The day started out pretty good on Saturday. Lukas came over, I cooked breakfast (scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies) and we had a great time! Then I packed my bag and Lukas received a phonecall that a Polish airplane had crashed and not just any old airplane, but a plane on which the Polish president was traveling with his wife and several other government officials, about 88 total. The president was on his way to a memorial regarding "Katyn" which is the name of a town where during WWII Russian soldiers killed many thousands Polish civilians. Wh
en it became more clear what happened, it also became apparent that this was another incident in a long string of events that have caused lots of suspicion and skepticism between the Polish and the Russians. During the church service at The Rock on Sunday afternoon, Martijn spoke regarding the event and challenged his people to have a different attitude, to stay away from suspicion, speculation and debate, and to pray for the people in authority and for peace. It was indeed sobering to see the distraught and national mourning. Many stores were closed on Sunday and an impromptu memorial with votive candles was established on the town square in Wroclaw.
During all these unfolding events, I had the privilege of moving my things to another home. My last two nights in Poland, I stayed with a lovely family: Rafal and Karina and their 4-year old daughter Jagoda, and their 8-month old son Jeremiah. Rafal and Karina live in t
he old town of Wroclaw in a 120-year old apartment building, with a park in front and some busy streets around it. The building could use some tender love and care, and Karina has taken up the cause and she is now in the planning stages to beautify this old building. The staircase and landings are the first on the list. She really has a heart for the people in the building and wants to bring hope to this community by fixing the backyard and cleaning the staircase and maybe organizing some workshops for the children. Bringing hope where there seems to be no future, and where change is unimaginable... does that sound like God to you?
Martijn dropped me off at this family's home and after he had left, we sat down and talked over a nice cup of tea. Then Rafal took Jagoda out for a while and Karina asked if I would teach her something to cook, which I was delighted to do! So we peeled potatoes, cut chicken and threw a whole bunch of vegetables in a pot, seasoned it well and enjoyed a lovely lunch! The great part is that on Sunday Karina cooked the same kind of lunch by herself and it tasted better than my concoction; that made me happy!
Later on in the afternoon, they had invited people from church over (anybody, actually) to come to their home and play games. Patricia and Valdec came over with their 3 kids, but instead of playing games we decided to go to the water and feed the swans! Great idea if it weren't for the rain and the cold! As my mother would say: you are not made of sugar, so we wrapped ourselves in rain coats, hats, gloves and scarves and off we went. We got to the swans, fed them, and then it started pouring! So, in a hurry we took refuge in Hotel Plaza which was conveniently located very close. We took of the coats, gloves, scarves and hats and had a lovely time enjoying a coffee treat and great conversation about the Lord and what it means to put the bible into practice in our lives. I love this stuff!!!
The next day, on Sunday around 1pm I walked from the apartment to the town square (despite my sore calf) and enjoyed lunch with Martijn and Denise Johnson who is an American missionary supported by Foursquare. She was in town for the weekend and it was nice to meet her and hear about her work in the most conservative Catholic region in Poland. We sat around the table at Pizza Hut and talked until it was time to put all the raingear back on and walk the last little bit to get to church at 4:30pm. The Rock meets in a large room that is located in the same building where their office is. This room is rented out for different events during the week, which makes it a little tricky, because the church people never know what they will run into when they come in to set up for the service. There are many chairs around small square tables with little candles and tea lights, the table cloths have different colors and the back wall is orange! Isn't orange a great color, people?! After church, Rafal and Jagoda took me back home with them and by 10pm it was lights out and quiet.
en it became more clear what happened, it also became apparent that this was another incident in a long string of events that have caused lots of suspicion and skepticism between the Polish and the Russians. During the church service at The Rock on Sunday afternoon, Martijn spoke regarding the event and challenged his people to have a different attitude, to stay away from suspicion, speculation and debate, and to pray for the people in authority and for peace. It was indeed sobering to see the distraught and national mourning. Many stores were closed on Sunday and an impromptu memorial with votive candles was established on the town square in Wroclaw.During all these unfolding events, I had the privilege of moving my things to another home. My last two nights in Poland, I stayed with a lovely family: Rafal and Karina and their 4-year old daughter Jagoda, and their 8-month old son Jeremiah. Rafal and Karina live in t
he old town of Wroclaw in a 120-year old apartment building, with a park in front and some busy streets around it. The building could use some tender love and care, and Karina has taken up the cause and she is now in the planning stages to beautify this old building. The staircase and landings are the first on the list. She really has a heart for the people in the building and wants to bring hope to this community by fixing the backyard and cleaning the staircase and maybe organizing some workshops for the children. Bringing hope where there seems to be no future, and where change is unimaginable... does that sound like God to you?Martijn dropped me off at this family's home and after he had left, we sat down and talked over a nice cup of tea. Then Rafal took Jagoda out for a while and Karina asked if I would teach her something to cook, which I was delighted to do! So we peeled potatoes, cut chicken and threw a whole bunch of vegetables in a pot, seasoned it well and enjoyed a lovely lunch! The great part is that on Sunday Karina cooked the same kind of lunch by herself and it tasted better than my concoction; that made me happy!
Later on in the afternoon, they had invited people from church over (anybody, actually) to come to their home and play games. Patricia and Valdec came over with their 3 kids, but instead of playing games we decided to go to the water and feed the swans! Great idea if it weren't for the rain and the cold! As my mother would say: you are not made of sugar, so we wrapped ourselves in rain coats, hats, gloves and scarves and off we went. We got to the swans, fed them, and then it started pouring! So, in a hurry we took refuge in Hotel Plaza which was conveniently located very close. We took of the coats, gloves, scarves and hats and had a lovely time enjoying a coffee treat and great conversation about the Lord and what it means to put the bible into practice in our lives. I love this stuff!!!
The next day, on Sunday around 1pm I walked from the apartment to the town square (despite my sore calf) and enjoyed lunch with Martijn and Denise Johnson who is an American missionary supported by Foursquare. She was in town for the weekend and it was nice to meet her and hear about her work in the most conservative Catholic region in Poland. We sat around the table at Pizza Hut and talked until it was time to put all the raingear back on and walk the last little bit to get to church at 4:30pm. The Rock meets in a large room that is located in the same building where their office is. This room is rented out for different events during the week, which makes it a little tricky, because the church people never know what they will run into when they come in to set up for the service. There are many chairs around small square tables with little candles and tea lights, the table cloths have different colors and the back wall is orange! Isn't orange a great color, people?! After church, Rafal and Jagoda took me back home with them and by 10pm it was lights out and quiet.
Just one question, does Rafal go by Rafa?
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