Back in Nebraska

Hey all,

Our training is over and we're now back in Nebraska. We had three full days of training from Monday the 27th to Wednesday the 29th of August. We learned a lot and got to meet some really awesome people as well. We spent time discussing many different aspects of cross-cultural and team ministry as well as going over a lot of logistics. They also had us do some fun activities to get us thinking and see what it's like working as a team.

 For one such activity, they gave our group of 8 people 8 dollars to buy lunch for all of us.   It was intended to give us a taste of what it's like to live on a dollar per meal and to see how we would work together in the situation. It ended up working out pretty well, and we had a delicious lunch of corn tortillas with your choice of hotdogs or peanut butter and bananas(or peanut butter, hotdog, ketchup, and banana which some people apparently prefer). We also had carrots and tomatoes for veggies, and you could enjoy that delicious meal too, with some to spare, for the humble price of $7.71!

After our wonderful training came to an end we headed to Champaign, IL to visit my brother and sister in law and younger sister Joy. We had a really good time there and are really encouraged to see all the progress Jeremy has made since his brain surgery! God is such an awesome God and has been pouring out His blessing through this situation. Please pray for Jeremy and Janelle and for a quick and wonderful recovery! After a few days of nail-biting board games, it was time to head home.

We ended up leaving early this morning around 2 A.M. and arrived at our humble abode around 11 A.M. Now it's time to clean,  organize, and get ready for the garage sale we're having this weekend. We're planning on having it Thursday evening 6-8, Friday morning 7-4 and Saturday 7-4. Our address is 238 S 3rd st, Seward, NE. If you're interested in donating anything please let us know.  Everything's going to be free- will donation and any proceeds will go towards our trip to Austria.

-Seth & Alyssa

Mini Apple Us

Hey everyone,

We made it safe to Minneapolis! No car troubles or anything of that sort(except for a little paint missing on our bumper, still not for sure how that happened...gives the car some character though...) praise the Lord! We left Seward Friday after work, and stopped by Omaha to visit Alyssa's brother Marcus and his wife Suzy. From there we headed to Ames, Iowa to stay with our friend's Brad and Kayla and there handsome little boy Cooper. After spending an enjoyable time with them, we headed to Minneapolis Saturday afternoon.

We made it the better half of the twin cities(actually it was technically Bloomington) Saturday evening to stay with my cousin Sarah. After having a delicious supper of lasagna and basil bread which Sarah made us, we headed over to the Mall of America. It was almost the size of America, but not quite....and after price-guessing some expensive shoes, we headed over to the Lego store. And that was about all we did there. The ginormous Lego sculptures were pretty impressive though. We said goodbye to Sarah after church on Sunday and after another delicioso lunch made by her. We then headed downtown to visit our friend's Jessie and Kevin. They showed us around the downtown area and brought us to a cool lookout of the Minneapolis bridges. If you're ever in Minneapolis, and need a tour guide, I would definitely recommend them... a bit pricey, but very good.

After another delicious home cooked meal,(we're really getting spoiled folks) we went to our final destination. Well...not Heaven......but the only other place we'll be while in Minneapolis, the Kaufman's! They were also gracious enough to put us up for a few nights. We're having to sleep in the garage next to the used motor oil, but it's a place to lay our heads. But seriously, they're some of the nicest, most hospitable people that we've had the privilege to know. God has been extremely good to us, to Him be the glory forever!!

This morning, bright and early, well not that early..but still bright.. We started our first day of training. It was very enjoyable and we learned a lot. However I think I was just able to get my head to stop spinning..they did a number on us. It was a lot of fun though, and we got to meet 6 other missionary's getting ready to leave for various parts of the globe. We also had the opportunity to meet and learn from a number of staff there at the EFCA (Evengelical Free Church of America) headquarters. We topped off the day by eating at a Thai restaurant with a number of the other participants. God is good, tomorrow we start another full day of training, Thanks for your prayers and support, please don't stop!

-Seth & Alyssa

Friends and Family,

In a little less than a week (either Friday or Saturday) we are going to be off driving to Minneapolis for our pre-field training. We just finished up the online class that is preparing us for this training, covering topics ranging from our expectations of going to Austria, to sharing our testimonies to learning about culture shock. We have learned a lot, and are very excited for the training! It officially starts Monday morning and is 3 packed days, starting at 8 finishing around 7:30 each day with homework for the evening. Needless to say, it will be a busy few days. We'll be going up early in order to see people along the way. After the training is over on Wednesday, we'll be driving down to Campaign, IL to visit Seth's brother Jeremy and his wife Janelle. Seth's sister, Joy, also recently moved in with them. For those of you that don't know, Jeremy found out 2 weeks ago he had a brain tumor. He had surgery on Wednesday to have it removed, everything went well, and he is now home! Praise the Lord! What a miraculous and gracious God we serve! He's doing well and it sounds like recovery will take about a month.

Fortunately, Alyssa's job at the bank has known we would be leaving for months now, and is very flexible with her schedule. They are really wanting her to stay on as long as she can and are willing to work around what we have planned. However, Seth's job wasn't as flexible. Seth was given just a day and a half of vacation time for the whole year and that was used a while ago. Since he didn't have any vacation time, and was going to quit in the next few months anyway, they didn't want to make an exception in letting him have off. As a result, his last day of work will be this Friday, August 24th. We are trusting God that he will continue to provide for us as he has been.

