Hey friends. It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on here. That being said, there is a lot to catch up on! This past summer, I had the opportunity to go back to Austria to serve for 3 months. In this post, I would love to share a bit about how God worked during this time.
Instructor Training
Upon my arrival in June, we had a week of training for the instructors. During this week I had 5 days of training in a small group of around ten instructors. This included training for leadership & spiritual mentorship, as well as first aid & leading outdoor activities. I was also blessed to visit my good friend Abby upon my initial arrival in Germany, as well as a couple other friends in Munich (Mo and Vannie). Reuniting with friends who point me to Christ truly fills my heart!
International Conference
During the week between instructor training and Upward Bound, Tauernhof hosted the Torchbearers International delegates conference.
I was blessed with a couple days to rest this week and I also got the opportunity to serve as well! I volunteered setting tables, helping in the kitchen, worship, making slides and driving shuttles. Transitioning back to the right side of the road with a manual was a bit of a learning curve at first 🙂
I was reunited with Werner & Heidi (the directors from New Zealand) — this was a collision of worlds from opposite hemispheres and truly a delight.
Upward Bound
The program I helped lead is called Upward Bound.
Basically, it is a 5-week outdoor Bible School and Christian Leadership program. Unlike a traditional classroom setting, students learn though ABL: adventure based learning. The program includes team challenges and leadership activities in addition to daily solid Bible teaching and time outdoors in God’s creation.
The goal of this program is to develop the whole person in Christ — physically, mentally, and spiritually. This motto of “Body, Soul, Spirit” is based off of 1 Thessalonians 5:23, in which Paul prays:
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As believers we pursue the UPWARD call of sanctification. Our growth in Jesus is an upward climb, as we seek to know Him more and grow in truth. We are Upward Bound to Christ.
We are called to steward our bodies (Romans 12:1-2l; 1 Cor 10:31), saturate our mind and soul with truth (Col 3:2, 2 Tim 2:15) and grow spiritually in our personal relationship with Him.
Returning to the program as an instructor this year was a tremendous honor and a new undertaking for me.
God put it on my heart to come back to this program and serve. It brought me so much joy to lead in this role after being led so well when I came as a student. Shout out to my incredible instructor from last year, Yotam — you are an awesome mentor, friend and continual encouragement and source of much wisdom 🙂 If it were not for Yotam’s faithful leadership, I don’t know if I would have taken the courageous step to come back and lead.
Throughout my life, having had leaders that point me to Jesus directs me to point others to Christ! Just all the more evidence that it is God himself working in us.
Looking to Christ above all, and pointing others to Him was my goal in Upward Bound. Looking back I can say that while I encountered challenges and was continually humbled in many ways, God blessed this ministry immensely. It was a much needed encouragement after a good (but very exhausting) season in New Zealand.
Though I may have had a lack of physical rest *specifically sleep — the Lord truly filled my cup each day at Upward Bound.
I was blessed by a phenomenal team of students. Soul Surfers, you were an absolute light and encouragement to me this summer. I am so proud of each one of you – each of you helped lead our team exceptionally well. You brought values of honesty, humor, and maybe a little too much competition to our team 😉 As your instructor I was deeply encouraged in return 100x fold! Faith, Finn, Lukas, Wilissa, Mary, Nathan, and Kate. Thanks for the way you impacted my life this year. You guys rock!
Personally, my biggest takeaway during this season was learning that to lead well often means being willing to ask for help. The same thing goes for my relationship with Jesus and admitting my need for Him. I’ll talk more about this in a later post.
Serving in the Bistro
I spent my last weeks of summer serving in the Bistro. It was nice to have a mental break from the job of instructing. It was the first time I had truly slowed my pace down since Christmas break – and the time to reflect on the last months was much needed.
Working in the house & kitchen also gave me a greater appreciation for the diligent work the house and kitchen staff do! Being it was my first time in this role, I had a lot to learn. My main job was running the bistro for guests. This included lots of cleaning, restocking items, serving drinks and lots of practice speaking German.
The summer ended with a joyful reunion with Bible School friends in Germany and Switzerland, berry picking, a couple long tours, painting sessions and camping outdoors with friends. It was a fresh breath to take in the beauty of creation and spend quality time with the people God has so immensely blessed me with!
What’s Next?
On September 9th, 2023 I left Austria. With overwhelming peace, gratitude and a small amount of uncertainty, I returned home to the United States for my first long-term stay in 2 years. Little did I know what God had in store.
“What’s Next” is a question I’ve been asked continually in the months back home. While my heart would love nothing more than to go serve in full time ministry tomorrow, God is teaching me contentment and continual joy in him during this season of “in between”.
In the last months I have been living back home with family, attending my home church and nannying for two sweet little boys here in Washington. This has been a sweet season and I am enjoying the moments and lessons God is teaching me in this slower pace of life.
If you’ve made it to this point in this post, stay tuned for future updates. God has big things in store next – including a big ministry/life update which I will be sharing soon!
The Joyful Enthusiast 