1 Pet. 3:15 -- "In your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

Hiya! June has been and extremely blessed month as well as a packed month of ministry and traveling. I just returned from visiting Covenant Players in Germany less than a week ago and tonight I'm running away to Prague for the weekend to get some much need rest.  The Covenant Players visit will be covered in my next blog!

Blessings on you all!  Here's the June review up to June 25th.

Festival of Hope (14 June 2014) ...               

As mentioned in the February update, we've been involved in preparations for Festival of Hope -- an evangelistic crusade led by Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham).  Krzysiek was our church's coordinator and as such, had tons on his plate.  I tried to support him as best as I could.  It was a lot of work but well worth every minute spent in preparation.

Many Christian musicians/bands from the States took part.  Among them, the main headliner was Michael W. Smith.  

aboard the private bus we rented

We, along with a handful of others from our church, served as counselors (during the altar call). We also brought with us a group of 50 people from our church's evangelistic outreaches to Warsaw -- several hundred kilometers from Pruszcz Gdański.  Several of them experienced deep life transformation.





During the altar call, an overwhelming number of people came down to the field to give their lives to the Lord.

Bożena (on the R) & her daughter-in-law

Among them was a regular attender of our evangelizations, Bożena.  She was celebrating her 60th birthday and on that same day, she was spiritually reborn.  She has blessed me so much with the radiant joy she's been filled with.

Wanda (L side) experience God's awesome inner & outer healing

Another woman from our meetings, Wanda experienced an amazing story of forgiveness, redemption, and healing.  While at the stadium, Wanda felt the Lord prompting her to call her daughter -- to ask for forgiveness. Wanda and her daughter had had such a broken relationship full of hurt and bitterness. As she felt the Lord put this on her heart, she did not waste time in responding. She called her daughter there from the stadium and asked for forgiveness. Both her and her daughter were in tears. Forgiveness was extended and received. And in that moment of spiritual healing, Wanda also received a physical healing. She's had severe chronic hip problems for a long time she's been unable to walk without the aid of a crutch.  But she soon discovered she didn't need the crutch anymore.  Now she walks without the crutch in high heels!

These are just a few of the amazing stories.

Polish youth love Bonnie!

I was thrilled that Bonnie arrived in Poland in time to come with us to Festival of Hope.  Her presence was such a blessing to people. And as you can see, our youth fell in love with her.



More on Bonnie's Visit  (12-25 June) ...

I know I'm a bit partial, but I think my sister Bonnie is pretty incredible.  It was a blessing for me to see how she has matured in her giftings and to see how she continues to have a missionary heart.  I see how her work as a principal has exercised and increased her giftings of wisdom & exhortation and how she exercises her gifts with so much grace.

Bon sharing with our youth

Besides diving right into the Festival of Hope trip to Warsaw, she helped me take care of kids/teens during our Tuesday night evangelistic outreach, she shared a very transparent and impacting testimony of her walk with the Lord starting from the very beginning to the present, she shared during our Sun service words of exhortation and encouragement, and she took so much time to talk, listen, and care for one of the persons I've been discipling.

Her impact here was very strong.  One of the youth wrote a text to me the day after Bonnie left, saying that she missed Bonnie soooooo much.  And even today, her words have impact on people here. Today we fed 60 people (!) from a missions group that organizes "March For Jesus" in various towns throughout Poland (and they're all sleeping here in the church!).  During the event, Krzysiek was asked to share his story.  He turned to me and said, "Your sister said that any time God gives you an opportunity to share about Him, you take it!" So he did. :)

Here's a tiny little clip of Bonnie encouraging and uplifting our church.

Sight-Seeing in Warsaw, Hel (!), Gdańsk, Malbork and Sopot...

Lest you think I worked my sister death, I have evidence in the form of photos to show you that we did manage to have fun and do "touristy" things!  And she ate a lot of yummy Polish food! :)

we both like meat :)

scenic view of Old Town Warsaw

Beautiful as Hel *

(It's just the name of a peninsula in Poland!)

Bonnie visits Gdańsk, Sopot, and Malbork

Gdańsk

Sopot

Malbork Castle

I've included a lot of photos of Bonnie's visit because it was very significant to me. She was the first person from my family & friends outside of Poland to come and visit me and she acted as a bridge between two of my worlds. As you can see, Poland is really beautiful and Bonnie had a great time here. She thinks everyone should come and visit -- and so do I!  

Welcome!!! :)

Ps. 35:27 -- "May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy & gladness; may they always say, 'The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.' "

Please help free my friends.

