looking toward the future.

proverbs 16:9
the mind of man plans his way,
but the LORD directs his steps.

proverbs 19:21
many plans are in a man's heart,
but the counsel of the LORD will stand.

matthew 6:30-34
"but if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? you of little faith! do not worry then, saying, 'what will we eat?' or 'what will we drink?' or 'what will we wear for clothing?' for the gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. so do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. each day has enough trouble of its own."

"world" travel =)

for christmas, my family and i traveled the world. at disney's epcot, that is!

missionary life. and loss.

i sat at the kitchen table slowly sipping my coffee. next to me, sat my dear friend carrie also sipping her coffee, it was our second cup each that morning. across the room from us, on the counter that divided the dining room from the kitchen sat a dell computer, with a webcam on top of it. in the kitchen, behind the computer, an entire family huddled in to see the image in the computer screen. they took turns allowing themselves to be visible to the webcam. there were smiles, and there were tears as the family spoke to the computer. but they spoke not just to the computer, their voices and their images reached on the other side of the world, where the daughter of this family and her husband and two children live as missionaries. they were speaking via skype. i sat, silently watching and admiring as loving a loving aunt and uncle spoke gently to their two-year-old niece. "nana" stood back, longing to speak with her daughter and granddaughter in a less "mechanical" fashion.

on the one hand, i was thankful for skype and such technology that can connect families who are scatterered around the world. on the hand, i could sense the longing and the love which also spanned across the ocean. what must it be like for a grandmother to see her grandchildren grow up, on a computer screen? what does it feel like to be planning a wedding having your older sister on the other side of the world? and as the missionary, how hard is it to miss your sister's college graduation?

in a class i recently took called gender and cultural issues of counseling, our professor (who grew up a missionary kid in japan) shared with us the losses involved into assimilateing to a new culture: loss of stability, family, culture, the familiar, friends, habits, home, support...

in each situation, i have wondered to myself - i say that i want to be a missionary. am i willing to take that risk and handle that loss?

Jesus says, "...whoever wishes to save his life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it...." (matt. 16:25)

it's a loss, on both ends: for the family going to another culture and for the family and people who send them.

missionary connections!

during my trip home to connecticut this weekend, i got the opportunity to spend some time with SEND missionaries who my church supports (alida and bill, serving in alaska). we met up in new haven at a little cafe/book store for lunch and my friend nathaniel, whom i met at send short term training, joined us there. a little while later, another send missionary - david givens came! it was a great time of connecting with wonderful people!

(me, dave, nat, alida, and bill at the atticus cafe)

definition of culture.

i just started a book for my gender & culture class called, culture-centered counseling and interviewing skills (by paul b. pedersen and allen ivey). they begin their book with a very interesting definition of culture:

"culture is not something outside ourselves, but, rather, an internalized perspective that combines the teachings of every significant person or group we have experienced, read about, or heard about and from whom we have learned something. when individuals try to understand their own or someone else's culture, it is understandable that they are frequently overwhelmed by the complexity of the task. each of of us then 'belongs to' a thousand or more cultures, any one of which might become salient or most relevant depending on the time, the place, and the situation."

another polish friend!

last night, a friend and former professor of mine (dr. al lunde) introduced me to a young lady from lublin, poland who has worked here in the states (wildwood, nj) for the past three summers. we all had dinner together in cape may...it was so neat to talk about poland and hear her polish accent! she told me that the next time i come to poland, i'll have to visit her in lublin (eastern poland) and she'll show me around!

me, dr. lunde, and karolina

group photo!

camp pictures!

click for pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/podgorzyn2007

stay tuned for more updates!

gordon college!

...and right NOW, i'm updating from the gillies cafe here at gordon college where we're moving my brother, eric, into school. look for a REAL update within the next week or so, but bear with me - i move into school on monday and begin classes on tuesday!

ah, crazy schedule! =)

and she's back!

i'm now sitting at sue thomson's desk at SEND International in michigan! i leave for the airport home soon and will see my family VERY shortly! YAY!

i survived podgórzyn 2007! =)

i'm back from camp! i have so many new friends, so many stories, and SO many pictures! these next couple of days are going to continue to be incredibly busy - tomorrow we're still spending more time with the campers (since most of them live in town), with ice cream in the town square and a girls' movie night later on. tuesday my flight leaves wrocław at 7:15 am, so naturally that means heading to the airport REALLY EARLY. luckily, another girl on staff is on my same flight to munich! so we'll get to fly over together and spend time in the airport - we both have three-hour layovers. =) i should arrive in detroit at about 5:30pm on tuesday.


i searched all of my pictures to try and find the *classic* camp podgórzyn picture. since i do not have the group photo yet, it was hard but i am happy with my choice of this picture which is currently my computer wallpaper:

rebecca (new york), marek (wrocłow - camp leader), me, maria (holland), jagoda (wrocłow - my roommate!), chris (poland)

camp TOMORROW!

after 5 hours of training, 6 pizzas, and a trip to the city for ICE CREAM - the camp staff is ready to head off to CAMP TOMORROW!!!

i'm feeling a lot better and building many new friendships with the STAFF. our staff is very international - one girl from holland, one girl from canada (who is chinese), two girls from australia (one of them was born in poland and has also lived three years in africa), one man from america (but he's lived in poland for five years now), and a few polish people, and a few more american missionaries. it's so great to learn about different cultures and discuss different words and learn about PEOPLE.

looking at the schedule, it is going to be an intense week. we've been warned ahead of time that we probably won't be able to sleep much. and are actually encouraged not to do so because "the deepest conversations happen at night." here's where my college experience comes in handy, eh? haha. during the day there are english classes and we have afternoon activities and bible lessons and discussion groups in the evening.

