"Be sent forth as a new generation of missionaries to share the Gospel and renew the Church in Europe."
This is the vision of the European Mission Campus (EMC), and since September 15, 2025, I have been right in the middle of it!
The mission in the three-year program of the EMC has started!
Hello dear friends,
The time has finally come: my journey as a missionary has officially begun.
What is the EMC, anyway?
Before I tell you about my first experiences, a few words about where I have ended up: The European Mission Campus is more than just a training program. It is a community life for young adults who feel the call to actively help shape the Church in Europe. In close connection with the St. John Paul II Center in Vienna, the goal is to form a new generation of "lay apostles" who are ready to step out of their comfort zone and make God's love tangible to people. Europe is our mission field!
Arriving, Getting to Know Each Other & Settling In
The first few weeks were all about arriving. We are a colorful, diverse group from various countries, and it is fascinating to see how quickly you grow together when you share the same goal. We explored the surroundings, found our first routes through the city, and settled into the daily structures of prayer, community, and formation. It feels good to be part of this community, where everyone enriches others simply by being who they are.
Lending a Hand: From Dust to the "Community Room"
Mission is not just about big words, but often about very practical actions. Before we could fully jump into our outreach work, we had to prepare our "home" and the dwelling place of the Lord in our hearts. Over the past few days, we have been hard at work renovating, painting, doing DIY tasks, and praying—all while managing normal daily life with classes and community living.
The Community Room was especially close to our hearts. It is meant to become the beating heart of our campus—a place for deep conversations, shared prayer, and simply "being." It was a great feeling to pick up a paintbrush alongside the other missionaries. Even though we were covered in paint and dust at the end of the day, it brought us together incredibly well as a team. It's a bit like in the Acts of the Apostles: building a foundation together so that something great can grow on it later.
A Contemplative Outlook
When I sit in the Community Room in the evening, I realize that this place is symbolic of what we are planning to do here: we are preparing this room just as we are preparing ourselves here at EMC for the people we will encounter on the path of God's mission.
I am hugely excited for everything that lies ahead, and I will regularly take you along with me here once we move beyond everyday life into concrete mission work. Thank you for walking this path with me!
All the best and God's blessings, Nici