Rewind!

I know that for those of you who read my Blog as your Soap Opera, the past few days may have been killing you.  LOL.  I am really sorry!  But pull up a chair because i have some really wonderful things to share.  The question is...where to begin!  This is the problem with going so long without writing!  So Thursday was a pretty ordinary day.  I didn't have Bible study in the morning, but i had an Easter service planning meeting with Darek and Marta.  That meeting went very well and we are pretty well set for our combined Polish and Easter service.  YAY!  My mom and Grama sent me some chocolate covered espresson beans, and i had been waiting to share them with Marta and Darek because i thought they would like them!!  Hahaha....not so much!  Marta was so funny; she couldn't make up her mind what to think about those things!!!  LOL.  We had a good laugh.  Then Darek came in and we offered him some--not letting him know what they were.  And he just kind of....didn't say much.  So later, i told Darek, "You are more than welcome to have more if you would like."  To which he responded, "Oh no, really i don't want to rob you of them."  And we did this three times, me being like, "Really Darek, it's okay, i brought them to share!"  Until finally he was just like "Please understand i do not like them! And i am only trying to be polite!"  Hahaha, i was just like, "Darek, if you don't like them you aren't going to hurt my feelings!  You can just say you don't care for them and then i will know that is what you are actually meaning!!"  But he said something about Americans being so delicate and sensitive, or some such nonsense.  I was like...."ummm, i am not sure what Americans you talk to usually, but i don't think we are that sensitive.  We are pretty direct."  But he insists we are.  *shoulder shrug* eh, whatever. One more stereotype to add to my book.
So then we had a staff meeting, and since i was all alone with Bryn and Kent (because everyone else was gone for one reason or another) i was their "specimen"....yes i am pretty sure that is what they referred to me as.  But they are both pastors and have given the sermons the past few weeks, so they wanted to do a little investigation of "homiletics"???  So they were asking me all these questions about their sermons and things i remembered and how i applied and what i thought of this and that and the other thing.  And by the end of the examination, we determined that my "spiritual gift" is a very large attention span.  LOL.  They were amazed with the kinds of responses i gave and the  things i remembered or the things i walked away with.  But i just think it must have been really encouraging for them!  And i am glad i was able to encourage them in that way.  And i do think of my "attention span" as a sort of gift.  LOL. it sounds funny, but think about it, how many times do you talk with people and fear you are boring them, or feel uncomfortable wondering if all they are thinking about is how soon you are going to be done?  As a teacher, that is terrifying!  So i do really train myself to be focused.  Sometimes my mind will wander, but i always just have this feeling inside me of which wants to show the other person who is taking their time to express ideas, that i value their ideas and their words and i value the time they are using to give me those ideas and words.  I think that communicates a lot of love to people.  I think a lot of times in our witnessing to people, we might just be thinking of what we can say next, or what we can say to change their minds or what we can say to prove their flawed thinking, when really, if we would just be quiet and LISTEN to what they have to say, we would learn more about the person and  their real state of mind.  And once that happens, then we can really have a foundation for knowing how to minister to them.  God promises that He will give us the words to say in those times when we stand in conflict.  And so, I am doing my best to really just listen to people.  Sometimes i have something to say right away, other times, i simply acknowledge what they say and tell them they have some great points, and that i will have to look into those ideas. I know i don't know it all.  And i think it is foolish in a conversation to talk like i do.  I don't have to have answer for everything right away.  I think it may speak vloumes to some of the people i am meeting here, when i acknowledge the good things of what they say while at the same time, letting them know i will be going to God's Word to help them find an answer for the question they are having.
So Thursday night was an amazingly encouraging night!  I am officially the first friend Dagmara and Pawel have ever had over to their flat!  We had such a great time. I got to meet their guinea pig and Dagmara made some yummy scrambled eggs.  And we just talked, about their feelings of church the past Sunday!  Dagmara struggles with the differences between the character of God in the Old Testament and the God of the New Testamant.  In the Old, He is just, and you see His wrath and judgment and harshness she says.  And then in the New, it is like it is all about love and grace and mercy and.....she just doesn't see how it can be the same. God.  She believes in "God", but she is unsure about Jesus being God.  She said she really enjoyed worship though!  :)
Pawel said he would need to go more to make a judgment becuase he doesn't feel once was enough.  But!  He told his friends about it and his family--and now TWO of his friends want to come and his dad and brother wnat to come!!!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!  Pawel and i do a lot of IM and email on Facebook because he feels more comfortable writing with English than talking, and so in the last email he sent to me, he wrote, "My thinking about religion is changing a lot. I know there is someone like Christian God, I believe that, there is Jesus Christ, but I don't know is Chrystians point of view right. What about other religions? Sometimes I think, that every monoteistic religion is about the same one person. I just don't know what to do with my spiritual life. I wish I have yor faith, but I haven't."  I am just so absolutely thankful to the Lord for bringing these people into my life and bringing me into theirs.  Before i came here, i was just like, "Why NOW God?  Why is it you have put such an urgency in my heart to go NOW?  And for heavens sake, why POLAND????"  LOL.  But God knew the people here who He wanted me to love and serve and minister to--and He created me in Christ Jesus that i should walk in the good works he planned for me. 
Now comes the crazy part....so when they were there Sunday for church, Bryn ended the sermon with saying that this week as we meet with our unsaved friends, that we must be confident and bold in sharing the Gospel with them.  A little awkward with my unsaved friends sitting right next to me!  lol.  Dagmara brought this up saying, "I began to think that maybe this really nice girl who we have come to really like, doesnt even really care about us and alll she wants is to try to make us believe in what she believes....".  My heart broke.  And i felt like Paul when he was writing to the Ephesians trying to convince them of how much he cares for them and loves them.  Because that is how i feel about the people i am meeting here.  I LOVE these friends.  And i began to just tell them how much i loved them and that in my love for them i want them to know God like i do, but whether they come to or not, or whether they come to church or not, i LOVE them!  And they reached out and embraced me and we just sat there on the bed in a big hug!  And it was so awesome.  And it is so amazing the love that God can put in our hearts for people.  And i just pray that that love continues to be overflowing from me into the lives of everyone i am meeting and growing closer to.  And in feeling that love and in seeing my life, they will come to know about how real Jesus is and what He wants with them.
Saturday was a full day!  I had an English lesson with Gosia and her husband.  Then i did some filming with Andrew for the movie i am making for Missions Month at church in March.  Printed off the bulletins and did some Bible study, then headed off to Klaudia's house for a small ladies get-together!  Klaudia is one of those ladies that you just LOVE.  She is so sweet and fun and funny and smart.  Very helpful and dependable.  She has helped me out in a lot of ways while i have been here and  i am so thankful for her friendship.....and her cooking!  She made one of the best salads i think i have ever had. :)  It was mixed greens, the stinkiest cheese (lol), pears, asparagus, bean sprouts, walnuts and a dressing made with olive olive oil and mustard and something else.  It was very tasty.
Then she took me to meet up with Nela and a few friends to go to a pub for a meeting of ERASMUS students and couch surfers.  The night before, Nela, Stephanie and i had coffee at Sweet Surrender--Nela loved it!  We were talking about the idea to start up some kind of literature group where we get together and talk about all sorts of literature!  Which was totally God directed because Nela said how she and many of her friends had thought of doing something like that before and they would love to have something like that!  So praise God that he was leading in a direction that is something my friends here are interested in!!
So when i met with Nela, i was introduced to two more students my age who are studying English and have actually spent some time in the States--Marcin and Monika.  I mostly talked with Marcin, who was raised in a Catholic church but when he came to the states and experienced what a Protestant church was like, he really felt God become more real in his life.  So now he has a relationship with God and goes to both a Catholic church and a Protestant church here.  He said he came to a point where it was like, "God!  I have the Catholics telling me one thing and saying these things about the Protestant side, and the Protestants saying these things and accusing the Catholics of these things!  And both are claiming to be about YOU!  Who am i supposed to believe???!!!"  And then he decided that he would just believe God and His word.  Amen.  But he does have some hesitancy in this...he wants to know how he can really trust that the Bible because if it was written by men, couldn't there be some mistakes?  But he believes that even if there were mistakes, he asks God to teach him the right things from His Word and that he would get the right meanings when he reads it, even if there were mistakes.  His big thing though, is why the books in the Bible were chosen at the exclusion of others....a question i have been wondering myself lately.  So as we talked, i decided that i really need to learn about how the Bible came to be in its current compilation.  And these friends want to come to PIC and check it out! And they are also interested in going on our church retreat A.L.I.V.E !!!  Which is super exciting! 
Today, Sunday, was special because Rich is finally back from the States after being there for a month with the K5N pastor, Piotr.  They were in the states raising support for the ministries here in Poznana and Bread of Life Ministries.  :)  So we are so happy to have our pastor at PIC, Rich, back! 
Phew, that was a lot of stuff!  And this next week is going to be equally busy, so i am so sorry if i get to slacking again!  I will try to post at least every other day for you fanatics who can't sleep at night without an "episode" in the life of a college student serving God in Poland!  *wink*

