Polish President in the USA

We've been home a little over two weeks and I found out today from this article that the Polish President was in the USA on July 16th!

I had no clue.

Did you?

Is Poland the Rodney Dangerfield of the nations as the author suggests?

The Tuna Report

Yesterday in our Sunday morning worship services Tuna got the opportunity to speak in front of the church and give a brief report of our trip! He did a great job giving an overview of what we did and talked about how he saw God working through the relationships that were being built during pre-camp and camp!

I want to thank Scott, our worship leader, for making this possible. It was the first time we've done this in our services and I think it's a great way to give the community a quick update and thank them for their support! I love Scott's commitment towards involving all ages in our worship services!

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

We made it home and only had one bag not get on the flight from Chicago to Denver. Sorry Sweeney! We had a great trip over. Several of our girls were wired most of the flight and provided some great entertainment! In Chicago we had a 45 minute delayed and after all was said and done I laid down my head around 2:45 a.m.

More to come this week after the fog has lifted!

We're coming home

We are coming home!!! In a little over 24 hours our team will be landing at DIA! The team is upstairs eating breakfast and their is a buzz in the air. We are heading into Krakow for one last trip and some lunch. Our flight from Krakow to Chicago leaves at 4:00 p.m.

We'll be in Denver at 11:56 p.m.

We will keep adding things to this blog in the next few weeks so don't think it's over!!!!!!

Debriefing the trip

Monday night was the highlight of the trip for me. We spent almost 6 hours debriefing the trip. We had an amazing meal at a really nice place and came home to Dan and Laura's to finish up. God moved in many significant ways in the lives of our students. Will, Dave, Julie, Molly and myself had the great privilege of getting a front row seat to hear all about the work of God in their lives. It was amazing. I can't wait for their parents to hear these stories!

Camp Video No. 4

We were hoping to get this video finished before camp ended, but technical difficulties prevented us from doing so. In any case, here you are.

The Polish National Anthem

This is Dave. At one point during this trip, Dan Hash told us that the Polish National Anthem is a car alarm. In 14 years of living he has had his car(s) broken into 14 times (and all of them have had car alarms).

In the past two weeks, I've heard more car alarms go off than I have in the past year, living in the states. Perhaps the makers of "The Club" need to expand their demographics to include Poland.

Hello from Train Station

We recorded this video just before we boarded our sleeper train from Swinoujscie to Katowice - where we are now. We had three rooms: two slept 6; and Julie & Rachel shared a 3-bed "suite" with another woman who boarded at midnight.

To give you an idea of space: the beds were three on each side of an isle 2 feet wide. We also had to make room for our luggage. Most of us had a backpack, suitcase and an extra piece of luggage containing camp supplies. It was tight, but I think most of us were tired enough to get at least a few good hours of sleep.

Right now we are at the Hash's. We have a huge meal planned this afternoon with tons of meat - enough to offset 8 straight days of bread and toppings!

Reflection on how God is moving in Poland

This Bethany and this is part 2 (kinda) of my post from last night. It's basically my thoughts on how I have seen God moving in Poland while on this trip.

Overall as a team we are very tired, more like exhausted. I’m sure you can see from our pictures, but I can truly say that I and the others on this team have not only bonded in an amazing way but we have poured everything we have into these students. God is doing amazing things. I will share one brief example:

Thursday of this week was a hard day. I really see it as the turning point when I look at it now. I hadn’t really bonded with any of the students. I had no idea where God wanted to use me. I was really struggling with just wanting to be home and give up on, what I saw as, pointless investing in the lives of the Poles. But last night during Gospel night I asked God to use me. I didn’t want to be on the sidelines. I wanted to see God work in an awesome way. And I can honestly say He did.

I was sitting with the group of students that I have come to know best. Then Julie asked me to go sit with a girl named Asia (Asha), who was talking to Dan Boyer. I was somehow able to work my way into the conversation and we talked for 2 ½ hours. It was awesome! She is not a Christian but I know God has definitely planted a seed; and it has been awesome to watch our relationship grow and develop. It is hard that we are leaving [today] because these people have become so dear to me. But I am CONFIDENT that God will work whether or not we’re here; that we’ll get to meet some of these awesome students in heaven! I am praying daily for Asia and I am so grateful that you all are partnering in prayer with us. Even though the tough part of our trip is wrapping up there is still so much to pray about. There are many students in which truth was planted and we will keep praying that God grows that and nurtures it till it’s ripe for the picking.

