We departed from Omaha around 11am on Sunday morning. We safely arrived in Denver and were quickly on our way to Frankfurt, Germany. About an hour out we were told that the Frankfurt airport had closed down because of a snow storm but they were trying to get it up and running as soon as possible. We circled around waiting for an hour before our pilot was saying that we would run out of gas before the airport opened. So we landed in a little airport in the town of Hannover as we waited...on the plane...for 6 hours. We were finally cleared to fly to Frankfurt (we had missed our next flight as well as everyone else). Once we arrived it was crazy. There were massive lines all over of people trying to get a new flight to where ever they were going. We finally found out that there was one more flight going out that night to Innsbruck. The bad news was there was a waiting list of over 30 people to get on the plane. We decided to get on the waiting list anyways and if we didn't make it on than we would get a hotel for the night. When it was about an hour until the plane was going to fly out they made an announcement that they believed that everyone that was on the waiting list would make it on the flight. Praise the Lord! We were on our way on probably the smallest plane I have ever riden on, it even had propellers. (There are pictures yet to come) We arrived to Innsbruck with all of our bags around 8pm on Monday. Dave was able to be there to pick us up and then show us around our apartment. We are amazed at how God provided for our throughout that long journey. Currently we do not have internet at our apartment. Hopefully we will get that set up in the next few days. We will share more soon! We love you all! Thanks for all your prayers!

Seth & Alyssa

The past couple weeks have just flown by! We've had the opportunity to share at a church's missions board and two youth groups. It seems like we are continually being challenged and stretched in new ways. It is definitely great preparation! We have a sneaking suspicion that we'll continue to experience new things, so we may as well get used to it. 

We also celebrated Christmas with Alyssa's family! It was a big blessing having the whole family together! It's very possible this was our last time in Wichita and last time all together before we leave. As we are having all these new experiences, we are also having many bittersweet experiences as we get closer to leaving

It's difficult knowing that we are getting close to leaving, but not knowing exactly when. Knowing we only have 12% left to reach 100% makes me (Alyssa) want to be on our way! But God is clearly keeping us here a little longer. It definitely gets discouraging once and a while, but God continues to give us opportunities to share our story and experiences with others. Now that both of our families have been able to get together, it feels as though it is time now to leave. With a mixture of extreme excitement and at times extreme nervousness, we look forward to what's going to happen next : )

This is a video that was made a couple years ago by the team that we will be joining in Innsbruck!

Thanks be to God for You!

Thanksgiving Blessings

1Chronicles 16:8-9 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

This Thanksgiving we were able to get together with Seth's immediate family as well as his grandpa. We were all blessed (escpecially Jonah and Jessica) by the entrance of Catherine Grace Sander into the world the day before Thanksgiving. Counting Catherine, there were 20 of us who were able to get together. This will most likely be the last time we'll all be together until we return back from our 23 month commitment in Austria. 

This month we've reflected on the numerous ways God has blessed us! A huge part of that blessing has come from you all! We firmly believe that without your prayers and support, we would not be this close to leaving. Thank you all so very much! It looks like God is keeping us in the states for Christmas and if the rest of our funds come out this next month we'll be flying out in January. We could definitely use your prayers in this specific area. We will not be able to get to Austria on our own. We continue to give this over to God and pray for his blessings on our ministry partner development.

Upcoming Events
Please be in prayer 
December 2nd - Speaking to the Youth Group at our church
December 6th - Sharing with the GI E-Free Church Missions Board
December 6th - 11th - In Wichita - Alyssa's family is getting together for Christmas
January 6th (tentatively) - Speaking at the Geneva E-Free Church Service(Also be in prayer for weekly meetings and calls that we are having with individuals)

As we look back over the past few months it is remarkable to see how God has been using us as well as providing for us. We are blessed in so many ways. It's really starting to set in that we are close to leaving. We do need to raise 100% and only need $1,150 more of monthly commitments to get there. Praise God! Our goal is to leave in the month of December. There is paper work that needs to be filled out by the 23rd of November if we are to leave ANYTIME in December. In order to fill out this paperwork, we need ot be around 95% by the 23rd. This means there needs to be about $875 of monthly commitments (for the whole 23 months we'll be gone) by the 23rd. That is a week away. We need your prayers in order for this to become a reality. We love you all. Thanks for the encouragement you've been!

Seth & Alyssa

How to give:
Mail:

Make checks payable to EFCA and in the memo line put Sander #1753

Mail to: 901 E 78^th St Minneapolis, MN 55420

Online: Click here
Monthly:To have your donation taken directly out of your bank account each month, fill out this form

All donations are tax deductible.

