Poland Trip Day 7

Day 7 started around 8:30 a.m. We had nothing scheduled for the day so I slept in. It was very refreshing to sleep in because I was very tired. We had a late night the night before and I needed some rest.

After getting up and getting ready we had breakfast. For breakfast Silvia fixed us perogies, and Polish pancakes. The perogies were very good. They were stuffed with cheese and had onions on top. The pancakes looked more like a crape that was folded into a triangle with some sort of sauce on top. The pancakes also had peaches in them. They were pretty good.

After breakfast JT and I went to the center and got on the wifi to upload more pictures and to update people back home about our trip. We stayed in the center till around 3 p.m. when we went to Przemek’s house. We had dinner (lunch) with his family in their home. It was very good. Gosia, his wife, is a very good cook. We had for our first course, cucumber soup. It was very good. It tasted to me like a pickle soup. I know that sounds gross but it was very good. For second course we had what was like a Polish dumpling with a stew on top. It was very good. The stew had rabbit in it. We also had some kind of salad with different things in it. For dessert she fixed a fruit salad.

After we had dinner we sat around the table and talked and shared. I got to share my testimony; well dad shared most of it, with his family. After I was done Przemek asked me to share it at prayer meeting Tuesday night.

We stayed at Przemek’s house until around 6 p.m. and then we went to a brothers house in the church, Paul. When we arrived at Paul’s house he had questions to ask dad. We had a good hour to a hour and a half study in the Word about his questions. After we finished he served us a meal. It consisted of the normal Polish foods: meat, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, bread, and then perogies. Everything was very good.

After we left his house around 9 p.m. we came back to the flat and Dad, JT, and I talked about our thoughts on the trip so far. After we finished talking I came back to the room and wrote and just thought about some things. This was day 7 in Poland.

Poland Trip Day 6

Day 6 started around 7:00 a.m. Today was the Lord’s Day so we proceeded to get ready for church. We had breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and my was it fantastic. Silvia, the lady we are staying with, fixed us eggs with ham and onions. It was so good. We also had bread, fresh vegetables, meats, and cheeses. She has been such a great host to us. She cooks so much food and we feel bad cause we eat until we are satisfied and there is still a lot left.

Our translator for the conference, Paul, stayed with us an extra night because of the train schedule being messed up. He is an awesome brother that we got to know. I look forward to being able to hopefully get to work with him more in the future.

JT and I arrived at church early so we could set up to record and tape the messages. Church started at 10 a.m. There were around 50 people here for the morning service. They had some visitors joining us for service. Bro. Przemek opened the service by greeting us. We then sang some hymns and had a time of prayer. After this Paul preached for about 30 minutes. I do not know what he preached on because he preached in Polish of course.

After he finished preaching we sang some more and then JT gave his testimony. He did a great job. Bro. Przemek translated for him. I really enjoyed hearing him give his testimony again, and especially to the people here in Poland. After JT finished preaching dad preached. He preached on fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. The people seemed very attentive. Bro. Przemek once again translated.

After the service was over we had a fellowship with the people of the church. They ordered pizza and had it delivered here. The pizzas once again were so massive, so big that a piece of pizza was as big as JT’s head. I ate lunch with Ela and Ola. We had a great time of chatting and talking about America and Poland.

After the time of fellowship and eating Ela and Ola took JT, Dad, and I to the supermarket, and a shopping center. It was a neat experience to go to a Polish supermarket and shopping center. After we left those places we took dad back to the flat and JT, Ela, Ola, and I went to a romantic era castle outside of Ciechanow, Poland. It was very pretty there. We had a great time just walking around, talking, and taking photos.

After we left there we went to a restaurant and enjoyed some coffee and juice. It was just a great time to hang out with Ela and Ola and just get to know them better. I had a fantastic time. We then went and dropped off JT and then Ela, Ola, and I went back to their home. Once we got there we talked with Gosia and Przemek.

We left their house and picked up JT and Dad. We left to go to an elder in the churches home, Tomek. He had a beautiful home. He lives about an hour away from Ciechanow. We had a wonderful time there. The food was excellent the fellowship was excellent. We left and got back to the flat around 12:00 a.m. We then went to bed. This was day 6 in Poland.

Poland Trip Day 5

Day 5 started around 6:30 a.m. After getting up and getting ready JT and I went to the center where Przemek works. I uploaded some pictures from the day before. Once this was done, we left to go to the hall where the conference was held.

