So the other night was really awesome!!! Got a chance to see a play for the first time abroad! It was a play in English--Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and it was marvelous! I was very surprised at how well many of the Polish students did in speaking the Shakesperean English--i mean, speaking regular English is hard enough! Marcin and Ola were of course my favorites, *wink* they are the friends who were in the play and had invited me to the performance. It was really great just to be in that environment again! the cast party afterwards was a lot of fun too and i got to meet some more people and eat some "college student" made food. LOL. Someone made tiramasu....God must have heard my prayers, because, Tiramsu is like, THE BEST ever dessert known to man-kind....the only thing better is Tiramasu ICECREAM!!!! LOL, because then it combines the amazingness of icecream with the amazingness of tiramasu!!!
I am pretty stoked, becuase for the past few days, i have actually used Polish words, that i didn't relaly know i knew until i actually used them! Like, they just came to my mind! It was miraculous! I know it maynot seem like much to you all, but when you can remember little things without having to whip out a notebook, it is a BIG DEAL. At least....i like to think it is! I hope when i go back to Arizona i can find a Polish student at ASU who i can continue to practice Polish with! That would be so totally awesome! I don't know for sure, but i coudl see myself coming back here in the future. So much to do here! And i just love my new friends here. And , yeah, we will see where it is God leads! Because heaven knows how much i would just LOVE to go to Montana for a while and go to Bible College. Or even stay in Arizona and go to Bible College and maybe go through an English as Second Language training course. i could see those all as options at this point. :)
Today i got to meet with Theresa (a fellow missionary who is here and heads up FoF and does MANY MANY other things) and we were looking into the ideas i had for trying to reach out to the ladies here that we are growing in friendship with and to bring in even more girls to build relationships with!! And we got some good ground covered and i am going to be working on setting something up for after the Easter holidays are over! Probably going to do a dance night or a game night. :) Theresa is REALLY awesome and she has been a huge blessing to me here. She made me Sweet and Sour chicken with Kasza and a tasty salad!! We got some time to just chat about what brought us to Poland and about our lives a little. It was really nice to hear her story.
Saturday i get to go to the zoo with Dagmara and Pawel and Judit and maybe some other friends! This will be my first time at the zoo here and i have been told it is something that i must do while i am here, so i am excited for that.
Also! i have told my Polish friends about the ALIVE retreat for our church.....making them fully aware of the "spiritual" side to it and the purpose of it, and they are all very much wanting to go! All of them have said that as long as they have the money to go, they want to go! So praise the Lord, becuase i can see this as a time when they can really witness the body of Christ and what it is to live out faith! The whole retreat is about being ALIVE in Christ!!!!! I mean HEEEEEELLLLO!!!! This is an amazing oppurtunity right? the answer is YEEEEEEEEES! So i just hope and pray that God provides for their needs and that He really prepares the soil for whatever they may hear and experience on the retreat.
Oi, it is raining.....mud is not pretty here. LOL. Anywhere for that matter. Can't wait for the spring blooming to start happening! When i met with Lisa Mitts and her family, she actually told me that there are some missionaries from Calvary Chapel here in Poland that she knows!!!! I was really excited to hear that and i am trying to get into contact with them. I guess they are farther South than we are here in Poznan though, but i just thought that was real cool!
Alright, it is definitely time for bed. Dobra noc ! Goodnight!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
News From the Front
This past weekend was a pretty packed weekend! I went out with Judit and Anne and Stephanie for dinner because Anne is through with her internship here in Poznan and is returning to Germany. :( We are definitely going to miss her! But she has told us we can visit her anytime and she wants to come back to visit us when we do some more "Ladies nights" in the future. :) I tried Bigos for the first time! It was really good! It is fermented cabbage with mushrooms and sausage and served hot! Apparently it is something that is hard to make the real authentic way because typically, the longer and more times you let it sit out and reheat, the better the flavor! But there is something against the health codes in this, so it makes it hard to do it real authentically.
Saturday night was another party with Dagmara, Pawel, Nela, Domcia, Monika, Marcin, Theleme, and Judit. it was so cute, because i was the first one there and Nela was trying to do her hair...well. Lucia was trying to french braid her hair for her!!! And they had a YouTube video up trying to learn how to do it! Tehy were like, "AH! This is hopeless!" I just laughed and asked them if they would like me to do it becuase i knew how....Nela and Lucia were so stoked and amazed at my french braiding abilities! LOL. Who would guess something so simple could be a blessing! Nela was seriously showing off those braids ALL NIGHT! "I look like POcahontas!" She kept saying and all the girls were agreeing....and that is how i discovered that Pocahontas is a huge deal here in Poland! Apparently it seemed to be one of the favorites among the girls! I thought that was interesting...and what was more interesting is there thought that it was pretty factual!!! I was like, "NOOOOOOOO! NEVER EVER believe Disney movies!!!" hahaha. We were singing the "Colors of the Wind" song together, and actually, the Polish version sounds a lot nicer than the English version i think. It was fun.
I am not used to going to parties...back in the states anyways, so this whole atmosphere is kind of new to me. But i really do enjoy the time that i get to spend with people at these parties, and i do have a good time with them. Getting to talk with people from different backgrounds than me and a lot of them speak many different languages and have travelled a lot. So it is always really interesting. i have gained a reputation for always bringing my water bottle along, LOL. I let them make me one drink but that is always my limit and this last time they were really pushing me to drink more, of course doing it in a "fun" way. But i was just like, you know what guys, you can sit here and say all you want, but i know what i want my limits to be and nothing you say is going to change that! My friend Marcin had my back though, and i was really thankful for his support. :)
After i went home i had a conversation on Facebook with Judit, that was initiated out of the whole "Drinking" thing that night. :) The Lord was really opening some doors in the conversation and she wants to talk more with me in person about "spiritual" things. :) Judit is such a sweetheart and she just has such a kind heart and she laughs easily and really loves people. She is here volunteering at a community center where youth go who have lots of family problems. She helps them with homework and just does activities with them. And she is so young! She is only 19! Which amazed me when i found that out, LOL. I wish more American young adults had the oppurtunity to travel and experience so much in their years after graduation from highschool as students over here in Europe seem to have.
Teaching at the public school is going VERY WELL! They have actually asked me to take another class! And start a "Drama/theater club" for students after school!!!!!!!!!! Which si super exciting but i am thinking on these two things. I want to make sure that whatever i do i can do it to the fullest. So i want to make sure my schedule will allow me to take on more. The thing is...they were asking me to teach a subject in English!! Which is CRAZY COOL...except that the subjects were Math and CHEMISTRY or PHYSICS! LOL. I ain't no scientist, i am a writer!!!! LOL. But i told Martyna that as long as what i was in charge of was mostly vocabulary and using the English Vocab to explain certain concepts, i thought i would be okay. Still....LOL, but then! She brought up possibly teaching ART!!!! And i was soooooo pumped for that because i love the Arts period. :) So we will see how that works out!
I had the pleasure of visiting the home of Lisa Mitts who is the lady who worked out the details of my volunteer work at the public school. She is a part of the organization, Greater World Missions and she and her husband and two kids have been here for i think about 14 years?? So it was a real pleasure to spend time with her and listening to what she has seen and expereinced in her time here. :) She has so kindly told me that anytime i need some time with a family to just let her know and she and her family would be more than happy to have me over anytime! And she told me if i ever want to use her house for ministry i am more than welcome to!!! So i am very thankful for the blessing she has been to me.
The other night i went on a walk through the park with Dagmara and Pawel and it came to my attention that they have NEVER tried a Tootsie Pop or even a Tootsie Roll!!!!!!! I was like, "WHHHAAAAAAT!?!?!" and they just laughed as i re-enacted the commercial for them. I think i need to get some tootsie_pops over here, because it is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY that they haven't had the pleasure of a Tootsie-Pop!! LOL. They also don't have smores!!!! Which if you can imagine that....LOL.
I also went for a walk with a gal named Zofia, who is in her "senior year" of "highschool" at Cytadela which is a HUGE park near the center of Poznan. We had an amazing time just talking and sharing our backgrounds. We have a lot in common and she just shared with me how encouraging it is for her to be around people like me who actually live their faith, and it is something that is real and not just a tradition that doesn't matter outside of church. She told me that FoF (the student group i am involved with) is just a really big blessing for her. Which makes us soooooo happy to hear! The last year for students is a very stressful and difficult year because of their tests...it is quite different than what we do here in the states and is much more demanding i think. their tests are called "maturas" and there areseveral that test certain areas of knowledge and you choose i think it is 4 to take and you must past these in order to study in university and the ones you take determine what you study in university. If you don't pass the matura for a particualr area of study, you can't enroll for university. So she is under some stress right now with all the studying and preparing for university classes!
