Celebrating Małgosia's Birthday...
7 Feb. 2014
Małgosia, one of our youth, had her birthday in January while I was in the States. Since we didn't have a chance to celebrate in January, we celebrated in February. We have a tradition of signing a card & filling it with wishes/verses, eating cake, and then praying over the person we're celebrating. It's been a blessing to hear the prayers the youth have prayed over one another. It's not easy for them to pray out loud but they're taking steps & becoming bolder in their faith. Małgosia is very artistic & creative and I love having her around when we have discussions because she always has a different way of looking at things and her responses are very spontaneous. She has the heart of an artist.
Open Doors Ministry Presentation
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11-12 Feb 2014
Dariusz P who works with Open Doors Ministry came to visit our church to share about the persecution of Christians around the world.
Please join in prayers for our brothers & sisters around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. Pray also that we who are not being persecuted would not be apathetic and hard-hearted toward their suffering. Pray also that we who have the freedom to proclaim the gospel would do so boldly -- that we who are privileged to own Bibles (sometimes 3 or 4 or 5) would grow in love for God's Word -- that they would be well-used -- "a lamp unto our feet" (Ps. 119).
Here's a photo of his lovely family who we were blessed to host at our church. They were a sheer delight.
Preparing for Festival of Hope ("Festiwal Nadziei")
Krzysiek & I travelled to Warsaw to attend a planning meeting for Festival of Hope.
Festival is an evangelistic crusade that has been held around the world and has made a huge impact for God's Kingdom. It's also more than an evangelization. It's preparation in prayer for those in our circles who don't know the Lord, coming alongside them in the process of finding the Lord, and following up afterward -- discipleship -- a concept that's rather underdeveloped in this country.
Franklin Graham, like his father, Billy Graham, has been powerfully anointed as an evangelist. I remember being at a Billy Graham crusade as a child and when you see thousands of people turning their hearts to the Lord in repentance, you never forget that.
Krzysiek & I are trying to fan into flames the hearts of believers here to catch the vision. It's not easy.
Dorota's Birthday
16 Feb 2014
Małgosia's mother, Dorota had her birthday earlier in the week but we celebrated on Sunday afternoon. She invited a three couples plus Krzysiek & I to her party and it was really nice to get to know these other couples a bit more. One of the couples is a newer couple to our church but Dorota's known them for a long time. It was especially nice to have "an excuse" to mix with them a bit more.
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| Mariusz & Dorota |
Time for feedback from the youth...
It is very much because of Dorota's expression of concern for her children & our youth group that I felt compelled to put together an evaluative questionnaire for the youth group. I took a great deal of time on my own to reflect, evaluate the current situation, and also re-evaluate and communicate vision to the youth. I'd gone through a rough season because of losing two of our youth when their parents decided to move to another church. The youth were also disheartened by this. Piotr, Dorota's son, was probably most greatly affected by this because it left him as the only boy in the group who at the time, was attending regularly. Please pray for him as he's going through a difficult phase. I'm asking God to reignite a passion in him for Christ.
Although our youth group number is small, the three that attend consistently expressed how much they love the youth group & how much it's helped them to grow closer to the Lord. They also expressed a desire to lead their friends to Christ.
When asked about vision for their youth group, one of the youth, Noemi wrote this:
"I would like Armia Pana [the youth group] to be a bold group full of enthusiasm -- so that we'd go out without fear into the town, for example, and proclaim the Gospel."
Our small group Bible Study completes its study of Philippians!
The end of February marked the completion of our in-depth Bible Study of Paul's letter to the Church in Philippi. We have been encouraged as well as challenged by this Epistle. Despite great suffering and persecution, Paul repeatedly reminds the Body of Christ to rejoice. His heart and mind were fixed on future glory and Christ being exalted. Whether in plenty or in want, he was satisfied in the Lord and found all his needs met in Him.
As one of my favorite writer/pastor/preacher, John Piper, often says: "God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him."
May you find your greatest satisfaction and delight in Him.
