Lazy Saturday

Today we're all recouping from the week's activities. It's a really strange feeling. I got my camera out this morning and shot through about 50 test shots, working on some flash techniques I've been toying with (glad I'm not shooting film!). I was kind of sad to put it back in the bag.

We even got to take a little nap this afternoon. How nice is that?! The weather has been so cool lately...the rain was falling, bringing that wonderful fresh smell of summer along with it. What else can one do but nap on such a Saturday?

I was just looking through some Flickr photos and recalled a dream I had this afternoon. I was back at my high school watching the marching band perform. I saw an old friend, a guy that was drum major along with me and I walked over to say hi. As tears welled up in me I told my friend, Jeff, that I really missed leading the band. And with that I woke up.

Something I've found out about myself over these last few years is that I love "beauty". I guess that's the case for everyone, huh? I find myself searching for it all over the place...and not in people, per se. But, as I've posted before, even in just the way the morning light hits an ugly, grey building. Things like that. Beauty is everywhere around us.

What's more, I'm really caught up in trying to produce beauty. That's been something in me since I was a little kid learning to play the trombone. I always strove (is that a word?) to create beautiful music that would move people. I could easily get caught up in the beautiful drama of a Bruckner symphony (a literally crazy composer whose music is divinity for brass players) and wanted to be able to produce the same effect for people that would hear me play.

That craving for musical beauty only grew in me as I became a drum major in high school and began directing the marching band. I wasn't interested in the military style of most DMs. Rather, I wanted to conduct...I wanted to be able to extract every ounce of emotion from our musicians so that we could truly connect on that deep, profound level with the audience. Of course that's kind of funny thinking about the audience being a group of rowdy parents that came to watch their kids clobber other kids in the football game. LOL!

In college I had some truly incredible, unforgettable occasions to conduct wonderfully talented musicians during conducting classes. Wow...what an experience to be in front of some of the nation's best university students on the same podium where maestros such as Daniel Barenboim and Sir Georg Solti had stood! And indeed, with the slight movement of my hand it was as if I was painting a masterpiece (at least for me at the time) of sound. I could get strength from the brass...tender innocence from the strings...light playfulness from the woodwinds. I was in heaven!

I have really missed the beauty of music in my world. There isn't much call for a trombone player around here...it doesn't mix all too well with a guitar and violin during our church's worship services. But God has given me a new passion that seems to fit with this craving of mine to see and create beauty, photography. I must credit Vicki with seeing it, though. It is pretty amazing how the two worlds are so related.

Much as I approached learning my instrument and desiring to evoke emotion in people through my playing, I likewise give everything I can to do the same through a photo. Don't hear me wrong. This is not a self-proclamation of skill or talent...but rather of my personal desire and hunger.

In music I was never content with something being "ok" or "pretty good". I wanted whatever it was to touch the core of someone's being. That was difficult. It took a lot of time. And sometimes it just flat out wasn't possible. With photos it's the same way. It takes a long time to learn "the craft". You've got to take a gazillion photos before you begin to understand how everything works (light being the main ingredient...it's air when you're talking about playing instruments). And in the end you might not feel that you've connected with anyone. But it's so worth it when you finally do. When someone is touched. When you've made that connection.

No idea what the point is of this post. Maybe there is none. Maybe for you to know a bit more about me. Maybe for us all to see how great it is that God has given me a new passion while I've been missing the "musical beauty" that was present in my life for so many years before. I do know that these sort of things give our lives such a rich texture...such great reasons to have joy.

I'll do a "Part 2" to this post tomorrow or Monday to explain how this all ties into the future.

Today...project wrap-up

Can I just first say I'm exhausted?! Wow...what a great week...and I'm sure I slept more than the group staying over at the hostel!!

No slideshows today...actually it was pretty strange for me to be with the whole group this morning without my camera. It was a lot of fun watching people fly down the Malta Ski hill on inner tubes and show off their "mad skillz" (as one person said) on the putt-putt course.

On a very exciting note, I heard today that around 12 people gave their lives to Christ yesterday. Half of those were in the Lazarz area (although most of you have no idea where that is) and the other half actually last night back at the hostel. From what I understand, the translators did an incredible job making sure that all of these (mostly youth) understood exactly what was going on...the implications of this decision.

For those of you that have no previous ministry experience in Poland, it's difficult for you to understand how phenomenal this is. I've already talked to several missionaries this week who have commented on how encouraged and fired up they are to hear about God moving in this way. I can' tell you how often this kind of street evangelism is talked about here as ineffective...and thus it generally just isn't done. But both Polish believers and international missionaries have seen how God can work through this and I'm sure that Christ followers will be hitting the streets of Poland much more frequently now.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us feel good about the way we've used media to help you connect with your family and friends who have been here ministering alongside us for this past week. After our upcoming stateside assignment my family and I will actually be returning to Krakow, Poland where I will be responsible for the media and communications work for our field (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland). We're all extremely excited about it and it's been great to use this project as a sort of trial for the slideshow/blog combo to keep that connection live and vivid between what is going on here and you all back in the states. That's a difficult challenge for missionaries but with today's technology and a lot of work we can see that it's definitely something we can tackle!

I've loved having you all stop by our blog the past few days (are stats have been incredible this week!) and I definitely welcome you back anytime to see what's going on with our family and ministry here in our area. Thanks for your prayers for our city and country...and for sharing your loved ones with us for this time.

With prayers for many rich blessings on you and your families...
Michael Shattuck

Slideshow: 4th day with IWC Vols

The word for the day...Wilda. Yes, I finally met up with the Wilda group (Wilda is a neighborhood in the south-central part of Poznan) and stayed with them the majority of the morning. So, not only are they included in this slideshow, they get it all to themselves! [Sorry to the friends and family of those who aren't shown today.]

