Two Firsts

Yesterday I performed my first funeral in Austria. It was a difficult situation in the fact that I did not know the family. The man who past away was an American who had married an Austrian women. They lived in Florida up until the July of last year. He had been very sick and the doctors in the States couldn't do much more for him so the decided to see if the doctors here could do something different. He past away on February 21. Since he affiliated himself religiously with Baptists and since we are the only Baptist church in Graz, we were contacted. During the service, I did my best to offer hope, comfort and peace from God's Word, sharing with the family the Jesus was the only source for each of these things. Please pray for the Goodwin family during this time of trial and for us to be able to continue to minister to them.

Also yesterday, we had our first doctor appointment for the new baby. We were able to see the heartbeat on a sonogram. For me, after seeing the heartbeat it becomes so much more real. The doctor told us that everything is normal at this point. Please pray for Krista though as she has been very sick with morning (or is it mourning, ha ha) sickness lately. All else is going good here. Have a great day!

Danny

Snow days...again

Since it is STILL snowing, we went to the Browns house to go sledding today. They have the perfect yard for it. Nathan absolutely loves being around the other kids and going up and down the hill. Danny & I went down a few times with Nathan. It was a lot of fun! After all the sledding, snow angels, and snow ball fights we went in and had a nice warm meal. Have a great weekend!

Krista

Our day

Well, Danny spoke to fast yesterday about the weather, it snowed last night and hasn't stopped yet. Parts of Graz have a little over an inch. It's not sticking too much because of the warmer weather we had earlier this week, but trees and our yard have been dusted white again. It really is pretty, but we're ready for Spring.

Today I was able to visit with my friend I requested prayer for on February 6th. She is doing much better, still has a little ways to go though. We had a great visit and were able to pray together and just have a good time talking.

Also, please pray for Danny as he is going to be performing a funeral on Monday (only his 2nd ever). We were contacted by a family who recently moved to Graz from Florida and the husband passed away this week. We met with the wife and her brother-in-law for the first time today to get to know them and find out what we could do to help. It's always hard when someone has lost a loved one, but even more so when you don't know them personally (for them to share with us and us to comfort them). We want to share with them the Hope that is in Christ and be an encouragement. Please keep us and this family in prayer this weekend and especially on Monday.

Krista

Warming Up

For the past week or so we have had very nice weather here. It has been averaging around 50°F (10° C), although we did get a little snow this morning. It warmed up later on though. We are finally beginning to be able to see our yard again. It has been covered with snow since before Christmas, but it is slowly melting. The cold and short Winter days here can be somewhat depressing so we are very much looking forward to Spring.

Things are going good for us. Nate has been in bed for a while and Krista and I are just about to call it a night. Have a great one.

Danny

A Lesson in Hospitality

Last night Krista, Nate and I were invited to dinner by a family that attends our Persian Bible Study. They served us a wonderful meal, consisting of homemade soup, chicken and the Iranian specialty, rice. We had a great time visiting with them. We have found the Iranian people to be particularly hospitable. As a people, they love entertaining guest. As many of the Iranians in Austria are, the family we visited, is living here as asylum seekers. As we looked at photo albums from their life in Iran, it was obvious that they had given up everything in order to flee the persecution they were experiencing under a corrupt political and religious regime (actually one in the same) back home. As a family of four, they currently live in a tiny apartment with only one bedroom, a living room (with a bunk bed in the corner) and a kitchen/bathroom (shower and sink in the kitchen). They share a community toilet with the other tenants of their building. Because of their asylum status, they are not allowed to work and therefore are forced to survive only on the meager social help they receive from the Austrian government. Despite their current situation, they were very generous hosts. Most of our Iranian friends are that way. They are a great people. Have a great day!

Danny

Cooking Skills

Living overseas has taught us many things. One area has been in cooking. Danny & I usually pride ourselves with our cooking skills, but living in Austria has made us crave certain foods. So when we have had cravings for something we experiment, sometimes that goes very well and sometimes not so well. We also have a few websites we like for ideas and recipes from restaurants. Now some of these things we can buy here but it's either expensive or just not as tasty as we'd like it to be.

So, things we've been able to come up with from 'scratch' are: Chilis (the restaurant) Queso, Corn Dogs, Deep Dish Pizza, Sausage (like good 'ole Jimmy Dean), Gravy & Biscuits, Chocolate Cake with Frosting, and Chili (although Danny perfected that before we moved here).

The topic of food today was brought to you by my pregnancy cravings.... today it was Chinese food. Have a great day!

Krista

Play date

Today Nathan & I went to Dora's house to play with her kiddos and our friends kids (the one we asked you to pray for). They all had so much fun! There is still so much snow on the ground and so at the park they went sledding and played in puddles of melted snow.

My morning/evening sickness has arrived. I must say I don't care for this part of the pregnancy. But I know this phase won't last much longer. Danny has been a great help around the house, he's taken care of many of the meals since I have moments where the thought of food sickens me. Laundry is even getting done. He's a keeper ;)

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some time with your family!

