Our first week!

So far being here in Innsbruck has been full of new and exciting things. Nearly every day we are in some kind of new situation generally where we are understanding little of the conversation going on around us. Some days it seems like we are understanding more and more of what people are saying and then there are others that we feel like we don't understand anything. We start our German classes on Feb. 11th. So we are working on German ourselves for now which is helping but we still cannot communicate a lot. Be praying that God continues to give us a desire to learn the language and that it will come quickly!

Our first full day in Innsbruck we took a bus to Rum (which is a small village right outside Innsbruck where our team leader lives). This was are first time on a bus and it was just the two of us. We were told which bus to get on and what our stop was. We were also told there would be a screen saying the next stop and when you see your stop you have to push the red button otherwise the bus will not stop...seems easy enough. First we got on the wrong bus but the bus driver corrected us and showed us where to go....then we couldn't open the door so the bus driver did it for us :) This bus driver didn't speak any English but after some confusion we had a ticket in hand and were on the bus. Quickly we noticed there was no screen that said the next stop. They were announcing the stops over the speaker but quickly it got too loud that we couldn't even hear it. So we had no idea what to do and it was dark. After we were on the bus for a while, we noticed we had left Innsbruck and were now entering another town. The bus came to a stop and I saw a sign on it saying Rum! Thank goodness others needed to get off there as well and had already pressed the red button. Praise God! Since then we have been on the bus many more times and it has gone much smoother (they all have had the screen saying the bus stops which helps)

We have been blessed many different ways since we have been here, from the apartment we live in to the next apartment we will be at, as well as bikes we can use for free (for now), never getting lost (although we might not have been sure of the way to go). We have an awesome team that has been helping us out along the way but also encouraging us to branch out and get out of our comfort zone which has been very beneficial to us learning the city as well as the culture.

We went to church for the first time here this week. The church we are attending is probably about 40 people and is German speaking. This week our team leader Dave was the one who preached so he gave us a copy of his notes in English and then his wife Cathrin translated the rest for us. Some of the worship songs were the English song but then the words translated into German so there was at least one thing that we familiar :) 

Every day we have been helping out at the Lighthouse mostly with the Lernhilfe (assisted learning) this has been a challenge as well as a blessing. We mostly work with middle school age kids (who generally speak little English). So mostly we help with English homework or play games with students that don't have homework. Many are not believers so be praying for opportunities that God presents.

There will be many more stories and pictures to come!

(the view from our living room window)

Here is the video of our apartment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUp-oSe0kUs&feature=youtu.be

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

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