Healing 2 The Nations International ~ Dr. Claudia R. Wintoch ~ Blog March 2011

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

From Belgium To France

When I got up in the morning, the back pain wasn't better, but rather worse. Every movement during the night had caused me pain. I packed up once again, had breakfast with Liliane and another great conversation, and then it was time to leave and drive nearly 5 hours. I feel like I've known her forever, not just 22 hours! It was just after 10 when I said good-bye, turned on my GPS, and started following the directions to my next pitstop.

It was still raining, and never stopped raining the rest of the day. I still went as fast as I would have done without it. I drove south all day, crossing from Belgium into Luxemburg, then into Germany, and finally into France. My friends live near the German border, but in France; she's German, and he's French.

My back was really bothering me, little movements causing a lot of pain; it was really not fun. But the 5 hours in the car went by pretty fast though I only have 2 worship CDs I listen to over and over. At 3 pm I pulled up at my friends' house. I was excited to see them again after about 5 years.

They have a beautiful little house I failed to take a picture of. I enjoyed talking with them, and was glad I could help them big time with computer stuff. That way time went by fast, and soon it was time for dinner - a very good dinner. Then we watched my video presentation - together with their 3-year-old son. The husband had a lot of work to do to prepare for a ministry trip the next day, and so I spent more time with his wife. Their son was pretty wound up and stayed up pretty late. Not easy being parents!

Finally I retired as well, and caught up on emails and other stuff connecting to the wifi internet connection I had succeeded in getting to work a few hours earlier. I was hoping for a better night, though my back was bothering me quite a bit.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Additional Brussels Day

When I got up this morning, I was ready to get packed and leave for France, having 4 hours of driving ahead of me. I had breakfast with my friends, and said my good-byes. First I had a lunch appointment with a pastor in Brussels. We have a mutual friend, and it was a last minute thing. I later found out that this pastor just met with me to do our mutual friend a favor; but God knew better.

It didn't take long for our hearts to connect. She's a missionary kid, and has an amazing heritage of missionaries in her family. We had a great time together talking. At one point she said that it was too bad I was leaving town right after this meeting because I could have shared at their prayer meeting at night. I thought about it for a moment and then told her I was flexible and could stay for tonight. So she called one of her church leaders (lady to the left in the picture) to pass on the news, and I called my friends at whose house I should have arrived later and told them I was coming tomorrow and staying for 1 night instead of 2. Thank God they were flexible too.

My new pastor friend had an appointment, and so I used my GPS to make my way to her house 15 minutes away. Three of her teenage sons were at home and received me and showed me to my room. I was amazed at the old, Belgian house that once was a farm. It looked gorgeous, but it was also very cold since they had already stopped heating. My room was about 17/18°C (about 63 F), and so I immediately crawled under the comforter where it was arm. I enjoyed a few quiet hours of resting in the afternoon, and catching up on emails.

Later I joined Liliane in the kitchen and living room to talk more, and we had a quick dinner, before it was time to leave for the meeting 20 minutes away.

It had already been raining all afternoon, and was still raining. I was looking forward to the one-hour meeting.

A few ladies were already there when we arrived, and I set up my materials, the projector and computer. Then Liliane introduced me and handed me the word. I shared my story, showed the video, and answered questions. I also presented my book and materials. Time went by fast. Then they took an offering and prayed for me. Those were all precious ladies, many from Africa. I was glad I got to come.

We drove home where we continued talking before it was time for bed - or rather computer stuff. And so I kept the tradition of going to bed late.

In the afternoon or so my back started aching quite a bit.

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Outside Of Brussels

Well, yesterday and today were different than I had envisioned. It's an interesting trip, with unscheduled surprises and changes to the itinerary. And once again it feels like I'm hitting a wall when it comes to connecting with churches and individuals; that has been my experience in the French-speaking world.

And so these past two days were pretty laid back, getting out a little bit as well as catching up on some office work and videos I've been wanting to watch online.

Yesterday I very much enjoyed sleeping in in Liège, and then having a laid-back breakfast with the pastors at whose house I was staying. It was my first chance to actually get to talk to them without a crowd of people, and I enjoyed those few moments. After breakfast, I packed up and said good-bye.

I drove the one hour back to my friends' house in the suburb of Brussels. In the afternoon my host's friend showed up to go for a walk together. Both ladies have babies about the same age. And so we walked over to the nearby park. It had a lake and big playground; it was really nice.

We stopped at the playground, and then walked around the lake before returning home. The weather has been really nice also, warm and sunny.

