tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90823017182882077142024-02-20T15:22:47.837-08:00The Ecks' FilesMinistry updates from the Eck familyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-33952621501660197512017-03-10T07:36:00.001-08:002017-03-10T07:36:51.782-08:00Back Pain and Hope for Freedom<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a data-mce-href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalcures/22784724783/" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalcures/22784724783/">Pack Pain</a> by <a data-mce-href="http://practicalcures.com/" href="http://practicalcures.com/">http://practicalcures.com/</a> used under <a data-mce-href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a> solarized from the original</td></tr>
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I continue to struggle with back pain. The only thing that seems to help is walking. I can hardly sit at all. In order to get any work done, I have converted my desk so that I can work while standing. Getting up in the morning is most difficult. After I drop Naomi off at school I walk for thirty minutes and that at least gets me to where I can function for the day. However, after avoiding sitting all day my feet are painfully tired. That is especially hard on evenings that I teach or have meetings.</div>
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This Tuesday night, for example, I met with the team that runs a class that I help out with. We had dinner together and discussed developing the class further. It was a good meeting but I could barely sit through dinner. After that had to stand through the rest of the meeting due to the pain in my back. When we wrapped up at 10 pm my feet could hardly take any more. It was a relief when I finally got to bed, but I dreaded getting up the next day.</div>
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Thursday I finally threw in the towel and went to the doctor. He prescribed me some medications for the pain and swelling and suggested that I take breaks from standing throughout the day -move around more or lay down to give my back and feet a rest. I can't lay down long, though or standing back up is difficult. Also, I have a referral to a physical therapist, which Liz is glad for. I don't think she wants the job anymore. I'm not the greatest patient.</div>
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I so want to break this constant relationship with back pain. It invades every part of my day. I think of those who deal with chronic pain and I now have such a respect for what they deal with. Especially my brothers and sisters who deal with it with such patience and grace. They are my new-found heroes. Even as I write this, I long to be free of this pain, yet how often am I thankful for that from which I have already been set free in Christ Jesus (John 8:34-36)? I pray that might be my meditation as I continue in this struggle. Would you pray with me on this? Please do pray that I do improve in these next few weeks. My next trip to Ukraine is coming up quickly, and I hope that things have improved by then. How can I be praying for you?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-3793239842795536982017-02-16T10:50:00.000-08:002017-02-16T11:18:15.725-08:00Weekly Dossier: Week 7, 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Monday Meals</b></div>
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Monday nights Liz goes to and English conversation group that is an outreach of our church. That means I cook dinner and put the kids to bed. I plan out the meal on Friday and I have as my goal to make a large enough batch that we can get at least three or four meals out of it. We usually freeze a portion or two back, which really helps when I am out of town and Liz has to take care of the kids by herself for the week. This week, I made a favorite dish from my time in Russia, Plov. Plov is a simple Uzbek dish of rice, usually with chunks of lamb or in this case beef. The ingredients are simple, but it takes at least a couple of hours to cook!</div>
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<b>Report from Ukraine</b></div>
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Mark and Tim are back from Ukraine now a couple of days ago. Mark came over to our house and had dinner with us. He entertained the kids with stories and paper boats. They really enjoyed him. Then he told us all about his time in Ukraine. He said he was intimidated at first, but once he got to know the students, he really enjoyed it. They are a great bunch of brothers and sisters. I think their faithfulness is an encouragement to us as much, if not more than, we encourage them. Now, if we can just figure out how to print the books there. I'm not sure why, but the printer seems to have problems with our files. Hopefully, we have worked out our communication issues and will be able to start printing soon.</div>
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<b>Friday Discipleship</b></div>