CONTINUE to pray for me, for our team (and unity and strength therein), and for the campers!

eve (australia), me, maria (holland), debbie (canada), keren (australia)

time in the city.

today we have free time until 5pm, so i jumped on the tram to tackle the city of wrocłow! i spent some time at the rynek, did a little more shopping, walked to cathedral island (and stopped in at every cathedral on the way), visited the botanical garden, grabbed some lunch, and here i sit at an internet cafe!

i miss lubin and the people there VERY much, but i know that God wants me here for the camp! we begin training this evening and then we all leave for the mountains on thursday.

here we go!

wrocłow!

today i leave lubin and head on down to wrocłow to begin preparing for the english camp!

kraków!

out of all of the pictures i took yesterday while walking around through kraków, this one is my favorite. there were so many musicians playing in the streets, but this guy on the guitar just seems so chill. he's just having a great time - just him and his guitar.


we also visited the castle:


tonight at the coffeehouse was a blast - i have decided that i've played more uno in the past two weeks than i have in my entire life. i'm slowly learning what i call "uno polish" - how to say things like the names of the colors and "what color is it?"

poland:

the past and the present,
the old and the new,
joining together -
walking hand in hand...

lessons from contra.

a few weeks ago back in the states, i tried something new. i went contra dancing. now, i had heard of contra dancing through my friend jim (check out his blog!) and he had shown me some of the basic steps. other than that and a youtube video, i had no idea what i was getting myself into. as the music started, i felt excited and comfortable to jump right in. as i was dancing with one man, he said to me, "are you new to contra?" "yes, i replied." "well then, don't worry about messing up. just always smile and have fun."

today i went with pat, carlene, and the kids to a city called ścinawa to visit a women's shelter. there, none of the polish women spoke english. for a while, i felt a uncomfortable and unsure of how to fit in. then i remembered the words of wisdom from my contra partner - "just always smile and have fun." while pat and carlene spoke with the ladies, i tried to understand the conversation from body language, context clues, and what little translation my missionary friends had time to give me. i was able to play with the children - they didn't seem to recognize the language barrier. in addition to this, i realized that even if i could not sit down and have a long conversation with someone, i could pray for pat and carlene as they did. i walked around the building and prayed for the women who live there. i don't know their stories - but God surely does.

culture, culture, culture.

there are moments when i'm walking through the store or down the street or just sitting at the coffee house, when i just think to myself - "hey, i'm in poland." i suppose it's still that "honeymoon sensation" of being in a new culture where everything is new and exciting.

like this exciting story - yesterday i went with paul to the store to buy supplies. as i was looking at the flavored syrups, i held one in my hand looking for others. an older woman came up to me and she began to speak in polish and point to the different signs. at first i was a little freaked out - "do i tell her i only speak english? what if she asks me a question? what do i do?" finally it clicked - she was pointing out that the syrups on the second shelf were cheaper than the one i had in my hand! WOW! "tak, tak! dziekuje!" ("yes, yes, thank you!") i said smiling and proudly - i understood her! she said "you're welcome" (in polish, of course) and walked away. paul came back over: "what did she say to you?!" "she told me that this one here is cheaper - let's get it." "was she speaking english?" "no, polish. but i understood her!"

lately i've been working on a lot of coffee shop stuff - making a menu, new drinks, posters, flyers, and such. i've also been able to spend a lot of time with the people here - sightseeing some with pat and carlene, having tea with bolgusia, playing volleyball with the neighborhood guys. in addition to that, every night from 17.00-22.00 i'm hanging out at the coffeehouse with the kids who come there. building relationships is tough across the language barrier, but communication is much more than language. please pray for relationships to be built here!

the dreaming bridge.

today was a fabulous day! a few of the missionary women and i took a trip to nearby wroclaw to explore the city a bit. as we walked to a cathedral, we neared the very bridge i spoke of in my support letter. my letter read as follows:

"Last May, I traveled with the Philadelphia Biblical University’s Chorale through SEND International to Poland and the Czech Republic. While I was in Wroclaw, Poland, there was a bridge (left) that we walked over on Cathedral Island. Tradition has it that if you walk over this bridge and “dream a dream” while silently walking over this bridge, then your dream will come true! At the time, we thought that this was a very creative way for parents to get a few moments of silence. =) Yet now, I remember the dream I had: that I would be able to return to Poland. This dream is coming to a reality! This summer, I have the opportunity to go to Poland for a month!"

as we neared the catheral today, we walked across this very bridge.

this time as i walked across it, i still did not speak. i thanked God over and over again for His amazing provision in fulfilling my "dream." over a year ago, it was just that - a dream - who would have thought it possible? but with God, ANYTHING is possible - even your wildest dreams.

tornados.

"Poland was hit by a tornado, which is rare in Europe. News channel tvn24 showed roofs ripped off farmhouses and barns and cars destroyed near the southern Polish city of Czestochowa on Friday night.

At least 7 people were injured and hundreds left without power.

"Suddenly I saw the trees outside swaying violently and looked out to see a brown funnel approaching. We all took cover just in time," one middle-aged man told tvn24."

Reuters, UK


a man spoke about this situation this morning at church, saying that villages were destroyed and people left with NOTHING.

czestochowa is three and a half hours southeast of where i am right now. please pray for the people who lost their homes and family members due to this tornado!