And they're off!

Yesterday we had a great day of relaxation and shopping! We stayed in Szklarska Poreba and took a lift to the top of a mountain. It was a beautiful view and we really enjoyed being able to spend time together after the week. We also ate a delicious dinner in town!

This is just a quick post to ask you to pray for safety. The team is already on their way to Prague to do some sightseeing and shopping. Please pray for safe travels and that an overall safety in the city. Amber, Matt and I and leaving soon with Zbigniew and Edyta and their two kids to begin our travels. The team leaves tomorrow for the states and we leave on the 24th!

Looking forward to seeing you all and telling you our stories soon!

Who Knew...?

First of all, sorry that I didn't post yesterday! I know many of you are faithfully following the blog so as to pray for us, but with yesterday being the last full day of camp, I really wanted to just enjoy the last moments with the Polish campers!

The past few days have been a whirlwind! Our team spent almost 6 hours today debriefing! It was a really special time where we were able to reflect on how we saw God working. There were many tears and laughs shared and I would really encourage you all to ask one of us about the things shared during this time. I will try and share a few now though.

As I was thinking about this trip, I thought that yes I was going to Poland to serve God, but what real difference can I make. Its not like I am going to change the world, but as I was listening to everyone tell stories of God's work, I realized that we may not be changing the whole world, but we changed the world for some people at this camp. In fact, 13 people wrote on their camp evaluations that they made a decision to follow Christ. This is unbelievable! According to Mike, there has never been this many people at any of the other camps. We know that when just one person turns their heart to God, that the angels in heaven rejoice! Well there is a major celebration going on right now! Many others stated that they got closer to God during this week and they have not made a decision yet, but would like to try a Protestant church. I would like to thank you once again for your prayers and financial support. We felt God moving in ways that I have never felt before. You had a part in these transformations! Even though you may not have been here, your support is life changing, and not only for the Polish people. Those of us on the trip, have also been changed. Who knew that when we signed up for this trip that it wasn't the Polish people that were going to experience God, but that we were going to see God in ways that are just unbelievable. I am struggling for words right now to describe it. There is a song that has been in my head and I think it really describes a bit of this trip. Click here to listen to it!

Please do not stop praying! Our team has two specific prayer requests right now.

1. That the Polish people who have been impacted with get plugged in and connected with strong believers and a church. So many have had such wonderful experiences and it is important that they continue in their journey, and not alone.

2. Pray for our team as we are tired. We still have a few more days together and so pray that we can keep our servant hearts and that we will be able to spend some quality time together!

Thanks!

Lots o' kids!

We've dedicated this post to all the great kids at this camp... American and Polish kids alike have had great attitudes, enthusiasm and keep the rest of us smiling! Here are a few photos from Thursday...


Adrian keeping score during our gameshow "Minute to Win it." Annie led us in this adventure which involved 1 minute contests. For instance: which group could keep a balloon in the air by blowing through straws, who could get the highest reading on a pedometer attached to their head by "headbanging", etc.




One of the little boys posing as a hero (the theme for the kids program this year is "Hero Headquarters").

Our outstanding kids crew from America!

They work so hard rehearsing skits they perform every day for the young Poles. It sure is a great bunch!

Thursday night, I (Amber) was asked to tell my story to the camp during our evening meeting. I just have to say, I couldn't believe the support from my team I received before and after giving my testimony. It's such a blessing to be apart of such an encouraging group of people. It is so apparent that God is present and working in this place. Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers- they are truly being answered in amazing ways! Please keep praying as we near the end of the camp for even more energy, boldness, openness, and for God to do BIG things here.

More to come in a while!...

God is Working!

It became very evident today that God is here and his work is being accomplished! In our morning meeting, we had many praises that were offered, describing the ways that we are seeing God move. Edyta and Zbigniew (the pastor and his wife) told us all that they are just amazed at the openness that they are seeing this year. Never before have they had this many conversations about God so early in the week. People are very curious and are saying that they are interested in learning more about God. Keep praying for more of these conversations and that we will be aware of those who are open.

We had "teen and young adult night". The worship, activity, and dinner were all separated. Katherine Robbins, Katherine Snuffer, and David Tonkinson did an excellent job leading worship! I (Annie) gave my testimony and Kelly gave a message. Everything went very smoothly and hopefully an impact was made. For the activity we based it off of the new show "Minute to Win it". It was hilarious and very fun. For the adult service, Mark Henderson gave his testimony, which I heard was great!

The Bible studies, English classes, and Conversations groups are really starting to get going and it is fun to see the Polish-American relationships develop! Also, the kid's ministry is going great! Some of the American children have been doing skits, which are a lot of work and demand much preparation. They are going so well, but pray that the kids will have the energy to keep practicing! It is so encouraging to hear the young children talk about how they are willing to help in anyway. Micheal Henderson has been helping me plan for my English lessons, even though he isn't in my class. Doreen said it was time for bed, but Michael insisted that he needed to help me because "he is being a good missionary". It really helped me to remember that our time here is all about sacrifice and helping others. Please pray that as we get tired, we can remember our goals!