Today my friend took me to the nearby town of Leuven. That little town is well-known for its university, and so we visited it first. It's very old, and was really nice to look at and walk around at. They even had quite a few water channels that gave it its own charm.

From the university we went to the botanical gardens. They were small but well equipped, and you could tell that spring has arrived. Look at that cherry tree in full bloom!

We continued on and parked downtown Leuven and went on a walk. Just a few steps took us from one sight to the next. The city hall that ressembles a church is very unique.

We kept walking, and saw many people sitting in the sun or shopping. My friend then had to leave, and I continued on by myself, to the last sight on our tour - the impaled bug monument. Quite interesting! The building in the background is the city library.

I slowly walked back to my car, got my GPS out, and followed it back to my hosts' house, a 10-min drive away.

In the afternoon I enjoyed lying in the bathtub - something I've greatly missed since I don't have one in Mali - and then I returned to computer work and figuring out the changes in my itinerary. Since I never heard from the people in Lille again where I was supposed to be going tomorrow, I'm now driving to a little town in France that is near Karlsruhe and Strasbourg to visit our own little Sarata's sponsors who I haven't seen in years.

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Liège

Last night we lost an hour because of daylight's savings time. Since my host family had to be at church early to pray, I was glad I had my car to drive there myself. One of their sons had stayed home to go with me, and he was a sweet guide.

They were so kind to keep me a parking spot in front of the church where I parked the car, and then my young assistant helped me carry the stuff inside the church and set up a table with my brochures, DVDs, and for the first time, my book. Rémy agreed to man the table, and did a wonderful job. As you can see, his little sister was also eager to help, as well as her little friend.

I was surprised at how many people remembered me, and actually get the French version of my email update. This was only my second visit here, with my first one having been two years ago. I was received warmly, and was told to sit in the first row.

The service started at 10:30 am with a time of worship. I knew nearly all the songs in English, though we were singing them in French. With them already having done the translation work, I'm hoping to be able to get some songs to take to Mali.

After the time of worship I was introduced, showed my video, gave a little update, introduced my book (nobody speaks/reads English) and presented my toy car. Then the pastor took an offering, and started to preach. The service lasted about 3.5 hours, nearly until 2 pm.

Quite a few people came to my table and took the brochure and DVD with them, which was great. But only my host from last night bought a book - and she said it wasn't that easy for her to read English. Anyway, I had a great time, and was sad when I had to say good-bye to my "assistant" and his family.

Then three young man hopped into the car with me to show me the way to the pastors' house where I'd be staying the second night. Slowly more and more people arrived, and the ladies got "lunch" ready. It was about 4 pm when we started eating - Raclette. I thought it was funny that after having eaten it for the first time in my life yesterday, I was eating it again. But it's so good that I didn't mind. And we had a great time - a big family around a big table. And a multi-national family.

Later more people from the church came over and stayed nearly until midnight to talk to the pastors. They were all having such a great time. I joined them for a while, but also took advantage of having a fast and free internet connection. It was late when I finally went to bed - thankfully not having to set my alarm.

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

From Brussels To Liège

In the morning we had breakfast, Richard had to leave, and at 11 am I also said good-bye to his wife. I put all my stuff into the car, including the box of books, and started my one hour trip to Liège. It was a pleasant drive on the highway; the closer I got the more the signposts turned from Flemish to French. When I arrived in Liège, I had quite a lot of turns on sometimes complicated roads with too many options. I made one wrong turn, but then made it to church following my GPS. I found a parking spot right in front of it. It was just after noon.

When I went inside, the pastor had just stopped talking for lunch break. I greeted everyone, and we had a little lunch in the office. Then the marriage seminar continued. I listened for a while until I got too tired and returned to the office to lie down - an option they'd given me earlier. I had been told the seminar went till 4 pm. At 3 pm they woke me up; the seminar was already over.

This lady then invited me to come with her to her house and then go for a walk, and so I went along. I followed her with my car; she lived quite a bit outside of town. I then parked at her cute little house, and we went inside. That's where I met the rest of her family - husband and 4 kids. We talked for a while, and then left to go for a ride.

We drove for half an hour to the "famous" town of Spa. I was told that's where the famous bottled water Spa comes from. It's also an in-place to go because of their thermal springs. THe hotel there looked pretty fancy. The picture to the list shows the family and their van.

We took the train/elevator up to the spa at the top of the hill. It was funny because the elevator next to it went straight into the hotel and people on bathrobes were taking it, never needing to go outside.

