UPDATE MAY 2025
Greetings from Austria, dear friends and ministry partners!
I hope this finds you well! I wanted to get out a quick update.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
A Ministry Highlight:
Something I have been celebrating this past month has been one of our Lighthouse tutoring girls has been showing up to my church every Sunday for over a month. She is friends with “J”, who I had asked for you all to pray for over the past year. “J” struggles to connect with people and she was someone I really wanted to intentionally seek out and connect with. I have been slowly connecting with her more and more and now that her friend “M” is very motivated to come to church, “J” shows up each week as well. Pray for them both that we would be able to continue connecting with them well and that they both would come to know Jesus. We are hoping for both of them to come to camp this summer. “J” came for the first time last summer.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Pray for my Visa Application:
I have applied for my long-term Visa, but the processing is taking longer than normal, so it will be tight timing-wise. My current visa expires end of April.
Pray that my Visa will be accepted or that if it does get rejected, that I will find out about it early enough to be able to apply for a renewal of my current (shorter-term) Visa. So that I can stay and continue to serve here.
Pray for English Camp Preparations:
Pray for the kids - 2 of our 4 camps are almost full; we still have spots to fill in the other two. Pray that God would bring kids to camp that need to be there this year and that we would have 4 full weeks of camp!
Pray for our Innsbruck RG Team - as we develop materials and curriculum for this upcoming summer as well as for wisdom for us in finding the right constellation of staff to assist us this summer. We are still needing some American (native speaker) guys, so if you or someone you know who is 18+ and is interested in serving as a counselor: (email for more information: ecamp.austria@efca.org)
Please pray in particular for Anna (my teammate) and myself as we are expanding our discipleship materials for our JCLs (junior cabin leaders) at camp - it is a key program for developing and empowering our Austrian youth. Pray for wisdom as we finish writing our 3 content sections this next month for this upcoming summer.
Pray for the youth ministries in Innsbruck:
That each group (Teenies - middle school, JiB - high school, Lighthouse - the youth center) would continue to grow and meet kids where they are at and be able to witness well to them.
Pray for the youth group & the church in Reutte:
Pray for healing and restoration to happen (and to continue) at the church, specifically through good and honest conversations.
Pray for the church leadership as they navigate changes.
Pray for the youth group and the kids particularly those in the youth group.
We have a plan for offering something for the youth until summer and then we will re-evalute again. Pray for us, for wisdom, and for the kids.
Pray for the Proclamation of the Gospel
In the churches in Innsbruck and the region of Tirol
In my church (the Freikirche Pradl) and that we would be a light in the community
In our neighborhoods as we minister to our neighbors.
pray specifically for my Syrian family as I witness to them and for gospel sharing opportunities and that God would draw them to him.
pray also for my witness amongst the soccer team :)
And as always, if you have any prayer requests that I can be praying for for you, I would love to pray for you in specifics. email me at anni.kenyo@efca.org
Photos Above left to right:
One of our events for the Teenies (middle school youth group) was a Nerf battle. The kids built amazing forts and we all had a great time.
A big part of Easter and Lent here is Fasching. There was a parade of clowns playing music and passing out candy one day.
Spring is here. I have been loving all the flowers and beauty coming from the barren places.
UPDATE JUNE 2024
Mobilizing Austrians for Jesus & Sharing God’s Powerful & Sufficient Work
Hello All,
Life has been pretty busy the last while with some cool ministry happening. I wanted to update you all quickly on some of the things that have been happening and some upcoming stuff.
Ministry Highlights:
Praise Camp: Thank you all for your prayers for Praise Camp in January. It was a really cool time and we were able to have some great conversations with so many of our students. It has been cool to follow up with them over the past few months and continue to build off of that experience.
Youth Lead Church Service: Another cool thing that happened was the Innsbruck Senior High Youth Group (Jugend in Bewegung [JIB]) planned and executed a youth church service where they organized everything from decorations to the program, to testimonies and the worship and food. We leaders assisted different teams, but the kids did all the work. And there ended up being 90 youth who showed up from all across Tirol (the region) including some Teenies (middle schoolers) from the group I help with in Reutte. They were so encouraged by it!
Trips:
Work: I had some really cool trips this past spring as well - I got to go to the First 4 Years Retreat and meet with others from our organization who are also in their first 4 years of long-term service with RG. It was really encouraging. I also was able to do some professional development via Life Mapping from Listen to My Life, which was a really cool way to look at life and evaluate how I can best steward the time, talents, and experiences that God has given me.
Personal: My family has got some big events coming up (a graduation and two weddings), so I will be back and forth to the US a few times. I was back briefly in April for a surprise trip paired with my sister’s graduation. In addition, I will be back briefly at the beginning of June in Ligonier, but then will be back a bit longer in early/mid August for a wedding and then some visiting. Pray for me and for quick adjustments to jet-lag especially while back in Austria!
Mentoring:
I’ve had some really cool progress in my mentorships as well as some intentional time with 2 middle schoolers this Spring. I have been encouraged and look forward to seeing what God will continue to do. Also, I had a God-appointed meeting with a young lady 2 weeks ago, where were both in a location that we normally weren’t and she was having some significant things happening in her life. It was a blessing to be able to sit down with her and support her by being present.
Prayer Requests:
Pray for English Camp: We have all our staff (Praise the Lord!) and pray for us as we finish curriculum and projects as well as for all other preparations that are happening. Pray for us, as well as for the kids that they would be open and that the Lord would work through us in July.
Pray for the Proclamation of the Gospel:
in the churches in Innsbruck and the region of Tirol
in my church (the Freikirche Pradl) that has been going through some pretty big changes and challenges.
In our neighborhoods
Thank you all so much for partnering with me in so many ways! I couldn’t do this without you!
Anni Kenyon