We spent a few hours this morning at the market in Wilda. We're talking classic open-air, find-it-all Polish market. You want fresh fruit? Got it. Great looking vegetables? Got it. Meats of all kinds? Got 'em. Shoes? Oh yeah...got 'em. Anything the people in that neighborhood might need can be found there. And for the past few days they've been able to find a little bit more than usual...in the form of our volunteers.

It's a great sight to see little kids' and their parents' huge smiles when they realize they're seconds away from receiving a shiny, bright, beautiful balloon. They're looking gold, surely traded as currency between some children. And for us, they're something we can use to virtually kick the door open to conversation with parents. "Why are you doing this?" they'll ask. And bingo...an open door. "These guys [and girls] have come all the way from the states to share the love of Christ with Polish people..." we respond. And it goes from there.

The biggest impact the Wilda group has had seems to be with the kids in the area. Each day they have seen upwards of 30 kids coming to play games with them and spend quite a bit of time talking about Jesus in different way...the Redeemer drama, "cross crafts", personal conversations, and more. It's awesome to see these kids continuing to return, even though they know that the team is here because of Jesus! God's love...the same love that drew me and likely you to Him...is in full force through everything the team(s) are doing and it's evident that they are meeting a need in the people with whom they've had contact.

Tomorrow is a free day, set aside for the teams to go out and see more of the city. To this point they've been working hard each day and thus they haven't really been able to do any of the normal "touristy" things one needs to do when visiting another country. So today will likely be our last slideshow. Thanks to all of you who have been coming back to see the photos and hear about what the teams have been doing...how they've been used by God each day of ministry. I've been proud of their hard work and boldness for the Lord and I'm quite sure you all share that feeling completely!

Here's the link for today's "show". While all of the photos show things going on with the Wilda group today, the narration is from Lisa who has been working with the Jezyce crew. Didn't quite plan it like that...if I would've known what I'd get today I would have played Colby's story tonight. But that's missions...key word, fluidity!

Now that you've been able to see a few of these in action I'd love to hear from you...what you think about the format we've been using. This is definitely an experiment for us...the first time we've tried this with a ministry project. If people feel like this is a great way in which we can "tell our story" (or in this case, the teams' stories) then we'll try to begin using it more often. We've definitely had a good chance to demo...so let me know what you think.

Slideshow: 3rd day with IWC Vols

I've got a problem here. No matter what my plans seem to be, I always end up around the same 3 (of 4) groups and continue to miss the folks working out in the Wilda area. I decided that I would go out there this morning. Got on the tram with Jerry, Brenda, Abbe, Vicki, and Ben and we headed out. Got within 5 minutes of them and called to find out exactly where to find them...and they weren't there yet! In fact they'd gone somewhere else to have a team Bible study and weren't coming to there work area for awhile.

I never did make it back to that group today, unfortunately (I'm trying again tomorrow). But I did get to spend a lot of time with the other groups that were working down around the Stary Rynek for much of the morning using the Redeemer drama as an entry point for conversations with onlookers in hopes of being able to share the Gospel with them...or at least get some evangelistic material in their hands.

Once again today we saw a lot of people interested in what was going on. Several times the teams were able to put the drama on for upwards of 20-30 people...obviously very encouraging for everyone. And then a lot of those who were watching were open to talking about the meaning of what they watched, giving a perfect open door to share more about Christ.

The teams continue to share the Gospel boldly with so many that they come into contact with. There are more and more stories emerging daily as they push past their fears and anxieties to reach out to these strangers around them. It's awesome to be a part of. They are a big encouragement and inspiration to us who live and minister here long term.

So, you're wondering where the slideshow is huh? I know...enough blogging, on with the good stuff. Here's your link for the day, complete with a great story from Colby. By the way, you'll notice that some are missing in the team pictures. Well, yours truly had a little technical difficulty and didn't get the shot before they "dispersed" (I was piggy-backing off someone else who was taking the "official team pictures" and he got it). Sorry about that...at least I got the Wilda group there!!

Slideshow: 2nd day with IWC Vols

I know there have been a lot of folks stopping by here waiting for the next slideshow...so I have it here ready for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for all of the emails and nice remarks about what I've posted so far. Someone asked about the demo tag on the front of the slideshow...you can use it like this until you're ready to buy (or in this case until the budget money shows up to buy the software!). I really like the idea of showing the photos with some kind of narration and I really hope that you're able to get at least a very small sense of what's happening through the "show".

Today was another great day...wet, but great. You're really going to love hearing tonight's narration. Brenna (hope I spell that right) was excited to be used today to make a big impact on some women's' lives at the mall we visited (God's wisdom...rain falls, can't go to our normal work sites, but lives are change because of this!).

Because of our being at the mall for a good portion of the day I can't say that I've got a real diverse set of photos for you tonight. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get to the groups I haven't visited yet so that I can get some photos of them...I know that some of you are waiting to see your kiddos. :-)

Everyone sends their greetings and their love. They are having a wonderful time...experiencing God's blessings in so many ways...through time with youth in Wilda, beautiful conversations with the flower lady in Jezyce (again today), and hearts open to the Gospel at the Old Brewery Mall.

Click here to head over to the slideshow.

Monday with our IWC volunteers

Today was a great day out with the International World Changers volunteers. I don't have any final counts on anything but I know that a lot of tracts were handed out, many many conversations had with the Poles that the groups encountered everywhere today, and undoubtedly countless lives touched with the love of Christ.

There are a lot of stories to be told. Unfortunately I many of these stories will only be shared with the parents waiting patiently for their kiddos back home. I do want to bring a new story to you each day, though. So, we're starting the week out with one from the group that went to Jezyce. Vicki, my wife, was helping that group out today...translating and doing whatever needed...and they had a great encounter with some shop employees that I thought you would like to hear.

