Guess where?
We spent today driving from Washington to Montana. Here are a few shots along the way. Can you guess where the two unnamed pictures were taken?
Where am I?
Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category
Where am I?
Monday, November 1st, 2010“God, Help!”
Friday, August 13th, 2010My prayer was short and desperate, and I uttered it several times during the night. A vicious stomach flu had invaded our camp and attacked one person after another. Finally it struck Gene. Three hours later it hit me.
The virus kept us awake nearly all night and flattened us with hourly bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. When morning dawned, Gene slowly rolled out of bed and prepared to teach our English class. I remained in the prone position, afraid to roll over lest the slightest movement trigger nausea again.
When the flu first struck a couple of days prior, my friend Ewa had assumed the role of a modern-day Florence Nightingale. She’d attended to other staff and campers; now it was time to check on us. She groaned when she entered our room and saw my green face. “Oh my friend,” she said, handing me a packet of electrolyte powder. “Mix this with a cup of hot water and take little sips over the next hour.” Then she gave me a packet of mystery powder. “Mix this with a small amount of water and drink now. Trust me.” Then she dashed from our room to continue her rounds among the sick.
The reality of spending the entire last day of camp in bed, too weak to sit or stand, left me feeling like a failure. This wasn’t the way camp was supposed to end. I’d planned to help decorate the dining area for the evening’s closing party. I’d anticipated enjoying the banquet and celebrating the campers’ English-learning achievements. The award ceremony was supposed to end the week on a joyful note. But joy was far from what I felt as I lay in bed, listening to the party happening three floors below.
Why did the mission trip end like this for me and several others? I don’t have the answer. The same is true for other disappointments in life. Things happen…situations for which we have no explanation. Tough stuff sometimes, circumstances that flatten us and leave us with strength only to cry a short, desperate prayer: “God, help.” And He does.
In my situation He sent Ewa and her mystery medication. He gave me a much-needed solid night’s sleep when the party noise ended. And He gave me the ability to let go of the disappointment caused by dashed expectations.
How about you? Have you recently experienced a situation in which you could do nothing but cry, “God, help”? If so, what was it? And how did He answer?
The Hike
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010On the sixth day of camp, everyone left the hotel for a day trip to one of three optional destinations. Ours involved hiking to a castle perched on a mountain. We’d done the same hike last year and told everyone, “It’s an easy walk – mostly flat until the last part immediately before entering the castle. That’s the only steep section.”
Ha! Those were our famous last words. We knew a surprise was headed our way when our bus driver pulled over and stopped in an unfamiliar place. “The old parking lot is no longer there,” he announced in Polish. “You must begin your hike here.”
Flexibility is a key word we stress when training our short-term volunteers. And it’s a word we have to put into practice every day on a ministry trip like this. And so we practiced flexibility….all the way up a rocky, very steep mountain road. I didn’t time the hike, but I’m sure that we panted and puffed for more than an hour. Each time someone lagged, I asked if they’d like to turn back or wait by the roadside for the others’ return – and I graciously said that I’d turn back or wait with them. Unfortunately, no one accepted my offer. And so I plodded on.
The view at the top made the trek worthwhile. Fields and mountains stretched for miles, dotted by red tile roofs. My eyes lingered on the beauty before me, and my imagination pondered the heart-wrenching history of Poland and its amazing people. I felt an overwhelming love for our campers who live in poverty and pain as a result of circumstances beyond their control, and I thanked God for the opportunity to bring hope and healing through the message of Jesus Christ.
Campers and staff still happy after the hike
Castle-top view
The hike provided a great opportunity to build closer bonds with these precious campers. We walked together, we shared snacks, and we swapped stories about life. Then the clouds rolled in and we broke a speed record heading downhill in the pouring rain.
Besides good exercise and bond-building, the hike also provided me with a touching visual image: A young man, about 20 years old, holding the hands of his younger brother, 11, and sister, 9, as they navigated the rocky road in the pouring rain. They’d lost their mom to cancer only two months prior. Their dad had since suffered a stroke. It took a lot of courage for this family to come to camp and be immersed in a setting so unfamiliar, and the older brother’s care and tenderness towards his siblings warmed my heart. It’s not often you see affection between siblings demonstrated like this. It’s an image I want to keep forever.
I’ll write a bit more about the trip on Friday’s blog and then switch back to devotionals. Blessings on you today, my friend.
