Ambrose Info

Praying on campus

2010-04-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

Went to the University in Graz today to pray. Happily had one student join me and we spent about 40 minutes walking the campus and praying for God to move in the lives of students. One thing I saw a lot of was advertising. Everyone seems to think reaching this group with their message is important. When I got home I looked up the firm that runs all the advertising in the University buildings and the cafeterias around the Universities. Their website had some great facts about the 4 million times someone would look at your add each month if you advertised in their 820 locations. That's a lot of views. Then I looked at the list of their customers for references. Let's just say I couldn't find a company I hadn't heard of and couldn't think of a large company that was missing. If you want to impact a generation reaching the students on your university is certainly important. Even the wording of the website made me feel evangelistic. "Reach the decission makers of this generation!" Sounds like marching orders for those of us following Christ. I am so happy we have a much more important and far more compelling message than all the others. I imagined signs labelled "hope, life and peace available here", "Love, acceptance and compassion, Free for the asking". Let's just say I walked home energized to get the message out.

One Week to Christmas, here's an early present

2009-12-18T02:16:00.000-08:00

So, Christmas only comes once a year, as the father on "The Christmas Story" proclaims when defending the purchase of the Christmas tree. I'm pretty sure a blog was not meant to come just as infrequently, but here is a new post as an early Christmas present. We have been incredibly busy over the past 6 months, thus the lack of posts. We have seen incredible things happening in our lives and the lives of students around us as we returned to Austria. It is hard to believe we have already been here almost 6 months. I am amazed at how fast things have gone by. We just had our last student group meeting of the year last week. I pulled every chair in the house out and we were just barely found a seat for everyone. When we start up again in January we will be looking for some new seating possibilities. We have a great group of students from around the globe. At last week's meeting we had students from 10 nations represented, makes for some challenges but a ton of fun. We are looking back so thankful for all God has done in getting us to Austria, finding an apartment, helping us to raise an awesome little boy, ministry to students, a wonderful church where we feel at home, and so many great friends and family who support and connect with us so that it doesn't always feel that far from the US. There is snow on the roof outside, I have to finish shopping for Christmas presents for Michelle and this has already been a bit long, but just wanted to keep you updated about life here in Austria.

Leaving tomorrow

2009-06-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

So Sorry if you have been reading this blog looking for a complete history of our ministry efforts. Hopefully, you also receive our newsletter and see our updates on Facebook. We are leaving June 29 for Austria. So excited to see how God has provided just at the right time, so that we can be a part of all God is doing in Austria. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us next.

June 3 update

2009-06-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

What an exciting and busy time. We are just days away from returning to Austria. We had an incredible time of refreshing and encouragement this last week and now we are trying to enjoy the heat with a 9 month old addicted to baths.
We are looking to leave on June 22nd, so lots of stuff to finalize. We are working to wrap up stuff in the US, (do you have any idea how much stuff you have to do to leave the US for 4 years?), making plans to get together with family and friends and triple checking all that we need to send and take to Austria. We still need to finish raising our budget ($120 short) and get all the reports and finances sent to AGWM. Like I said, busy.

2 More Days

2009-05-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

We are just two days away from our itineration deadline and excited to see all the miracles that God is doing in our lives as people tell us how they want to partner with us. We still need around $2000 in monthly commitments to meet our pledge budget, but believing God for great results.
If you want to be a part there is a link to online commitments on the right.

4 weeks of excitement left

2009-04-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

We are just 4 weeks away from our itineration deadline. I am excited to be able to update the amount of pledges needed almost daily. I will be posting the current amount on the ride sidebar as it changes. We are coming up on a huge marker in our lives and I am trusting God to do great things. I am so grateful for the many individuals and churches who have made commitments in the past 3 months. It has been exciting to see new people becoming partners in ministry to the students of Austria.

what a week

2009-03-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

We just experienced one of the highlight weeks in our year last week. Our home church has a vision and faith conference with powerful speakers, faith filled praise and prayer times and an intense sense of God's presence every night. Now is the beginning of a new week. My goal to live in Faith what God spoke to my heart at the Altar, and to live out the vision he has renewed and rekindled in our hearts. With only 50 days until our deadline for raising support it is going to be an incredible adventure.