The kids are doing great and continuing to open themselves up fully to the Holy Spirit's direction as they go out. As the weather is seemingly about to take a big change for the worse be in prayer for them that they will not become disappointed...but rather that they will continue on, determined to work hard no matter what the circumstances.

Since there are some issues with these slideshow and particular browsers (cough cough...PCs) I'm just going to put the links here for you to click on and be taken to a different page where you'll be able to see/here them. Here's that link. There is audio this time...so it could take a few seconds to load completely.

God bless!!

Adoption Update!!!

We have a hearing scheduled for July 6 @ 8:30am!!

We touched base with our lawyer today and things are on track to wrap up on the 6th! He will be calling Ms. Kowalczyk (from the Polish ministry) this Thursday to get the final word from her and arrange the personal pickup of the official opinion that she writes up so that it can be hand-delivered to the court (no postal system issues that way).

In a recent phone call with Ms. Kowalczyk, Bogdan was reassured that it is a high priority to safeguard against the kids being hurt...basically hinting at the final decision. However the opinion hasn't been given yet because there are a few more documents that she needs to go through.

Pray that everything goes great over the next couple of days and that "Ms. K" is able to focus on getting the opinion done and ready to be picked up by whoever the lawyer sends to Warsaw.

Needless to say we're cautiously pumped! :-)

Slideshow: 1st day out with volunteers

I took these pictures today from the volunteer group's (from International World Changers) first prayerwalking outing. I was with one of the groups that went down to the Stary Rynek but got some good pics from the whole group. We're looking forward to the rest of the week. Just use the left and right arrows on the slideshow window to scroll through.

At the moment this is not working with IE for PC. You need to either use a different browser (like Mozilla) or click here and you should be able to view the slideshow on a different page.

More to follow!

Paulina

To be fair, I had to take some portait shots of Paulina for mimi (aka grandma). So, of course I'm going to share one of her with you here as well.

Things

Some of you have been asking if we've heard anything new. Short answer...no. No news. Not even as much as a returned phone call from our lawyer. Don't get it, but it is what it is. We are not really frustrated, freaked out, or anything...just waiting. In fact we're getting pretty darn good at that. And as I said around the same time last week...maybe next week we'll hear something!

The volunteer team arrived yesterday (the main leaders) and today (the rest of the team) so we've been busy today helping out here and there, especially scouting all of the locations where the students will be working. It turns out that this will not be a Roma camp project as they evidently couldn't locate a high enough concentration of them to actually do a project focused on them. So, instead, there will be 4 groups spreading out across Poznan doing prayerwalking and street evangelism. We're looking forward to seeing how things go next week and being a part of everything.

As you can imagine my camera was in tow today...so here are a few shots for your viewing pleasure. More will undoubtedly follow.

This is the place everyone is staying. It's a fairly nice hostel about 5 minutes from our place.

Rynek Wildecki - One of the main locations where the students will be working this week. This is a pretty run down part of town where 2nd Baptist church is located.

Fountain in front of Poznan's Opera House. I added a little cross-process effect to it...can you dig it?!

We saw this spray-painted on the side of a building today in Wilda (where the Rynek Wildecki is located). This is really bizarre...we'd love to know who put this thing up. Why? It's saying to beware of some kind of "prince". But oddly, the character resembles a priest somewhat (notice the very small white collar). Or are we reading something into it that's not intended? I'm trying to figure this one out.

Another shot of Ben

Last week of school

Our kids have been wrapping things up at school this week.  Both kiddos had to go in their black and whites today as they were going to be having some kind of special event where grades 1-5 say goodbye to the 6th graders.  By the way, I saw black and whites as Polish school kids have to wear white shirts with black pants (or skirts for girls, if they like) for all special occasions at school.

Well, I've been needing to get some good portrait-type shots of Ben...so, I took him outside before he left and snapped a bunch.  Being my "photo assistant", he was more than happy to endure the short session and excited to see what our few minutes yielded on the computer.

I was happy with several of the images...how would I not be with a kid that looks this good?! This is our favorite, though.  So I thought I'd share.

You've got to see this!

Release comes in many different forms.  After a stressful day yesterday I was surfing the web and came across one of the most...hmm, don't know how to describe it adequately...interesting food items I've ever seen.  I told Vicki it was one to make farm animals run in fear...

...ladies and gentlemen...I give you...the turducken.

I have never seen anything like it.  When I read to her that this thing is pork and cornbread rolled up in a chicken, inserted into a duck, and then inserted in a turkey we both about split a lung laughing.  Seriously...it's like eating pigs in a blanket in a bird in a bird in a bird!!  Oh, it felt so good to laugh!!

Please...please comment if you have eaten this monstrosity.  I've got to know what it's like!

The weekend...and not only

Well, the baseball "thing" got rained out.  We knew that the weather had been sketchy but we thought we'd be able to make it.  I even called their league president on Friday to ask about the weather.  He told me it was wonderful, "like Florida".  But turns out that Florida caught a downpour on Saturday morning, as he called back to share that the baseball "thing" was cancelled.  The kids were bummed but we had our normal practice here...with some sprinkles here and there.

The other bit of excitement over the weekend was Father's Day (although a week early by the Polish calendar).  This dad got three great gifts: super-sized Snickers bar, a charcoal lighting tower-thingee, and nice new shirt.  Those are dad-type gifts for sure!  Beyond the gift opening extravaganza we ate my favorites, fajitas and cheesecake (although not together) and went to the park for a few rounds of frisbee golf.  A great day.

Our old friend stress has come back to visit today for some reason.  Not sure why that happens.  There seems to exist some kind of ebb and flow in spiritual warfare...or at least in our opening ourselves up or closing off to it all.  Either way we're struggling with it today.  Pray for us...maybe even now.  We need that.

