More Hot Fun in the Summertime

Ok, so some of you already read this post in its former life as the top ten list. I decided to change it, for a little twist, and instead list the top ten things I love about "almost summer" in Poland. So, again, without further ado...drum roll Paul...

10) sandal tan lines (one of these days I'll put a picture of Amber's on here...she's got some great tan lines on her feet!)

9) running outside on really hot, humid days...it really feels like you did something!

8) eating outside--most of the restaurants in town put out tables and umbrellas and I love it! It's so pretty, too.
7) the occasional afternoon thunderstorms; they don't happen often, but when they do I like it--I can't say I love it because I still have some remaining phobias stemming from many storms spent in the trailer

6) that the sun doesn't set until almost 10!

5) late evening walks with Amber to pray

4) the smell of the flowering trees and fresh cut grass

3) ICE CREAM!!!! ("I smell ice cream"---any takers on the movie this is from???)

2) the fresh fruits and vegetables available

1) sleeping with the windows open! (until a moth flies in and makes a bee-line for your face!)

So, there you go. This are some of the things I am loving about Polish "almost summer" (I can't bring myself to actually call it summer, because the "realist" in me knows it will get cool again!)According to our language teacher, it's supposed to be the hottest summer in 100 years. I say...bring it on!

I think this "spirited" little girl is ready for summer too! She also says "bring it on!"

On a slightly more serious note, we went to a local village on Wednesday with Sean and Bryan and a pastor named Marcin. Marcin has been working with some children each week at an after-

school program and meets with several adults for a Bible study every Wednesday. We got to go out and help with the kids and be a part of the Bible study and it was wonderful. It was a much needed breath of fresh air...literally. It was so nice to get out of the city and see the countryside. And the kids were great. We're going to do an evening camp for the kids at the end of June with a volunteer team coming from Virginia. Please pray for these kids, that the Lord would open their hearts and they'd be drawn to know Him and trust Him.

(Marcin was telling the story of Noah and brought out the Super Soaker. The kids had a great time!)

Update from the Front Lines

Have no fear...hair care help has arrived. Many, many thanks to my cousin Lori who has stepped in and saved the day. We've been engaged in a fierce and seemingly unending battle against the evil powers of the darkness of fried and damaged hair since day 1 in Olsztyn. Our defenses were virtually destroyed when we sent out a desperate S.O.S. for backup. Lori sent us an emergency arsenal of secret weapons and detailed instructions on how to use the secret weapons. Already, we have seen the enemy cower in fear and begin their departure like a dog with it's tail between its legs. Ahhh...the sweet smell of victory.

Lori, Amber and I salute you and owe our renewed sense of hope for healthy hair to you. Thank you!

Bedroom doors, Hedgehogs, and pretend boats

Well, I always have good intentions of getting on here and blogging more than a once a week update, but so far, not so good. Our internet is still shaky, but we're still working on figuring it out.

Right now, Amber and I are sitting in our living room with the door and window open and LOVING the sunshine and cool breeze (I will add that we are also playing hostess to a number of flies...or fleas, as our language teacher calls them--as we have no screens on our windows). It's sunny and actually warm outside today! One of the things that I don't think I realized would be weird about being here is how much I would miss the end of the school year. It's weird not having an official "finishing point" to be working toward and thinking "just x number of days and I'll have a break for the summer!". While it is true that we'll only be meeting with our group of girls for about four more weeks before the University is out for the summer, we won't really be on vacation...we'll still have plenty to do. So, this is how the rest of the world (non-teachers) lives....

Anyhoo...things here this past week have been...well, a week. The Lord has been so gracious and has continually reminded me that my joy and hope are in Him, and He never changes or leaves, no matter the circumstances and how unenjoyable or undesirable they may be at times. That's just a part of life. He never promised that my circumstances would be perfect, easy, or enjoyable, but He did promise that His presence and strength. He also has been reminding me that the whole purpose of these hard circumstances in life is to grow to know Him more and be changed into the woman He wants me to be. In a nutshell, things here are still no longer "quaint" and "interesting", but God is faithful and there is joy in the Lord!

So, as usual, here's the rundown:

~we went to a HUGE party with some of the girls we've been meeting with at the University called Kortowiada; y'all, this was WAY beyond anything I've ever seen. I don't even know where to start. There were around 10,000 students, fireworks, large amounts of beer and other substances, concerts...they hold all of these events on the campus and cancel classes for three days! Wild!

~on the way to Kortowiada, we saw a hedgehog running around! He was really cute!

~I finally have a bedroom door! Well, some people call it a curtain on a shower rod, but after three months with nothing, I call it a door!

~we met another American! We were on the bus the other day and being tossed around (I like to pretend I'm on a boat...it makes it way more fun) and I crossed over to the other side to grab ahold of a handle, when I heard someone asking me in English where I'm from! Turns out, he's an exchange student from Fostoria, Ohio! Whatever! There are a few other American students here, too, so we'll hopefully get to meet them and maybe they can introduce us to some of their Polish friends, too!