Since we won't be having the income that we do now, we are planning on moving out of our home September 15th and moving in with family. We are needing to get rid of a lot of things and make many decisions before that point. We're packing up things we want to keep and putting them in storage and are trying to plan what we want to take with us, and setting aside stuff for a garage sale. We're planning on doing a donation garage sale September 7th and 8th. We won't have prices on anything, instead people can set their own price. However, if someone is in need of something, they can just take it for free. Any proceeds will go towards our Austria fund. Please be praying that this will go well. If anyone wants to donate anything for us to sell, you can bring it by our house anytime, or give us a call at 402-641-3747. 

God has really put things in motion for us now and we know He will continue to provide. We have a tentative plan to leave for Austria in mid October, but we still have a lot of support to raise so we need a lot of prayer. We know that we need to trust God's timing and have seen that He is putting things in place, so we're working hard to prepare. We are going to be working on keeping this updated, now and while we are in Austria as well. We love you all very much and are very thankful for all the support that you have shown us. Thanks for all your prayers!!!

Love,
Seth & Alyssa Sander

p.s. - If you'd like to give now go here our number is 1753

Hey everybody! This will be the first of many updates to come! As mentioned in our previous letter, we’ll be serving for 23 months through ReachGlobal. Before we leave we must be 100% funded ($6000/month, $138,000), and we’re almost halfway there! We’re so grateful to everyone who’s already supporting us through prayer and financially, you truly are a blessing! Please let us know of anyone who has a heart for youth and would be interested in talking with us. As God has been leading us through this support raising process, we have been growing and challenged in many different ways. We have been learning many things about ourselves, our Heavenly Father, as well as what life will be like in Innsbruck, Austria. 


In the summer of 2009, I (Seth) served at an English camp in Reutte, Austria. While at camp, I noticed the close friendships shared by some of the youth. After getting to know them better, I realized that many of them lived hours apart, seeing each other only once a year. In fact, many of the youth hardly know of other Christians in their school! As I reflected on my time in High school, I remembered the importance of having Christians close by I could rely on. With this in mind, we're motivated to reach the Austrian youth with the love of Christ and lord-willing, lead them to do the same with their friends. 

Being a Christian is not common in Innsbruck. In fact, there are only about eight solid churches in a city of nearly 130,000 people! None of these churches are larger than 100 attendees. Although the churches are different denominations, they work together for many ministries. We will be a part of the children and youth ministry including; youth group, bible studies, discipleship, and various outreaches. Our main focus along with the rest of the Innsbruck team, will be mobilizing youth for Jesus and building them up to be leaders in the body of Christ.


One exciting ministry in Innsbruck is the Lighthouse (similar to a youth center). The Lighthouse is open for after school tutoring, hang out nights, prayer & praise, as well as the beginnings of a Christian counseling program. In their schools, students are not served lunch, but instead are given an hour off. Many live too far away to be worth going home, so instead they'll eat out...every day. As a result, the Lighthouse is open during that time so students can eat and spend time with friends, as a cheaper alternative. This time is a great opportunity to build relationships with the youth of Innsbruck. Although the Lighthouse is still a relatively new ministry, God has been working through it. Please be praying for what the Lord has in store for the Lighthouse .


Sports ministry is a big part of what we will do as ministry team in Innsbruck. We’ll be working at meeting the kids where they’re at, building relationships through sports, and hopefully using those relationships to lead them to our Savior. We’ll be doing this through a variety of sports, including; Volleyball, Basketball, and Soccer. This will be a new ministry for the Innsbruck team. We’re excited to see how God will work through it.


There is a training at the end of August that we will be attending and are planning on leaving for Austria before the end of the year. We appreciate your prayers as we continue on the support raising process. You can keep updated by signing up for our e-mail updates, contact seth.sander@efca.org. Would you join us in bringing Christ to Innsbruck by praying for us on a weekly basis and giving monthly to advance the Kingdom of God?




In Christ, 
Seth & Alyssa

The Lighthouse

Only 1 in every 200 people in Innsbruck, Austria professes Christ as their Savior. God is leading us to this city; we’d love to share our journey with you.

In the summer of 2009, Seth served with ReachGlobal at a Christian English camp near Innsbruck. During his three weeks there, his passion grew for the youth in this spiritually dark country. As a couple, this desire was further developed while serving on a youth team in Wichita. In the year and a half we’ve been married, God has been tugging at our hearts about Innsbruck. Six months ago God provided an opportunity to serve in Innsbruck, through ReachGlobal for 23 months. By some miracle, we were accepted! 

Innsbruck’s ministry team is geared toward youth, and mobilizing them for Christ. We’d be involved with the Lighthouse, (similar to a Christian Youth Center) which is open throughout the school year, and various English and Sports camps held throughout the summer. We’d also be directly working with local churches and youth groups as well as small groups, bible studies and various outreaches.

One of our main focuses of ministry will be sports. We are looking forward to this opportunity of utilizing athletics as an avenue to form relationships with youth. We’re relying on God and are excited to see how He will use our gifts and experiences to further His Kingdom.

We need your help! God has designed the body of Christ to work together. Our hope and prayer is that you will come alongside us as we enter this ministry. We need your prayers! While serving God, trials and hardships are sure to come. It will also take time getting accustom to a new culture and living situation, as well as learning a whole new language! In order to go, we need to raise roughly $6,000 per month. Our goal is to be in Innsbruck by January 1, 2013. However, we’d love to be there by September if the Lord wills. If you feel called to help with God’s work in Austria by supporting us financially, it would bless us as well as the youth there.

How than can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they

believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!” (Romans 10:14-15)

In order for us to reach those in Austria with Christ’s love,

we need YOUR help. Your partnering with us in this is crucial.

Enclosed is support information for your convenience.

In Christ,

Seth & Alyssa Sander

Seth in Austria back in 2009