(As you know, normally I keep up this blog as a way of sharing about ministry happenings.  But this time I want to use this blog as an effort to help some friends.) 

(photos from website: freemattandgrace.com)

Grace is someone I haven't seen for years but we used to go to the same church (Chinese Evang. Free Church) and I always admired her for her loving, compassionate, and gentle spirit.  Months ago, I was shocked to hear, read, and watch the news that she & her husband, Matt are imprisoned in the Middle East on the basis of outrageously unsupported accusations of human trafficking and starving their daughter to death with the intention of selling her organs. What has this world come to? I see this as an example of the righteous being persecuted in our time.

They have been on my heart and I've been praying for them ever since. Today as I was reading Psalm 35, I was so moved by this verse and reminded of Matt & Grace once again.  I felt compelled to do something more.  So this is my effort.

Please, please, take 4 minutes out of your day, to click on their website and sign the petition there:

freemattandgrace.com

If you have another 6 minutes, please watch the video there (or click on the link here: Matt & Grace's story ). It makes a world of difference to see real people, faces, voices, photos.  Warning: It might break your heart.

Thank you for helping to carry this burden.

(Part II) John 4:13-14 -- "Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

If you've read Part I of the May review, you've caught a glimpse of church happenings.

Part II gives you a glimpse of a brief return to road life.

PART II:  Joining Up With the Elbe Unit of Covenant Players (9-13 May)

From the 5th-14th of May, Covenant Player's Elbe Unit (Silke & David Groves + Anneli Schott) took on a very special mission-- ministering in Wrocław and Poznań, Poland.  Due to the growing challenge of the harvest being plentiful and the workers being few, CP hasn't been able to send out full-time units to Poland. (If you would like to do something about this, please let me know! I will gladly share with you more about the ministry and about opportunities to make a significant impact in God's Kingdom!)

LIVING WATER by Charles M. Tanner

onstage with the Elbe Unit

in the role of "Romalajah"

Nevertheless, CP has stayed committed and convinced that ministry in Poland continues to be of import. Twice a year, units traveling predominantly in Germany come to minister in Poland for 1- 1 1/2 weeks.  This time they even took on the daunting task of learning a few plays in the Polish language to be of more direct impact.

It was a joy to learn a new singlet for this time of ministry.  Charles M. Tanner's play, LIVING WATER is an exquisite account of the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well and was offered by Him the water of eternal life.  In Chuck's rendition, she is retelling her story to family and friends gathered in her hometown.

Anneli performing in Polish (!)
Charles M. Tanner's IT'S WHERE YOU LOOK  

Silke and Anneli did an amazing job of learning and performing Polish plays with very limited preparation time.  I was so proud of them! Besides the exhilaration of performing again (which I do terribly miss at times), it was great to just share in fellowship again.  It was a particular joy to get to know Anneli more. She's one of our newer CP-ers and is an absolute gem.






Here's where we ministered during our time in Poznań:

Krysia's radiant smile

Koinonia 2nd Baptist Church 
(Sun, 11 May)
This is one of my favorite churches and Pastor Piotr Ożana is one of my favorite pastors in all of Poland.  He was one of the first pastors CP units in Poland ever worked with. We were so blessed to stay with the first hosts I've ever stayed with in connection with this church -- Przemek and Krysia.  Back then they were newlyweds.  They now have two adorable sons. We share a kindred spirit because they're also Christian performing artists.

Przemek & the boys perform for us :)

Our time at the church was extremely encouraging and God moved in people's hearts very deeply.  Their incredibly generous offering was a visible gesture of how touched they were by the ministry and God's provision for vehicle repairs that were needed later that week.  Many shared how moved they were. The children's Sunday School teacher ecstatically shared that that morning's lesson was about the Samaritan woman! The greatest cause of rejoicing that morning: a man giving his life to the Lord! Hallelujah!

the students love David

Catholic High School 
(Liceum Siostr Urszulanek) 
(Mon, 12 May)

Here, Covenant Players' English Language Communication Program (ELCP) was our tool of ministry.  While we normally stick to a secular program in schools, we seek to bring God's joy and love with us into the classroom setting and affirm the value of each student.  Here, we were also given permission to dig a bit into Christian themes.

Silke's got the students involved in an improv,"The Western"

I believe God answered the prayers the church over us the previous day -- to bless our ministry at the school. Not only did I see His anointing over our time at the school, but also with time with our host families.  Silke & David had a long conversation about faith with their hosts.  I shared about my missionary life with my hosts and at the end of the evening, I played the piano for them and sang "All Who Are Thirsty". Later we sang a couple songs together.


