A Surreal Reality

This past Sunday our whole team headed out to nearby Olsztynek for church. It was a goodbye for Amber, Patsy, and myself. It's getting very real, day by day, that I'm leaving this place in just under three weeks and may not see my friends again, this side of eternity. It's such a strange feeling. I guess in the states you know that, if wanted, you can travel fairly easily to see someone. Not so easy to get here. It's a very surreal feeling.
Anyhoo...the church prayed for us and Marcin presented each of us with three beautiful doilies that his mother made. Then, we headed upstairs for tea and coffee and cakes, then down to Marcin and Monika's home for soup, kotlet (a fried pork-steak of sorts), potatoes, tomatoes, homemade pickles and salads. It was such a wonderful day. It has been such an amazing blessing to have gotten to know them. They are such a neat couple (who will expand their family in March!!!) who just genuinely love people and long for the people in their town and villages nearby to meet Jesus in a real and life-changing way. And they are such people of faith. They truly trust the Lord to provide for their needs and have experienced Him in amazing ways doing so. I'm going to miss them. I've learned a LOT about loving, giving, serving, and ministering from them both. I've also laughed a lot with them. If you think about it, please pray for them, as Marcin is going to Siberia next week (Oct. 15-Nov 17), and for Monika, who is pregnant. Please pray for Marcin's safety as he travels and for Monika and the baby. She's had a few problems throughout her pregnancy, but seems to be doing better other than still having low iron. But again, their outlook through the whole thing has been to look to the Lord and trust Him. Did I mention that I love these people?!?!?

Group Shot: Monika wanted to be sure to get a profile picture so "baby" is included too =) They're going to be amazing parents!
Some of the ladies of the church working to prepare coffee, tea, and cakes. They are such examples of hospitality and service. Amber, Patsy, and I have all learned lots about hospitality and service from these ladies and many others in Poland.
Sean (our "boss") and Marcin. The Lord has really done a neat thing in putting these two together. They are ministry partners, but friends too. And, as a sidenote, Sean is standing up against a ceramic heater that is awesome to stand by in the winter! This is how Marcin and Monika heat their home and it's still fairly common here in Poland. There's a little door on the side where you put in the coal or whatever you're going to burn and it heats the whole place up! There's also a little shelf where you can keep baked goods warm...or dry out wet clothes!
These are the doilies Marcin's mother made for us. We each got three, two white and one with different colors. They are absolutely beautiful. I'd wanted something pretty like this to take back with me, but I never would have dreamed of having something as beautiful as this and so special! I'm planning to have them matted and framed when I get back to the states.