A week of Meetings

2009-03-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we are down to 9 weeks before our approval to itinerate ends. We are trusting God for an average of $50 in new pledges each day. Thankfully, our cash budget allows us to convert one time gifts now into pledges, just divide by 48! This week I have met with a couple of great churches regarding partnership. I am convinced once again of God's divine providence, his great mission and his church universal. We are looking forward to the empowering work of God as we partner together to reach the nation of Austria. Our mission is a generation transformed by the love of God to transform a nation, a continent, and reach around the world. It is so good to be driven by the passion of God, doing his will, in relationship with him and with one another. Tomorrow is the sectional ministers meeting in Shoreline and I look forward to fellowship with fellow workers, sharing a dream and vision for what God will do here and in Austria.

New Thoughts

2009-01-14T09:54:00.001-08:00

I don't often write these sorts of these, but I have some thoughts I would like to share.
God has been dealing with me about relationship. That this whole missions process is not just about trusting him to help us get to Austria, but that He wants to have relationship with me in the process. I believe God can come through with the funds we need in just the right time. But he has been asking me to allow him to sit beside me in relationship as I call pastors, as I pray for students, as I prepare to share with churches and groups. It is challenging to wrap my mind around the idea that Jesus wants to sit and make phone calls with me. It is the last thing I can imagine God wanting to do. But it really isn't about the doing. It is about the relationship. We do all sorts of stuff with students in Austria, but the stuff is only secondary, it is about building relationship. Now I don't know if playing Cranium with God would be that fun (especially if he is on the other team and you like to win) but I think Jesus would enjoy being a part of the activity, in order to help our relationship with him.

October update

2008-10-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so keeping this updated has not been that easy. Let me bring you up to date on where we are in raising our support and getting back to Austria. We have had a few great services and meetings this month. We were in Spokane to meet with some churches and had services in Walla
Walla a city so nice they named it twice. We were encouraged in ministry and look forward to future partnership in those cities. This last Sunday we were in Oak Harbor and I was able to share in both services about God's heart for missions.

I invite you to join me in prayer as we need God's help to finish raising our support and return to Austria. Last week I set aside Thursday to fast and pray and God encouraged us with a phone call amounting to a new pledge of $100 per month and a cash offering of over $5000 that will help us return to the field even faster. If you want to join me in a focussed day of prayer on Friday let me know and I will send you some prayer notes.

Last weekends trip

2008-10-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we were all off again this week sharing in a service Sunday AM and then driving down to the coast for a service in the evening. We had a great time at both services and enjoyed sharing our heart and meeting people. We decided to spend Monday at the ocean since we were already there and had a great time with Ethan at the beach. It was the first time I can remember being at the ocean in Washington without a jacket on. The weather was great and I even got to fly my kite.

Services on the East side

2008-09-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

That is the east side of the mountains not to be confused with the eastside of Seattle or the East coast of the US. We were blessed this weekend to share in Sunnyside and Grandview. We had some of the most interested listeners and best discussion we have had in this whole itineration cycle. As we make a final push to finish raising our funds we are so encouraged by churches that stand with us in prayer and financial partnership.

Traveling with our son Ethan has also been a lot of fun. We are so proud of him that it can sometimes even lead to distraction, but he seems to be enjoying all the attention and travel hasn't been too hard on him. We have another great weekend of services coming up! If you read this and want to get together with us, or have us come and share in your church or small group you can contact us or leave a comment here.

Great Services this week

2008-09-19T19:39:00.001-07:00

Well, I had almost forgotten what a joy it is to share with people the passion we have for student ministry in Austria. After a few weeks off to rejoice over and recover from the birth of our son, we headed out this week for services on the Washington coast and in the Chehalis area. We were blessed by these growing congregations and being able to share our vision. I felt buoyed up by the encouragement and prayers. It was also Ethan's first missions service on the 14th. He did great and only made noise to encourage those praying. We were quite the proud parents showing him off to everyone.

