Matthew 18:20 -- "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (ESV)

Summer Guests

As you might remember reading, in July we hosted over 90 guests over the course of the month. By the end of the summer the count rose to 104 (if I'm remembering & counting correctly)! Whether reuniting with a very special friend whom I haven't seen for nearly 7 years or meeting kindred spirits for the first time, one thing was very clear -- when you share a common life goal and purpose -- a common first love, namely GOD --  His presence is felt amongst you and the bond is unbreakable.  Here's who blessed us in the last month of the summer...

1.  Liliana Kwarcińska !!! (27-29 July 2014)

Lila and I have a lot of history together. We missioned together in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Lithuania -- and Texas! We were like soul sisters during our time together in Covenant Players. 

Although we're not the best at keeping in touch and we hadn't seen each other in nearly 7 years, it was clear that we still had the same passion and heart for God. In our two short days together we had so much to catch up on. My heart was overflowing with joy to be reunited with her.  As a special treat, we had a chance to sing together again (leading worship during our evangelistic outreach) and it did our hearts such good as our voices melded together again in praising the Lord.

reunited with my soul sister!!!  :)

Liliana is from Kraków (Poland) and continues to have a huge heart for her country but she also has a call to serve God outside of her home country.  After leaving CP, she's lived and served the Lord faithfully in Ireland, California, and South Africa. She was preparing for the mission field in Sierra Leone when the ebola epidemic broke out. Please pray for her as God guides her through her next steps.

2.  Family Pacan ((27 July- 2 Aug)) :

Agnieszka & Darek
Nadziejka, Emilka, Damian
Open Doors Ministry

This was a surprise visit. :)   They showed up minutes after we picked Liliana up!  They took care of themselves and we didn't do much.  We just had the pleasure of having a meal with them and catching up with them a bit during their stay with us.  

We met them back in February when they came to give an impacting presentation on the persecuted church.  Darek is the national coordinator for Open Doors in Poland. They raise people's awareness of how many of our brothers & sisters around the world are suffering & even dying for their faith.  Martyrdom is not a thing of the past.  It's still going on.  The Pacan family works hard to rally support for them.

They were in desperate need of a break because they'd been on a ministry tour for almost a month.  Although they weren't able to lay aside all their work nor all their burdens, they did manage to spend time by the sea and sunbathe and I'm really happy we had a chance to see them again. 

3.  Florence's Visit (18-26 August)

2 hours after landing in Gdańsk,
she boarded another plane to fly with us to Warsaw for a short visit

It was a blessing to have Florence Donzé with us for a week.  "Flodo" (as Covenant Players affectionately called her) was like a little sister to me and a huge support to me during her mission with me in Poland & Lithuania in 2011.  Although she is young in years, her faith is so solid & her heart belongs to the Lord. As such, she continues to be a trusted sister and friend. We visited a lot of places together and had a great time but one of the highlights for me was praying together each night.  I mentioned her in the last post (sharing during our youth meeting). Here are more photos from her time with us.   

photos from 
GDAŃSK

with the "Gdańsk Eye ferris wheel
in the background

inside the Gdańsk Eye

view of Gdańsk from inside

another bird's eye view

Photos from PRUSZCZ GDAŃSKI:

my very nice neighbors Sylwia, Aron (and Natanael)
invited us for hamburgers :)

We visited the "Faktoria" in Pruszcz -- a recreation of life in this area during the time of the Roman Empire. Here are some photos...

entering a hut (home)

descending from the watch tower

                                                                       you can always count on fresh fish in Hel

Photos from HEL ...   
Yes, there's really a Hel in Poland and it's beautiful! And I'm one of the few people who can say I've been to Hel and back -- 6 times even!

Inside the lighthouse:

              

4.  Duchniak Family (23-30 August)

Krzysiek & I with the Duchniak Family:
Katarzyna & Arkadiusz
Ruben & Aron

We had a very very lovely family staying with us at the church for a week. They were in great need of a vacation and I'm so glad they chose to come to Pruszcz.  Arkadiusz (Arek) is the assistant pastor at our sister church in Ustroń which is located in one of my favorite areas of Poland -- Silesia in the south, a mountainous region. He and his wife also lead their prayer ministry.

Additionally, Arek leads the music ministry in Ustroń. Arek & his son, Aron blessed us with two worship songs ("Everlasting God" by Chris Tomlin and " ... ) during our Sunday service and it ministered so deeply to me.  I was in tears.  Even more impressive than his exceptional voice and musical skills is that right away, you see he has the heart of a true worshipper.  Their last evening with us, Arek shared a song he had written during his week here about God being with us at all times and being the great "I AM". It really spoke to Krzysiek and I and we were deeply touched.

Although this was the first time we met, they were like kindred spirits.  Although we had separate schedules during the week, we did manage to spend some time together the last evening & Krzysiek and I were able to pour out our hearts to them. We hope and believe that God will make a way for us to meet again.