Alright one last story!!! I have met one more gal who i hope to see a lot more! She is actually from California and came here for medical school and is almost done with her 4 year program! She is SO ready to go home, she says she has been here way too long. She actually lives right across from Janet's flat--who is the lady we meet at for our ladies Bible study on Thursdays. as we were coming in she was going into her flat so a few of us were talking with her a little bit before study began. That night we were having our "Sound OF Music" movie night for the Ladies, so i thought i would invite her....so i went over and we were just chatting about life and she was really interested in coming to our Bible study! Or coming to FoF, or any other event that we might do. :) She says she needs some new friends becuase she i always with the same people ALL THE TIME for the last few years and she would love to meet some new people! So i think this is really cool and she is such a cool gal and just really funny and energetic and!!!! YEAH! I just love her already! But of course, she has a real crazy schedule with school and all, so i hope that she can actually find some time to meet up with me.
And on Sunday, one of the guys from PIC named Marcin (a different Marcin from the one who i was at the party with) is going to be going skydiving in April possibly with a buddy of his and he invited me to come along!!!! AHHHHHHH! I was totally psyched! So we will see how that goes. :) Alright, tomorrow i get to go to the Shalespeare play, "Taming of the Shrew" !!! Marcin (the one form the party) is the lead role and my other friend Ula is a minor role and they invited me to come see it! The play is in English....Shakesperean English!! I am trying to imagine being Polish and learning the English language and then putting on a play in Shakesperean English....hmmmmmm...sounds slightly difficult, lol. So i am looking forward to that.
Saturday night was another party with Dagmara, Pawel, Nela, Domcia, Monika, Marcin, Theleme, and Judit. it was so cute, because i was the first one there and Nela was trying to do her hair...well. Lucia was trying to french braid her hair for her!!! And they had a YouTube video up trying to learn how to do it! Tehy were like, "AH! This is hopeless!" I just laughed and asked them if they would like me to do it becuase i knew how....Nela and Lucia were so stoked and amazed at my french braiding abilities! LOL. Who would guess something so simple could be a blessing! Nela was seriously showing off those braids ALL NIGHT! "I look like POcahontas!" She kept saying and all the girls were agreeing....and that is how i discovered that Pocahontas is a huge deal here in Poland! Apparently it seemed to be one of the favorites among the girls! I thought that was interesting...and what was more interesting is there thought that it was pretty factual!!! I was like, "NOOOOOOOO! NEVER EVER believe Disney movies!!!" hahaha. We were singing the "Colors of the Wind" song together, and actually, the Polish version sounds a lot nicer than the English version i think. It was fun.
I am not used to going to parties...back in the states anyways, so this whole atmosphere is kind of new to me. But i really do enjoy the time that i get to spend with people at these parties, and i do have a good time with them. Getting to talk with people from different backgrounds than me and a lot of them speak many different languages and have travelled a lot. So it is always really interesting. i have gained a reputation for always bringing my water bottle along, LOL. I let them make me one drink but that is always my limit and this last time they were really pushing me to drink more, of course doing it in a "fun" way. But i was just like, you know what guys, you can sit here and say all you want, but i know what i want my limits to be and nothing you say is going to change that! My friend Marcin had my back though, and i was really thankful for his support. :)
After i went home i had a conversation on Facebook with Judit, that was initiated out of the whole "Drinking" thing that night. :) The Lord was really opening some doors in the conversation and she wants to talk more with me in person about "spiritual" things. :) Judit is such a sweetheart and she just has such a kind heart and she laughs easily and really loves people. She is here volunteering at a community center where youth go who have lots of family problems. She helps them with homework and just does activities with them. And she is so young! She is only 19! Which amazed me when i found that out, LOL. I wish more American young adults had the oppurtunity to travel and experience so much in their years after graduation from highschool as students over here in Europe seem to have.
Teaching at the public school is going VERY WELL! They have actually asked me to take another class! And start a "Drama/theater club" for students after school!!!!!!!!!! Which si super exciting but i am thinking on these two things. I want to make sure that whatever i do i can do it to the fullest. So i want to make sure my schedule will allow me to take on more. The thing is...they were asking me to teach a subject in English!! Which is CRAZY COOL...except that the subjects were Math and CHEMISTRY or PHYSICS! LOL. I ain't no scientist, i am a writer!!!! LOL. But i told Martyna that as long as what i was in charge of was mostly vocabulary and using the English Vocab to explain certain concepts, i thought i would be okay. Still....LOL, but then! She brought up possibly teaching ART!!!! And i was soooooo pumped for that because i love the Arts period. :) So we will see how that works out!
I had the pleasure of visiting the home of Lisa Mitts who is the lady who worked out the details of my volunteer work at the public school. She is a part of the organization, Greater World Missions and she and her husband and two kids have been here for i think about 14 years?? So it was a real pleasure to spend time with her and listening to what she has seen and expereinced in her time here. :) She has so kindly told me that anytime i need some time with a family to just let her know and she and her family would be more than happy to have me over anytime! And she told me if i ever want to use her house for ministry i am more than welcome to!!! So i am very thankful for the blessing she has been to me.
The other night i went on a walk through the park with Dagmara and Pawel and it came to my attention that they have NEVER tried a Tootsie Pop or even a Tootsie Roll!!!!!!! I was like, "WHHHAAAAAAT!?!?!" and they just laughed as i re-enacted the commercial for them. I think i need to get some tootsie_pops over here, because it is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY that they haven't had the pleasure of a Tootsie-Pop!! LOL. They also don't have smores!!!! Which if you can imagine that....LOL.
I also went for a walk with a gal named Zofia, who is in her "senior year" of "highschool" at Cytadela which is a HUGE park near the center of Poznan. We had an amazing time just talking and sharing our backgrounds. We have a lot in common and she just shared with me how encouraging it is for her to be around people like me who actually live their faith, and it is something that is real and not just a tradition that doesn't matter outside of church. She told me that FoF (the student group i am involved with) is just a really big blessing for her. Which makes us soooooo happy to hear! The last year for students is a very stressful and difficult year because of their tests...it is quite different than what we do here in the states and is much more demanding i think. their tests are called "maturas" and there areseveral that test certain areas of knowledge and you choose i think it is 4 to take and you must past these in order to study in university and the ones you take determine what you study in university. If you don't pass the matura for a particualr area of study, you can't enroll for university. So she is under some stress right now with all the studying and preparing for university classes!
Alright one last story!!! I have met one more gal who i hope to see a lot more! She is actually from California and came here for medical school and is almost done with her 4 year program! She is SO ready to go home, she says she has been here way too long. She actually lives right across from Janet's flat--who is the lady we meet at for our ladies Bible study on Thursdays. as we were coming in she was going into her flat so a few of us were talking with her a little bit before study began. That night we were having our "Sound OF Music" movie night for the Ladies, so i thought i would invite her....so i went over and we were just chatting about life and she was really interested in coming to our Bible study! Or coming to FoF, or any other event that we might do. :) She says she needs some new friends becuase she i always with the same people ALL THE TIME for the last few years and she would love to meet some new people! So i think this is really cool and she is such a cool gal and just really funny and energetic and!!!! YEAH! I just love her already! But of course, she has a real crazy schedule with school and all, so i hope that she can actually find some time to meet up with me.
And on Sunday, one of the guys from PIC named Marcin (a different Marcin from the one who i was at the party with) is going to be going skydiving in April possibly with a buddy of his and he invited me to come along!!!! AHHHHHHH! I was totally psyched! So we will see how that goes. :) Alright, tomorrow i get to go to the Shalespeare play, "Taming of the Shrew" !!! Marcin (the one form the party) is the lead role and my other friend Ula is a minor role and they invited me to come see it! The play is in English....Shakesperean English!! I am trying to imagine being Polish and learning the English language and then putting on a play in Shakesperean English....hmmmmmm...sounds slightly difficult, lol. So i am looking forward to that.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
These Are Just My Thoughts of Late
I am diving in with all that i have and trying not to waste any oppurtunity or time, because i want to make an impact while i am here. I know God wanted me here NOW for reasons i am seeing unfolding as i am here. and it is the most amazing thing to feel useful for Him and that i am being used by Him. But it is also very hard for me because i am the kind of person who feels that no matter what i do, it is never enough and it could be better. and rather than allowing myself to trust God for the results, i get beat down with thinking i am not doing enough or what is "perfect". So that is sometimes hard for me. But i guess if there is one lesson i can learn from the disciples/apostles, it is that Jesus uses much-less than perfect people to accomplish great things for Himself. And i can be encouraged that even as i am imperfect and inadequate, the working and moving of His Spirit through my obedience will yield whatever it is He wants to accomplish, whether it be "much" or "little" ( of course that measurement being from my limited perspective).
