Home again!

It's Wednesday morning and we have been home for 2 days and I still don't know exactly what time it is!
It was so wonderful to see the smiling faces of the CREW who came to meet us at the airport in Louisville! Brett, Barb, Martin, Dan, Robbie, and "the OLD guy", you gave us all a lift in more ways than one! And THANK YOU SO MUCH for the cooler full of ICE COLD Mountain Dew and real DIET COKE!!!!!!! And with all those extra hands it was easy to get the luggage loaded.
The final leg of our journey was on it's way! And we were in KENTUCKY once again!
We were all tired but the group agreed a burger and fries was needed right away! So the first stop after leaving the airport was MCDONALDS!
This time our trip through Beaver Dam was uneventful. Just a bathroom stop and back on the road! We pulled into Murray around 11:30 or 12. It was so good to be home!
Our time in Poland was full of great times and great people. I learned so many lessons throughout the planning and the going. I know I received so many blessings from participating in this trip. And I look forward to being able to share it with all of you.
There aren't words grand enough to express our thanks for all that our friends and family have done to support us. All the encouragement, donations of money and supplies, but most of all your prayer support! This was truly a TEAM effort! We were just on the front line, but without all of you this would not have been possible. We knew you were here at home covering us in prayer everyday. The devil was VERY active trying to stop the work there but you were fighting a good fight! Even when we couldn't get in touch because of internet problems we knew you were covering us in prayer.
The theme of our English Day Camp was an Adventure with God. How appropriate that title was for the kids and for us! This has been an adventure that has become part of who I am. I will always have a little bit of the people I met with me in my heart and mind.
Each one of us is on an Adventure with God everyday. No matter where we live or what our job is our goal should be to grow closer to Him and seek to do His will. I pray that I will always remember to put Him first and remember to give Him all honor and glory for each day, each breath, each beat of my heart.
And now the Adventure continues. Where will it take me? Where will it take you? Who knows maybe we will be sharing a Polish Adventure again next year!!!!!!!

Day Camp Day 5

Today is the last day. We can't believe how quickly things went this week. We have enjoyed the kids so much that the time has flown by. Today we had almost 20 kids again (we knew that a couple would not be able to make it today) and we learned about Salvation. Today was the hardest day to teach since salvation seemed extra hard to explain with words that may or may not translate, especially to young children. But, we knew how important it would be for us to get this message to them. Vern taught the lesson today and we all prayed that God would speak through him as he ministered to these young minds. Several students raised their hands to pray for salvation with Vern so we will continue to pray for these kids hoping they understood and truly was seeking to be a believer. Whatever seeds were planted this week, we pray that they will continue to be nourished and not only grow with that child, but with the families of these children. Many of the homes these children come from are not involved with the church, some only knew about the day camp through the feeding program at the church. Many of the families that attend the feeding program have alcoholic fathers and are facing many challenges. Please help us to continue praying for these families.

The kids signed a banner for us to bring back with us to the US and hang at church...

Today was water sport day and the kids loved it!...
Tonight, we had the Family Party where all of the kids were invited to bring their families to the church for a review of what they did during the week and to pick up all the crafts they made. They were surprised to also get goody bags full of fun items for the kids to take home including candy, toys, and other items donated by people in the US. The kids absolutely had a blast! We also gave them all (kids and families) a Across Ministries shirt and two kids even won an ipod shuffle from our ticket program where we handed out tickets for good work during the week! They could not believe how much they were taking home with them! These kids are more than grateful for everything we have done and its an amazing feeling to see them light up with even the smallest things like a craft. These are memories we will definitely never forget.
At the end of the night, we took pictures, thanked the families and thanked the church for allowing us to be here this week. God has truly blessed us with this week!