Looking forward through the week we've got a few big things happening.  First, Ben (aka Piotrek) is turning the big 1-2 this Friday.  Needless to say he's pumped about that.  Second, there's a big volunteer team showing up this weekend that is going to be leading a couple family camps next week with the Roma people near Poznan.  

This project is being led by a friend/colleague from Krakow who's ministry is with the Roma and we're excited that God has opened some doors for them to minister in our area of the country.  We're looking forward to spending a lot of time with them, helping out where needed, and taking gobs of pictures!  I'm planning on doing some interviews and using that slideshow program a lot with these guys...so stay tuned for some hot media ac-shee-one (that's Doug Heffernan for action).

Waiting

Last Sunday I took a walk and prayed that God would allow us to hear something from the ministry this week. As it turns out that wasn't to be. So, we wait. I thought I would share some great passages from the Bible about waiting here...both for you and me.

• But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen, to say the Almighty isn’t concerned. You say you can’t see him, but he will bring justice if you will only wait. (Job 35:13-14)
• Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. (Ps. 27:13-14)
• He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Ps. 37:6-7)
• When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! (Isaiah 64:3-4)
• We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope[a] for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. (Romans 8:24-26)

Finally, when I think about waiting on God the first things that generally comes to mind is an old song we used to sing in church when I was a kid...Isaiah 40:31...and I think of it just like we sang it. It's stuck with me all of these years: "they that wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." I just never can recall the way the song ends!

Here's that same passage, in context, from The Message:

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
"God has lost track of me.
He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening?
God doesn't come and go. God lasts.
He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don't get tired,
they walk and don't lag behind.

I'm incredibly strengthened and encouraged through these verses...through God's Word to us. Waiting is not easy...no doubt about that. Sometimes we think it's the worst. But incredibly, it's sometimes during the wait that we most vividly see our Father working in and around us...I guess because it's during those times that we're forced to live beyond ourselves, in His strength.

Getting to Poland

Some of you have been asking about how to drive to Poland. So, I thought I'd answer those questions here for all to see. You can't! Ok, just kidding...this isn't about driving or even flying over here.

I met last night with my friend that comes over on Thursday nights to play the guitar and chat. Some times we end up chatting more than playing, which is cool. A few hours of one-on-one Polish is great to sharpen my language skillz up from time to time. Last night he asked about how we got to Poland...and re-telling some of the things that happened while we were making our decision made me think about sharing them with you (don't think I've done that before, have I??).

When we decided we wanted to go into international missions, we basically told God that we'd go wherever He wanted...really, wherever. For whatever reason it felt like there were a few regions of the world that stood out. We didn't know why. But Europe seemed to be one of those. We just mentioned that to our candidate consultant and trusted God (and him) to lead us through the labyrinth of positions and to get us ultimately where we needed to be.

Well, we were immediately loaded down with a mountain of requests...many from Europe and Muslim countries, but others from different countries around the world. And we began to pray. Now, here's the catch...both of us wanted to feel 100% called to whichever country we decided on. So, we determined to pray about God's leading separately, without talking to each other about it (too much anyway) as to not put any pressure on each other in any given direction. That went on about 6 months!

During those months, strange things concerning Poland kept happening. We went to a nearby mall and saw some incredible chess sets. After talking to the shop owner about them for awhile we asked where they were from. "Poland," she answered and began telling us about how wonderful the country and people are. "Interesting," we thought.

Vicki had a doctor's appointment and was talking to the doc about going overseas. When asked about where we would be going, she told him that we hadn't yet decided. Well, he begins telling her about how some friend of his (or family member?) had spent some time in Poland and how wonderful the country and the people are.

Things like this seemed to happen pretty often. There were phone calls with former and current missionaries to Poland that were incredibly encouraging and informative, while other conversations to folks in different countries either didn't happen or were less encouraging/informative. Things...these seemingly coincidental things kept bringing Poland back up in our minds. It was crazy...but just wait a sec for real crazy!!

Well, after those months had passed I came home from work one day and sat down with Vicki in the living room. I looked at her and just said, "I can't think about going overseas without thinking of Poland." Keep in mind I didn't even know what that meant...had never been here...didn't know anyone over here. And she said quite simply, "me too!" God had done just what we asked Him. We were both convinced that the calling on the next part of our lives was to come to Poland. It wasn't that He was just calling me and she would come along. He was calling her as well.

The next day we needed to tell the good folks at the IMB about our decision. So, I made a phone call at work and talked it over with whoever it was. Vicki had to pick me up that day...so I was telling her about the phone call on the way home when we pulled up to a traffic light and stopped. Turning to look at a big rig that had pulled up right next to us, I saw the craziest thing on it's bed. On each of the straps (maybe 10-15 or so) holding down the truck's cargo was written: Go Poland.

To this day it boggles my mind to think about all of those things...especially "Go Poland". And I don't tell you this to encourage you to look for all of the "signs" and whatnot when you're looking for wisdom in making big life decisions. Everything has to be taken in God's context...each thought and event weighed appropriately in light of God's Word and character. But when all of those things work in harmony and God uses those externals to help us to look in a certain direction for an answer, it's really beautiful and amazing.

Go Poland. We'd already made the decision to go...otherwise it seems like we'd be listening to the truck straps. It was nice to get their approval though! Haha!

Baseball Tournament

Tomorrow. Miejska Gorka. 11am-4pm. Be there!

We're taking a small (maybe very small if more people don't confirm) group of kids to a tournament-type thing tomorrow. Actually I guess it's just more like a couple of games because there are no real ramifications of wins or losses for us. But that doesn't matter. The kids are extremely excited about our "road games".

So, tomorrow we'll travel the 1.5 hours to this small town that built a few baseball fields (Poznan really needs their own!) to play some ball. You can pray for us as we travel and spend time with the kids all day. These are great times to get to know them better and inject that Christian influence that they need in their lives.

