Day 7: Working 9 to 5...plus some

Today was nothing but a good hard work day. We woke up early, got some breakfast and headed off to work. The boys stayed at Babcock’s house and finished up the last few things including trim and gluing the linoleum.

All morning and part of the afternoon I helped Annemarie tile the kitchen walls behind the counters and sink. It was really interesting and kind of fun. For a brief moment, I wanted a house so I could do my own work and design on it, but then I decided I would rather use that money right now for more travel…a house can wait.

We were moving right along on the walls when all of a sudden we ran out on one type of the two tiles we were using! Unfortunately the only place to get this kind of tile was on the opposite side of Vienna…about 45 minutes away. Annemarie told me I was in charge of lunch and off she went to get the new tiles.

We had all different kinds of sausages and a special Austrian pork steak. The pork steak was interesting and kind of sweet, but Austrians eat their meat with a lot of fat attached. That was gross and I still cut it off. Rick told me you can go to the store and just buy slabs of fat. My favorite sausage was the knackwurst.

By the time we got everything eaten and cleaned up Annemarie was back and we finished off the tile. Its looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Tomorrow, after its dry we will finish it off with the grout.

Other team members were working on a terrace in the backyard, and continuing to plaster the walls. All of the insulation was up on the walls, so we covered it with cement and then put up a thin netting. Not really sure what that’s for, but it’s what we were told to do. We needed some extra thick insulation, plus a few more items, so Rick, Madelyn, Nadiya and I ran to BauMax…it is like our Home Depot.

I have always had this weird idea that Europe is made up of small villages, Babushka’s (its Russian I know), bakeries and cafés. I guess it’s my nostalgia loving mind. So seeing a home improvement store was kind of funny. Its just like home, only in a language I can’t read. We were walking through the aisles and I even saw a sale! Rick just laughed at me.

Dinner tonight was a time of more sharing and enjoying each other’s company. We had pizza! It was pretty good, especially for frozen pizza, but Annemarie and some of the girls doctored it up with veggies, fruits, and meats.

After dinner, I came straight upstairs and showered. I was exhausted, but many people went back downstairs and kept working. There is so much more that could be done, but we’ll do the best we can.

Prayers: Strength for tomorrow and the flights back. Good attitudes as we come down to the wire. Thanks for the Iles and the Babcock’s for their willing hearts, thanks for members of our work team and their willingness to work.

P.S. I was too tired to upload pictures. There will be more later.

Day 6: Work Hard, Play Harder

Psalm 40:5 “Many. O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.”

I woke up late this morning and it’s probably because I stayed up so late last night. The guys had already come over from the Babcock’s house and they were getting ready for our prayer meeting when I finally rolled out of bed. We had a quick breakfast, a short prayer time and then we were off again to work.

Today we were all kind of transient workers. We each took shifts in different areas, except for Larry who was doing all of our electrical work. We continued paneling the basement walls and started on the ceiling. The guys started drilling holes through the concrete to anchor the new walls that will be going up. Hopefully someday this room will become a second kitchen to be used kind of like a guest house.

In the garden we dug a trench and laid concrete blocks to make a decorative surrounding to the flower beds. It was hard work but it was a nice day today. It was mildly cloudy, but no rain!

For lunch Annemarie made a thai food dish. It was interesting, but not my favorite. But she did have caprese (tomatoes and mozzarella) as a side dish so I was more than happy. Annemarie also insisted that this afternoon we take a side trip and take a break from our work. It was kind of hard to do knowing there was still more work to be done, but she made a good point. We’ll all work harder if we have a good rest and get to enjoy some of our surroundings.

Before we headed out on our mini-adventure, we crammed some more work in. Kim, Toby (Rick and Annemarie’s son) and I went to the Babcock’s house and started hauling loads of “rubbish” to the dumps. Yes multiple dumps. Austria has strict recycling and garbage laws because the pollution was getting so bad in Europe that it was causing, and still causes acid rain. First we loaded up all the “green” garbage. These are like trees, grass, weeds from the garden and bio-degradable materials. That went to one dump. Next we loaded up paper and cardboard. That went to another dump. And finally we loaded up wood, carpet and just regular garbage. That all went to a 3^rd dump. The final dump could actually take everything, but it was farther away than the other two dumps, and we couldn’t fit it all into Dave’s vehicle…which by the way is about the size of a mini-cooper. All of the vehicles here are tiny…even the livestock trailers. On our drive through town we saw a truck hauling little pigs. They were probably about a year old, but they were all crammed together in something about the size of a Ford Ranger pick up. It made me happy because it’s been a while since I’ve see cute little pigs.

After our trips to the dump, we quickly changed our clothes and jumped in the cars again. We drove about 45 minutes away to the small village of Dürnstein, along the Danube River. Dürnstein was first mentioned in history in the 1100’s.