Once inside the spa on top, they had the bottles of Spa water to look at. We walked around for a bit and then took the path to walk back down. This picture shows father and daughter on the way down.

We walked back to the van, drove around the woods for a little, and then drove back home. I was pretty hungry by then, and happy when we finally started eating some time after 7 pm.

And I was excited because "Raclette" was what we had for dinner. I had heard a lot about it, but wasn't sure whether I'd ever had it. I soon figured out that I had not.

With Raclette, you have your own little pan you put cheese in to melt, and when it's melted, you pour it over a cooked potato on your plate. It's delicious though certainly lots of calories. We had a great time talking that continued after dinner. I then decided not to drive another 40 min to the pastors' house in the dark (that I had never been at), but they let me stay at their house over night which was nice. I enjoyed the fast and free internet to catch up a little, including talking with Christian.

The little girl gave up her room for me, and though it was the night we'd lose one hour of sleep because of daylight's saving time, it turned out being late before I went to bed. And then I had a hard time falling asleep for some reason.

Construction Update

A few pictures to update you on the construction progress. As you can see, the roof is now up, praise God. The add-on apartment should be ready by the time the American family arrives.

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Friday, March 25, 2011

From Austria...

Yesterday I had breakfast, said my good-byes, and got into the car to make my way back to Vienna. It had been a good and busy three days in Upper Austria. It was time to pack and get ready for departure this morning.

As I was approaching St. Pölten, I wondered whether my friends were available to have lunch together, and they were. So I enjoyed our lunch, and then the ice-cream in the shop right there. This picture shows my good friend Beate.

Then I continued on my journey towards Vienna, stopped shortly at Renate's house, and arrived home at 5 pm. My grand-mother wasn't home. The rest of the evening was spent packing and catching up on computer stuff. The night wasn't very long since I had to get up early.

...To Belgium

It was pretty tough getting up in the morning; thankfully I didn't have much packing left to do. At 8 am my Mom came to take me to the airport. I checked in, and we still had time to sit down since I had not had breakfast yet. Then I said my good-byes and went to my gate. I was flying to Brussels, but had to change planes in Amsterdam. That meant a 90 min flight to Amsterdam, and then a 30 min flight to Brussels. Somewhat ridiculous, but cheaper and counting as 2 flights.

I arrived in Brussels at 2 pm, and was pretty tired. Belgian chocolate is very famous, and when I saw the shop, I knew it would be the perfect birthday gift for my Mom.

After picking up my bag, I had to make my way to the rental car agency. I've rented cars in the US quite often, but never in Europe. It was hard finding the right place, but finally I did. They never even asked to see my credit card or driver's license, and simply handed me the keys.

When I found the car, I was shocked at how big it was. I had received an (unneeded) upgrade to a bigger car. I was amazed that it had Swiss license plates, though, and a sticker for the highway there so I won't have to pay for that; nice.

The car was even an automatic car, and pretty modern and fancy. It took me a while to find out that the hand brake was a button you had to lift. After installing my GPS and putting a worship CD in, I was ready to take off.

I had a 20 min drive ahead of me, from the airport to a suburb of Brussels. I had to change highways quite a bit, but I managed without taking wrong turns. Thankfully this was my second time visiting my friends, so I knew what their house looked like - and I got a parking spot right in front of it.

My last visit was 2 years ago, so it was good to see my friends again. I enjoyed catching up with them, having dinner, and playing with their little girl who hadn't been born yet last time. We had a good time together. After taking advantage of the internet connection, I finally went to bed on the airmattress they had put up.

My Book's Arrival

Yesterday I got word that the first 50 copies sent express had arrived at my friends' house. So once I arrived, I could hardly wait to open the box and hold the first copy in hand.

And here it is! A proud Mom with her new baby! Now I'll be taking it from place to place with me, and then to Austria. The US copies have not arrived at our office yet.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Steyr

After a good night sleeping in my friends' son's bedroom, I got up late and had breakfast, enjoying time with my friends and their kids. After lunch it was time to say good-bye and until next year once again.

I got into my grandmother's car and off I went to Steyr, which was a 40 min drive away. The weather was gorgeous, truly spring-like. At 2 pm I arrived at my destination, the house my friends live in; a couple in ministry.

While her husband was off at work, his wife was at home. We had a cup of tea together, and then I went to my room to get some rest and spend time with God. Something was troubling me, so I needed that time even more.

At 5:30 the husband was back home and we had dinner together; an hour later we drove to church together.

