Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Newsletter from Austria

"Jesus Wept...'Behold how He loved him.'" John 11:35-36

Dear Friends,

At times we don't feel loved! It can seem that the world eats away at the very substance of who we are. When our "love Bank" reaches empty it is important to remember that Jesus feels it too (John 11). He loves you more than you know. Feeling the lack of love is not a lack on God's part, but a lack of your understanding of how great His love for you is. Colossians 3 encourages us to take action! We have as a resource the Peace of Christ, the Word of Christ and the Name of Christ. We are to let these "dwell richly" within us.

Work Trip in February
Martin and Dani are key worship leaders in their church...all on a volunteer basis!! Beyond their church, they lead worship at other Christian gatherings (baptisms, weddings, conferences, camps...). Recently, they bought an old house with lots of 'snags.' We were able to come in with a group of willing helpers to complete twelve different projects for them. Martin said later that it would have taken him all of 2009 to do it! That is what I call facilitating nationals. Later I had the chance to speak at their church and see how God is doing work there. The church (we worked in for four years) is now looking at expanding and building a 600 seat auditorium! Anyone interested in going over there to help with that, can let me know. It will be the largest church auditorium in an Austrian free church!!!

Chris and Tina Urch
Twelve years ago, we started working in a teen group in Austria. Three apprehensive and mischievous 13 year old boys had just come up from the children's program to join the older ones. It is great to see how years later, God has used them and allowed them to progress actively in their faith. This year they and a couple of their siblings came out with their first Christian album. One of the guys, Christ, and his new wife, Tina are considering going into occupational ministry. They are planning to spend three months with us here in our home church. We want them to gain experience beyond their culture, and to learn some practical aspects of working in a church. Please pray for Chris and Tina Urch for this Spring.

Robert Wascher
Please continue to pray for Robert and Hanna Wascher. Hanna is still undergoing a time of depression, although it is slowly improving. During the end of March and the beginning of April, my brother Brent and I will be presenting Robert and Hanna in various churches for prayer and support. Robert updated me on a few things for prayer:
  • Through the death of his aunt, Robert was seen a renewed interest with some of his relatives visiting his church.
  • There are several new contacts from the past where Robert is seeing an interest in people joining home Bible studies with him for the purpose of reaching them with the Gospel.
  • Robert has been able to teach homiletics to three young men. His desire is for more people within the church to take on responsibilities without overwhelming them.
Tom and Helen
You may remember Tom and Helen from my last letter. They finally made it to the Arab country of Lebanon to work in an internship for six months under the leadership of an Arab couple. The goal is to support several of the underground churches. Tom is able to teach Guitar to different small group leaders, and they are being used to share the love of Christ with those they meet. This is a great experience before they go back to working in a church plant near Vienna. Please continue to pray for these up and coming nationals!

Annual Youth Retreat
In May I will be taking a group of Americans to Innsbruck, Austria, to help with our annual youth retreat. We are so excited to help in a supportive role in converting a public school into a youth camp! Please pray that lots of unsaved kids come, and that we are able to reach out to them with the love of Christ. This year our Titus National Missionary, Daniel Kistenich, is the main speaker. I will also be teaching a seminar on personal evangelism.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Jen and I are grateful for your support for Austria.

In the love of Christ,
Bobby, Jen and kids Parschauer

No comments: