Our last day in Skoczow has been wonderful so far.
This morning we had a church service in the community center. We had another wonderful time of mixed polish and english worship as well as a morning celebrating all that God did at the camp this past week. Eric spoke about love out of 1 John and tied it incompletely to everything that happened this past week. Bernice also was able to share about this trip has impacted her as well as our team. We were able to express our love and thanks for the church and all of their support. The whole morning got me so excited to come back and share all of this with all of you. The tears that I shed this morning were because of the joy that it will bring me to help you be a part of the joy that we have experienced here.
For lunch we were able to enjoy some pizza from a local pizza place. They wanted us to feel like "home." I guess they think that broccoli and corn are normal pizza toppings for us? Even though it was different, it was incredible.
The last two days have seemed like one long goodbye. There were all the campers we said goodbye to yesterday but then a bunch were still going to be at church this morning so we didn't say goodbye to them until after church. And then another group that came to eat lunch with us who we then said goodbye to and a whole other group that we will be saying goodbye to after dinner tonight. We are going a few towns away for dinner to an authentic polish restaurant. We are very much looking forward to spending our last evening in fellowship with our new friends.
For now, we have a few hours of free time. For some this means a nap, for others of us (the younger crowd) it is a time of cards and scrabble. We had planned to get one last walk through the town but it seems that the rain just won't stop. We are all ok with just resting inside.
An evening here, a day in Krakow and a day of traveling till we are home. Please pray for continued unity amongst our team even as we are tired and especially our day of travel when I know we will just be ready to be home.
Please also be in prayer for the church here in Skoczow.
I can't speak for everyone on our team, but I can say for myself...a piece of my heart will be left here when we leave...
Love to you all
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Mighty to Save
For me to try to describe to you all the details of what happened last night would be impossible. There is no way I could do justice to all that God did and his glory that was shown last night. One person on our team described this morning as a 'spiritual hangover'. Many tears were shed by all of us from simply being able to witness the work of the Holy Spirit.
Last night was "gospel night." Basically the night that all the talks and the relationships we have built thus far have led up to. Domi, the polish leader, gave her testimony. She gave it in Polish so I can't relay to you what it consisted of, but I know that it was powerful. With tears in her eyes she was told us and the campers how God changed her life. Tom then told the story of the theif on the cross. How he did not deserve eternal life nor did he have a chance to do any sort of good works to prove he was 'good' enough. The Holy Spirit was with Tom while he was speaking. The power that came through his words was undeniable. Usually, after the talks, the students would go to discussion groups. However, last night, they were dismissed in groups of 3 or 4 to go through a prayer labrynth. A one on one time with God. They were taken through a series of stations that had them look at how they view their life, how others view their life and how God views them. We had the chance to go through such a labrynth a week ago in training and so we were able to have somewhat of an idea of what they were experiencing. We had no idea it would have the impact it did. We completely underestimated the power of God and the work he would do. As they came back into the room tears were flowing from some eyes, others had no idea what had just happened, while others had conversations that I know will change them for the rest of their lives.
Afterwards, our team and the polish team were hardly able to talk about the experience. We prayed and sang and gave glory to the God who we so often put in a box. Who we so often put boundaries on as to how we want him to work and what we think he is capable of.
Now we have two days of camp left. Many of us are spent. We know that God has more to do and we know we must press on. Please pray for us as yesterday took a lot out of us. We have dreams of wanting to go home. To give you all hugs. To tell you of the experiences we have had. To sleep in our own beds. But we know that the work here is not finished. We can't stop yet.
Here are a few pictures to show what the labrynth looked like that the students went through.
Again, there are so many stories to share and so many different ways in which God worked. When we get home, I encourage you to ask multiple people from our team about this night because I know that God impacted each of us in vastly different ways. You would miss out by only hearing from one person.
Our God is truly might to save and I know without a doubt that there was rejoicing in heaven last night.
Last night was "gospel night." Basically the night that all the talks and the relationships we have built thus far have led up to. Domi, the polish leader, gave her testimony. She gave it in Polish so I can't relay to you what it consisted of, but I know that it was powerful. With tears in her eyes she was told us and the campers how God changed her life. Tom then told the story of the theif on the cross. How he did not deserve eternal life nor did he have a chance to do any sort of good works to prove he was 'good' enough. The Holy Spirit was with Tom while he was speaking. The power that came through his words was undeniable. Usually, after the talks, the students would go to discussion groups. However, last night, they were dismissed in groups of 3 or 4 to go through a prayer labrynth. A one on one time with God. They were taken through a series of stations that had them look at how they view their life, how others view their life and how God views them. We had the chance to go through such a labrynth a week ago in training and so we were able to have somewhat of an idea of what they were experiencing. We had no idea it would have the impact it did. We completely underestimated the power of God and the work he would do. As they came back into the room tears were flowing from some eyes, others had no idea what had just happened, while others had conversations that I know will change them for the rest of their lives.