At the school, several students came up to me after to thank us specifically for a discussion we led about our identity and the question raised --  "How deep does our faith actually go?"




New Life Center
(Tue, 13 May)

New Life Center (you can click on "translate") is a Christian transitional home for men there. The men there seeking help commit to a one year program in an effort to find freedom from addictions, have a temporary home, and develop life skills that will help them build fruitful lives after their time there.  

Krzysiek shares his testimony

The men there loved the program and one shared that they recently studied in depth the story of the Samaritan woman and the play helped bring it to life.  Krzysiek also joined us for this ministry opportunity and the men were deeply challenged, encouraged and inspired by his testimony.


After the program, the men were eager to bless us with some songs. We also shared a meal with them and had an extended time of fellowship.  It was also a joyful surprise to find that an old friend & co-laborer in Christ, Darek Cieślak was there that day as part of their staff. Darek was one of the first person I ever met in Poland and he was the main contact for our unit my very first week of my first mission in Poland.

the men of New Life Center

Darek Cieślak
long-time friend of our units

Postlude...

Road life was not easy on my physically.  I look back now and I see that my 12 1/2 years of full-time itinerant ministry was evidence of God's anointing and His grace over both my spirit and body.

Thank you for those of you who were praying for me after reading my email of how I was not at my best physically during my time with the unit.  (It wasn't just because I was on the road again. I hadn't been sleeping well prior to that.)  I had some major problems with allergies and came home with an eye infection.  But if I had a choice to do it again, I would.  Like most things that are worthwhile in life, something is required of us.  The more worthwhile it is, the more that's required of us. Although it was physically trying, it was a spiritual mountain top.

Upon coming home,  I was reminded that we can't stay up on the mountain top.  We have to come down at some point.  The challenge is to see God and to walk with God all the days of our lives -- at every high and low point -- in every mountain or valley, desert or oasis -- we are to be faithful and keep moving forward.

Be blessed and walk with God no matter what terrain or season you are in.  And trust Him to refresh you with His Living Water as you pour out streams of life to others.

(Part I) John 4:13-14 -- "Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

May has been a hectic but wonderful month.  Two highlights of this month illustrate how chock-full of life it has been.  I thank God for the living water Christ pours out to me and as I partake of that living water, I experience streams of water I can then offer to others. The wonderful thing is that it never runs out.  As I pour out to others, I go running back to my Daddy for more and He graciously gives it in greater measure. And I think He even delights in it.


PART ONE: MAJÓWKA (May 1st-4th)...
Majówka (pronounced for English speakers "my-yoof-kah") is a Polish word used for picnics, most particularly in the month of May (maja).  It also refers to the first week of May which is marked by two national holidays (May 1st being Labour Day and May 3rd being Constitution Day) -- a great time for picnics. We had a very full schedule hosting as we were not only hosting a special youth event (and attending other picnics), but we had Krzysiek's family as well as a friend staying with us in the church for three nights.  

the pastors battle it out

I didn't play so well...but I still had fun :)

Picnic With Our Sister Church (Thur, 1 May)
Our sister church invited us to a picnic at their new site.  They've been meeting for years but recently they broke ground on the new land they've purchased -- a historical site.

Where others saw a huge challenge and bureaucratic obstacle, Pastor Bernacki saw this as their Promised Land. We pray and bless their church.

For now, as the building is still under renovation, we met in a huge tent they've recently put up, which is now housing their Sunday services.

Ping pong was one of the featured events. The pastors played a very friendly round together.  I played with Krzysiek's nephew, Wiktor, and didn't do so well! Once-upon-a-time I played pretty well, but I guess I'm a bit out of practice! Nonetheless, I'm still smiling!



Armia Pania Ognisko (Fri, 2 May)

ognisko!

We hosted a special "ognisko" (bonfire) for Armia Pana (the name of our youth group, meaning "The Lord's Army") and their friends and family.

The weather wasn't great (very chilly and a bit cloudy) but I think our kids really enjoyed the fun, food, and fellowship. 

blind cake-feeding contest

Time with Krzysiek's family (Sat, 3 May) ...

hoping to make fishers of men (& women)

                                                             Krzysiek's life testimony is an amazing one but all I'll share in this context is that he and has family had virtually no contact for 8 years -- until one year ago.  Since that time, not only have relationships been rebuilt with his mother as well as his brother & his brother's family, but a spiritual hunger has been awakened. 

fun for younger kids...

Our desire is not only to love them and care for them but to also show them, more importantly, Christ's love for them.  We had a great with them fishing, playing at a local park, and eating (of course).

