Dustin's Bag is HERE!

Dustin's bag never made it with us to Chicago and it still hadn't made it to his house as of this morning. He just called me and said his bag is on the way to his house tonight.

One can only imagine the stench of the clothes from the hike in the rain. OH MY!!!!!!!

Have fun washing those clothes buddy!!!!!!!!!!

Pat's Perspective on the Trip

It's been cool to start reading through a bunch of blogs now that we are home! I was reading Pat Roseman's blog and found a post she did on our trip HERE! It's a great post with a great quote from Yancey in it!

Pat's daughter Jen was on our trip as a leader.

It was very encouraging to see one of the missionaries from our church, whose out on the field, showing her concern and interest in our trip!

Thanks PAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lee's Collarbone Doc Appointment

Lee just got back from the Doc! Here's the scoop. He's going to be fine. His collarbone should be healed in six weeks. A ball of calcium should form to connect the bones that are overlapping. He doesn't have to wear the straps around his shoulders anymore. His arm is in a more comfortable sling and he's on some good medication. So the Doc in Poland, who was smoking a cigarette after he set he collarbone, actually did a good job. The most priceless part of our experience with the Doc was as he was setting the bone he heard a pop and says, "Ooops!"

Between the cigarette smoke that filled the hospital and that comment I will never forget my time in the hospital in Zakopane, Poland.

I can't imagine seeing this place in the winter! What a wonderland!

We're HOME!!!!!!!!

After both of our flights were delayed on Tuesday we are all home!!!!! Keep coming back to this site as we will posting post trip stuff and MORE PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!

The trip was great, but the hugs from my wife and kids this morning were BETTER!!!!!

New Photos

New photos from the camp.
Click on a photo for a description.

Previous Slideshows:
Camp Set 1

Denver and Chicago

Basketball & A Close Team

From Kevin Lansing

What’s up ziom? I have had a wonderful experience this second year in Poland. This year’s camp was, of course, spectacular. I was unsure of what to expect being that the camp was in a different location with some new faces but I have been pleasantly surprised by how things have turned out. I made some very strong bonds with most of the Polish leadership team last year and these bonds were strengthened this year, as I was able to spend more time behind the scenes due to my involvement in camp music.

God has blessed me richly this year with many friendships. One in particular, though, has impacted me the most. I have always wondered how God would use basketball in my life to bring glory to his name, especially in a sport where I have learned to play so aggressively and anything but Christ-like. However, its not how I play the game but rather how I carry myself that the Lord can use, it’s the relationships that can be created through common interest which are important. My Father has used both of these attributes on this trip with astounding results as I witnessed a young man, one of my best friends, come so very close to establishing a relationship with Christ.

Our team is very close this year. The Polish and American Christians are very strong this year and closely united. Love is in the house this year, and the house was packed, people heard things they’ve never heard before. They wrestled with things they’ve never thought about before. And they saw hope and love like they’ve never dreamed before. Whether it is from the wild and crazy things that took place or the deep and personal things that students heard. Maybe it was the spiritual battle lined drawn on classroom floors or evening programs, only God knows. But I do know one thing…. Love was in the house.

Our team is very close this year, close to Polish students and leaders alike, and because of this it was very hard to leave…. heartbreaking…because part of my heart will always be in Poland.

Alice, Tori & Mickey In Poland

One of the great joys of this trip is being lived out right now as we get to see Alice, Tori and Mickey from our church. It is awesome to see Alice in the midst of her ministry! She looks great and is doing great! Likewise, it’s great to see two of our former students serving as an interns over here for the whole summer.

I can’t wait to see who from our church will choose to be an intern next year!

Collarbone Man Speaketh

From Lee Mitchell via the hands of Brianne,

Hi this is the “gimp”(as he is known by the team…) jk. Needless to say I will never forget this trip. The people I met at camp were the kindest people that I have ever met. They were always willing to help me with anything I needed, especially considering my injury. Saying goodbye was really tuff and I cannot wait for next year.

We're At Dan & Laura's House

We just made it Dan and Laura's house. The students just got done swimming. We are grilling dinner, going to the pottery store and then watching the World Cup final game! We will be writing blogs while we are here so check back after church!