During the third crusade Richard the Lion Hearted was captured and held captive somewhere in the area. One minstrel went wandering around the hills singing King Richard’s favorite song. One day he came upon a castle and heard someone singing along with him, from deep with in the dungeon. The minstrel knew that this was where King Richard was being held captive. He got word back to England, they paid the ransom and worked out a deal, and King Richard was freed from the Dürnstein castle. This story got me thinking about Robin Hood. I entertained our group by pretending I was not only Robin Hood, but Little John and Maid Marian as well! They were dually impressed by my bow and arrow skills as well as my ability to multi-act.

The hike to the top of the castle was a little difficult, but well worth the strain. It overlooks the beautiful Danube River and you can see many little villages throughout the valley. The region in Austria is known as Wachau (pronounced Va-cow) and is a renowned wine region. There were some beautiful grapes and even apricots and oranges throughout the town.

The town also has a tiny cemetery. Because it is on the side of a cliff and it’s hundreds of years old, there is no where for the cemetery to expand so it’s a little different than ones in the U.S. A family has one plot. When someone dies, they are buried in the plot…for up to 30 years. Then someone else from the family, lovingly digs up the plot, cleans off the bones and stacks them in the bone house. Hundreds and hundreds of bones are stored in one building. It was weird to think that all the bones I saw were real people living and working and existing in such a beautiful place. It was a haunting and peacefulness that coexisted in a way I’ve never experienced.

We did some shopping around the town and I stepped into the bakery. It was awesome. I got my first coke of the entire trip, and I got an apple strudel. Definitely one of “My Favorite Things.”

By the time we left we were all worn out, but thankful for the wonderful adventure. We came back to the house, ate a quick meal of sandwiches. Then we had apple-rhubarb crisp, with freshly picked rhubarb and apples. We ate our desert as we sat around the living room and shared how we got to come on this trip and asked for prayer requests. It was a beautiful end to the evening.

Ways to pray: Pray that Joe gets to do a trip like this sometime, and hopefully that he and I can go together, Pray for FHWC to become more mission minded, pray for the upcoming vote at FHWC, Pray for continued strength as we work the rest of this week. There will be more work than we can do, but just pray that we can get more accomplished than we originally thought.

Day 5: And the work goes on

We woke up to another rainy cold morning. But to brighten the day Annemarie had prepared pancakes/crepes with syrup and jam. They were delicious, and a nice warm cup of coffee washed them down well.

After a quick breakfast, Rick had to take Dave to drop his car off at the mechanic, so he dropped Madelyn, Dwight and I off at a local grocery store. Turns out it was an Austrian Aldi’s. The aisles were set up the same and the signs even looked the same. I just had to giggle because it was not what I was expecting in an Austrian market. Mom would have loved it, except for the currency exchange.

Dwight, Leslie, Madelyn, Rick and I started working on the Iles’s basement. We spackled the basement walls and put up Styrofoam pieces as insulation. Because the walls have settled and shifted, we many times had to cut funny shapes to fit correctly. The basement room is concrete so it was very cold and the concrete was cold.

Kim, Carol, Hauer, and Larry went back to the Babcock’s house to finish up the flooring, the trim, and sand the doors to open easily over the new flooring. We thought it would only take a morning, but unfortunately it took longer than we expected.

Lunch again was wonderful. We had lasagna. Instead of using mozzarella, Annemarie made a white cheese sauce. It was different from lasagna in the states, but it was still fantastic. We were then surprised with ice cream and a plum cobbler/cake. It was heavenly!

After a brief rest, we all headed back to work. We all kept the same jobs and just pressed on. The more tired we became, the funnier the work seemed. But we kept pressing on. We got 3 walls completely covered. They now have to sit over night to set up. The hours seemed to fly by.

Dinner was grilled sandwiches and soup. It was so warm and it reminded me of the Campbell’s commercials. Abby, Rick and Annemarie’s middle daughter, made a fun dessert that was kind of a cross between pancakes and funnel cakes.

Afterwards we joined together to hear about Rick and Annemarie’s ministry in Austria and around Eastern Europe. They have done many things throughout the years, but currently they are working with Operation Mobilization and working independently with Christian publishers throughout Europe. Rick does IT training, publisher training, and Christian training for many different countries. Annemarie works in the local kindergarten as something similar to what American’s would call a para. The family ministry is difficult on the kids, but they have a positive attitude about most things. Like any kids, homework is not fun, there are always issues with friends, and sibling rivalries.

We have joined together every day to share joys and concerns and to pray together. Sometimes it gets tedious but I was reminded of what we’ve been talking about at FHWC. Acts 2:46-47 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” God blesses those who gather in his name and it is good.

Ways to pray: For continued financial support for both Iles’s and Babcock’s. Encouragement for the kids.

