...Out Like a Lamb!

Spring has sprung and March did indeed go out like a lamb! Woo-hoo! Over the past few days, as we've been out and about, it's been very apparent that spring is in the air in Olsztyn. And it's a pretty welcome feeling, let me tell ya! I don't recall being so eager and excited for spring last year, but after spending the whole winter here this year (even though it wasn't a particularly harsh winter), I find myself noticing the little "signs" of spring around town. So far, these are the things I've noticed:

*first of all, there are a LOT more people out and about; it seems that everyone has re-surfaced after a winter of hibernating
*we were on the bus Sunday afternoon and some of the windows were open
*there are buds on all of the trees, and some are even starting to look a little green
*the ice cream stands are open and people are walking around throughout the daylight hours eating it (I love this place!)
*as you look at the many apartment buildings near us, you can see lots of open windows and clothes hung out on balconies to dry
*we actually had a (small) thunderstorm Saturday! I saw one huge bolt of lightning and heard a couple rolls of thunder. It's small, but you've got to start somewhere and I'll take it!
*I wore my contacts (which frees up the eyes for sunglasses) today, probably for the first time since Italy in September...I must confess I sit here tonight with a bit of a headache, but I consider it a small price to pay for sunshine
*there were tables outside at one of the coffee shops in old town today
*Amber broke out her favorite sandals (Chacos) today
*the ladybugs (or whatever the technical name for those obnoxious bugs that infiltrate every home apparently across continents) are out in full force
*the storks are returning to Poland (and it is here that I must confess that I didn't think storks were real until moving to Poland. I mean, of course they fly around delivering babies, but I didn't know they did normal bird-like things such as build ginormous nests and, well, fly back to Poland and whatever else it is that birds do.)

So, as you can see, spring is here. Now, in keeping with my realist tendencies, I will say that I am fully aware of the fickle nature of nature. So, I won't be shocked or disappointed if/when snow returns...but I know that it will only be for a short while and we are well on our way to summer! Here are some pictures from our walk in town this afternoon.

When the cotton candy/balloon animals/other random junk seller is out, you know it's spring.
The street flower vendors. Some stay out pretty much all winter, but there are even more as the weather gets nicer.
Pretty tulips. Amber bought some yellow ones to brighten up our living room.
A local street performer. Our favorite is when we walk by and he's singing Oasis-Wonderwall. Nice. We didn't hear it today, but we did hear a little Red Hot Chili Peppers and I'm not going to write on here what the song title was!

Happy Spring!

New Villages and Easter

The school in the small village of Nowe Kawkowo, where we'll be teaching English on Thursday afternoons.
We went prayer-walking in Nowe Kawkoko (which means NEW Kawkowo! There is an OLD Kawkowo as well!) this past Thursday with a Polish believer named Radek. As we walked past this rock, he pointed out that this tiny village is older than America. Crazy!
This is the swietlica in the even-smaller village of Szalstry, where we'll also be teaching English on Thursday afternoons. Amber and I will also be making the short (about 4 KM--although it takes about 10 minutes to drive because the road is so bumpy) drive from Nowe Kawkowo to Szalstry solo...in a standard VW van! Thankfully though, the road is so bad we won't have to go any higher than second gear =)
Lydia, Patsy, and Lydia's good friend Ela at Easter lunch. Ela is the professor who invited Amber and I to her classes to invite her students to practice English and study the Bible with us.

I have a few minutes this morning, so I thought I'd sit down and do a little "catch-up" blog. It's been a while! Sorry! We're getting ready today to head out to two new villages, Nowe Kawkowo and Szalstry. It's always nerve-wracking to go somewhere new, but I'm also looking forward to meeting some new people and seeing what God will do in these villages. Bryan and Radek have been meeting with some ladies from these villages to practice some english and study the Bible. Please pray for these villages and for open doors to share the gospel with them. We're at the point now, in many of these villages, where we're really looking at where to go next. Obviously, teaching english is a great service to the community, but we're also wanting to gain the opportunity to share God's Word with people and looking for creative ways to do that. So, please pray that God would open doors and give us some creativity as we plan for the summer.

This past week, Amber's parents came for a visit. I got to tag along as their second daughter, and it was great. We didn't do too much out of the ordinary, but they got a chance to see what "everyday life" is like in Olsztyn, Poland. We even took them to the grocery store! They missed out on fun events like the post office, but maybe next time =) We did get to play a couple of games of euchre, which Amber's mom and I won! Woo-hoo!
We also, obviously, celebrated Easter this past week. The three evangelical churches in Olsztyn had a joint service in the morning at a local hotel. Then, in the afternoon, we all went to the Stevenson's house for a DELICIOUS lunch! After eating too much, and drinking coffee to stay awake, we had a time of worship to celebrate Christ's victory over death on our behalf, then Amber, her parents, and I headed back home for the evening.