Afterwards, our team and the polish team were hardly able to talk about the experience. We prayed and sang and gave glory to the God who we so often put in a box. Who we so often put boundaries on as to how we want him to work and what we think he is capable of.
Now we have two days of camp left. Many of us are spent. We know that God has more to do and we know we must press on. Please pray for us as yesterday took a lot out of us. We have dreams of wanting to go home. To give you all hugs. To tell you of the experiences we have had. To sleep in our own beds. But we know that the work here is not finished. We can't stop yet.
Here are a few pictures to show what the labrynth looked like that the students went through.
Again, there are so many stories to share and so many different ways in which God worked. When we get home, I encourage you to ask multiple people from our team about this night because I know that God impacted each of us in vastly different ways. You would miss out by only hearing from one person.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Another Rainy day in Poland..
Goodmorning!
The rain continues! I don't know how much I have mentioned it, but it has been rainy here more than it hasn't been. It hasn't effected us too much until today when we are supposed to head up to the mountains for a hike. We might end up still going but I haven't heard an official word on that yet.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Laura Hash was able to come spend the day with us at camp. It was wonderful to have here there for the day. She is a familiar face and is an encouragement to us all. Her husband Dan will be with us tomorrow and we will meet up with both of them in Krakow on Monday to debrief the entire week. I can't imagine trying to debrief all that we have been through so far in just an evening and we still have 4 full days of camp left! So many stories, so many thoughts...I was just mentioning this morning how the thing I am most excited for about going home is to share it with all of you!
The last two nights we have had theme nights at camp. We take the last hour of the night and decorate with a theme and we all dress in a theme and do games and eat food that surround that theme. Monday night was Hawaiian night and last night was oriental night (which is apparently politically correct to say over here!). I have posted a few pictures of our group from those nights. We have been having a blast with it and have loved being able to interact with the students in a very casual setting.
On our hike today, or whatever we end up doing, we hope to have even more conversations with the students to really see where they are at. It is fun to come back in the evenings and hear about conversations that were had. Whether it be a polish girl who has been discouraged and just needed someone to come alongside her in her faith and it became the best part of her day... or a conversation about being saved by faith rather than works.
Tonight the message is on the choices we make and making the right decision isn't always the easy one. Tomorrow night is when the gospel is presented. Please be in prayer for both of these nights!
I also wanted to let you know that our team had a conversation about all of you back home yesterday. We have kept saying over and over again how we are representing Timberwood as a whole and that we truely are a team. Us and You. So we want to thank you for your prayers, for your love and for your support. We are one body. Know that we are praying for you as well.
Enjoy the pics!
The rain continues! I don't know how much I have mentioned it, but it has been rainy here more than it hasn't been. It hasn't effected us too much until today when we are supposed to head up to the mountains for a hike. We might end up still going but I haven't heard an official word on that yet.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Laura Hash was able to come spend the day with us at camp. It was wonderful to have here there for the day. She is a familiar face and is an encouragement to us all. Her husband Dan will be with us tomorrow and we will meet up with both of them in Krakow on Monday to debrief the entire week. I can't imagine trying to debrief all that we have been through so far in just an evening and we still have 4 full days of camp left! So many stories, so many thoughts...I was just mentioning this morning how the thing I am most excited for about going home is to share it with all of you!
The last two nights we have had theme nights at camp. We take the last hour of the night and decorate with a theme and we all dress in a theme and do games and eat food that surround that theme. Monday night was Hawaiian night and last night was oriental night (which is apparently politically correct to say over here!). I have posted a few pictures of our group from those nights. We have been having a blast with it and have loved being able to interact with the students in a very casual setting.
On our hike today, or whatever we end up doing, we hope to have even more conversations with the students to really see where they are at. It is fun to come back in the evenings and hear about conversations that were had. Whether it be a polish girl who has been discouraged and just needed someone to come alongside her in her faith and it became the best part of her day... or a conversation about being saved by faith rather than works.
Tonight the message is on the choices we make and making the right decision isn't always the easy one. Tomorrow night is when the gospel is presented. Please be in prayer for both of these nights!
I also wanted to let you know that our team had a conversation about all of you back home yesterday. We have kept saying over and over again how we are representing Timberwood as a whole and that we truely are a team. Us and You. So we want to thank you for your prayers, for your love and for your support. We are one body. Know that we are praying for you as well.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday has come and gone...
Hello to back home!
Another full day of ministry has come and gone and we are once again in aw of the God that we serve! The connections that are being made between our team and both the polish church and other campers has been incredible. To think that we still have 5 more full days with these guys is a blessing! We are loving the time we have here to pour into these people and to see the Holy Spirit at work in great ways!