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I got to teach intro to the inductive Bible study method. It is probably one of my favorite sections to teach out of the first book. It is fun to see the lights come on as they figure out the difference between observation and interpretation. This can be really life changing for the students. Right now they are all so young in the faith and they have so many questions. It is a lot of fun most of the time, but can also wear on you. I can see why Moses was in need of Jethro's advice (Exodus 18). One of the teachers of the course likened what we are doing with Bible study methods to teaching men to fish instead of giving them a fish. Last Friday was a good beginning to that process. The students were starting to discover things for themselves in God's word. It was truly Glorious!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-4281354741169734242017-02-09T03:53:00.001-08:002017-02-09T03:53:30.922-08:00Weekly Dossier: Week 6, 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span>Home for now</span></b></div>
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<span>After being on the road it has been nice to be home this week. I have used the time to make a start at cleaning my office and sets some goals for the coming year. Being back in the States for the missions conference was good and refreshing in ways, but it is nice to be back home and in the swing of things. Though I have been doing quite a bit of teaching lately, I would really like to make more time for one-on-one meetings and personal contact. I love teaching, but I always want to put myself in a situation where I can both get to know people and be known. Transparency is so important in life.</span></div>
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<b><span>Ukraine update</span></b></div>
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<span>The reason I get to stay home this week is because Tim Ford and Mark Maddox are taking care of BTCP in Ukraine this week. From what Tim tells me there has been quite a bit of snow there. They were delayed in getting there and so missed their first night of teaching. The plan was to do a survey of both the Old and New Testament, but now they are doing more sample lessons, which is good because this group should be able to teach already anyway.</span></div>
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<span>I know the guys are doing a great job without me and I am grateful for the chance to be home, but I do miss being there. So far, all of the churches that we have worked with in Ukraine have been fantastic, and I miss seeing how the students are growing and developing. I am glad to be able to share that with others, though. It is a blessed ministry to be a part of.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-59767561603566486532015-12-16T04:48:00.001-08:002015-12-16T04:48:55.553-08:00Look who's home! #homesweethome #ef #blog Video<iframe src="http://ift.tt/1NwWFi8" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe><br />
via <a href="http://ift.tt/16Xitlp">IFTTT</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-21730455135138129182015-12-11T12:19:00.001-08:002015-12-11T12:19:39.381-08:00The Guess Familie singing by the Vienna Opera House. #ef #blog Video<iframe src="http://ift.tt/1Qju0D3" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe><br />
via <a href="http://ift.tt/16Xitlp">IFTTT</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-89092250561262054592015-08-07T06:06:00.001-07:002015-08-07T06:06:23.189-07:00Rest for Refugees<p class="uc"><span class="uc"><span class="uc"><span class="uc"><img src="http://ift.tt/1MRTDsw" alt="" class="uc" /><br class="uc" /></span></span></span></p>
<p class="uc"><span class="uc"><span class="uc"><span class="uc">Photo: The Traiskirchen Refugee Processing facility <span class="uc">AKA</span> The Camp<br class="uc" /></span></span></span></p>
<p class="uc"><span class="uc"><span class="uc"><span class="uc">Last night was my first night at the Oasis since coming back to Austria. It was good to finally go down there again. The meeting was packed out. I’m a bad judge when it comes to numbers, but I would say a capacity crowd for the room would be 80-100 and we got to that pretty quickly. Of course that’s a small fraction of how many are actually at the camp. Right now there are between 4-5,000 refugees in the facility. That is over 3 times the maximum capacity! Many are there sleeping outside and they have stopped taking in refugees and are hoping to send some of them to facilities in other countries. Nobody else seems to have room either. The amount of refugees this summer is truly unmatched by any other year in record. </span></span></span></p>
<div class="uc">They asked me to prepare a message. I was inspired by <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/uFScR7x6-0c" class="uc">Mike Grifis’ sermon</a> on Jesus’ call to come to Him to receive rest by taking his yoke and learning from him in Matthew 11:28-30. 5,000 weary and heavy laden who leave everything behind because of fear, fighting their way through many perils in order to come to a place that has no room for you. Many because of their religious background, like those under the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, are also heavy laden with fear. They fear that they can never be certain they have done enough in order to please God and gain acceptance from Him. I could think of no better message than Christs’ offer of rest if we come to him, become his servant and learn his ways. Rest for our souls that even in the circumstances of leaving behind family and friends, letting go of all that is familiar and embracing uncertainty to sleep out in the elements with 5,000 others. I pray that these men and women would find Christs’ rest. I pray also that we his servants, would daily embrace it.</div>