Smashing Good Time

So last night was pretty much awesome.  Normally, Tuesday nights are dedicated to FoF college group, but since it had been cancelled, i was able to get together with some girls i have begun to get to know!  we were thinking to go out to dinner, but i am so glad we decided instead to meet at Ana's flat and each prepare a dish for a meal!  We had some AWESOME food and great fun together cooking and chatting.  Ana prepared some tomato soup--from scratch--and it was SO delicious!  I made some potatoes--with the spices i was blessed with from Denise and my Grama!  The girls LOVED them!  they really liked the herbs and spices i used!  So thanks Grammie and Denise for being part of blessing these friends of mine.  :)
When i told them about biscuits and gravy for breakfast, they all looked at me like i was crazy! "Isn't that ....strange?  You don't literally mean, biscuits and gravy do you?  And you eat it for breakfast???"  LOL.  it was pretty funny!  We were talking a lot about the differences between our cultures: I represented the USA, Ana is from Germany, Amelia is from Great Britain and Judit is from Austria.  :)  It was a lovely bunch let me tell you!  And the Lord really blessed my time with them. 
I was also able to talk to a guy who shares the same flat as Ana--Tomas.  He is from Belgium and also lived in France for several years.  When he learned of my reason for coming to Poland and what i was doing there, we got into a discussion about God.  He told me that he believed in "god" but that this god was unknowable.  "Why would God make himself unknown if he were God?" i asked curiously.  To which he frowned for a moment in thought too.  "Well", he said, "maybe not that he can't be known, but that because of all the things in society we are unable to move forward in knowing him."  Only now can i see the dozens of responses i could have had in order to move this discussion in a truly thought provoking direction that would have taken us deeper.  But in the moment, i failed to think of such responses.  but! i do know that Ana was listening in on these conversations i was having with Tomas and began asking me questions of her own once Tomas had left.  "I have never heard anyone talk about religion the way you do" she said.  Which made me smile, because although i feel as if i failed in some measure, i know that God was using me even in that lack.  :)  Praise God.
With Tomas, if i ever see him again, which i hope i do!  i hope that i can ask him, what kind of God it would be who couldn't make himself known in spite of the conditions of man and that he does speak rightly of a human condition that keeps us from knowing him fully, and that is our very own nature and the blinders that our own sinful pride creates.  Anyone have some good verses to go along with those principles?  I am pretty sure those lines of thinking are Biblical....but if someone sees a misperception, please let me know!
As all of us girls sat down to our meal, we were about to dig in, when i felt the Spirit urging me to offer to pray for our food. Kind of weird...but i followed His lead!  "Would you gals mind if i prayed for our food?"  Without hesitation they all agreed.  :)  I was so blessed to be able to pray with them.  My thinking is, if i am sowing God's Words into their lives--not just my own by sharing verses with them or directing them to read certain scriptures--and if i am leading them in things or actions that are Spirit led and Spirit filled--like worship or prayer or coming to church--that investment is not going to come back without interest.  Because i know that God wants their hearts for Himself and cares for them even more than i do!
So after our wonderful dinner and delectable dessert, Judit, Amelia and i walked to catch the tram....well, we waited....and waited.....and waited some more.  "Until FINALLY, the night bus came.  "Heaven does not look like blue skies and white clouds, it looks like the bright headlights of a bus coming out of the darkness!" i said as we all sighed with relief and then laughed at the sight of the bus.  I  seriously felt like my toes were going to break at the joints when i took steps, lol.  Not an experience i want to relive, but i know i can expect to! 
Tuesday i got to have my first day with my second class of students in the public school!  They were so enthusiastic and FULL of questions!  I survived without a computer, but i was bummed, because i would have loved to show my movie clip from "The King and I" when Deborah Kerr sings "Getting To Know You", which i have decided is my teaching philosophy and will be a part of my future classroom introductions.  :)  After the class, Kasia asked me how i would feel about starting some kind of "theater club" for the students after hearing about my love for theater!  I was so thrilled, but she told me to give it some thought, because she knows i am already very busy.  So i will have to think over that and pray, because i know i do not want to begin something i cannot finish or put my best effort into. 
This morning i met two new students and had my first lesson with each of them.  :)  Olga and Grzegorz.  Olga is a wonderful lady who is going through a rough time with a divorce, so i hope that i can be an encouragement and light to her.  Grzegorz is a younger guy who has gone through the New Life Center program and yesterday i asked him about things he enjoys and he mentioned motorcycles....so being the amazing teacher i am (*wink*) i prepared a lesson that used motorcycles as the topic for our conversation.  Motorcycles are something he knows about and interests him, so that combination gives him an initial interest in learning the comparative English terms and also a sense of confidence, since he is telling me about something he knows a lot about.  We looked over pictures and read over for sale ads, and in the end, we did a "role play" where i was interested in a bike he was selling and he as answering all my questions about the bike.  :)  It was A LOT of fun.  I may have had more fun than he was having!  And i learned some Polish vocabulary along the way!  YAAAAY!  That always makes me happy. 
I am thanking the Lord for all these blessings in the past few days becuase this morning, my mom tried to call me a few times nad the phone kept cutting out.  The only thing i knew was her back was hurting real bad and she needed prayer.  i literally fell to my knees in prayer because i miss my mom and she has told me of htis pain before.  And being htis far away, when i know she must really be hurting to call me and ask for prayer, is very hard....so right away i knew i needed to take it to the Lord.  I have just memorized Philippians 4:6-7 and right away tat verse gave me peace, just as it promises.  :)  Praise the Lord.  I guess my mom was so busy worrying about me and i was so busy trying to keep her from worrying about me, i didn't really realize that i would also have to worry about them while i was away.  I am not afraid for myself--something bad happening to me--but i have been increasingly anxious about what could happen to my family while i am away.  That's why this verse is so wonderful a promise for me.  :)

