Remember When....

For those who spent this summer in Zako:
Remember when...

• Molly asked what the Polish word for "jam" was
• Malisa convinced us girl to by dog tickets for the train
• Peter locked me in the climbing tower, but didn't realize it
• Gary would go running with us
• We ran 6 miles just to see a cow
• Hannah took awesome pictures on the run to the cow... lol
• Molly tried to stretch her legs out on the bus
• Hannah and Molly put shoes in front our room door so we would hear anyone that came into our room
• Kuba asked if he could lay on us when he really meant to ask if he could rely on us
• Hannah would blow her nose like a horn and I would sneeze a million times every morning (I bet Brooke really misses us :)
• Molly asked everyone she met if they had seen HOT ROD
• Molly accidentally hit Tomak in the head with a doll... lol
  
• Victor dropped us off at the train station and pointed toward the entrance
• We thought we would get to go to the beach then it would always rain
• Molly fell and all she cared about was whether or not her WOODLANDS shirt had a stain on it
• We ate our cereal with giant spoons (it's weird now eating cereal with a normal spoon)
• Hannah asked David if he got his sweat shirt when he was 16
  
• Branden dissed Brooke on facebook
• Asian James and his panda bear shirt
• Ashley and the fanny pack conversation
• We had to push Marysia's car our of an intersection in the rain on our way to church
• Maya picked Malisa up and carried her half way across the basketball court
• We did the "Waka Waka" dance for a workout
• The random Polish guy thought we were runners from the Olympic Center, because Robert told us to keep training hard.
• Molly tried to whisper to me that her armpits hurt while we were running
• Molly caught a bee
  
• We sang baby shark on the way to the airport
• John tried to set Molly and I up with the guys from his English class

I'm sure there are more stories that I have forgotten, so if anyone has any please comment. Thank you everyone for a great summer, for your prayers, for your laughter, and for your friendship.

Much Love!

Asia

Home Sweet Home

Hey Everyone!

I'm home! but my brain still thinks I'm in Poland, because it woke me up around 4:30 am. Fortunately we have a bit of a drive today for post directives, so maybe I can get a bit of a nap in. Anyway the trip home had very little excitement, Marysia, Maryka, Molly, and Hannah all took me the airport and helped me drop all my luggage off. It looked like all of us were leaving because I have so much luggage...lol. The trip fairly uneventful, which is always a good thing when your trying to come back to America. There was a large and loud welcoming party waiting for us when we got back. A lot of my friends from my last internship came to the airport with horns, candy, balloons, which I accidentally nailed some random lady in the head with as we were leaving the airport. She glared at me as I apologized, but it was still really funny, because I was totally oblivious to it until one of the girls from the Kenya team pointed it out... lol.

After we got off the plane, we grabbed our luggage, said our "goodbyes" one more time, and headed out for operation Post Directives, which involves a bigillion sticky notes (side note: Staples sticky notes don't stick, as well as Post-it notes), Sharpies, a large amount of caffine, American food, mind games at Dave Stone's house, just enough physical activity to keep us awake, funny stories and take-away's from our trips and how to use what we've learned. There's more to come, but we never know exactly what... lol.. which has been a common theme for all of us during the summer. One day, one moment at a time, maybe God is trying to teach us all something :).

Much Love to Everyone!

Asia

Time to say Goodbye

Ok, I'm going to attempt to make this blog happy, which is going to be a little difficult since tomorrow at 6:05 AM I will be boarding a plane to head home. Oh goodbyes, how I hate them. My hope is that one day I'll be able to come back to Poland. I don't know for how long or when, but one day.
God has again taken Himself out of the cookie cutter box that I placed Him in and shown me more of who He is an who His children are. When you think about what you might do on a missions trip, one of your automatic thoughts would probably be that you would tell someone how they could know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and that you will most likely do some sort of physical labor. But what does going on a missions trip really mean? In my opinion, it means doing whatever you are asked and being content with doing nothing if that is all there is to do. I walked into this internship with some ideas and expectations already formed. When the things that I thought I would be doing didn't happen or things weren't going the way I thought they would, I began to question God about why I was here. He would gently remind me of all the doors He had opened for me to get here and I was here for a reason. At the other camp I had worked at I connected really well with my campers and was able to have some great conversations with them, but here with the language barrier that wasn't as possible. I started to become frustrated and question things again. Then God brought the question to mind, "Are you here so you can feel good about yourself and proud of what you are doing or are you here for me?" Our plans are not always His plans, which is exactly what was happening here. Instead of connecting really well with the kids, I connected with the counselors and staff, which was actually what I prayed for before I came. Funny how sometimes we forget what we pray for and when God answers the prayer we're like, "Wait, what just happened?" Then He has to remind us this is what you talked to me about. All that to say a mission trip is more than a trip with a checklist of things accomplish. It's to see more of who God really is.

