PHILIPPIANS 4:8 -- "FINALLY, BROTHERS [& SISTERS], WHATEVER IS TRUE, WHATEVER IS NOBLE, WHATEVER IS RIGHT, WHATEVER IS PURE, WHATEVER IS LOVELY, WHATEVER IS ADMIRABLE -- IF ANYTHING IS EXCELLENT OF PRAISEWORTHY -- THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS."

Journey Through Dec 2013 

Please forgive me for the long hiatus without any blog updates.  I was without my computer (and all the photos in it) for almost the whole month of December as it was being repaired. And then I flew out to the States for 3 weeks and left my computer behind in Poland. After that, I spent a week in Germany joining Covenant Players in their training time.

Here, I've compiled a collection of photos to catch you up a bit on some moments that have been "noble... pure... lovely... admirable... excellent... praiseworthy" to me -- worthy of being remembered & shared.

"Gwiazdkowa Niespodzianka" (Operation Christmas Child) 
 4 Dec 2013
 We had the privilege of giving Krzysiek's nephew & niece, Wiktor &
 Oliwia "shoebox surprise".  It was a joy to see their delight.

 Our church also took up a collection of sweets to give to the school
 they attend in a small village that didn't have the means to provide
 special treats for the children for Christmas.

feeding the multitude

Pre-Vigilia Meal at Our Wednesday Evangelistic Outreach

18 December 2013

We had roughly 80 people in attendance and on a smaller scale of Jesus feeding a multitude of people with five loaves of bread & two fish, we fed a multitude of people with barszcz (beetroot soup), salads, & cakes -- with plenty left over! :)

Seated in the front, with backs to us, L to R:
Ola, Pastor Mirek, & his wife Asia.

Many years ago, God gave one of the women in our church, Ola, a vision for ministering to the needs of the community & sharing the gospel with those living in difficult circumstances. Ola, (along with Pastor Mirek and Krzysiek) faithfully share the gospel each week, help provide for physical needs, and pray with many of the people who come seeking not only physical but spiritual aid.

Colorful paper Christmas trees contribute to the festive celebration.
Ola's daughter, Zuzia taught our youth group how to make these trees.

Christmas Eve... 

Christmas Eve was spent with Pastor Mirek's family (immediate and extended family).

awaiting the feast to begin

Krzysiek's amazing stuffed salmon

Krzysiek prepared an amazing stuffed whole salmon (weighing roughly 9 lbs!).

It was delicious!!!

Asia, Pastor Mirek, Sara & I

Sandra

Sandra, Pastor Mirek's 2nd daughter has a heart of gold. She spent several days and hours upon hours working into the wee hours of the night putting together personalized & decorated photo albums for each of us there.

in awe of Sandra's work

The photo albums were amazing and so personal. This was definitely one of the highlights of the evening & also one of the most precious gifts I've ever received. Thank you, Sandra!

Wiktor, Tomek, Wanda, Edyta, Oliwia

Christmas Day...

Christmas Day we had the privilege of hosting Krzysiek's mother (Wanda) as well as his brother, Tomek & his family: wife, Edyta; children, Wiktor & Oliwia (whom you've already met in the opening photos of this post). 

2nd day of Christmas

2nd Day of Christmas...

In Poland, the 2nd day of Christmas is also celebrated as a family time. 

In addition to Tomek's family & Krzysiek's mom, we were joined by Mietek who is like a spiritual father to Krzysiek (because he led Krzysiek to Christ). Mietek's also become a dear friend to me. 

Highlights from my time in the States...

27 December 2013- 16 January 2014

captivated by the California Coast

Family Road Trip to Pacifica & 
San Francisco, Calif. 
(29 Dec 2013- 2 Jan 2014)



For the first time in many many years, Bonnie & I along with my parents took a road trip up to northern California.

 

 

Rather than choosing the fastest & smoothest route,
we opted for the more scenic drive. Although it wasn't the best option for my car-sickness, the majestic views of California's Coast made it all the worthwhile.

sisters! :)

sisters!!! :) :)

Reunion!!!
New Year's Day 2014We celebrated the new year by having dinner with my Auntie Jesse, Uncle Eugene, their son, Gilbert & his family.
Auntie Jesse is my mom's older sister. She's the oldest of 8! You'd never be able to guess her age. She looks amazing (as does my mom)!
I have really fond memories of her (like baking carrot cake together when I was little. She sang  a song about it while we baked). It was so special to see them after so many years. I think the last time I saw Gil was over 15 years ago!

