1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) -- "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Host Home Ministry...
The tables have turned.  I spent 12 1/2 years traveling with Covenant Players and constantly being a guest.  Now -- living in a church under the leadership of a pastor who keeps his doors open for taking in servants of the Lord (...that is, after all, how I ended up at this church) -- I (along with Krzysiek) often have the honor of hosting guests who stay here at the church. In my last update, I mentioned that we hosted 78 guests in one month.  Actually, I forgot to count the 15 surprise guests we had staying at our church when we came home exhausted from our 14 hour bus ride home from Prague! That makes the total... 93!!!

Hebrews 13:2 says "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some people have entertained angels without knowing it."   I think we have a good chance of having hosted angels. :)

March For Jesus  (10 July)

March For Jesus in Pruszcz Gdański

"JESUS NOW" held by visiting friends, Andrzej & Jola,

with our Grandma Ela on the L side

in front of our town hall square

Krzysiek, spontaneously called on to share his testimony

The largest group we hosted was a group of 60 young people from all over Poland taking part in a summer missions trip-- Poles on a mission to make Christ known in their own nation. The mission partners with churches throughout Poland to organize Marches for Jesus locally. During the march, we walked around the city center several times (Pruszcz isn't that big and the area they blocked off was quite small).  We sang praise songs and I felt like the Israelites circling the walls of Jericho!


Our church participation was not numerous. But those of us who participated had a great time. And many of our regular evangelistic outreach attenders joined us at the town square after the march. Personally, I was proud to be a public ambassador for Christ and to carry a banner along with Krzysiek declaring, "Jesus lives".  I am not ashamed of the Gospel nor am I ashamed of being a follower and disciple of Jesus!



At the completion of the march, we gathered at the town square in front of city hall and there a stage was set up. The team prepared and led a variety of evangelistic outreach activities -- worship music (and praise flag dancers), face painting for the kids, a drama presentation, the preaching of the gospel, and a few testimonies.






Krzysiek was asked to share his testimony there. Remembering Bonnie's words to our church during her visit, "If you have an opportunity to talk about God, you take it!" -- he responded to the call.

Tomek's Visit  (15-23 July 2014) ...

Krzysiek & Tomek enjoy a close relationship again

Tomek with his wife, Edyta

Other guests we had the privilege of hosting in July were Krzysiek's brother Tomek and his family. It's really amazing how God's power of redemption has not only reunited Krzysiek with his brother (--there was a period where they hadn't seen each other for 8 years) but has gone even further to plant a growing desire in Tomek's heart to search God's Word. The first time Tomek came to visit our worship service, he was very impacted by the sermon and exclaimed, "Why doesn't our priest [in our Catholic church] teach us that??" 

Just a week ago, Tomek and his family came to visit a church where Krzysiek was invited to share his testimony and almost the whole family was in tears. God is clearly doing something and we believe that the whole household will be saved someday.  Thus, the time we invest in them, besides being a pleasure, is also of utmost spiritual significance.  

Wiktor & Oliwia's first time ever in the sea!
They spent every moment they could
playing in the water.
We were so happy to hear them say:
"It was the best vacation ever!"

Baptism !  (20 July 2014)

What a joyous occasion it was to celebrate the baptisms of two wonderful individuals, Krzysztof and Ewa.  Both of them are a great encouragement to us of the evangelistic outreaches that we hold.  Ewa has been coming for years to our Tue/Wed evangelistic outreaches.  She has been steadily growing in experiencing more and more of God's work in her life and wanted to publicly take the next step in discipleship. 

                                                                                                                                   Krzysztof came to our church about a year ago when we had a special missionary guest. While he received a miraculous healing at that meeting, it was a love for Jesus birthed in his heart that has transformed his whole life. He is so passionately in love with Jesus and shares so joyously about him whenever he can that it's almost enviable! I believe that the Lord has prepared a ministry to many through him. He is fervently reading God's Word, staying in constant communication with Him in prayer, and strongly plugged into community -- all essentials for staying faithfully walking on the narrow road. 

Pastor Mirek closing in prayer

The very timely arrival of our new synthesizer on my birthday !!!! 

(22 July 2014)

whoo hoo!!!

                                                               THANK YOU SO MUCH on behalf of Aron and I -- to all of you who responded to the invitation to donate towards this. I wrote about this back in November, but it took some time for the donations to come in and I think the timing was just perfect.  I think it was important to wait a while and just have my motives tested and checked so that when we finally raised enough money for this, I was even more appreciative and even more mindful that I wanted it to be used as a blessing for the church.          

