Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas from Austria!!  We send our warmest greetings and wishes for a fantastic Christmas and blessed New Year.  It is my prayer that Christmas celebrations everywhere will be full of wonder and joy as we celebrate the Savior's birth.

Our preparations for the days of Christmas have been blessed and challenging.  The challenges of making Christmas "right" in a new country, dealing with the absence of family, and finding the perfect gifts can put a gloominess to the mood of the season.  But when compared to all the blessings, there can be little gloominess in this blessed season.  We are still so thrilled to be in Austria, to be serving the Lord in this capacity, and sharing in the harvest/planting of God's Love in the hearts of Austrians and Internationals on a daily basis.  What an awesome life and challenge that God has blessed us with! Still feels like a dream.  No one wake me, please!

Blessed to help out, I agreed to play a small role in the Christmas play at Grace Church this year.  I played the Grandfather shepherd, fitting that my gray hair and shaggy beard came in handy, visited by the angels that blessed Christmas morn.  Nathan also played a shepherd and the girls were Angels.  Bethany sang a solo of "O Come All Ye Faithful" while Caylah sang in a trio of "Silent Night", which was sung in Gerrman, English and Persian.  All together, an awesome glimpse into Heaven as the Nations celebrate Jesus' birth in their own tongues!

The most difficult part of Christmas for us this year is the absence of family.  Christmas, for both the Overbys and Powells, has always been about family.  This is our first Christmas to ever be away from both of our families.  It's made it difficult since Christmas is my absolute favorite season of the year! To help us make it through, we asked our kids to recall the things that in the States made Christmas special to them.  Once we got through the "family not being here" tears, we agreed on some special things like cookies, movies, games, and food that we could have here to help us make Christmas in Austria special.  Overall, we are looking forward to our celebration and hope and pray that it will stay focused on the truth of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us both at His birth and death on the cross. 

"He sacrificed Heaven for a stable,

He gave up glory for some hay.

He left a throne for a lowly manger

to be born on Christmas day."

Merry Christmas from the Overbys!!

Christmastime is Here...

December, for Texans, begins the drop in temperatures for the "Winter" season.  We pray for a White Christmas, only to be disappointed year after year, as we run around outside in shorts playing Football in the yard.  Temperatures rarely get below 30 except at night and if it snows at all, it's gone the next day.  Not in Austria.  Check out the slideshow of Winter pics or my facebook pics and you will see this Texans first real Winter.  Snow staying on the ground for the last two weeks and more flurries every few days.  Temperatures were cold enough last week to freeze the Danube River in its shallowest places of 10-25 feet.  One thing is certain, it sure feels like Christmas!!  We have been in Christmas mode for the last three weeks and are loving it. Christmas begins in Austria around the middle of November.  Since the 18th of November, Christmas has been in full swing with markets, decorations, songs, and smells throughout the city of Vienna.

Please watch this clip from one of favorite Christmas specials!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DKk9rv2hUfA

  Celebrating in Austria revolves around Christ which is so refreshing compared to the "Happy Holidays" focus in the US now.  Except that for most Austrians, it is merely celebrating a tradition rather than the true meaning of Christmas. The symbols of the truth are everywhere like the manger scenes, Christ's name of every market, and music selections about Christ Jesus.  Even a holiday for His Mother as she too, according to the Catholic church, was immaculately conceived like Jesus.  Holidays and symbols that after the season will be put away and forgotten until the next non-working Church Holiday.  As believers, this is one of the single greatest times of the year for us to focus on the truth of Jesus.  Our best opportunities to witness in Austria is now as questions and curiosities abound during this time more than any other save Easter.  Please pray for us during these weeks as we intentionally raise questions and stir up more interest in Jesus by using His birth and lifestory to light the way to salvation.