Day 4: And the real work begins

Psalm 37:3-6 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

Today was a day of doing good and it paid off in ways I could never imagine. We woke early, ate a quick breakfast, and started off to the Babcock’s house for work. I don’t really want my parents to know everything I did today because I’m afraid they’ll start wanting me to do some of those things around our house. I only like to work on missions trips J. But in the interest of good writing and being accountable to those people back at home that made this trip possible, I will tell you what we have done.

We started the morning by ripping up old carpet and linoleum in the kitchen and laminate in the hallway. To pull up the kitchen, we had to move all the furniture and stab at cracks in the linoleum with putty knives. After it was all up we swept and leveled the floor with cement putty. Larry and Kim worked on laying the laminate while Dwight, Leslie and I worked on laying the linoleum. Hauer oversaw both jobs and helped where he could, but he’s thrown his back out. Madelyn and Carol worked with Brenda in her “garten.”

The linoleum was just a tad bigger than the kitchen, so we laid it all out and then started cutting around the edges. The thing you should know about this house is that it is hundreds of years old. There are lots of notches along the walls and after settling for so long the house is no longer level, nor are the corners square. This made the linoleum and the laminate incredibly difficult to lay properly.

We took a break for lunch. Annemarie had fixed a wonderful lunch of roast chicken and potatoes, cauliflower, green beans and bread. It was very delicious, but the best part was the scones with strawberry jam for dessert. This meal filled us up and gave us energy to get back to the difficult tasks at hand. After lunch, Madelyn and Leslie stayed at the Iles’s house to finish painting what we had started on Saturday.

Dwight and I finished cutting the linoleum and he and Hauer started putting up some of the trim. In the hallway there are only a couple more pieces to go before the whole thing is finished. Larry is a whiz with a jigsaw. The garden is beautiful and well winterized. I know we were all exhausted, cold and wet when we came back because the whole day has been kind of drizzly, but it kept us cool while we were working in the house. It was a little unpleasant for those working in the garden, but it was manageable.

When we arrived “home” for dinner Annemarie had turned lunch into a beautiful soup that warmed us through and through. While we ate we sat around and laughed and just chatted. Throughout the whole day our group has just opened like beautiful roses. We have shared joys and struggles, shattered misconceptions about each other, and learned that when it comes down to it, we’re all children of God, loved the same, and we all have to lean on Him.

After dinner David and Brenda shared with us a little about their ministry. They shared about smuggling Bibles into Communist countries in the 1980’s, being imprisoned in Turkey, and having the opportunity to see some of the fruit of their labor. “Gott is gut!” I can’t wait to get back to the U.S. and share some of the wonderful things we’ve learned about Dave and Brenda, as well as the Iles and each other.

Things to pray for: Each team member has unspoken prayers that we may not show on the outside, but that affect each of our lives. Continue in your prayer for strength. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for the willingness and servant hood of Dave, Brenda, Rick, and Annemarie. And pray for the people of Austria and eastern Europe…that they open their hearts and minds to God and His amazing Love.

Day 3: Expect the Unexpected

Day 3: Sunday September 18, 2011

Sunday – the day of rest. Austrians have it right. They really don’t work on Sunday’s. In fact there are quiet hours that say there can be no loud noises like power tools or hammers during certain hours out of respect for other people. The whole day of Sunday is included in those hours. So today was our tour day.

We started off by attending church with Rick and Annemarie. Normally their service is all in German but today they had a guest speaker who preached in English. The music was all German and the most I really got was Gott es Gutt! (God is Good)

Today was interesting. I got really sick. We were sitting in church and all of a sudden I was very very hot and shaking. I felt nauseous. I felt like I do when I get motion sick, but I had been sitting still. I went to the bathroom and saw my face was white as a sheet. I walked out and almost fainted. I drank some water and ate some pretzels but that wasn't helping. I told Madelyn and I laid on the floor of the church for a while. Today we were supposed to see Vienna so I was not only ill, I was very upset. We got into the car and drove to where we were having lunch. We had to make two trips, and I just rode both ways and just tried to sleep. We pic nic'd at the Summer Palace in Vienna and I started feeling better. I thought I was going to throw up but I never did. Although I took some kind of nasty trips to the bathroom. After eating and some rest I felt well enough to walk around the gardens but I've been weak all day. In the late afternoon we walked around the city center and I just had to go very slow. Its been frustrating because this is our "sightseeing" day and I saw lots of bathrooms. Got to say they are nicer so far than Italian bathrooms. I really hope that tomorrow will be better because we start work tomorrow. AnneMarie thought it might have been just a combination of jet lag and low blood sugar.

The summer palace was beautiful and the gardens were exquisite. We hiked up a huge hill called Glorietta and looked back. You could see over the whole city of Vienna. It is amazing thinking about the history of the town, the people that have lived here through the generations and knowing that there will probably be many more generations to come.

