Saturday, November 17, 2007

Zakopane Trip

Today we went to Zakopane which is two hours south of Krakow in the Tatra mountains. The picture shows cheese vendors on the main strip. Needless to say it was beautiful. After we left from there we went to a nearby village where a group of Roma (gypsy) live. We visited a family who are believers. They've gone through many heartaches. They've lost two infants and have a third son who is 3 months old but suffers from the same complications. The doctors don't know what it is. On paper they say he should be healthy but he's not. As new believers, the parents (Andre & Ola) are confused why God would allow this to happen but they know He has a plan. They asked us to pray for their son (Zachariah) and for their witness to fellow Roma in the village. Would you pray for them too? Also pictured with Erin is our Polish interpreter Mirka, who will be a missionary next year with her husband Andre to a remote part of Russia. Would you pray for them as they raise support?

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Let It Snow! (but not too much)

This morning we woke up to our first serious snow storm. It was crazy but beautiful. We don't like the idea of driving in it or walking in it but we don't mind looking at it. Enjoy your warm homes while you watch our video.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

All Saints Day

Erin and I were surprised to find out that Poland's biggest holiday of the year is not Christmas or Easter but All Saints Day on November 1st. There is no Halloween celebration but All Saints Day is where families go to the cemeteries to say prayers for their deceased loved ones. The idea is that some of their family may need prayers to make it out of purgatory or maybe their loved ones are close to God now and can intercede for those still on earth. We went to the cemetery to see all the candles that were lit (representing prayers) and it was a beautiful but sad sight. Beautiful because every grave had candles but sad because prayers offered for the dead and to the dead don't line up with the Bible. It is one of many new experiences for Erin and I and we ask you to pray that the Lord would give us greater understanding of this culture so we can do His work here.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Some Snapshots of Our Life

We are one week away from having our own internet so blog updates are going to come regularly now. There is so much we want to catch you all up on but we'll just try doing it a little at a time. First we'll start with our apartment. We were shocked when we first saw it. It had bright orange walls in the living room, bright pink in the entrance, and neon green in the bedroom. And our couches were made of a blue shag material. All that was missing were the lava lamps. But now that we are experiencing dark at 4:30 PM and it will soon get dark at 3:30, I see why someone may choose the bright colors. It has grown on us and we are making it our own a little at a time. We love our neighborhood. It is full of mature trees. We have a grocery store less than a block away, a video store, a bakery, and a cukierna (dessert shop) all within half a block. We also live across the street from our boss and his wife which is great because they are really fun and they have two teenagers we hangout with. Our days here are revolving around learning the language. We go to lessons every day for three hours then spend some time doing homework. Erin is helping to teach an ESL class every Wednesday night while I play basketball on the same night as an outreach. I’m also trying to get a feel for the campuses here in Krakow. Please pray for us to be able to share the gospel even though our Polish is very poor. We always try to remember why we're here. We love and miss you. Thanks for your prayers.