Dzień Dobry Pani!

I stayed up a little late last night trying to finish my Polish homework, in hopes to sleep in a little and go food shopping this morning before language. However, as simple as that plan seems, nothing ever works out exactly the way you planned yet still can put a smile on your face! Leave it to a beautiful little girl to put one on mine!

I woke up this morning at 6am to construction. Okay, no biggie...I've gotten "used" to it by now. Aka, when I wake up to it, I roll over and start praying that God will help me sleep a little longer. However, this morning that request was not answered. I laid in bed tossing and turning, practically wide awake until oh, my alarm went off around 8am. "Reallly?? gosh...okay, okay...im getting up!" The construction was still going. It sounded like a jack hammer, drill or something that just...wouldn't...stop! 

Well, I decided at least I had ample time to go shopping. I went to my favorite little bread place and got 2 fresh loaves of bread (I have guests - volunteers for a week, so we can finish it!) The lady helped me learn how to pronounce the types of bread I was asking for...vysh...vzys...wysh... ugh - maybe one day!

Polish lesson #1 for today - take advantage of those who will help you learn.

Then I walked around the corner and to my surprise found clementines! aaah! my favorite! mmmm... breakfast! 

After some time watching CNN, one of 2 English speaking channels and waking my guests up at 10, helping them get breakfast, out the door we went at 11. They were fortunate and fell back asleep after some of the construction. We went back to the market and shopped for dinner - what kind of meat do you want? This is chicken, duck, pork - what looks good? Nice Polish lady and free samples = perfect!

Joe (a teammate) took the volunteers to get a few things, I walked back up to my apartment. As I entered the building, the cutest little girl about 2 years old maybe, hollers out, "Dzień dobry pani!" in the most beautiful small voice. Good morning, Mam! - as her mother puts another arm in the coat and adjusts her hat before heading into the cold. The little girl kept babbling on about something as I made my way to the elevator. "Do widzenia" I responded and waved goodbye. "Do widzenia!" they both respond.

Polish lesson #2 - be humbled...even children know more of the language than I do! Yet you can still find joy in the smallest "Hello".

Now, I have 30 minutes to rest before Polish lesson #3 - Language with my tutor for 3 hours. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, masculine? feminine? what - neutral? Sure, if you say so! Chcesz - still can't say it... is there another word I can use? chiałbyś - good I can say that!

So I leave you with this question. This is the question I have asked many times and will probably ask again today. 

Wait, that's a real word? How in the world do you say that!?

Do widzenia!

Kay

Where I live!

Hey all!

So, I had a free day and decided to use my time wisely. After waking up and shopping for food in the bazar outside my apartment complex, I decided to clean up a bit and take some pictures of my place and finally post them! So here's the grand tour...

The entry way. The door is to the left, looking into the living room. The mirrored doors are a coat closet. My office, bedroom and baths are to the right.

My living room. Behind the tree is the door to my balcony. The kitchen is to the right.

My living room from the other side. Kitchen to the left, through the entry way would go to my office, bed, bath.
My kitchen. Its very open and I love it. The fridge and freezer are all the way to the right against the wall. 
My kitchen again. The window looks out to my balcony. I also have a really nice sized dish washer and oven. :)
Kitchen looking back to the living room.
My office! With a big crazy orange couch. It's really not that bright...but it's pretty bad. I need to find some cover for it. haha.
My office from the couch - i have lots of storage behind the door. Directly across the hall is bath #1.
Bath #2 - this is my sink, shower, and washing machine... 
Here's another view. Thats the washer in the bottom right corner. 
My bedroom. The window looks out over the bazar. 
Bedroom from the other side. Bath #2 is to the left, Bath # 1 to the right.
Bath #1 - the toilet. Yes, its common to have the toilet separate from the other stuff here.
The view from my balcony. These are the construction workers that often wake me up in the morning. 
Looking over part of the bazar - this is the part that stays and is open during the week.
More bazar.... and the white building in the center across the street is where the other j-man lives. It's nice being close!

More bazar (the last of it) This area is where rows and rows of vendors set up tents starting at 4am every Saturday and Sunday. They are open till about 2pm.
This kinda gives you an idea of what it looks like from my balcony. From the left to right.

