Biography:

Name: Eric and Melissa Lundquist

Children: None

What year did you arrive in Austria? September 2005

Why did you come to Austria and how did you know of God’s leading you here?
Eric initially came to Vienna in 1999, as a missionary teacher with Vienna Christian School. While there he taught classes in Bible and Music. He was also involved in a local choir, the Vienna Singverein. Knowing that there were not many churches in Vienna, he began to think about where his choir colleagues would go to church if they came to Christ. About the same time, he talked with Dan Zuch, the field leader for TEAM (Eric also had their son, Rich, in classes), about various church ministry opportunities in Austria.
Melissa was trained and certified as an elementary teacher. She taught Kindergarten in Okinawa, Japan for three years, and then returned to the US to spend time with family and teach 3rd grade at her alma mater in Michigan. She also began work on her Master's degree through an American university that had an International Education emphasis, with classes meeting in Germany. It was there that she and Eric met.
Missions was already a large part of who they were long before they met. Taking them from their former ministries of teaching, God led them to be involved in church ministry, which Eric was initially trained to do.
They also desire to see more young people come to be involved in church ministry in Austria. "The harvest is great, but the laborers few."

Past Ministries:
Eric: Vienna Christian School, Vienna, Austria with Network of Int'l Christian Schools, 1999-2003
Melissa: Okinawa Christian School International, Okinawa, Japan with SEND 1998-2001

Current Ministry:
* Language study
* Preaching
* Anticipating internship in 2007

Tell about an experience you have had in the last year or so:
Moving into an apartment is a little different in Europe! Before we moved in, we had to put up light fixtures, curtain rods, curtains, bathroom accessories, closet space, and sometimes even a kitchen! When we asked our realtor about why each tenant is to put in their own kitchen, the response was that "each person has their own style, design, and desire." So that's why IKEA is able to have such a big kitchen business!

Status:
On-field