Monday, July 20, 2015

Quick update

A hard night of goodbyes, slow internet and only 3 hours of sleep ahead of me is going to make for a very short blog post.

Just wanted you all to know that we had a great day in Kraków!! Our plane leaves tomorrow morning at 6:45am... 4:00am is going to come quickly.

Everyone is worn out- in every sense of being worn. I think the tears collectively tonight could have filled buckets.

Our plane is scheduled to arrive at MSP at 6:45pm, putting us at Timberwood around 9:45pm on Tuesday night. Once in Minnesota, we'll make sure parents are contacted with a more precise arrival time!!

Excited to share the stories....

Goodnight from Poland!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Krakow! From the voice and heart of Tori Senica

I am at a loss for words. So much has happened these last 2 weeks it’ss hard to find the words to describe my feelings in a brief blog update. Saying good bye to people always breaks my heart. When leaving for Poland on the 6th , I cried. (I cry a lot). I was sad to say goodbye to my family and friends. I was super excited about coming to Poland the months leading up to it but, when the time came, I panicked. Once we pulled out of Timberwood, the homesickness kicked in. I really struggled for the first few days, especially at night. The enemy was flooding my head with lies about how I wasn’t needed in Poland and that I shouldn’t have ever left Nisswa. A few days after camp began, I was able to see that these were lies because of evident work that the spirit was doing in us and through us.
             As the week went on, more and more bonds were being made and the Holy Spirit was moving through the hearts of the campers. Being that yesterday was our last day with these campers, my heart was shattered. Lots and lots of hugs and tears. I was so pleasantly surprised to find out that we would be staying at the homes of the incredible Polish youth that evening.  It made me feel much better. Us students all had a bonfire where we ate lots of sweets, roasted some sausages, and shared lots of laughs. As our very enjoyable night came to a close, we had to say goodbye to our dear Hungarian friend Gina. We took her to the train station and sent her back home. Although it was very painful to say goodbye to another exchange student from my small group, my heart was full because I know that the Holy Spirit is so ready to use her beaming smile and amazing heart to shine his light in Hungary.  

            We said more goodbyes at Church this morning to the campers who came and to the amazing people in the community of Skoczow. We had some lunch, packed our bags, and headed to Krakow.  The 17 of us arrived in Krakow and went to the square to have some dinner.  Yes, I said 17. Domi, Ania and 3 of the Polish youth group members came with us! This was exciting news to us all. After we ate, we all went back to the square admiring the beauty of this city. It was surreal. It felt as if we were in a movie. Beautiful buildings lit up, people everywhere dancing and singing to music.  We were all caught up looking at the beautiful scene in front of us, when a storm rolled in. We all ran as fast as we could back to the hotel, laughing the entire way. We arrived at the hotel looking like we had just stepped out of the shower. We were drenched. The people in the lobby just stared. It was awesome. We all hung out for a few hours longer. We played games, shared stories, and laughed a lot.  We are looking forward to spending our last day in Poland together and in this beautiful city.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Beginning of the end...

It’s not about me. A truth that I have known but that God continues to remind me of over and over again this trip. Each day it seems that God has shown me this truth in one way or another. It may happen during a conversation with a teammate or camper. It may happen when I think that things are just starting to go the “right” way. It may when I put the microphone down after speaking in circles and wondering what I just said. Or it may happen when I wake up in the morning or heading to sleep at night- however He does it, God has continued to pound that truth into my heart and being.

I can hardly believe that today was the last day of our camp. After we finished cleaning up the school, we met one last time as our Polish/American team combined. In many ways, it felt as if we all looked at each other thinking, “Did that really just happen?” It has been a whirlwind to say the least. To think that 10 days ago, many of the team had never met is mind blowing. It is amazing the bond that Christ brings to a group of people who seemingly should not be bound together.