Some pictures will follow, for sure.

Isn't she beautiful

On the Trail, originally uploaded by Michael Shattuck.

We really do what we can to stay in shape around here. So, we took a bike ride this morning after dropping the little guy off at preschool. And as an extra treat i decided to bring the camera along and see if I couldn't get any interesting shots on the trails. Well, little did I know my favorite shot would end up just being of Vicki!

Here's the thing, though....I told her that I definitely wouldn't be posting any of those shots...you know, since she'd been riding her bike and wasn't "picture-ready". But come on...look at the picture! She's so beautiful!!

Gotta tell you all...right here in front of God and everybody...I love this lady and I'm so overwhelmingly thankful to have her in my life.

Stary Browar (Old Brewery)

There aren't many occasions when missionaries can get away with hanging out at a brewery, are there? Well, as it turns out we visit one quite often and it's a pretty remarkable place!

Poznan's Stary Browar is an amazing mall that used to be (any guesses??) a brewery...I know, not such an original name, huh? As the story goes, it was purchased by this super rich Pole as a gift for his wife...remodeled and done up all nice-like to stand as a symbol of Poland's insatiable materialism. That's my commentary...don't know that they were really going for a monument to materialism!

I've got to admit to you that there are still times when we fight the idea that we're living in a poor nation...some kind of 3rd-world, poverty-stricken country. There is money in Poland. Take one step into the Browar and you'll find out real quick that there are some people out there living well...very well. No, it's no Frontenac (for you St. Louisans) or Galleria (for you Dallasans), but we can't afford to buy much there except for a pretty nice dinner up at KFC.

I need to snap a picture of the place for a media project I'm working on, so Vicki and I went in all Mission Impossible as to not draw attention to ourselves. I think they want to control the pros that take pictures in there...and since I needed a tripod I thought they might get a little upset. So, we found a great corner where no one was around...I took some readings to get my exposure set up...Vicki quickly got the tripod ready...and I snapped a few shots.

Were we noticed? Yes! However, I'll just say that people that don't speak English...like um, a certain guard...are really thrown off when they are walking toward you to tell you something and begin hearing you speak very loudly in, well, probably anything but Polish. Problem solved, although I did feel a little tricksy.

Here's a version of the final shot. I was going for the artsy look you see...not really trying to give you the details needed to see how much a cup of joe costs at that Andy Warhol coffeehouse.

Small Group Meeting

Our small group met last night to kick off the first week of our new study on dealing with conflict in marriage. Now, don't be reading anything into this...Vicki and I absolutely never have any conflicts. No chance of that when it's just common knowledge that one of us is right 100% of the time...I'll leave it to you to do the guesswork on that one! Hahaha!!

We've been seeing the relationships within the group strengthening quite a lot over the past months. Our conversations have gotten deeper and more personal and no one seems to have any problems opening up in front of the others. In other words, the group dynamics are awesome. But we wonder what comes next.

With our new study there is someone else leading which is great, especially since it's always better to have a national taking the lead. We're just praying that when we are finally able to go on stateside assignment the group will continue desiring to meet.

I'd put some pictures up of us all but I just haven't felt comfortable asking to take any...don't know that I will. Just keep our little group in mind as you pray for things going on in ministry here. Growth is evident and we only want that to continue on!!

Nothing new

Nothing new on the adoption front. We're just praying that the documents have found their way to the right person...be that Ms. Kowalczyk or someone else at the ministry...and that they will be processed very quickly! Stay tuned as we will keep you updated!

I've been continuing in Ortberg's "Get out of the boat" book and finding it to be very timely. Interesting how that's happened...can't tell you how long that book's been looking back at me from the bookshelf. The chapter I was reading this morning was talking about persevering...not being someone that takes off at the first sign of trouble.

We have learned a thing or two about perseverance of late. As you've been going through this with us, you likely have too. You certainly don't just wake up one day and think "know I'm resilient and have perseverance!" It just doesn't work like that. But God, in His wisdom, builds it in us through all of the difficult times we endure with Him.

Those two last words have been the key with us...with Him. We can tell when we're straying from Him. Those are the times when life just feels too hard...like all hope is lost. But our right perspective is restored when we turn back to our loving heavenly Daddy...Abba...and embrace the truth and love He has there waiting for us. No, the hurt and problems don't just go away and life isn't all of a sudden perfect. But rather, we gain strength to endure. Seeing that we are actually able to endure, God builds in us patience. And at some point when we look back over the whole situation we realize that God has accomplished something huge in us...something besides the outcome of whatever we're dealing with. We are renewed, invigorated, stronger, resilient.

We've got our friends coming over in a few minutes for Bible study so I better close here. Have a great day!

What's up this week?

Seems that we've always got something interesting to look forward to lately, doesn't it? Well, it should be an interesting couple of weeks in front of us as we await reaction from the ministry about our case.

We spoke with Bogdan yesterday at baseball practice. He said that he spoke with the judge Friday and that he was very pleased to hear about Aleksandra Kowalczyk and her interest in helping us out. He will be going on vacation for a couple of weeks sometime in either July or August and has his last court appointment scheduled for late June. However, he said that as long as he is in town he will convene a sort of ad hoc hearing to finalize our case whenever we get the green light from the ministry!

Bogdan worked diligently Friday to gather all of the necessary documents for Ms. Kowalczyk and will be organizing them and trying to get them out by courier tomorrow. He is also including a note asking for their quickest judgement, citing that the kids would be starting school in the states on August 15 and we are wanting to have some time with them there beforehand so they can acclimate a bit.

I was praying about this all today and just thinking how excited I am to see how this plays out. God dropped last week's phone call on us, seemingly out of nowhere and at just the right time. I was just praying, asking that He provide another huge blessing like that by way of timeline. We'll see.