Going, Going.....Gone

That is how the past few days have felt for me.  So please forgive me for not updating this space since...what day is today?  And really i am only writing to inform you that this will be a short read, lol.  Tomorrow is my second day at the public school!  Yay, totally stoked to be in there again.  Dagmara and Pawel came to church this past Sunday!  :)  It was awesome, though a little strange seeing as part of Bryn's message was, "So as you go to the cafe and lunch with your unsaved friends this week, remember to be confident and share the Gospel with them."  The message was on Ephesians 3:1-13.  We will be getting together sometime this week to talk!  Sunday night i went to Marta's home to learn to make pierogi--that lady can cook--AND bake!  I wish i had been there when she made the cake she served but at least i can make a mean batch of pierogi!  And i think i learned more Polish in an hour with her kids than i have in the weeks i have been with my flatmates!  LOL.  They were such great little teachers!  Apparently in Poland, if you stop eating, you don't like hwat htey are serving.....so that's why people eat so slow here....now i get it.  lol.  So long dinner short, i ate 8 pierogies. My every compliment of,  "those were so good, but no , i really don't need anymore", was met wiht a doubtful gaze and a "joke" about how i must not really like it since i didn't want anymore.  They were probably joking, but eh, what's 8 pierogies to a girl who seriously hadn't eaten all day because there was just too much goin on?  They were about the size of two potstickers, if you know what those are.  Filled with potato mashed with twarog cheese and sauteed onions and salt and pepper.  YUMOLA!
And now, it really is time i must go.  My eyelids are closing and fingers are running on auto pilot.  It is COLD here.

Cacao Republika: Cafe Night

Tonight was  the night i had been waiting for, for so long!  And it was, *sigh*...So blessed!  These girls....i just love them.  :)  We sat in the cafe and just talked for two and half hours.  Sharing stories and opinions and laughter.  And i have more reason to praise because not only did i get to know them better, but both of them want to come to church!   What is really amazing is that they both study Hebrew at university, so they read the Old Testament regularly, and are interested in it.  :)  Talking with them about church, they had never heard of someone who was "just a Christian".  "You say you are just a Christian," Dagmara said, "I do not understand this; it is very strange to me."  I looked at Dagmara and Agnieszka as i told them that i am just a Christian, because i simply follow Christ and love Jesus and follow His word.  I don't need to call myself anything but His, and that is why i am a CHRISTIAN.  i think they are open to and desiring something of real value in Christ , but have been put off by the artificial substitute they have experienced in their lives.  Agnieszka herself said the Bible and religion was something she felt is very personal and should change your life.  She believes in God, and i believe her to have the same heart as the scribe whom Jesus tells, "You are not far from the kingdom of God" in Mark 12:34.  i look forward to the work that God wants for their hearts--whether it be in the short time i am here, or far ahead into the future.  :)
So yesterday was my first day at eh public school to teach English.  IT WAS MARVELOUS!  I have discovered that my teaching philosophy can best be summed up in the song "Getting to Know You" from the classic musical, "The King and I".  For this reason i subjected my new students to a youtube video clip...to which i was very tempted to sing along, but i did manage to restrain myself.  They actually seemed to enjoy it!  I showed them lots of pictures of Prescott and Prescott Valley and told them about what it was like to grow up there.  they really enjoyed my demonstration of "MASH"--a game i use to play in Jr. High where you pretty much map out your future.  They have an equivalent...of course, adolescent minds are universal.  I think i can actually remember all of their names!  the get to know you game we played really helped me with that!  And of course i had to share with them about Tie-Dye!  They were very interested in this and requested to watch a youtube video...which we did.  i think i will surprise them with some Tie-Dye at the end of the year....  :)
Oh, so about my running experience.....yeah.  I chose the wrong bus--right number!  Just wrong direction. :(  Well, i realized and got off at the first stop i could--Zeromskiego.  I remembered that there should be a second bus coming shortly after the first, so i knew if i ran all the way back to Ogrody, i could possibly make it for the bus i was actually supposed to take.  And yes, i ran, the WHOLE way.  Not a big deal you say?  aha. aha. aha.  Well, any day you want to go running down a cobbled and block walkway in -6 C temperature at 7:30 am with a 20 pound backpack floppin around on your back, wearing a white coat that is so insulated it makes you look like marshmallow and little tassels of your cap goin wild for the length of about 3 football fields, be my guest.  i was seriously about ready to give up, and then i saw the bus come up along side of me.....I don't know from experience if Red Bull gives you wings, but i know that eggs seem to do the trick for me.  :)  I suddenly was on the wings of eagles!  lol, i was gonna make that bus if it killed me--and it nearly did--when i ran into the street at the light with another guy who was trying to catch the same bus.  The locals make a habit out of it when they see their bus or tram pulling in and about ready to pull out.  Everything was...good.  I could breathe again....or maybe not.  hte bis was SO crowded, if i had not been in the front of eth enter line, i would have not been able to shove myself inside with all the other sardines.  But i was not about ready to let that amazing feet of endurance go to waste.  No sir, i was gettin on that bus, so help me...and He did help me.  :) 
Waiting for Jason at Most Teatralny to meet up with Coralanne and Erik for FOF movie night, i was greeted so pleasantly by two young boys trying to take my rice cakess i had bought for the party.  I hugged them to my chest, "NIE!"  As they literally tried to take the bag from my hands!  They jabbered a bit in Polish and then i told them, "Angielsku, nie Polski".  "Aww!  I speak English!! he said.  "Yeah, how good?"  i asked.  "I speak perfect English", he was quite charming i must say.  In the end we struck a deal, i would give them each ONE rice cake and they would tell me a little about themselves.  I'm not sure the situation accomplished anything, lol, but it was very, hmmm, how to describe it....it was just different and unexpected.  And a memory i will have forever.  Two little boys tryin to snatch my rice cakes and their exclamations about perfect English--which his English was actually really good!
Today i was working on a video announcement for the ALIVE retreat!  I have it finished and posted on my youtube videos so you can take a look if you want!  Next i begin work on a skit for our "Missions Month" in March, which i found while i was doing the inventory of the books of PIC's library!
Tonight Pawel asked me to read an article and give him my ideas on it.....oi, the images American celebrities project about God is enough to make me sick.  But he is asking questions, and it is opening doors for me to share the TRUTH!  So praise the Lord!

"Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."  1 Cor. 15:58

Run Forrest, RUN!

Today was a long but awesome day.  I wish i felt motivated to write about it, but...i am SO tired.  the first time i have been too tired to actually write, so that tells you it was a busy day for me!  LOL.  But the major highlights: tonight at FOF, Dagmara and Pawel were there.  :)  And tomorrow night i am meeting up with Dagamara and Agnieszka for dessert.  It was my first day in the public school teaching and....let's just say, when i said my whole life growing up i could NEVER be a teacher....now i do not know how i could NOT be a teacher!  God is so good at helping us recognize where He has gifted us and the passions He has placed in our hearts and the experiences that shape the ways we can be best used by Him in others lives.  And it was my first day with the kids from the tutoring program at Bread of Life!  Such sweethearts!  We had a dance lesson with a real hip hop instructor and that was a blast!
Then...Darek called me and pretended to be someone from immigration services and was accusing me of being here illegally!  If i hadn't had his number programmed into my phone......LOL/  And i still almost believed him even though it came up with his number!  Very convincing!  But i called him out.
Ok, i really need to go to bed!  But it is like i dont want to because i want to tell you everything that happened today!  There was was much more!  But tomorrow, it will have to wait til then.  Goodnight!  
PS  i got two packages and a letter today---blessed my socks off!  Thank you Denise for those spices, i need to do some cooking and have some people over soon!  Thank you Mike and Sue for your encouraging words and the scripture you directed me to.  :)  Thank you Aunt Gayle for my Valentine's Day goodies and the socks and i love the little craft heart you made and the little bookmark Aiden made is in my Bible!  :)

It Was Like...

Okay, so last night, it was like the transformation of the Beast into the Prince in that Disney classic, "Beauty and the Beast", not literally--because i definitely am not a beast!--BUT!  I felt so excited and filled with hope and joy from the Lord that blinding light may have been escaping from the tips of my fingers and toes.  :)  How do you keep that kind of energy contained?  You don't! My fingers were typing a mile a minute on Instant Messenger to my Dad, and then to my mom, and then to my friend here, Stephanie, about the conversation i had with one of my friends--Pawel-- from that party not too long ago.
So last night, i was on Facebook--yes i know, big shocker, but hey, i have an excuse here!  It's like my connection to America!  So i saw that Pawel was on, and normally, i just talk to Dagmara--they are a couple--but she wasn't on so i thought i would just say hello and joke with him about working on his English since the party.  And right away, i prayed that God would just give me an opportunity to invite him and Dagmara to church or talk about godly things....and his first comment was, "i want to ask you, are you a Methodist?"  BINGO!  My response, "No, i am just a Christian, i don't call myself anything specific really.  Are you a Methodist?"  To which he responded, "Well, yeah!"  i asked him about church and learned he goes with his father, but only sometimes and he made the comment that he is not "very religious" to which i said, "well, that can actually be a good thing not to be too "religious" because sometimes that keeps us from what Jesus really wants for us."  And then Dagmara got on for a quick sec, so it kind of diverted the conversation, but i kept lookin' for another and it came quick!  "I love the energy you have!"  he wrote.  "Dagmara and i both feel it when we talk to you and even while i write to you, i feel it"  My heart totally did somersaults as i felt the "energy" could only be the Lord in me!  "do you know many people who have this kind of energy?" i asked.  He told me that there were a few others and we laughed as i told him that maybe i was an alien.  :)  Still looking for the perfect way to invite them to church, he provided it for me: " how was your day today?" he wrote.  I told him about the 24 hour worship thing and then about the grocery shopping i had done for the Valentine Day Lunch at church the next morning...."HEY!  Would you and Dagmara like to come to church and lunch after?  Or if you wanted you could even just come to the lunch!"  I wrote.   At first he responded how great that would be, but then he remembered they had made plans to go swimming and visit his mom....but then he said, "let me ask Dagmara what she thinks. :) ".  I jokingly said i liked that answer better, but in the end he decided that he should spend the day with Dagmara doing what they had planned.  So then i remembered that Tuesday nights we have our college fellowship nights (FOF) and i asked him if htey would like to come to that!  And he was like, "Absolutely!  That would work out good for our schedule."  So now he and Dagmara will come to their first FOF event--a movie night--which i hope will draw them into coming more in the future when we do our actual Bible studies.  :)  We wil be watching "Surrogates", which i hope will open up some awesome opportunities for discussion. 
The reason for my joy, hope and excitement, is that i have been praying for these friends of mine so much, and i am so confident that the Lord is wanting to do some awesome work in Pawel and Dagmara's heart.  And i am stoked beyond words to know that He is giving me an oppurtunity to build a friendship that i hope will bless them to know Him as i know Him!  And i know that i seem to be a real outgoing person, but it is really hard for me to pursue relationships because i am afraid of being rejected, or afraid that the other person will not respond.  But the Lord has given me a boldness to pursue friendships with these people, an energy with which to pursue the friendships and a love and hope with which to encourage and bless them.  God is so good, and is completely fulfilling my prayer for ministry--that i would know the hope of His calling and i would grasp the power that He has given me to accomplish what He has prepared for me to do.  (Ephesians 2)
Today--Sunday--was awesome because i got to record some of the kids to make a little movie about "missions" for our Sunday's Study of Ephesians through the month of March.  So cute!  And then, we had our Valentine's Day lunch--for which i was so proud of my "red" food item.  I got some tomato sauce and a jar of marinated red bell pepper, put it in a food processor together with some herbs and spices and garlic and made a sort of dip for these little breadstick crackers i found at Alma.  It was actually really tasty!  At church today i had the pleasure of meeting two young men:  Jason (from Australia!!!  LOVE the accent!!!) and Damien (from Gdansk Poland).  Jason is here for his "gap year" (one tradition i think America would really benefit from to adopt) and will study Polish language while he is here.  Damien is studying English!  So he finds PIC to be a perfect opportunity for his studies and practice.  Both of these guys will be joining our FOF movie night this Tuesday, so hopefully they keep comin back for the Word too!
After church i did my grocery shopping, my shoe squeaking all the bloody way.  i apparently am going to need to get a new pair of shoes, which stinks because i am not impressed by many of the shoes i have seen--quality wise.  Karolina offered to take me shopping though, and she is from here, so she will know where the good places to buy things are.  :)  Praise God.
Well, thank you for enduring my dialoging!  And i hope you can, "feel my energy".....i am no "alien" to you after all !  And just remember as you go through your week, how much God gives us so that we can be a gift to others.  And the greatest gift we can give, is His love, which He has lavished on us.