I am very encouraged because people have told me that they are so amazed just how involved i am and how much i have really penetrated so many different areas of ministry in my short time here so far. That i am just "all over the place". I prasie the Lord because He has put an urgency and a love and passion in my heart, that if i were to deny it, or not act on it, i think i might go crazy. I already go crazy feeling that i am not doing enough with the fire i feel inside. And i feel so much like there is so much more i could do, or should do, or different ways i should do things--"am i being truly effective Lord?" is a question i often ask myself. I want people to see Him in me completely. But HOW do i do that? What is the best way!? How can i make sure that everything i do is what is best for the good of those around me so they can see Jesus in me? So that the light would be greater than the darkness, because really, that is what it takes for someone to come to believe in God, the light of Him has to be greater than the Dark of this world.
And it is so hard, because really the world does not seem so "dark" here. The people i am around live quite contented lives. Sure they have their problems--the same as most people my age have and deal with--with or without God. Some of them already deal with things in what i would consider a morally upright way and have wonderful attitudes and priorities. The only thing they lack is love for God as they act under these moral principles they seem to live by. And so i have found myself asking, why does God care so much that we love Him while we act in accordance to the kinds of "moral standards" or virtuous qualities He has directed us to walk in as Christians? What makes the difference between a good person and a saved person? And why is it that in Old Testament times, the righteousness of Gentiles was accepted and made them righteous but the righteous deeds of people now, does not give them a righteousness that saves? In Romans 3 i have been reading over the verses about those who were without the Law were not to judged according to it and that those who did what was in the Law without knowing the actual Law were credited with righteousness. Why does this no longer apply? I believe it may have something to do with the Holy Sprirt who is able to bring God's presence into every person's life. That the Law was meant to show exclusivity by it's very nature and the inaccessibility Man has to God through external actions while the Grace of God by Christ's sacrifice is by it's nature, all-inclusive and provides all with equal access to God despite time, place and situation. That is why the New Testament talks about the salvation we have in Christ as what they hoped for in the Old Testament and what all the prophets and the Law pointed towards. So the non-believer may be living a life that is "righteous" externally, which would have been good enough for the Law, but Christ came and said that it was more than just external actions that were required, but that the very nature of man, out of which actions flow, must be righteous and blameless. No one can claim to be 100 % perfect. And no one can claim that in all of their "righteous actions" even, they were of the right heart in doing them 100 % of the time. Even those who were livign by the Law failed it's requirements because the Nature of Man was still wicked and sinful. There needed to be a process of reconciliation which made it possible to change the very nature of Man and give Man victory over that which kept him from a right relationship with God. And that way was not to be found in the Law, but through Christ who gives us His righteousness for our own, makes us dead to the old sin that used to rule in our lives and free to live righteously down to our core,and not just outward actions. 1 Corinthians talks about all the wonderful things a man can do and still gain nothing without love....i read that verse a little differently as i thought of this.....and man can do wonderful things, because God is good and we are created in His image, though we are prone to wickedness. All the good people are "good", but all the good things you can do, if not done out of LOVE FOR GOD, gets you nowhere. They are not acceptable offerings....i am thinking just like in the old days when God didn't accept the sacrifices of people because their hearts were not repentant. Or Cain and Abel, jeez! All the way back then! Yeah, his offering was "good" but his offering was still unacceptable because of the heart out of which he gave. And like with offering..... God wants to be a part of the good work we do, the reason for the good work we do, and the one glorified through the good work we do. And He deserves to be so--if i go on the given that He is who He says He is in His Word.
I am not sure if i actaully just answered any of my original questions or if i just made more of them for myself. LOL. So i will definitely need to continue to think on these things and get into the Word even more.
PS. I may be able to go skydiving while i am here! :)
I am very encouraged because people have told me that they are so amazed just how involved i am and how much i have really penetrated so many different areas of ministry in my short time here so far. That i am just "all over the place". I prasie the Lord because He has put an urgency and a love and passion in my heart, that if i were to deny it, or not act on it, i think i might go crazy. I already go crazy feeling that i am not doing enough with the fire i feel inside. And i feel so much like there is so much more i could do, or should do, or different ways i should do things--"am i being truly effective Lord?" is a question i often ask myself. I want people to see Him in me completely. But HOW do i do that? What is the best way!? How can i make sure that everything i do is what is best for the good of those around me so they can see Jesus in me? So that the light would be greater than the darkness, because really, that is what it takes for someone to come to believe in God, the light of Him has to be greater than the Dark of this world.
And it is so hard, because really the world does not seem so "dark" here. The people i am around live quite contented lives. Sure they have their problems--the same as most people my age have and deal with--with or without God. Some of them already deal with things in what i would consider a morally upright way and have wonderful attitudes and priorities. The only thing they lack is love for God as they act under these moral principles they seem to live by. And so i have found myself asking, why does God care so much that we love Him while we act in accordance to the kinds of "moral standards" or virtuous qualities He has directed us to walk in as Christians? What makes the difference between a good person and a saved person? And why is it that in Old Testament times, the righteousness of Gentiles was accepted and made them righteous but the righteous deeds of people now, does not give them a righteousness that saves? In Romans 3 i have been reading over the verses about those who were without the Law were not to judged according to it and that those who did what was in the Law without knowing the actual Law were credited with righteousness. Why does this no longer apply? I believe it may have something to do with the Holy Sprirt who is able to bring God's presence into every person's life. That the Law was meant to show exclusivity by it's very nature and the inaccessibility Man has to God through external actions while the Grace of God by Christ's sacrifice is by it's nature, all-inclusive and provides all with equal access to God despite time, place and situation. That is why the New Testament talks about the salvation we have in Christ as what they hoped for in the Old Testament and what all the prophets and the Law pointed towards. So the non-believer may be living a life that is "righteous" externally, which would have been good enough for the Law, but Christ came and said that it was more than just external actions that were required, but that the very nature of man, out of which actions flow, must be righteous and blameless. No one can claim to be 100 % perfect. And no one can claim that in all of their "righteous actions" even, they were of the right heart in doing them 100 % of the time. Even those who were livign by the Law failed it's requirements because the Nature of Man was still wicked and sinful. There needed to be a process of reconciliation which made it possible to change the very nature of Man and give Man victory over that which kept him from a right relationship with God. And that way was not to be found in the Law, but through Christ who gives us His righteousness for our own, makes us dead to the old sin that used to rule in our lives and free to live righteously down to our core,and not just outward actions. 1 Corinthians talks about all the wonderful things a man can do and still gain nothing without love....i read that verse a little differently as i thought of this.....and man can do wonderful things, because God is good and we are created in His image, though we are prone to wickedness. All the good people are "good", but all the good things you can do, if not done out of LOVE FOR GOD, gets you nowhere. They are not acceptable offerings....i am thinking just like in the old days when God didn't accept the sacrifices of people because their hearts were not repentant. Or Cain and Abel, jeez! All the way back then! Yeah, his offering was "good" but his offering was still unacceptable because of the heart out of which he gave. And like with offering..... God wants to be a part of the good work we do, the reason for the good work we do, and the one glorified through the good work we do. And He deserves to be so--if i go on the given that He is who He says He is in His Word.
I am not sure if i actaully just answered any of my original questions or if i just made more of them for myself. LOL. So i will definitely need to continue to think on these things and get into the Word even more.
PS. I may be able to go skydiving while i am here! :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Hills Are Aliiiiiiiiive......
Ahhhh, so begins the beloved song of one of my all time favorite musicals! We finally had an "all girls night"! It was A BLAST! We got together and watched "The Sound of Music"....our Austrian friend had NEVER seen it before and that was not to be tolerated, lol. So we had yummy snacks and met up at Theresa's house and put a sheet on the wall for the projector. It was a great evening. :)
And today was really awesome. :) I went to Rynek Jezyncki to find my "Good Armenian" (you should be at least chuckling to yourself i hope) and i actually found him today! I gave him one of my Arizona postcards (i bought a bunch of Arizona postcards to give out as thank you's while i am here in Poland) with a short thank you in Polish and English. Once again he tried to talk with me....all i could say was "nie rozumiem" and "powtoc mow volniej" (there's a bunch of accents that my computer can't give those letters so...they aren't really spelt right). By the end of the very-one-sided-conversation, i think we communicated that i was going to be staying here until the summer and i would go back to Arizona to finish school and i might come back to Poland--well, for them i think it was more a "you should come back to Poland!" Oh, and i am pretty sure we established once more that i really need to learn Polish. LOL. But he seemed really excited that i returned to thank him with that card. LOL. I can see it now, his grandchildren gathered around him as he tells them the story of Amanda the Arizonan and pulls out the little card to show them......lol, okay, maybe i am giving it a bit of an exaggerated significance, but he really seemed excited!