I've started reading a book I've had around for several years now called "If you want to walk on water, you've got to step out of the boat". For some reason it's never felt like the right time to read it. Don't know if you know what I mean. It's just always been there, waiting for the right time (although Vicki's read it twice I think). And as has been the case with other books of mine, I'm finding that it is really speaking to me now.

I bring that up as we have "talked" a lot about faith through this entire process. The author, John Ortberg, mentioned today that while people talk a lot about needing to have more faith in life, what they really need to do is just get to know God better. Doesn't that sound simple enough?

I read that and began thinking about how over the past two years I have been doing just that. This has been an amazing time of deconstruction, as I've taken apart the beliefs I've held to for so many years, and reconstruction, as I've put it all back together ensuring that everything I hold to be true is in line with God's Word...not just "what I've always heard." That process has really changed me. No, I'm not perfect...most of the time I feel pretty inadequate. But I can say for sure that I know God so much better. I've seen Him work in so many different ways, always showing Himself faithful to His own character, to His Word.

I guess looking at our perspective through all of the challenges we've faced, I can unequivocally stand in agreement with Ortberg. I can say that our faith has grown immensely, but really that has been the result of getting to know God so much more...having to trust Him completely, knowing that we aren't able to truly accomplish anything by ourselves.

What a journey this has been!

Photo: Poznan Cross Monument

Last night Ben (aka Piotrek) and I went out to try to get a few pictures. He continues to be extremely enthusiastic about photography, so you better believe I'm going to feed that as much as I can. I'm actually working on a Poznan photo book that we will show various shots that represent our life and ministry over the last few years and I wanted to get a different perspective on a very familiar monument in town.

The cross monument, as I refer to it, is yet another symbol of the plight of Polish people to secure their own freedom. Erected in 1981, the crosses stand paying homage to those who lost their lives fighting for Poland to regain its complete independence from beneath the corrupt and oppressive Soviet regime.

If you'd like to read more about the story surrounding the cross monument, here are two links that you will find extremely interesting.

• Poznan Uprising - 50th Anniversary Website
• Wikipedia's entry regarding Poznan's 1956 protests
  

Ordained Phone Call

First off, the word "ordained" seems like a strange word to use here but it fits perfectly. Just to set the stage, I'm referring to yesterday's phone call being setup, prescribed, determined by God to take place.

Now then...I've got to share more about that key phone call that I made to Ms. Aleksandra Kowalczyk. My mind is still reeling after getting more of the context around that situation.

Let's back up a few months. Our lawyer had come to the realization that he needed to find someone to speak with at the ministry. But at the same time he was working through another contact to figure out who the best person would be to contact. It was suggested to him by this person that he needed to get a hold of "such-and-such" office but that he needed to steer clear of a certain Aleksandra Kowalczyk! So, he kept that in mind and began making some calls.

The lawyer, Bogdan, finally got a hold of someone else after many attempts who determined that, in fact, he needed to speak directly with Ms. Kowalczyk. After receiving the tip about her, however, he felt a certain amount of anxiety about making that call. But knowing that he would need to speak with her eventually, he began trying to track her down. I say "track her down" because Bogdan repeatedly called without catching her in the office. That info is current, meaning he's been trying to reach her over the course of the last few weeks!

Fast forward to yesterday. Here I am...completely unaware who I am calling...really calling only on a "fluke" (so I thought) after being led to that number through a completely unrelated party found by a random Google search. I catch her in her office on my first attempt! She is absolutely, blow-your-mind positive about our situation without having seen any papers or knowing the situation personally. She wants to act, to help us resolve the situation for the good of the kids. And she wants to do it now.

So, after my phone call I called Bogdan. It turns out that he thought, "oh great, another government office...what are they going to need now?" He hung up from me and awaited the incoming SMS with the person's contact info...and wait...what's this?...Aleksandra Kowalczyk?? He couldn't believe what he was seeing! He immediately called her and she answered! She began explaining how good it was that he called...how it is so hard to reach her because there are only two workers in her office and they are in and out constantly each day. She explained her positive attitude toward our case and reiterated everything that she had said to me (I love consistency and honesty!).

After speaking about all of the specifics concerning our case, she explained that she needed our documents ASAP and that as soon as they were received she would begin working on them. Delicately, Bogdan began asking about how long the process would take. Knowing this is a high-level government office he asked, "Are we talking one month...two...three, four, five, six?" And she responds, "I don't think it should be more than two weeks." Slap me around and call me Shirley because this is unreal! The government...and they're saying two weeks!

Just to fill out the whole picture, what this means is that if she can get us the ministry's approval, then there is a chance that the judge would be able to finalize the adoption before he goes on holiday in July. That would put us back on track to get home sometime in late July/early-August so that the kids could begin school August 15 in St. Louis.

Can you see now why I'm calling that an ordained phone call? In our conversations yesterday with Bogdan, Sylwia, and the vice director of the children's home I shared about how I had no idea who I was calling. They were hysterical to hear that...couldn't believe it! And further, they couldn't believe that I reached her the first time I picked up the phone!! I answered all of that by saying "this is God, guiding our case!" There is absolutely no other possible explanation. None.

Be encouraged...may your faith be strengthened. We believe we are witnessing the answer to our prayers that we have all been seeking!!

Boze Cialo - Corpus Christi

Today Poles all across the country will be parading through the streets of their villages and neighborhoods where they live in celebration of Boze Cialo day, or Corpus Christi. If your not Catholic then you're likely unfamiliar with this holiday. You can definitely be "enlightened" by visiting that link above.

The main thing that bothers me on such days is the number of people that take part in the activities. While such holidays do not originate from Scripture, it is a just a picture of people giving themselves to the church. If they were giving themselves to Christ their lives would look differently on every other day of the year.