Please be in continual prayer for the next few days... I know many of us are planning to have spiritual conversations sometime tomorrow or wednesday with the students that we know do not have a relationship with Christ.
Although we have multiple goals for the camp this week, one of our main goals is that everyone attending takes one step closer to Christ. Whether they are far from him or already have a relationship with him we desire that they would grow! We had a student give her testimony today and the growth seen in her even today, through that experience, was overwhelming. She is an incredible woman of God and my prayer is that I can have as tender heart as she has. I love that we are learning as much from the students as they are from us!
I know everyone on our team has so many stories to share and I am sorry that this blog is not sufficient to hold them all, be know there will be much to bring home with us about all we have experienced. I hope this is enough to get you by until then :)
Again, we can not thank you enough for your prayers and support. We miss you all and love you all.
A Huge shout out to Kon Nagy :) Your dad wishes he could be there to celebrate with you!!!!
Another full day of ministry has come and gone and we are once again in aw of the God that we serve! The connections that are being made between our team and both the polish church and other campers has been incredible. To think that we still have 5 more full days with these guys is a blessing! We are loving the time we have here to pour into these people and to see the Holy Spirit at work in great ways!
Please be in continual prayer for the next few days... I know many of us are planning to have spiritual conversations sometime tomorrow or wednesday with the students that we know do not have a relationship with Christ.
Although we have multiple goals for the camp this week, one of our main goals is that everyone attending takes one step closer to Christ. Whether they are far from him or already have a relationship with him we desire that they would grow! We had a student give her testimony today and the growth seen in her even today, through that experience, was overwhelming. She is an incredible woman of God and my prayer is that I can have as tender heart as she has. I love that we are learning as much from the students as they are from us!
I know everyone on our team has so many stories to share and I am sorry that this blog is not sufficient to hold them all, be know there will be much to bring home with us about all we have experienced. I hope this is enough to get you by until then :)
Again, we can not thank you enough for your prayers and support. We miss you all and love you all.
A Huge shout out to Kon Nagy :) Your dad wishes he could be there to celebrate with you!!!!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Dzien Dobry!
Communication at last! As you can guess, our internet access is limited to none. We have found a spot in the town square that, when the weather is fare, we are able to connect. Hopefully contact will be more frequently after this point.
To sum up the last few days: Things are going VERY well! Even though we are half way through our trip, we have only had one day of camp with 7 ahead of us.
We had an awesome church service this morning which Tom spoke at. Worship was an incredible experience. Instead of only have polish worship, they sang all songs that we both knew and had the english and polish on the powerpoint. The american team was singing in English and the polish in polish. Just a GLIMPS of heaven. When every tribe and tongue and language will sing holy holy holy is the Lord God almighty....An emotional experience for all. Which became more emotional when the church members started cheering at the thought of us returning next year as they all had tears in their eyes...I think its safe to say that a definite bond is beginning to be formed!
Day 1 of camp couldn’t have run more smoothly. We had three more campers than we thought we were going to have which brought our number of campers to 33 with two more coming later this week. This is way above and beyond the number of campers we were expecting. Praise God! I think we can successfully name every camper at camp (between the 11 of us) and have started relationships with many of them. About 10 of them are from the church youth group and we had a chance to start relationships with them on Friday. They are a great group of students and actually know quite a bit of English so we have had a BLAST getting to know them , teaching them the fine art of hacky sack and throwing a football, and working on our camp song together.
Things to be praying for:
-The students who know little to no English. They seem to be having a great time but we can not have a translator with them at all times so I know they are lost frequently. I can’t imagine being in their position.
- renewed strength for both our team and for the campers!
- That the message of Jesus Christ would be preached daily and clearly both through our actions and through the speaker of each day. Here is our list of speakers if you want to know who to pray for what day.
Sunday- Eric
Monday- Tom
Tuesday- Rick
Wednesday- Abby
Thursday- Tom
Friday- Eric
Speaking with a translator is a new thing! Also, Abby, Claire and Jess will all be sharing their faith stories throughout the week.
Running low on time as I have to get to church, but thank you all so much for your prayers and your love! We definitely feel them every morning when we rise and throughout the day!
Much Love…
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
We Made It!!!!
Hello Friends and Family!
We have arrived!!!!!!!
After 25 hours of air travel, a half hour standing in a church in Krakow waiting for the rain to stop, another half hour waiting for the place we were supposed to have dinner at to clean all the water off the ground of their flooded restaurant from the rain we had just had, to our first polish dinner, to another 2+ hour drive to the camp we are now at...we were all a VERY tired bunch when our heads hit the pillow last night. Even so, due to it being about 4:30 in the afternoon MN time when we went to bed..many of us still struggled to fall asleep. Jet Lag has pulled in full force!
