One Church, Two Locations

Monday, July 14, 2008

The Pamaranski family ... Peter & Lucyna (Mother), Marta sister ... with Sherri & Dave

Sunday ... our last day together

Szymon praying for the offering (left)

Elders praying for us

(right)

Vojtek and Tytus preparing for communion

(left)

Marysia (Irmina's mother)sharing testimony ... She has become a friend, and her testimony was very meaningful to us.

Sunday's Message ... Ten Lepers

Tytus spoke about the ten lepers. These ten lepers were outcasts, and none of them wanted to be living outside of town, shunned by society, suffering from physical deformity and pain. They would rather have been living with their families, in comfortable homes. Yet they were all 'united' by one common bond: leprosy. Jesus healed all ten. Only one said thank you. This is because he was focused on the Giver, rather than the gift.

Steve, Tytus, and a few men from the church go to the men's homeless shelter in Radom every Sunday evening. They also distribute sandwiches at one or more of the local parks. By going to the shelter and spending time with these men, they have learned that many of them once had successful professions -- economist, lawyer, store owner, etc. These men are now all 'united' by one common bond: alcoholism. Alcoholism has led them to homelessness, and it has separated them from their families and from society.

NONE of these men want to live in the homeless shelter. They hate the place, they hate their situation, and they often hate each other. They would rather be healthy and living with their families. As Steve, Tytus & others share Christ and food with these men, they don't want them to just look at the gift. They want them to see the Giver, Jesus Christ. Only He can offer them the ultimate healing: clean hearts & minds living in restored relationship with God the Father. Only this relationship can give them the strength they need to fight alcoholism.

Although God will always forgive our sin and heal our hearts if we ask, He may not always choose to quickly resolve our difficult situations in life. As a matter of fact, these difficulties can provide a greater opportunity for us to experience the power and strength of Christ on a daily basis. Only by trusting in Him can we make it through.

May we recognize the Giver in all good gifts, and may we remember to be thankful through all of life's difficulties. Knowing Christ IS the greatest Gift.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The church in Radom

Kristi, this is for you!!

Good Friends

Tytus & Dave

Sherri & Beata

Marek & Luke

Old but Amazing Technology

The roof on this hay storage area (to the right) can be raised and lowered

.
Old looms

(left)

A cantilevered well

A most amazing windmill ... there were several of these at the Old Village. The engineering was phenomenal.

Home of the Priests in Old Radom Village

Frogs!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

More of Old Radom Village

The boys had fun ... the setting reminded them of home, and they

got some good 'boy' time in.

Natalja, Agata & Tytus ... with a new found goat friend :-)

Perogi's on the stove!

Take a look at the roof. All straw/hay. We were told that these types of roofs are coming back into style, and people are paying big bucks for them.

Old Radom City

Our trip today to Old Radom City was a most pleasant surprise. Actually, it was pretty amazing. It started with a beautiful nature walk. Little did we know, this was only the beginning. An entire village awaited us. Several old buildings, farms & houses were moved from various old villages around Radom to reconstruct what an actual village would have looked like. The ages of these homesteads ranged from 50 to 400 years old. They are the original structures. I do not have time to post any more photos tonight, but I'll try to post a few tomorrow evening. This was a wonderful day! And we do believe that this village is a MUST-SEE for future groups who travel to Radom!