The conference started at 9 a.m. JT and I got all of our equipment set up and ready to tape and record the sessions. We started off the morning with a time of testimony and prayer. Once again I don’t know what my brothers and sisters are praying, but you can hear them pray fervently.

After this time, dad took the podium for his first session of the day. There was a question that was asked of him the night before after his first sermon. He dealt with this question and then preached his sermon. Once again brother Paul translated for him. I really like brother Paul. He is a great brother in the Lord.

After dad finished preaching we had a short break. During the break I saw Ola, which was a good surprise. I did not think she was there already. I talked to her for a few minutes while I had a cup of coffee (I think it was chicory coffee). After this break ended dad preached again. In this session you could see that people were visibly moved. I saw and heard many people crying. There were many more that I did not see according to dad. Both men and women were moved to tears by this message.

After dad preached his second message a Polish brother came and preached. After he finished preaching we had lunch. This meal broke our about 48 hour fast. This is the longest I have ever fasted. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. I really did not get hungry until I smelt the food we were having for lunch. That was a real blessing because I thought I would be so hungry. But God once again was very gracious.

For lunch we had a first course of soup. One Polish brother said at our table that soup is the national food of Poland. The soup was very good. It was a chicken noodle soup with very small pieces of carrots in it. After soup we had our second course. Our second course consisted of schnitzel, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and a cabbage slaw.

After lunch JT and I once again talked with Ola. We were telling her about the things we enjoy back in the United States. Of course since I was telling her what I enjoyed I had to mention the St. Louis Cardinals, Murray State Basketball, and music.

Dad preached the last session of the conference right after lunch. The people were very attentive. We received very positive feedback from the conference. The brothers were encouraged, and yet shaken by the truths that were proclaimed at the conference. One brother even said that he wanted to build three tabernacles here and remain. They were also very excited that we captured the conference and that they can go back and listen and watch this. From what the brothers are telling us this will be a great help. They also said that they had to go and think and pray upon these words before they could give us much feedback.

After the conference was over we came back to the flat. Dad, JT, and I set and talked about our thoughts of how the conference went. We had nothing but positives to say. We definitely feel like it was very timely here in Poland. After we discussed this we went over to the center were Przemek works to use the wifi.

Dad talked to mom and JT talked to Kerie, while I uploaded the video that JT made the day before. I checked up on Facebook and what had happened in the NCAA tournament. I caught up on the video blogs that Sophie had done for the tournament, as well as check out the photos from the game on Thursday.

For the rest of the day we just hung out in the center with some of the brother and sisters there. We had dinner there with a few brothers and sister. We finally had Polish Sausage which was very good. We also had different meats and cheeses with bread and some spreads for the bread. This is a very traditional Polish meal.

After dinner we just fellowship there. The brothers that were left we had a short time of prayer. The ladies worked on getting the center ready for church in the morning. After we left the center we came back to the flat, and just relaxed before going to bed. This was my day on day five.

Poland Trip Day 4

Day 4 started early at 6 a.m. Upon waking up I proceeded to get ready for the day as we met once again with pastors and church leaders at the center that Bro. Przemek works at. From 8 a.m. to around 3:45 p.m. we prayed, sang, listened to the Word, fellowshipped, and took the Lords Supper together.

Taking the Lords Supper with the brothers here was very awesome. Bro. Paul led us in this time at the table. They had a platter with one big round piece of bread on it. They passed it around and we tore off a piece. We then ate of the bread. After it made it all the way around there was still bread left. So they passed it around again. After the bread was finished they passed the cup. They passed one cup around and we all drank from this cup. They do not use grape juice like back home, but wine. This was different for me but it was still good. It was awesome to be able to share in the Lords table with my Polish brothers.

It was a great day with the brothers. To hear them pray and watch them fellowship was truly amazing. The day was very tough for me because I was tired and since we are fasting my strength was not very good. But God was faithful and sustained me.

At around 6 p.m. we came to the hall were we are having the conference. JT and I set up for taping and recording the conference. We had some problems, but all in all it turned out ok. To start the conference Bro. Przemek welcomed us, and then we sang a couple of songs. They introduced dad and he greeted the people. He then began to preach his first message of the conference. He preached on the problem with the modern Christianity. Bro Przemek translated for him.

After dad preached we had a short break. JT and I talked with Ela, Przemek’s daughter, about Poland. After the break we sang once again and the Bro. Paul came and preached. The conference ended around 9 p.m.

After the conference we went back to the flat and chilled. JT worked on the video and pictures he had taken that day. I went back to the center were Przemek works and got on the wifi. I got to Skype with the Howles. It was so good to see them. Seeing them and talking to them made me miss them even more. After we talked I went back to the flat and went to bed. This was day four in Poland.

Poland Trip Day 3

Well day three started around 6:30 a.m. JT and I woke up and did Tae Bo. It was fun to work out with JT but it was difficult. Some of the moves we had to do were hard to pick up on. But it was a good work out. After we worked out we had breakfast with Dad. For breakfast we had leftovers from yesterday. I choose cereal because I wasn’t really hungry after working out. After breakfast I got ready for the day.

After we all got ready JT and I went to the center where Przemek works so we could get on the wifi. We had a few pictures and a video to upload for everyone back home to see what we have been doing. While we were there I got to chat with some great friends back home. It was good to hear from them. That has been one of the hardest aspects of this trip for me is not being able to communicate with people like I do back home. But even in this God is sustaining me and giving me the grace I need. Thankfully I can still communicate with the people I love back home.

Once we had finished this time Przemek took us downtown for lunch. He took us to a pizza place called Biesiadowo. Przemek ordered us a 57-cm. pizza. It was very good. It had cheese, pepperoni, ham, bacon, little smokies, and onions. They serve the pizza here with dipping sauces. One was a marinara sauce, because they don’t start with marinara on the pizza. Another sauce was like a sweet ranch, and the other was like a thousand island dressing. With our pizza we had Pepsi. Dad, JT, and I shared a liter of Pepsi. It tasted the same as Pepsi back home, but the bottling was different. The pizza we had was very good. The slices were big, and I ate two pieces. I didn’t eat much breakfast because I wasn’t very hungry, and also we began a fast starting with dinner so I knew I wouldn’t be eating for two days so I ate a little extra.

After we left Biesiadowo, Przemek took us back to our flat. JT and I decided to go walk around Ciechanow, Poland and see some of the sights. We walked from about 3:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. We saw a lot of the city and downtown area. Once we made it downtown we went into a few shops looking for gifts to take back home to some of our loved ones. I wanted a pastry so we went into a pastry shop were I proceeded to buy a scone. The problem with this was that JT and I only speak English, and the lady working there only spoke Polish. We had a very hard time communicating with each other. But after some pointing and shaking of the heads we got everything worked out and I secured my scone. The young people that were sitting in the pastry shop were laughing at us because of the language problems.

After JT and I came back to the flat we freshened up and got ready to go to the start of what is like our Pastors’ Fellowship back home. This meeting started at 7 p.m. There were about 20 to 30 men who came from all over Poland to meet together at Przemek’s church. When they meet together they always fast, so this is why we are fasting as well. The fast started Thursday night with dinner (what we call supper they call dinner) and will last until Saturday at supper (what we call lunch.) So definitely pray for us as we go on this fast. Some brothers here do not drink anything while on this fast. I definitely will be drinking fluids because I do not want to get dehydrated while I am here.

At the meeting brother Przemek started by greeting everyone and then we sang two songs. It was really awesome to hear these brothers sing in their native tongue. They sing very loud and boldly. After we sang we had a short time of prayer, and then dad spoke. From what the translator told us it seemed like the brothers received dad’s message very well. After the message was over some men asked questions about the sermon. After this we sang again and then we prayed. Once again I could not understand these brothers prayers but you could tell they were praying very fervently. It was really awesome to hear these brothers praying this way. The meeting ended around 10:45 p.m.

We came back to the flat and JT worked on getting photos ready to upload from the day. We talked about the day and just shared our thoughts on it. We got into bed around midnight. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow so pray for us as we meet once again with the brothers and as we start the conference with church leaders tomorrow night.

Poland Trip Day 2

Well day two started around 7:30 a.m. I slept pretty well woke up a few times but from 1 a.m. on I slept well. We got ready and had breakfast which was very good. We had different kinds of meats and cheeses. We also had some different fruits and vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and bell peppers. We also had some bread with some different kinds of jellies and spreads. The one I had was a tomatoes based spread with garlic that was very good.

After breakfast we had a short devotion and time of prayer with Dad, JT, and myself. After we finished our devotion we met brother Prezemek at the center where he works. He gave us a tour of the center and showed us where they have a store for low-income people. He also showed us where they keep their food that they also give to these people.

After this we went downtown and exchange our money for złote. The exchange rate was a little over 3 to 1. So for my $100 I got over 300 złote. After this we walked through downtown and went to some shops to find dad a jacket. While dad and Prezemek shopped JT and I went and took pictures of the Chuck Norris advertisement that one of the banks.

