Baptisms and Kełbasa

Sunday, to say the least was truly amazing. Words cannot describe how great our God is. The day started with the men getting together for workshops and then breakfast. After that was time to worship and finish the last teaching session. The time before the last teaching was great for me to just to refocus and see God moving. There is nothing better for me than to see men get together to understand what it means to be a Christian man and to grow spiritually and mentally as men.

After that there were 3 baptisms in the river. I am going to see if I cannot upload some videos of them but if not, they were amazing. We had a picnic and then had some fun games for the men. The rest of the day consisted of the guys packing up and getting ready to go, but before they left we had one last meal. An open fire pit for some roasting of kełbasa. It was yum yum delicious!

After that we got to go over to Daniel and Edyta's house to play UNO Attack (the polish version) with Kuba, Kuba, Ula and Evalyna. This was some good times to just try and connect with others. I am so amazed at what God does.

One thing that really hit me the most today, was that though I have only been here for over a week, I feel like I have been here longer. And that is a good thing because it feels like home. The people are so caring and friendly, the food is amazing and God is present among here. I guess the only thing that is different is the amount of deli meat and bread I have consumed over the past week, but that is nothing to complain about.

Keep praying for spiritual growth in us but also the Polish people, the Kenya group and the Kenyans. Be sure to check out what Mi2 Kenya is doing, because they have some amazing adventures ahead of them as well!

Love you guys and thank you for continuing to read and pray.

-Erich

P.S. We get to sleep in this Monday morning...Hooray for that!

10K & Picture Day

Yesterday morning started with a 10K at 6 AM. I about DIED! I haven’t run that hard in months, and definitely haven’t been up before 6:30 AM since arriving in Poland. What a great way to start the morning though...

Although yesterday was filled with activities for the men’s conference (archery, shooting, soccer, rock climbing, etc.), I had a rather relaxing day. I mainly went around and took pictures of all the activities going on. It was fun to just stop and watch for a while. I needed that.

Our night session included the auctioning of poster sized pictures taken in Afghanistan. The funds raised from the auction go to support familiar groups in Afghanistan, which build wells, houses and schools for the community. Some of the pictures were being bought for close to $400 Zloty (about $125 USD). This was just another very neat experience.

Today is the last day of Kafas. Keep praying that men leave here changed and ready to embrace their roles as godly men.

Take care. I hope you have enjoyed your day.

-Dane

PS - Check Facebook for pictures from yesterday:

Mud on my Boots

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, on the call to discipleship, said this:

It is NOTHING else than bondage to Jesus Christ alone, completely breaking through every programme, every ideal, every set of laws. No other significance is possible, since Jesus is the only significance. Besides Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters.

What a statement. In a time when we put so much joy in things of the earth, it is refreshing to hear someone (over fifty years ago) remind me that that nothing else matters. Our joy is found in desperately clinging to the cross. It’s our salvation and our reason to celebrate. I hope that touches you similarly to how it touches me. It’s just so humbling, to realize that we are desperate people in need of a savior more than anything else.

Today is the true beginning of Kafas (men’s conference) here at Zakosciele. It was quite a crazy morning. First, at 7 AM, a team drove over sixty miles upstream to begin a Kayaking journey. They actually are just now returning (at 6:30 PM). Sounds like a pretty manly activity, until you hear what happened next.

At about 9 AM, I left with a group to go “wade” through a creek (Erich was the smarter one who stayed behind). The creek ranged anywhere from ankle deep, all the way up to our thighs, not to mention the fact that the water was about 50 degrees. Anyway, we went close to 2 hours in the water, just walking down stream. My feet were frozen, so I couldn’t even feel my step.

We finally arrived at the point we got out of the creek and, come to find out, it was literally a swamp. Guys were sinking in mud past their knees. It was ridiculous. After getting through this, we hiked for a while and ran across a ‘villa’ that was used by a former communist president of Poland. It was beautiful.

We continued the journey, and eventually landed in water again. We walked through the creek for about 40 minutes this time, but as we were finishing, I stepped into a mud-hole and sunk. Water was up to my chest. After throwing my camera to someone else I was able to get out. It was quite the adrenaline rush.

Not much else has happened this afternoon. We’ve been waiting for the conference to begin, so I had some good time to sit back and read. Erich is playing bass for the band tonight. We have a man from Savannah Christian Church in Savannah, GA here to speak. It will be great to hear a message in English and I’m excited about what he has to present.

Hope all is well back home. More updates to come after our “manly events” tomorrow.

-Dane

Kefas Starts

Cześć! Just wanting to give you an update as far as what has been going on the past few days. Although camps have not started, we have started to get busy in a good way. The day before we had an all staff meeting with Proem. In this staff meeting we gave a little bit of our testimony and how it is that we got to be here in Poland. It was really good to see all the faces that are part of Proem and to see how they prepare for the summer. What was weird was the asking of our ages and if we were single. Our best guess behind them wanting to know is so they can get us hooked up with girlfriends and therefore keep us here longer.

After that we helped with some kids for about 1/2 an hour and then headed into Tomaszow to meet up with Chad Blanchard. We stayed in ...i cafe (the cafe that is part of the church) and got to talk with a few people. One of the funnier situations occured when an inebriated man came in and got in the face of one of the guys we were talking to. He was asking for money, and when none was given he started to ask if we were really Christians. It was a funny but eye opening experience. I think this is one of the things to expect when having a cafe on the front of the church, and from Kuba's explanation, this kind of thing happens a lot.