The morning of July 22nd, 
which just happened to also be my birthday, 
the courier arrived with OUR NEW YAMAHA MOXF 8 
-- a new synthesizer with a full-size keyboard.  
(That's not the courier! That's our worship leader, Aron!) 

We were very blessed by all the donations-- an international response! When we had raised about 2/3 the necessary amount, we made an appeal at our church and the response was really amazing.  I shared from my heart that I was hoping to have an instrument to use that I wouldn't feel so restrained by (because you'll see in the photo how small the prior keyboard was) -- an instrument with which I could express my heart, my worship more thoroughly.        

                                                                                                            

our happy worship leader tries out the new keyboard

One member of the church (who is also the father of one of our youth) said to me, "I would have given you as much as you needed so that you could play."  And then one woman who doesn't have so much money but has a huge heart  pulled me aside and with tears streaming down and voice quivering, put a bank note in my hand and said, "I really really want to give toward this keyboard. I really want you to have this." Less than one week after the appeal was made at our church, the keyboard arrived and it felt like an incredible birthday gift. :)

 

                                                                

It was a very special birthday. Several individuals brought me gifts, hugged me, showered me with love and birthday wishes during the day.  And in the evening, our friends Ola & Krzysztof along with Krzysiek (of course) and his brother's family were very sneaky and surprised me with cake and a lovely dinner together.

SURPRISE!!!  They got me!

                                                                                                         Going back to the Yamaha synthesizer, it has been a great blessing.  It arrived just in time for me to lead worship on my own while Aron and most of the worship team was away at a summer camp.  There have been several occasions this summer for me to lead worship on my own and Pastor has been very happy to see my gifts bloom and blossom here. (I had a lot of experience leading worship in English, but leading worship in Polish as you might imagine, is a bit more challenging and takes a bit more preparation for me. )                                                               I want to give God all the glory and just give back to Him the gifts He's given me. But He is so good and gracious and while playing & singing I feel my heart being filled up even while it is being poured out.                                                                        

                                                                                Thank you!!!

Rom. 8:28 (ESV) -- "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

ATTENTION!!! MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT TO FOLLOW!!!

Well... July was a pretty eventful month.  Besides hosting a total of 78 guests at our church between July 9th-August 4th, I celebrated a birthday (as did my mom, Sharon, Krzysiek, my adopted Polish grandmother here, and several other friends) and I also received a huge answer to prayer on my birthday (more to follow next time).

After hosting a short-term missions group of 60 people at our church, we were in desperate need of a break. So we took a trip (14 hours by bus!) to Prague. Although the ride was long, it was well worth it. I was vital that we travelled out of country -- even if just a three-day get-away because we needed to be far away from obligations and burdens that we carry here. We were in desperate need of time for recuperation -- as well as some personal time for us. We are so thankful to God for that trip.  

While there...  (drumroll, please...)

Krzysiek and I got engaged!  :)

Look!  I even got a purple ring!!! :) :)

Okay. So to be more accurate, this was the second time he asked (and the second time I said yes).  To make a really long story short, he first proposed in late June but because I hadn't had a chance to talk with my family yet (except for Bonnie), I didn't want to make any public announcements and we kept it very quiet.  After having a chance to talk with my parents, I felt we could properly go public on it. 

So he proposed again (ha ha!) in Prague -- this time, publicly, on his knees, etc.  

Please pray for us as God continues to prepare us for a lifetime commitment to journey together.  International relationships (marriages) are a bit more complicated and require some extra attention toward legal matters in the area of visas. (This also affects when/where the wedding will be.) More info to follow as it becomes concrete.

Our journey as a couple has not been an easy one.  The beginning of our relationship was particularly difficult and we made some bad decisions and choices.  But we learned and we continue to learn. And we thank God that He is good and gracious and fights for us. He's always kept our hearts soft toward Him and when we start to go off-track, He's always quickened our spirits to get back on the right path. As as we took this step of faith, we definitely felt His guidance and presence with us.

So for those of you who have prayed for God's guidance in this area of my life -- many of you even for years and years-- THANK YOU.  Trust that God has heard your prayers.

Enjoy the pictures of Prague.  I loved it there.  I hope you'll have a chance to see it for yourselves someday.  

Peace and blessings and lots of love to you all.  