So, in a nutshell, that's what's been going on here. As you can see by some of the pictures above, there is still snow here! It's actually gotten really cold and has snowed almost every day for about a week now. I know that it's almost April, and I'm totally ready for some warm weather, but I still think the snow is pretty. Well, when the sun shines on it anyhow!
By the way, on a sidenote, over the Easter break from school (which was Thursday through Tuesday), there was another camp for kids held in Warsaw. Marcin took ten kids with him and his wife and six of those kids trusted Christ! Two of the girls are involved in our English club in Olsztynek, and one of the girls comes to our club in Jemiolowo! Please pray for these kids, that they'd be drawn to spend time reading God's Word and grow in Him.

Star Light, Star Bright

It's been a while, but I'm back with a little update of sorts. I want to say that we haven't been up to too much around here, but I guess we really have. It's pretty much the same old, same old, but it's been good. We started meeting with two new girls on Thursday nights to speak English and do a Bible study. We've met twice, and it's been really great. They're super sweet and their english is good. We've also still been meeting with Ala and Nina, which is a blast. They're just great. And, we're still going out to four villages, and looking at adding two more! Last Tuesday, after our final lesson for the day, we went to the home of the village leader, who is into astronomy as a hobby! When we first arrived, it was pretty overcast, but as we were leaving the skies cleared up a bit. We were able to see Saturn, Mars, several constellations, and the moon. It was pretty stinking amazing to see. I mean, we live in ONE galaxy and it's just unfathomably huge. I can't even wrap my little brain around it. But, it reminds me of Psalm 8:

"When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your finers--the moon and the stars that You have set in place--what are mortals that You should think of us, mere humans that You should care for us? For You made us only a little lower than God, and You crowned us with glory and honor. You put us in charge of everything You made, giving us authority over all things--the sheep and the cattle and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents."

It was just amazing to see the vastness of the night sky (I should also mention that it's something we don't often see here, either because it's cloudy or because we're in a city with many lights) and realize that, though I am so small, God sees me and knows me and cares for me. Amazing!

So, let's see, anything else going on around here...our friend Iza called us this past week and asked if we'd come help her clean up our church. They had done some remodelling over the past two weeks, and needed to get it cleaned up and put back together for church this Sunday. Amber and I were thrilled to be able to help out, so we gladly said we'd be there. Obviously, we can't do...well, anything that requires speaking! But, give us a rag and a bucket of water, and we're on it!

This is a picture from this past fall of the outside of the Olsztyn Baptist Church. The dark brown door is the entrance to our side of the building. The left side is some kind of men's only sauna, I think. I try to stay away from those.
This is the sign for the church. Needless to say, it's a little hidden and tucked away, a little difficult to find! This is also where we meet on Sunday nights for International Fellowship.
This is what we walked into on Friday morning. It looks great! Freshly painted walls and new light fixtures really help. This is the sanctuary, worship center, whatever you may call it.
And this is the dusty mess that was hidden behind the door in the picture above. Yuck. They had apparently sanded down the plaster walls in the sanctuary and the dust from the process was on EVERYTHING! I'm so not exaggerating about that one. I mean to tell you, the crayons and pencils were covered in dust. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. And this is Iza, surveying the damage and wondering where to start. This is the bathroom/kitchen where I was put on dish duty. Every Sunday after the service, people stick around to drink coffee and tea and eat little sweets and fellowship. And, since the cups, plates, and utensils fall under the category of EVERYTHING mentioned above, they desperately needed washed. There were five of us who worked for several hours Friday morning, then another group came on Friday afternoon, and more on Saturday, but the work got done and everything looked great Sunday morning!

A Night Out and an Idea for America

Last night, we got to go to a concert with Ala and Nina at their university. It was a man by the name of Grzegorz Turnau and another-guy-whose-name-I-don't-know. Both men sang and Grzegorz played the piano BEAUTIFULLY and G.W.N.I.D.K. played the guitar, equally as BEAUTIFULLY! It was really a great night. Yes, every song was in Polish; yes, they would talk and tell stories between songs that apparently were pretty funny (it's always a weird situation when everyone around you is laughing and you have no idea what's being said!). But, it was still beautiful music--kind of a blend of jazz and folk--and it was just calm and relaxing. It was a great night and I'm so thankful Ala and Nina thought to invite us. If you live in Ohio and are snowed in for the weekend, you can search Grzegorz Turnau on YouTube and hear some of his songs.

