Departure

Levi, enjoying (NOT!) that 'yummy' LOT Polish Airlines food!

"Are we there yet?" "No! We have 3,439 miles to go!"

The familiar screen on the airplane, telling us exactly where we were

Sam & Luke, somewhere over the Atlantic?

Levi, Luke & Sam ... waiting at the Warsaw airport ... and VERY happy to see I'd brought along a gift from Marysia & Irmina. Yes, peanut M&M's, our first 'glimpse' of re-entry into America!

Luke, Sam, Piotrek, Irmina, Natalia, Levi, Mikolaj & Agata

Of course, one last 'look to the left'

Mikolaj and Sam ... one last 'brotherly' wrestling match

Piotrek ... "Will these people EVER leave???!!"

(He did a lot of driving for us while we were in Radom, and we're extremely grateful.

Thanks, Piotrek!)

Natalia and Sherri

(Natalia, Irmina & Agata had ridden the train into Warsaw to surprise us at the airport, just as they had done for Ben, Joe & Jim's departure What sweet girls!)

Oh, dearest Tytus & Jola ... when will we see you again?

(Our goal is to learn Polish, so we're ready to sit down and have a real conversation with them.)

We FINALLY met back up with our dear friend, Iwona. We hadn't seen her since the very beginning of our trip! She came to the airport to say goodbye. She looked sparkling and happy back in her 'homeland'.
She slipped easily back into the saddle of translating.

Mikolaj with a mohawk? Actually, it was a neck pillow. We were waiting to go through security at the airport and dreading the 'goodbyes'.

Luke ... standing and gazing out the window one last time before we left. We would often stand at this window and look out upon the street in front of our apartment.

More from the Going Away Party

Filip & Piotrus being goofy

During the open sharing, Sherri expressed to the church how they had inspired us to be committed to fellowship. As the NewLife body increases in size, it becomes more difficult to remain close with each other. We need to work hard at it! Spending time with our friends in Radom rejuvenated our passion for 'Building relationships with God and one another'.

(pictured are Marek & Sherri)

At the end of the evening, there was a time for open sharing. Tytus shared with Dave (with Steve translating) from Colossians 1:3-8 and expressed how they'd heard of Dave's love for them, but now they'd all experienced it firsthand.

And then there's Steve ... doing a bit of self-photography!

One of our Polish "daughters" ... Irmina ... one of the photographers for the evening

Even after being in Poland for a month, we were still trying new foods the night before we left. Sam finally found a Polish food he DIDN'T like! It LOOKED like a white cheese puff (Cheetoh) ... but it tasted like ?????? ... Sherri was trying to maintain composure, but it was quite funny!

Sorry!

I'm out of time ... will post more later (hopefully tomorrow). This needs to be done at Dave's office, because our home internet is not fast enough. I'll post more as soon as possible.

A "Surprise" Going Away Party

Wednesday evening, they had a 'surprise' party for us. After spending time in worship, we all sat around a large table and ATE!!

A Wednesday Treat

Wednesday began with a spontaneous visit from Irmina & Marysia. They stopped by to deliver some beautiful parting gifts, but the greatest gift was the conversation we shared. Over the course of a few hours, Marysia shared her testimony, we discussed Irmina's possible extended stay with us in the U.S., and we all re-confirmed our appreciation for the newly found friendship we'd developed over the past month. It was a blessed time together.

Tuesday

Levi & Daniel enjoying a little 'good buddy' time. On our next-to-last night in Poland, Levi FINALLY had the courage to spend the night at Daniel's home!

Bernatka & her daughter, Veronica

This picture of Dave, Bernatka & Piotr is a perfect example of the informal and wonderful times of fellowship we enjoyed in Radom. We were saying, "Who would have ever thought we'd be in a small yet delightful Polish kitchen, enjoying jazz music, eating h'ordouvres, and enjoying great conversation with such awesome people??? God is good.

On Tuesday we spent the evening at Steve & Bernatka's, along with Piotr & Beata. We enjoyed tacos, Polish tea, and jazz music. In this photo, Piotr & Steve are teaching Dave a 3-person Polish card game. So here are the three Polish men playing cards! While the men played cards, the ladies went out shopping for goodies.

At last!!

Hello, curious blog-lookers! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back on here. There have been many adjustments upon returning to the U.S. Resuming 'life as we know it' has taken longer than expected! We are finally feeling at home in this time zone, and all traveling illnesses have subsided. Some of the boys got very sick upon returning to the U.S., so we're thankful for their recovery.

Spiritually, we continue to pray for God to help us apply all that we experienced and learned with our Polish friends. Our month with them was unforgettable, and we are so grateful for all the love that was shared. We're sort of at the stage where we're asking, "What now?" We eagerly await the Lord's wisdom in determining our daily steps with Him as we move forward from here.

It has been an incredible privilege to serve in Poland. It has also been a great joy to return and see our families and our church family. We missed everyone greatly. Now we're on the opposite end of the spectrum, missing our friends in Poland! The Lord united NewLife with one awesome group of people in Radom, and we hope our journey continues to deepen the relationships for all of us ... "One Church, Two Locations."

Throughout the next two days, we will be posting some final pictures from the trip ... so enjoy!