A Soccer Game Analysis

From Tim

Greetings!

Some of you have been waiting anxiously for the news on how the Poland vs. USA soccer game went here at camp. Wait no longer as I reveal the outcome of the match of colossal proportions.

The game took place on the hardtop court behind our camp house, which allowed for us to use a sound system for music and sports commentary. The Polish students were decked out in Polish jerseys and shirts to the point that we were drowned in a sea of red and white. After we made a dramatic entrance, both teams sang their national anthem and it began. Only six people per team were allowed on the field of play due to the court being smaller than a normal soccer field. Julie Wentworth was our all-time goal keeper while we rotated the rest of our numbers every eight minutes.

After about ten minutes of scoreless action and some amazing saves, Poland drew first blood. They followed up with three more points shortly afterwards and we began to think all of our taunting would come back to haunt us. It should be noted that their second goal came from an unfortunate deflection off of one of our own players. However…

We would not go down so easily and I had the honor of opening up the flood gates with the first American goal. (As a side note, this kept my scoring streak against Zielona Gora alive for a third year.) Dustin then followed up with a hat trick to tie the score. From there the game would remain tightly matched as the score on both sides climbed to 9-9 before regulation time ran out. The other Americans that contributed goals were Kate, Rachel, Josh and a fourth by Dustin. (I am missing one person.)

We went into a shootout of penalty kicks, with only one person from each side scoring to send us into a second shootout. Josh was the one who kept us alive. In the second shootout the Polish goal keeper shut us down while three balls managed to make it into our goal to lead the Polish team to a 13-10 victory. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in one of these matches and as an added bonus, Dan Hash was able to join us that day. We earned a lot of respect for putting up such an effort against the Polish team and had a lot of fun doing so. Even though we lost, it was a great game to play in and watch!

Gospel Night

From Dustin

Hello hello hello!

Camp just went from going well to rocking the world! Tonight was gospel night and God was absolutely present with us. Each and every one of us could tell you a story about tonight but I got lucky enough to have this end up being my night to blog so you get to listen to mine. I was able to see my friend and roommate Jorek come to Christ tonight. It is awesome to know that God uses you in ways that you are not expecting. I was able to build a friendship with Jorek throughout the week. Every night my roommates and I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. talking and laughing, I even got a new name wkursany (v-cush-a-nu), I’ll explain later. Anyway, Tim was able to talk to him and knowing that maybe, just maybe, God used me. It is so humbling. Anyway, obviously we are doing well and I hope you all are too.

A Hike and Sin Night

From Rachel

Hello everyone,

Camp is going well. Today is Friday and we just ate lunch. We are always busy with things to do. Yesterday, I went on a hike with a group of people. I started talking to one girl who had no one next to her. She asked me some questions about my life, and I asked her questions back. We started to talk about faith and beliefs. I found out that she goes to a Catholic church. I explained that I believe in God and that Jesus died for the wrong things we do. I am interested to see what she thinks of the talks Dan has been giving. Last night, Dan talked about sin. Tonight, he will share the truth of Jesus’ loving sacrifice. Please pray for strength, as I am getting worn out and tired. I feel that God is teaching me things about myself. One thing I continue to think about is how I am dependent on God. I want God to be the focus of this trip.

Thank you for praying for the team, the leaders, the students, and me. I am expecting that tonight will be very intense and deep.

Dan Hash is the MAN

One of the reasons I love coming to Poland is it gives me time to connect with Dan Hash, the partner missionary from our church, that serves in Poland with Josiah Venture. I don’t even know how to describe our relationship except to say that I feel like we’ve been friends all our lives. I speak into his life. He speaks into mine. I buy him books. He gives me old books he’s read. He’s a cheetoh. I am a cheetoh. Maybe it’s the freckles? Anyway, when Dan left camp earlier this week I thanked God that he took the time he took drive to Zakopane to encourage our team, the Poland team and the campers. What a guy!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable Weather

Apparently the weather this time around in Zakopane is better than it was three years ago. Every single day of camp has been sunshine and blue sky!!!! It has been absolutely amazing to be able to see those mountains every morning when we wake up and every night before the sunsets! On the other hand, our time in Krakow was filled with rain, wind and our team was flat out freezing at times!

