Philippians 1:27--"ONLY LET YOUR CONDUCT BE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, SO THAT WHETHER I COME & SEE YOU OR AM ABSENT, I MAY HEAR OF YOUR AFFAIRS, THAT YOU STAND FAST IN ONE SPIRIT, WITH ONE MIND STRIVING TOGETHER FOR THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL."

Striving together with Covenant Players...

Presently, I'm in Szczecin, a city near the border of Germany, about a 5 hour drive west of Pruszcz. There's a unit of Covenant Players here this week that I have the joy of serving along with once again-- Jodi Wideman, Silke Groves and her husband, David. The last month has been a very busy one for me, not only working at the church in Pruszcz but simultaneously coordinating a week of housing and performances for the team that's here. But it does so much for my heart and spirit being able to reunite with CP and see the unity we share in Christ as we stand and strive together to proclaim His gospel, just as Paul's heart yearned to see the Church in Philippians united for Christ.

I joined the team Sunday afternoon & I'll stay with them until Friday morning. Sunday evening we had the opportunity to serve in an evangelistic outreach organized by Christine & Loren Ozanne who lead the International Christian Fellowship. The Ozannes are a very dear family to me. I'm really glad that Krzysiek (the wonderful godly man God's brought into my life) also had the opportunity to join us for the day. Below is a picture of us for them and another picture of me with the unit performing a play called, GALAXY.

A very eventful weekend...

This weekend at the church was extremely busy & eventful, too. In the midst of preparing for my week=long trip with CP and ironing logistic details, many many things were taking place back home in Pruszcz. Friday we had a celebratory pizza party with the youth group & parents, marking our 1 year anniversary as Armia Pana ("Army of God").  We had a wonderful time together, appreciating one another and God's goodness. But it was also a bittersweet time because of the obvious absence of two of our youth whose parents have recently moved to another church.  This has been very heart-breaking for many of us and although we would have liked to have had them join us, the wounds & leaving was a bit too fresh.  God's timing & ways are so good, though. It was a balm of comfort to see that one of the younger brothers of one member of the group we've had a hard time integrating was very keen on joining us and has asked to come to our meetings. Although he is young, he is so open and positive and I can see he'll have a good influence on the rest of the group.

Saturday we celebrated two birthdays -- Zusia's birthday (one of our youth) and also Krzysiek's "spiritual" rebirthday, remembering the day he gave his life to the Lord.  And of course, Sunday, I was traveling to Szczecin, preparing to join the team.

Below are pictures from the pizza party, Zuzia's party, and a picture from Krzysiek's celebration with him, Sara, & I. (Krzysiek & Sara help me lead the youth group.)

May the Lord make His face shine upon you! Have a wonderful week!

Philippians 1:21 -- "FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN."

Monday's Bible Study...

I'm co-leading a Bible Study that was started just three weeks ago. It's the result of a long-time burden and desire to see Christians in Polish churches further discipled (particularly young adults), a desire to be further used here in the church, and the request of one of the pastor's daughter to have a study group that would further her growth in the direction of life transformation. We're studying Paul's letter to the church in Philippi and it's touched me very much each week. It is packed not only with encouragement (which many Christians go to the book of Philippians for) but a call to live our lives in a way that is completely counter-cultural. Today we looked at Phil. 1:18-26.

Paul's statement here reflects his single-minded purpose as well as his greatest desire. While death and life are at complete odds with one another, they shared a common purpose and his desire remained the same in both of them -- to be with the Lord, to fulfill His will, His pleasure. Whether by death (through martyrdom) or by daily living, his goal & burning desire was to see Christ magnified. It's so different from most of the world's thinking and way of living. It has nothing to do with gaining glory for one's self nor satisfying every single want we have. It has everything to do with loving God with all one's heart, mind, strength, and soul -- the greatest command.

I've heard it said many times before that if we want to have a life that's worth living, we have to have something (or someone) in our lives that's worth dying for. I've also heard it said before that we should live every day as if it were our last. I think these two thoughts go hand in hand. If we want our lives to mean something, if we want each day to count, then we having to know who/what we're living that day for.  My day means nothing if I've lived it only for me.  

5500 lbs of food collected!

Over the course of Friday & Saturday, more than 2500 kilos (5500 lbs) of food were collected for families in need of some help. I was so blessed to see the generosity of people in Pruszcz & surrounding villages. I was also happy to see a good number of people from our church & people that come to our evangelization meetings come and help us with the collection & sorting.  Instead of our normal youth meeting, the youth also took part in this and had a great attitude.

The following pictures are:

1) Carnations & a card from one of the families who are also good friends, given to me on the occasion of my one year anniversary of ministry in Pruszcz. You can see that the flowers match my wall. :)

2) Some of the food collected and sorted.

3) Packages from the food collection that are on their way to being distributed.

        Blessings on everyone! 

                             Make your day count!

                               

                             

Philippians 3:13-14 -- "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Me! 

Sunday, the 29th of September was a very significant day for me. I hit the one year mark of ministry here as a missionary serving with the Pentecostal Church (Kościół Zielonoświątkowy) here in Pruszcz Gdański, Poland! I celebrated by sharing a testimony and a word of encouragement and exhortation taken from Paul's letter to the Philippians, having cake (prepared by Krzysiek & Mietek who you'll hear more about some other time), and being prayed over by the church. One family presented me with beautiful pink carnations and a card their daughter (who's in my youth group) made. One of the most touching things was to see the youth group express their love & appreciation for me. When Pastor Mirek invited whoever wanted to lay hands on me to come up during the prayer time, all of the youth came up (plus so many other people they couldn't possibly all reach me). After the service, the youth came up as a group and spoke individual wishes, thanks, and blessings over me. It was really really moving.

My hope was to inaugurate this blog on Sunday evening, marking this momentous occasion with a hope to be in better communication with my supporters, family, and friends. But an urgent matter demanded and deserved my attention much more than my own wants and my own plans -- as good as those intentions were. Two friends were very crushed in spirit yesterday evening. One sounded suicidal. It was a reminder to me that I came here to serve this church and to share God's love with his people here.

Happy 50th Birthday, Covenant Players!!!

Another reason Sunday was such a significant day was because Covenant Players celebrated 50 years of ministry! On one hand, I know that after serving with them for 12 and a half years, I'm missed and many would have liked to keep me there. But I think that actually, Chuck (the founder) would have been very proud to see that I'm still serving the Lord and one of his greatest visions was always to mobilize the church. So that is what I continue to do. I'm happy that I can continue to partner with CP as a support to their teams and with some occasional performing. I'm happy for the ties I continue to maintain with the ministry. So much of my personal development and spiritual development came through serving with them. I will always be grateful for the time God gave me to be in full-time active service with CP.


Thank you, Lord for your faithfulness to me and for the fruit you've allowed me to see in ministry in this one year of serving here in Pruszcz. Thank you for letting me taste your goodness and experience your faithfulness & provision as Jehoveh-Jireh throughout my life. I experienced in such a radical way during my 12 1/2 years on the road. But I still see it everyday of my life here in Pruszcz. May You continue to bless Your work. Thank You for the privilege of being called Your servant, a missionary, an ambassador of Christ. Amen.