So long, Farewell, ...(um, I don't know how to spell the rest of the song)

Can you see us??? These our are new beds for a couple of weeks. You take what you can get here!

Well, I don't really have anything too exciting to blog about right now, but wanted to touch base before I check out for a few weeks. Right now, we're hanging out in our flat waiting for the volunteer team from America to arrive. They're coming from Arkansas and are here for a little over a week to help out with a camp for high school students. We're leaving tomorrow for the camp and will be MIA for the week. Then, after a quick night back here in Olsztyn next Saturday, we head to Warsaw where we'll say good-bye to the team and I'll meet my parents! They're heading in on the 6th, then we'll hang out for the week until they leave on the 13th. Then, right after they leave on the 13th I'll head out, with Amber, to a little town near here to spend the week helping out with a mini-crusade-ish-type-thing. Phew! It's definitely going to be an action packed few weeks, but I'm looking forward to some good times.

Like I said, other than that, there's nothing too exciting going on here right now. I'm sure I'll have more to post after the next three wild weeks. But, before I go, I have to share about one of the best books I've ever read. Now, I'm not an avid reader, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy a good book. And this is one amazing book. It's called Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and I think every female checking out this post should read it. It's amazing. It's a big 'un (about 400 pages) but I read it in no time at all. The only warning is that you should be ready to be up really late reading, because once you pick it up it's really hard to put it back down and actually go to sleep. I think it would be an awesome book to read in a book club type thing (not that I've ever actually been a part of one of those, but they sound fun!). So, there's my two cents for the day =) But seriously, if anyone is looking for an amazing book to read, go find this one!
Well, I'm off to go finish packing. I'll check back with you all in three weeks! So long!

Jazz in the Castle

Do you ever have a day or an event that you just know was a gift from the Lord? I had one of those last night. It was wonderful. And I'd love to tell you all about it!
Well, first of all, yesterday morning Amber and I went to visit with Bozena, our new language partner. We trade off Polish conversation for English and so far (we've met twice) it's working out really well. She has a 12 year old daughter who we're also going to help with English as well. They're both super sweet and we're having fun getting to know them.
So, after our brains were mush from over 2 hours of conversation, we hiked back in the smokin' hot heat (side note: so, I've learned that heat here just isn't as fun as it was in Huron when I pretty much just spent the day in the lake or with a beach chair parked in the water on the shore---again, I'm learning that this is how the rest of the free world lives! Who knew?!?!), grabbed some lunch, and headed to Old Town to drink some iced coffee. As we were sitting outside and watching the Polish world go by, we got an SMS from one of the girls in our English Club, Ala. She said that she had 2 tickets to a jazz concert in the castle that night and wanted to know if we wanted them. So, unsure of what to think about the whole event or what it would turn out to be, we said "sure!" and off we went.
Let me try to set the stage; picture yourself inside a 600 year old castle, late evening as it begins to cool down, a bass, guitar, and a drumset, great jazz, and free tickets. Yeah, it was wonderful. These three guys were awesome and they played with such passion, it was so neat to see. Amber and I just sat there saying "this is great". It was such an absolute blessing from our Father. It truly felt like just a little gift; a little time out to stop and just enjoy a totally unexpected blessing.
Today, on the flip side, we got some bummer news. We once again travelled out to Platyny and were once again denied. Marcin (and all of us) is praying about what to do next. There is so much involved here, it would take a few posts to explain, but please continue to pray for Marcin to have wisdom to know what to do here and for the people of this village, especially the kids. We spent some time out there this afternoon and what we saw among the kids was disturbing. Please pray that they'd be set free to true life in Christ.

Please Pray!

This is a picture of a little gift that was given to each of us that worked at the camp in Platyny. I have a feeling that it will be one of my most prized posessions from my time here in Poland. I wanted to share this with you and ask you all to pray, once again, for this little village. Marcin, Sean, Bryan, Patsy, Amber, and I all headed out to Platyny yesterday afternoon, planning to go and visit some families and teach the English lesson. We were told to bring a copy of our college diplomas with us, which the Soltys (one of the village leaders) needed to see. As I'm sure you can guess, given the previous track record in this village, it didn't quite go as planned. When Marcin took the copies to the Soltys to trade for the key to the building, he was told that he needed to have a letter of permission from the mayor. Ugh! So, no english and no meeting with the kids yesterday. We all met together in the home of one of the members of Marcin's church, who lives in Platyny, and talked and prayed. As far as I know, Marcin was going to try to get in touch with the Mayor today to discuss the situation with him, but I'm not sure what the outcome was.
As we met together and prayed, I was reminded of a couple of verses:

"He (Jesus) opens doors, and no one can shut them; He shuts doors, and no one can open them." (Revelation 3: 7)

"But the word of God cannot be chained." (II Timothy 2:9)

I know that God is in control of even this, and no decision from man will change that. Of course, we have our plans and strategies to get into this village, but "we can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Whatever the verdict, I know that my Father reigns and that He is not bound or hindered by man's decisions and rulings. His Word never comes back void, even in a little village of 400 in northeast Poland!
Please continue to pray for these people. Please pray for the boldness and encouragement of the believers who live there...they obviously have the most influence and easiest "in" with the people! And please pray that the Lord would use all of this to stir a curiousity and interest in the people of Platyny...to use even this, in His mercy, to draw people to Himself.