I'll see you tomorrow! Love you much!

Asia

Week Number... I'm not really sure any more :)

Another week at the most wonderful camp in Poland! This week is the last English camp of the summer and sadly my last full week of camp. I'm excited about seeing family and friends back home, sleeping in my bed, having my own room, and car, but I'm not ready to leave the family and friends I have here. It won't be easy saying "goodbye" next week. I'm not just leaving people that I worked with, but people who have become my family. God has allowed me to build relationships that aren't just fluff and they're genuine, where hopes, dreams, problems, and worries have all been shared. One of my favorite memories will be the evenings that some of us girl interns would hang out and pray together. It will also be one of the things I miss the most. Ok, I'm going stop with the sentimental mush now, otherwise I might start to tear up. Let's get back to what's going on this week.

I'm an assistant and English teacher again, the only differences are I have 9-10 year old boys this week, who are sooooo precious, loud, but precious, and I'm teaching 16 kiddos by myself, which isn't bad since we get lesson plans at the beginning of each day. We don't have an American group here this week, so Hannah and Brooke have done most of planning classes and Molly and I have helped more with planning the games for the afternoon. Also, all of us interns have been asked to speak at either the morning or evening meetings. I'll be speaking Friday evening about the kids going home, since it is the night before they leave.

Also this week most of the counselors that have been at camp this summer are working at the Lodz Kontact, a church outreach project. The purpose of Kontact is to bulid relationships in the hope of starting a church plant in Lodz in the future. I may have already told you all this, but Lodz is the second largest city in Poland with the population of 1 millions people, only 600 of those people are born again believers. There are a few small churches in Lodz, but many people are still lost and without the true hope Jesus Christ. There is a great need for believers to come to Poland and share who Christ really is.

Thank you all for your prayers! Please keep praying for the kids, staff, and camps throughout the rest of the summer and for the people of Poland.

I love you all very much and will see you soon!

Asia

I wish I was Balla'

Here's a run down of what's been happening lately... The first week of international basketball camp is going on right now with 5 countries represented- Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, and America. A group from Sacramento, CA is helping out this week with coaching, refereeing, and a variety of things. Usually in the morning we have speed & agility drills along with basketball drills, then in the afternoon the games begin and last till about dinner time.
I'm coaching one of the teams (Go Liberty!), playing in the international division with USA, and cleaning on MOP crew. Btw MOP doesn’t stand for anything cool. It just mean’s I clean and people think it’s funny to tell me that I “missed a spot”, which they think is soooo funny and I think it's so dumb... lol. I've just started holding out the broom and telling them they can get all the spots that I miss ;). This week really has been the best week of the summer, because we're super busy, tired, and outside all the time, so it finally feels like camp. We're all sweaty, smelly, and we're all dressed in workout clothes. Although there are a few girls in dress until they have to go play ball. Then there's me, I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth, and fix my hair as I walk out the door. lol...
Anyway my team was doing great 2-0, but now I think we're 2-1 because they had to switch up the teams. My team killed the teams we played the first day by about 20 points, apparently that isn't fair or fun for the other teams in the league.. lol... Idk... The team is still doing good it's just a little bit more of a challenge, espescially when the coach doesn't completely know what's going on. It's good learning experience though, as is playing in the international division. Some of the girls that come to the camp aren't girls, they're women. Women who have played on the national leagues in their countries, so they're pretty hard core. For not playing together ever, USA is doing fairly well. We're 1-1, but were probably going to get killed in the couple games, especially when we play Belarus. FYI, Belorussians don't mess around when it comes to basketball.
That's about all that's been going on so far this week... Oh! And I went to my first Polish Protestant wedding... for those of you who know Robert, he got married to a Polish women, who is his age ;). It wasn't really any different from an American wedding, except it was all in Polish, the bride and groom sat during the vows, and the bride didn't throw her flowers for the girls to catch. Ok, for real this time, I don't have anything else.

I love you all! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Asia

P.S. It's again late so my apologies :).

Rain Rain Go Away...