Today was Holy Start in the morning and the afternoon with the kids and an evening saying goodybe to a friend, Anna, who is going back to Germany in a few days. :( We had a great time and went to a real authentic little restaurant at which, i tried "Bigos" for the first time!!! And apparently you love or hate it, and i definitely LOVED it. :) Super tasty. It is fermented cabbage--aka saurkraut--cooked with sausage and onions. So it is warm and o-so-very-tasty. After dinner we went to visit the cathedral, which was really quite neat at night with all the lights! And then we hung out at Steph's house.....drinking cocoa, chatting, watching yodeling videos and looking up "Oktoberfest" on Wikipedia and watching BAYWATCH trailers and David Hasselhoff youtube videos....you know, the kinds of things normal girls do in their free time, LOL. It wasa great evening....i am sure gonna miss Anna. But she has told me i am more than welcome to come to her home in Frankfurt, Germany anytime. :)
So i am reading this book about Spiritual Warfare and it is very interesting....it is about the size of a small encyclopedia....but i think i might finish it sometime in the next....3 months, lol. Last night was really amazing because my flat mate and i don't always get a chance to really talk about life and what is going on, we kind of just exchange light and casual conversation. But the other night we stayed up late just talking about spiritual things and .... it was so nice just to be able to talk with her. She is really understanding and a great listener and when we talk it is really special for me. She just loves the Lord so simply and so truly. It is sweet. She had a period in her life where she didn't know God but she says she was always looking for Him. She just didn't know how to find Him.
As i was walking the other day, i was listening to Nichole Nordman--her music lyrics are absolutely amazing. And my heart has really just been so...i dont know how to explain it.....it's like every partical of me wants to be about God and i want my whole life to be about Him and i want everything about me to reflect Him. But i get stuck. I feel like, "God HOW can i make everything about You? How can i live a life that is just this light for You that NO ONE who is around me can deny?" I feel like if i am beign the Christian, the follower, the Child He has called me to be, and has empowered me to be, people around me should be effected.....should call Him LORD! But i don't see that as yet, and sometimes.....it just makes me wonder, "God am i doing enough? Am i doing it right? what more can i do? What should i do different?" I know that i am His chosen vessel; that maybe i am the one person in these peoples lives God will use to give them the evidence of Him they need to trust Him, and that makes me feel so....not burdened, but my heart is burdened in that, i feel like i must do all that is possible to show the people He has placed in my life, the power He has and the love He has. And it truly seems like such an impossible task because i know how often i fail, how flawed i am and how distracted i can become. And it kills me to think that there is something i could be doing that i am not doing, or that there are things i am doing that are not the est thing to do. My constant prayers is just that God would give me His intimate knowledge of these people; that i would be able to do for them what He would Himself do for them were He physically here.
I told Dagmara, "Dagmara, i can't help but talk to God about you, and i can't help but talk to you about God. I love both of you and i can't not talk about Him to you." You see, this is the problem for me. It is like, so very unnatural for me to hold back in conversation when it comes to spiritual....but it is like, i fear scaring people away in the beginning and then they never really get to know me. Coming off too strong in the beginning so that right away they put up some kind of wall to me. I want them to understand i value them as a person and view them as an individual, not just a potential number to add to some religious listing. Or not just as someone i feel i must convince that i am right and they are wrong, because what i want for them is not good just because it is good for me, or works for me and not just right because of what i say about it, but it is good and right because of what God Himself has said and wants to continue to show through my life and testimony.
I don't know if that makes sense, but i hope it does. The bottom line is: I love these people i am with and i want for them to know God as He wants to be known. I want to share His love for them, with them. I just feel really at odds sometimes about how to go about doing this.
Well, tomorrow should be a nice day. :) the weather has been glorious and i hope it continues to be so!!! T-shirt weather.....now if only i could find some tshirts to wear....lol, i only packed two! It was suggested to me that i should go shopping....but i won't be able to take anything back with me--the bags i brought were already stuffed! Eh, i guess i could just leave em here...I just want to buy some tshirts anyways.
And today was really awesome. :) I went to Rynek Jezyncki to find my "Good Armenian" (you should be at least chuckling to yourself i hope) and i actually found him today! I gave him one of my Arizona postcards (i bought a bunch of Arizona postcards to give out as thank you's while i am here in Poland) with a short thank you in Polish and English. Once again he tried to talk with me....all i could say was "nie rozumiem" and "powtoc mow volniej" (there's a bunch of accents that my computer can't give those letters so...they aren't really spelt right). By the end of the very-one-sided-conversation, i think we communicated that i was going to be staying here until the summer and i would go back to Arizona to finish school and i might come back to Poland--well, for them i think it was more a "you should come back to Poland!" Oh, and i am pretty sure we established once more that i really need to learn Polish. LOL. But he seemed really excited that i returned to thank him with that card. LOL. I can see it now, his grandchildren gathered around him as he tells them the story of Amanda the Arizonan and pulls out the little card to show them......lol, okay, maybe i am giving it a bit of an exaggerated significance, but he really seemed excited!
Today was Holy Start in the morning and the afternoon with the kids and an evening saying goodybe to a friend, Anna, who is going back to Germany in a few days. :( We had a great time and went to a real authentic little restaurant at which, i tried "Bigos" for the first time!!! And apparently you love or hate it, and i definitely LOVED it. :) Super tasty. It is fermented cabbage--aka saurkraut--cooked with sausage and onions. So it is warm and o-so-very-tasty. After dinner we went to visit the cathedral, which was really quite neat at night with all the lights! And then we hung out at Steph's house.....drinking cocoa, chatting, watching yodeling videos and looking up "Oktoberfest" on Wikipedia and watching BAYWATCH trailers and David Hasselhoff youtube videos....you know, the kinds of things normal girls do in their free time, LOL. It wasa great evening....i am sure gonna miss Anna. But she has told me i am more than welcome to come to her home in Frankfurt, Germany anytime. :)
So i am reading this book about Spiritual Warfare and it is very interesting....it is about the size of a small encyclopedia....but i think i might finish it sometime in the next....3 months, lol. Last night was really amazing because my flat mate and i don't always get a chance to really talk about life and what is going on, we kind of just exchange light and casual conversation. But the other night we stayed up late just talking about spiritual things and .... it was so nice just to be able to talk with her. She is really understanding and a great listener and when we talk it is really special for me. She just loves the Lord so simply and so truly. It is sweet. She had a period in her life where she didn't know God but she says she was always looking for Him. She just didn't know how to find Him.
As i was walking the other day, i was listening to Nichole Nordman--her music lyrics are absolutely amazing. And my heart has really just been so...i dont know how to explain it.....it's like every partical of me wants to be about God and i want my whole life to be about Him and i want everything about me to reflect Him. But i get stuck. I feel like, "God HOW can i make everything about You? How can i live a life that is just this light for You that NO ONE who is around me can deny?" I feel like if i am beign the Christian, the follower, the Child He has called me to be, and has empowered me to be, people around me should be effected.....should call Him LORD! But i don't see that as yet, and sometimes.....it just makes me wonder, "God am i doing enough? Am i doing it right? what more can i do? What should i do different?" I know that i am His chosen vessel; that maybe i am the one person in these peoples lives God will use to give them the evidence of Him they need to trust Him, and that makes me feel so....not burdened, but my heart is burdened in that, i feel like i must do all that is possible to show the people He has placed in my life, the power He has and the love He has. And it truly seems like such an impossible task because i know how often i fail, how flawed i am and how distracted i can become. And it kills me to think that there is something i could be doing that i am not doing, or that there are things i am doing that are not the est thing to do. My constant prayers is just that God would give me His intimate knowledge of these people; that i would be able to do for them what He would Himself do for them were He physically here.
I told Dagmara, "Dagmara, i can't help but talk to God about you, and i can't help but talk to you about God. I love both of you and i can't not talk about Him to you." You see, this is the problem for me. It is like, so very unnatural for me to hold back in conversation when it comes to spiritual....but it is like, i fear scaring people away in the beginning and then they never really get to know me. Coming off too strong in the beginning so that right away they put up some kind of wall to me. I want them to understand i value them as a person and view them as an individual, not just a potential number to add to some religious listing. Or not just as someone i feel i must convince that i am right and they are wrong, because what i want for them is not good just because it is good for me, or works for me and not just right because of what i say about it, but it is good and right because of what God Himself has said and wants to continue to show through my life and testimony.
I don't know if that makes sense, but i hope it does. The bottom line is: I love these people i am with and i want for them to know God as He wants to be known. I want to share His love for them, with them. I just feel really at odds sometimes about how to go about doing this.
Well, tomorrow should be a nice day. :) the weather has been glorious and i hope it continues to be so!!! T-shirt weather.....now if only i could find some tshirts to wear....lol, i only packed two! It was suggested to me that i should go shopping....but i won't be able to take anything back with me--the bags i brought were already stuffed! Eh, i guess i could just leave em here...I just want to buy some tshirts anyways.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
My Stay in Germany
As i promised, I have created a "video" for my stay in Germany. I am going to make one for London too, but it will be another few days possibly until i can get that up. :) Sorry things are going a little slow these days.