Trips & Dance We Won't Forget

Thursday was packed full of different trips to choose from. Students could stay back at camp (boring) or choose to do one of the following: Splunking, a hike, or walking through the streets of Zakopane soaking up the culture. We had a late dinner because there are other groups staying here so they ate first. This made our evening program late. Our topic on Thursday night was sin. It was a heavy night, as it should be. God was gracious to give me what I believe were the right words to share to this group and Kasia did a great job of translating. She was AWESOME! The highlight of the night was when I shared how God has revealed to me here at camp my sinfulness as a father and I played Kelly Clarkson’s song “Because of You.” I blogged on it here earlier in the week. But this wasn’t the highlight. Kate danced to the song! It was absolutely a tear-jerker. You want to talk about using your ability to glorify God, she did on Thursday night. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Our goal was to send students away thinking about the wrong things that are going inside of them. The soil has been tilled and tonight I get the privilege to plant a gospel seed. What a privilege!

A Whole Day of Soccer

Wednesday was packed full of soccer! We played our annual match against Poland. We had World Cup theme Night and we even managed to squeeze in the end of the France vs. Portugal match (what an ending). I emailed Jon Green pictures so look back later.

We had to take Lee back to the hospital because his arm was starting to swell. The loosened the brace and put his arm in a sling and the swelling has decreased overnight.
The soccer game ended in a 9-9 tie and it went to a shootout! Poland won 13-10 after two shootouts! More on this later!

Ping Pong & Cards

Hey it’s Josh. I can’t believe how fast this week is going by. Well I love the polish people. They are really caring and they really want to listen to what you have to say. The Polish students have enjoyed playing Red Robin. It’s a ping pong game. You play ping pong and run around the table. I have also got addicted to it. It’s an amazing atmosphere when you play. Everyone is screaming and getting excited. Another thing they like to play is cards. We have been playing all the time. We just can’t get enough of it. This is kind of random, but that is how I roll. The soccer yesterday was amazing. I really liked how exciting it turned out to be.

I really believe that the Polish students are having a great time and actually listening to the speakers that we have been using. I am really excited to see how god is going to impact some of the their lives. The language barrier makes deep conversations hard, but I think God will work in a powerful way. That’s is all for now so l8ter.

Photos from the first few days of camp.
Click on a photo for a description.

Previous Slideshows:
In Chicago

Denver to Chicago

The Americans Are Speaking!

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the days Tim Vincent (Wednesday only) and I are speaking here at camp. About 12:30 p.m. each of these days, as you are consuming American calories (I can’t wait for Taco Bell) please pray. Wednesday Tim sets up the discussion that the spiritual world and the physical world are connected and both are real. Thursday I will discuss the problem of evil in the world and in our hearts. Friday is the proclamation of the gospel. Saturday is a wrap up!

Hittin' the streets in Zakopane

Elizabeth Dunning – July 4th

Czesc! Today has been a great day! We took the afternoon and went into Zakopane. It was a great time to build relationships with the Poles outside of the camp setting. Most of us enjoyed a nice cone of lody, while others did some shopping. Bonding with the Polish students is going pretty good so far, some of us are having difficulty because of the language barrier and other things, but mostly it is coming along great.

Today was the first day of English classes. I’m in Tim’s class with Lee and it was very interesting. We learned about family and idioms that have to do with family. We did a role-play where the students had to be different family members and act out situations. Tim got in on one and acted like a spoiled brat who wanted a tv. He was throwing temper tantrums like a two year old. It was HILARIOUS!!!!! The Poles enjoyed it very much.

Tonight during the session, the talk was about relationships.It really kinda hit me and some of the others hard. Some of the Poles got up and walked out. It made me realize that there’s something I need to say… Mom, I’m sorry, please forgive me.

Things to be praying for: bonding with the Poles, strength to keep up the high energy level, patience to work with the Poles on English and talk to them about the same things about God without getting annoyed, and that God would keep the team bonded and really let His presence be felt by us and the Poles. Thank you for your prayers and your support!