After we left downtown we came back to the center were Prezemek works and had coffee and chocolate cookies. (Dad, JT, and I had coffee Prezemek had hot tea.) After we talked and hung out there for a while using the wifi we left and went to the place where we will be having the conference. It is a small hall in the downtown area and it is very nice. After we left there we walked back to where we are staying and got the gifts we gave to Prezemek and his family. We then walked back to the center where Prezemek works. We once again just hung out and used the wifi.

After Prezemek got off of work we left the center and walked to his house. We had dinner with Prezemek and his family last night. We had a wonderful time with his family. His wife, Gosia, and his two daughters, Ela and Ola, fixed a wonderful meal. For our first course we had a tomato soup with pasta in it. For our second course we had chicken, pickled bell peppers, mashed potatoes, and some kind of salad. For dessert we had apple pie a la mode.

After dinner we just conversed with the family and had a wonderful time. I am looking forward to spending more time with Prezemek and his family. He has a wonderful family.

Ela drove us back to where we are staying and we looked at our photos and video that we had taken from the day. After we sorted all of this out we went to bed. This was my second day in Poland.

Poland Trip Day 1

Our trip to Poland initially came by surprise. When I received the email asking us to come I wrote it off and thought that won’t happen. Now that it has, it seems so surreal. I’m in a foreign country where I know no one, except for the people I traveled with, and they speak a foreign language. It’s really cool to hear them speak in their native language but I wish I knew what they were saying all the time. Well enough of my ramblings for now, here are the events of our first day of our trip.

Dad, Mom, and I arrived at Barkley Regional Airport around 1:15 p.m. Monday, March 12th. It was so cool being able to go with dad on a trip this time. I have always wanted to go. Our plane was scheduled to leave at 2:42 p.m. but the flight was delayed leaving Chicago so we did not leave until almost 5:00 p.m. The problem with this is our flight to Germany was suppose to leave at 6:06 p.m. and there was no way we would make that flight. The wonderful lady at Barkley Regional Airport re-routed our flights and instead of going to Germany we were going to London, England. We landed in Chicago right around 6 p.m. The flight there was pretty smooth. I sat beside JT and dad set behind us. The take off got me a little, as well as when the plane turned and when we started descending.

Once we were in Chicago at O Haire International Airport, we didn’t have much time to catch our flight to London. So we made our way quickly to the gate were our flight was suppose to leave from. We had to get new boarding passes there and we made it on to the flight. The flight from Chicago to London was about 8 hours long. On the flight they served us two meals. For dinner I had sweet and sour chicken, which was decent. We were supposed to have movies on the plane but the movie system in our class did not work. So I just listened to my iPod and tried to sleep as much as I could. I think I might have slept a couple of hours. Once we were about a couple of hours from landing in London they served us breakfast. For breakfast we had strawberry yogurt and an apple danish. We landed in London around 7:35 a.m. When we landed it was a very overcast day so we could not see any of London.

Once we landed in Heath Row International Airport we had to go through security once again. We had no problems going through security at both airports. Once we got through security we had around two hours to kill. So we walked around the airport and looked at some shops. We sat and just talked to pass the time by.

Our flight from London left around 11 a.m. and we landed in Poland around 2 p.m. Once we got into Poland we went through immigration, which was no problem at all, and went to reclaim our luggage. Our luggage landed safe and sound with us, which we did not think was going to happen. We then went and met the Polish brother, and got our luggage and loaded up his car and drove to Ciechanow, Poland.

Once we arrived here at the house we are staying in, we had dinner. Our host Silvia cooked us a wonderful meal. She had this cheese soup with pasta stuffed with cheese in it. That was just the first course. Second course was chicken with cheese and mushrooms. With our chicken we also had home made mashed potatoes with gravy. She also made some pickled cabbage, carrot slaw, mixed vegetables. Then she brought out dessert. It was a cake with sunflower seeds on top, with a cream filling with peaches. We then freshened up before the midweek service.

The midweek service started at 7 p.m. We sang two songs, Blessed Assurance, and Grace Greater than our Sin. After we sang our brother welcomed everyone and introduced dad to speak. Dad spoke on prayer. After he finished speaking they sang two more songs. The first song I did not recognize and the second song was As the Deer. After that we had a time of prayer. It was really cool hearing the Polish people pray in their native language. I didn’t understand anything they said, but I could tell they were really praying from their hearts. That was so cool to hear. Afterwards we came back to where we are staying and went to bed. This was our first full day of our trip.