After almost 18 hours of travel, our team arrived at Haus Edelweiss in Austria!
After our plan arrived, we were picked up and taken by van to Haus Edelweiss where we will be serving for the next week and a half. As we rode, we watched the beauty of the foreign city fade into the misty autumn on display in beautiful golden hues strewn through the trees that rose and fell with the mountains.
It was not long before we wove through a town as picturesque as a postcard with the promise of charms deserving of exploration. We also heard tale of a cake that is not only worth every calorie and euro, but worth passing on the tales about.
There is much to be excited about as we encounter new experiences and prepare for our specific tasks of serving to begin. We have been greeted with warm welcome from returning volunteers, long term workers, staff and excited new volunteers like ourselves.
As I walked around the woods surrounding the Haus, nature seemed to bend with the holy burden of displaying the glory of God. Much like the people we have already met, there is a quiet glory in this place. It is a genuine joy that cannot be overlooked; it warms your spirit long before you even realize you were cold. Looking around the room as we all met before dinner, there was this glow that was not coming from the updated light fixtures in the quaint room that offered formal seats and ornate wooden panels.
We are here to serve; that is the reason we came. However, our purpose here is much deeper and long withstanding than anything we can offer with our hands and feet. In our efforts to give, we have already seen God move and reveal himself in clear ways for us. He has allowed us to be a part of this time and place and I don’t think any of us are really ready for what that will mean; nor do I think we can really expect to know how this time and place will not only be effected by us, but the ways in which we will leave changed.
We covet your prayers during these next few days as we adjust to a new place, new time zone, new routines, new people, new roles- that God would be given the freedom to use each of us for a purpose greater than the reason that brought us here and deeper than we could imagine.
Leave a Reply