Family Camp Schedule
Monday, August 9th, 2010Our Polish family camp was held in the city of Karpacz. It reminds me of Banff, Alberta – an alpine tourist destination with fun things to see and do. It offers a perfect getaway for folks seeking a family vacation, and it provides a wonderful place to host our camp.
The word camp often conveys the impression of being rustic – tents and outhouses in the woods, cooking over an open fire and sleeping under the stars. That’s a far cry from our family camp – it was held in a hotel. Granted, it wasn’t a 5-star facility but it was totally adequate for our purposes.
Our days were packed from beginning to end. We began with a staff prayer meeting at 7:15. Breakfast followed – rolls, sliced meats, cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, and sometimes yogurt. Cold cereal – Cocoa Puffs – was served with hot milk. And after breakfast, we enjoyed a short chapel with praise and worship songs in both English and Polish before dismissing for our daily English reading class.
The English reading class can be likened to a Bible study.
Exploring God's Word
Adults and teenagers split into small groups where they read Scripture based on Jesus’ parables. Our job was not to teach the study. Rather, it was to facilitate learning and discussion. Many of our campers had never read a Bible and they’d certainly never heard that a personal relationship with God was possible through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. They’d been taught by their priest that salvation is possible only through good works and that he alone provides access to God (for payment). This class was the nuts-and-bolts of camp because it revealed truth to those who had never heard it.
An English grammar class followed. Campers were divided into groups according to their English-speaking competency. Gene and I taught a group of high-school students. They loved playing games such as Uno to learn the English words for colors and numbers. One day during class we walked to a nearby store to buy ice cream treats. Enroute, they saw and named objects for every letter in the English alphabet. Ie: ‘d’ was for dog, ‘t’ was for tractor, etc.
Lunch followed the morning classes. Then came the afternoon schedule – crafts or free time for families to spend a couple of hours sightseeing.
Beads are a favorite craft
At 5 o’clock, we ran two workshops (parenting and addictions) and an optional class to practice conversational English. Most campers attended the workshops and absorbed the information like human sponges. After supper, we played group games or enjoyed skits and then settled into chapel with more singing, two staff testimonies and an object lesson for the kids. By then it was 9:30 P.M. Most folks were tired, but they weren’t ready to shut ‘er down yet. They put their little ones to bed and then showed up for the marriage workshop that Gene and I taught. Thirty people – four nights in a row – attended these classes that ran for an hour. In 11 years of fulltime Christian camping ministry in Canada, I’ve never seen that kind of hunger here.
And so went a typical day at camp. Hours and hours of interaction with campers made it possible to build relationships that our career staff will follow up. With email and Facebook technology, we can further those relationships ourselves, too.
Anyone interested in coming with us next year? Actually, we could use volunteers for camps in Slovakia, the Ukraine and Romania as well as in Poland. The harvest is great but the laborers are few.
Home Again
Friday, August 6th, 2010Having no internet access for nearly two weeks made it impossible for me to journal about our Poland family camp experience in real-life time. Now that I’m home again, I’ll blog for a few days about our experience in retrospect.
Perhaps the element that strikes me most is the peoples’ openness toward spiritual things. One woman said outright that she was seeking God and came to the camp hoping to find Him there. One man said he’d never been in such a group of people who prayed directly to God – he’d always communicated to God via a priest. These comments and others proved that spiritual hunger and interest is very much alive in Eastern Europe. So is the desire to learn how to raise kids and how to do marriage well.
Gene and I taught four workshops about marriage. Because of the days’ busy schedules, our sessions began at 9:45 PM. Yes, you read that correctly. It should have been bedtime, but that wasn’t the case for the 30 individuals and couples who showed up for the hour-long classes. I was thrilled to see so many attend. Many of the young adult singles (most of whom do not have godly role models) commented that our messages and personal example gave them hope for a God-centered marriage someday. PTL!
This year our team also offered workshops about parenting and about how to cope when a loved one suffers from alcoholism. These, too, were well attended. Our prayer is that these wonderful Polish people will have discovered new and practical strategies to help them face the challenges of everyday life. And our praise is that God is so big that He can use the likes of those of us on the team to accomplish anything of eternal value.
Promises, Promises
Monday, July 26th, 2010When I was a kid, my friends and I made promises to each other and sealed them with the words, “I cross my heart and hope to die.” The implication was that we’d die if we failed to keep our word. Scary stuff for an 8-year-old, eh?
As an adult, I understand that a promise is only as good as the character of the person who makes it. If a person of questionable character says he’ll do something for me, I don’t waste my breath waiting for him to fulfill his word. I feel differently if a person of integrity makes a promise. I feel even more confident when God makes a promise.