Day Camp Day 4

Day Four has been another great day. We can't believe it but we topped our numbers today with 21 kids! The kids were just as excited to see some new faces as we were. Today we learned that God is Forever! God never ends.. he always has been and always will be!! We showed the kids things here on earth that do not last, such as flowers, animals, etc. And explained to them that God never gets old, and he will never die. Today, we also showed the kids the big banners we made while still in the US, covered in the hands, scriptures, and blessings of our friends and family at home. They couldn't believe that there were so many people that were praying for them and thinking of them in the US! They are excited to be able to make their own banner tomorrow for us to take back to America. We told them to bring their favorite scriptures or remember what they have learned in their lessons this week to write on the banner.

The sports today was especially fun as the kids got to play with the big parachute! They loved the parachute! Kenneth and Anne did a great job showing the kids how to use the colors on the parachute and how to do the "popcorn" where you bounce several different sized sports balls on the parachute to see if you can pop it off.

Vern shows off his skills

Tonight was a youth/family night and we had something special planned for them. Vern dressed in his Kung Fu attire and showed them what he has trained to do as a black belt. He even brought his sais with him, a three pronged object used in battle! After showing them a few moves, Vern also explain about his training, and talked to us about how he kept Christianity in his training instead of other religions that are usually introduced through Kung Fu and other similar arts. He also talked about defending your faith by knowing God's word, as you would defend yourself physically from attacks. The people who attended highly enjoyed his presentation and Lydia, the woman living here with us thought the front row was a little too close for the action so she scooted her chair back as Vern was doing some moves.

"VIdeo Coming SOon"

Day Camp Day 3

God has been so good to us! Even after all the worry and stress that goes into making a trip like this, He has provided everything we need. The first couple of nights were hard because we felt out of place and like we were breaking everything when the toilets all got stopped up at once, the shower broke, and other things happened that made us feel like we were intruding on the people's territory here... but God showed us very quickly that we would be alright and that they were not unhappy with us here. In fact, they have been more receptive to us then we could have imagined! On the second night, God even showed us a rainbow that filled the sky and we felt like he was telling us to have peace.

Now, when we look into the eyes of these children we can't help but know that God was in control the whole time and already had this planned out for us! Its amazing to see what he put together for us! One of my favorite scriptures, Jeremiah 29:11 tells us "For I know the pans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to fail you" I know a lot of people refer to this scripture as the big picture of their life but I think it fits very well with what has happened here.. even when things left and right were tearing up or messing up, we had to remember that God put us here for this mission to Prosper, not to fail.

Day 3 has been fantastic! The kids singing and dancing give me an excitement that is irreplaceable! Today they learned that God is True. You would think it is hard to explain this to children, but sometimes its hard to explain this to adults too! We learned today that God will never lie to us, he will always be true to us and He IS the TRUTH..Jesus said, I am the Truth, the Life and the Way and that is what we believe today. Today we had an even more amazing number of kids, 19... we continue to grow!!

Climbing to the castle

While we were here, Dianna wanted us to be able to see the castle ruins that were near Chrznow. We took a bus ride about 15 minutes out of town and then hiked to a very steep hillside. At the hillside, we decided to climb up to reach the castle ruins of Lipowiec. The castle only has a portion of it left but was built in the 13th century. It was built then as part of the defense system for the bishops of the area but was later converted to a prison in the 15th century. What still stands today was actually the first part that was built, the tower. The tower is unbelievable stretching up into the sky and you can climb all the way up to the top, which we did. It was a great adventure! It was a tiring day due to the climb up the hill and then the climb up the tower but it was well worth it!


And of course, on the way down, we stopped for some LODY!!!

American Cooking

We decided while we were here that we would cook an American meal (well kind of) for the Polish workers that had been taking care of us all week. We made a big meal of TACO SALAD and COLD Ice tea!! I am not sure that they liked it all that much but they seemed to eat it up, except for the kids who couldn't stand the onions. The Cold Tea was not quite a hit except with a couple of the women. But, we are glad we had the opportunity to do something for them. The only bad part was the plan to make brownies and we couldn't figure out how to use the stove, so the brownies were ruined and we had to run to the market and get something at the last minute for dessert. Oh well.. it turned it good and we enjoyed doing something for them instead of being waited on. And, we think a couple of them might enjoy some ice tea if we can ever bring some back from the states!