Krista

Avian Influenza in Austria

Earlier this week the first case of the H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) was discovered in Austria in two dead swans. (The H5N1 strain is the strain that can affect humans, from which 91 people have died since 2003). The swans were found less than ten miles away from our house in the community of Mellach. This is where we lived when we first moved to Austria while we were house sitting for our ministry colleagues, Curt and Melinda Brown. Tonight we received an email from the American Consulate in Vienna which assured us that there is no danger to the public health. That said, it still hits a little too close to home.

Everything else is running pretty smoothly here. We are winding down for the evening. That means we are trying to get Nathan to stay in his bed and leave his bedroom light turned off. This has been our routine for the past week or so. I guess its just part of growing up (I'm not sure if I'm talking about Nate or us here so I won't specify). I'll leave you to think about it. Have a great day!

Danny

Our big boy

Nathan is on the fast track to growing up. He is offically in his 'big boy bed' (toddler bed). It's not been the smoothest transition but from what we hear it could've gone worse. Nap times are the biggest struggle because he can see the toys he wish he had in bed with him. If I let him he'd have his whole toy box with him. We are also going to begin the potty training soon. He's been bringing us on occassion, a diaper & wipes for the last month or so when he's ready to be changed. I guess now is as good a time as any with another baby on the way. I just can't believe my little boy is growing up so fast!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Krista

Birthdays

This weekend we celebrated 7 birthdays! Penny, Peter, Danny, Melinda, Emily, Sarah, & Curt. (in order of dates, not age. Hahaha!) They all had birthdays within weeks of each other and so we decided to celebrate them all together. We had a great time!

Krista

I passed!

Thanks to those of you who have prayed for me over the past two weeks. I passed the verbal portion of my German proficiency exam this morning. It was actually not as difficult as I thought it might be. The teachers were pretty understanding. I am now free to enter the university. This is important because our visa status is currently dependent upon my enrollment in the university.

Tomorrow we are going to see about getting Krista signed up for the language program that I just finished. Up to this point she has only been able to attend a program that has classes twice a week because it would be have been impossible for us to both go five days a week and take care of Nate. Please pray for her as she adjust to a new schedule, especially with the baby on the way. Have a great day!

Danny

Please Pray

I found out today that I passed the written part of the German proficiency exam that I took last week. Tomorrow I have to take a verbal exam. It only last 15 minutes, but I am a little nervous. Please pray that I won't go blank under the pressure. I can speak fine with friends, but I tend to tense up when I'm around my teachers. I focus more on trying not to make mistakes than on speaking.

Also, please continue to pray our friend that Krista mentioned on Monday. Pray for her husband and children, as well. As Krista said before, the details are not important and are really not something to be shared in an open forum like this. It is a very serious situation, probably the most difficult thing I have ever had to deal with as both a minister and a friend. It is difficult to stand by knowing there is nothing physically that I can do. It makes us realize how dependent on God we truly are (which is want he wants us to realize). Please pray.

Danny

A full day!

Today is Danny's birthday so Nathan & I took him out to dinner tonight and baked him a cake. The big surprise of the day was that we are going to have another BABY sometime in October! We would appreciate your prayers as we begin the search for a doctor and health in general. We'll keep you posted. Have a wonderful week!

Krista

Prayer for a friend

It's a great relief to know that when I go to my Heavenly Father and share what is on my heart that I know He will hear it and already has an answer. This weekend we heard of a friend that is in need of prayer. In fact, there is nothing we can do for her as of now, except pray. You don't have to know names and details because if you're praying about my friend, God already knows the situation. Thanks.

Krista

Music

Tonight we had praise team practice. We sing for hours...so much that I came home a little hoarse! It's a great way for me to use my German...for some reason I can say words correctly when I sing them. Sadly, that's the only time I do something right it seems like. Haha!

Nathan's eye has healed quite well and his first 'pro' haircut this week was good too. He was fidgity, but not fussy.

Have a great weekend!

Krista

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Thank you to those who read yesterday's post and remembered to pray. I have completed the written portion of my German proficiency exam but, I won't find out the results for two weeks. The written test is split into three parts: Reading Comprehension, Grammar, and Writing. I think I did ok on the last two parts, but the Reading Comprehension was pretty difficult. I still have to take the verbal portion of the exam, which takes place at the end of next week. Please continue to pray if you think about it.

This afternoon, I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my sermon for Sunday. Krista is upstairs doing the often-thankless chores of cleaning house and laundry (so I'll take this opportunity to say thanks Babe. I appreciate you! And no I'm not in trouble; at least I don't think I am). Anyways, Nate is still napping as far as I can tell. I don't here anyone running across the house, so he must be. It is a beautiful day here at 27° F (-3° C). Maybe I'm only saying it's beautiful because the stress of the test is gone or maybe because it's not 14° F (-10° C) like it was last week. Either way I hope you have a great day!

Danny

Big Test

Tomorrow morning at 9:00 (2:00 AM CST) I will take the written part of my German proficiency exam that determines whether or not I will be able to enter the University. If you think about it between now and then I would appreciate your prayer on my behalf. Please pray specifically for calmness and clarity of thought. Next week (Thursday or Friday) I have to take the speaking portion of the test. Speaking is more difficult for me than writing. You might pray for me throughout the week in that respect as well. I would really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Danny