Puzzles and Pierogies

So, a little over a month ago, the Intemann's gave me a 1,000 piece puzzle for my birthday. It was a beautiful puzzle with 7 different lighthouses on it (clearly they've noticed my interest/obsession with all things water related!). Well, May 3rd the first pieces were tediously laid out and this past Sunday, the last piece perfectly fit into place! Woo-hoo! I've only done one other big puzzle like this and forgot how much I like it. We both really enjoyed just being able to sit down and put a few pieces together as we had time. It's addicting though, I tell ya. You always just keep thinking "one more piece, just one more piece!" We're ready to get started on our next puzzle, one that I brought over with me and was given to me by a family friend. Mom, Dad, you can tell Mike that we are determined to finish that puzzle and I'll take pictures when we do!

We were pretty proud of our accomplishment...even if we did often joke that we could probably move into a nursing home where we could drink coffee and do puzzles all day.

Also in exciting news from Poland, the fresh strawberries have arrived! We bought our first kilo (2.2 pounds) and enjoyed them sliced and served over Ritz crackers, sprinkled with sugar (or Splenda, as is my preference), and topped with whipped cream. This is a little treat that Amber taught me about and it's delicious! We call it a hillbilly strawberry shortcake.

After enjoying our first kilo of strawberries, we decided that we wanted to try to make strawberry pierogies. Fruit filled pierogies are really popular here and, you know what they say..."when in Poland!" Well, something like that anyways...So, this past Thursday, the two girls we were supposed to meet with cancelled, so we had some free time on our hands! We got to work and created strawberry pierogies. It's not really a complicated process, but it definitely works best with four hands to do the work. There are several steps. I rolled and cut out the dough while Amber filled each pierogi with sliced and sugared strawberries and gummed the edges together. Then we boiled them, then toasted them in the oven to dry them out. I'm not sure if this is the official Polish grandmother technique, so don't tell! I'm pretty sure you're supposed to fry them, but we opted for the oven.

The filling and gumming process in our tiny kitchen.

And this is a shot of the remains of the finished product. We were so excited to eat them, I forgot to take a picture as they were all pretty on our plates and only remembered about two pierogies in! We both agreed that they tasted best topped with powdered sugar. The whipped cream was ok, but not the crowd favorite.

And, finally, to leave you all--a little story. So, the other day as we were purchasing our strawberries from the vendor outside of our neighborhood grocery store where we usually do our shopping, our favorite cashier was walking in as we were walking out. She definitely knows that we're not from around these parts and seems to get a kick out of us. So, she said hello and asked if we'd already been shopping and...with my very limited vocabulary, I didn't know what else to say, so I suddenly found myself blurting out "we have strawberries!", saying goodbye and walking away. I'm sure she had a funny story to tell when she returned home that night. And so, moral of the story: the next time you're in one of those awkward situations where you don't know how to reply, just blurt out "I have strawberries", say goodbye, and off you go! Works every time.

Just for Dad...

This short little post is for my dad (we'll see if he checks this!). We were walking home the other evening and what did we see, but a man with a pony giving pony rides!!! No kidding. Dad, I thought of you and wanted you to know that, at least in Poland, neighborhood pony rides are still an important part of childhood =)

This is the view of the pony rides from my bedroom window. The next day, we found some "presents" left from the ponies =)

Block Parties

In response to some recent teasing (ahem...Teresa!) that I don't do anything besides galavant around on trips to Warsaw and goof off with Amber, I'm posting some pictures of some of the "work" that we're doing around here =) We finished our english lessons in the villages the last week in May and have been in two different villages, Waplewo and Jemiolowo, last Saturday and today doing block parties. They were a great way to celebrate the end of the lessons and serve the communities there. We had games, prizes, songs (we taught the kids to sing "Our God is So Big" in English), Marcin shared the gospel, and we gave out a youth version of the gospel of John.

This was the stage at Waplewo. Sunday, June 1st was Children's Day here in Poland, so the school in Waplewo was already hosting a children's party that we got to come along and be a part of. So, they had quite the set up! And, do you notice the American flag along with the Polish flag on the sailboat? =)
Definitely the biggest hit in Waplewo was the relays that Bryan organized. He had some really creative relays and the kids had a great time! It also helped that it was an absolutely beautiful day! The girl in the front of the line on the left was one of my students in english class and is named Sandra. She is a super sweet and really special girl and I was so excited to see her there last Saturday. She took a gospel of John, along with another of my students named Alan, so please pray that they'd both be drawn to read it and that Christ would open their eyes and hearts and see who He truly is.
These are some of the kids that came out in Jemiolowo today. I think they are learning the motions to a song in this picture. After we sang some songs, we had relays again for the older kids, and several different games for the younger kids. It was a pretty relaxed afternoon and a great way to provide some fun and activities for this community.
It wasn't just the kids who came out to play today! The man on the right...ok, the only man...is the head pastor of the church in Olsztynek where Marcin also works. I believe he is 86 years old and, like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps going and going and going....
This is a group shot of us Americans (minus the Intemanns who were picking a friend up at the airport in Warsaw), Polish believers, and some kids and friends from the village. As you can see, Jemiolowo sits right on a lake and it was absolutely beautiful. I'm so thankful to have been able to be a part of this event and serving the people in this community. I know I still have over four months remaining here, but I'm feeling pretty nostalgic as I write this and man, I've met some great people here! I know I will cherish these memories for a long time to come =) Please continue to pray for the people in Waplewo and Jemiolowo who heard the message of hope and grace in Christ and who received the gospel of John books...that their hearts would be opened and they'd have a desire to talk more and grow in their relationship with God.