Below is the link for the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEC4xgX2Tw
The video may seem long, lol, but i actually have soooooooo much more i could tell you about it! And about Victoria and her family. It's just when i tried, the file size was WAY TOO HUGE! lol. So i had to really cut it a lot. :( Everyday i had with the Herbst family was full and just such a blessing and i hope i get the chance to return when it gets greener!
This morning God really blessed me in my devo as i read Romans 3. I have always struggled with what happened to all the people who in OT times didn't know of the Law. And this chapter addresses that perfectly. Getting back to business! It is good. I was glad for hte break but now it is time to continue the work He has given me here.
Tomorrow i will deliver a thank you card to the man in the market who gave me a jacket from his stall.....took me about a half an hour to try to write it in Polish--and it isnt my typical novel! LOL. It is seriously only three short sentences. Yep, that is how you can get me to keep it short and sweet when it comes to writing.....Anyways, i hope he is blessed by it.
My ski instructor is also wanting to meet with me from time to time to talk in English and writing a response email to him ..... holy cow, after about an hour and only 8 sentences completed.....i cheated and used the online translator. Polish is HAAAAAAAARD. You have no idea. LOL. If only it were like Spanish!!!
Tonight i went on a walk with Dagmara and Pawel. :) It was so nice to see them after so long.
Wow, i am sorry, i feel like this is kind of....dry....but i think my eyes are about ready to pop out of my skull. I am so tired, lol. I don't sleep too much--it's a waste of time i am pretty sure. I need to figure out a cure for sleepiness.
Below is the link for the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEC4xgX2Tw
The video may seem long, lol, but i actually have soooooooo much more i could tell you about it! And about Victoria and her family. It's just when i tried, the file size was WAY TOO HUGE! lol. So i had to really cut it a lot. :( Everyday i had with the Herbst family was full and just such a blessing and i hope i get the chance to return when it gets greener!
This morning God really blessed me in my devo as i read Romans 3. I have always struggled with what happened to all the people who in OT times didn't know of the Law. And this chapter addresses that perfectly. Getting back to business! It is good. I was glad for hte break but now it is time to continue the work He has given me here.
Tomorrow i will deliver a thank you card to the man in the market who gave me a jacket from his stall.....took me about a half an hour to try to write it in Polish--and it isnt my typical novel! LOL. It is seriously only three short sentences. Yep, that is how you can get me to keep it short and sweet when it comes to writing.....Anyways, i hope he is blessed by it.
My ski instructor is also wanting to meet with me from time to time to talk in English and writing a response email to him ..... holy cow, after about an hour and only 8 sentences completed.....i cheated and used the online translator. Polish is HAAAAAAAARD. You have no idea. LOL. If only it were like Spanish!!!
Tonight i went on a walk with Dagmara and Pawel. :) It was so nice to see them after so long.
Wow, i am sorry, i feel like this is kind of....dry....but i think my eyes are about ready to pop out of my skull. I am so tired, lol. I don't sleep too much--it's a waste of time i am pretty sure. I need to figure out a cure for sleepiness.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Yes, i know you are all absolutely dying to hear about my travels to Hanover and London...but good things take time! And a lot of good happened the past five days!!! I am going to attempt to turn my photos and video into a "video blog" that you will be able to access through the youtube videos on the side bar. Simply because there is SOOOOOOO much that happened and to try to type it all out would be.....ummmm.....well, too much! So give me some time and i hope to make it worth your while. :)
My time away was awesome but i am definitely ready to get back to my life here in Poznan! Can't wait to see my kids tomorrow at school and Bread of Life and share my stories and pictures with them!
Can't believe it has already been two months....i still have THREE months to go! Woo hoo!
Well, like i said, i will have that video blog up as soon as i can. :)
My time away was awesome but i am definitely ready to get back to my life here in Poznan! Can't wait to see my kids tomorrow at school and Bread of Life and share my stories and pictures with them!
Can't believe it has already been two months....i still have THREE months to go! Woo hoo!
Well, like i said, i will have that video blog up as soon as i can. :)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Little Blessings
Okay, so before i can go on with my video editing .... i have to share something special that just really made my day today. So i went to meet Coralanne for some filiming at Rynek Jezyncki (an open market) and i was a little early so i wanted to check out the "second hand" stalls. I have ONE BIG down jacket that is WAY TOO HOT for the fantabulous weather we are having (i am sweating in my room as we speak...although my roomate is actually cold....i thought i was the one who was supposed to be cold??) andyways, back to the point. I went to the stall, and i was looking through the jackets, thought i found the perfect one so i was holding it in my arm. The Stall owner said something to me in Polisha dn then motioned to take the coat from me and set it behind the stall with him....i was assuming that meant i wasn't to be holding stuff while i continued my shopping, lol. So i continued to look and he knew i spoke English so in his broken English/Polish he asked if i could speak Armenian or Russian....aha, that's funny. He was trying to communicate to me about being Armenian and something about Los Angeles...wondering if i was a student. I told him i was from Arizona and teaching English. He said i should learn Polish and an older Polish woman said "YES" and spoke in English!! I smiled and told them both i would LOVE to learn Polish and she asked how long i had been there. So then i told her i was unsure if i should buy a light jacket at this time since it was already so warm, and would i really use it? She looked at me as if i were crazy--in regards to calling it warm--but smiled and motioned her daughter to talk with me, since her daughter could speak better English. haha, by this point i was so happy just to be...i dont know, communicating? LOL. I don't know how to explain it really. It was just exciting becuase i could see all these people watching the interaction that was going on with me nad these three people. All so curious. So the gal helped me decide that this was indeed a good idea to buy a light jacket becuase the weather could turn chilly once more but not enough for a big jacket, and i certainly could not go wrong paying only 5 zl for a nice jacket that was second hand (that is only about 2 dollars if that in American dollars). I thanked her then turned to the man to make the payment and he just shook his head and told me it was a present for me. I smiled so big and just said THANK YOU VERY MUCH (in Polish of course)! He smiled big too and i told him i would be back to his stall in the future. I plan to go back with one of my postcards i bought in Arizona to give to people as Thank You's. I hope it blesses him and i have been praying for him throughout the day! Just that God would bless him for the kindness he did me.
And the afternoon with the kids was awesome. I got to help out with some homework today! We were practicing telling time. And after lunch we jumped on the trampoline and played some dodgeball and .... it was so much fun!
There have been some things weighing on my mind though. And i was thinking about them on my walks around town today. I can't really get into them now...maybe ever. i am not sure anyone could understand even if i did try to explain, lol. My brain just runs on a different frequency sometimes.
But I HAVE to get on this video now. It must be done before i leave for the week!
And the afternoon with the kids was awesome. I got to help out with some homework today! We were practicing telling time. And after lunch we jumped on the trampoline and played some dodgeball and .... it was so much fun!
There have been some things weighing on my mind though. And i was thinking about them on my walks around town today. I can't really get into them now...maybe ever. i am not sure anyone could understand even if i did try to explain, lol. My brain just runs on a different frequency sometimes.
But I HAVE to get on this video now. It must be done before i leave for the week!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Galeria Malta
O man! Today was just awesome! Really just what i needed! This is going to be a shortie....I know! I know! I have been so busy lately though and i HAVE GOT TO FINISH the missions movie before i leave for London in a few days. So many little things i wish i could tell you but i just can't because i do not have enough time. *Sadness*
This past week i had a chance to spend the evening with my girls Anna, Judit, Amelia and Stephanie...plus a new addition but i cannot remember her name for the life of me!! We made pancakes and once again just spent the evening chatting about our cultures. It is amazing to me how many of the young adults here seem to WANT a spiritual depth that they are not finding and it seems like they just do not know where to turn! We were talking about the differences between the girls experiences in churches where they feel it is pointless to be there because they do not learn anything to be applied or related to, but they have had experiences where they do feel the "priest" is sincere and gives them an understanding. And that's what they WANT! Something personal and something REAL and something that actually has POWER in their lives and makes a difference. :) I am so excited at the partnership and relationship Steph and i are building as missionaries and the bonds we are making with these friends of ours who we both love so much and just want to get close to!
And today, Steph and got a group together (Marcin, Monika, Ola, and Tellum) to meet at Malta and go for a walk!!! We walked around the ENTIRE lake at Malta...about 7 miles and 2 hours!! LOL. But we had fun and got to see some "wild" in Poznan. We all had lunch first and then went on a walk and then some of us went for McDonalds after--i got a strawberry shake! It was so nice to drink something cold and not feel freezing! It was SUUUUUUUCH a beautiful day today. The past few days i have not had to wear a jacket during the day. Me gusta mucho.
Today at church, i had the oppurtunity to do something i LOOOOOOOVE! Juice and I did a skit for the ALIVE retreat coming up and it went PERFECT! The people were laughing and we were having such a great time.
