. I like the songs and hope to learn some of them. After an hour of worship, prayer, and scripture reading, Matt is called up to the podium to give the message.

Matt speaks in English as David translates into Farsi, introducing himself and me, and then diving into a message of unity from James 4. After the sermon, we enjoy getting to know some of the people over a nice meal of chicken cooked in a tomato sauce, saffron rice with dried red currants, and beef cooked in a green-leaf sauce, like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Apparently the man who volunteered to cook everything had been hard at work since morning. We later find out he used to officially work as a chef. We are encouraged by people’s comments that Matt’s sermon really touched on what people needed to hear. After having tea and chatting some more, we say goodbye to our friends old and new, thankful to God and looking forward to next time.

Each summer for a number of years now, Austria has been fortunate to welcome a group of high school students and their leaders from Denton Bible Church. This group of specially selected students help put on a Christian “English Teenager Camp” along with a team of Austrian young people from various churches. This camp is a huge blessing and really helps grow the youth ministry our team leader, Russ, heads up. This summer is really significant, because Austrian believers whom Russ has been mentoring are for the first time taking head leadership of the camp as Russ and his family are in the States. Such a milestone is a cause for celebration and praise for what God is and has been doing here. Please pray that even after the camp finishes up today that the fruit of the ministry would last.After spending the night at Russ’s church and getting in a good breakfast the next morning, the team spent their first full day in Vienna getting oriented and sightseeing in order to fight off jet lag. The next day they traveled to their camp destination far away from the city into the beautiful mountains.
Some of the Denton Bible students, leaders, and a couple of Austrians. They were very excited to get started, and we were very glad to greet them and thank them for coming! We were especially glad to have two of the leaders come a couple of weeks early to explore the possibility of joining our team here in Austria long-term. This is a huge answer to prayer. Though we are just starting ministry here, we see God doing so much and we are very excited about the possiblity of God sending new workers for the harvest.

Liz and I wanted to send a quick update to let you all know that we are
expecting! Liz is 7 weeks along and aside from the normal fatigue and
queasiness is doing fine. Please be praying for the baby’s development and
that Liz will be able to get plenty of rest.
-Other News-

We were unable to go to Romania last week because we felt it would be wiser
to stay in Austria until we receive our residence permit. We are still
waiting, but we hope to be hearing back from the visa office soon. Please
pray that the rest of the process would go quickly and smoothly.

Thank you so much for your prayers,
Matt, Liz and…..

Music has become a big part of our ministry. Aside from playing and singing at our church and the refugee center, we often get asked to teach people to play instruments. Most of the time the requests are not very serious, but recently a young man, we’ll call him M., has been taking guitar lessons from Matt. They started only a few weeks ago but M. has endeared himself to our hearts.

We were surprised and very glad that M. showed up at our apartment for a guitar lesson Tuesday afternoon after not making it the week before. We were afraid he had gotten deported or sent to another part of Austria, but he explained to us that he got approved to receive a visa! He is very fortunate that he is 16. Nowadays it’s getting more and more difficult to receive asylum, but those that are 16 or younger are almost automatically accepted because of their youth. Because he had no identification papers, M. explained to us in broken German how a doctor here had examined his teeth and hands to determine he was 16.

Before Matt and M. start the lesson, we sit down at the dining table together, Matt and I finishing our pleasantly interrupted lunch, and M. enjoying some tea and cookies. Looking at framed photos of our families on the wall above the table, M. comments that it is very good that we have family photos. Unfortunately he has no pictures of his family. M. then makes machine gun sounds and pantomimes someone shooting up his family’s home, explaining that he was the only one to survive an attack made by the Taliban.

We give our condolences, and after a brief period of sad silence, M. changes the subject. Mother’s Day is coming up, and now he has three “Austrian mothers” for whom he wants to do something special. M. no longer lives in the refugee camp in Traiskirchen, just outside of Vienna, which is a good thing. M. tells us how bad the camp is and as he remembers, says, “ooooh!” as if he has just bitten into a hot pepper. “Everyone there– deport, deport.” He now lives in a refugee transition house sponsored by a Lutheran charity. His three mothers work in this home to look after M. and others and to help them integrate. M. also shows us the free museum pass given to him by the charity. Apparently he can get into any museum in Vienna for free. M. waves the pass in front of him as if to show it to a museum guard and says in English, “No money, no money.”

M. has also been taking a German language course in the city. He complains about how difficult German is (“Ooooooh!”). He teaches some Farsi greetings to Matt, and praises Matt for his successful pronunciation, as he proves his point. “English–gut (good), Farsi– gut, Deutsch–nein (no),” says M. in broken German. M. grabs the small amount of skin in front of his Adam’s apple, repeats the difficult O-Umlaut sound several times in a row, then shakes his head as if to say, “Farsi doesn’t have a ridiculous sound like this!”

Matt asks M. about the languages and culture of Afghanistan, and if the situation there is improving. M. shakes his heads and lets out another signature “oooooh!” He explains that each of the main tribes has its own leader, so there are four “chefs” (German for boss) working against each other. M. states that he would like to travel to America one day. But for now, it’s time for guitar lesson. Today’s lesson: rhythm and a review of the chords G, C, and D. In the future, M. hopes to play a Julio Iglesias song. Anyone know a good Julio Igesias tune in G?

Seriously he is a joy to us, but as you can see M. has been through a lot. Please pray that God would give us wisdom in how to best minister to this young man who has had to grow up way too fast. Please pray that through the music and the broken German we can let him know how much God loves him.

I wanted to share a quick update about language learning. When you live in a foreign culture and desire to interact with people in their heart language like we do, language learning is a life-long endeavor. However, the first months of our being here has been dedicated to focused language learning. In two weeks Liz will finally be finished with her time of focused language learning. For the last eight months she has been faithfully going to language class every morning, four hours a day Monday through Friday. It may not sound like much, but believe me there is nothing more mentally taxing than struggling to express yourself in a new language for four straight hours a day. She has progressed very well and I am quite proud of her. She started from zero and now has full-on conversations all of the time. We are looking forward to the time it will give us for ministry.
I have been done with language classes for a while. Since I majored in German I only needed a refresher course to get me back in the groove. However, I have found that since I have been out of language class it’s sometimes hard getting practice. The majority of our ministry at the moment is among refugees, who may or may not speak German. Because of this I’ve been trying to find a language partner, someone I can practice my German with in order to keep it sharp. Just this last week the Lord provided me with a guy from our church who has the time to meet with me twice a week. This has been a great motivator to continue to improve my German skills. Please be praying that we can find a similar situation for Liz as she finishes. Pray also that our ministry would grow and branch out more into the German-speaking community here as we wish to be light and salt not only to the internationals, but also to the nationals as well.