We spent out travel time playing cards, playing hacky sac (many laughs came from that) , trying to find affordable food in airports, reading, knitting, writing, planning, napping and waiting.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!!!!!!
We are praising God for the smooth travel, for a healthy team, for all of our luggage arriving and in one piece, for calm hearts, for full stomachs and for the blessing of being in the beautiful country of Poland and the anticipation of all he is going to do in and through us in the next couple of weeks!
We are currently staying at a camp that Josiah Venture has recently purchased and begun to remodel called H2O. We will be here through tomorrow morning when we head to Auschwitz and then to Skoczow (where we are putting on the English camp). We spent our morning in training which will continue after dinner tonight. Until then, we have some free time to nap, to play cards, to run, and to hang out with our team.
We appreciate all of your prayers! Things to be praying for in the next few days:
- That rest would be restful!
- That God would be preparing our hearts for next week. Tonight we are going to be having a worship night and individual prayer labrynth experience. Can't wait to hear how God works in the heart of our team members.
-For our time at the concentration camps tomorrow morning.
- For our planning time with the Polish team at the church we are partnering with. That language would not hinder our communication, that relationships would be built and be strong and that the love of Christ would pour out of us to them in every interaction that we have.
Happy Birthday Anna!!!
Happy Anniversary Tom and Amy!!
Thank you all for your prayers and love!
We have arrived!!!!!!!
After 25 hours of air travel, a half hour standing in a church in Krakow waiting for the rain to stop, another half hour waiting for the place we were supposed to have dinner at to clean all the water off the ground of their flooded restaurant from the rain we had just had, to our first polish dinner, to another 2+ hour drive to the camp we are now at...we were all a VERY tired bunch when our heads hit the pillow last night. Even so, due to it being about 4:30 in the afternoon MN time when we went to bed..many of us still struggled to fall asleep. Jet Lag has pulled in full force!
We spent out travel time playing cards, playing hacky sac (many laughs came from that) , trying to find affordable food in airports, reading, knitting, writing, planning, napping and waiting.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!!!!!!!!
We are currently staying at a camp that Josiah Venture has recently purchased and begun to remodel called H2O. We will be here through tomorrow morning when we head to Auschwitz and then to Skoczow (where we are putting on the English camp). We spent our morning in training which will continue after dinner tonight. Until then, we have some free time to nap, to play cards, to run, and to hang out with our team.
We appreciate all of your prayers! Things to be praying for in the next few days:
- That rest would be restful!
- That God would be preparing our hearts for next week. Tonight we are going to be having a worship night and individual prayer labrynth experience. Can't wait to hear how God works in the heart of our team members.
-For our time at the concentration camps tomorrow morning.
- For our planning time with the Polish team at the church we are partnering with. That language would not hinder our communication, that relationships would be built and be strong and that the love of Christ would pour out of us to them in every interaction that we have.
Happy Birthday Anna!!!
Happy Anniversary Tom and Amy!!
Thank you all for your prayers and love!
Monday, July 11, 2011
One Week!
It is crazy to think that we are one week away from our trip!
There is still much to be done in this next week between finishing lesson plans, preparing talks, packing, organizing and hopefully getting some rest as well.
All this needs to be done on top of a busy week of Vacation Bible School for some, work for others and coordinating a huge community wide event for others! Needless to say, much pray is appreciated for all of us going in our last week of preparation.
I am setting up this blog in hopes that while we are in Poland we will be able to write updates on here to keep all of you back home in the loop as to how we are doing, what exactly we are doing, the amazing ways that we see God work as well as specific ways you can be praying for us.
I apologize in advance if this isn't updated as often as you would like or at all for that matter. We really don't know what the internet situation is going to be so I can't make any promises. Know that we will try!
Thank you so much for all of your support both financially and through prayer. We can't say enough how much all of you mean to us and to the success of this trip!
There is still much to be done in this next week between finishing lesson plans, preparing talks, packing, organizing and hopefully getting some rest as well.
All this needs to be done on top of a busy week of Vacation Bible School for some, work for others and coordinating a huge community wide event for others! Needless to say, much pray is appreciated for all of us going in our last week of preparation.
I am setting up this blog in hopes that while we are in Poland we will be able to write updates on here to keep all of you back home in the loop as to how we are doing, what exactly we are doing, the amazing ways that we see God work as well as specific ways you can be praying for us.
I apologize in advance if this isn't updated as often as you would like or at all for that matter. We really don't know what the internet situation is going to be so I can't make any promises. Know that we will try!
Thank you so much for all of your support both financially and through prayer. We can't say enough how much all of you mean to us and to the success of this trip!
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