This past Friday, i had a great time with the kids because i was trying to put my Polish to work for me. I was saying tongue twisters and asking for "biscuits" which are like cookie-crackers.....i think the kids were pretty impressed! LOL, well, with my tongue twisters anyways!
Friday night i went to a party and then left to a pub with a few friends from the party. Dagmara and Pawel invited me to a friends party and said i could invite a few friends, so we got there and it was so crazy crowded! The flat was pretty tiny so we were all up in eachothers business, lol. But it was fun. Until they started smoking--JUST CIGARETTES!--and then it was a little sickening but they ended up going to the balconey, thank God. So i mostly talked with Marcin becuase he speaks really good English and has so many questions about American culture and answers a lot of mine about Polish culture. And then there was Monika who is my fellow fan if NICHOLAS CAGE! lol. Telym is from France and Nela is just a doll and i love her! Bogusz and Sylwester (Pawel's friends from Ninjitsu who i met at the training thing i went to) were there. And Agnieszka was there! It was good to see her, but she was not feeling so well. Nela, Marcin, Monika, Telym and I left the party pretty early and went to a really neat pub called "Dragon". It is like a castle on the indisde and there are all these different corridors and rooms and balconeys...it is really a neat place! But so crowded! I could hardly squeeze through the main area!
I was oging to go back to the party with Dagmara and Pawel, but....something in my spirit told me i shouldn't. It was like, i really had to ask myself why i wanted to go back.....we are called to be in the world, but not of it. And i knew that if i went to the party, they were all going to be drunk by that time and there couldn't be anything too fruitful for me to do there or be a part of. And i really wanted to make sure i was going not out of any kind of desire to be a part of the darkness but to be a light. and i didn't feel like i could be much of a light in that situation becuase of the state i would find them in. I hope that makes sense and doesn't come across as negative. Because i don't mean it in a negative way. Just that i wanted my heart to be right in going back and not wrong in actually wanting to partake in anything that would not bring a good testimony or glory to God. So i went home and got much needed REST!
Which is what i hope to do here soon! Still got to do some work with the video though, so i really need to log off. So excited for the time to be spent in London and Hanover!
This past week i had a chance to spend the evening with my girls Anna, Judit, Amelia and Stephanie...plus a new addition but i cannot remember her name for the life of me!! We made pancakes and once again just spent the evening chatting about our cultures. It is amazing to me how many of the young adults here seem to WANT a spiritual depth that they are not finding and it seems like they just do not know where to turn! We were talking about the differences between the girls experiences in churches where they feel it is pointless to be there because they do not learn anything to be applied or related to, but they have had experiences where they do feel the "priest" is sincere and gives them an understanding. And that's what they WANT! Something personal and something REAL and something that actually has POWER in their lives and makes a difference. :) I am so excited at the partnership and relationship Steph and i are building as missionaries and the bonds we are making with these friends of ours who we both love so much and just want to get close to!
And today, Steph and got a group together (Marcin, Monika, Ola, and Tellum) to meet at Malta and go for a walk!!! We walked around the ENTIRE lake at Malta...about 7 miles and 2 hours!! LOL. But we had fun and got to see some "wild" in Poznan. We all had lunch first and then went on a walk and then some of us went for McDonalds after--i got a strawberry shake! It was so nice to drink something cold and not feel freezing! It was SUUUUUUUCH a beautiful day today. The past few days i have not had to wear a jacket during the day. Me gusta mucho.
Today at church, i had the oppurtunity to do something i LOOOOOOOVE! Juice and I did a skit for the ALIVE retreat coming up and it went PERFECT! The people were laughing and we were having such a great time.
This past Friday, i had a great time with the kids because i was trying to put my Polish to work for me. I was saying tongue twisters and asking for "biscuits" which are like cookie-crackers.....i think the kids were pretty impressed! LOL, well, with my tongue twisters anyways!
Friday night i went to a party and then left to a pub with a few friends from the party. Dagmara and Pawel invited me to a friends party and said i could invite a few friends, so we got there and it was so crazy crowded! The flat was pretty tiny so we were all up in eachothers business, lol. But it was fun. Until they started smoking--JUST CIGARETTES!--and then it was a little sickening but they ended up going to the balconey, thank God. So i mostly talked with Marcin becuase he speaks really good English and has so many questions about American culture and answers a lot of mine about Polish culture. And then there was Monika who is my fellow fan if NICHOLAS CAGE! lol. Telym is from France and Nela is just a doll and i love her! Bogusz and Sylwester (Pawel's friends from Ninjitsu who i met at the training thing i went to) were there. And Agnieszka was there! It was good to see her, but she was not feeling so well. Nela, Marcin, Monika, Telym and I left the party pretty early and went to a really neat pub called "Dragon". It is like a castle on the indisde and there are all these different corridors and rooms and balconeys...it is really a neat place! But so crowded! I could hardly squeeze through the main area!
I was oging to go back to the party with Dagmara and Pawel, but....something in my spirit told me i shouldn't. It was like, i really had to ask myself why i wanted to go back.....we are called to be in the world, but not of it. And i knew that if i went to the party, they were all going to be drunk by that time and there couldn't be anything too fruitful for me to do there or be a part of. And i really wanted to make sure i was going not out of any kind of desire to be a part of the darkness but to be a light. and i didn't feel like i could be much of a light in that situation becuase of the state i would find them in. I hope that makes sense and doesn't come across as negative. Because i don't mean it in a negative way. Just that i wanted my heart to be right in going back and not wrong in actually wanting to partake in anything that would not bring a good testimony or glory to God. So i went home and got much needed REST!
Which is what i hope to do here soon! Still got to do some work with the video though, so i really need to log off. So excited for the time to be spent in London and Hanover!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Woman's Day
The past few days, the weather has been GLORIOUS! Today i actually walked to the post office wearing a tshirt and a flannel button up shirt over it--NO JACKET! It is a beautiful thing i tell you. The sun has been out and the Vitamin D has been so refreshing. I am hoping the weather continues to warm up but apparently....it is no surprise when we get hit with a snow storm in March. :( Nie dobrze--not good.
I bought a new pair of shoes....not sure which i hate more, the squeek i had before or the blisters i have now. And no, i cannot return them. And i used to complain about Target's return policy...... But i think my feet are getting used to it....... lol, not sure if that is good or bad.
Tuesday, Woman's Day, was a pretty awesome day. In America, i would not be too excited, just because i think the attitude or the spirit it is done with is foolish and ridiculous. But here, it seemed to me more a day when men show their appreciation by giving flowers to all the ladies that are in their lives. So i got a bouquet of flowers from the young men in my class. It was so sweet and Ptomek used wonderful English. :) Last week they wanted to learn more about the state fair! So i put together a bunch of stuff to tell them all about the state fair. It was a lot of fun and they really get into these new things that they have only seen on televsion or in movies! They were disgusted with signs of "deep fried butter" and awed at "deep fried coke", lol. The boys really enjoyed the Demolition Derby video clips and the girls laughed about the ideas of romance connected to a ferris wheel.
Every day with the kids at Bread of Life is both really hard for me and really a blessing. I hate feeling apart from the kids because i can't talk with them. I try to laugh with them and pray with them at lunch because i can do a basic prayer in Polish...i just mimic the kids! LOL. Right now i am teaching them a song and i make these song boards for them. :) I think they enjoy it! And they can read along with me. If one of them can ever sing it by themselves....i will smile so big and i will have to get them something special. :) Amielka is the sweetest little thing! She does try so hard! I LOVE her enthusiasm and her sweet little smile. She always tries, and that is what touches my heart. On Monday, my name was pulled from the basket so everyone made me a card and Marta, Krisha and Dana gave me a small gift. the cards were so sweet! And Natalia actually did hers in English and made it at home with a big envelope and special paper. And i got an orange, a mug and a folder!! All things that are so practical and i can use! I was so blessed. :)
I also finally got to meet with Mariusz for his English lesson! Like most people, he has been busy so we have talked and talked about English lessons, but we finally did it! Hooray!
Today was a great day too. I had two English lessons--with Olga and Grzegorz. Olga is my only student who is really "advanced". We are able to just sit and have wonderful talks about life and different things! It is really cool hearing things from her since she knows the culture! Then Grzegorz made me SOOOOOOOO happy because he was totally understanding what i was teaching him! And i felt like he accomplished so much! I had prepared a lesson on "cars" because that was what he requested, but unfortunately we were kicked out of the computer room so i had to improvise! But it worked out great in the end! And then he was teaching me a Polish tongue twister--which i can actually say.......very slowly, LOL. He even served me lunch and coffee! He made the typical meal we have for lunch at the Barak--bread. LOL. We have it different ways though!! Sometimes we have it with butter, sometimes with cheese and ketchup toasted in the oven, sometimes with cheese and deli meat and ketchup toasted in the oven, or jam, or the little herring fillets with Mayonaiise sauce that i talked about before. So Grzegorz made me bread with cheese and ketchup. :) i LIKE bread with cheese and ketchup. Does this make me a little bit Polish? Well, my ancestors did come from here....