One last thing, this week has been so much harder than I initially expected. I have truly struggled with giving my everything to be here. On Wednesday Dan reminded us of the hundreds of people that are praying for us and it was the most motivating thing I have ever heard. Thank you so much for praying. Knowing it moves me to tears to think of those of you who have committed to pray for us! How awesome is our God. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I say THANK YOU!

Sunday Morning in Swinoujscie

We recorded this video this morning during the service at the church we have been using this week. We wanted to give you a brief glimpse of what we were experiencing this morning. (In case you can't quite hear the song, it's "Forever," being sung in Polish.

Day 7

Today (well actually now it's yesterday) has been awesome! We have done so much and had awesome time to bond with the Poles. Oh and by the way hi, this is Bethany…I finally get to blog. We woke up to breakfast . . . hmm, I wonder what it was? Oh yeah the same as everyday morning and night . . . bread and toppings! Can I just say that most of us would be ok if we never saw another piece of bread.

We got to go to Germany today! It was so fun. We left the church at about 10 and had 4 hours to see Ahlbeck. All of the Americans got stopped and received stamps in their passports (yay for more stamps). We then got to hang out in Germany. It was beautiful! I know it is only 3 km from where we are staying but it feel completely different. It’s so clean and pristine, very touristy, beautiful flowers and great bratwurst.

We got so many chances to just hang out with Polish students today. It is so cool to look around camp and know that I know something about every person here. Whether it was just a two-minute conversation or days of getting to know each other. After Germany we came back to “dinner” (lunch) and then English class. This was our last class and I think everyone had a great week.

We then went to supper and evening program. Rachel and Boris (a Polish student who came to Christ last year) shared their testimonies tonight. It was so encouraging for everyone to hear the reality of God in two very different lives. They did a great job and I think it really touched the Polish students. Tonight was 60’s night and it was so much fun. The Poles put it together this year and we all got dressed up, did the twist, swing-danced to 60’s music and did Karaoke. We are currently hanging out until our late bedtime of 2 am . . .

Video Hello from the Poland Team, Part 2

We recorded this video today during our day trip to Ahlbeck, Germany.

Tonight

This is Dave and I wanted to give you a quick update. We're just beginning our last full day of English Camp here in Poland. Tonight Dan will be talking about the presence and power Jesus offers to the students. Many of them are in different places after last night. This morning we decided that during the evening program we will be having one American student, Rachel, and one of the Polish leaders, Boris, share their journey with the group. Please pray that this evening goes well and that God will speak through each of these individuals.

Video Hello from the Poland Team

We recorded this video just before we boarded our "cruise ship" (as Molly described it in her post; when, in reality, it was more like a passenger ferry). Just wanted to say "Hi" from Poland.

Gospel Night

This is Molly. Wow, what a day! I am only beginning to process everything that has happened over the course of the day. Today brought many special things: military day, an all day-trip in Swinoujscie, and most importantly Gospel night.

After our daily morning program, we loaded up our bus and got on a ferry and spent all day bonding while discovering some of the old history and natural beauty of Poland. From climbing the steps to the top of an old lighthouse, to enjoying a couple hours on a cruise ship, to strolling through the streets of Swinoujscie; everyone found plenty of time to continue building relationships. Today was a great time to make our acquaintances our friends, and to allow our friendships to delve to a deeper level. For me, the day-trip provided a nice break from teaching English and opened up time to invest in the Polish students, which is where my heart feels most satisfied and passionate.

We returned to the church (where we are living for the week) for another course of bread and toppings (at this point, I think I may be the only American left who still looks forward to eating this daily favorite!). Then we proceeded with our evening program, in which Julie and I got to do a skit for all the students…speaking only Polish—what fun! Then Przemek presented the gospel, sharing the story of our Lord, our Master, our Savior, and our loving Father. Following the message, students were invited to stay in the room and sit/talk/pray/think/listen in response to the words they had just heard.

Emotions were high and tears were plentiful, but most importantly God was here, alive and moving. My heart breaks for so many young lives that are lost, empty, lonely, and confused. As I looked around the room it was so encouraging to see God working through all of our American students and leaders and really grabbing at the hearts of so many of the Polish youth. Truly powerful—we have come, and we will go, but God will remain! This night was huge in shaping the experience of students here—Polish and American alike. I am emotionally and spiritually zapped, but at the same time rejuvenated after tonight’s happenings. Tonight was the culmination of so many conversations and prayers and it was also the beginning of something beautiful. I am so excited to see what God has in store for the last bit of time here. Thank you for your prayers and love!

English Camp Video No. 3

Enjoy.

