Highlights

Here are some highlights I haven't blogged about yet:

• Prayer meeting at Father Peter's house: On Friday night (July 2) Kendra and I cooked Shabbat dinner for Mike and Beryl and Fr. Peter. This was really fun. Afterwards, several  young people from Slovakia came over for the friday night prayer meeting. This was really special. We got meet such great people--really special  young people who have such a heart for the Lord and to pray in His purposes. I was very blessed to be able to share a little bit of my journey with the Lord and with Gateways and then to join in prayer ministry. The Lord gave me some pictures and words for a few of them and I was so encouraged by seeing what great purposes He has for each of these amazing sisters and brothers in the Lord.

• Other fun things we did included some gardening and seeing the castle ruins at the top of the mountain overlooking the village. From up there we could see Slovakia and the castle in Bratislava. From up there, Kendra and I were able to pray over the city and the region. This is a place with a long history of great bloodshed and we believe that where the enemy has tried to reign, God will have greater glory.

• July 4th celbration! We had the unique experience of celebrating our American Independence day with a few of our British friends :). It was a grand time. Sister Mary Paul is also from Texas, so she, Kendra, and I prepared the feast. We tried to make it as American as possible with hamburgers, potato salad, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies--yum! We were half American and half British (3:3) yet all was civil and joyful. We prayed for true freedom through Jesus throughout the world. I made everyone watch a you tube video of John Wayne doing a poetic tribute to beautiful America. After dinner we had a time of prayer. They all prayed for Kendra and I and blessed us before we headed out the next morning, and we had the opportunity to pray over each of them. All in all, it was a holiday to remember.

• After saying goodbye to everyone in Hainburg, Kendra and I took the bus into Bratislava. There we were met by Maria, a girl our age who has just completed medical school. We met on Friday night at the prayer meeting and decided to spend a little bit of time together before we caught our train to Prague. We had coffee together and had such a nice time. Maria has a beautiful heart before the Lord and so much passion. We were really blessed by this new friendship. After a few hours together, Kendra and I hopped aboard our next train to Prague.

Here are some more pictures from our time in Hainburg:

Blessed time in Hainburg

The best thing about adventure is the unexpected, charting new territory, discovering the unknown. Something I love about faith is the mysteries through which God works. The theme for my GTS in 2003 was “the Mysteries of the Kingdom” and that has stuck with me ever since as something that I long for and something that makes my heart leap. Beginning this journey with my sister, I knew that there were special treasures from the Father’s heart hidden along the way for us to uncover and enjoy. We prayed that the Lord would order our steps and lead us on the journey that He has prepared. Thus, I knew that our time in Hainburg with Father Peter Hocken would be special, but—as is the way with the Lord—it far exceeded my hopes.

I have been blessed by Father Peter since his week of teaching in my GTS 2003. I particularly remember his teaching on “Surprises of the Holy Spirit” and tracing the moves of God throughout Church history. I am thankful that growing up I was never taught against any certain denominations; but rather, I was led to focus on a living faith and relationship with the Lord which I have always firmly believed was available across all expressions of the Body of Christ. I never understood why people would refer to either “Catholics” or “Christians.” That just doesn’t make sense. Now not all Catholics are truly believers just as not all nominal Christians are truly believers. Salvation doesn’t come through church affiliation but through grace and faith and the blood of Jesus. Catholicism has been the vehicle that has carried the Christian faith through centuries of history and throughout the world. Now, I am certainly not denying a simultaneous history of bloodshed and greed of those whose faith was insincere or grossly misguided; however, this is also a history that the majority of the Protestant world must likewise face and recognize. Unfortunately, through a lack of historical education regarding most of our own denominations, we are left unwittingly examining the splinter in our brother’s eye, never dreaming of the log passed on from our fathers. It is not time to ignore, but it is time to recognize and repent, and time to believe that His blood is able to cleanse and restore that which was lost. We have also refused to discover the beauty and special grace of our brothers and sisters in Messiah Yeshua (for indeed, the Jewish Savior is who brings us together as one body, He himself being the head).

This is what has been burning in my heart since my youth—to discover the beauty of the Body of Christ, and to help bring unity so that she can be ready to receive Her Husband as a pure (refined, tested, unadulterated) and spotless (without blemish, shame, hidden darkness) Bride. God is one, yet He is equally three persons. The unity of the Trinity is our ultimate example. Let me be clear, however, that I do not believe in universalism or sacrificing the foundations of your faith for the sake of unity—we must become even more steadfast in the principles of our faith. The Church must be a lighthouse. We must be rooted on the rock, though there are waves in a stormy darkness, our light shines out to guide others safely to firm foundation. I believe that the unique and varied expressions throughout the world are God’s heart. He is Creator. He decided that no two snowflakes should be the same. He decided that seasons should change and landscapes should differ. It is the heart of the Creator to see beauty and creativity released through different cultures. I long for the day when we surround His throne in beautiful array of His glory—from every nation, tribe, and tongue. The Lord gave me a vision of a beautiful tapestry stretched across the globe. I saw that He desires to sew the colorful threads of his Church together to create one beautiful picture. And I believe that this is the vision He has placed inside of me for such a time as this. I desire to help weave this tapestry of love.

So, to bring this blog back to its intended purpose of reporting on my time in Hainburg, I will start by saying that it was a blessing. We so enjoyed the kindness and hospitality of Mike and Beryl Connely who arranged our visit and really blessed us by their servant’s hearts and love for each other. As you saw in my previous blog, we had the great privilege of getting to know Sister Mary Paul (from Texas) and really spend time together. We are so thankful for these new friends. The surprise from the Father’s heart was the extent to which I was able to share my heart with Father Peter, and his response of impartational blessing to me. I have always felt pulled in different directions, knowing that there were so many different things on my heart, but trusting that God is the one, the only one, who can bring them together for His purposes. My time with Fr. Peter was such a time of confirming all these things that are from God’s heart and placed there by Him. I am so amazed when looking back at this whole year. I must say that this has been the most formational year of my life. There are so many markers of clarification and understanding that He has done in me this year, and I can literally feel the difference. I have more solid vision and tangible hope for the future, though I do not see what all of the journey will look like. Then again, that is my favorite thing about adventure.

