Germany and Thanksgiving

Jake, Abby and I had the blessing of traveling to Germany for the 45th Annual Euro American Retreat. This is a retreat for American military stationed in Europe and Missionaries serving in Europe. I can not begin to say what a blessing this retreat was. It came at the perfect time for us. We were so encouraged by the singing and lessons. It was also so nice to meet others who are "like us". We especially enjoyed getting to know 3 members of the Olomoc, Czeck Republic Team a little better. I believe there were about 100 people in attendance from all across Europe. The weekend was filled with encouraging messages from God's word delivered by Tony Coffee, from Ireland and Dale Hawley from the US. Several other men also shared great devotional thoughts as well. Jake and I, along with the rest of the Vienna Team, had the privilege of working with Dale as we prepared to come to Vienna. It was so good to see him and his wife, Vicki, again. We also read Tony Coffee's book several years ago as we prepared to do a summer mission in Warsaw, Poland. Tony is a gifted speaker and teacher. You can check out some of his work here Abby also enjoyed the retreat, seeing some of her "old" friends and also making some new. Children's classes were held each morning and evening, so Jake and I got to concentrate fully on the messages. Parents everywhere know how exciting this was for us. On the final night of the retreat the kids did a little program for us. You can see Abby's class in the video below.

Retreat Pictures


The Performance



After a great time in Germany we returned to Vienna on Wednesday night, everyone spiritually uplifted, but physically exhausted. Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving, but not here. A few restaurants offer Thanksgiving dinners or buffets, but they are pretty expensive. In the Haskew household, we celebrated by ordering pizza and watching the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions game, which was actually broadcast here. Not to worry, we had a real dinner with the team on Saturday. We all gathered at the Lockwood's for food and fellowship. It was a little sad not being with family for this first major holiday, but our team has become like family to us. We had plenty of food, which I must say was prepared mostly by other people. I got off easy and only had to bring the turkey. I'm sure everyone else spent days in the kitchen getting ready. It was soooooo good!!! So, now the countdown to Christmas begins. What Vienna lacks in Thanksgiving it more than makes up for in Christmas. I am looking forward to having Christmas here. I'll try to keep you all posted on the fun activities.

Great friends

I just wanted to send out a big thanks to Candice and our awesome Bible class from MRCC. We scored two packages this week from these folks. First, Candice and Jonathon sent a care package full of goodies and then today we got an evelope full of cards from our Just Starting Out class. These things came at a great time. I've been a little down at times lately missing friends and life in general in the States. It was so encouraging to get the notes from our friends. Actually, I even got 2 phone calls recently from Candice and Elizabeth. That was so AWESOME!!! Candice has been so good at keeping in touch with us and is a great encourager. I want to say thanks to everyone who has sent an email, a note or who has visited us already.

Birthday Girl

Well, we have reached another milestone, Abby turned 4. I can hardly believe my little girl is so big. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, but alas.....
We had the entire team over to help us celebrate and a good time was had by all, I think. We had lunch, then cake and presents. Afterward, we took the kids over to the pond near our house to feed the ducks. Here are a few pictures of the festivities.



And just as a point of reference here she is 4 years ago

The Hills and Halloween

*Warning-this post is supposed to have pictures, but Blogger seems to be having some problems with uploads. So, in an effort to at least get something new up here, the pics will come soon.

Ok, ok so I'm not that great at updating the blog. So here is a quick catch up of how things are going here in Vienna. Last weekend, the Rushers, a few people from the Inzersdorf congregation and family went up to a camp owned by the churches in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany to do a little work on the camp. If you want a full detailed description you can check out the Rushers blog
It was pretty fun to get out of Vienna awhile and see what else Austria has to offer. I must say this country is gorgeous. I think it has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. On the drive up we were going through the mountains and all of these small villages that looked like they were taken right out of a story or something. The trees on the mountainside were bursting with reds, yellows and oranges. When we got to the camp, after a long hike for most (Abby and I lucked out and got to ride up with the luggage in a 4x4) there was already snow, a lot of snow, on the ground. Jake spent most of his time working outside, which he loved, but was disappointed not to be able to do any wood cutting. I helped in the kitchen and got to cook on a wood burning stove (see the picture below). This was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I loved this stove. We were only there for 2 days, but by the time we got home on Saturday evening we were all exhausted. It was a great time!!!
So, Halloween isn't exactly sweeping across Vienna with the fervor I was used to in the States. It is here, but not as popular and it is very dark here. By that I mean, if you are lucky enough to find costumes, they are all witches, Dracula, devils, etc. Since, Abby is just now at the age when she might actually care about Halloween, it wasn't too big a deal for her. We just decided we would sort of skip over this holiday. However, the Hensal kids were very excited about Halloween. So, Brian and Alisha offered to host a small little party for the kids. They got to watch the Charlie Brown movie, decorate some cookies Alisha made and wear their costumes. The grown ups sat and sipped cider. Yummy!!!
You will see in the pictures below Abby's very poor excuse for a costume. I really like making her costume, but by the time the party idea came around it was too late to make anything. Besides, the fact that fabric is insanely expensive here. So I found like 3 princess dresses at a toy store. This was the least expensive one, the others were 100 euros!!! Don't let the price fool you, the quality was roughly the same. Carli, Caleb and Cotter wore costumes their grandparents brought with them from the states. Zaden was protesting the whole costume idea.

Has it really been 4 months?

I can hardly believe we nearly have 4 months of Austrian life under our belts. Wasn't it just the other day we were standing in the MRCC auditorium crying as prayers were lifted on our behalf? It seems like such a short time, but I feel things have changed in so many ways. For starters, we are (very slowly) able to speak at least some German. We have had 2 months of intensive courses and will start our 3rd class in November. By no means are we fluent or really even very capable, but the world around us is making a little bit of sense now. Our daily life is different now, too. For 6 years, Jake had gotten up and went to work each day for Sprint (or some variation of it). This left Abby and I to ourselves most days. Now, however, Jake and Abby leave for school in the morning and I don't see either of them until I get home at 4 or so. I must say I have missed that little turkey (Abby is the turkey here) during the day. It is amazing how accustomed you get to a little voice and the big noises that also accompany it. I am so happy that next month Jake and I will both have a morning class time, so I can spend more time with them both. When I really stop and think about how many things have changed since we arrived here it makes my head spin a bit. One thing hasn't changed, however, that is the God we serve. His love is still perfect, His faith everlasting, His patience never ceasing . For this last one, I am especially thankful. I ask you to continue to remember us in your prayers. Please pray we will be willing to accept the changes God has planned for us. Love to all.

One more, especially for Corban

She is reciting, "The 5 Little Pumpkins" poem. It is a little hard to understand her because she is eating 5 little pumpkins at the same time. Anne sent us another great care package that had candy corn and the little pumpkins in it. We love it whenever the Post rings our doorbell. Thanks to Anne and Candice we are getting to know each other pretty well.

Visitors from afar....

Last week we were blessed to have a short visit with Jack and Wynona Skaggs and Charlie and Joy Cleek. The foursome were in Vienna as part of their European tour. On Sunday, they joined us at Inzersdorf for worship and then we all went out to lunch together. It is always fun to see how people react to our team get togethers. Let me tell you when 8 adults and 5 kids go out to eat it is a sight to behold. A good time was had by all though. Below are a few pics of the afternoon.

Ira and Zaden. Isn't Zaden getting big? Can you see Abby peeking over Ira's shoulder?



Alisha and Joy looking over a map.



Jack and Brian in deep discussion, I'm sure.



Alisha, Joy and Me. Someone took one with all the girls, but it wasn't with my camera.