Poland Video No. 2

Ok, here it is, the second video of English Camp. However, i feel that this video may need a bit of a disclaimer. The last section of the video simply says, "Bench." This is a game that apparently is very popular at English Camp.

Basically, you take three unsuspecting volunteers and take them out into the hallway, telling them the answer they should give to a series of yes-no questions. What follows is a succession of actions that leads the volunteer to believe that he/she is going to get kissed on stage. When what happens is . . . well, you'll see.

English Camp - Day 5

This is Rachel and I felt the most tired today than any other day this week. It seems like my lack of sleep is catching up with me and I am exhausted. It rained almost all day today, which forced us to stay inside. One highlight of the day happened this morning:

We played a practical joke on one of the Polish students who slept through breakfast. We pretended that he had slept for so long that it was time for us to leave on the bus. Half of us went into the bus and the other half got their luggage and started packing it under the bus. His roommates woke him up to tell him that we were leaving. Then he came running out of his room carrying his bag. We all loaded up on the bus and started driving away. We went about ten feet then backed up. Everyone started laughing.

Today during free time, instead of playing games at the beach some people watched a movie. I went into town with a group of people. One exciting way I see God moving is with the Polish Christians at this camp. Last night I talked with someone who was not a Christian last year and now is. During our time in town I talked with another Pole about their faith.

The topic for evening program was about failure. Dan’s message was heavy and deep. I am looking forward to asking my roommates what they thought about it.

After the session our team got together for a discussion on how we are doing. I think our team is bonding well and we are able to share honestly. We hope to continue pressing on and working on the relationships we have been building through out this week.

Will da Beast gets worked

Big thanks to Cale for this nickname! There is no question that I’ve been throwing my weight around on the soccer field and the football field. This trip has been great. Not having a Starbucks to satisfy my caffeine addiction, I’ve found a nice lady across the street from the church that’s been throwing her weight around. I’ve seen her at least twice a day for an ice cold Coke. She’s the only seller, out of the five who sell Coke, who has ICE COLD COKE. I am usually buying 2 or 3 at a time for others and myself.

I find when I bust out the cash that I start getting worked. She’ll give me less back than expected, hoping I am one of those Americans who doesn’t care about change. Well I wasn’t the greatest math student, but it’s pretty obvious she’s trying to work me over. She knows she owns me.

Another one of her tactics is to hesitate in making change and offering me another Coke, Sprite or a piece of beef jerky to make up the difference. She doesn’t get me with the extra drink but she up-sells me on the beef laying out on the table that I can smell. It’s like she knows me. There’s no question in my mind I’ve paid her rent this week! Here’s to this lady saying, “GO BIG RED” before the end of the week!

Day 4

Hello from Poland! This is Clare. So I am going to talk about day four. My day started at a blurry-eyed 8:00 in the morning. So that would have been about midnight, Colorado time. I literally stumbled down the stairs and took a four-minute lukewarm shower. Breakfast was at 8:30 and as usual it was bread and toppings with an optional bowl of the most bizarre mixture of American cereals. (Raisin Bran, Cocoa Puffs, some flaky stuff…) After a brief morning session we strolled over to the beach. It was a little overcast and looked like it might start raining. I did not bring my swimsuit. We were ready for a rematch in football. No, not European football but AMERICAN football!!! We won. Oh, and about half way through the game guess what decided to show up??? The sun. Remember I said that I did not bring my swimsuit. Oh yeah I have been at the beach for two of our four days and I STILL haven’t been in the water.

After the game and time at the beach we came back with about thirty minutes until lunch, which was 1:30 p.m. So, after asking half the camp and none wanting to come with us, we left and found some food. (Polish pizza and for me coffee) The rest of the day is a blur as it went so quickly. In my opinion the cherry on top to an excellent day was worship at our evening program. Our worship team has meshed with the Polish team and it is so much fun. We ended worship with Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin and it left me with a sense of a good day done. Well now it is time to go build bonds with Polish students…. perhaps an intense game of spoons…. We’ll see.

Futbol amerykański

Since it was the 4th of July we decided it would be good to head to the beach and play some Futbol amerykański (American football for the lay person). It went really well. Will da Beast was coaching the Polish Team on how to play offense and defense. Most of the students had never played and enjoyed it. Of course, we LOVED IT!!!!!!!

Highlights from the game:

- Rachel Miedema laid a killer block on a girl.

- Boyer caught a deep pass from Will da Beast.

- Tuna threw some great passes.

- Sweeney played center and got nailed several times.

- Dan and Will da Beast definitely feel old after a soccer match and a football game. Our knees are killing us!