Undeniable Grace

Our most recent update sent out through e-mail. If you would like to receive these e-mails let us know by email: alyssa.sander@efca.org

We are at 80% of our funds! We are getting closer to our departure date every day now and we are getting very excited to join the ministry team there in Innsbruck. We do have to be at 100% before we can leave. Lord willing that will be before the end of the year! Be in prayer for us as we raise our final 20%. Thank you for all you have done for us, both through prayer and financially. Everyone has been a blessing and encouragement to us. If you are wanting to give you canclick here. Our number is 1753. We visited a big cat rescue center. Many of the tigers, lions and leopards at the center had been abused, neglected or unwanted by their previous owner. So this place decided to take them in. I got to thinking about this, It reminded me of many of us. A lot of us have felt unwanted or unloved or have been abused, neglected or not cared for. Thanks be to God for His overwhelming love and grace towards us! Just like the people that had a heart for these animals, God has even a greater love for us. While others may see unlovable, worthless people, Our Father sees great potential. We should be abundantly glad He's not just interested in adopting the best of the best! Our hope is that God can use us to show His love to those in Austria  Dave Osterhus will be our team leader while in Austria. Dave Initially arrived about 15 years ago and has since met his wife in Austria who serves as part of the ministry team as well. They have two wonderful(So we've heard) kids, Jakob and Jana! God has blessed us with a awesome team and team leader who desire to bringGod glory by reaching Austrian youth for Christ. Dave has been a huge support and encouragement while preparing to go. Refreshed! Recently, we were able to spend a couple of days away from everything and spend time just the two of us. We definitely feel a little more refreshed after spending time relaxing together and in prayer. We hope to be able use the time away we had to re-focus and maintain excitement for what God has in store! We Need You Give In order to reach or goal we need 13 more people to give $100/month or 26 to give $50/month - For more information on giving, click HERE. Pray -That God provides in order to leave in December. -That God empowers us with His Spirit as we share our heart with others. -For the team in Austria, that they would be continually strengthened and encouraged. -For those being ministered to in Austria, for there Salvation. Stay Connected Skype: Alyssa.sander10, Seth.Sander10 facebook Blog E-mail: Seth.sander@efca.org, Alyssa.sander@efca.org

Finding a Routine

Time sure does fly! So many things have changed for us in the last month.

Right after we got back home (Tuesday Sept 4th) from our training at the end of August we started to pack and organize things. We had a garage sale that Thursday through Saturday. We sold the majority of our possessions and many people donated items for us to sell as well. Seth's family and Mikaela Klien were a huge help in this process. With our items along with things people donated, we were able to fill up our front and back yard as well as living room! God provided awesomely once again, and were able to raise $1900! Thanks to everybody who  donated there stuff to sell and those bought the things we sold!!

That following week we packed up everything that was left. We put some in storage and pretty much everything else in suitcases. We keep finding more things to get rid of, but are getting close to only having left what we will bring with us. We moved our of our house on Sept. 15th with a lot of help from friends and family! Since then, we've moved into Seth's brother's basement which is a huge blessing to us in this time of transition.

We also had the opportunity to go to a Nebraska football game with some of Alyssa's family a few weeks ago. We had a wonderful time watching the Huskers beat up on Arkansas State, but an even better time spending the day with Alyssa's mom and brother from Wichita, KS along with her brother and wife from here in NE. Her whole family has been very loving and supportive through our journey, we're very grateful for all the ways they've helped us over the last few years. We're both undeservedly blessed to come from such wonderful Christian families!! I dare say we wouldn't be in the position we are here without our families : )

Since then we took a trip to Wichita for a week spending time with friends and family, meeting with people about support raising, and working for Alyssa's dad doing some tile work and painting. The trip was a big blessing and kept us very, very busy.

(Technically this is Manhattan, KS but we made it a part of the same trip)

Once we arrived back home, Alyssa was excited to return to some kind of a routine, but a couple days later Seth and his brother Jonah drove out to Denver, CO to spend some time with their grandpa and to go to the Bronco's game (I don't think he minded not getting back to a routine)

Now we are both finally back in Nebraska, however it doesn't seem as though our schedule has calmed down too much. We have been spending time connecting with supports and potential supports, and since we'll be playing a lot of sports in Austria, we've been playing Tennis this week in preparation : ).We've also been keeping busy spending time with family, and working (through some amazing friends we have, God has provided Seth with some work this week as well!) 

Currently we are at 65% of financial goal which is such a big blessing. Just this morning we got to 51 people supporting us monthly and even more that have committed to pray for us.We are still in need of more supporters! Please contact us if you're interested or go HERE (Our donation number is 1753). It's an amazing feeling knowing that so many people love us and are praying for us on a consistent basis. We appreciate you all so much!

-Seth & Alyssa