It's already been 10 days in Vienna now!

I left Barneveld and spent the weekend in Amsterdam before departing for Vienna the following Monday.  Amsterdam was...interesting, shall we say.  It's not on my list of places to return.  The city was beautiful and the canals lovely, but there's a vibe about Amsterdam having to do with the tourist attractions that didn't sit right with me.  I walked around most of Saturday and stayed in the straight and narrow part of the town, but still saw things I'd rather not have seen.  I decided to stay in on Sunday and just take it easy.

Monday brought me to Vienna and meeting Christine from TWR at the airport.  The moment I saw her, I was wrapped in her arms before I knew it and it was like seeing an old friend.  Christine radiates the love of Christ!  She's about my age, with three sons of her own and a beautiful woman of God.  She got me settled in and the next day we went grocery shopping and moved into the apartment a delightful missionary couple from Finland generously offered me free for a month while they returned home.  I've been in the office most days from 9 - 3, out a couple when not feeling well, and loving getting to know the TWR missionaries. Every where I go, TWR people are amazing!

Adjusting to Vienna, actually we're in Perchtoldsdorf (a southern suburb of Vienna), has been interesting.  Only stores and some offices are air conditioned.  My first days here were quite warm, in the upper 80's but humidity generally around 60%.  Still, walking up 3 flights of stairs to the apartment and my office has been an adjustment, especially in the heat.  I'll admit to being a spoiled American whiner the first few days.  I'm not the only American who seeks out the A/C; I have comrades who join me daily, LOL! Apparently it only gets warm for a few weeks out of the year so the Austrians just suffer through it.  I think I've finally adjusted.  I've learned to keep all the windows open at night, get a nice cross breeze, and then close up in the mornings.  It works quite nicely.

The only problem with keeping the windows open at night is the sun rudely shines bright in my bedroom window when it rises at 4:15 every morning!  For those who know me, I used to be a night owl.  Not any longer.  Every morning when the sun rises I begin my prayer time.  Sometimes I go back to sleep till 5:30.  Sometimes I just get up. I still think that's an ungodly hour to be awake, but I'm beginning to enjoy having my coffee in the cool of the morning before the sun gets too high and heats up the day.  I believe a leopard can change it's spots.

All of this probably seems pretty insignificant, but actually it's a big cultural adjustment.  If it weren't for Christine helping me fill my pantry and refrigerator, I might have had a melt down at the grocery store because everything was in German and nothing had English subtitles.  That's actually stressful when you're thrown into that situation.  None of my usual go-to foods are here.  Trying to figure out what to make for just myself was a bit much.  It's called culture shock and you just do the best you can to survive.  If it were in French or Spanish, I'd have a much easier time figuring out the language, but German is not a latin based language and I have no experience with it as I do French.  Yes, Google Translate is a big help but it takes time to use.

Using public transportation is the other big cultural adjustment.  Here people think nothing of walking twenty minutes to their destination.  At home I drive to the grocery store that is literally around the corner of my residence.  I wondered even before I came if when I returned home, would I walk to the grocery store as I know is the European way?  Then I realised I'd be returning home in early September and it will still be hot and humid so I doubt I will walk!  If the temperature was like it is here, then I'd walk.  Today has been beautiful, 82 and 65% humidity. I worked from home and had my windows open all day, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  I know the bus schedule to get to the office, yet so far some one has offered me a ride every day.  That's not going to last for long, but for now I'll gladly take it.

I have joined a world wide group called InterNations which is for people who live in other countries besides their own.  I'm in the Vienna group.  There are many different sub groups depending on various interests.  This past weekend someone created a trap and skeet group and I gladly joined.  Now I've been invited to go along with a group of gentlemen for a Saturday outing of sporting clays a week from Saturday.  Austria isn't big on guns, but I've been offered the use of their shot guns and I'm excited to go.  Funny how I'm not motivated to go to the wine tastings and events like those but I'm really looking forward to shooting some skeet!  The only downside is I think they only have 12 gauge and that's going to bruise my shoulder pretty bad.  I'm used to a 28 gauge.  Big difference.  But it's worth a shot, pun intended, LOL!  I'm still excited!

This cultural adjustment/culture shock thing has been very interesting.  I've found myself a couple of times very emotional.  It's caught me off guard.  Very unlike me.  All the sudden I find myself overwhelmed with emotions, like the day I moved into Eevie and Jari's apartment and thought of their kindness and generosity.  I started crying.  VERY unlike me.  Of course I was extremely grateful, but the emotions ran deeper than that.  I didn't even know the source of them.  When I shared this with one of the TWR missionaries at dinner, she just said "it's normal, just let the tears come, don't hold it in, it'll only make it worse".  So, the next time it surfaced, I let it flow.

I think it has something to do with being in a foreign place, somewhat helpless, not knowing the language, and at the mercy of others for daily living help.  Kind of reminds me that in our weakness, HE is made strong.  I traveled 6 hours back in time (east) to be made weak in order to see HIS strength.  I see it in HIS body (TWR), through HIS Spirit in me; I hear it in HIS still small voice, in HIS Word, in music, in a million small things.  HE is all around me and in my weakness, I find strength for each new day.

Today was a long day of working non-stop in Excel spreadsheets.  I'm cross-eyed.  Tomorrow will be more of the same.  I do have to go with Christine to a cellular store and get an Austrian SIM card for my phone.  Paying Verizon $10 a day for the International plan must stop.  Then it's back to the spreadsheets.  But that's why I'm here.  TWR needs accountants.  A global ministry must be good stewards of the Lord's finances and that means they need people like me.  So for every person who donates to TWR, they can have peace knowing that every penny is accounted for and used wisely.

The other interesting thing I read recently about using radio to broadcast the gospel is the millions of illiterate people who would never know the gospel if they had to rely on reading bibles.  There are so many millions who hear the gospel via radio, even so many who can hear it privately in anti-Christian countries where they'd be murdered if a bible were discovered, yet via radio it's completely private.  I never thought of it like that.  With that, I'll say goodnight and God bless!

Michelle (Missy) Plum