Video Channel

Can't get enough of the Team Memorial Trip? Check out this Youtube page for more videos that aren't posted on the blog:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DCHKYgal

Video extras and Interviews!

Trip to Wisla

Tom and Beata wanted to show us something very special before they left to go to the other churches, Beata's hometown of Wisla. Here, Tom and Beata lived before they moved to the US, attended church here, and Diana grew up here. We knew we were also going to get to meet some of Ewa's family and couldn't wait to talk to them! Here is Wisla, we walked through the downtown area and of course bought some Lody (Icecream), as we do everywhere we go. The downtown area was really pretty and we did a little shopping while we were there. Tom decided to take anyone who wanted to go up the mountain to get a view from the mountain top. So a few of us went hiking up some very steep backroads to reach the very top! It was quite an adventure but very worth it since the views were absolutely beautiful! From there, we hiked back down the mountain, through fields, to meet the rest of the crew at Beata's parents home. Her family is on vacation but they opened their home for us to use and Ewa's family came and fixed us a beautiful and very delicious meal. The meal included wonderful scrambled eggs, pancakes with sugar and cream, fresh blueberries they had picked from the mountain, fresh watermelon, and a load of other things. We were so full.. I am glad we hiked before we ate! Ewa's family was wonderful and we can't believe how much she looks like her sister! Afterward, we went to Beata and Tom's church in Wisla, the Oasis Baptist Church, where some Irish teams were holding their own Bible Schools there in town. What a great day!

We all tried a different kind of cheese downtown at the market. They look like bread but they are cheeses that are decorated...


Ewa's family gave us a wonderful lunch on the mountain...

Day Camp Day 2

Day 2 has been even more exciting. Today we had 14 kids!! Today we learned that God is Love. The kids are starting to sing some of the English songs like "Read your Bible and pray everyday" and the answers they give about the lessons are amazing as they remember almost everything we have told them. They are even surprised at how our Polish is developing as we try to speak to them! I think one of the biggest fears we have had before we got here was the language barrier. Most of us considered that the hardest part since we are trying to teach them something but know sometimes it will be hard to explain principles or terms to them when it has to be translated. However, God has very vividly shown us that the language barrier is no obstacle. In fact, in most of the devotions written for us in our book from our church, it points to scripture that reminds us that God is the one doing the work, we are just here. God speaks to these kids, no matter what age, no matter what nationality. And, he speaks to us through these kids just as much! I think we are all seeing that this is a lesson for us, not just them. And some things, I am wondering why it has taken God sending me to Poland to learn! Sometimes I am so stubborn!

"Videos to be posted soon"

Day Camp Day 1

It is finally here!!! Day Camp started today....we got up early, ate breakfast together as a team, prayed as a team, hung the final welcome signs outside and waited for the sound of kids. We had no idea what to expect, whether we would have older kids, younger kids, lots of kids, or a few. But, we did all have the feeling that whoever it was, God had them there for a purpose. As 9:00 rolled around, we had 9 kids from the ages of preschool to 12 years old. The kids were playful and excited although probably not knowing what to expect any more than we did. With that number, we kept the kids in one group which helped us to ease into working in a different culture. The kids had a Bible study on "God is our Creator", made crafts, learned English about God's creations, had races outside in sports, and danced and sang English and Polish songs during the Introduction and at the end of the day. What a blessing it was to be with these kids! They absorbed everything they did and they were extremely smart! The team met (including the polish youth that worked with the group) to discuss the flow of the day with Tom and Beata and everyone was joyful about what God has brought to us to accomplish. We are excited about the rest of the week.

