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.