Of all those I took today, this is my favorite. This woman is preparing fresh flowers that she was using to decorate one of the alters that will be visited by people in the processional today heading through our neighborhood.

A bar owner cleaning his windows so that the locale will look presentable for the processional that will pass by there on its way to the church. This is a great illustration of how most of the time religion in Poland is only skin deep.

This is a nearby street where the procession will travel. You can see down the way a bit the altar being setup by a group of older women.

The procession group as it is rounding the corner up the street from our house. I'm not too thrilled with these last pics as the group surprised me and I had to run out of the house in the midst of preparing charcoals for our grill. I made it but wasn't in time to actually get setup to get the pics I'd thought about.

This is a closer shot of some of the people in the group. You'll notice the assistant carrying the loudspeakers on a pole, as well as some brass players that were accompanying the group as they sang various liturgical chants. It was a thoroughly hot afternoon so I'm sure all everyone, especially those in their official "garb" felt the heat.

Lawyers, Senators, and Polish Ministry

Strange title, huh? I've made the rounds with all of these people over the course of the last 24 hours. You know, it just gets old feeling helpless...like there's nothing you can do and no one else seems to be doing anything. So, I figured I could at least get on the horn and figure out if there was anyone "out there" that might be able to help us out.

I talked to two senators' offices, several offices from the State Department, a few U.S. lawyer's office, and finally to a guy with an organization that I can't quite figure out -- I think there's some political connection with it but I'm not sure. The finally conversation, with the "Joint Council" organization was, seemingly, the most fruitful. The guy there said he saw two good options for us: (1) talk with someone from the Polish parliament -- the Sejm and (2) possibly work with a high power Manhattan attorney that specializes in overly complicated adoption cases. Now thinking about it I'm not sure why I felt encouraged hearing those recommendations...don't have any money for some hot shot lawyer and who in the world am I to go find someone from the Sejm to talk to??

Today started out ok but somehow quickly began spiraling downward. I think that sometimes the stress is just too much and we feel like we're caving underneath the pressure. We felt a cave in to be imminent this morning and began talking about what we could do...who we might try to call on this side of the Atlantic. And I remembered something from yesterday.

After googling "Hague Convention experts" I came across a site representing a group of lawyers that specialize in that area. So, I gave them a ring and talked with a very nice woman from their office. I told her I was just trying to find an expert to run our judge's dilemma past him/her and get some advice. Unfortunately their office doesn't work with adoptions...BUT...she directed me (and personally guided me) to the official website for the Hague, leading me to the contact information for the convention's rep here in Poland (in Warsaw). I didn't think much of it then because at that point they would have already gone home for the day.

So, this morning I remember about that telephone number and decided to give it a shot...what do we have to lose! I was extremely surprised to talk to a very nice Polish woman about our case...and she spoke English which was a plus. I explained our entire case to her, just looking for info about the judge's options (I still wonder why he couldn't figure these things out for himself). First issue/answer: He can make any decision he likes without any opinion, good or bad, from the adoption agencies in Warsaw - period. So, officially per Polish law and Hague Convention regulations he is able to finish this.

As we spoke further, she began asking about our situation and the specifics about the kids. She seemed surprised at how things have been going. I explained that we are just looking for someone to shoot straight with us, to tell us at what point this is going to end and the kids return to the children's home. She said "That is not going to happen." Yes, that's a direct quote. She said that the bonds we have with the kids...and the length of time we've known them...necessitate a positive outcome. How incredible is that?!

Our new best friend, Aleksandra Kowalczyk for those who would like to pray for her specifically, told me that she would like for us to send her all of the documents involved in our case so that she could in a sense mediate everything out. She said she would be calling to Ms. Passini to see what is going on but that she would ultimately be looking for what the ultimate good is for the children...and getting a decision made from that perspective.

I know that you're sitting there, reading this and thinking "what does all of this mean?". Well get this...I immediately called our lawyer to give him her contact info...and as I looked at her name on my computer screen I realized that she works for the Polish Ministry that is over Ms. Passini's organization! This is the ministry that everyone has been afraid to contact, both our lawyer and the judge! And I had just called her out of the blue, unaware who she really was. And she seemingly made statement after statement saying that if the story I'm telling is true, if the evidence is really there that the kids should be with us, she is just the person to give the judge the green light, completely taking Passini out of the picture!!! [How many exclamation points can I use?]

This is incredible news for us. Now we wait for them to get our documents and take a look at everything. We have no timeline...have no clue how long any of this will take. But as she's the first one in this entire process to genuinely seem interested in the kids' best interest I think that she is not likely to take her time. So, who knows how quick this could be resolved!

Tonight we will still have the meeting with the committee for the rights of children and will hopefully be talking with them about this new possibility. After we know more, I will definitely share it.

I was driving home today from a meeting and began crying as I thought about how excited so many of you will be...thinking about the global celebration and praise that will be lifted up to the Father for the grace and mercy He has shown us throughout this past year...how amazing that will look when we finally got the official decree in hand!! Hopefully we're not far from that!!