A Beautiful Sunday in Poland

What a beautiful Sunday it has been. We woke up and went downstairs to church to get acquainted with the congregation. The church has about 30 attendees including families and members of all ages. As mentioned, Franic, someone we would consider a Chair of the Deacons at our own church, is now leading the church as an interim pastor. He spoke a couple times and presented the communion to the congregation. The church has a great worship band with singers, piano players and guitar players and they did a great job with the worship service. We actually recognized most of the songs they sang, mostly contemporary Christian, and struggled to sing along in Enlgish. How quickly you forget the words when you are hearing other people sing in a different language. Diana translated most of the service to those who could hear around here so that we at least knew what was being talked about and when we were supposed to go up in front of the congregation. The team went up together and each of us introduced ourselves, told them what we do for a living and what we would each be doing in the day camps. We also told them how long we had been preparing for the trip and everything that was involved in preparation such as group training meetings and fundraisers. At the end we sang "God is so Good" in English and then surprised them by singing in Polish. The church members were so responsive to us and so welcoming and it really warmed our hearts to see how much they wanted us here. We were very thankful for God placing us in this church. After church, the whole congregation stayed to eat lunch and have fellowship, just like a Baptist lunch. We were able to play with some of the children that would be attending day camp and get to know the families of the community a little more.

The church's worship team...Our group in the church sanctuary...

Meeting the church families after the service...

In the afternoon, we started with last minute planning, knowing that Tom and Beata would be there with us very late in the evening to stay through Tuesday and get us started for the week. Debbie met with the young leaders of the church to go over some details and we took a short trip downtown to see what the square was like. Every town here seems to have a town square and they are generally a lot older buildings filled with stores, restaurants and banks. Even though it was Sunday and most things were closed, the square was still filled with people, sitting outside and usually eating some Lody (Ice Cream). We headed back to the church that evening and started decorating the sanctuary and rooms used for English lessons and Bible study. It was a lot of fun decorating and we filled the halls and rooms with lots of color for the kids!

Decorating the sanctuary...

Made it to Chrzanow

We have arrived in Chrznow (CHAR-NOOF) and have made it to our church. The bus ride was not long from Krakow but we are all starting to really feel our jetlag. Even with that exhaustion though, we are all excited about starting the day camp. We arrived at the Baptist Church of Chrznow very late at night after a long day traveling and visiting Auschwitz. Everyone working at the church ran out to greet us and help us with our piles of luggage. Even though we couldn't understand them, we could tell they were surprised by how much luggage fit into our little bus. The church we are staying at used to be a house and then the sanctuary was added on to the house. The pastor normally stays at the house in the upstairs rooms where we are living but recently their pastor was called to another church. Luckily the church had two bedrooms, two showers, and three bathrooms so there is plenty of space for us all to sleep, keep our supplies, and live. There is a woman who lives at the church, Lydia, and she cooks with the other ladies of the church to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for us each day. We got settled in for the night and tomorrow we wil wake up to have church with the congregation here. The service will be in Polish so it will be interesting to see what their day is like. We are expected to do a presentation to the church to introduce ourselves and talk about what we will be doing during the week. It is going to be hard to explain who we are and what we are doing since it will have to be translated. But, we look forward to meeting everyone and fellowshiping with their congregation. Tomorrow we will also do all of the last minute planning for camp and decorating the church. We can no wait to be with the kids and are so glad that the moment we have planned so long for is finally here! Continue to pray for our camp as each day goes by, for the hearts of the kids we will meet and for the great things God is doing in this church even as they are without a pastor!

Tonight we checked out the church to figure out where we would put everything for day camp...



We had our first meal in Chrzanow with the ladies at the church...


And we took our first trip to a grocery store. The grocery stores are not much different than ours but they do have a lot of products we are not used to seeing.

Without Internet!!!

We are here in Wisla at Beata's mother's house but we have not had Internet for days at the church. I apologize for not updating lately and would love to show you all the wonderful things that we are doing here in Poland. Luckily we are able to use Beata's parents Internet for a second but very quickly just to tell everyone we are alright and enjoyed our first day of camp. I hope to update soon with video and pictures of the last couple days and our church in Charznow... God has really worked through this church! Can't wait to show you!