Oh, one more thing…I went to a Polish tattoo parlor and got my ears pierced again. It was very interesting, since one of the Polish girls had to translate for me. Tierra went with me too and I squeezed both of her hands off, not really that bad, but pretty hard. So, yeah, I now have two holes in each ear…sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!! Mom and Dad, I love you and miss you mucho!!!!!!!!!! See you guys in a week!!!!!!! Kocham cie!!!!!!!!!!!! Dobranoz!!

Zabka - little frog!

*The photo is not from the team, but was found online, and is a photo of the main street in Zakopane; The tattoo/piercing logo is from the Zakopane store's website. - Jon the Canadian

Wireless Internet at Camp!

I can't believe it! I am sitting in the kitchen right now cranking out these blogs! I hope Rafal will be able to hook us up again each and every night! More to come!

Our First Day At Camp

Duke Johnston

Today was pretty incredible. It was definitely a completely new experience for me. Last night we had our first night at camp. There is one of us per each room. It’s a unique situation in that you are the only person that can speak English really well. Now there are some Polish people that can speak really good (conversational good). Although most students can’t speak to well which has been a problem for a lot of us here. But it is good because it gets us out of our comfort zone and really makes us rely on God for what our impact will be with the students.

With God as our focus everything else falls into place. It’s crazy how that works. Today we were playing a game were you had to carry people back and fourth – it was a relay- unfortunately while Lee was being carried his carrier fell and Lee broke his collar bone in two places, crazy! Lee is good and is back with us. Life for him will be a little awkward for a while but Lee has a great attitude! It was nice to be able to stay in one for a while.

It was basically the first day that we have not been traveling, incredible! Poland is great and it will be exciting to see what happens this week!

Zakopane

Zakopane

I (Julie) just got off the phone with Dan. They traveled for 8 hours yesterday on the train and for 8 hours today on the bus. The team is pretty tired and foggy from jet lag. It is a bummer that they still have jet lag going into camp because usually it's gone by now. It should be better tomorrow. The bus went through Katowice which is where Kasia grew up and where both Dan and Laura Hash live as well as Alice. Kasia pointed out the building where she lived most of her childhood. Our team was able to spend some time with the Polish campers yesterday morning and this morning.

Dan Luebcke preached out of Romans 8:12-17 at church this morning. The church then provided them with lunch and then they boarded the busses along with 93 total campers. Thirty of the campers are coming from places outside of Zelona Gora, so there is lots of excitement to reach these campers too.

The team is about to arrive in Zakopane in about fifteen minutes. They will all check in and then hit the pillow because it is already almost 11pm their time. Of course, the students will probably not be going to bed right away as this is the first night with their Polish roommates. What a great opportunity to really begin a great relationship!

Please pray for all them that the jet lag will go away and the tiredness they feel will not interfere with the mission of the trip...to reach Polish students for Jesus. Also, pray for these students as they room with Poles. Sometimes it can be difficult at the beginning because no body knows what to say or do. Pray that the walls will be broken down and that our students can really love on the Poles.

It will be difficult to update this sight as they may have little or no internet access in the mountains, but hopefully we'll be able into get in a little information each day around this time.
Thanks,

--Julie

Quick Note from Dan

We are doing GREAT!!!! I am at Mariusz's flat now on the internet cranking stuff out for you!

Here's an update on the schedule. Sunday we will have church at 11:45 a.m. (I will preach), lunch and then head out on the bus at 2:00 to Zakopane where "Think Again" English Camp will begin on Monday morning at the u ziomka hotel in Zakopane. This is the same hotel we were at in 2003. Camp will run through Sunday morning and we will get on a train and head back to Krakow to the Hotel Royal (where we stayed last night) for dinner on Sunday night. We will debrief the trip and shop on Monday. Tuesday we head home!!!!!! I am going to email Jon Green pictures so come back later!

Here is my post from my blog - for some reason it didn't post - HERE!

We're In Zielona Gora!

From Kate Goddard

Hi Everyone… Yes, we’re here, and it is sweet. I was excited to go to Poland, but after the delay I was SO EXCITED to get here. Like Tierra said, Auschwitz was shocking. It hit me differently the second time because I knew what was coming, and instead of trying to take it all in, I just kind of sat back and watched. The images that I saw there I will never forget.