~we met again with three girls on Thursday and found out that two of them may be around for the summer, so hopefully we can continue to meet with them (the picture above is of three of the six girls we've been meeting with)

~we had houseguests for three nights; a couple with the IMB came here to train us in how to recruit and use volunteer teams from the states and stayed here at our flat. It was nice having some new people to visit with and get to know them and we learned a TON!

And now, we're finally relaxing a bit after a busy week and getting geared up for another busy week. And, on that note, I think I'll publish this post and sign off! Bye!

Birthday Pictures

This is me (duh-and by the way: sorry you have to see my bare feet!) wearing my new outfit and using all of my new "toys" that my OU girls sent to me. Thanks Jenn, Sarah, Lisa, and Julie! I love you girls!

This is my birthday present to myself...good ol' Tabasco.



These are my presents from Patsy and Amber. Amber had her mom send over the Splenda and the Hemp lotion! And how much do I love Pride & Prejudice?!?!?!

Sean, Lydia, and me ready to dive into the cake!

My nieces and nephew enjoying their meal together at the "kid table".

We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto

So much to blog about, so little time!!! Yes, this is true. Since our internet availability is pretty unreliable these days, minutes are precious, so I'll try to get this out before our internet goes out! So, let's see what's been going on here...
Last week was a week long holiday for most Poles, especially for the students. The first and the third are national holidays (something like Labor day and Constitution Day), so they just decided to go ahead and cancel the whole week of classes! Unfortunately, that meant that most of the girls we've been meeting with were travelling or went to their hometowns for the week. However, we did get to hang out with two of the girls throughout the week and got to spend some time with a friend from church named Ula. It's been really great getting to know these girls better. I know I've said this before, and it seems SO obvious, but it's still amazing to me how people are people. Doesn't matter what language barriers, what cultural differences come up---people are people. Listening to Ula share her testimony about how she met Jesus was so neat, because it's so similar to mine. Different country, different culture, different language, but the same Christ and the same hunger for something that's missing in life. Good stuff.
Anyhoo, this past week has been another interesting week in Northeast Poland. I guess the best way to sum it up is to say that the honeymoon is over. It's no longer "SOOO European" to wait in line for 45 minutes at the Post Office or nearly get pushed off the bus as old ladies get off. It's just plain frustrating and annoying. I knew that this feeling would come, yet it still came as a shock! All of a sudden, living in Poland isn't like the beginning of a vacation, but real, day-to-day life. I think I've come to the point where the reality is hitting me that, in the wise words of Dorothy "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto".
It's also been another holiday week of sorts for the students. The University here hosts a weekend-long party called Kortowiada that starts Thursday and goes through Sunday. There were no classes on Thursday and Friday and there are concerts and fireworks and LOTS of partying all weekend long (kind of like Halloween at OU, but even bigger and without costumes and not in Ohio). Needless to say, we cancelled our study for Thursday night! We may be going with some of our girls to check it out tomorrow night. I'll be sure to let you all know what it's like if we go!
That pretty much sums up what's going on here in Olsztyn. Here are a few odds and ends that you might like to know:
**we picked up our karta pobytu (residence cards) today...how crazy is that?!?! I'm an official resident of POLAND!!! WHAT???
**I had a wonderful birthday, thanks to all of the great birthday wishes!!! Thank you all for the cards, e-cards, and emails. They all brought a big smile to my face. For my actual birthday, I went to language class (15 more to go! woo-hoo!), hung out here at the flat, then went to dinner at a Greek-with-a-Polish-twist restaurant with Amber and Patsy, got some delicious ice cream, came back to our flat to hang out (and open presents!!), then talked to my parents on Skype and opened the package they had sent.
**tonight we had a team birthday for our three May birthdays (Sean, Lydia, and me) at our new teammates' (Bryan, Stacey and their kids Mikaila and Ethan) house. We had an authentic American cook-out with burgers, kielbasa (ok-not so American), veggies and ranch dip, Jelly Belly jellybeans, cake, ice cream, iced tea, and scalloped potatoes. Yum! We had a great time AND I got 6 delicious homemade cinnamon and raisin bagels from Sean and Lydia and an American brownie mix from Bryan and Stacey (are you noticing a trend here...apparently people know that I like food!)
**tomorrow we're having a kid party at our flat. We're having all of our little nieces and nephew over for a few hours for some no-adult fun (I know I'm 27, but I still don't know if I can bring myself to admit it!)
**we experienceed (as in were out walking in it!) our first Poland thunderstorm today. Apparently they're pretty rare around these parts, but the sky put on a pretty good show this afternoon!

So, I think that's about everything! This has turned out to be one looooong post, but if you're still reading, thanks! As usual, I'll post some pictures that go along with this post in another post and completely scramble around the captions.