Vienna

On Thursday Sister Mary Paul took Kendra and I to Vienna for a personal tour. Vienna is such a beautiful city and we had a fabulous day. Here are some pictures of our day. I think our highlights were the beautiful architechture of course, the amazing national library, and the Belvedere palace. The palace is also a huge art museum and we spent all afternoon appreciating the works of Gustav Klimt (including his famous "The Kiss"), Monet, and countless others. I'm sure Kendra could give a much more in depth and sophisticated list. I can't post any pictures from inside the palace because pictures were not allowed, but you can visit the website at http://www.belvedere.at/jart/prj3/belvedere/main.jart?rel=en. We ended our day with some authentic Austrian food in a non-touristy little cafe. Somehow, the authentic food and cafe reminded us of Missouri--strange, I know. Perhaps the best part of the day was simply spending time with Sister Mary Paul, hearing her story and the beautiful things the Lord has placed in her heart. All in all, it was a day to remember. Thank you Lord; You are so kind to your children.

St. Steven's church

The fanciest Burger King I've ever been to

The opera house

The National Library!

Belvedere Palace

Johan Strauss and me

Meeting up with Kendra

Hello dear friends. So this is the first blog post of my trip with Kendra in Europe. Her is how our trip began:

Kendra was in Brussels with the Benjamins, Watkins, and Vandeputs. I was in Cyprus. We met at the Frankfurt airport. She took an earlier trian from Brussels and had to wait a few hours for my plane to arrive. Neither of us had working cell phones so we were grateful that we were able to find each other with no problems. After our joyful reunion, we scoped out the empty and quiet airport terminal for a place to get comfortable for our 6 hour wait. We found a spot close to a phone charging station and were able to plug in my laptop. This was great because we were able to watch a movie. We were afraid to fall asleep and miss our train and it was all marble so I don't know if we could have slept if we wanted to. Finally, around 6am we went to catch our train. It was so wonderful that all of our trains were practically empty, so we had a whole table and four seats to ourselves. We took a 7 hour train to Vienna and then took the underground to a different train station where we caught the train to Hainburg. The train ride was great. It was beautiful and peaceful scenery, and Kendra was able to sleep most of the time (which was good for her because she wasn't feeling too well). I, on the other hand, was not able to sleep, but I did get some crochetting in :)

Upon arrival in Hainburg, were were welcomed by the beautiful view of the Danube river, although we were not greeted by any persons. It was good that we had the address to the house because it turns out that there was  a bit of confusion as the the time of our arrival. So, we had got to start off our trip with a bit of adventure in finding the house. It was quite fun. The town is beautiful and we enjoyed walking through it. It was comical finding the house. I don't think we would have had the courage to walk through the old unmarked wooden gate to find the house had it not been for the man accross the street yelling in German and pointing at it. He was very sure that that was the place we were looking for. Father Peter later told us that the neigbors know that any young person coming to Hainburg with bags is bound to be going to his house (This quiet town is not the typical stop for young backpackers).

We did find the house, and were so happy to be there. Father Peter took us on a tour and showed us all of the rooms and the garden and the back house. He showed us the prayer room and the chapel and the beautiful view from the roof. This is truly an amazing place hidden in the midst of history. He was pointing out arches and such from the 13th or 14th century. We also met Mike and Beryl, a couple from England living there, and Sister Mary Paul from Texas. After dinner, we went on a walk with Sister Mary Paul and Father Peter. They showed us around the town a little bit and then treated us to ice cream. The perfect ending to a long day of travel.

Elevate

A heavy atmosphere of dull repression furiously chases a generation. Snarls of offense and anger snap at a people hurting and lonely. Apathy is injected like numbing poison until youth is melted into dreary existence. No one knows they are being spun into the web of disbelief and shame.
Light breaks forth, a piercing and burning flame. Redemption, love, and holy fire illuminating hearts again. The weary mentality of survival is confronted by the radiance of life. Hopelessness accosted by the sacrifice of love. Depression cannot tame it; Hate cannot destroy it; Envy cannot quench it; Darkness cannot consume it. Day is breaking forth and the sons of light are being revealed.

You sons of light have been pierced with life and set free into grace. New life has morphed your aching frame to living beauty resonating through the corridors of eternity. You have turned your face to the Beautiful One and you have been given His image once again.

You now set your gaze like flint, no turning can be spared. New garments fall over you as you rise higher through the air. The heavy darkness is cast off—and flees as you rejoice. You are more than holy; you are an army demolishing despair. Raiders of the darkness, your flame rushes forth fearless of the night. You bring the higher way.

Where there is loneliness, you reach out your hand in love. Where there is hopelessness and despair, you don’t hold back the word of life. Where there is pain and sickness, you heal in His Holy name. Where there is dark depression, freedom and love you proclaim. No longer consumed with your own despair, you are rising higher. No longer immobilized by fear and introspection, your head is lifted up. And as you rise and elevate, the King of Glory comes. He comes and draws you higher until you are transformed and then releases you with fire to shake the very earth.

You are the burning ones. Keep gazing into Love. The world around you is waiting for the brilliance of your light. And every work of darkness trembles when you rise up and say that greater is He that is in you than he that imitates. There is no god but Jehovah, and He is the King of Glory. Elevate your gaze. Make a way for Him.

Hannah's European Tour