Pray For Poland

the HOPE

2010-04-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

These are some photos I took yesterday as we walked around. We didn't make it to the downtown area where the government buildings are, but I can imagine that they are covered with flowers and candles. We did wander into a large Catholic cathedral (the boys love to see the stained glass and ornate architecture) and we got such a feeling of hopelessness in there. People were praying, but they came out looking just as sad as they went in! I am so glad for the HOPE that is within us and I pray that we can share it with others.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

2010-04-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a plane crashed. On it, the Polish president, his wife, and many many top advisors and military officials. They were traveling to Russia to honor the memory of Polish officers massacred during WWII. And now they, too, have entered eternity. We are praying for this nation and the families and friends of those lost.

2010-04-07T05:50:00.001-07:00

On Easter Sunday the children performed the song "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" for the church. I found the motions for it on youtube and they had such a great time sharing the message of Easter:

You came from heaven to earth

To show the way

From the earth to the cross

My debt to pay

From the cross to the grave

From the grave to the sky

Lord, I lift Your name on high!

First Popsicle

2010-04-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's April 1st and those of you who know me as a blogger may, ahem, think that it is a joke when I say that I am going to give this a go. Again. I will admit that there are certain things that I am completely sporadic about - journaling, writing things in my day planner, balancing the checkbook (which is why Joel took that over). . . but I WILL TRY. So, instead of trying to tell you everything that has happened so far here in POLAND (did I mention that we are in Poland now!!??!!), I'm going to tell you what's on my heart at the moment.

Let me say that things are different here, which is probably no surprise to you. But, I personally didn't think I would experience "culture shock." Well, I have. Because when something seems "normal" to you, it's hard to step out of your box. So, something that is different here is that people are not as "friendly" with strangers as we are used to. Rarely smiling, making eye contact or chatting on the bus. The exception to this, which I am so very grateful for, is with children. It is perfectly acceptable to be friendly to kids and parents seem to warm up to us because we are kind to their children. I gave a little girl a flower on the bus and her mom and brother repeatedly thanked me; moms on the playground have become very friendly after I have helped their child down from the monkey bars or picked up a fallen toddler. Smiling and making silly faces at babies doesn't just make the babies smile - the parents do too!

It is difficult to communicate well with people when you don't speak their language. But everyone understands the language of kindness. Remember the saying "actions speak louder than words"? Well, I hope our actions glorify the One who is in us. And as for words: we would like to print flyers (in Polish) to hand out to those parents that we meet, inviting them to bring their children to the new children's ministry that we hope to launch mid-May!

Progress in the children's ministry:

1. Puppets are coming later this month!

2. The shell of the puppet stage has been constructed by Joel and Rich; I have to find a place to purchase fabric to make curtains.

3. Curriculum is purchased! It is super-hero themed and we are totally looking forward to using it!

And in case you are wondering at the title and photo at the beginning of this blog, it references a bit of culture shock (really, just a new experience, but with the shock of potential brain freeze) that we provided for a small guest in our home, which she truly enjoyed, her FIRST popsicle! Frozen juice on a stick was a true experience for her. She kept saying "mmmmmm", which by the way, means the same thing in Polish as it does in English :-)

2010-01-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

The boys are ready for chilly weather in these hats!

An excerpt from the newsletter I am sending out tonight:

The day we have been waiting and praying for is finally drawing near!

In just over a week, our family will be on Polish soil. In some ways it feels like the culmination of two and a half years’ work, but really, it is just the beginning. . .

We are filled with anticipation, knowing that the Lord has awesome things in store for the year; that all of this has come about in HIS time, not our own.

We look forward to reaching out to the children and youth of Warsaw - sharing the good news of Jesus with them in a way that is engaging, fun, and REAL! We plan to assist with VBS and outreaches during the summer, and to lend a hand at a recently donated piece of property that will become a campground filled with kids hungry for the Truth.

There are many exciting things happening in Warsaw and we want to thank YOU for being a part!

Open up before God, keep nothing back: he’ll do whatever needs to be done.

-- Psalm 37:5 {the Message}

Moving Forward!

2010-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

We have financial clearance! (That means we have "raised" enough funds). This week we should be getting our visa/travel clearance and then we will be able to purchase tickets! One step at a time. . . whether baby steps or giant leaps. . . we are grateful.

Time for an Update!

2009-11-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,

As you can see, this blog has been rather "neglected" for some time. Now that we are approaching our departure to Poland (YAY!!!), I will be updating regularly. We are very close to fulfilling our budget and expect to leave in January. Right now that means lots of preparation: working out the details of leaving our house, selling our car (we already sold one), placing our dog in "foster" care, getting paperwork in order - I need to collect copies of birth certificates, our marriage license, get international drivers' licenses, etc. Details! Perhaps too mundane for you to read about, but an important part of the process. Thank you for all of your prayers and support - I'll see you back here soon!

Poland, Here We Come!

2009-01-18T17:26:00.000-08:00

We are visiting Warsaw, Poland for the first time next month! It is going to be an awesome time of vision and learning. More to come. . .