Ever since we landed in Poland we have been going non-stop. First spending the night in Krakow, then an 8-hour van ride, and then straight into Pre-Camp. It was so nice to see all of the people that I met last year and see how they changed. I was glad to see that people remembered me and that I actually remembered their names. There were a lot of new people at the one day of pre-camp that we had but also a lot of returning students. I’m excited to continue where I left off with people last year, and excited to meet and get to know the new students.

It’s 9:15 p.m. and the sun is still up enough to make you believe that it is only 7:30 or 8. That’s just one of many differences that I have discovered in Europe. I also had another interesting and unique encounter; we made a lunch stop at McDonalds on our way to Zielona Gora, and while I was eating, a group of Nuns walked in. I tried not to laugh because it’s disrespectful, but I have to admit, I chuckled a little. It was the first time I’d eaten with Nuns. I’m looking forward to many new experiences and hope God continues guiding and watching over our team.

Travel, Auschwitz & More Travel

From Tierra Lansing -

(I added the picture Rachel captured of what Hitler said about the Polish people! Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read what he said.)

Hey everybody!!! We’ve finally made it to Poland. After landing in Krakow, we went to Auschwitz. That was a horrid place. It grieved me to see what people (especially children) went through. After that we went to our hotel and then hit the Krakow Square. We went out to dinner. This part of the trip was huge culture shock for me. After a night of trying to sleep (some of us were up with jet lag), we got on a van to travel for 8 hours. The countryside was beautiful from what I saw, but I was sleeping for most of the ride. We arrived at the church and the people are very hospitable. I love this country! Now I am going to my host family. I am rooming with Jen. God has blessed this journey in so many ways and I know he will continue. I’m excited to see God work through the rest of the trip.

Waiting and Reflecting

From Brianne Greene,

Hi all! I am sitting here in the Chicago airport waiting to get on a flight. While most of you might think that this trip to Chicago has been a delay in our trip, it has been just the opposite. Although this was not in our plans, it turned into an amazing blessing. The blessings of this trip have been beyond what most of us can believe. We were at lunch at Panera today and discussed the way our team has “bonded”. I feel like God has brought us together in a way that only He could. This is only paralleled when we look at what God has done in our situation. The opportunity to tell others what we are doing here, and our reaction to it, has been a huge conversation starter.

Yesterday on the bus ride home I had the opportunity to talk to a man who was on his way to China but had been delayed. When he started asking about our situation in Chicago, he was very impressed at how we have handled the situation. Thus showing us that actions speak louder than words.

Another aspect I failed to understand when we arrived was that this is not a delay, but the beginning of our trip. As Duke said, “Our trip doesn’t start when we reach our destination it begins when we leave the church.” God has been good to us here in Chicago, but believe me we are incredibly excited to finally bored a plane! I guess we will talk to you in Krakow!!

Auschwitz

The team arrived in Krakow safely. They went straight to Auschwitz for a tour and they were eating dinner at a grill in Krakow when Dan called around noon our time. He said the team is in excellent spirits and they are very excited to be there. After dinner, they will head to the hotel to get a little rest. They will catch a train/bus in the morning to Zielona Gora. They will not be able to blog anytime today, but they will try to post again tomorrow night.

Link: More about Auschwitz at PBS

Seat 32b

Jon here, I just got a call from the passenger in seat 32b (Dan) of the flight from Chicago to Poland. They're on their way!

*and there was great rejoicing*

Audio blog from Chicago

Press Play to listen to the team from Chicago talk about how it has been a blessing to have this time there.


If that isn't playing, you can click here to leave the blog and get the mp3.

Are We There Yet?

We found this sign yesterday! Just kidding, but we are excited to get on our plane tonight and arrive in Poland before y'all wake up!!!!! I'll be calling Jon to post a blog about our departure tonight so stay tuned!!!!!!

Comments Open

Thanks to Antof9, who just left a comment about this...

Comments are now open to anyone. To leave your name, select "Other" not "Anyonymous."

By default, comments are restricted to only let registered Blogger.com users post comments. Now it is open to anyone.

Sorry about that!