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from Activity in The Plaza for Denton Bible Church http://bit.ly/1gienMo<br />
via <a href="http://ift.tt/16Xitlp">IFTTT</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-50948244038945666902015-07-28T06:42:00.001-07:002015-07-28T06:42:55.621-07:00English Teenager Camp<p class="uc"><img src="http://ift.tt/1I71L1U" alt="" class="uc" /></p>
<p class="uc">Please be in prayer for the English Teenager Camp (<span class="uc">ETC</span>) currently underway here in Austria. 35 student leaders from Austria and Denton Bible Student Ministries have teemed up to minister to over 70 Austrian teenagers at a week-long summer camp. Adam Spencer and Kasey Krominga are representing our team there at the camp as they are participating on the camp’s leadership team. Earlier in the week Liz and I had the privilege of meeting the student leaders and by helping cook a couple of meals for them while they were preparing for camp here in Denton.</p>
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<li class="uc">Unity on the team</li>
<li class="uc">The campers would respond to the Gospel</li>
<li class="uc">Good relations with the other groups that are at the hostel</li>
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from Activity in The Plaza for Denton Bible Church http://bit.ly/1OMS11l<br />
via <a href="http://ift.tt/16Xitlp">IFTTT</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-55732094942589720462015-05-11T09:19:00.002-07:002015-05-11T09:19:55.984-07:00Evie's First Steps<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style="background: #FFF; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: -webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width: 99.375%; width: calc(100% - 2px);">
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A video posted by @texmeck on <time datetime="2015-05-09T19:15:15+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 9, 2015 at 12:15pm PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-89018294903033234272014-12-10T10:14:00.001-08:002014-12-10T10:14:28.840-08:00Missions Conference 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">If you are near Denton, Texas on January 16th and 17th, we would like to invite you to Denton Bible Church’s missions Conference. Come celebrate what God is doing for His glory throughout the world. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Our team will be attending the conference and we would love to meet with you and tell you about what God has been doing with us in Austria. Also during the conference you will hear from the several different fields, and have opportunities to attend breakout sessions hosted by our </span><span class="uc" style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">SERVE </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">and affiliate missionaries. There is also a program for children, ages 4 months to 5th grade. </span><br />
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<strong class="uc" style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">The conference is free but you do need to register.</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> For more information and to register go to:</span><a class="uc" href="http://www.dbcm.org/conf2015" style="background-color: white; color: #5d87a1; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong class="uc">www.dbcm.org/conf2015</strong></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-64964319134182777502014-12-04T06:18:00.001-08:002014-12-09T10:17:42.949-08:00This Week in Pictures: First Christmas Tree Ever #nofilter #twip #ef<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-25653341394715140462014-11-19T12:29:00.001-08:002014-11-19T12:31:47.836-08:00Crying Over Kindergarten<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<strong class="uc"><a class="uc" href="http://ift.tt/1uxrcoR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I loved this piece on the topic of raising third culture kids (children growing up in a country other than their passport country) by Richelle Wright.</a> </strong> She writes, "What if some of what I consider so traumatic and so difficult and so worthy of tears I perceive that way primarily because I have preconceived ideas based on my own childhood and growing up of how things should be and how I would have reacted? " She adds, “Maybe what I expect to be their struggles are just normal (for them)…perhaps those circumstances I believe they’ll breeze right through are the ones that will be the greatest challenges.” I totally related to these feelings, and appreciated these insights, <strong class="uc"><a class="uc" href="http://ift.tt/11D4HW3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">especially remembering the experience of putting Naomi into preschool in Vienna…</a> </strong><br class="uc" /><br />So here we were, Day One. Me, in my third trimester of pregnancy, sitting in a wheeled office chair in the back of the room, trying to go unnoticed, but occassionally having to say “hi” to the curious preschooler who would come over to stare at or show something to the very pregnant stranger in the room. Naomi, exploring all of the wonderful toys and craft stations in the room and attempting to understand what was going on and make friends. Quite overwhelming! For her, and maybe moreso for me. Naomi would try to participate but get frustrated that she didn’t understand what the teacher was saying in German. After saying a few loud and insistent “NO’s!” in English, she would come running to me in tears saying that she wanted to go home, not understanding why she had to endure this torture.