... and older kids, too :)

Sylwia & Aron host obiad (lunch)
[pictured in the center, Aron is the one in a green shirt]

Our wonderful neighbors, Aron and Sylwia blessed us so much by preparing the main meal of the day so that we could have a bit of a break and they could also share their hospitality.  

Church Picnic (Sun, 4 May)
Well, I have to be honest, I was pretty picnicked out but the time Sunday came around.  Once again, the weather wasn't superb for a picnic (even colder than the previous day).

But that didn't deter us from holding an indoors church picnic. 

 And it was a lovely time of fellowship together. 

Matt. 25:40 -- "...'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Easter Breakfast For a Thousand...

As many of you read in my last email, this Easter weekend was spent traveling to the south of Poland for a very special event. Many churches in the area of Katowice cooperated to organize a huge breakfast held in a small sports hall in Park Śląski (an enormous park in Chorzów, Poland).  

volunteers busily preparing behind the scenes

We were inspired by this ecumenical effort to minister to the lonely, homeless, and hurting. It was an open event for anyone who didn’t have a place to spend Easter or just wanted to enjoy a breakfast and special program.  

Perhaps in the near future, churches in our region will catch a similar vision and God will grant us to opportunity to serve in a similar fashion.

Darek Kawulok and I had the honor of representing the ministry of Covenant Players at this event. It brought back a lot of memories as Katowice was where we performed together 6 years ago in a week-long evangelistic crusade called ProChrist where roughly 1000 people in the stadium gave their hearts to Christ each evening. 

THE PROXY (by Charles M. Tanner)

The venue here was a challenge to perform in and an extreme test in concentration because of all the buzz around us. Servers were running back and forth, people were eating and talking, seating was arranged for the purpose of eating -- not watching plays. We could barely hear each other and we were listening for one another more through the speakers than our actual voices on stage.   Still, our hope is that the messages of the plays reached those who needed most to hear them. 

We performed THE PROXY which is an intense and powerful play by Charles M. Tanner in which a young man considers jumping off a building and a young woman is tested in her faith to prove Christ's love to a stranger.

TRANSIT GLORIA (by Charles M. Tanner)

Later in the program, we performed one of Covenant Players timeless classics, TRANSIT GLORIA.  The persistent question of "What do you believe?" and what it truly means to be a believer (which 95% of Poles would claim to be) is a challenge to all.

Krzysiek sharing with the spiritually hungry

Krzysiek answered a huge call and need the organizers had in finding someone who could share a powerful testimony. What better morning than Easter morning to share about how in Christ,he has become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). It was very touching to see several people coming up to him immediately after he stepped off the stage. They were desperate to turn their lives around and Krzysiek shared more personally with them about how this is possible in Christ. He has a very special gift of ministering to those many would consider a social outcast because he, too could have been counted as one in his life before meeting Jesus. 

Besides being a very eventful weekend because of this   Easter breakfast outreach, it was also eventful because Saturday marked the one year milestone for Krzysiek and I as a couple. I seemed most appropriate that we were away on a ministry trip — just as it happened a year ago.  Last year, one day after beginning our official journey as a couple, we travelled to assist the Elbe Unit of Covenant Players. I performed with the unit while Krzysiek shared his testimony in the church and helped the unit a bit with translation. From the very beginning, we knew we had a call as partners in ministry. :)

(Sorry I've skipped over the month of March in this blog... I went ahead and published this Easter update before finishing the March update because I know that a lot of you were praying for me this past weekend.  Hopefully the March at-a-glance review will be out soon too!)

Philippians 4:19 -- "AND MY GOD WILL MEET ALL YOUR NEEDS ACCORDING TO HIS GLORIOUS RICHES IN CHRIST JESUS."

Looking Back At February...

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

"More than 100 million Christians suffering from discrimination and persecution are imprisoned and murdered for believing in Christ."

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.

 

It was deeply moving to watch & hear the testimonies of brothers & sisters around the world, following in the footsteps of our Savior, Jesus Christ, walking the path of suffering out of love & devotion to our Father. Dariusz challenged us to understand that we are part of the same body (I Cor 12) and that as one part suffers, the other parts suffer.

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")

15 Feb 2014
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.

Mariusz & Dorota

Dorota's family is special to me because they were the first family to invite me into their home. The day after I arrived in Poland, they invited me for lunch after the church service. One of the things I like best about Dorota (in addition to her hospitality) is her virtue of honesty as well as faithfulness. She & her husband, Mariusz are long-time church members here, and despite having gone through some conflicts, they've remained not only faithful, but active in serving here in the church. Together, they lead a "growth group" for seekers as well as newer believers.

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.