The church facilities are very small, but there would still have been room for more people to come to the meeting. By now there are people that have become friends thanks to Facebook, and this lady was one of them, so it was good to see her again.

At 7 pm my host Franz started off the meeting, then his son started leading a time of worship. Next I showed my video and gave an update of the events of this past year, and we had a short time of questions and answers. The atmosphere was very laid back and family-like.

Time was advancing quickly, and it was pretty late when I started my message on the hearbeat of God. Again, it was so hard to do this in German. What a difference to when I preached it in English last Sunday! But it was okay, I think.

At the end I prayed for a few people and I could see God touching them. It was so beautiful! I love it when the Father meets with His children!

Most people were gone, and the meeting was over, when the leader suggested that they'd pray for me, and I happily agreed. Then we went home.

Back home it was time to relax, have a bite to eat, and talk. Then I said good-bye to my host who had to leave for work early in the morning, and I went to my room to get online and get some things done, before going to bed late.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Traun & Pucking

I set my alarm, and was way tired when I got up having copied Eva's Mali pictures onto my new external hard drive late at night (I lost them all when the my hard drive died). At 10 am we left the house and drove to a coffee shop to have breakfast. We had a good time together. Then it was time for good-byes as Eva had to go to work, and I went on to my next town.

It was a short 25 min drive to Traun to visit my friends there - as I do every year. Since they have three little kids, it's amazing to see them a year older every time I come. Time is definitely passing by! This picture shows the Dad with his middle child, their only son.

We had lunch together, and then I went to my room - their son's room - to get some rest and check my mails. My host had a meeting at church, and so I drove there myself, getting there a little early to make sure the video worked. However, nobody else was there. In the end everything worked out perfectly.

Every year I visit this church on their prayer night, and I have the whole meeting to share and answer questions. Their youth and kids group sponsor two kids in Mali, and the church has been an amazing supporter of our work. I was received very warmly, and it was great to see everyone again.

We started the meeting with a time of singing songs and prayers. Then I came up and showed my video presentation, and presented my book and showed the toy car my kids had made and that was available to be auctioned off.

In the afternoon I had reviewed my newsletters from this past year to remember all that's happened since I was last here, and so I was able to give a quick overview. I was amazed myself at everything that had happened, and the events of last summer seemed years away.

Then there was a time of questions and answers, and people always have great questions. After I was done, they closed in prayer, and it was time to talk to individuals which was great. I was amazed that the church had done an offering during their Sunday morning service - when I wasn't even there - and more people wanted to give tonight. I was truly shocked when I saw how much they had given. Even the church leaders said that the offering was way beyond average. Awesome God! I'm so excited that construction can move forward!

We returned home where we spent a relaxed time of just talking - and eating chocolate - since all the kids were in bed. Precious moments of catching up once a year. It was late when they went to bed, and I turned on my computer. Another night in another bed in another town.

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Monday, March 21, 2011

Time With Eva

After a very busy weekend, I could feel the tiredness and need of rest when I woke up - late. I didn't make it to the gym, and still, time went by so fast that I hardly got anything done and wondered what had happened to the day. Suddenly it was high time to leave so I would make it in time to meet with Eva after she got off work. I had a 1 hour 45 min drive ahead of me.

So I rushed - but had to stop one time to buy some unhealthy stuff because I was so tired. At 5:45 pm I pulled up at the big shopping center, and saw her - and her famous car - right away. We then went inside, and into the electronics store, so I could make purchases for Mali. It was fun doing so together with Eva who knows the kids so well. We had a great time together, and suddenly it was 7 pm and closing time.

Luckily, the IKEA store next door was open until 9 pm, and I was looking forward to going there and finding more stuff for Mali. It was actually the store where Eva did her apprenticeship and worked for 4 years before changing direction.

First we went to the restaurant there to have dinner together - it was okay, though not great. We enjoyed talking, though. Then it was time to look through the store, and we found many great things that will be very useful in Mali. We were both surprised how empty the store was. Going shoping at 8 pm is still pretty unusual in Austria.

We were making our way through the store when we realized that it was nearly 9 pm and closing time. I was happy with my purchases when I checked out; not just stuff for the kids, but also a new pillow for me. Something I had needed for a long time!

I then followed Eva to her town of Neuhofen an der Krems and her parents' house where she's staying right now. Her parents were still awake, and so we sat down in the kitchen to spend some time together. We ate some great cake, and had a good time talking.

Finally we all went our different ways, and Eva was so kind to let me sleep in her room on her bed, while she slept in her sister's room. I was so tired, but I still had work to do, including copying Eva's Mali pictures that I had lost. Result: another late night.

