Introducing Poland

Life as a missionary....it is still so crazy to hear people refer to me as a missionary.  It's like what I imagine it must be to wake up on a movie set and realize, you are there, you finally made your big break and you are a star.  Of course, there are some very major differences, even beyond that of fame fortune and glamour!  But still, I feel that same sense of excitement and surprise everytime I hear it. 
The past week the Lord has made ever more clear to me His reasonings for bringing me here.  Not only is there so much to do here in the country of Poland--where less than 1% of the population are considered born again believers and those who claim a Christianity based on a personal relationship with Christ are considered a cult--but there is so much to do even within my own mind and my own heart!
I am studying Ephesians here with a group of ladies Thursday mornings and we are also studying Ephesians at church Sunday mornings.  The study of chapter one confirmed for me that my prayers are in line with my Fathers will.  Paul writes to the Ephesians with thanksgiving of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love towards the saints.  He prays three things for them in verses 17-19: a spirit if wisdom and revelation that the Ephesians may know God more richly, the eyes of their hearts enlightened that they would know the hope to which God had called them, and that they would realize the immeasurable resource of power we have through Christ to fulfill all that He calls us to do.  These things that Paul was praying for the Ephesians, every one of them, are my prayers to the Lord for my time here.  That I would know Him more, that I would go where I can serve, and that I would rely on Him for what I need to serve where He directs me. 
The three are so vitally connected--that we know the God whom we serve, that we follow His direction in where we serve, and that we allow His power--the same power through which Christ conquered death (vs 20)--to be the power that equips for the "good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
And how has the Lord been answering such prayers to get to know Him more, understand His call and fulfill the call?  My personal studies with the Lord have been characterized by revelation of who God is and who He  has been to me in my life personally.  He has been revealing to me more of His character and how He ministered on the earth.  Important things for me as I try to model Him.  He has directed me to several young ladies in various circumstances.  Some of them I will continue to get to know, and others, it was for only a limited time on a train ride.  And I continue to be constantly reminded of how much I need Him here, where I am the "outsider".  I need Him just to find my way around, I need Him to strike up conversations, I need Him to keep my eyes open when I feel like sleeping, I need Him to have an attitude of grace and patience when I feel more inclined to shake my head in annoyance. 
Reaching Poland with the Gospel is not what many may expect--it certainly isn't what I would have expected.  During the years of the Reformation with Luther, Poland was not reached.  Poland's traditions and rituals in the Catholic Church are much the same as they were before the Reformation of Luther--they pay (with money) for the forgiveness of sins, they pay (with money) to have their ancestors freed from Purgatory, they value relics, there is no Bible in the modern Polish language.  They truly are a people in the dark, under the oppression of the Father of Lies.  They are told we are a cult, we, being those who claim a relationship based faith in Christ and they are stigmatized and persecuted harshly when they leave the Catholic Church to become followers of Christ who claim a personal relationship with Him.  There is a saying that to be Polish is to love soccer, drink vodka and Hail Mary.  Hail Mary!  That is how deeply confused Poles are of what the importance of Christ truly is.  Please pray for those who are serving here in Poland.  The work is hard and takes dedication and TIME, so much time.  Pray for strength and encouragement and that the darkness and the lies that have infused the culture of this people would be lifted.