<br class="uc" /><br />I didn’t know what to say! I felt like all I could do was helplessly watch her struggle. I couldn’t change the circumstances for her. I had no power to somehow make her instantly learn German. I couldn’t make her 2 1/2-year-old mind understand that all of this was for her ultimate good, the ability to speak German and to make friends. I counseled her the only way I knew how. “Sweetie, I’m sorry it’s hard and you don’t understand. It will get easier. Watch the other kids and do what they are doing.” Of course, I meant what the obedient kids were doing…I was just hoping that would be the majority!<br class="uc" /><br />It was a heart-wrenching experience for me, as I unconsciously also super-imposed all of my insecurities and fears from years of life experience onto what I was seeing happen. MY life experience. The kicker was when I saw Naomi, after several failed attempts to communicate with the kids in English or play with someone, bravely walk up to a girl working a puzzle alone, and ask in English, “Hi, my name is Naomi, will you play with me?” In that moment, I was so proud of her and heartbroken all at the same time. Tears started streaming down my face. I couldn’t keep them in anymore.<br class="uc" /><br />Fast forward 6 weeks, and I’m riding the bus from home to the kindergarten to pick up Naomi after lunch. Expecting her standard answer of, “I cried”, to my question of how her morning was, she responded with, “I had fun!” Praise God! Fast forward 5 months, and I’m the one sad to say goodbye to Naomi’s class for a time as we prepare for our 8-month stay in the States. Missing the teachers that were such an encouragement to me as a mom during a rough transition for our family. Naomi thinks of and talks about her class from time to time, and I hope that she will be able to join in with the same class when we return. It may be like “coming home” for her, or it may be quite a re-entry struggle, but either way, trusting God every step of the way is our only hope. May He continue to give us wisdom as parents, helping our children navigate well the waters of living in a different culture, all the while striving to do so ourselves in a way that honors Him.</div>
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by Liz Eck</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-49911098663301665342014-11-19T10:53:00.001-08:002014-11-19T10:55:39.654-08:00First Days in Kindergarten<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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People often ask what school is like in Vienna and though we don’t have much experience, I thought I would share a little bit about our journey putting our eldest daughter in Kindergarten, which is German for preschool. Finding a Kindergarten had been a year-long process of ups and downs, both logistically and emotionally, but all of that is for a different post. At any rate, once we found a Kindergarten we soon found out that the way they handled welcoming a child into school was different than what we might expect.</div>
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When the day had finally arrived, we had been instructed to show up at 10:00 in the morning, an hour after the first activities of the class had begun, in order to begin our first “trial period.” At the time there were a couple of other new students, and the teachers wanted to stagger the arrival times of the “criers.” The process, which is fairly standard among all preschools/kindergartens in Vienna, would go like this: a trial period of Naomi in the classroom (with Mommy sitting in the back) for up to an hour or so for the first three days; then possibly extending the time up to 1 1/2 to 2 hours over the following few days, with Mommy waiting in the hallway; the following week we would let Naomi stay 2 to 2 1/2 hours with Mommy available by cell phone and within walking distance. Then, after that, I would probably be able to drop Naomi off for the full 3-hour morning and go home, depending on how Naomi was “adjusting” and how at-home she felt there.</div>
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As you can imagine, this process led to many tearful days, both for mother and child, but in the end Naomi finally adjusted and was able to stay for the whole morning by herself. Personally, I would have preferred to rip the bandage off quickly, but we don’t always get to make those kinds of choices. <a class="uc" href="http://ift.tt/1oStOyf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">We often find out that our two cultures have differing values when we least expect it.</a> In these moments we ask for extra wisdom and grace to navigate these waters.</div>
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by Liz Eck</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-10759131061479568172014-11-10T13:14:00.001-08:002014-11-10T13:15:27.247-08:00Things we miss: Sunsets<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Many people have asked us what we miss while we are in Austria. Of course the top answers are friends and family, but after that there is a small list of things that we just can’t get over there that we are enjoying the heck out of while we are in the U.S.</div>