As I begin to reflect on another camp and another trip coming to a close, I have a million thoughts running through my head. I apologize that it’s late and in many ways, my brain is mush. I can tell you, however, that my heart is full. I can tell you that the Holy Spirit is amazing and that our team has had front row seats to His power to change lives. I can tell you that when we return, the stories will be many and the smiles will be huge.

Goodbyes started last night, into today, and will continue as we leave this place that we love and these people we love behind and head back home.

I cannot thank you enough for the ways you have supported our team and most importantly, for your prayers while we have been here. They are evident.

As we head to Krakow after church tomorrow, please continue to pray. Pray for the campers who are processing all they heard and experienced this week- Pray alongside me that their lives are transformed. Also, if you think of it, for our team these next few days. Pray for cool moments, for patience, and for clarity as we spend time reflecting on what God has done for us and what our response will be as we seek to live the way back home that we have while we are here.  We desire to be changed when we return- a changed group of people who can’t help but radiate the love of Christ and shine brightly and boldly for Him.

So many thoughts to say yet so few words to convey...

On the days when I’m tired, when I can’t seem to hold it together, when I feel like every word that comes out of my mouth does not make sense, I’m reminded once again…


It’s not about me.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Day 7 of Camp from the voice and heart of Kate Rennicke

It is entirely strange to tell you that day seven of English Camp has come to a close.
An icebreaker, camp dance, slideshow of yesterday’s events, and of course a little “Just Dance” started our day out. English classes went well, followed by lunch and a scavenger hunt event throughout the city of Skoczow. The color teams were sent out with a list of various photos they needed to acquire.  The task they were charged with included capturing photos such as playing in a park, selfies with someone with a specific name, and so on. It was quite the adventure that gave everyone the opportunity to explore the city and continue to grow in the new friendships that have surfaced this week. Once everyone returned to the school, a snack was provided and the evening program got started. Tonight the message spoke to the beauty of Heaven.

Heaven…the perfect place of being…a place where trials, suffering, pain and tears no longer exist…a place where those whom believe in Jesus and have a relationship with Him will be reunited with one another…a place where we will get to dance with Jesus….a place I cannot wait for.

After Abby’s message, the students broke up into their small groups and our team set up for the fabulous Gala night. This team can clean up pretty darn good when we need to ;-) Movie posters hung on the wall, table cloths lined the tables, sweet treats were found at each table, and a red carpet paparazzi area set up. It was so fun to get all dressed up for a “night at the Oscars” with our students and our Polish half. There were 7 categories with 5 student nominees in each category to award Oscars for….and yes, Domi even found some look-alike Oscar trophies to make the night complete! Games were played, Oscars awarded and the day was wrapped up with a little Belgian Dancing! It was fantastic!

The night ended and instead of walking back to the church to share a meal together as a Polish/American team and debrief the day, we were surprised with a short road-trip to a nearby city to have dinner at McDonald’s! It was such a great way to spend the evening with our team. We are full of gratitude for the precious soul from Timberwood that gifted us this meal together…thank-you to the moon and back.

My heart is racing with heartache knowing that our time here is almost done; and I just can’t quite get a handle on that concept. It is so hard to put into words the magnitude of God’s doings this week. His presence is flooding camp….His Spirit is fiercely pursuing and fighting for each person’s heart…His love is overwhelming. God is so good; so, so, so good. The tears are already rolling at the thought of leaving this place. Poland holds a very special spot in my heart. Though it is going to be incredibly hard to leave, there is a sense of peace in knowing that God is faithful and I have no doubts that He will continue to strengthen and grow the friendships and bonds He created amongst everyone at camp this week.

God’s peace to all,

Kate Rennicke

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Camp Day 6- From the voice and heart of Hannah Zimmerman

Dzien dobry (Good day) from the land full of tears of joy and laughter. Today was very eventful! I don’t even know where to start.

This morning consisted of discussing romans 11 and complaining about a lack of peach yogurt at the hotel continental breakfast while a few of us walked to the bakery to get our daily fix of Polish pastries.

