Austria

It can’t be very often that all the Christadelphians resident in a country meet together, at least not in Western Europe. But that is exactly what happened to the Brethren and Sisters in Austria in September. OK, there are only four of us; but two of these had never physically met before, so it was a pretty special occasion.

We met for the weekend of September 13/14 in Innsbruck, in the Tyrol, where Sis. Mary Knechtl lives. Mary is English, but has lived most of her life in Austria – now widowed, her husband was an Austrian.

Sis. Ichinka is the Austrian-resident Christadelphian who Sis. Mary had not met previously, largely because they live at other ends of the country, and neither has her own transport. Sis. Ichinka (Ichinkhorloo Dashbaljir, to give her full name) is from Mongolia, and came to the truth while studying in Russia. She is currently living and studying in Vienna.

Sis. Ichinka travelled to Salzburg on Friday, to the home of Bro. Matt and Sis. Anita Clements. Bro. Matt (English by nationality) has lived in Salzburg for 4 years; Sis. Anita comes from Esslingen in Germany, and has lived in Salzburg since she and Matt were married in summer 2001.

On Saturday, we travelled to Innsbruck to meet up with Mary, and enjoyed a lovely afternoon and evening with her, and with Bro. Bob and Sis. Barbara Clare from the UK, who were spending a week or two’s holiday in the area visiting Mary; Bro. Bob is the CBM Liaison brother for Austria.

Two more arrived on Saturday evening to swell the numbers – Bro. John and Sis. Valerie Freer made a small detour en route for their annual trip to Hungary, and completed the feast of fellowship.

On Sunday, we met together at Mary’s flat for our memorial service, presided over by Bro. Bob and with Bro. Matt leading the thoughts. It was a great joy to be able to meet together around our Lord’s table here in Austria, and to enjoy the power and the pleasure of fellowship, united in our belief in our Lord, despite our varying backgrounds, first languages, etc.

After the meeting, we were blessed with a glorious day in which to be able to enjoy the beauty of the Alps, and shared lunch and a walk together in the fabulous Stubaital valley, before starting to head off in various directions as the weekend drew to a close.

We give thanks to our heavenly Father for the opportunity to meet in this way, for the freedom with which we can meet, and for the joy of the fellowship we shared together – really a wonderful and very happy experience. Even so come, Lord Jesus.