A little sightseeing...

Of course no visit to S.F. is complete without a photo by the Golden Gate Bridge!  Here's my beautiful older sister Sharon & her beautiful family.

Champions!!!

Knott's Berry Farm

4 Jan. 2014

After we returned back to Southern Cal, I spent a day with Sharon's family at Knott's Berry Farm (amusement park). I haven't been there in eons! I love spending time with the kids. They're really special too me.

It turns out that like their aunt, they too are quite fond of playing the claw -- and impressively good at it! I believe we took home a total of 6 stuffed animals. :)

(And no, we didn't have to try 600 times.)

Journey Through January 2014   after returning back to Poland

Henryka & Andrzej's wedding...

18 January 2014

The day after returning to Poland, it was a joy to see Henryka & Andrzej get married. (It was also a privilege to help lead worship during this time.)

November 2013, they took a huge step of discipleship and obedience to the Lord. They made the decision to get married and until then, they wanted to honor the Lord's holy covenant of marriage and live separately. They also wanted to make public proclamations of their faith and in December, they were both baptized. And there was great rejoicing in both heaven & Pruszcz! 

A Visit to Germany

20-25 January 2014

Visiting CP
Three days after returning to Poland from the States, I jumped back onto a plane again -- this time to Germany to visit my Covenant Players family during their training time.  Thankfully, this time Krzysiek came with me. It was his first time international trip & I was very glad he could meet more people (in addition to Silke, David, Denise, Joanna, & Jodi) from this ministry. 

me as "Claudine" in QUO VADIS JEUNE FILLE
(by Charles M. Tanner)

While there I had the opportunity to perform a very challenging play called Quo Vadis Jeune Fille (by Charles M. Tanner). Katie directed me in it & it was such a blessing to work with her -- especially because she has such a heart toward woman who are trapped in prostitution (which this play addresses).

Marten & Krzysiek
working hard in the kitchen

Krzysiek blessed the community by preparing three types of Polish dishes for one meal. It was a lot of work but to see the happy faces and hear the happy sounds of everyone enjoying the meal was a huge pay-off. 

My CP family approves! We have happy Polish-food eaters!

Mama Cindy & little Amy

Baby David & papa Kevin

Visiting Kevin & Cindy...

While in Germany, we were also able to spend an afternoon with Kevin & Cindy Gourlay -- very dear friends of mine. They were my team leaders for one and half tours. But more than that, they're really precious friends and partners in Christ.

They named their daughter after me, which was a huge honor. She's an amazing little girl --very very vibrant. As you can see, she's adorable....but a little crazy.   Maybe it's an Amy thing. Hee hee!

We had a great time of eating, playing with little Amy, talking, & praying... a blessed time of fellowship.

Back in Pruszcz Gdański...
Although I was blessed to be able to travel back to the States & spend time with family & friends there and then spend a week in Germany with CP, I was overwhelmed with exhaustion by the time I got back to Poland. My immune system was going bezerk & I was having major allergy problems, an eye infection, and pseudo-flu symptoms -- without really being sick. I spent about 3 days in bed. I'd never been that over-exhausted in my life. When I finally got my energy back, it was just in time!

Laura & Zuzia

           Zimowy Zjazd (Youth Conference)

           30 Jan-2 Feb
           We took our younger girls from the youth group
          (Małgosia, Zuzia, & Laura) to visit the older
           participants (Piotrek & Noemi) who had gone to
           a youth conference called "Zimowy Zjazd."
         

some of our youth -- and some of our non-youth :)
Krystian, Magda (now in Gdańsk), Sara, me, Noemi

         

Małgosia, Filip (now in Gdańsk) & Piotrek

Christian politician, John Godson at Zimowy Zjazd

One of the guest speakers there was the Nigerian-born Member of Polish Parliament, John Godson. While he is well-known here as Poland's first black politician, he is even more inspirational as a fully-committed Christian. God called him out of pastoral ministry to make a great impact in the political world.
Our youth were very touched by his message as well as others'. I was so happy to see how great a desire our girls have to grow closer to the Lord.



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WHOO-HOO!!! You're now caught up with what happened in the months of December & January in my life! I'm hoping that by the end of next week, you'll have snapshots of the month of February which is almost behind us already!