After the tour of the summer palace grounds we drove to the city center and visited the winter palace. Today this palace holds the Vienna Boy’s Choir and the World Famous Spanish Riding school where they train Lipizzaner horses. As we walked into the courtyard, Nadiya, the daughter of our host family, told us the Winter Palace was where Hitler gave many of his famous speeches. It’s hard to believe that such a different time was so close to our time.

I had to take things slowly, so I feel like I missed out on much of the day, but it was good to see the city. After the winter palace we walked through the city center. We got to do a little souvenir shopping but mostly it was seeing interesting places. We stopped at a little café – it turned out to be one of the most opulent buildings I’ve ever been in. It was the place where Sigmund Freud did most of his writings. There was even a statue of him in the café.

We saw museums, shops, castles and an opera house. It was all very beautiful. But we were all wearing down. Annemarie is like any other super mom I know. She transports, cooks, nurtures, disciplines, and loves. I’ve felt very well cared for today. This evening we had a spaghetti dinner and fresh vegetables.

Afterward we had a nice prayer time and then the kids went off to bed at 8:00! I asked if they always go to bed this early and they told me it was later than normal. Afterward we’ve just been sitting around and sharing about our lives. Rick and Annemarie are originally from New Zealand. They have had an amazing journey and I’m so blessed to get to hear about it.

I should head to bed because we’re getting up early to start work. Things to be praying for: health, strength and wisdom about what projects we need to do when to make things work with the weather.

Thank you for keeping up with us and praying for us.

Day 2: Or is it really a continuation of day 1?

The transatlantic flight was uneventful. I sat next to a group of young men from Lithuania. They were soldiers who had been in the U.S. for military training. They were very non-talkative. So my trip consisted of watching a movie called “Midnight in Paris.” Interesting, but nothing to impressive. I slept a little, but it was off and on so in the last 24 hours I’ve only had about 3 hours of sleep, which is more than some people on our trip. At the Frankfurt airport I got a pretzel. It was so yummy. And I missed everything on the flight into Austria because I was zonked out.

Rick Iles and David Babcock picked us up from the airport. We piled into their cars and made the short hop to Stockerau. It’s a beautiful and colorful town. David told us the town has roots back to the 1100’s. Both the Babcock’s and the Iles’s have beautiful homes and we are thankful they are accommodating us.

There is a lot of work to be done and we started immediately after getting the grand tour. We’ve worked on insulating walls, putting in some plumbing, working on wiring a room, painting and some gardening. All of these are projects that will take multiple days but we got a great jump start…even though I had to stop and take an hour nap because I was falling asleep standing up. It’s only about 8:00 p.m. here now and I think I’m the only American still awake. And some of the group has just fallen asleep wherever they sat.

I haven’t got any pictures of the town yet, but I’ll be posting some soon. I suppose I should head to bed now. Tomorrow we will get up and ride the train into Vienna for church. It is a German speaking church, but this week they happen to have a guest speaker who will be preaching in English and translating into German. Lucky for us I guess. Afterward we are supposed to pic-nic on the lawn of the summer palace. Can’t wait!

Things to pray for: strength, stamina, adventure, and good work ethic so that we can get the work done.

Day 1

1:00 p.m. Central time, Friday September 16, 2011 (this was written in the airport, and saved until I could get wi-fi to post)

Flight from KC to Chicago left early. I was randomly selected to undergo a search. Every random search is different and I was picked for a hand test. They took me to the side and asked me to hold my hands out face up. They rubbed my hands with a cloth. Then scanned the cloth is something that looked like it might have been from CSI. Little green peaks formed across the screen and for a moment I wondered, “What have I touched in the last few days? But fortunately, no explosive material was found on my hands. Dwight says he thinks it was just because of my Explosive Personality. And we were off.

On the flight I sat next to a bunch of Mizzou fans. I felt like I was in enemy territory. The lady next to me said, they hadn’t always been Missouri fans, but their son is now a GA and football coach at MU, so they are kind of required to be fans. She and her husband were traveling to Chicago to see their other son, play left tackle for Lakeforrest. We landed in Chicago a little before 12:00. Leslie said her first flight wasn’t that bad, she just pretended she was on the highway.

Lunch was an expensive one, but delicious. I ate a sandwich. Apparently in Chicago, Italian Dressing means Vinegar and oil, but the food was good. Now we’re waiting to board our trans-Atlantic flight. I had hoped to post a quick update, but to access the Wi-fi here its $6.95. We don’t have too long of a layover, so I don’t really think its worth it. I’ll just post when I have a chance.

While sitting here, finishing this up, some lady asked me to sit here and watch her things while she went to the rest room. I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to happen. Oh well. I’m not going to touch it so hopefully I don’t get tazed by some air marshal. J

I’m supposed to be the documenter for the trip, but I’m convinced Madelyn has taken more pictures of me than I have of anyone else in our group. Oh well.