Psalm 138:2 says, “I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.” When God makes a promise, we can be absolutely sure that He’ll fulfill. Why? Because His reputation depends on it. He’s a God of love and faithfulness, and He’ll never tarnish that reputation or smear His name by failing to keep His Word.
Recently I’ve begun ending my prayers with these words: “God, as best I know, I’ve prayed according to Your will and promises. Now back those promises by the honor of Your name.” I don’t know if these words make my prayers more effective, but they sure build my confidence in God’s willingness and ability to answer.
What promise has been especially meaningful to you recently?
When Dependency is a Good Thing
Friday, July 23rd, 2010NOTE: I’m without internet access for several days while ministering at an evangelistic family camp in Poland. As a result, I’ve scheduled devotionals to be posted as usual on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until I return to someplace with internet. So, here goes with devotionals again…
When Dependency is a Good Thing
My 2 ½-year-old granddaughter is developing wonderful verbal skills. One of the things she says is, “Will you help me, please?” She speaks those words with confident expectation that Grandma will listen and respond. And she’s right – of course I’ll help her.
By the time you read this, I will have just completed a 13-day mission trip to Romania. I’ve delivered one Canadian short-termer to Slovakia where she was scheduled to minister at an evangelistic family camp with several other volunteers. And now my husband and I are leading a team of 14 short-termers at an evangelistic family camp in Poland. I’m fully aware of my inadequacies to accomplish anything of eternal value and by now I’m physically weary and wishing for a good night’s sleep in my own bed. My prayer, spoken many times a day is this: “Will you help me, please?” Like my granddaughter, I’m confident that God will answer.
Psalm 138:6 says, “Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.” Being humble simply means that we admit our dependency upon God. We admit our inadequacies and trust Him to meet us at our points of need. We don’t have to beg or plead; we just have to state the need and expect Him to answer.
What’s your need today? Are you tired? Are you lacking wisdom for a particular situation? Are you feeling discouraged? If so, remember that the Lord cares for the humble. Admit your dependency on Him with a simple prayer: “Will You help me, please?” and trust Him to answer.
How has God answered your prayers for help in the past?
Train to Poland — Part 2
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010This is our eighth trip to Eastern Europe since 2008 and, apart from gasping at near head-on collisions, I’ve never felt afraid. Until today, that is.
Passengers come and go on these trains. For several miles, two men in their 60s sat on the bench across from us. Theirs was an animated conversation until one turned his attention to me and began jabbering in Polish. His eyebrows shot up when I told him that I couldn’t understand because I spoke only English. He moved closer, grabbed my hand and kissed it.
I was okay with this display of Polish culture but squirmed inside when he began to squeeze my hand and pat my arm with his other hand. Then he leaned toward my face. All of this happened within a few seconds. A teenage boy in the next seat began translating what the man was saying, at which time Gene stood up and asked the man to back off.
The man responded by speaking louder and squeezing tighter. Gene repeated his request. The man turned up his volume and now leaned towards my husband. Visions of his punching Gene popped into my head. I shot up an arrow prayer for help.
At that exact moment, the conductor stepped into our train car. Understand that conductors routinely walk through the cars to ensure that all passengers have purchased tickets and aren’t freeloading. This conductor hadn’t set foot in this car for the past hour despite the train making numerous stops and collecting passengers along the way. His sudden appearance at that exact moment was nothing short of an immediate answer to prayer.
Without speaking a word, the conductor sized up the situation and took control. He pulled the man away from me and kicked him off the train when it stopped a few moments later. Everyone in the car heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry,” said the conductor as he walked way.
“No problem,” I said, whispering a big thank-you to God under my breath. He showed up as my protector in the form of a train conductor – how awesome is that? While it was quite amazing to see Him answer prayer so quickly, I truly hope He won’t have to do it again!
Train to Poland — Part 1
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010Gene and I woke at 4:30 A.M. and headed for the Kosice train station to begin our 10-hour trip to Krakow, Poland. All went well until we arrived in Zilina and had to catch a connecting train. With a 25-minute layover, we were keeping a close eye on the schedule board to ensure we knew the correct platform from which our next train would leave. As the clock clicked closer to our scheduled departure and no platform number appeared on the board, I began looking for someone who might speak my language. “Excuse me,” I said to a 20-something woman standing nearby. “Do you speak English?”
“A leetle,” she said.
A leetle was good enough for me. “We’re going to Katowice,” I said. “Do you know from what platform the train leaves?” She shook her head but said something about taking a bus instead of the train. I thanked her and ran up two flights of concrete stairs to Gene who was guarding our suitcases where we’d deboarded.