We met up with Chad and then went over to Chad and Amy's apartment for dinner. Dinner consisted of Pizza (again, but this time it was even better!), fresh strawberries (yummy), chips and salsa and popcorn. Of course this was not all at once, but was a good night to just hang out and talk with Chad and Amy. We also got to watch the UEFA champions league championship with Robert (another guy on Proem staff). This was just a great night of fellowship and just helped make the transition to Poland better.

Today marks the first week of us being here. I think we are well adjusted and getting used to everything. We just got back from a bike ride to the supermarket in Inołodz and realized that it would be better to go to Tomaszow to get food and snacks. Price and selection would be much better. But all that aside; tonight starts the all men's conference (Kefas). This will go on throughout the weekend and will be full of activities and teaching. As I type, we are about 30 minutes away from registration starting. Let the fun begin!

Please keep praying that Dane and I are being spiritually guided and filled. Also pray for the Mi2 Kenya team...they are doing some amazing things in Kenya.

A lot(y) of Złoty

Poland here: Happy Mother's Day!!! Here in Poland Mother's Day is celebrated on May 26th every year. So, to all you mom's, here's a special shout out to you!

Dzien Dobry! Jak sie masz? We're doing great. We just wrapped up a day of exchanging money (dollars for Złoty), exploring the Tomaszow Markets and aiding in teaching English to preschoolers. 

After a morning of 'weeding' the volleyball court, we went to a local school to help teach English to some preschoolers. We taught them food, such as cheese and pasta. The English teaching did include coloring inside the lines (and outside for Dane).

After lunch, we went into Tomaszow to exchange money and explore the markets. While there, we also ate our first Polish cheeseburgers and pizza. Both were VERY GOOD.

Part of our day consisted of meeting with John Crozier (who is overseeing us throughout our experience). We dove into scripture a little, but mainly shared about our journeys to this point, as well as his expectations for us. It was a very needed time, and gave both of us more peace in regards to our roles this summer. It served as great clarity, and energized us to step out of our comfort zones and experience this summer "head-on".

It's been such a joy communicating with each of you back home. Your encouragement has been fantastic. We do want to clarify though that in the next week or so we will be cutting a lot of interactive connecting with everyone back home. With our role clarification we will be taking on more duties and experiencing less down-time. We love you all, but we want you to know it may take longer to get back in touch!

Thanks for your prayers. Please continue praying for our dear friends down in Kenya (www.mi2kenya09.blogspot.com) and for Proem ministries right here in Poland. The church is growing daily, but prayer is a crucial part of that.

We love you! Dzienkuje!

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Monday and Happy Memorial Day in the states! I wish you could have seen the fog over here this morning. I looked out the window and couldn't see ANYTHING. It was pretty neat to watch.

Unlike yesterday, today was a very ordinary day. We got out of bed and after a quick breakfast went immediately to working. Erich helped move some tables and clean (after the wedding and women's conference this weekend), while Paweł and I re-painted basketball goals. He's been a great guy for use to get to know, and has been very helpful with our transition.

After work was finished, Erich and I sat down to study some more Polish. Right now we're working on verb conjugation and basic words that deal with food and drink. A sentence I taught myself today was, "Lubię grać soccer. (I like to play soccer)" It's extremely tough to learn without a class or anything, but it's a fun process.

We also watched the second part of The Truth Project tonight. Very interesting. Tonight's lesson talked about Philosophy and Ethics. The part the really caught my attention was when it was stated that, "The Ten Commandments (and the rules of the Bible) were not created because God flipped a coin that landed on 'lying is bad' rather than 'lying is virtuous'. Lying is considered bad because is counter to God's nature. I had never thought about it in that way, and it pointed out attributes of God I had never realized. It was also neat to be reminded the importance of renewing out mind through study and knowledge daily (Romans 12:2). We as a church get so wrapped up in feeling God, that we forget the importance of learning what he has said through our study of his living word.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Dobranocs!

-Dane

By the way tomorrow is Mother's Day here in Poland. Don't forget to get you Mom a special gift!

Mówię trochę po Polski

Dzień Dobry! Erich przy pśmie! It is so good to get on here and blog since I have gotten to Poland. A lot has gone on since we have arrived. In Dane's last post he mentioned that a wedding was going to take place on Saturday. When the morning came and it was looking overcast. There was constant back and forth from the bride as to whether to have the wedding outside or inside. Obviously they would want it outside but with the weather being up in the air, it was a back and forth decision. Dane and I, however, had the privilege to go and kayak with the youth from Tomy church. We started in Tomaśzow and kayaked for 4 hours in the warm/cool slightly drizzled air to Zakościele. There was a small crack in our kayak and it leaked some water in. We had our stuff in a garbage bag, but that did not help when there was a small hole in it as well. My camera got a little wet, and now it is not working. I am going to try and set it out in the sun to see if it will help any, but for right now it is not looking good.

Today (Sunday) was an amazing day. We went to Tomy church and got to worship. After that we then went to spend the day with John and Zaba. They had invited us over for lunch. The food was amazing and the hospitality of them was so wonderful. We then got to sit around with their guests David and Edyta along with their children David, Tomek and Zosia. After eating, drinking coffee and playing some crazy English/Polish Uno, we then went to Sława and got to see an old bunker that was built during the war. We then went to have some amazing ice cream and then headed back to camp.

There are a few things that have just amazed me this trip so far. The way that God is moving in this place is one of them and the friendliness and hospitality is another. We are going to try to get some money exchanged next week and take some bikes to a supermarket to get some fresh fruit and other things. Camps will be starting up in a few weeks, which it is great to have this down time to really get prepared for the insane times as well as to build up a great relationship with the staff.

Other than that nothing is new. Our sleep schedules have been adjusted and the weather is great! What more can you ask for than that?!?!? We hope that everything is going well in the States. Until then...