Before I came to Poland I was under the impression that it rained a lot here, so I packed an umbrella, rain boots, and two raincoats, because who doesn't wear 2 raincoats at one time. I think I was on something when I packed, because one of anything was rarely ever good enough. Three must be my lucky number though, because I packed 3 pairs of tennis shoes, jeans, jean shorts, running shorts, and I'm sure there's more. Anyway, we're done with random Joanna facts, back to the rain. When I say rain, I mean torrential down pour, flash flood warnings, tornadoes... just kidding, minus the torrential down pour, that part is true. Last Sunday started out as a beautiful sun shiny day, which is exactly what I dressed for. No jacket, no rain boots, and no umbrella. On our way to church the rain starts to pour, we drive through a few large "puddles" and Marysia says something about how life is always an adventure when Molly and I are around. :) Little did she know what was coming... lol..A few minutes later water started seeping through the car floor. Then, I don't know exactly how it happend, but the car died in the middle of the intersection. So there we were- 5 girls dressed for church, in the pouring rain, with no other option but to push the car out of the intersection, which is exactly what we did. lol... It was one of those priceless moments. We did end up making it to church safely and looking slightly like drowned rats. ;) Awh... good times...
This week is the first ever International Fish Art camp with people from 4 different countries- Poland (obviously, but I had to say it), USA, Ukraine, and Belarus. It's been a pretty simple week with part of the Southeast Christian Worship team is here leading workshops, worship and the morning challenge. During the meetings the music has been in Polish and English with a little Bella-Russian thrown in the mix. Side note- Bella-Russian is crzy! They have numbers and a stars for letters. It's just a little strange, but it's all good... Anyway, it's been really awesome to have people from multiple different countries all worshiping together; and also being able to worship again in English. It's another one of those little things that I didn't realize I would miss so much. Last night instead of having a normal meeting we had a worship service, which was very refreshing. Then they had something like America's Got Talent and Just Dance combined. Oh, and for those of you who know Brian Sites, you should invite him over to play Just Dance... lol... He's got some awesome moves ;). If only I had remembered my video camera to share it with everyone... Not that I really have any room to speak. I can keep a beat, other than that I'm a straight up white girl :).
I think thats about it for this week. I'll leave you with a few random/interesting facts:

• To be baptized in Poland the person must be at least 18, otherwise they must get permission from their parents, which is very difficult most times.
  
• No one really knows what hand-sanitizer is.
  
• According to Molly K. the toilet paper here is whole wheat... lol
• Poland has a "what's yours is mine" policy about food. If you don't want to share you're food you must find a secret place and eat quickly j/k.
  

Hugs to all! Miss you much!

Joanna "Power-ta-the-House"

The Invitation

Wednesday is always a very important day during the camp week, because it is when the kids are taught about what Christ did for them on the cross and they are invited to accept Christ as their personal Savior to pursue a life of hope and true joy. Many of the kids have a lot of questions, especially since they have grown up in the Catholic church and have been taught salvation by works.
Prayer Requests:

• For God to open the eyes and hearts of the kids so they will truly know and understand who He is and what He has done for them.
• For the Counselors as they are answering questions from their campers.
• Everyone's health at camp- Many people are getting sick because of the crzy hot/cold weather we have been having.
• The staff to stay energized and focused- Because we still have kids over the weekend, many times the staff doesn't really get a day off.

Answers to Prayer:

Before coming to Poland I prayed that God would allow me to build lasting relationships with some of the women that work with Proem Ministry, to be part of Polish people and culture, and to learn the language- All of which He has allowed. Although coming a month before camp started was a struggle at times, God allowed me to build a relationship with Stephcia, a missionary from Southeast who started out as a year intern, but has now been here for 7 years. Since she has been through much of the same things she has been a great help in processing the culture and a great friend.
I also really wanted to be part of the culture and people in Poland. It's never fun being "the foreign kid" or the person out of the loop, which is exactly how it is when everyone is speaking in a language you don't understand. It's pretty bad when you're learning words from pre-schoolers... lol ;). Even though I still don't understand a lot and I can't speak much Polish, I'm learning; and God has provided patient people, who have been willing to teach me.
One of my favorite memories will definitely be when Hannah and I were sitting on the front steps of the Hotel waiting with everyone for lunch and we both realized we were chillin' with the Polish group of counselors and not the American ones.
I've really apprecaited the friendships that God has allowed me to build with the Polish and American interns. Despite the language and culturial differences, God has brought all of use togehter with the same passion and desire to serve Him and tell others about Him. It has been awesome to hear the stories of how coming to camp changed many of the interns lives for Christ. Many times camp is like a haven for the campers and counselors, because this where they grow and be Christians. Since Poland isn't a very envagelized country, there aren't a lot of Christians to encourage each other like in the U.S. Rarely are we the only Christian. We get to pick out our Christian friends, and we get to choose which Christian guy we get to marry. There aren't as many options here and many times that makes things difficult. When people in Poland choose to become Christians, it's truly a life changing decision. They are choosing to walk away from everything they have ever been taught and from what most of their families and friends believe. Thankfully though they aren't walking alone when they make that choice. Although the road will be rough, choosing Christ is worth it all.

Much Love,

Asia