I'll Be There

You may be wondering why I am using the title of a Micheal Jackson song for today's post....it turns out, that today was "make-Amanda-sing-karaoke-in-return-for-a-camera-and-microphone-to-do-video-recording-for-PIC-day" today--and i didn't even know it!  I was surprised by my good friend Darak about the blessed occasion!  :)  Did i actually sing along to his computer, which he had linked to a YouTube video of that famous song....well, just a few lines.  Then i was rescued by Marta, who told Darak to "take a hike" essentially, LOL.  I love these two people.  Darak is just funny and fun and SARCASTIC, and yet, i can hold  a serious conversation with him.  Marta is just one of the coolest and sweetest women with a beautiful and giving heart--not to mention she is model status gorgeous!  She is the lady who is going to be teaching me some Polish cooking while i am here!  We have our first date for next Saturday--can't wait!
Holy Start this morning was wonderful and i have three new students!  YAAAAAY!  Gosha and her husband as well as Mana's fiance.  Talking with Mana in the kitchen was really enlightening.  I was asking her about the relationships of mothers and daughters in Poland, because i have just been trying to seek the Lord on opportunities i could create or the He would provide, in reaching out to people in a way that would have a response.  And i began to think of several ideas, one of which being to set up some kind of "Mother-Daughter Day" or event.  But this question led into a discussion about the ideas of "fatherhood" and what the man's role in the family is and for Mana, that seems to be where the real problem lies.  She has observed that many men are disconnected from their children and other aspects of home life. they follow a pattern that has long been established over generations of men who work to provide, and come home to a divide from their family.  Mana says she sees the potential for many men to be loving and caring fathers, but they simply do not know how!  Because they have never been taught....*sigh* oh, if only i had a husband to partner with!! LOL, I am TOTALLY kidding....on second thought....  : P
But seriously, the wheels in my head have been turning, and i am trying to seek the Lord on a way to minister to families as a whole and build stronger relationships.  I begun to think of all the wonderful times i had with my parents growing up, and i can't imagine a childhood or adolescence without the close relationship i shared with each of them and the support, love, guidance and security they provided me.  And bringing in the picture of fathers, maybe there could be a Father-Daughter event as well.  And we would of course want a Father-Son and Mother-Son event at some point in time.
I am also trying to think of a way i may use literature and writing and English lessons to reach out to College girls....i am thinking a club of some kind--like a book club!  Where we read short stories and poetry and prose and then write our own and compile it into a collection.....If it was a bunch of women, and we were reading a lot of feminist type literature and writing feminist type writings, i am sure we would have no problem in getting that kind of work published by someone!  LOL.  I am no radical "feminist", but if it gives me a platform to reach out to these girls, and to share with them what being a woman of God is all about, I am totally down with that.  Not all feminist actions and ideas are "bunk", and i would be genuinely interested in learning the state of women and women's views from this culture.  And one who is eager to learn, is always someone whom people are willing to learn from in turn.  :)
I am not sure where the Lord may take these ideas--if anywhere, but they are in my heart and on my  mind.  Maybe these are ideas that the Lord is going to have to work out, or maybe they are ideas I am going to have to throw out, but either way, i have prayed that the Lord would begin to stir my heart to gain a vision and a focus for what i can do for Him while i am here and i know that He will be faithful to answer that prayer!  Whether "big" or "small", i am created in Christ Jesus for good works HE planned before-hand, that i should walk in them (Ephesians 2: 10).
I would like to share about Thursday night as well.  My roomates have a Bible Study at our flat on Thursday nights, adn last night was the first time i went.  :)   A great blessing.  These people gather and just share about how the Lord has worked in their lives, or the work they have seen the Lord do in others lives through the week.  It is a time of bearing witness to the awesome ways the Lord is working currently in their lives,  wonderful fellowship and sweet worship.  Some of the people come regularly, and others just hear about the group from "word of mouth" and show up.  I felt at home with these believers--my brothers and sisters in the Lord!  God if only i could speak Polish!  I want so badly to just have conversation--unhindered with people!  During our time of prayer, i was praying for a supernatural ability to learn the Polish language!  I know it sounds funny, don't laugh!  It can't be any funnier than prayers for finding lost things--which i KNOW God listens to, because i thought i had lost my house key coming home tonight since it wasn't in the usual fold of my wallet.  And it would have been really bad since two of my roommates are out of town for the weekend and one is at a conference til tomorrow.  :(  Yipes, that could have been a HUGE bummer.  But I remained calm--by God's grace, lol--and calmly searched the other folds of my wallet to find, the key.  Yes, the lights of heaven (actually the street lamp) suddenly shown down on me and i sighed a grateful, "Alleluia".  It's the little things...
Alright, well assuming some of you have actually made It this far (*wink*), I would like to say goodnight and tell you tomorrow will be amazing fun since i get to go out to some museums with Steph--a fellow missionary--and the English portion of the 24 hour worship conference and maybe even out to dinner.  :)  Have a beautiful, bountiful, blessed day everyone.  Thanks for staying tuned....all the way through!  LOL.

