Friday, July 15

I have finally gotten the photos posted from the first week of our trip ... and now the team's photos will begin. Sorry for the delay. Computer problems have plagued me, and we have been extremely busy. It is difficult to find time to blog!

Today was our last English workshop. The entire week went well. It amazes me how attentive and open people have been. Many people came to these workshops with no faith in God at all, or have walked away from teaching they heard about the gospel when they were young. Yet they were willing to open up God's Word, read it, discuss it, and translate it -- with total strangers. Then they sang their hearts out during the worship time. They didn't know any of these songs before we arrived, and by the second day, they were singing them like they'd known them for a long time. One workshop attendee asked a friend why he felt like crying during the songs. The answer? It is the Spirit of God. Yes, some people have been 'closed'... but the majority have been open, eager to learn, and highly affected.

Each day one of our team members shared his/her testimony about how God has worked in his/her life. It's awesome to see relationships formed after such testimonies ... and how individuals would seek out specific team members based on the testimony that was given. Many good conversations have taken place this week, and we've been able to encourage people who are downtrodden, who are questioning God, who are struggling with sin, or who are depressed and lonely. Some people have just had questions or have heard things in a new way. Ben Cook gave his testimony today .... about being unemployed, and then losing their home and everything they had in a fire. Yet God was still praised. Was it my imagination, or did people really 'get it' when we sang, "You Are Good" after that? God is good and will carry us through difficult times.

Today the construction guys took the morning off from their physical labor and joined us in the English classes. It was nice to have them there and be 'one team' for awhile. They worked hard yesterday mixing, carrying and lifting buckets, pouring cement, smoothing it out, and then starting the brigade again. It was exhausting work in the hot sun, but they got the job done and the bathroom floor at Marysia's is complete. This afternoon they went back out to finish some things there. Tomorrow they will begin work at Edyta's.

Today at the workshop I shared WHY we came to Poland. This is what I shared: We did not come because we think we have a superior way of life ... or because we possess some talent or gift that they can't already give to each other. We came here to give them Jesus. It is our joy to spread His gospel in all nations. In the Scriptures it says that at some point a person must make a choice to cross over from death to life. I am not referring to physical death, but rather, spiritual death. Each one of us is spiritually dead until we receive the grace of Jesus Christ, accept His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, and allow Him to fill us with life. This is a journey for everyone. Some people receive this salvation readily when they first hear it. Others take years to come to terms with it. Some never do. So I told them that as we leave, we will be praying for their journeys ... that at some point, whether it be today or a year from now, they would cross over from death to life.

May God be praised.