Tomorrow, I will post the exciting pictures from Minute to Win It and hopefully some skit pictures! Thanks for all the comments and prayers. I read them at our morning meeting and everyone was so excited to hear from you!

Some Polski pics and prayer requests

All of the American kids enjoying some pop and lody (ice cream) on a trip to town! They are having a great time and you can see their personalities are coming out loud and clear!

Here's Zach posing by the local cheeseburger stand in town!

Unfortunately, as you can see, Josiah has a difficult time making friends in Poland- haha!

Top left: Adrian and K.D. getting a little slap happy in the staff room!

Top right: Some of the Polish ladies and I (Amber) just before some group singing led by Poles and Americans together, followed by Becky Miller's testimony.

Left: Tonight's activity was a photo scavenger hunt- a favorite of many here! This is Matt's group posing as American Gladiators (keeping with our "American game shows" theme).

Here are a few prayer requests from today:

- Resilience and energy as the week progresses (especially for the kid's program)

- Opportunities to engage in conversation with Poles (language barriers would be broken down)

- Translators who are always on duty (being pulled aside to assist in making conversation)

- Grace for one another

- Reliance on God to work through us and in us, even when we least expect it

Dziękuję- This means Thank you in Polish!

The English Classes Begin

It was an exciting day in Szklarska Poreba! I have many more pictures to upload but unfortunately the days go by so quickly that I am a little too tired to do that tonight! Hopefully tomorrow. The Americans and Translators started off with a meeting at 6:30 this morning to discuss announcements and prayer requests. We then had breakfast and a worship service. Then, we moved into our Reading/Bible Study time. This was really exciting because it was our first chance to open a Bible and discuss the Word of God with the people. Every person at the camp received a New Testament Bible. I saw one of my students and lunch and I could hardly get him to talk because he was so engrossed in the Bible. He has never owned or read one before! When I asked him some questions, it seemed as though he is very interested in learning about this "new thing" along with English. Pray that others like him may be found by Americans and Polish Christians and that God will open opportunities to discuss with them.

After reading time, we moved right into the first English classes. These last for 2.5 hours and are focused on Vocabulary, Grammar, and Activities. The first day is always the most difficult because it is hard to know the exact level of the students. But now we have interacted with them and can begin to prepare lessons appropriate to our classes. I think everyone feels a little more at ease with planning now. After our busy morning, we had lunch and free time. I went to town with a few Polish people to get Lody (ice cream). It was very good and incredibly cheap. I got two cones (No, I didn't eat them both...) for 5 Zloty or the equivalent to less than 2 dollars. I saw many other Americans in town and heard many got in a good nap!

After free time, we had conversation group which is spent with the same group as the morning reading time. Then supper and an Activity (based off of The Amazing Race). We played a game where some people hid in town and in the woods around our hotel. Each group had to try and find them and get their signatures. It was a very active and competitive game! Then we had a worship time and Doreen gave her testimony. It went very well and she did a wonderful job! Lastly, there was a coffeehouse and the Americans prepared their lessons!

Now bedtime and up at 5:45. Yikes! I will make sure to update pictures and prayer requests tomorrow!

The Campers Arrive!

Today was quite the busy day! We spent the majority of the day administering English Placement Tests to the Polish people so that we could put them in the appropriate English level and carrying luggage to each room as they arrived. It was really great to finally meet the people we have been praying for. We had our first meetings with our conversation groups and an introduction to the theme of the camp- "Win the Prize". We also had a couple activities where we tried to resemble the American Game Shows Super Market Sweep and Deal or No Deal. In Deal or No Deal, the contestant won the $750,000 prize which was to throw an American in the pool. Mike Snuffer was chosen and you can see the result in the video below.

The evening was spent by the Americans working very hard to prepare for the first English classes tomorrow and the Poles watching the World Cup Championship. It was so exciting to hear the loud screams. Personally, I don't watch much futbol (soccer) but have heard stories of how intense the World Cup can be in Europe. It was very exciting for me to see and hear about the cultural importance and be here for the game.

As for prayer requests, I think the main one is for sleep. Since the weather is so nice and warm during the day, many of us are having a difficult time sleeping. It is very hot at night and there hasn't been much of a breeze to cool us off in the evening. Many of our team wake up repeatedly throughout the night and have a difficult time getting back to sleep. Secondly, energy during the day! So, even if we don't get much sleep, that we will be sustained throughout the day. Another request is for our English classes tomorrow. We know about what level we are teaching, but the first day is very hard to prepare for. So, it is important that we are able to be flexible. But pray that what we prepared will at least be close to the level that we believe our students to be at. Tomorrow is the first testimony that will be given in the evening. We don't know yet who it will be, but pray that it will be received well by the Poles and that whoever is giving it will not be nervous and that it will go smoothly. There are also quite a few new people who have come to the camp for the first time and do not know anyone. Pray that they will feel welcome and accepted quickly and that the Americans will recognize those people and especially reach out to them.

Thanks as always for your prayers!

Some Pictures!

Jet Lag City is still in effect at the first staff meeting!