Amy (& Krzysiek)

lovely view of Prague from the Castle grounds

everywhere we looked, there was something captivating

on the left side is the restaurant where Krzysiek proposed (again)

after dinner -- night view

II COR. 2:14 -- "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him."

Celebrate!!!

End of the School Year Celebration 
(27 June 2014)

Our youth group, Armia Pana ("Army of the Lord") faced many changes and challenges this past school year.  This was largely triggered by the departure of 2 of our consistent youth group members -- including the oldest boy, who had a great deal of leadership potential and (positive) influence over the group.

Noemi, Zuzia, Laura, & Klaudia
...after the ice-cream with heaps of whipped cream

It's been a challenge to draw the boys at our church into the group and with the departure of this older boy, there wasn't much motivation left to come.  We've become on most weeks, an all-girl group.

in the town square of Pruszcz Gdańaki

One one hand, it's been a bit discouraging and I wish I could wake up a spiritual hunger in these boys at our church.  On the other hand, I've been so blessed to see how these girls have become more deeply bonded, more open, more courageous (--they've started to pray out loud), and they really want to grow spiritually.

To celebrate the end of the school year and the completion of going through Neil Anderson's book, "Stomping Out the Darkness" (a youth edition of "Victory Over the Darkness"), we took them out for ice-cream.

The book was a challenge.  It's target toward roughly age 13-17.  Our youth are age 12-15. (A couple were only 11 when we started.)  So some of it was over their heads and took a lot of explanation.  But they were troopers and pushed through and I trust that this will have aided them in helping to provide solid teaching and a strong foundation of what it means to be a Christian and how vital it is for us to understand, believe, and live out our identity in Christ.

A Visit to Germany   (28 June - 5 July)

First Stop:  Kevin & Cindy Gourlay 

Momma Cindy with their adorable kids

Kevin & Krzysziek playing with fire 

We had a blessed time of fellowship and refreshment with my friends (now Krzysiek's friends, too), Kevin & Cindy Gourlay and their kids, Amy (named after me) and David.  Though we don't see each other often and we're limited in the amount of time we're able to carve out, our bond remains strong because it is founded on Christ's love, grace, trust, and honesty.  

Kevin & Cindy haver really showered me with their love and poured themselves out for me in many ways.  We had deep talks, light talks, laughter, fun, great food, and great prayer together.

Where's "the big Amy"?

Big Amy & Little Amy go horse-back riding!

As you can see, I got some play time in...

I don't know who had more fun -- me or the kids? 

Second Stop:  Covenant Players Training

very very dear friends, Ellis & Geoff

There are many things I miss about being a full-time Covenant Player -- not the least of which is the community aspect of the ministry.  When a group of people share a profoundly deep life purpose -- to serve God with all their heart, mind, strength, and soul -- and this is actually lived out on a daily basis -- the result is a profound unity.

To be back in such a community did my soul as well as Krzysiek's soul so much good. 

DON'T YOU WISH!- by Charles M. Tanner
directed by Jodi K. Wideman

I of course, also miss the frequency of performing and the whole rehearsal process -- constantly learning something new, the craziness and intensity of putting it all together over the course of a few days, and voila! -- you're performing it live for an audience.

performing with Silke Groves

Silke & I were cast in Charles Tanner's play, DON'T YOU WISH.  "Smokey", whom I played, is a devil in human form working hard to subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) steer Silke's character, a rather nominal Christian, away from the Lord and further onto a path of worldliness.

As actresses, there was a very big battle going on to get our parts down. Despite more rehearsals than I've ever had for one project,  it wasn't coming together. Partially, this was because of time constraints and other responsibilities.  But also, I believe there was a spiritual battle going on -- particularly for Silke -- which makes a lot of sense considering the play. Krzysiek prayed a lot for Silke and I and for this play. And in the end, we saw God's Hand of Help and His victory.

How did Krzysiek spend his time there? -- you might ask (besides praying for us). The answer: doing what he does extremely well -- cooking and being a huge help where and however he could.  Last time we visited, he cooked Polish food and it was a hit.  So the community was delighted to have him cook once again.  

This time: pierogi (Polish dumplings) -- one of the most famous foods in traditional Polish cuisine.  He made three varieties and 100 dumplings of each kind (meat, cabbage & mushroom, potato & cheese) -- a total of 300 pierogis!!!

And as you can see, even kids love pierogi!!!

UP AHEAD IN THE NEXT BLOG:  Very exciting news!!!