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<b><a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.com/2014/10/things-we-miss-grapes.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In the first “Things we miss” post</a> </b>, I talked about how concord grapes are one of the things I enjoy when we get back, but food items aren't the only things. Living in an urban environment I really miss seeing the sun sink down over the horizon. Don't get me wrong, we can get some pretty sunsets in Vienna too, but there is something about watching the sun go down in big sky country that I miss. I noticed this especially when I first moved to Russia. During Soviet times, Russia pushed itself to urbanize and that meant massive growth in the cities. Village life gave way to large socialist block apartments that dominated the skylines of most Russian cities. I remember when I lived in Krasnodar the first time that I took a flight out of the city. I had been there several months and had gotten up before the dawn to catch a flight. When I got to the gate I saw the sun burst over the horizon for the first time since I moved there. I immediately became homesick. There are many beautiful things that we enjoy in Vienna, but wile we are here, we are going to relish the natural light shows that we enjoy when the sun rises and set.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-74236980193529311462014-10-28T15:12:00.000-07:002014-11-07T11:24:15.141-08:00Things We Miss: GrapesMany people have asked us what we miss while we are in Austria. Of course the top answers are friends and family, but after that there is a small list of things that we just can't get over there that we are enjoying the heck out of while we are in the U.S.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandpop's Tasty Concord Grape Pie</td></tr>
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First on the list are grapes. That may sound strange to you since if you know anything about Europe, you know they have no shortage of grapes. However, you may not realize that the concord grape is native only to North America. This is the grape that is used almost exclusively for grape juice and jelly. The grape juice we have in Europe is made by red grape varieties found there and grape jelly is, to my knowledge, nonexistent there. So while we are here our breakfast juice of choice is grape and we are spreading grape jelly on our PB&Js- no strawberry jelly for us, please.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-59675477763912398582014-10-07T07:59:00.003-07:002014-10-30T07:16:41.212-07:00More about OurTrip Home<div style="line-height: 14px; margin: 0mm 0mm 3.52mm; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0mm; widows: 2;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last month we wrote about how things are going on <a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.com/2014/09/life-on-road.html" target="_blank"><b>our current home service assignment</b></a> (furlough) so I thought I would answer a few of the common questions that people have.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;"><b>Why are you here and for how long?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;">Right now, every five years that we are in Austria we are required to come back to the States for a minimum of six months. It also happens that this coming January our church is having its biannual missions conference so we are staying here through January.</span></div>
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<b style="color: #010101; line-height: 17px; text-indent: 0mm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What will you be doing while you are here?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;">When we come back to the U.S. for any significant length of time we usually have three goals; rest, reconnect, renew.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;">Rest is actually harder than it sounds. Though we miss being in America while we are away, our home is no longer here. None the less, it is important, for a time, to get away from every-day ministry in Europe and reflect on where God has brought us and listen to where He might be leading us next.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;">Since Denton Bible Church is both our home church and sending agency, it is very important to reconnect with not only our office staff, but also our larger church body. Not only do we have opportunities to serve in the missions office, it is also important to us to get involved in things like Bible studies and mom’s groups. While we are away, it is easy for us to forget that there is such a wonderful local body of believers that love us and are behind what we are doing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;">Finally, it is very important that we renew our ties with the individuals who are praying for and <b><a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.com/p/donate.html" target="_blank">financially supporting our ministry</a>.