Kosice, here we come!
Somewhere in Poland, taken from the train window. Brrr! It was cold outside!
Riding the trains in Eastern Europe is an adventure. Here are a couple of things we’ve encountered:
Archive for March, 2009
Journal Entry for Tuesday, March 24
Thursday, March 26th, 2009Journal Entry for Monday, March 23
Monday, March 23rd, 2009Here we are, back in Krakow, staying at the Mosquito Hostel. Definitely not a business name that someone from, say, Alberta or Manitoba would choose. It’s a nice facility, though. You’d never know it from its street appearance.
A Bountiful Harvest
Monday, March 23rd, 2009The word harvest has also appeared to me over and over in the past few months, like a single word pointing toward a theme. Most recently, it was there in the fish story, and it appeared again now in Psalm 65:9,11: “The rivers of God will not run dry; they provide a bountiful harvest of grain for you have ordered it so…You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.”
God is the One who orders a bountiful harvest. Sure, we have to do our part when involved in ministry, but our strategies are not the driving strength. Without His crowning our efforts with fruitfulness, we labor in vain.
The Disciples’ Fishless Fishing Trip
Monday, March 23rd, 2009For several weeks, the story of the disciples’ fishless fishing trip has been running through my mind. It’s the one in which they spent all night working on the water but came home empty-handed. Then Jesus showed up and told them to do it again – in water deeper than before. This request must have seemed ridiculous to the disciples, but they obeyed: “Okay, Jesus, whatever You say.” And off they went. Imagine their shock when the catch nearly burst their nets and threatened to sink their boat!
Journal Entry for Sunday, March 22
Monday, March 23rd, 2009While I was away for the weekend, Gene stayed busy in Warsaw. He visited with one of our IM fellows, attended his men’s small group, preached in a church service, and bought our train tickets. The latter took the longest. Four hours, to be exact. Four hours!
Can you imagine standing in line at a train station ticket window for that long? Apparently the complications come when you travel from one country to another. In other words, if our travels were to keep us in Poland, there would have been no big deal. But we’re traveling into Slovakia and Hungary, and each country has its own rail system.
On Sunday morning, Gene decided to double-check the tickets, just to make sure all was done correctly. (more…)
Journal Entry for Saturday, March 21
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
Sometimes I feel like pinching myself to see if I’m living a dream. The women at the retreat are from countries including Mongolia, Mexico, Cuba, the States, Russia, England, Indonesia, and Brazil. I consider myself privileged to mingle with them, learn about their lives, encourage them, pray with them, and laugh with them. They’re a special bunch – many have lived in several cultures, raised their children in foreign countries, and endured multiple moves which have meant saying frequent goodbyes and then having to become re-established again. Courageous women, all!
We did one teaching session in the morning, and then dispersed for lunch in town. We took a beautiful, albeit cold, walk along a promenade to reach this town. Four of us found a little restaurant called “The Hairdressers.” I half expected to smell the odor of perm solution, but that wasn’t the case. Nope, no perm solution, but plenty of cigarette smoke.
Wahoo! The ladies have arrived!
Small group discussion time
The view as we walked towards the village from the hotel.
We returned to the hotel by 4:30 for the second session and a lovely banquet-type meal. Afterwards, I had the privilege of speaking one-on-one with a couple of women until nearly midnight, listening and praying with them as they asked questions and shared from their hearts.
Midnight came, but sleep didn’t. My oh my. Jet lag hit big time, and the night was a long one.
Journal Entry for Friday, March 20
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
The woman paying homage at the shrine
Shrine close-up
The retreat hotel. Interesting architecture, eh?
We spent the night at the home of a couple from the States whose apartment overlooks a fabulous park – one of Warsaw’s jewels. Because the trees are still bare, we could see the walking paths curve and wind through acres and acres of landscaped nature. It must be stunning in the summer
Directly across the street from the apartment stands a shrine decorated with flowers and burning candles. Our hostess tells me that it was built to honor the late Polish Pope. As I watched from the window, an elderly woman laid flowers at its base and stood in solitary worship for a few minutes.
God Controls Every Detail
Friday, March 20th, 2009Journal Entry for Thursday, March 19 (cont.)
Today is my eldest daughter’s 24th birthday. I remember all my kids’ actual birth days with clarity, and I treasure those memories. But this one held huge significance because her arrival changed the direction of our lives. We were living in Nepal and planned on being career missionaries there, but our plans changed because she was born with hydrocephalus and needed immediate and ongoing medical care in North America.
God was obviously in control of every detail. And that experience was probably the greatest faith-building event of my life to date. Whenever the future seems uncertain (like it does in today’s economy, for example), I recall God’s faithfulness back then, and I find courage. Fear takes a back seat when I remember how He provided flights, friends, and finances to get us back to the States and settled amidst reverse culture shock and having a child in critical condition. Indeed He was good then, and He’s the same today.
The Older Woman
Friday, March 20th, 2009
Writing today's blog in Frankfurt airport
Journal Entry for Thursday, March 19
It’s about 4:00 a.m. in British Columbia; 12:00 noon in Germany. We’re safely on the ground in Frankfurt, sitting in an airport lounge and waiting for our next flight. Only five hours to go. We’ve been awake for 22 hours so far. By the time we reach our final destination, we will have been up for about 32 hours. Thankfully it will be evening by then, and we’ll be able to go to bed for a good night’s sleep.
What Should We Do?
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009Poland, here we come! It’ll be a long trip from Vancouver to Frankfurt to Warsaw, but we’re looking forward to it and to seeing how God will use us to build His kingdom overseas in the next three weeks. I’ll try to blog as I go — I think we’ll have more consistent internet access than on our last trip.
This morning I was challenged by something John said in Luke 3: “Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God” (v.8). Following this challenge, three groups of people asked the same question: “What should we do?” (vv. 10, 12, 14) In other words, how should our behavior change?
John gave each group a thought-provoking answer. His responses included the following commands– if you have two coats, give one to the poor; share your food with the hungry; be honest; don’t accuse people of things they didn’t do; be content with your pay; don’t extort money.
What would Jesus say to you and me if we asked, “What should we do to show that we’ve turned from our sins to God?” Maybe He’d say things like, “Speak words of encouragement. Help the poor, the orphans, the widows. Give generously. Comfort those who hurt. Defend truth. Show compassion. Live pure lives.” Doubtless He’d ask us to behave in such a way that other people would see His image in us and be drawn to Him.
“What should we do?” This is a great question! One that deserves time and thought.
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