Our schedule has been going full swing with volunteer fire fighter training, singing in the choir, and planning for and participating in Street Buddies. We are excited, and a tad bit nervous, about our upcoming firefighting final. The last test of our skills is a two day practical and written exam. Everyone keeps reassuring us that we have all the knowledge we need to pass but it's hard to shut down the worried part of my brain. Last weekend we did a group exercise that summarized all the different topics we've covered during our training. The teachers lit some gasoline on fire and we got to use extinguishers and foam to put it out. Our time with the fire department has definitely been a challenging experience for me. So often I feel out of my comfort zone both physically and socially. There are moments where I ask myself 'Rachael what in the world are you doing here?!' and I think 'You don't belong here.' Once again I have begun to realize that most of my discomfort is caused by the fact that I'm focusing so much on myself and I'm scared of looking like a complete idiot. I've been asking Jesus to shift my focus. I want to be oriented towards him and towards other people. It seems like Jesus has been using this very foreign situation to teach a lot of good lessons :).
Street Buddies has been going splendidly! We already had our third all team meeting and people signed up for the next few months and we even had a couple new people come who are interested in joining us. The increase of activity in downtown Linz is definitely becoming noticeable as the weather trends towards warmer evenings. Our nights in Linz are structured a bit differently than in Salzburg. Before it was a constant watch for fights and sick people. Now it is a little more relaxed and we do a lot more dialoguing with folks. Last weekend turned out to be busy. We had our first ambulance call because we found a young man who was unconscious. He had a band of friends around him who were trying to slap him awake unsuccessfully. We tried to get a little more of the background story but it became apparent to us that an ambulance crew was necessary. About ten minutes went by after we called and suddenly the young man became conscious enough to vomit an impressive amount. After clearing his system a bit he seemed more present but still heavily affected by either alcohol or something else. When the medical unit arrived the guy said he didn't want their help and signed a waiver saying he understood the risks. When we saw that we couldn't help any further we prayed for him and moved on.
That same evening as we were walking through downtown three fellows started walking over to us and suddenly pretended to trip and fall directly in our path. At first I thought it was real and my initial instinct was to help them up. It very quickly became apparent they were making a joke of some kind or making fun of us and they quickly got back up and scampered away laughing heartily. A little bit of hurt and offense sprung up in me. I couldn't stop the thought of 'We come out here in the dead of night to help you guys and you repay us with mockery? Real cute!' But I felt like Jesus reminded me that it doesn't matter what kind of reception we receive. We shouldn't be motivated by people's compliments or respect. The heart should be wanting to spread the love Jesus has shown us regardless of how people respond. Interestingly enough later that night one of the guys came back up to our group and asked who we are and what we are doing. After giving a short explanation he seemed totally shocked and apologized for their funny stunts. Turns out they had mistaken us for the youth portion of a very extreme Austrian political party. The blue color of our jackets looked like the same shade that this youth group usually wears. It felt good to all laugh at the whole mix up and to build new relationships. Jonathan and Micah talked to those fellows for quite some time and it was really awesome.
Thank you all for reading! Love and hugs from Austria <3
-Rachael