Today's adoption update

These are things as they appear today:

• I spoke with the lawyer. He found out Friday that the judge he was supposed to contact for clarification for our judge is retired. Further, she spent the last several years of her career working on media matters, not family cases. It's unknown why our judge couldn't try to contact her personally. And more, why he would have recommended someone that didn't work with such cases for the last several years.
• The judge has again shown himself to be unaware of the details of our case. He alerted Sylwia that our lawyer hadn't filed an extension for the kids to remain here with us, citing that our current approval expired June 1. Sylwia called our lawyer in a panic asking why he hadn't done it, to which Bogdan responded that it doesn't expire until June 30. Why isn't the judge reading the documents in the file.
• The lawyer has further researched the regulations of the Hague Convention and has concluded that they are only in play when two countries are involved which have both ratified the convention. The U.S. has not done so. For some reason, whether its a question of him just not reading it or not being confident enough to make a decision based on it, the judge does not see this at the moment. Thus, he continues to stall.
• We will be meeting with the "Committee for the Rights of Children" this Wednesday at 5:30pm. Our lawyer will be with us. This feels like the Alamo or something...our last stand (oh, but that wasn't a good outcome was it?!). We pray that this committee can get through to the judge from the kids' perspective.
• Finally, I'm trying to get in touch with some supposedly high power attorneys from Poznan that take on high profile cases...I guess their like the Jani Kokran (that would be Polish for Johnny Cochran) of Poznan or something. I want to pose this single question to them about the adherence to the convention and see what they can do. It would complete our case if they were to right a confident letter to the court stating that the judge is completely able to make the decision based on both Polish law and international regulations as stipulated by the Hague Convention. Coming from such a law firm I think that would be just the thing needed to give the judge the confidence needed to move forward.

"How are we doing?" some will ask. If I say "bad" then some will just tell us to hold on and to keep the faith. We are holding on...and we remain steadfast in our faith that God's hand is guiding our lives. But we are still doing bad. Stress is fierce and does not discriminate when it comes to who and what it attacks. And we have been battling mounting stress for over a year now. We are battle worn, tired, discouraged, homesick, and afraid that we will one day see our children taken from us. If you don't know them...if they are just a bunch of pictures, emails, and blog posts...then that reality is nowhere near as real for you as it is for us.

Is our faith faltering? No! But as I've already said, our faith (ours and yours, generally) is not in a desired outcome. We can't just have some blanket faith that God will give us these kids because it seems the right thing...because we love them. We live in a fallen world where power is often found in the hands of the wicked. And we all experience the consequences of that. Jesus himself experienced the consequences of that. Are we more deserving of equality than our Savior?

I guess that's where the fear comes in...because we know that, while cliche, bad things happen to good people. But that is where the heart of our faith lies...that even when those bad things happen, even when life's storms hammer us with the ferociousness of a F5 tornado, God is there to shepherd us through. It doesn't mean we will come out unscathed. But it means that we will come out. It means that there will be another tomorrow. It means there there is absolutely always hope...both in our todays and in our tomorrows.

The huge challenge we have, though, is orienting ourselves toward God when He is not so easily seen. It's like new pilots that are only able to fly when there are not many clouds...VFR (visual flight rules)...because they are not yet able to use the plane's instruments alone to navigate safely through bad weather. Too often we live on VFR as Christians...things get bad, the clouds roll in. We lose sight of God's hand guiding our lives, and we crash because we have not yet learned to navigate well using the instruments He's given us for such occasions (these might be our heart, mind, experience, and maybe others). We have to learn to use these "instruments" so that we can continue to keep ourselves oriented on Him no matter how bad our personal storms rage.

Well, this has been one of those cathartic posts this morning. Don't know if you stuck through to the end with me...but even if you haven't I feel a little better, having reminded myself that I'm not just flying up here alone in the thick cloud cover. Things here are ugly and tough...but God is here.

Happy Birthday, Vicki!!

Today is my wonderful wife's birthday. I can't tell you how much this lady means to me. She is an absolute treasure and brings more joy into my life than I could possibly describe. I wish that she could have celebrated this birthday with the rest of her/our family...because I know how much we miss them all on birthdays and other holidays.

We had a great day of celebration together, although I must admit that it was catered by the birthday girl herself. Confession: I don't even act like I can cook...no reason to play games in the culinary arena when I've got Vicki around! She decided she'd rather fix her own food than go out...as it would be cheaper and better! And I have to agree on both fronts!!

Wanted to give a few pics from our day.

Another Sunday, another communion

I have somehow become the communion guy at church. They don't even ask anymore. The speaker finishes his sermon, goes to sit down, and everyone just sits there waiting for the communion guy. You think I'm kidding? Seriously...I waited it out today. I sat there for about 30 seconds...everyone silent...waiting to see what would happen. And sure enough, someone comes up and says "you're leading communion, right?"

Well, I went crazy today. I even issued a public disclaimer that "what we're about to do is my idea and my idea only" in case I offended anyone. I didn't want someone blaming Tomek or any of the other leaders for the crazy American missionary's new-fangled ideas to shake things up.

Wondering what I did? Well, a bit more background. As you might know, we take communion every week (aka the Lord's Supper). I see absolutely no problem with this although it's not the norm for the Baptist churches I've attended in the states. I think that they do this because it makes peoples' transition from the Catholic church easier (where they take communion at every mass...could be several times daily if you'd like). At least that's my theory. The only challenge is making sure that you provide an atmosphere that does not allow for people beginning to see it as a habit or just "what we do".

So, today I shook things up. And in this culture you just don't do that. But hey, I'm the communion guy. As such (and I did point that out to them - LOL) I felt I had the right. So, I asked everyone to stand and form a big circle...something easily done as we had around 20 people there today. The sermon today spoke much about our unity in the body of Christ...and I added some comments about this idea, drawing their attention to each other. It's all too easy to come to church and do "your thing" without giving much attention to everyone else there. I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case today.

Standing in our circle, I took the bread and wine (yes, it's real wine), turned to the person next to me and explained to him that he was my brother in Christ and, as such, I loved him...that I wanted to serve him in that way. And so it went around our circle.

At the end I once again called everyone to look around our circle. I told them that when they think of our church that those faces should be in their mind...as that is the church (or better, the Church)...and that is precisely where our unity lies. It's source is not found in leadership, vision, or strategy...it's in our hearts which become united as we give ourselves fully to Christ.

I think people responded well to my shake-up today, although only time will tell. I told Vicki that maybe today would be my last day as the communion guy. Don't know if they can handle further shaking.