Wow, i did say i was going to be in bed at a decent time....11:30 isn't too bad. LOL.
Tomorrow is an early morning (as is every morning i am alive, seeing as my body can't seem to understand that just becuase the sun is rising, does not mean it has to rise with it) and a late night with some girls--Ana, Amelia, Judit and Stephanie!! I am excited; we are getting together for dessert.....making Nielisz Niki (pancakes). SO yummy. Please be praying for this time with them! Dobranoc!
I bought a new pair of shoes....not sure which i hate more, the squeek i had before or the blisters i have now. And no, i cannot return them. And i used to complain about Target's return policy...... But i think my feet are getting used to it....... lol, not sure if that is good or bad.
Tuesday, Woman's Day, was a pretty awesome day. In America, i would not be too excited, just because i think the attitude or the spirit it is done with is foolish and ridiculous. But here, it seemed to me more a day when men show their appreciation by giving flowers to all the ladies that are in their lives. So i got a bouquet of flowers from the young men in my class. It was so sweet and Ptomek used wonderful English. :) Last week they wanted to learn more about the state fair! So i put together a bunch of stuff to tell them all about the state fair. It was a lot of fun and they really get into these new things that they have only seen on televsion or in movies! They were disgusted with signs of "deep fried butter" and awed at "deep fried coke", lol. The boys really enjoyed the Demolition Derby video clips and the girls laughed about the ideas of romance connected to a ferris wheel.
Every day with the kids at Bread of Life is both really hard for me and really a blessing. I hate feeling apart from the kids because i can't talk with them. I try to laugh with them and pray with them at lunch because i can do a basic prayer in Polish...i just mimic the kids! LOL. Right now i am teaching them a song and i make these song boards for them. :) I think they enjoy it! And they can read along with me. If one of them can ever sing it by themselves....i will smile so big and i will have to get them something special. :) Amielka is the sweetest little thing! She does try so hard! I LOVE her enthusiasm and her sweet little smile. She always tries, and that is what touches my heart. On Monday, my name was pulled from the basket so everyone made me a card and Marta, Krisha and Dana gave me a small gift. the cards were so sweet! And Natalia actually did hers in English and made it at home with a big envelope and special paper. And i got an orange, a mug and a folder!! All things that are so practical and i can use! I was so blessed. :)
I also finally got to meet with Mariusz for his English lesson! Like most people, he has been busy so we have talked and talked about English lessons, but we finally did it! Hooray!
Today was a great day too. I had two English lessons--with Olga and Grzegorz. Olga is my only student who is really "advanced". We are able to just sit and have wonderful talks about life and different things! It is really cool hearing things from her since she knows the culture! Then Grzegorz made me SOOOOOOOO happy because he was totally understanding what i was teaching him! And i felt like he accomplished so much! I had prepared a lesson on "cars" because that was what he requested, but unfortunately we were kicked out of the computer room so i had to improvise! But it worked out great in the end! And then he was teaching me a Polish tongue twister--which i can actually say.......very slowly, LOL. He even served me lunch and coffee! He made the typical meal we have for lunch at the Barak--bread. LOL. We have it different ways though!! Sometimes we have it with butter, sometimes with cheese and ketchup toasted in the oven, sometimes with cheese and deli meat and ketchup toasted in the oven, or jam, or the little herring fillets with Mayonaiise sauce that i talked about before. So Grzegorz made me bread with cheese and ketchup. :) i LIKE bread with cheese and ketchup. Does this make me a little bit Polish? Well, my ancestors did come from here....
Wow, i did say i was going to be in bed at a decent time....11:30 isn't too bad. LOL.
Tomorrow is an early morning (as is every morning i am alive, seeing as my body can't seem to understand that just becuase the sun is rising, does not mean it has to rise with it) and a late night with some girls--Ana, Amelia, Judit and Stephanie!! I am excited; we are getting together for dessert.....making Nielisz Niki (pancakes). SO yummy. Please be praying for this time with them! Dobranoc!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
"What's Better in Poland?"
I was asked this question the other day by my flatmate, Diana. Well....i can list a few things that to me are truly better here in Poland:
Hospitality, in general.
The price of Chocolate.
Cereal is crunchier--and STAYS crunchy, which of course is the KEY to good cereal
Bread. Coffee.
The power of their laundry detergent.
Public Transportation is more reliable.
The way guys dress.
So the other day....Friday, my morning was filled with wonderful moments of laughter. It all began as i was walking to the Barak for Holy Start. Now, i have seen some stereotypical, "man walks" in my day, but this guy's stride was so classic, i actually pulled my camera out of my back-pack and recorded him--of course i was extremely conspicuous....after all, with a walk like that, i am pretty sure he was in the mafia. LOL. When i got to the Barak, Gosia informed me that the word we had talked in circles around the preceeding night during her English lesson, was "okay". Her husband had a revelation as he brushed his teeth, that "okay" was the word we were looking for the whole time! Wow. Then Teresa was asking if i would like a cup of coffee and i was teaching her how to say it in English, and pretty soon all us ladies in the kitchen were rapping--hand motions and all--"Would you like-*dum-dum-dum*- a cup of coffee?" It was wonderful. Later, in Darek's office, my mother called and when i told her, "Darek, wants me to tell you hello", she replied, "Don't call him a DORK!" LOL. Yes, we had a good laugh....i just hope Darek didn't go home and google that....he may be slightly confused. This was followed up by my weekly trip to the ski slope with the Bread of Life kids. Robert, my instructor, enjoys our lessons more than is healthy...for me. As i am making every effort to conserve my life, he wants to know how to say "beautful sunset" and "beautiful woman" and "sky" and "lean". LOL. We certainly have fun, and i hope he will actually just schedule a lesson with me.
So tonight i had an awesome dinner and "hang-out" time with Marta, the gal who leads the Bread of Life kids program. She made, seriously the best soup i have had so far! It was amazing. That along with the bread Gosia made from scratch! YUM! She gave me the recipe and showed me some of the steps, as she was in the process of making a loaf. So our dinner was great, our conversation even better! It was a very sweet time, and i can't wait to spend more time with her soon.
Today, Dagmara and Pawel came to MY flat! We had a Polish lesson, in which we established that i am a hopeless case in the pronunciation of "cz" versus "ci". I simply cannot differentiate between the two. And every time i say "czas" (time), Pawel bursts out laughing and Dagamara rolls her eyes. *no bueno*. But we did make some progress in other ways! LOL, thank God.
Reading a book right now about the Sacrifices and Offerings of the Old Testament. It has been such an eye-opening read. It has given me a depth of understanding into the progression from the fall in Eden to the reconciliation on Calvary. i never really understood about the ways of the Old testament ritauls and sacrifices and how much they truly do connect with the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. The connections i am making between the stages of Man's position with God, are growing my knowledge and the growth in knowledge is leading to understanding and that understanding is increasing my faith that God has had a plan from the beginning and continues to carry out that plan. I believe God created the world and Man for the purpose to have fellowship with Man, and to receive glory through Man's existence. If you look at all His actions throughout Biblical history through this lens, i think more of His actions make sense to me, than they did before. When the world fell, He was out to restore what had been lost. It is Man, who uses the freedom, personality and capacity for holiness (which also results in the capacity for its opposite) that was given him when God breathed life into Mankind and formed him in His own image, that continues to recoil from the restoration God wants.
Wow, okay, very late, need rest.
Hospitality, in general.
The price of Chocolate.
Cereal is crunchier--and STAYS crunchy, which of course is the KEY to good cereal
Bread. Coffee.
The power of their laundry detergent.
Public Transportation is more reliable.
The way guys dress.
So the other day....Friday, my morning was filled with wonderful moments of laughter. It all began as i was walking to the Barak for Holy Start. Now, i have seen some stereotypical, "man walks" in my day, but this guy's stride was so classic, i actually pulled my camera out of my back-pack and recorded him--of course i was extremely conspicuous....after all, with a walk like that, i am pretty sure he was in the mafia. LOL. When i got to the Barak, Gosia informed me that the word we had talked in circles around the preceeding night during her English lesson, was "okay". Her husband had a revelation as he brushed his teeth, that "okay" was the word we were looking for the whole time! Wow. Then Teresa was asking if i would like a cup of coffee and i was teaching her how to say it in English, and pretty soon all us ladies in the kitchen were rapping--hand motions and all--"Would you like-*dum-dum-dum*- a cup of coffee?" It was wonderful. Later, in Darek's office, my mother called and when i told her, "Darek, wants me to tell you hello", she replied, "Don't call him a DORK!" LOL. Yes, we had a good laugh....i just hope Darek didn't go home and google that....he may be slightly confused. This was followed up by my weekly trip to the ski slope with the Bread of Life kids. Robert, my instructor, enjoys our lessons more than is healthy...for me. As i am making every effort to conserve my life, he wants to know how to say "beautful sunset" and "beautiful woman" and "sky" and "lean". LOL. We certainly have fun, and i hope he will actually just schedule a lesson with me.