The bazar is where I do most of my shopping especially for food. There are rows and rows of vendors selling everything you can imagine - fresh veggies, fruits, meat, breads, sweet breads, spices, etc. They also sell flowers, clothing, kitchen stuff, laundry/soaps, candles, antiques... It's quite the collection. Imagine going to your farmer's market..it's like that but better. There's still dirt on it sometimes. Everything is fairly cheap in comparison to the store and better quality. 

Anyway, this is just a quick post to let you know a little about where I am! I hope you enjoy.

love,

Kay

1, 2, 10, 54, 37, 99, aaah!

Numbers, names, food, family, jobs...would you like coffee or tea? yup! That's about the extent of my Polish vocabulary at this point. Things are going well though for the most part. I am over the emotional state of the Reece family leaving for the States and adjustment to Warsaw life in the process. They were good friends of mine and Steven wrote my job request...so having him leave was very difficult. 

However, I am pleased to say that I finally have an idea of how to shop for food without pointing and holding up fingers! **smiles!** My language teacher took me to a few shops and we practiced buying something. I have been in there many times and the owner asked if I was learning Polish... I went in again yesterday and was able to practice. He was incredibly patient while I struggled through my few sentences. All I have to say is praise God for patient people.

Tonight, in small group discussion, we were talking about some things in the OT and how many years the Israelites wandered, etc...time lines. Anyway, it was enough for me to pick up on the numbers every so often... 2000 years... 40 years, 1 month. I was thinking, "I understand stuff!! woohoo!!" It's not much, but its a small victory. I've realized the importance of taking hold of the small victories. By the end of the day, they are often larger than I initially thought.

Soon, i will post some photos of my apartment and various other things, however until then...this is a view from my balcony. On a good day, I have the most gorgeous golden light flood through my kitchen window and balcony doors into my kitchen and living room. I am often preparing dinner and just soak up the sun (while it lasts). Soon it will be dark in the early afternoon. Now it sets around 6. I am very lucky because my balcony looks over one of the few undeveloped sections in the area. I don't face another apartment building, only this...

Anyway, here are some things you can keep in mind when you talk with the Father...

- Continued adjustment to life here. I have only slept a few nights the entire way through.

- Language - It is clicking, but I often have headaches in the evenings after full days of Polish, English, Polish...

- That I will remain close to the Father and in His Word

- Relationships to form with Nationals who are open to the Word.

-  That my supervisor and I can find time to finish my orientation

- My supervisor - she fell and twisted her ankle bad enough to be on crutches. It's not broken, but this definitely prevents her from moving around well. Pray that she can rest and will heal quickly and not worry about all that needs to be done (apartment hunting, my orientation esp driving in Warsaw which is yet to be done), prep for a short term couple coming in.

Love you and hope that you are finding peace in Him!

Kay

bread and pierogi

A quick update until my schedule doesn't have me on 12 hour days...

Please pray for my continued adjustment. I am experiencing some culture shock and it is adding a lot of stress to an already busy schedule. I have experienced many emotions so far and will continue to do so until I become a little more settled. My apartment is coming together slowly, I have started language lessons (which can be frustrating sometimes!) and am learning my way around where I live and how to do things when I don't speak the language. I point and say "prosze" (please) a lot. The lady at the bakery and the man at the pierogi place see me come through the door and start pointing to bread on the shelf or holding up fingers to ask how many I want... maybe soon I can actually tell them what I need instead of not having a clue how to say it!

I have met a few people and have started to get to know them some. Pray for those interested to be open to further conversations and for God to begin working in their lives.

Love and miss you all - 

Kay

Im here

I arrived safely in Poland today. I will update soon on some of the adventures I had in getting here, but until I have internet again, know that I am safe and absolutely exhausted! Staying up until 3am and waking up at 6am before traveling for 24 hours was not a great idea. lol...

be blessed and I will post soon!

Kay

Last post from the USA!

So this will be my last entry from the US...I have been running around packing, cleaning, sitting in more classes, and trying to say goodbye...