Typically American

So i was sitting down with my roommates, looking through my photo album, when they commented, "These pictures are so American."  I just laughed.  Apparently, just as we have stereotypes of everyone else around the world, the world has its own for us.  I asked them what they meant and it was something they couldn't really describe....it was just, there was a distinction captured that is "American".  I found this so funny and interesting.  I think i want to do some kind of experiment based off this idea......
Tonight i went to warm up Fried Rice....for the third night, when Ula motions towards a pot and a skillet and breathes the beautiful words, "Nalesniki?"  Which is definitely in my vocabulary because they are delicious.  :)  So thank you Lord for providing a roommate who is an excellent cook.  She then offered me a salad of cabbage and corn with a light dressing of chives, garlic sauce and mayonnaise which she had also made.  And don't be hatin' on the salad, because it was good....mayonnaise and all. 
Ula doesn't speak English, she is learning though!  But the past few nights it has been really special to sit with her and talk--Karolina as our translator.  :)  Last night she told Karolina, "I can't talk with you, but i am observing you and i am impressed with how good you are doing your cleaning."  :)  It made me so happy to hear that it had made a noticeable difference, since i see them as people i can serve while i am here too. I told Ula that i just want to be a blessing because i have been so blessed in finding a home with them here!  She gave me a big smile and told me that i was certainly a blessing.  And i just think of how Jesus sent out the 12 Disciples with no possessions and told them to just stay with whomever would take them into their homes....and i hope the same blessing on these girls who have opened up their home to me.  And it is God's provision because they were in need of one more person for the flat, and no one was responding to their ads and then i was their answer!  :)  God is so good.
I had my first lesson on Monday with a gal named Marta.  She was very sweet, and extremely shy at first, but she definitely opened up through the meeting.  There was a lot of smiling and eyebrow raising involved, but we worked through it and i got to know a little more about her and her family.  She has even asked if i would like to go to the theater with her--STAGE theater that is!  Which i am totally excited about.  She has a son with diabetes and she has tried to read health articles but she says she has a hard time understanding them and would like to know English better for that purpose, as well as, for on holidays when she and her family go to places like the UK.
Then last night at FOF (Fellowship of Faith), my roommate Karolina came with me, which was super because all the lights on the road were shut off.....that might have been a little unsettling had i been walking alone!  So she took me by her school, pointed out a great place to buy cheap and tasty pizza by the slice, a yummy bakery and she introduced me to her schools cafeteria which is very cheap and very tasty she says.  :)  My favorite equation: Cheap +Tasty = Satisfied .  A bowl of soup for 2.90 zl....that's cheap since most places charge like 7 zl and up to 12zl for a bowl of soup....and a lot of times their bowls ain't so big.  I had signed up to give the lesson for FOF, so i was a little nervous, but it was cool to see that every "W" for the night went along on the same theme of letting go of something in order to receive from the Lord something better.  I led the group in a study of James 1:21-25.  I was thinking i will post my notes for it under "ministry writings" so you can check it out if you would like.  But even though i had prepared this study for like three days before hand, when the time came, some things seemed to change and i felt the need to put emphasis on different parts over others, or recalled a verse that had to do with something.  and i know that those were interventions from the Lord, because they were not a part of my "plan".  :)
And i have a date with the girls i met at the party!  Next week on Wednesday we are meeting in Od Market for lunch/dinner and to hang out.  :)  SOOOOO excited for this.  Tomorrow i look forward to Bible studies and a staff meeting.  Friday Holy Start and i hope some English Lessons!  And Friday night to Saturday night is a 24 hour Worship Festival for churches from around Poznan--including our very own, Poznan International Church!  Yay!!

Very hectic past few days--STOP--doesn't seem i have been able to take a breath--STOP--am taking a breath now--STOP.

LOL.

Sorry, i just wanted to see what it would be like to write a telegram.  :)

The past few days have been crazy!  A lot seems to have happened and yet i don't feel i should bore you with all the details so i will choose some of the highlights.  Sunday morning, i was so stoked to join the worship team for practice and then for service.  They are all Taiwanese students at the medical university here in Poznan (this is an international church remember!).  So i go from not understanding a word in Polish....to not understanding a word in Taiwanese!  It was pretty funny, but i felt right at home and was reminded of the past semester at ASU when i was involved in Life Among the Nations, which is a ministry that uses ESL classes as a way to reach out to international students.  It was pretty awesome; and i also felt inspired to cook one of my favorite things....fried rice!  lol.  So on my way home from church, along with my 6 liter jug of water, i bought a little thing of soy sauce.  :)  And yes, that fried rice tasted better than any i have had before--it had something to do with the salt content of the soy sauce, i know it.  They don't exactly get "salt happy" over here, and my tastebuds can feel it.
Sunday night i spent with Coralanne, her husband Erik and a guy we call "Juice"...I'm not even sure of his real name.  But he drank so much juice in highschool, he got the nickname Juice.  We were having a game night and the guys were going to watch the Superbowl later that night.  As always, Coralanne had some amazing cookies to share with us, and Erik is a pro with the coffee machine.  The coffee here is so much better than back home, and yet, i drink more tea than coffee.  I can't get decaf here is why (just one more thing Americans do that the rest of the world doesn't seem to).  But everyone keeps tryin to tell me that espresso won't keep me up and won't make me jittery like the American pressed coffee...hmmmm. 
So then this morning the power was shut off!  Thank God i was not in the middle of my shower like i normally would have been!  That would have been like swimming in a lake in Michigan.  BRRRR.  Bu ti had woken up a little late and was on the computer talking with my mom when all of a sudden no internet connection.  Bummer.  I could only hope and pray my mother wasn't thinking the worst on the other side.  This is where the story could get long, but i am going to shorten it.  I knew i needed to geton the computer so i went to the cafe--they were closed.  Then i walked to Coralanne's house--and usually the door is open without the code, but just today it happened to be on and i have no idea what her number is.  But!  A guy let me in who was walking his dog.  And then it was not until i had climbed the stairs to the fifth floor that i remembered Coralanne was gone to Gniezno today for a birthday.  OI!  So defeated, i decided to walk to McDonalds, that beacon of American hope, which i hoped would have internet access.  Nie (that means no in Polish and "no" is a way to express agreement).  Finally, after tram and a bus and some walking, i made it back to the flat.  "Dear God let there be electricity again!" and there was.  :)  The clouds parted for just a moment and then i realized i had left my wallet on the bus.....
JUST KIDDING! 
After that everything else started going more smoothly. I had my first English lesson today and that went very well.  And now i am waiting for Bible study tonight with Coralanne and Angela.  Studying Jonah form the perspective of this study is very refreshing and encouraging!  I am loving the emphasis she is placing on the fact that when an insignificant person gives you an insignificant task it is an interruption, but when a significant person, gives you a significant task, it is a divine intervention!  And a Divine Intervention plus a submissive response equals eternal significance!   That encourages me so much because of the "Divine Intervention God has made in my life with the leading to come here to Poland.  And i have so much joy to know and eagerness to one day know, what eternal significance God used this time of my life for.

