Well, we have finished up camp, packed up our things, and traveled to Glogow. We all can't believe that the week is already over. On Saturday, we held a banquet to celebrate the accomplishments of the Polish and to enjoy each other's company one last time. It was a special time for many and everyone seemed to have a good time. Many stayed up late into the evening trying to make the time last as long as possible.
On Sunday, the Polish campers left for their homes after we had a church service. Then, we spent the rest of the day cleaning up the camp and debriefing. This was a great time of reflection on where we had seen God work during the week and discussing things we had learned while working in Poland. I will share more specific examples on another post, but I do not have a good internet connection now.
This morning, we woke up and finished packing and got on a bus to Glogow, the location of the church and the home of many campers. We met our host families and left to spend some time with them. Tomorrow, we will meet back up to do a tour of the city and possibly some shopping. We will then have a camp reunion for campers previous years to come and reconnect with us.
On Wednesday, we will travel by bus to Berlin and hop on our planes back to the States. Please pray for safety and that we will really be able to enjoy and soak up these last days here.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
A Polish Testimony
David, a 17 year old at camp, gave his testimony on Teen Night. After hearing it, I was moved at how God has worked in his life. I asked if he would be willing to translate it into English so that I could post it on the blog. He agreed. Here is his story (it is a long read, but definitely worth it):
"I was born into a Christian family, but my parents didn't always obey God's Word. Since I was little, I thought that God was an old guy that we were supposed to listen to when we are in church and talk with Him in the evenings. At church, my father pretended to be a very faith filled person, but when he came home he usually shouted, drank, and started fights with my mom. Sometimes even the police had to come to calm down the situation.
When I finally was a teenager, I began going to the Baptist church with my sister. I thought nothing would change except the fact that my parents weren't there. I was so wrong. The more time I spent with the people from this church, the more I got to know that they are not only listening to God's will everyday, but they also actually have a private relationship with God. I came to the conclusion that in the beginning everybody sins. We all make bigger or smaller mistakes and we can't blame God for them. Then, sooner or later, we want to give our lives to Jesus. So, we don't have to change our lives or anything. We don't need to do anything except one thing. All we have have to do is say these words: "God, I give you my life." And then... BAM! God will take all our problems away and he will put in that place a huge desire to share the Gospel with everyone around. He is almighty right? I thought that if I said these words everything would suddenly change. My parents would stop drinking and arguing. Instead of giving me expensive presents to prove their love, they would just spend some time with me. So, I kept saying that that I give my life to Jesus. Sometimes in public at church and sometimes alone on my bed and praying.
But... nothing happened. I didn't see any miracles and with time I just had more and more problems. My parents divorced, my sister got married and moved out, and my mother was fired. She had so many loans that she had to move out of the country and work there. So I had to live with just my father. I was so angry at God. Even though I had said the right words so so so many times, He didn't do anything at all to help me. He could just say one word and everything would change in split seconds. I thought that if the miracle didn't happen yet, it would not happen at all. I forgot about God and his Word. Actually, I forgot that there were any rules at all. I began going to parties, drinking alcohol, and hanging out with different girls. I had no limits. I thought that everything that was forbidden was actually better and so I should just do it. I didn't see that at that moment I was with bad people. I was taking part in stealing, and street fighting and I didn't really see anything wrong in it. It got so bad that one day I woke up in detoxcentre (a jail for drunk people who cause a public disturbance) with absolutely no idea how I got there or even what happened the night before. My father was too busy drinking to see what was happening to me; not even thinking about helping me with anything at all. A few days later I found out that he was in detoxcentre the same day as me, just two or three hours earlier.