Nina, Amber, Ala, and I after the concert. Aren't they cute?!?
Grzegorz is on the left and G.W.N.I.D.K.is, obviously, on the right. Grzegorz played the accordian for a couple of songs as well, which was awesome. I will admit, I really like the accordian!
Ok, here is the other big blog-worthy news. Here in Poland, almost everywhere you go has a room called a "szatnia". It's a room where you check your coat when you go into a building. Now, I know that some places in American have these...namely, theaters. But here, most places offer a szatnia and it is so nice! As I was sitting last at the concert last night, I thought "this is so wonderful! Live, relaxing music, friends, and I'm free to move around in my seat, unhindered by the bulk of a big winter coat, scarf, gloves, and hat! What a great idea!" I was so inspired, I took a picture of my coat-retrieval tag (I'm sure there's a much better Polish word for this thing...heck, I'm sure there's a much better English word for this thing!).
And, here are the hordes of people waiting to retrieve their coats with their coat retrieval tags. I should also add that the coat retrieval process is done with great efficiency here and is highly impressive. America, can we get on that?

So, there's the big news of the weekend from Olsztyn. Well, that and the karaoke event that was held at the KFC downtown today. Yes, that's right. KFC as in Kentucky Fried Chicken. It's Women's Day here in Europe, and what better way to celebrate than karaoke at KFC? Sadly, Amber and I didn't make it into town today. Maybe next time!

English in Olsztynek and the Heaviest Sweater I Own

This past Tuesday, Amber and I headed out to Olsztynek, as usual, to teach our English lesson to the kids there. However, this particular week was a bit different! We had been told the previous week that there was going to be a special presentation about Polish folk clothes, so our lesson would be shortened to only a half an hour long. We were then invited to attend the presentation, to which we agreed. Now, at this point, I should mention that Marcin (the pastor we usually travel to these villages with) was out of town last week. So, through our Polish friend Iza's translation, we arranged to come and see the presentation, then teach a shortened english lesson. No problem, right? Well, when we arrived at the building where we usually teach (and where we thought the presentation was), we were right on time and ready to go and....NO KIDS! No one at all was in the building! At this point, I'm starting to sweat (and not only because I have on the heaviest sweater I own, along with my coat and scarf and we just climbed three flights of stairs!). I was afraid that we missed something in translation (it happens quite often) and, since we're still relatively new to teaching these kids, didn't want to make a bad impression. Thankfully, Marcin quickly called Iza, and found out where the kids were meeting...at the Museum in town! So, we high-tailed it over to the museum, just as the presentation was starting. The directors of the kid's program (it's kind of an after-school program for specific kids who qualify--due to low income, family issues, things like that) welcomed us warmly and the tour guide at the museum was extremely gracious and excited to get to explain to us the different traditional clothes worn by people in different regions throughout Poland. Marcin translated for us, and it was really interesting. I learned that the people from the region where I live typically wore more basic, cheaper clothes, because they were out working on the farms and caring for livestock. This region is one of the poorer regions in Poland, to this day (or so I've been told).
The clothing was beautiful, and it was a lot of fun to get to share the experience with the kids. Then, after the tour was finished, the directors asked if we would mind to just teach the english lesson right there in the museum! (no one else was there). So, we got to teach in an extremely old building (it used to be a church, although I couldn't find exactly how old--Google let me down) and Marcin snapped a few pictures that I thought I'd share! Enjoy =)

Amber and I with the kids. They are great kids and so much fun! Right now, their favorite game is Around the World with numbers 1-20. I'll tell you what though, some of these kids get vicious! They definitely get into the game!
As the tour director was showing this dress (above) she was pointing out the detailed embroidery on the scarf and telling us that when a woman was nearing the age to be old enough to marry, she had to start making shirts for her husband because he had to have enough shirts to wear a different one every Sunday to church. Yes, that's right, before she even got married, she had to have a stockpile of 52 shirts! Can you imagine?!
More beautiful clothes, typically worn by people in the mountains. And, can you see the pictures in the background? Amber and I kept commenting that many of the pictures looked like Mexicans. It was interesting.
Me and Amber. I dont' know if you can see the grates in the floor, but there was some serious heat pumping out of those things. And remember the aforementioned "heaviest sweater I own"?? Yeah, I was warm, to say the least. Sometimes, you just can't win here with the clothing selection. You think you've got it just right and you end up either freezing or melting!
In action. It's always a lot of fun in Olsztynek, and the kids seem to really be interested and enjoy learning english, which definitely helps =)

And, before I go, in answer to the questions on the previous post:

--yes, the purse is Vera Bradley. Love it!!!

--the boots: my friend, Teresa, back in Ohio introduced me to them. Then, when I was home for Christmas, the good old TSC (Tractor Supply Co.) in Sandusky had some in stock. Woo-hoo! If you have some free time (or a slight obsession with Google, as do I) just Google "fat baby boots" and you can check out the many different designs and colors. They're so fun!

--the tea: I don't know if you can buy it in stores, but I ordered it online Here and it's SO worth it!