Camp's Ending

This is Tuesday, and I'm back at home. Our internet was down when we got here...so I had to wait until today to write more.

On Friday of camp, many of the groups were scurrying around to get things done for the evenings' displays & performances. There were drums drumming, instruments playing & painters painting everywhere all day! It was fun to hear & see all the sights and sounds of the day!

Friday nights' performance night was incrdibile! It lasted 3 hours!! We heard all kinds of music, i.e. singing, drumming, guitars...you name it, it was there! Then the drama group did a few performances and the media groups put together some things, it was quite the night!

After the program, at 11:00... Pastor Brian Wright & his wife had our team over for some dessert and kielbasa. It was a great time...and since we were all overly tired, we were in the mode that everything was funny! It was very fun.

On Sat. the plan was to go to Lodz (pronounced Wooj) to see a sight that PROeM is looking at for a church plant, and do some shopping. We were to leave around 10/10:30 or so. Well, then we realized that the camp van was not back yet, so we would have to wait for that...probably leave around 12/12:30 after a light lunch. Then the plans were changed...AGAIN!! The Poland way....so we left around 4 p.m.! But when we got to Lodz, we headed to the coffed shop which is the sight for the church plant. It was a really great space...a coffee shop/art gallery. The plan would be to keep the coffed shop feel and do concerts in the evenings and then worship Sun. mornings. We all loved the space & thought it would be a great space for the church. The city of Lodz is about 750,000-1,000,000 people, and there is only 1 evangelical church in the city at this time. So the harvest is very ripe for the Lord!

After, that we went to old town Lodz. Again, another beautiful area. The streets were all cobblestone and the buildings were gorgeous! We just walked up & down the streets and took in the sights. A couple of us went down a side street and found an incredible Catholic church. So we took pictures and as we just asked each other if we should try to go inside, the door started opening....we took this as a sign to go! But there was NO ONE there opening the door! A little creepy! But it was magnificent inside!!! As we were walking around inside, we heard some people walking up to the church, and when we looked out, there was a bride & groom about to get married! So we slipped out and went on our way! It was very fun!

When the group all met back up, we went to a very large mall...Manufactura. This mall was built in the downtown area in some old warehouses that were falling apart! And then some new areas were built on to it. It was HUGE! And it was voted the 2nd interesting mall in all of Poland! They even had a sand volleyball pit in the middle of it! But by then, most of us were pretty tired!

We headed back to the camp and arrived around 10:30. And we had to leave around 3:30a.m. So we pretty much just headed straight to bed! However, this was our 4th move throughout the week! And by the time we got to these beds...they were full of sand, we had no sheets, and it had rained, so everything was pretty damp!!! We girls were very tired and beyond the point of understanding! But we made due and had a short nap!

We headed to the airport at 3:30. Keith, James, Brooke, Maddie, Kent, and Jared checked in and caught their plane. While David, Tammy & I took turns sleeping in the airport until we checked in around 9:30 for our 12:10 flight. Our flights were good, quite smooth. And we arrived in Chicago airport a little early! Which was good because we only 1hr and 20 min. to get thru customs and get to our connecting flight to K.C. However, I claimed some Polish sausage, called Kabanosa, for Kevin & Tyler to try. And apparently, you can't bring in meat to the U.S. So, they went all through my luggage and took the sausage! UGH!! But we took off running and made our flight! Our whole team was on this flight together!

When we arrived in K.C. many family members were there waiting for us. But David, Tammy & my luggage was not! But it was delivered to me Mon. night. So it's all good.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to go on the trip...but I'm also thankful to be home...to sleep in my own bed, take a shower w/o shoes on, have ice!, etc.,etc., etc.

Now, I start planning for next years' trip! Lord willing!

