A little bit of discouragement

It's so pretty out. I was reminded of the first months here, how dreary and gray it was and it seemed like it would never end.

But it did. The dullness has turned into blue sky and vibrant colors!

'Tis the season in Austria for BBQ's, Garden gatherings, motorcycle rides, hanging out with friends and getting ready for "Urlaub" (vacation). Most people leave for the summer, so people are in and out and all about.

I went to the church in Stockerau today. It's nice because it's so close. Everyone's really friendly and kind, and I enjoy singing songs in German. I caught vocab words and such in the sermon, but it's still hard to understand the whole thing. I was invited over to a family's house for lunch so that was cool. They are originally from Berlin but came to Austria to work as "tentmakers" and support OM here. They are incredibly mission minded and were so hospitable. It's cool because they only live 5 minutes away! They have a daughter who is my age and works with the youth group at the church and is a student in Vienna studying French. She spent a year as a missionary in Africa! I was encouraged to think of all the families living in Stockerau who love Jesus.

It was really great having lunch with them today but it was hard too. They all speak English but were trying to help with my German and they are much more comfortable in that language too. I'm thankful for the help, but I was really tired after being in a German context for a full 4 hours! It was hard to be friendly and express myself in German today. There's some girls I'd really love to be friends with but the langauge is hard and I feel discouraged today. It's funny how the atmosphere can look so similar to America and the people are white, but the subtle differences of culture make it shocking inside. It's hard to feel uncomfortable.

So today, I could use pray for perseverance and encouragement! I'm feeling somewhat useless and not very effective. Jesus, help me to lay ahold of this time and persevere, even if there isn't fruit in this present time.