</b> We do our best to communicate regularly though <b><a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">pictures</a>,</b> <b><a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.com/p/prayer-updates.html" target="_blank">emails</a>,</b> and even calls, but there is nothing like sitting down face-to-face and getting a chance to swap stories and pray for one-another. We are very thankful for those who have been supporting our ministry and we are especially in need of new partners who will help to send us back by funding the ministry that we do in Central Europe.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #010101; font-family: inherit;">That is what most people are asking us about this trip home. What do you want to know?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-32326195253047077882014-09-25T10:59:00.001-07:002014-10-19T18:02:18.122-07:00This Week in Pictures: Family Morning Walk #twip<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-80752758914504338992014-09-20T09:52:00.001-07:002014-10-19T18:02:42.786-07:00This Week in Pictures: Trying shaved ice at the Denton Community Market. #twip<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img style='max-width:550px;' src='http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpf1/t51.2885-15/10012475_369490519867003_615711853_n.jpg'/><br/><br /><div>via Instagram http://ift.tt/1uodmmV</div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-42272630377144288892014-07-22T08:54:00.001-07:002014-10-19T18:03:17.496-07:00This Week in Pictures: Doughnuts with new friends #twip<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img style='max-width:550px;' src='http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xap1/t51.2885-15/924018_1446631642270820_626945294_n.jpg'/><br/><br /><div>via Instagram http://ift.tt/1p6C7jF</div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-27978125359991056692014-07-13T17:40:00.001-07:002014-10-19T18:04:07.242-07:00This Week in Pictures: Celebrating Matt's Dad's Baptism #twip<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-11993663767194415322014-05-13T12:54:00.001-07:002014-10-30T08:32:27.707-07:00Video Update May 2014<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="287" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/95159579" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="550"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/95159579">Ecksfiles Video Update May 2014</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user20195456">Matt Eck</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-74444313598280541292014-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:002014-10-19T18:05:57.359-07:00A big trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You may have heard that we are coming to America for the next six months starting this May, but you might still be wondering why. Well there are several reasons for this. First, due to the <a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.co.at/2011/03/our-visa-situation-explained-as-much-as.html" target="_blank">type of visa</a> that we hold we are not allowed to stay in Austria for longer than five years at a time. In order to be eligible to stay for another five years we have to leave for six months. Not only does that mean that we've been here for almost five years already, it means that every five years we will have to do this, unless we can change the type of visa that we get. Now that the <a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.co.at/2013/02/church-recognition.html" target="_blank">church is recognized</a> this might be changing in the future, but for now we are trying to stick to the regulations.<br />
Second, we are due for a home service or what is commonly referred to as furlough. We will be spending some time resting, but this will be no six month vacation! No our main purpose in a home service assignment is renew our ties with our sending church by spending time serving in ministry there as well as reconnect with our current supporters, which leads me to our final reason for coming home...<br />
<a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.co.at/p/donate.html" target="_blank">Support</a>. We've never quite been fully funded during our time here, and that fact has really been felt over the last year. We are really hoping to get our numbers back where they need to be and it's going to take a good chunk of time to get that task accomplished. Also, considering that we may be doing more traveling during our next term it would be good to have a healthy ministry budget. So please pray for us that the Lord will supply all of our needs during this trip. We are trusting that He will.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-65804156053381754242014-03-10T01:56:00.002-07:002014-10-30T08:52:11.604-07:00Leadership Akademie VideoHere is a video from the Leadership Akademie team project that<a href="http://ecksfiles.blogspot.com/2014/03/celebrate-our-week-in-pictures-22314.html" target="_blank"><b> I mentioned in our last post</b></a>. If you would like to see more pictures of our team at work <b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/texmeck/sets/72157642138088963/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">check out our flickr page</a>.</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="12" height="309" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PRSYYY3svmU?rel=0" width="550"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-53388802069669226772014-03-04T01:41:00.000-08:002014-10-19T18:09:49.719-07:00Celebrate: Our Week in Pictures (2.23.14-3.01.14) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The celebrations started when Naomi dressed up at school for <i>Fasching</i> or Austrian Mardi Gras<br />