So tonight i had an awesome dinner and "hang-out" time with Marta, the gal who leads the Bread of Life kids program. She made, seriously the best soup i have had so far! It was amazing. That along with the bread Gosia made from scratch! YUM! She gave me the recipe and showed me some of the steps, as she was in the process of making a loaf. So our dinner was great, our conversation even better! It was a very sweet time, and i can't wait to spend more time with her soon.
Today, Dagmara and Pawel came to MY flat! We had a Polish lesson, in which we established that i am a hopeless case in the pronunciation of "cz" versus "ci". I simply cannot differentiate between the two. And every time i say "czas" (time), Pawel bursts out laughing and Dagamara rolls her eyes. *no bueno*. But we did make some progress in other ways! LOL, thank God.
Reading a book right now about the Sacrifices and Offerings of the Old Testament. It has been such an eye-opening read. It has given me a depth of understanding into the progression from the fall in Eden to the reconciliation on Calvary. i never really understood about the ways of the Old testament ritauls and sacrifices and how much they truly do connect with the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. The connections i am making between the stages of Man's position with God, are growing my knowledge and the growth in knowledge is leading to understanding and that understanding is increasing my faith that God has had a plan from the beginning and continues to carry out that plan. I believe God created the world and Man for the purpose to have fellowship with Man, and to receive glory through Man's existence. If you look at all His actions throughout Biblical history through this lens, i think more of His actions make sense to me, than they did before. When the world fell, He was out to restore what had been lost. It is Man, who uses the freedom, personality and capacity for holiness (which also results in the capacity for its opposite) that was given him when God breathed life into Mankind and formed him in His own image, that continues to recoil from the restoration God wants.
Wow, okay, very late, need rest.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Oh the Joys!
So you know those mornings when you can't even remember if you rinsed out your conditioner or not? Yeah....that's my morning so far! LOL. I can't believe it is already Thrusday! It is unreal how fast days fly by and how so packed full of blessing and oppurtunity they are. Thank you Lord, beucase heaven knows if i weren't busy FOR YOU, i would be focused way too much on my own self. The past days have been great working with the kids at the Bread of Life foundation. I have been playing little games with them and right now we are learning a song! It warmed and blessed my heart so much the other day, when Daniel, a very shy little guy who doesn't talk very much, came to sit next to me for supper and gave me the sweetest little smile! We were sitting down for supper, he was sitting across and a chair over, and i saw him yawning. So in English i said, "Daniel, are you tired?" He looked at me quizically and then i used the universal motions of "you" and "tired" as i repeated my question. He gave a bashful smile then looked down at his lap. And before i knew it, he was picking up his cup and moving to the seat next to me! :) Little things like this bring me closer to Jesus in helping me understand HIS heart for us and the joy and refreshment we bring to Him as His children. It is so sweet a revelation every time. So here Daniel is, sitting next to me, not saying a word, but just the action of moving next to me was more than enough. I wish i could speak Polish with these kids! I feel like i could accomplish so much more with them if i could. I feel like i could accomplish more with EVERYONE if only i could speak Polish. But now a thought has just occured to me....we have this phrase, "Talk is cheap" and "You can talk the talk, but do you walk the walk?" I can't even talk!!!! My talk is absolutley WORTHLESS for the most part, lol. What i do here, i do by walking in faith. By walking with the Lord daily. By walking accrording to the Word. Every action must point to God and i pray that just my presence is a flashing sign of God because there is no chance to communicate with many of the people i encounter. They have to SEE it in me.
This week at the public school was fun too. we were talking about "love" and it was interesting to hear the differences and similarities there are between the American culture and the Polish culture's youth. I wish they would be more ocnifdent with their English becuase i KNOW they have some real insightful thoughts stored up, but as for now, i know i just need to be patient and continue to encourage them. When i showed them a clip of our "World's Oldest Rodeo", i asked them if they would like to learn more about the culture that surrounds our county fair and the rodeo. They all were quite enthusiastic, so for next week we will be learning about that! I am sure i will learn quite a bit in the process as well!
I have been doing a lot of studying on the topic of the Law and it's relationship to the salvation we now have in Christ. I am reading a book by Ravi Zacharias called, "Jesus Among Other Gods" which is about hte uniqueness of Christ's claims among other religions gods. All of this for my meeting with Dagmara and Pawel on Friday. :) i am excited for that!
I went to Ninjitsu training with Pawel and a few of his friends, Sylwester and Bogusz, and while i was there, Pawel mentioned how the instructor also gives self defense training classes!!! I was so excited becuase it was on my mind to do something like that with the ladies i have met here! As like an event. I am thinking ti would be cool if maybe every other week, we did an event where we just opened an invitation to the ladies and their friends, to do something fun! I want to find a name for it though and i would like it to be something that continues when i am gone. Just a way to meet girls and begin friendships. So i have quite a few ideas on different events we can do, i just need to figure out what days, what to do and where to do it. :) I will be sending out a little questionnaire type thing to the gals i know to try to figure out what kinds of things they would be most interested in doing. Then go from there!
This Sunday i am hoping many of myPolish friends will come to church. :) I will be inviting them all becuase i have been praying that they all would want to come to our ALIVE retreat at church and that the Lord would really minister to their hearts and draw them completely to Him at such an event. :) the first announcement for the retreat is this Sunday and i hope that as they see the video, their curiosity would be sparked, or they would just connect with the idea behind it and have a desire to come to it!!! And praise God if they don't even need the ALIVE retrat and the sermon that day moves them to making a committment to Christ! I feel like Paul, seriously. Like, the people here are my joy. Seeing hwo God is giving me oppurtunity in their lives is my joy. The hope i have for what the Lord wants for each of them is my joy. And this joy and the Lord's strength and His equipping keep me going. Allelujah, Praise you Jesus.
Alright, i have to get going to Bible study now, but! i hope you have a wonderfully blessed day and take every oppurtunity to show God's love to someone. :) Peace.
This week at the public school was fun too. we were talking about "love" and it was interesting to hear the differences and similarities there are between the American culture and the Polish culture's youth. I wish they would be more ocnifdent with their English becuase i KNOW they have some real insightful thoughts stored up, but as for now, i know i just need to be patient and continue to encourage them. When i showed them a clip of our "World's Oldest Rodeo", i asked them if they would like to learn more about the culture that surrounds our county fair and the rodeo. They all were quite enthusiastic, so for next week we will be learning about that! I am sure i will learn quite a bit in the process as well!
I have been doing a lot of studying on the topic of the Law and it's relationship to the salvation we now have in Christ. I am reading a book by Ravi Zacharias called, "Jesus Among Other Gods" which is about hte uniqueness of Christ's claims among other religions gods. All of this for my meeting with Dagmara and Pawel on Friday. :) i am excited for that!
I went to Ninjitsu training with Pawel and a few of his friends, Sylwester and Bogusz, and while i was there, Pawel mentioned how the instructor also gives self defense training classes!!! I was so excited becuase it was on my mind to do something like that with the ladies i have met here! As like an event. I am thinking ti would be cool if maybe every other week, we did an event where we just opened an invitation to the ladies and their friends, to do something fun! I want to find a name for it though and i would like it to be something that continues when i am gone. Just a way to meet girls and begin friendships. So i have quite a few ideas on different events we can do, i just need to figure out what days, what to do and where to do it. :) I will be sending out a little questionnaire type thing to the gals i know to try to figure out what kinds of things they would be most interested in doing. Then go from there!
This Sunday i am hoping many of myPolish friends will come to church. :) I will be inviting them all becuase i have been praying that they all would want to come to our ALIVE retreat at church and that the Lord would really minister to their hearts and draw them completely to Him at such an event. :) the first announcement for the retreat is this Sunday and i hope that as they see the video, their curiosity would be sparked, or they would just connect with the idea behind it and have a desire to come to it!!! And praise God if they don't even need the ALIVE retrat and the sermon that day moves them to making a committment to Christ! I feel like Paul, seriously. Like, the people here are my joy. Seeing hwo God is giving me oppurtunity in their lives is my joy. The hope i have for what the Lord wants for each of them is my joy. And this joy and the Lord's strength and His equipping keep me going. Allelujah, Praise you Jesus.
Alright, i have to get going to Bible study now, but! i hope you have a wonderfully blessed day and take every oppurtunity to show God's love to someone. :) Peace.
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