Jon

English Camp Prep at the Hoiday Inn

Last night we decided that it was time to start getting ready for camp! As you can see from the picture we had the laptop on top of the entertainment center in a room learning the motions to our theme song by Big Daddy Weave. We are getting ready for camp!!!!

Here are the lyrics to our theme song from Big Daddy Weave "What I Was Made For."


I used to think that I was never good enough to cut it. I bought the lines that were selling time after time. But when You opened up my mind and I refused to shut it. You brought me to a place where I could leave it all behind.

Good-bye to my old life. I don't listen to those lies anymore. You've given me new life. Loving you is what I was made for.

It took a while for me to see but when I finally saw it. I knew I had to leave my sordid past in the past. I couldn't get there on my own it was Your grace that taught it. My sin is covered by Your blood and I'm not looking back.

Good-bye to my old life. I don't listen to those lies anymore. You've given me new life. Loving you is what I was made for.

It is our desire that this song will cause our students and the students at camp to Think Again!

Photo Album: In Chicago

We spent Wednesday June 28 in Chicago.
Click on a photo for a description.

Previous Slideshow: Denver to Chicago

Our Updated Schedule

Wednesday

Panera Bagels
The L to Downtown
Sears Tower
Chicago Pizza
Michigan Ave.
Dinner

Thursday

Travel to Krakow - YEAH!

Friday

Auschwitz
Stay the night in Krakow

Saturday

Travel to Zielona Gora
Pre Camp

Sunday

Church
Lunch
Travel to Camp

This is all tentative...hee hee!

Random Things We Are Learning...

Duke drinks 8 packets of sugar with each glass of tea and doesn't know what the word diabolical means.
Tierra is quite engaging when it comes to talking about science!
Josh is consumed with Sudoku.
Julie W.'s family leaves sooo close to where we are.
Lee may want to be an engineer that designs cars or engines.
Stacy loves broccoli and cheese soup at Panera.
Kate is sooooooo cool!
Brianne ate a Reuben for dinner tonight.
Rachel doesn't like Ranch dressing.
Elizabeth likes chicken tenders.
Kevin and Dustin eat non-stop...then eat some more, and they shared a bed last night!
Jen R. wants to have coffee with Alice at Coffee Heaven.
Tim and Kasia are waiting again to get to Poland.
And me...I haven't spent much time thinking about how random I am...I think I just AM!

We're Going to Rolling Meadows!

We got to Rolling Meadows at the Holiday Inn Express and we are loving life! This hotel is about 17 million times better than the Best Western we stayed in last night. Here’s what’s happened.

We got vouchers for this hotel at the airport (Kevin is standing in front of the desk we went to - CLICK on the Pic to read the sign!) and have to go back tomorrow morning to get vouchers for tomorrow night. We hopped on the free shuttle (no taxi rides…PRAISE THE LORD) and made our plan for the night! We headed down to Panera for a quick bite to eat and then it was off to Walmart. Walmart wasn’t on our radar screen for this trip but we you need “underpants” (Kate Goddard’s comment, not mine) you must summit the Walmart PEAK! We stopped back by Panera and bought bagels for breakfast!

We are using our meal vouchers for dinner tonight at 8:00 p.m. After dinner we are going to meet as a team to debrief what has been happening, go through the schedule, study a passage of Scripture and spend some time in prayer!

Dan L. writing on Tim's account!

We’re in Palwaukee?

That’s right! We got to the Best Western right by the Palwaukee Airport around 1:00 a.m. After a crazy taxi ride with United vouchers we made it to the first resting spot on our trip. This wasn't on our itinerary! :)

We’re pretty sure we missed our flight because of the lady who freaked out while we were almost to the runway. Turning the plane around took us an extra 35 minutes which means we missed out 10:45 p.m. arrival! Lot waited until after 11 for us but it was to no avail.

I've spent the morning on the phone! I just realized that my cell phone charger is in my bag! Dan Hash just laughed and feels bad. The upside for Dan and Laura is that today is their anniversary so they went out to dinner tonight!

We are on our way back to the airport to see what will happen next! We are pretty sure we are done with our stay in Prospect Heights!

BTW: We are having fun...check out this picture!



Dan

Photo Album 6/26-6/27

To reduce load-time, I'm only going to have one active slide show on this blog at a time. Here is a link for the 6/26-6-27 "Denver to Chicago" slideshow.