Romans 11:17-21 “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the other and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches.  If you do, consider this: you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
This short paragraph of Paul’s letter to the Romans has been one that stuck out to me today and I’m assuming a few others on our team.

Walking into the school seeing a bunch of smiling faces was a great way to start off the English camp day 6! We proceeded into the main meeting room for a sweaty camp dance. Most teams have strayed away from the normal lesson plans but Chuck and I did speed dating with our class today! I received a lot of complaints from the other classrooms that Chuck was being too loud but he was simply explaining what “energetic” means to our Polish students.

The afternoon was a wet one! Our team competition games were filled with water balloons and slip and slides. Evening program was particularly my favorite, as Abby talked about Paul from Acts and how we were created for one purpose, we all have the same purpose, to have a relationship with God! She used the analogy of trying to cut a piece of cake with a water bottle. We would begin to get frustrated because that’s not what the water bottle is made for; it was created for holding water! The same way God created us. If we aren’t using our lives for the purpose God created us for then we will continue to be frustrated.

Today’s night was a little different from the others as the Polish team set up a prayer labyrinth for the campers to go through and talk to God. Once they were done they had the opportunity to ask us questions or just simply talk. Multiple people decided to give their lives to Jesus today and we just praise the Lord for that and all that he has done these past few days! It is truly amazing to be apart of this wonderful experience!

I ask that you continue to keep praying for us and our now very close Polish family! I can only pray that the next few days go just as well as todayJ

Thanks,


Hannah

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Camp Day 5- From the voice and heart of Rachal Wolthuizen

As anticipated . . . I’ve fallen in the love with our new friends in Poland!  I am fully impressed by and quite honestly over the moon for the Polish Youth Group we have the privilege of working alongside.  The strength of their faith and individual characters blows me away in the most positive fashion possible. A close second to their bold faith, also worth mentioning is their phenomenal hospitality.  Late night dinners, snacks appearing at just the right moment, and ice cream treats that leave me without words are just the tip of the iceberg in this regard.  It saddens me to even begin thinking of saying “see you later” (NOT goodbye!) in just a few short days, but we cannot focus on that now – we have more work to do!  We will continue on with our quest to make more disciples for Christ and teach a little English along the way.

I think I speak for every member of our team when I report that we are not only tuckered out and physically sore from yesterday’s field trip and the team competitions that Chuck has put us through, but the rest of the gang was in an equal position.  Thankfully today it didn’t take too long for our spirits to be lifted and the fun times to resume!  And thanks to Chuck we can safely say we have put in a full body workout, triceps and all.

Tonight was theme night again with the Jungle being our chosen topic for the evening.  In all fairness, our T-wood team looked like quite the motley crew.  I think its fair to say that we looked like we had recently broken out of the closest psych ward rather than the jungle, but with a quick run of Just Dance we were back on our way to having fun with the Jungle theme.  Watching Angela, Hannah, Josh, Mac and Tori bob for apples was great, but we also learned some great new games to take back to the States with us.  It was a fun time all around!

Now to meat and potatoes of it all . . . presenting the Gospel to the campers.  Abby nailed it again tonight with her message to the campers.  She threw several weighty questions their direction including but definitely not limited to, “Where do you want to be in life?  What do you want your life to look like?  What is the state of your heart? Could someone look at your life and see by the way you live that you are a Christian?”  The students have been pushed hard, in the best way possible, to think deeply about what role they want Jesus to play in their lives.  Not only have the campers been positioned with a time of reflection, but it’s safe to say that our team has enjoyed this opportunity to look inside our lives as well.  Tonight’s message also included a powerful depiction of what a potential conversation between Paul and the prison guard in Acts 16.  The students were fully engaged while their peers acted out the roles of the guard and Paul.  Big strides are being made on the spiritual front but again, God’s work is not done and we are here to make Him Shine! 



Three more days of camp to go and I can’t wait to see what God has in store!