Windy City

I was nearly blown away today....literally.  Yes the wind was blowing that hard.  It was actually a very warm day of 10C (about 42F i think) but the wind was KILLER!  It is nice to go to sleep to though.  :)
Today we had a visitor.  He came to help us with our gas can....since the neighbors refused to open their door to us.  :(  Diana says that is the way people are here;neighbors are not friendly and do not know each other well--they keep to themselves.  So when Ula went to see if they by chance had a wrench we could borrow to get the gas can free, they wouldn't answer the door.  Ha, yeah.  But, thankfully, they have a friend who lives in Ogrody, who was able to help us poor girls out.  LOL.  And he even stayed to fix our sink faucet!!  What a nice guy.  Definitely thankful to him because that kitchen faucet was about ready to drive me bonkers.  It was funny because there was a washer that got "lost" so he, Ula and Diana had spent 20 minutes trying to find it, tearing apart the kitchen because he had just had it....and it turned out to be in the cuff of his pants where he had rolled them up!!!  Oh, we were all laughing.  So now we have gas again and we have a functional faucet.  Thank you Jesus.  :)
Tomorrow i get to find my way to church from the flat for the first time!  That will be an adventure.  I have gone a few places on my own now though, so i am pretty confident in my ability to make it there. 
Looking back on the week....wow, where did it go?  Seems like time is flying.

Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Poland

So maybe you are wondering what i have learned since i have been here, i was wondering that too and i have come up with my "Top Six".  So here we go!

6.When someone says "My English is terrible", don't take their word for it.  I've carried on longer--more intelligent-- conversations with some "terrible English" speakers than i have with some of my peers in college.

5. Watch for dog-poop....cuz it's everywhere. I have learned to watch where i step; yes, there have been a couple close encounters....of the "number two" kind. 

4.  There is no "space bubble" here.  I wondered why people kept "cutting" me in line.  Turns out they weren't blind, i was just not in line as communicated through my proximity to the register.

3.  "Milk Soup"= cereal.  Yeah, i am bringing that back to the States, it will be in the urban dictionary within 5 months.

2.  The door with the circle--not the triangle--is the women's bathroom.  "Give me a sign, Lord!" I begged in my mind as I stood, legs crossed at the knees, waiting for someone to come out of either one.  A crack in the door and the mystery was revealed!  A woman emerged, from the door bearing a circle.  It was a miracle...of the simplest kind.

1.  Just because they have small bathrooms, does not mean they have midget toilets.  This may sound strange at first, but soon you will understand.  Imagine you have come to a country where it seems that things are designed to take up less space, and therefore tend to be smaller: refrigerators, showers, washers, etc.  Now imagine your first time using the toilet at the home you are staying with this in mind. Since everything else seems to be so small, would it surprise you that the toilet also seems a bit....small?  Of course not, it only seems to make sense.  But then imagine your surprise, when in conversation with your host, you mention your observation of this difference and you are met with laughter followed by the remark, "You didn't flip up the kiddie seat?"  Yeah....i thought the kiddie seat was some kind of "cultural difference" in the making of toilets in Poland.  

I hope you enjoyed my vast store of Polish wisdom.  I will be sure to shed more light in the future as i learn even more.

Today was a great day.  Went to Holy Start (soup kitchen) for the first time today.  Got to scrub and scour the burnt pots of soup, use my waitressing skills, and clean toilets!  Met three new wonderful ladies who i will work with there over the next four months:  Gosha, Theresa and Asha.  All sweet ladies who know very little English, so i hope i will pick some Polish up from them, and they can learn some English from me! 
Then it was off to home to work on Bible studies.  It was snowing today!  An there was a beautiful sunrise, so it was a special day.  Now it is just really windy and wet, which makes for not such nice walking conditions tomorrow.  :(
Tonight was a first experience night since we ran out of gas!  I was going to heat my soup up on the stove and Ula comes in, trying to communicate to me that the gas is out!  Sadness, since i was really hungry and looking forward to my soup!  But!  Instead i got to share a meal with Diana, my other roomie who speaks English--as well as 4 other languages!  She informed me that i have strange tastes....i was eating celery, carrots, and apple cut up with peanut butter.  I asked her if she would like to try it and she did try a celery stick with peanut butter.....apparently celery is not very popular because it is considered only a food you eat when you are "on a diet".  And peanut butter is just not very popular.  What was she eating?  Well, "Milk Soup" actually!  Learning that tonight is what inspired me to write my "Top Five" tonight!  Along with a roll topped with butter and honey.  :)

PAR--TAY!