A night in Chi-town

Hello everyone! Well, well, well, what a day they have already had! I'm not sure if you've checked out the Poland blog yet, but it's been quite the adventure so far. The plane in Denver took way too long to take off soooooo, they missed the flight from Chicago to Krakow. Here is the latest:

Lot Airlines is currently putting the team up in hotel rooms for the night while they work the problem. Here is the problem: there is not a direct flight to Krakow tomorrow so they are trying to figure out another way they can get 20 people to Krakow. They might have to fly through Warsaw or maybe even Munich...not sure at this time.

The good news is that this is the only team from America meeting Josiah Venture at this time. So, it's really not a huge deal that they need to shuffle around a little there in Poland. It will obviously cut into some of their time in Krakow, but overall, not too big of deal.

Dan will be calling me later tonight or early tomorrow morning to fill me in the situation. I'll email again as soon as I hear anything. I am volunteering at VBS all week long so I won't be able to email in the morning.

God is good and he has taken care of all of them so far. It might be kind of nice to get some winks anyway right?

Talk to you soon,

Julie Luebcke

Returning... to DIA

7:55pm, just got a call from Dan.

As the plane was all ready to go, and heading toward the runway, a passenger on the flight changed her mind, and is afraid to fly on this plane today. So right now the plane has turned around and is heading back to the terminal to return the passenger to DIA. Apparently she's kinda scared and making a scene so they have to return her. Doesn't she know we're trying to get to Poland? Leave, plane, leave!

I think this link (click) will connect to the flight tracker.... Though it says they've already taken off... Maybe it meant they were heading to the runway. I'm not sure if I got the right flight number... but the status makes me think this is the one.

Failure to Launch

Jon here, just got off the phone with Dan Luebcke, who is on the plane, still sitting at DIA.

Just as he called the Pilot came on the intercom system and announced that a hydraulic door on the plane opened, and they don't have an explanation. As soon as they figured this out, and the paramedics were done they'd be on their way. This, at 6:35, for a flight that was supposed to leave before 5pm.

Wait... paramedics? Yes, an employee was under the plane, the door opened, and knocked him unconscious!

The flight from Chicago has been delayed until 10:15, instead of 9:35, according to the ticket counter at DIA. This first flight may not make it until then. I do know we have at least one parent lobbying Lot airlines to see if they will delay the flight for our team - they did purchase a lot of tickets.

We interrupt the typing of this blog for:

*Update Update*

6:58pm
Dan just called.... "Just calling to tell you, we're still sitting here"

At the end of the (original) phone call, the pilot came over the speaker again:

Folks, we really apologize for the delay, at this point we are not certain when we will be departing, though we don't think it will be long. Because we don't know exactly how long the duration of the flight will be, we're going to try to squeeze a movie into our time together. In a few moments we will be beginning the film.....

"Failure to Launch"

Will they make their Poland flight?`

The flight from Denver was delayed until 5:50pm, arrive in Chicago at about 9:05pm. Flight for Poland leaves at 9:35.

Julie will be sprinting ahead across to the international terminal to try to hold the plane for the rest of the trip. Julie is John the Baptist, preparing the way.

Getting Ready

As we have for the last several years, we are sending a group of high school students from Southern Gables Church's student ministries, 180, to Poland to work with Josiah Venture and a local Polish church teaching a week long summer English camp for Polish students, mostly high school aged.

Jon (JontheCanadian) here, writing this on Sunday night, June 25th. It's almost 11pm, and I'm sure some of the staff and students are just starting to pack for the trip. They board the plane tomorrow mid-day, and will return Tuesday July 11.

The team will land in Krakow for a few days of training, then spend the next two weeks split between Zielona Gora (translated "Green Mountain"), where the church is, and in the mountains where the camp is.

Throughout the trip (starting on Tuesday morning), we'll have blog postings direct from our students and staff in Poland! Feel free to add comments (at the bottom of each blog posting), as that is a great and easy way to communicate with the team, though they may not get your comments for a few days, depending on their schedule.

We'll also try to get some photos up and maybe even some podcasts (audio) and videos. Who knows!