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.**
3 comments:
Oh boy, I was afraid it wasn't going to go too smoothly. Do you actually have copies of your diplomas there? Do you need a letter of recommendation from me? So far you've all been able to hurdle these obstacles, so we'll continue to pray that your road is smoother.
Nancy asked my question: Did you really know to pack your diplomas? It doesn't sound like "smooth sailing" right now, but, we'll pray for a positive report after the council meeting, and, hopefully, the public meeting will just promote more interest and local participation.
Re: Amber's blog. I thought the expression was that you had to kiss some frogs, not fish!
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