Weekend Excursion to Auschwitz

We had a great time in Krakow, walking the historical streets, meeting people in the town, and entertainment and shopping downtown. However, it was time to move on towards our main goal. As we left Krakow, we made a few stops in Auschwitz to tour what is left of the tragedy that happened many years ago at the concentration camps. As we walked through the places where people were tormented and killed, we couldn't help but have an overwhelming feeling of remorse for the people who experienced this tragedy or still lives with the nightmares of their life in Auschwitz still today. The main camp is very well reserved and looks much like it probably did during its time. People were brought in by the thousands to live and work and die in this place. One crematory still remains where thousands of Jews, not seen fit to work, were immediately wiped out. There are no words to explain what it feels like to walk where they once did. As you walk through the buildings, you see what was left of their belongings; glasses, clothes, kitchen tools, shoes.. all kept to be sold by the Germans or used in the homes of the SS. What effected me the most though was the room full of women's hair, cut off as the women were killed and used to make furniture or bedding for the prisoners who were kept to work. Some of the hair was even braided still as if it just had been cut.
The second camp, a few miles away, was mostly burned down by the Germans before the war ended so that there would not be proof of their evil. But, there is enough to know how dreadful it was and some has been rebuilt to remind people of how evil prejudice and power can be.

First day in Krakow

Our first day has been great. We got off the plane, got all of our luggage (Thank God!) and took buses to our hotel, Hotel Saski, in "old downtown". The streets are tiny but they are covered in beautiful buildings with restaurants, hotels and shops. The feel of old downtown is amazing with its cobble stone streets and Baroque architecture. Everything is within walking distance and as you stroll downtown you can catch musicians and other entertainment such as fire breathers and dancers as they try to make a few extra zlotys (pronounced zul-tees in Southern English). As soon as we got into town we took a tour to see the cathederals, the clock tower and the castle downtown along with other locations like the place Tom proposed to Beata. But the night was not all play, as we had to meet for our orientation and get organized before the groups split up on Saturday to go to their different locations.

Breakdown

As mentioned briefly in the past post, on the way to Louisville to get on the plane, our truck broke down. The truck was carrying all the luggage and it seemed like we were going to be stuck on the side of the road. Kenneth was driving the truck and was able to glide the truck into Beaver dam, about 6 miles away from where the transmission stopped. God already had a plan though, as the other team was 30 miles behind us and was ready to pick us up, had room for the extra people and room for the extra luggage. With straps from Kenneth's truck we piled up the luggage as high as we could on the back. We all knew though that this was part of the plan and even though we looked like the Hillbilly's, we made it safely and comfortably to the airport. And as you see below in Ginger's video, we had no doubts.

POLAND.... Here we come!!! What a start!

As we are sitting here in the Charlotte Airport, I can't help but laugh at how the day began. The last two days with packing went smoothly and then last night I went to switch vehicles so that I had the van to take everyone in the morning and the battery was dead on the van. Kenneth had to come jump the vehicle. The morning came after very little sleep, thanks to anxiousness, and as I was getting ready to leave, I broke a tooth... not the first thing you want to do as you are going out of the country.

We started out well as we headed toward Louisville but got very close to Beaver Dam when Kenneth's truck (which was holding all the luggage) died... the transmission had gone out. As we rolled to Beaver Dam, hoping to even get the vehicle there, we all continued to have a sense of joy and confirmation that we were supposed to be on this trip and that God had big plans. We called the Murray team who was 30 miles behind us and they had two seats for the two guys in our truck, and thought they could pile the luggage on top of theirs. We felt so blessed to have a backup plan. The Murray team joined us and we added our luggage on to theirs and we were on our way. At the airport, all three teams met up.

Even though we have faced a few obstacles today, the team is still excited and anxious to get to Krakow. We knew going into this that we would face some threats here and there but we all believe we have a shield of protection around us and that nothing that comes our way can not be taken care of. POLAND... HERE WE COME!