- Will da Beast DROPPED two Polish students...and I mean DROPPED them hard into the sand. He took a couple of cocky dudes and they ate some sand! The guy loves throwing around his weight.

- Stephen got to throw some passes.

- The weather started off cool and then the sun broke out for about 2 hours!

- There were a lot of ships on the sea.

- Teaching the Polish students to throw a spiral with a football.

Idioms - Who's learning English?

Oh my! Today I (Dan) walked around the classes to get a few quick video clips for our camp videos! Just as I walked into a class I heard a class them talking about idioms. Cool. But...then I heard this idiom come out of an American's mouth, "Sow your wild oats!" In my mind, I was saying, "What did that American from Southern Gables just say?" Sure enough that's what was said. Then I listened to the description of the idiom and they were talking about investing money.

I lost it!

I was laughing so hard. The Polish students were wondering why I was laughing so I told them what it meant...in a GODLY WAY! It's Wednesday baby and that one can't be blamed on jet-lag!

Who's learning English?

Poland Video No. 1

Ok, here’s the first video. Hopefully, it will work fine. However, if you have troubles, please note this with a comment on this post. I may not be able to help directly (obviously), but I’ve asked Jon Green to check occasionally to make sure people can view the video.

A German Vendor Learns How to Sell to Americans

Dave here. Right across the street from the church is the Promanad (mentioned in Jensine’s posting), along which are many shops where vendors sell everything from Clothing to Kielbasa. On our first day here, Will discovered that one of these vendors - a German woman - kept a few Cokes in the bottom of her cooler (cold beverages are not really a priority in Poland).

He shared this with us and yesterday he ventured to the same stand, along with Dan, Julie and myself. We were saddened to learn that she only had one Coke in the fridge. Alas, three of us had to settle for lukewarm soda this particular afternoon. And you know what the Bible says about being lukewarm . . .

Today, I stayed behind (at the church) while the camp went off to the beach (more on why in a sec.). Well, I just returned from across the street . . . and I can’t wait to tell Will, Dan and Julie that she has at least 20 Cokes in the bottom of her fridge today!

The reason I stayed behind today is that I’m working on a video that we plan on showing to the camp later tonight. And, if you stay tuned, you may get a preview of this video as I am hoping to make it our first video blog posting of the trip. Although the “stay tuned” probably only applies if you’re one of those 4AM early-risers :-)

Soccer Match 2007

It's Julie! Well… including today’s game, my record in the Poland vs. America soccer match is now 1-4 (and I’m pretty sure that we only won my first year because of some poor planning by the Polish coach leaving their star players out too long). For those of you that know me, you know that I don’t like to lose very much! However, when it comes to this game every year, the fact that I know we are going down seems to lessen the blow. The Poles grow up playing soccer (a lot of kicking), and Americans grow up playing football or softball (a lot of throwing – and that’s right- I said softball not baseball).

I had the honor again of being the goalie. The flailing all over the place was much kinder on my body this year seeing as last year we played on pavement and this year we got to play on the BEACH!!! How cool is that? Unfortunately, I don’t think that the sand improved my ability to stop the puka (ball) from traveling past me. Our team had a fine showing though. We scored the first goal, and then a huge portion of the first half past with the score of 2-2. Soon though, the Poles put in the Socha brothers (pastor of the church we work with and his two bros) and the ball began to look like a rocket that I just couldn’t seem to catch. We had the game early this year because Dan Hash was here. He, although the oldest member of our team, is the best player, and the Poles took pity on us and let us have the game today. Tuna and Molly were terrific on the offensive side, and Jensine is surprisingly aggressive on defense. Will, who had no experience playing soccer, decided that throwing his weight around was going to be his area of expertise. Phat (Cale) scored a goal, Cheetoh (Luebcke) scored two, Chatterbox (Boyer) got one and B.W. (Will) got one.

Hello to all of my family and friends. Thank you for praying for our team. I love you all!

Day 3 @ Camp

Hey everyone!!! I am having a wonderful time in Poland. I am meeting so many new people and I am experiencing so many new and wonderful things!!! I think that all of the new food that I have tried has been so amazing and wonderful…well for the most part!!! JUST KIDDING!!! Today was so much fun because we went to the beach and had a soccer game…U.S.A. vs. Polska. Jennifer made all of the “jerseys” for the team and my name was “Miss Congeniality”! We also went to this one place called The Promanad, which is a little street mall that is really close to the beach. Also, the English class that Dave, Cale, and I are teaching is going really well. I feel like the students are starting to get the hang of the of our language. I just want to say thank you to everyone who is supporting the team. We couldn’t do it if it wasn’t for all your prayers!!! So thanks again…and we’ll see you soon!!! Love you all!!!