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Four Corners CF

Another day, another time to preach - this time FINALLY in English! But the service was only at 5 pm.

Since I had been unable to go shopping for food, my grandmother ended up going to a restaurant with me for lunch. We had a nice time together.

Back home I still had a few hours to spend with God and focus on the service. I was looking forward to it.

The church wasn't far away, and I was glad that I had use of my grandmother's car again. I got there a little later than planned because of construction work that had removed many parking spots, which made it very hard to find a space to park. The spot was so tight, that I had to get out at the passenger's side of the car.

This church is different in terms of me preaching right away instead of sharing about Mali. I was supposed to show my video presentation at the end, but the guys forgot and packed up the equipment right away.

As always, I greatly enjoyed the worship time, and ended up on the floor simply adoring Him. Finally it was my time to come up, and I mentioned my book and the toy car that was available to the highest bidder.

Then I started praying, and as last night, I shared my vision/encounter with God while everyone was still in an attitude of prayer. Unfortunately that part of the message didn't make it onto the recording. If you'd still like to listen to it, click on this link.

And the message just flowed from my heart. It was awesome! Finally it came across the way I had envisioned it. I felt like it was multiple times better than the German version last night.

It's been strange for me for everyone to be so quiet and no one giving any feedback while I'm preaching, but at least I saw a few faces that reflected my joy and enthusiasm of what I was sharing. When I made the altar call, quite a few came forward and again I saw the Father touch His children which is so beautiful.

After the meeting I talked to a few people, and then my good friend Renate, another friend of hers and I went to our favorite restaurant together to eat our favorite food. At first it looked like there was no free table, but we got one, but then what we always eat had been removed from the menu. Disappointing. But we still had a good time talking before going home.

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Saturday, March 19, 2011

VCC Jesuszentrum

After having spent a great time with the pastors last night, I was looking forward to preaching the message God's given me for this hour. I was glad I could sleep in and take it easy, spending much time with God before having to leave the house at 3:30 pm so I would make it to church by 4 pm.

Since my grandmother needed her car, I was glad that my friend gave me a ride - how kind of her! I got to church in time, and at 4 pm everyone gathered to pray before the service. I had a great time in God's presence, followed by talking with a few people until the service started at 5 pm. Everything was ready by then - stuff set up at the table, video and pictures ready for projection.

I enjoyed the worship time, and waited for my turn to come up. I showed the video and gave a short update, then somebody else took the offering and auctioned off the toy car my kids had made.

I came back up and started praying, together with the worship leader playing instrumental music. I knew I wanted the beginning of the sermon to seemlessly come out of the prayer as I was sharing a vision/encounter with God and I wanted people to stay engaged with Him. That worked pretty well; at one point I let the worship leader go.

The sermon went much better this second time than the first time I preached it, and I was content. Many people responded to the altar call and came to put their arms around the Father and their head on his torso to listen to His hearbeat and let Him hold them. I quietly went from person to person and prayed and spoke God's heart over each one of them. God visibly touched His children, and it was beautiful to watch.

The remaining people quietly left the sanctuary to fellowship outside, and a few stayed in God's presence in the front. When I realized that nobody wanted anything from me, I simply lay down on the floor myself and enjoyed a few moments in His presence.

After a while I got up and joined everyone else in the coffee shop where I had a few good conversations; including the pastor who told me that he could help connect me with the right people for my book to come out in German. Great!

Again time went by fast, and finally I was one of the last people to leave. I was thankful that someone going the same direction gave me a rid home. Back home, it took me a while to wind down. What an awesome day it had been!

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Friday, March 18, 2011

Friends

The best news of the week was the return of Fanta & Jonathan. I'm a little confused as to what really happened as it looks like she told Paul something different than what she told me. In any case, they are both back and well.

This week has been marked by meetings with friends that I have enjoyed. I left St. Pölten Monday afternoon - saying good-bye to my friends there - to meet with Eva in Vienna, as well as a young man who is planning to come to Mali for 3 months this summer. We had a great time of catching up, and I'm looking forward to Eva's short return to Mali in June.

Yesterday I met with my long-time friend Yvonne who I knew before I was saved. We went to the best ice-cream shop in Vienna, and had a good time catching up.

Today I went to the dentist's, but he gave me a new appointment because he was too busy today. He's a Christian, and treats me for free since I don't have insurance. Since I started going there, I don't fear dentists any more.