Thursday

Last night was beautiful! The weather was gorgeous, the sky was full of stars! God's presence was truly here!
We had a picnic in the yard last night for dinner....cooked Polish sausage on an open fire! It was date night, so the couples got to go thru the dinner line 1st...
Then after dinner, some of the music groups that got together played for us out on the lawn. Then Exodus 15 played and did a great concert. It was about 60ish...so a jacket felt good.
After the concert, a few of us went to a darker part of the camp and watched the sky! It was SO bright with all the stars! The night was very peaceful and I felt very near God. I got to know some new girls last night too....Syliva, Kasha, and Maja. We had a good time dancing and listening to the music and then looking at the stars.
Today has been a very good day. The main session was just a question and answer time. It is amazing to realize sometimes that teenagers deal with the same issues no matter where they live. There were two main questions. One was about Creation vs. Evolution and the other was about how to put God in our lives everyday! Rufal(the camp director) did a very nice job answering those questions!
It's hard to believe that the week is about to end. We will have performances tonight and then most of the kids leave tomorrow.
Our group will be going to Lodz (pronounced Wooj) to do some shopping and sight seeing. Then Sunday morning we leave at 4 a.m.!!! The first groups' flight is around 7:45 and then the rest of us leave around noon. The week has gone by SOO fast!
God is good. He is opening doors for us all to talk to kids who are searching for Him. He gives us strength, He gives us the words that are needed at that time! I am thankful for His faithfulness!
I will write later....now time for one last choir practice before we perform tonight!

More info

If you would like to see the choir in action, go to:
www.fishart2008.blogspot.com
Then go to Tues night's video...the choir is featured on that!
It's fun!

Thursday

Last night's service was AMAZING! 35 kids came forward to make some kind of decision. I'm not sure how many were 1st time...but a very emotional evening.
The workshops that are offered this way are choir, drums, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drama, media, blogging, and painting. So there is really something for everyone to do. And then we will all perform or display our work on Friday night. This afternoon, there will be a beach party at the river.
Tonight, there will be a picnic banquet in the yard outside the dining hall. And then worship & a concert by Exodus 15, the Polish band that leads worship here. I'm pretty excited because they have a great sound!
This morning the main radio station from Tomasckow came & interviewed a couple of the girls in choir and then recorded them singing! Polish people are typically shy people, and the girls sure were! But they sang beautifully! The radio station was doing a piece on cheaper ways to vacation in Poland, and they are featuring PROeM ministries as one of them! So our choir might be famous! :)
Today is gorgeous...it's about 2:00p.m. and only about 75-78 degrees! The sun is out and a light breeze is blowing, so it's quite nice.
I am headed to take a nap!! I'm very sleepy today! And tonight will be a late night, so it is well needed!
Will write later!

Wednesday...week half over!!

The last couple of days have gone by so quickly! Yesterday, I got to go into Warsaw to visit a church there. There are only 2 Christian churches in Warsaw....1 is 70 yrs old and they stared another church 7 yrs ago. The new church is the one we visited. They started with 70 people, and are now running 450-500! They believe it is a true miracle!! Unheared of in Poland! Their joy & excitement in the Lord was refreshing to be around! They truly love God & know that He is in their country, even tho there are so few Christians here. It was surreal to look around at the people and know that many of them are 1st generation Christians! That is hard for us to fathom! But their faith was challenging to make my fresh again!
The choir is going very well. I've had private "voice" lessons with man of the girls...whoever wanted them. That's where I've gotten to know them better. They love Jesus so much! We are now not singing the Polish song...we just ran out of time. So, we've added another English song...an arrangement of Amazing Grace.
Tonight is their BIG evangelistic service! They preach salvation really strongly on Wed night & often will have about 40-50 decisions made for Christ! I look forward to it very much. They asked me to sing special music. I brought an arrangement of "Just As I Am"...I think that was a God thing.
Today, I walked about 3/4 of a mile into the village. We went to the little grocery store for water, fruit, and got some sausages...YUMMY! They don't eat much fruit or veggies, so we've all been craving them. The store was only about 10x16....but completely FULL!!! Very quaint! It is so fun seeing how they live their lives.
I've got to run....will try to write more tonight!

OK, so first of all....I'm a dork. I didn't get the pictures on this blog...I'll have to work on that. Or I'll just show you all in person!

Today has been great so far. I met with the choir for the first time....all girls. And they have a beautiful sound!! I'm very happy, releaved, and excited about it! We will perform 2 English songs, and 1 Polish song. I look forward to learning a song in Polish!
They have great worship services here...some songs in English and some in Polish. I'm trying to learn the words....get them translated and the be able to sing in Polish!!! We'll see. It's fun!

We have 7 girls in our cabin....3 Americans and 4 Poles. They are very nice and love speaking English. And also love when we try to say Polish words...get a good laugh sometimes too!!!

I need to run. I'm working on some things for my next choir time. I'll try to blog soon.

Jin Dobrae (good day)

Pictures so far!