One day I just couldn't stand him. We were arguing and he tried to hit me, but I was faster. I punched him one time after another and I just literally couldn't stop. The next day he moved out. I was 15 years old and all by myself. My sister was far away, my mother was in Germany, and the rest of the family too far away and too busy to think about me and my problems. I had to take care of myself. Slowly, I came back to church, changed my friends, and started to read the Bible again. As I read it more, I began to notice how many times God had given me opportunities to get out of all my problems.Then, I knew that no matter how many times you give your life to God, no matter where you do it, in a public place or at home alone, it has to be a decision from the bottom of your heart. Then, we have to notice the opportunities that God is putting in our way. I understood that people that believe in Jesus don't have less problems. Sometimes they have even more problems. Alcohol and parties were supposed to set me free in my mind, but in the end, they just made me a prisoner and made me unable to receive everything that God prepared for me.
Since I started to serve God, my problems haven't gone away. I still live alone and even though I spend most of my time away from people, I don't feel lonely even for a second. Because I always feel that God is around me, like I almost feel his breath on my neck. And the hole in my heart that I was trying to fill with parties, girls, and alcohol, now is overfilled with the Holy Spirit that lives within me."
Thank you,
David
"I was born into a Christian family, but my parents didn't always obey God's Word. Since I was little, I thought that God was an old guy that we were supposed to listen to when we are in church and talk with Him in the evenings. At church, my father pretended to be a very faith filled person, but when he came home he usually shouted, drank, and started fights with my mom. Sometimes even the police had to come to calm down the situation.
When I finally was a teenager, I began going to the Baptist church with my sister. I thought nothing would change except the fact that my parents weren't there. I was so wrong. The more time I spent with the people from this church, the more I got to know that they are not only listening to God's will everyday, but they also actually have a private relationship with God. I came to the conclusion that in the beginning everybody sins. We all make bigger or smaller mistakes and we can't blame God for them. Then, sooner or later, we want to give our lives to Jesus. So, we don't have to change our lives or anything. We don't need to do anything except one thing. All we have have to do is say these words: "God, I give you my life." And then... BAM! God will take all our problems away and he will put in that place a huge desire to share the Gospel with everyone around. He is almighty right? I thought that if I said these words everything would suddenly change. My parents would stop drinking and arguing. Instead of giving me expensive presents to prove their love, they would just spend some time with me. So, I kept saying that that I give my life to Jesus. Sometimes in public at church and sometimes alone on my bed and praying.
But... nothing happened. I didn't see any miracles and with time I just had more and more problems. My parents divorced, my sister got married and moved out, and my mother was fired. She had so many loans that she had to move out of the country and work there. So I had to live with just my father. I was so angry at God. Even though I had said the right words so so so many times, He didn't do anything at all to help me. He could just say one word and everything would change in split seconds. I thought that if the miracle didn't happen yet, it would not happen at all. I forgot about God and his Word. Actually, I forgot that there were any rules at all. I began going to parties, drinking alcohol, and hanging out with different girls. I had no limits. I thought that everything that was forbidden was actually better and so I should just do it. I didn't see that at that moment I was with bad people. I was taking part in stealing, and street fighting and I didn't really see anything wrong in it. It got so bad that one day I woke up in detoxcentre (a jail for drunk people who cause a public disturbance) with absolutely no idea how I got there or even what happened the night before. My father was too busy drinking to see what was happening to me; not even thinking about helping me with anything at all. A few days later I found out that he was in detoxcentre the same day as me, just two or three hours earlier.
One day I just couldn't stand him. We were arguing and he tried to hit me, but I was faster. I punched him one time after another and I just literally couldn't stop. The next day he moved out. I was 15 years old and all by myself. My sister was far away, my mother was in Germany, and the rest of the family too far away and too busy to think about me and my problems. I had to take care of myself. Slowly, I came back to church, changed my friends, and started to read the Bible again. As I read it more, I began to notice how many times God had given me opportunities to get out of all my problems.Then, I knew that no matter how many times you give your life to God, no matter where you do it, in a public place or at home alone, it has to be a decision from the bottom of your heart. Then, we have to notice the opportunities that God is putting in our way. I understood that people that believe in Jesus don't have less problems. Sometimes they have even more problems. Alcohol and parties were supposed to set me free in my mind, but in the end, they just made me a prisoner and made me unable to receive everything that God prepared for me.