Back on the Trail

2008-09-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready this week to head back out on the itineration trail. We have had a few weeks of planned down time in order to adjust to life with a baby and now we are getting ready to head out this weekend for Grayland, WA. We are ready to make a final push to find the pledges we need in order to return to Austria as quickly as possible. We have a deadline of the end of February to have all of our funds raised and commitments made so that we can return to serving in Austria.

Summer update

2008-09-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well, this summer has been incredibly busy and our blog has suffered for it. But wait a minute and listen to all the reasons why and you might be more forgiving.

Michelle and I have been anxiously expecting the arrival of our first child. It has been quite the roller coaster with many medical complications. Michelle was on bed rest from about the middle of June and Alan was cooking, cleaning (okay, not real cleaning-this was surface only), taking care of Michelle and trying to work on this whole itineration job -- contacting churches, trying to find new pledges and raise our support so that once the baby came we could head back to Austria.

That is my excuse up until the 12th of August at which point my reasons became even more compelling. Ethan Zayne Cornelius Ambrose was born that day at 8:46 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches in length. We have been pretty busy taking care of him ever since. I didn't think anyone could be so happy to be so tired. We have been waiting for this little miracle to arrive for over 10 years, and can't really express all the joy he has brought.

Now I am back at work, trying to catch up on my communications, send out a newsletter to get everyone in the loop and find more partners who have a burden for reaching the students of Austria with the message of Hope that we have in Christ. More updates coming soon! (I hope, it is currently 11:30 pm and I am about to feed Ethan.)

July 8 update

2008-07-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, the past month has been very busy, with all sorts of fun activities. I know I haven't written anything in a month on this page, so here is an update. June 8 and 9 we were in East Wenatchee, WA at a church service and also hanging out with some great leaders at the Northwest Ministry Network STL golf tournament. It was a great service and a great time seeing so many Pastors and leaders who are raising funds so missionaries like me can have a vehicle and equipment to be where we need to be and do the ministry God has given us to do.

That same week Michelle and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary. It was a great time to rejoice in all that God has done in our lives.

The following weeks I started traveling alone to services, as Michelle was on modified bed rest preparing for the birth of our son. I was on Whidbey Island, in Chehalis and Moses Lake. I was encouraged by each church as I shared about partnering to reach Austria. I am so thankful to feel a part of God's family as we together go forward in mission.

This last week I shared in Sedro Woolley about ministry to students in Austria. It was a great service with really top quality worship. It has been a great 4 weeks and I look forward to what God has for us the rest of the Summer.

Visiting Centralia

2008-06-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

I was able to travel to Centralia on Sunday to share with a church about our ministry in Austria and our plans for returning. It is always great to share with people what God has placed as a calling on your heart. The sermon afterwards was great as well. Unfortunately, Michelle has been placed on a form of modified bed rest so she couldn't come with me. Each week when we get a chance to share about Austria, God impresses my heart even more with the urgency of the task. We look forward to returning to Austria in November, but know that is in God's hands and requires teamwork. For us to reach our November goal will require a team effort of individuals and churches praying and giving so that we can return.

Sunday at ECA

2008-05-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

We were able to be at our home church, Eastridge Christian Assembly, this weekend, since it was memorial day weekend. We were so blessed to be among longtime friends and be encouraged. The GC young marrieds group at ECA is always time well spent with discussion, fellowship and prayer. We left feeling uplifted and excited about a summer visiting churches sharing our passion to reach the students of Austria.

Concert of Prayer in Monroe, WA

2008-05-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was able to travel to Monroe last night and share about our vision and passion for ministry in Austria. I had a wonderful time meeting the people at the church and sharing about what we do in Graz. We closed with an incredible time of prayer. I was truly blessed to be able to experience all that God had for us last night. It is always a privilege to partner with others in our journey to reach Austrian students.

Initial Post! - Purpose Statement

2008-05-21T13:38:00.001-07:00

This post is a new beginning for this blog site. On this page you will find daily/weekly updates of our ministry lives. Right now that means updates on what we are doing to raise funds and return to Austria in November of 2008. We will continue to try and update what is going on in our personal lives at www.aubreyspace.blogspot.com for those who are interested in our family and the whimsical side of missionary life.