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Then our team celebrated after we helped to pull off a weekend conference called Leadership Akademie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And finally Naomi celebrated her 3rd birthday!</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-16909208743057928342014-02-24T01:57:00.001-08:002014-10-19T18:19:03.944-07:00Firsts: Our Week in Pictures (2.16.14-2.22.14)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhD-Vy-JEEGGD1HEgHL7g0MAwN1Buj_2fIMphXIEqHTRC6kYl1fml7jBeE20f7JULdKvtDvkxQBMHQdHlYILwZR8_jOMLPM6CEej5k81N5nXo5HHgXqgDX6igh_LHTxC4M_W5D-KSjv_T/w945-h709-no/20140216_093533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhD-Vy-JEEGGD1HEgHL7g0MAwN1Buj_2fIMphXIEqHTRC6kYl1fml7jBeE20f7JULdKvtDvkxQBMHQdHlYILwZR8_jOMLPM6CEej5k81N5nXo5HHgXqgDX6igh_LHTxC4M_W5D-KSjv_T/w945-h709-no/20140216_093533.jpg" height="413" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This week was Evangeline's first big outing. Can't you tell she is excited?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We rode the <i>U-bahn </i>to get where we were going.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2Y3HaTWzwMURjCWOnnabfRqi3FY5Dfw1_1qUHKV3BR58W0J54qBlRRMpFPdBkF4AEOMolxBvoHnibWnwz7d3nmTx_qQU1Fzs1LVMoRJpubxgIVUtDSO0bajvXCrvw5YC37N8Z6_43ZjN/s709-no/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2Y3HaTWzwMURjCWOnnabfRqi3FY5Dfw1_1qUHKV3BR58W0J54qBlRRMpFPdBkF4AEOMolxBvoHnibWnwz7d3nmTx_qQU1Fzs1LVMoRJpubxgIVUtDSO0bajvXCrvw5YC37N8Z6_43ZjN/s709-no/" height="550" width="550" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big sister came along too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This week was also Evie's first real bath.</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082301718288207714.post-44380218682547277112014-02-18T07:33:00.000-08:002014-03-04T01:49:29.575-08:00The Problem is not Sochi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on a trip to the Caucuses not to far from where the Olympics are being held today.</td></tr>
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I don’t think I have anticipated an Olympics more since I was a kid. For me, the reason why is fairly obvious. All of the eyes of the world would be on place that I fell in love with ten years ago. My first years struggling through language and culture were spent just a few miles from Sochi, in Krasnodar, the capitol city of the region. I have long since moved away from there, but I carry memories from that city and region with me that I will always cherish. So when it came time for the press to cover the Olympics I was shattered to see the how negatively the press portrayed this region that I love. <br />
In part, I understand the reasons for this. It’s gross understatement to say that politically the U.S. and Russia haven’t seen eye to eye lately. Had the stories coming out of Sochi mainly been of a political nature, I might have understood that. However, as anyone who has seen the social media knows the majority of the coverage has focused on much baser attacks. We’ve all seen the reports of dirty water, last-minute construction, and apparent corruption. <br />
There are two main reasons that the media coverage has bothered me so much. The first is that the attacks are personal in nature. “Sochi problems” are the kind of issues that every-day Russians struggle with. Take the unfinished hotel rooms, for instance. Russians are generally not as time-orientated as people in the west so work generally gets done at the last minute. The press was there well before the opening ceremonies, after all! There are more to the “Sochi Problems” than a short tweet can really tell about*. It personally pains me to see how much these shallow judgments of Russian personal life have embarrassed my Russian friends. <br />
The second reason the media coverage bothered me so much was because it reminded me of my own shallow judgments when I first got to Russia. In the weeks leading up to the Olympics when my Russian friends would voice their embarrassment about the media portrayal of Russia I would always stop short of voicing my indignation because deep down it felt hypocritical to do so. If living overseas has taught me anything it is that I tend to make judgments about things that are only on the surface level. It’s only after looking beyond the surface to see the underlying assumptions and values that we can truly come to understand why the people around us act as they do. <br />
Proverbs 20:5 tells us, “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.” Are there some issues or problems around you that you are content only to look on the surface of? What helps you to go deeper with the people in your life?<br />
*I realize that even my analysis of the issues is hardly adequate. I wish I had more time to deal with them in depth but I would refer you to this <a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/81663/sochiproblems-is-more-of-an-embarrassment-for-america-than-it-is-for-russia" target="_blank">excellent article</a> for more examples of the background of “Sochi problems.”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16152120735168167725noreply@blogger.com2