Saturday preparation at Retro for the Children's Ministry for the upcoming week.

This is a view of the skiing mountain at Szklarska Poreba, further up the hill from where we are staying. Beautiful view, huh?

This is Retro, (about 300 yards from Olimp) where the Children's Ministry is taking place each day while their parents are in the English classes. Also, some Poles are staying here.

Here is Olimp, the hotel that all the Americans and some Poles are staying in and where we will be holding the English Camp.

These pictures are thanks to Carroll Miller!

"Shower by Thursday"- Mike Snuffer

So, this was the quote of the morning! Mike Snuffer said to make sure we shower by Thursday... He meant shower by 6:30, because that is our meeting time every morning, but misspoke. It was very funny and had the whole team laughing. In fact, I bet our team meeting could have been half as long except that we have such a funny group and we laughed for so much of it. It is such a blessing to be on a team that enjoys life so much and gets along so well.

It is about 1:00pm here and we are about to head to lunch in a half hour (they eat much later in Poland). This morning we woke up and had breakfast. We had delicious bread and rolls and some salads that would resemble a potato salad. They also had cereal, milk, and hardboiled eggs and the shocker to me- HOT DOGS! wow, when I opened the lid of those, I was sure surprised! But there was also really good tea to drink!

Next we had a first staff meeting, which I have already described a bit, but I'll give you a few highlights. Mike had another quote that I will share with you because I really enjoyed it. "The significance of any event is its future." -Monty Sholund. I think this is so great because it helps us to remember that one of our goals is to connect the Polish people with the local church so that follow-up from the camp can happen. We also talked about 4 ways to measure our success.

1. Did you go?

2. Did you care for one another?

3. Did you give God his time?

4. Did you lay yourself out for God?

We have done the first one, but now we need to remain focused on the other three.

An update and praise on the suitcases- they arrived at 6 am! We have all our materials and other items so thank you for your prayers! I have been passing along your comments to the team and everyone was very encouraged! Oh yes, I was wrong about when the campers arrive... They come tomorrow! Today we are busy preparing for their arrival!

We made it!

It is about 10 pm Poland time and it seems as though everyone has settled in for the night! We had about 24 hours of travel and everyone is pretty tired, but thankful for the fairly uneventful day of flights. Each flight was smooth and no one got sick! We had very quick layovers which was nice but made for some quick trips through the airports. I (Annie) even got my name called over the loudspeaker, which was a first. We are missing a couple suitcases which are supposed to get here tomorrow, but some of them contain the supplies for the English Camp and so it is really important that they get here soon. If you all can pray for that, we would be thankful. Thank you for your prayers already for our travel!

I had my first Polish meal today, which was McDonald's! It tasted a little different than in American but it was still good. Then we had a very nice dinner at Olimp, the hotel. We had soup, fish, mashed potatoes, bread, and a salad plate- very tasty! The hotel is very nice! There is actually a wedding reception going on right now and I am enjoying some good Polka tunes!

Well, tomorrow starts the big preparation for the camp and I believe the Polish people arrive. We are very excited to meet new faces and reconnect with old friends. Oh, and the weather was beautiful today! Sunny and warm!

I'm off to bed, it has been a long day! Cheerio! (that's what I heard while in London :)

Welcome to the Poland Blog!

Hello all!

I just wanted to welcome you to the blog. This is Annie Beasley and I will be updating the blog along with my sister Amber Kantor as often as we can. We will also try and post pictures of our trip so that you can see what we are up to. Feel free to comment on our postings and we can try and pass on your messages to the rest of the team. For those of you who are wanting a little more information about this trip, here are some of the details.

Wayzata Free Church has partnered with a church in Poland for quite a few years now to provide the people and materials to run an English Immersion Camp. Because of the consistency of this ministry, the camps fill quickly with people who are wondering why Americans would give up their time and money to come and serve them. It is a perfect opportunity to share the love of Christ with them. The Polish church has an English school which brings in many people who would never go to church, but are very interested in learning English. At the school, they promote this English Immersion Camp, staffed by Americans, and many Poles are anxious to attend. We are all very excited to bring the Word of God to the Polish people and to gain a broader perspective of the world and God’s people. Our team leaves on the 8th of July (Thursday- its coming up so soon!) and most return on the 21st, I believe. Myself, Amber, and her husband Matt are staying a few extra days to travel with the Pastor and his family. Also, Carroll Miller has already left to visit a few different churches throughout Poland.

As we are preparing to go, I hope that you will begin or continue to pray for us! I would ask that you specifically pray that our team can be unified and supportive of one another, that we will stay healthy and energized, and that we will be effective in our teaching of the Polish people. Please also pray for safe travel and that in these last few days we will not feel stressed or anxious and that we will be prepared for this trip.

Lastly, I just want to thank you all for your support. It means so much to all of us on the team to have such a strong home base that has given financially and has committed to pray for us. We have already felt the benefits of these prayers as so many of ours have been answered. Honestly, I have never been a part of a group that has had so many prayers answered. It seems that every request some has given, God answers it quickly. It has been truly amazing to see the power that prayers have. So, thank you and please keep praying.