I told him the clue I’d learned, and together we hauled our luggage down the stairs into an underground tunnel. Now it was my turn to guard the luggage while he dashed to the ticket counter up a different flight of stairs to get more information. He returned a couple of minutes later. “Go outside,” he said. “There’s supposed to be a bus waiting to take train passengers to the next city!”
We grabbed our bags and hauled them up two different flights of stairs to a sidewalk above ground. Two buses sat idling there. Gene ran to one and asked the driver if the bus was bound for Katowice. The driver grunted, stared out the front window and waved his hand as if to brush Gene off. One passenger saw what happened and tried to help but his English was as sparse as Gene’s Slovak. Finally Gene saw a list of cities printed on the bus wall and pointed at the one we wanted. The passengers shook their heads. “No, no,” they said. As this was happening, the other bus pulled away from the curb. Too bad – turns out that was our bus.
And so our 10-hour trip turned into 15 hours. Thankfully it wasn’t all on trains. We found a coffeeshop with wireless (albeit intermittent) at the station. We enjoyed ice cream and cold drinks while catching up on emails and working on our Bible studies for the upcoming Polish camp. Chalk it up to adventure. Be still and know that He is God over every little detail. Turns out that we met a guy from Ohio on the train we eventually caught, and we were able to plants seeds of truth in his life through conversation with him.
While at the train station, I had an interesting cross-cultural experience. I had to use the WC (water closet aka toilet), so I found my way to the appropriate room. Two women about my age sat at a ticket counter at the room’s entrance. A sign on the ticket counter window told me that I had to pay 20 cents in Euros (about 30 cents CDN). I pushed the coins through the window toward them. The women smiled and pointed at a roll of toilet paper on the counter. I picked it up, they nodded their permission and I went on my way, mindful to return it for the next customer. BTW, men have to pay only 15 cents to use the toilet, unless, of course they require paper. Then the price goes up to 20 cents. Add that to your travel manual!
On to Slovakia
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010Our team traveled to Budapest where we spent the night and then went separate ways the next morning. Gene and I caught a shuttle van to Kosice, Slovakia with one of our team members who will now minister there in an evangelistic family camp with five other Canadian volunteers. She was transporting her personal luggage plus three suitcases loaded with camp supplies, so there was no way we were going to put her on a train to deal with that stuff on her own. Thankfully the van was air-conditioned; it’s hot as blazes and muggy here. Sweat trickles down our necks and backs, and our pants stick to our legs if we sit anywhere too long.
We stayed two nights in a little house down the street from our IM Canada career staff, Brad and Karla Thiessen. I was able to wash our clothes in a washing machine – yahoo! What a treat to do it this way as opposed to in a bathroom sink or on the floor of a hotel shower. I hung the laundry on a makeshift line and it dried in less than an hour, denims included.
I was glad to have several hours to review my manuscript for the study guide that will accompany Moving From Fear to Freedom. The editor has done her job on it and sent some suggested revisions. She also asked me to check several references – that’s a bit tricky to do because I didn’t bring the Bible from which I quoted. Hmmm…I’ll need to find a fix for that so the production process can continue while I’m away.
We had a delightful surprise here. Our IM Canada short-termers were invited to a “garden party” hosted by a woman named Irena and her husband. Irena was my translator when we brought a team to a Slovakian evangelistic family camp in 2008. She and I really hit it off then and have been friends every since. We didn’t know about the party until we arrived here, and she didn’t know that Gene and I were in Kosice until she opened her door and saw us standing on her doorstep. What fun to see the look on her face and to exchange kisses on each other’s cheeks! We even had a few moments to share from our hearts and to pray for concerns. “Thank You, God, for the gift of girlfriends worldwide who share my love for You.”
It was also a delight to meet our IM Canadian short-termers within hours of their arrival here. They didn’t know we’d be here so it was fun to surprise them and have dinner together. I felt sorry for them – they were heavy into jet lag. One of our women sprained her ankle in the afternoon so Irena set her on a futon with her foot elevated and then found ice chips to place on the swelling. Poor thing! She’s wondering what lesson God plans to teach her through this unfortunate accident. She needs our prayers, as does everyone on the team as they head to the camp venue and prepare for a week of sharing God’s love with campers of all ages.
IM short-termers and interns at Irena's garden party
My friend Irena (right)
Join Grace on Facebook
Follow Grace on Twitter
Recent Comments