So last night was pretty awesome.  I prayed that the Lord would put some people in my path that i could develop a relationship with, and He definitely did!  There are five new people in my life to learn about and build friendships with!  So excited!  One girl, Agnieszka, actually lives on a street behind me!  We were both so amazed at what a small world it is and wondered if maybe our paths had crossed on the bus....maybe!  Then there was a guy and gal--a couple--who i got to talk to quite extensively.  Pawe (Pa-vay) kept trying to say--as many Poles do--that his English was "not very good", but i was able to get him talking!  And he did a great job....he won't ever forget the word "wholesale", lol.  His gal is studying Hebrew and really wants to go to Israel, but it is just so expensive and she wonders how she will afford it.  He would like to go to Spain, but in his words, "But i like Dagmara, so where she goes, i want to go".  Yes ladies, you are allowed one "awwww" and that's it.  It was very sweet and cute.  Then there was Halina; very smart!  We were discussing the current environment in America--economical and social.  It was very interesting.  And then our hostesses, Kornelia and Domnicia, were the sweetest girls ever!  I immediately felt so welcomed by them both, even though they had never met me--or even heard of me!  So these are all people who are very much on my heart and in my thoughts!  I am so hoping and praying that there are so many more opportunities to get to know them and become friends!  Maybe I can even help them with their English!  All of them were so modest, saying how "bad" their English was!  But maybe they would like some practice and i could be the one to help them.  I hope so!  But whatever opportunities to get to know them come my way, i definitely want to be there!
Taking the night train home from the party was....interesting.  I am so glad i had Steph with me, because i am not sure i would have found my way back home with out her.  lol.  we were going to walk up to the next bus stop but....when we saw a guy passed out on the sidewalk and a group of "friends" (?) pick him up and carry him off running down the street.....we decided it may be best to stay with the crowd at the current bus stop.  But it was going to be a while, so Steph wanted to get something to eat cuz she was hungry.....hot dogs in Poland...."just say no".  LOL. So far, i have not seen a hot dog prepared in the right way: it is wrapped in some sort of pita looking bread and covered with cabbage and tomaotes and ketchup and mayo/garlic sauce...yeah.  Chili-Dogs would be out of the question here, because they do not do "spicy" in any true capacity.  We are talking, not even "pepperoni spicy".  *sadness*  So then, a young boy and girl came to us asking for money, and pulled a cute little rat out of his pocket.  It was their little pet.  It was actually quite cute, but the scene reminded me of a Disney movie, lol.  Then on our second bus, a ticket checker was on duty!  I was really caught off guard, because they dress normal to blend in with everyone and then once the bus moves on from the stop, they "pop" out of hiding and demand to see tickets.  If i had understood what he was saying it may not have been so scary, but for the first few moments i thought he was like, taking the bus hostage or something!  Then i was scared when i thought my ticket for 15 minutes may have expired because of the wait for hte second bus, but as he looked at my ticket....i passed!  And i heard a hallelujah chorus.  Because it is 100zl for the ticket is what i have heard.  So thank the Lord i had someone with me my first ticket check, and also that my ticket was accepted!
One last thing, the bread here.....i don't know if i will ever be able to eat bread in the States EVER again.  Which may actually turn out to be a good thing.  LOL.

Mission Accomplished

Today was definitely exciting and fulfilling!  A group of us from K5N (the Polish church) and PIC (Poznan International Church), go together to brainstorm some ideas for an Easter program.  We came up with some awesome ideas to really bless the two churches and hopefully reach out to new people in the community and many friends of the church members.  I am SO excited to be a part of this group and share in the blessing of it and the fun of it!
Gettin ready to go to a party.  :)  Not sure what to expect, but i have been in prayer about it throughout the day, so i hope the Lord uses it in some way.
I am currently planning my "spring break" week which is amazing fun!  Flights are super cheap here and i hope to go to Paris, France for a few days before meeting my teacher from Arizona in London for a few days, and then possibly going to Prague or some other place for a few days after.  There are so many places i would love to go while i am here, and i hope i get the chance to visit just some of them!  God is so good in blessing me with this oppurtunity.  He truly does know the desires of our hearts and is allowing me to fulfill some of them as i have been faithful to follow Him where He has led.  Thank you Lord!
Really love this quote from the Bible study book a group of us girls are doing in Jonah:
"If He is our priority and His will is our primary purpose, then when "the Word of the Lord" comes to us or when He allows us to  see His hand in our circumstances, we must see it as an esteemed oppurtunity to participate in kingdom purposes."

BRRRRR!

Okay, so i am breaking in my "tights".  It was pretty chilly today and the tights really help to keep you warmer.  I have been doing a lot of walking, rather than riding the bus.  I don't know, call me crazy, but even if it is absolutely freezing outside, i just like to walk! 
Today my new friend Carolyn introduced me to borscht soup and "Polish Pancakes" at one of her favorite restaurants in the Old Market.  It was a fabulously delicious meal.  The pancakes are thin like crepes and it was filled with sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, a mild white cheese, shaved pork and topped with a warm mushroom sauce and parsley.  Now, for those of you who don't like mushrooms....lay off.  I LOVE mushrooms and since hardly anyone in my family enjoys mushrooms, i hardly get to eat them, and the mushrooms they have here are native and delicious!  They also grow a lot of apples which makes me so bloody happy i could scream!  Apples and mushrooms.  I am at home here.  :) 
Our time together was really encouraging; just to share with one another the kinds of things we experienced growing up and what God has done in each of our lives was very special.  i hope to visit her in Warsaw.  She has even been to Arizona!  And loves Mexican food--she says it is the only thing she would eat when she came!  She hopes to attend seminary in the States which was exciting to hear.  Her father, Pioter, is the leader of the movement taking place in Poland to bring the Polish people into a personal relationship with Christ and has translated the Bible into the Polish language.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Pioter and his family, and now, have a found a friend in his daughter.  :)
I have been reading a book called "The Greatest Century of Missions" and it is really transforming my view of what it means to be a missionary and what it means to be a Christian in general!  It seems a tool of the devil that all of society seems so educated on the "downfalls" and "wrongdoings" done in the name of God by people who claim to be "Christians", and yet so unwilling or uneducated on all of the amazing ways people have transformed societies for the better in the name of God.  It seems to me that great social movements that have been traditionally presented as the result of one great man or woman who changes the world on their own strength, have been raised to a level of heroism that passes over the great doings of a man or woman who claims to have done what they did by the power of God and as a result of their true faith in the one true God.  And it seems that whenever i am faced with the accusation "Well, what about when the Christians did this? Or someone did this bad thing in the name of God?", i feel i must shrink back or defend or apologize.  But the truth is, those men and women were perverting and manipulating the truth--but God would not be mocked.  It is an evidence of the Truth in God, that those who began with such lies did not last, but were in the end, opposed by and defeated by those who truly were representatives of Christ.  And the truth is, there have been far more good things done for all of society, not just at a religious level but on the whole social level, by faithful servants of God, than bad things done by evil men who falsely represented Christ.  So we don't need to shrink back!  We need to get educated on the facts about our Christian history and be confident that the God we serve did not allow the evil done in His name to continue on any longer than was necessary to bring about a greater good.
It is now very late, and tomorrow is a long day for me, but a good long!  :)  i have even been invited to my first "college party"  lol.  Funny thing, i never went to a college party in the States!  But now i will go to my first and in a foreign country!  Such a great importunity i think, to meet some students and get to know better, the ones who have invited me!