Since I started to serve God, my problems haven't gone away. I still live alone and even though I spend most of my time away from people, I don't feel lonely even for a second. Because I always feel that God is around me, like I almost feel his breath on my neck. And the hole in my heart that I was trying to fill with parties, girls, and alcohol, now is overfilled with the Holy Spirit that lives within me."
Thank you,
David
Friday, July 1, 2011
Is it really already Friday?
We had another successful day in Szklarska! The schedule was regular, but the activity of the evening was a Talent Show. It was amazing how talented some people are! We had about 10 groups perform many different things. We had piano and guitar playing, skits, Americans speaking Polish, dances, and singing. There are some pictures below of some of the groups. Last night, we put on a DVD that made explained how creation demonstrates God's power and love. It described how by looking at humans and animals it is obvious that there is a Creator. Many Polish people stayed after the evening meeting to watch this film. Tonight, we had a Question and Answer session. Leaders of the Baptist Church in Glogow and some Americans worked as a panel to answer any question that the people had. Questions that I heard were about miracles and divorce, but there were many more. It was an excellent opportunity for people to talk candidly and learn more about topics that they are interested in.
Tomorrow, we have our last Bible reading time and English class. Then we will have our ending banquet. This is a very fun event that lasts for a few hours. We spend about 2 hours decorating and preparing for this event. Everyone dresses up and we have a meal together. We hand out certificates to our English class and gifts to our conversation group.
Delicious donuts we get in the mornings! Adrian and Becca doing a "Puppet Show"
for their Talent
Oliwia (pronouced Olivia) and her brother Tobiasz doing a dance
Kids performing an upbeat version of "The B-I-B-L-E, That's the Book for Me!"
Elizabeth, Josiah, Becca, Amber and Doreen leading the kids in the song
Thursday, June 30, 2011
The Perspectives of the Katherine's
"This week has been amazing so far! We have loved every minute of the time we have been able to spend with the Poles, especially the teens. At the beginning of the week, we felt like it was difficult to connect with them because they did not seem open and were quiet. But after Teen Night, we got them talking more and they seemed more interested in us and what we had to say. It is difficult to summarize everything that has happened in just a short paragraph. But we want you to know God is working here and we are thankful for your prayers."
- Katherine Snuffer and Katherine Robbins
- Katherine Snuffer and Katherine Robbins
Another Day in Poland
Well, we made it to Thursday! At our team morning meeting, Amy opened us in prayer and summarized how most of us were feeling this morning. She prayed that we would not be weary or exhausted, but that we would be encouraged. It was amazing how quickly God answered that prayer! After a devotion shared by Pat (An American missionary in Poland who has joined our team for the last two years), many people started sharing where they have seen God working this week, especially last night. Andy Labowitch shared his testimony last night and a group approached him and Kathy to have a deeper conversation about what he discussed. There was a teen that we were concerned about because he seemed to be very lonely, and many saw him connecting with people yesterday. There were many more examples how how God has been using this team to bring his love in a new way to this country. I think we all left the meeting feeling encouraged. We only have Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday left. Please pray that we would use every opportunity to demonstrate God's love, maintain an energetic attitude, and openness for the Polish people.
Becca, Josiah, Elizabeth, and Amber practicing for Kid's Ministry
An English class
Annie, Lauren, and Basia preparing for English class
Some Polish children playing with Play-Doh brought by the American team
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Teen Night
We had a special change in the schedule for tonight. We ran a special night just for teens. It started off with some worship music, two testimonies (one Polish and one American), and a short message by Mike Snuffer. Next we had pizza ordered in for supper. The teens enjoyed some time just hanging out. As I looked at the crowd, it was good to see the Americans and Polish interacting as friends. After supper, we played some games: "Shuffle your buns," "Honey, if you love me will you please smile?" and "Frogger". After games, they watched National Treasure 2. Here are some photos of the night:
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Pictures!
Here are some photos from the events of the day so you can get an idea of what we are up to (and especially eating!) Sorry there is not more info today, the photos took a long time to load!
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