Day 2 @ Camp

Hey everybody, this is Jen Carpenter! I hope everything back in the US is going well. I am going to tell you all about the second day at camp, which was much less stressful than the day that we arrived. We were able to regroup and begin to feel how the rest of the week was going to be. I am rooming in a rather small room above the sanctuary with about 15 or so other girls. It has been fun to meet them all and I really feel like I connected with a few of them last night around midnight before going to sleep! Haha. The Polish students are very kind and open to the Americans and it has been a great experience to meet them, so I can’t wait to see how the rest of the week will play out.

Today, the second day of camp, was also our first day of English class. I am helping Will G. teach the level four English class. Today was a lot of fun and I am really excited to get to know the kids in my class better because they are a quality group. Because I am in a higher class, our English class is more conversationally-oriented, so it is very nice to be able to talk to the Polish students without being hindered by the language barrier. In my class, Will has the students do push-ups if they ever speak Polish or if they speak when we (the teachers) are talking. The leading student is up to 105 push-ups. It is very fun to be in his class!

Besides English class and midnight talks, the rest of the group is connecting with the Polish students through volleyball and fun card games. I would still greatly appreciate your prayer for our group. I feel that I am unable to really get involved in the Poles’ activities at times and I know that other members of the team feel that way too, so prayer for that would be awesome! I can’t wait to see how the rest of English class is going to go, but I am sure I will have many stories to tell you all! If my family is reading this, I love you all!

Thank you so much for your constant prayers!

Communion 6,600 miles away

Hey this is Dan Boyer sending this to you after possibly the coolest experience I have ever had. Yesterday morning we went to church in Zielona Gora on Communion Sunday. It was nothing short of amazing to take communinon with brothers and sisters in Poland. That experience just ministered to my soul. Knowing that God is in Poland and is still the same for the people here as at home is kind of the pinnacle of spiritual community.

The church service was also phenomenal. Hearing Mariusz speak in Polish and then hearing his words translated into English was awesome. Cale got up and spoke about our church. Dan preached from Matthew 1.

Another experience I will take home with me is the music and songs from Sunday. Hearing and singing the same songs with the Poles singing in Polish and the Americans singing in English was just amazing.

These experiences filled me with a sense of how much God is active and not just watching on the sidelines. Which is something I tend to lose focus on in the states but becomes obvious over here. Thank you once again for all your prayers which truly mean so much to all of us.

Will da Beast

Meet the Will da Beast. AKA Will Gosch, one of our trip leaders. Will received this lovely nickname from Tuna (Cale, if you haven't been tracking with the blog). Will has set a new standard for being an English teacher.

If a student speaks Polish or interrupts in his English class they do five push ups. Jacek nailed down 105 push ups on the first day of class which was Monday. Apparently Will's military training is coming in handy!

Later that night, at a random point during the evening meeting, we heard a voice yell out, "NO MORE PUSHUPS!"

I'm sure there will be more from Will da Beast in the next few days!

--Dan

Photo Album 4: 7/2/07

Click here to access the blog and see the slideshow

A night full of bugs

We arrived just after 9:30 pm to camp!

We canceled the evening program because we had dinner and had to find where we were sleeping. All of the guys are in tents out on the church lawn. It was priceless watching everyone get in the tents at 11:15 p.m.

Every guy ate bugs for dessert! Can anyone say bug spray?

Tuna and Boyer had to sleep in the church because there was no room in the tents. They felt like Jesus...no room in the Inn! Tonight we will set up another tent and rearrange everyone.

All of the girls are staying inside the church and couldn't escape the bugs either although they did get to sleep on a bed.

It's fun because many on the Polish guys have never camped so they are really excited.

Both the guys and the girls have two toilets and three bathrooms for 70 campers! Can you say creating spiritual community?!

We are excited for what God has planned for us here!

--Dan

Cale's Polish Accent

Cale is sweeping through camp with his high pitched "singing" Italian accent as he learns to speak Polish! Never before have I heard a student do this. The dude is slaying me, the rest of our team and all the Polish students. Here's a great quote, "There's a party on the plaza (beach)!"

More from the tuna...I'm sure!

Dan

On our way to camp

We loaded the bus at 7:20 am your time and are headed to camp. The bus is packed full of students and luggage. All of what we have done leads to this time, and our team is pumped!

All of the girls will be sleeping in the church, and the guys in tents behind it!

The team is doing great. The families that hosted us were wonderful! It feels like all we did was eat!

This morning we went to church and got take communion. More to come after we arrive!

--Dan