In the evening I met with my friend Charlotte. We had great Austrian food, followed by great ice-cream. And we had a wonderful time catching up and talking. I thank the Lord for friends - even though I only see them once a year.

Tomorrow I see my nephews again, and on Friday I have two more meetings with friends. And then the preaching weekend starts.

My Nephews

I had another opportunity to spend time with my brother and his family which was nice. Enjoy the pictures; my nephews are nearly 3 and 3 months.

Construction Update

I'm so glad they started working on our add-on apartment this week Monday. It's been a while since we took a picture from the hill since construction is going on in the back, but the add-on apartment is in the forefront.

As you can see, the walls are going up! I'm so thankful for donations for construction coming in; I trust we'll finish those rooms before the family of three arrives in May.

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

FCG Großrust

I was looking forward to returning to this small church out in the country-side near St. Pölten. The pastors are hungry for the presence of God, and there is nothing that God loves more than His children being passionate for Him.

The greatest challenge for me was to preach in German, but I was asking God for His grace to do so - and He always answers that prayer. A week ago he had given me the message to preach in Europe, and I was looking forward to lead people to His heart. Yesterday I spent a few hours in His presence to get ready, after driving from Vienna to my friends' house in St. Pölten. My friend came home later, and we spent a nice evening together.

This morning, I had to get up earlier than I had since arriving in Austria, since I wanted to spend time with my beautiful Lover. My friends could not come to the service with me this morning (it's not their church), and so I left the house driving the 15 minutes there by myself, worshiping Jesus in the car.

I got there early, and set up my stuff for people to take. It was good to see the pastor and his wife again. I handed my video over to the tech guy, and talked to a few people. The service started at 10 am.

I enjoyed worshiping the Lover of my soul freely, and was excited about what God was up to.

Finally it was my turn, and I showed my new video presentation, and gave a short update. I mentioned that Fanta & Jonathan were missing, and my voice nearly broke, and then everyone prayed for them. Then I prayed, getting ready for the message, and I prayed for the sick right then and there.

Then I shared about the heartbeat of God - a message I hope to put in my next email newsletter, though I'll be preaching it a few more times. God was touching His people - which is all that counts - and tears flowed as I prayed for people. It was beautiful!

At the end of the service, a lady from the church auctioned off the toy car my kids had made, and we got a good amount. I also sold 4 copies of my book that I'll get to them in April.

I had it on my heart to pray for the pastor and his wife, and got an opportunity at the very end. There was a powerful release as I prayed for impartation. Hallelujah!

I had a great time at this chuch - small but with several people sponsoring our kids.

Christian's Family

I was one of the last people to leave, and followed Christian's Dad to their house as I was invited for lunch; and not only me but a family from St. Pölten that I had not seen in two years, so it was great to see them again.

And we had an amazing Austrian meal that Christian's Mom cooked; I found out she's famous for her cooking skills. We had a great time talking, and in the end Christian's Dad gave me some great tools to take back to Mali with me.

I also met one of two young men that are coming to Mali for a week in the end of April to visit Christian. It will be nice to have visitors again, as it's been a while.

Finally it was time to return to my friends' house in St.Pölten. I spent another wonderful evening with them, before retiring for my second and last night there.

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Nephew Christopher

After a long sleepless trip I arrived in Vienna - my home town - yesterday afternoon. I stayed up, talking to my grandmother where I'm staying, and helping her with computer issues, and enjoying watching some German television. I stayed up longer than necessary.

My first night in Vienna was made tough by the cold in my grandmother's house, and the cold I've had since last week, as well as jetlag. Thankfully I had a slow day, only planning on visiting my brother who is going on vacation tomorrow.

I showed up at his house at 5:30 pm, and nearly 3-year-old Maximilian wasn't quite sure how to take me.

I immediately noticed how much bigger Christopher now is who is 2.5 months old now.

A few minutes later my Mom and her husband showed up as well, and we all had a nice few hours together. The last picture shows my brother as well whose sons the little ones are.

At 8 pm we left them, and I drove home. I'll be at my Mom's house on Thursday.

Prayer Request

And now a prayer request. Fanta went to her village 10 days ago because her uncle had died. She took 2.5-year-old Jonathan with her, while Hama and Sarata stayed with us. She said she'd be back by the following Monday at the latest. But she has not returned, and her phone is off, and Paul can't reach her family in the village either. I'm worried, and Hama and Sarata are now getting restless as well. It's a 2-day trip in a bus to get to Bamako - not an easy journey, especially with a little boy. Please pray she returns safely!

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Sunday, March 6, 2011

Meeting With God

Coming soon.