2008-09-25T08:02:00.001-07:00

Here are some family photos that our kind friend, Sarah, took for us. We are going to use them on our new prayer cards, as well as other promotions,etc. Actually, we just used one of them for our flyer for next Monday night. We will be doing a celebrity tip night at Ponderosa in Gaylord (thanks June for setting it up)! Our friends and family will be helping us serve and all of the tips plus 10% of the evening's sales will go to our AGWM account! Plus, Bill & Kelly are printing Pray for Poland shirts for everyone to wear! Thank you! We're very excited and it should be lots of fun!

Pictures!

2008-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yay! I have a couple photos from the camp, thanks to Pastor Peter!

Sports Camp

2008-06-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ah, I can't believe we've been home for over a week and I haven't said a word about the Polish sports camp! These summer days go by so quickly. . .

Well, first of all, let me explain why there are no pictures. About an hour down the road, I realized that I had forgotten our camera. I packed everything but the kitchen sink. . . and the camera! I decided to try to find an inexpensive camera, which I did, but I have yet to connect it to my computer. Luckily I met a new friend who will email me some pictures in the future. Until then, here are the highlights.

1. The new friend I mentioned happens to have 2 little boys, very close in age to Caedmon and Ansel. They hit it off so well, which made for a great weekend for them. The sad part was that Caedmon was crying very hard when we had to leave.

2. We really enjoyed the bonfire, complete with kielbasa - everyone huddled around the fire with these huge sausages - I have to agree that they were much tastier than marshmallows.

3. For me, the best part was worshipping with our new friends. They were singing in Polish, but I was familiar with some of the songs and it was wonderful to lift our hearts together.

The Weekend

2008-06-19T04:38:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we're heading to a service in the Lansing area (Bikers' Church with Pastor Joe!) and then we are off to Fa-Ho-Lo Camp for the Polish Sports Camp this weekend. We are so looking forward to meeting new friends and gaining more knowledge of culture and language. We hope many of you enjoy The Big Ticket while we are away! And if you won't be there, be blessed wherever you are!

P.S. There's a really great video that the Riccardelli's posted on their blog. I have had no luck posting it here (technical issues?) but if you get a chance, check it out via their blog or on You Tube. The title is "Cardboard Testimonies." It was powerful for me to see God's restorative work in so many lives! I've been thinking about what my own cardboard testimony might be. . .

Budget Update

2008-06-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a quick update on how our budget is coming along. This is the short version: cash 59%; monthly pledges 14%. If you want some of the details, please continue reading. . .

We are currently at about 59% of our cash budget. That is so exciting! We are trying to get approval to lower our cash budget, which would mean that we would be at about 76%. Basically, we are asking them to eliminate a car from our budget. We would like to use public transportation or purchase something from our personal funds when we sell our current vehicles. We hope to hear if we will be able to do this in the next month. What is exciting about our cash budget is that once it is fulfilled, it starts rolling into our monthly support. So, essentially, every dollar that comes in after our cash budget is at 100% gets divided by 24 (months) and applied to our monthly. Our monthly support is at 14%. But that would make it's way up if we start applying the cash! We are even trying to lower our monthly budget a little bit (hard, since we're going to Europe). We are hoping to find less expensive housing, which would help with the monthly. Every little cut will help us get there more quickly!

WHEW! I know that is tons of information, and I hope you are not too confused. Sometimes we are, when it comes to this budget stuff! Our intention is not to confuse anyone, but we know lots of people are curious about our budget: how it works and how far along we are. Be encouraged! We are! And thank you!

Polish Food

2008-06-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

I'm all about simple food. I was just browsing around a site featuring Polish recipes and found one I would like to try soon. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Potatoes baked with Eggs & Cream

Delicious and very easy to make traditional dish.

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3 cups diced cooked potatoes

salt & pepper

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped chives or spring onions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Pour butter into the bottom of an oven proof casserole

3. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper

4. Mix together, eggs and sour cream and pour over potatoes

5. Top with chives, cover and bake for 1 hour.

Gotta Have Faith

2008-06-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

It just so happens that the message this morning at our church was all about faith. And as I sat there listening and applying, this is what was going through my head:

This journey that we are on is building our faith. If every dollar came in instantly, then what would that do for us? It might get us to Poland, but would we have the faith that we needed to be effective. And of course, we would not meet nearly as many people along the way. People who we hope to encourage in their faith walk. And people who encourage us. God's way is the best way. It's not fast food. That's not good for you anyways.

(But on a completely non-spiritual and personal note: after so much traveling, our children are now asking for McDonald's by name, and for those of you who know me well, you know that is not something I am proud of. So. . . I will be packing many more healthy snacks in the near future. Goodbye Golden Arches. Well, it sounds like a good plan, anyway).

And if you need a little faith boost: Get in The Word! And send us a note. We'd love to pray for you! Blessings.

The Noeske Family

2008-05-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who know us, you are probably thinking that it is about time that we offered you a place to visit us online. And you are right. While we had hoped to have a fabulous website, we finally decided that a simple blog is the way to go for us right now. So, this is the place.

We could have titled this blog "Pray for the Noeskes" but we know that it certainly is not all about us. It's about a country that needs Jesus. We do need your prayers, however, as we strive to get there. We really can't wait to be in Poland; we believe God has awesome plans! But this is His thing, and we will get there in His timing. Thanks for being interested in our journey and for praying for us. . . and for POLAND!