Tomorrow is my Commissioning Service. My parents and youngest brother are going to drive up to see it! I'm very excited to see them and to close out my time here. I have my tickets in hand, my bags mostly packed, and an ingenious scheme for how to get more stuff to Poland without going over baggage limits. (pockets and layers of clothing rock)

During Commissioning, I will be signing with 2 other ladies to the song, He Reigns by Newsboys. It's a perfect song for the event and such a motivation and encouragement when I hear it. Here are the lyrics:

It's the song of the redeemed

Rising from the African plain

It's the song of the forgiven

Drowning out the Amazon rain

The song of Asian believers

Filled with God's holy fire

It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation

A love song born of a greatful choir

Chorus:

It's all God's children singing

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

It's all God's children singing

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise about the four winds

Caught up in the heavenly sound

Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals

To the faithful gathered underground

Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creations

Some were meant to persist

Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples

None rings truer than this

(Chorus)

And all the powers of darkness

Tremble at what they've just heard

'Cause all the powers of darkness

Can't drown out a single word

When all God's children sing out

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

All God's people singing

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

Although I am very excited to be starting this journey, I will also miss my family very much and am a little nervous. I have heard and learned so much while I have been here, I just hope that it will stick and I can adjust quickly! I finally have information on my apartment! I think the lease was signed today or tomorrow maybe? I will post photos of it when I get there and have settled in a little.

I will try to update shortly after I arrive, but do not know what my orientation schedule will be or anything like that.

Until then, here are some ways you can pray for me:

Prayer Requests:

- That my travels will go well (Oct 2 to Oct 3) and all luggage will arrive safely!

- That I will be able to settle in quickly and begin adjusting

- That I will remain close to and in God's arms during this transition

- Language learning will come quickly once I start

- that God will continue to prepare hearts of the people I will meet and open doors for me to share the gospel.

Thank you guys for praying with me and keeping updated on this journey so far. I am very blessed to know that I have so many who are faithfully praying for me and the Polish people!

Have a wonderful day in the Lord!

Kay

Counting days...

Good afternoon - 

It finally feels like Fall in Virginia and it is another gorgeous day. Blue skies with wisps of clouds and children playing with frisbees outside always put a smile on my face! 

God has truly been good to me lately and has really taken me up in his arms, held me tightly and said, "child, you are mine and I will always be here". As time dwindles before I leave, the days get longer as more sessions are squeezed in, trying to cover everything. The past few weeks have been a roller coaster. We discussed some hard topics, did a little more role playing and really dug deep into topics that are hard to talk about. I realize that by going out on faith to a different country, lots of things could happen and being prepared is always important.

This past week, 2 main things happened. First of all, my dad went to the ER for some chest pain, but everything turned out fine. After many phone calls to mom and Seth, I realized how God has placed so many wonderful people in my family's life. Mom's sister and friend came to her "rescue" and helped where they could. I have to say, more than anything, it helped me knowing they were there with my family. It gave me a chance to be reminded of a few things. 

- God is in control and He knows best.

- Prayer still works and above all else, try it first!

- God knows who you need to talk to.

God gave my dad such a peace and comfort during that time that he was actually more concerned for Seth than anyone else! That's dad though, he's always been the rock of our family. When mom called, I started praying...and walking back to my room. On my way, I ran into A, someone God has placed in my life here I have been here as a comforting voice. When I told her what was going on, she hugged me and started praying and shared with me that her husband had something similar but worse happen a few years ago. Through tears and prayers, I knew the Lord placed her there for comfort. As the next session started, the entire group bowed to pray for my dad for a few minutes...that the doctors' hands would be steady, that he could have the cath done and that God would provide. Within 30 minutes mom said they could squeeze him in to have the procedure done. 

After the cath, they said his arteries were clear...praise God for no blockages! It's also something they think can be taken care of by medicine, which is encouraging.

I have a renewed confidence that God will always provide support where it's needed most.

The following day, we took the entire group here to Washington D.C. for the day. It was a good distraction. We got to visit a Polish library and some other areas. I spent some time in the Smithsonian museums and just relaxed. We also witnessed to those around us and helped anyone we could. 

SO - why am I counting days??? Because, I will be in Poland in less than 2 weeks!!! I fly out Oct. 2 and will arrive the following day. I am very excited as my time here ends. The next week will fly by I am sure. It will be good to see my friends on my team and to put into practice some of the things we have learned here. I am ready to start working. 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

- Pray that God will continue to prepare me before I leave.

- Pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of the Polish people I will soon meet.

- Pray that I will be able to learn the language quickly.

- pray that I will adjust to the cold quickly!

- Pray that my last week here will be fun and time well spent with friends.

thank you and love you all!

Kay