**ok, so we talked with Lydia and Stacey at our little "Girls Night Out" tonight and they shared with us what Sean had heard from Marcin. Apparently, Marcin got ahold of the mayor and the mayor now says it needs to be addressed at a meeting of the Rada (kind of like the city council, to the best of my knowledge), which will meet again in 2 weeks. I guess that means we won't know anything more for two weeks. However, Marcin will continue to be able to meet with the home Bible study group in the home of one of the believers in Platyny.**

Beyond Random

I know I just got finished posting an entry today, but these were a few random shots I wanted to share that really have no meaning whatsoever. Enjoy!

I saw this store in Old Town Gdansk and thought for a moment that I was back in Huron! Believe it or not, this isn't the first IGA I've seen in Poland. There's a tiny one here in Olsztyn and I've seen one in Mikolajki, where we had our meetings back in April!
I don't know if you can read this sign, but it's advertising an upcoming Jethro Tull concert. Now, I know I've been out of the states for six months, but I honestly wasn't aware that there was still a big Jethro Tull following, which is sad. I mean, how much better does it get than a rock band whose lead singer plays the flute? Apparently, the Poles see it this way too!
And, last but not least, you may think that the funny thing about this photo is Amber's cheesy thumbs up sign, or even the two people in the background drinking Cola Light (the Polish version of Diet Coke), but no...does anyone else think that it might be Bono behind Patsy in the sunglasses???? Maybe he found what he was looking for in Sopot.

Gdansk

This past weekend, Amber, Patsy, and I decided to take a little trip to celebrate being finished with our language classes and just to get away and see another part of Poland. We caught the train Friday afternoon and headed up north to Gdansk, a town near the Baltic Sea. We stayed in Gdansk Friday and Saturday night, but spent the day Saturday in Sopot, a town a little farther north and right on the Baltic. We had a great time and enjoyed walking through the old town, walking down by the river, seeing lots of boats!!, eating good food, eating ice cream, sitting and relaxing and drinking coffee, buying amber jewelry, sticking our toes in the sand and frigid Baltic sea, and just enjoying a nice weekend! So, here are a few pictures from our weekend trip. Surprise, surprise...I once again am having trouble moving these things around, so here's the rundown: Amber and I in old town Gdansk, a picture of the river running through Gdansk, boats at the harbor, my toes in the Baltic Sea, and yes, you see correctly...Sea Doos!!!!!!! I was tempted to go beg and plead for a ride, but held myself back...I didn't know how to say "I'll be your best friend forever if you'll just give me a ride on your Sea Doo" in Polish...a lot of good those language classes did! =)

Hello Mother, Hello Father, Here I am at Camp Platyny

Well, a few days have passed, but we've closed the books on the camp in Platyny. What a great week. Exhausting, yes, but wonderful. We finished up with the camp on Tuesday and filled the days in between with a kielbasa roast, a volleyball game (against the same beastly MEN that showed up to play soccer--once again, for some odd reason, I wasn't recruited for my mad volleyball skills...I was camera girl this time around), more crafts and music, games with water balloons, an impromptu English lesson with some of the older girls and some of the women of the village, more DDR, and just more general FUN! The final day was rainy and cold, so we spent the time inside with DDR, watching the Jesus Film for Kids (in Polish) and watching a DVD of the week that Sean had put together. It was great. All of the kids who came each got a copy of the New Testament to take home with them, which they were really excited about. We're also planning to follow-up with the kids and their families by taking a copy of the DVD Sean put together. It was an awesome week that, in many ways, went NOTHING the way we envisioned it. I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: living here in Poland I sometimes feel a bit like Gumby (you know, being flexible and all...not that I'm green, plastic, and have a horse named...what was that guy's name???). But, as Bryan put it, it's usually when things go exactly like we've planned them that they are just that....exactly as WE planned them. However, when we're allowing God to have His way and have things to His liking, things may indeed be a bit unexpected, but we see Him at work and are forced to lean on His power, not our own. So, in that sense, the craziness of the week was definitely good.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures from the remainder of the week. There are so many I'd love to show you, but I'll settle for these for now!