It has finally turned cold enough here in NE Poland for the lakes to freeze solidly. We have been feeling quite frozen lately! This is a picture we took today at nearby Lake Ukiel. Lake Ukiel is about 1 mile away from our house. It was the first time any of us have walked on a frozen lake, it was really neat. At the shore, you could see through the ice to the lake bottom. The girls had a great time sliding around on the ice. The region we live in is a tourist area. In the summer there is sailing, fishing and swimming and in the winter, ice sailing and ice fishing. 

Do you ever have one of those days where you can totally see the sovereignty of God? One of those days that God keeps putting the same person on your heart over and over again. Yesterday was English club night and we saw God put every thing together for his glory and to draw one of our friends closer to Him. We were supposed to have several people come last night, but through different circumstances, school, work, sick children, etc…God brought only one person, the exact person that he wanted to be there. It was great to get to talk with our friend, study the scriptures, discuss things that she has doubts and questions about, and at the end of the evening, get to pray for her. I pray that soon, she will put her faith and trust in the Lord and not wait until she has all the answers because we won’t have know all of the answers in this life.

Here's a funny story from the other night. On Thursday nights I play football (soccer) with some of the guys from church. Before I left one of the guys came by my house to pick me up, not knowing I already had a ride. He said it was better anyway because he had to drop off his wife and daughter before we played. When he showed up at the game he told me that he had to explain to his daughter who I was because when she saw me in my red hat and puffy beard she thought I was Santa Claus.

Second Grade, Polish Style!

Our oldest daughter had a class presentation in her second grade class at her polish school. She was a snowflake. She loved it! In this scene, she and the other two snowflakes are throwing snow on a little girls who sells matches to make money. You can tell that they all are having a great time! In polish school, the parents sit around the edge of the class and watch the presentation. When it is over, the room moms serve hot coffee and tea and the kids play games. It was very nice for us and our daughter had a big smile! It is exciting for us to see here fitting in with her classmates, speaking and singing in polish and having a great time! Thank you so much for praying for us and our daughters as we serve the Lord in Poland! God bless you all!

It's just a little different over here!

Even after 2 years in Poland, there are times when we are just struck by how different things are over here! This week Kevin and I went to our corner grocery store to pick up some snacks for our trip to Torun. It's the kind of store where everything is behind the counter and you have to ask for what you want. I got my pretzels and juice, and Kevin want a Coke so he asked for one and the woman said, "just a minute" She came out from behind the counter, walked over to the Coke machine, plugged it in and unlocked it to get him a Coke. It seems that the Coke machine was is mostly for storing the Cokes, not cooling them! Then the next day when we were in Torun, we were all really excited because there was a Mexican restaurant there. When we were ordering, Sean asked the waitress what she recommended...She recommended the chicken filet, the pierogi, and the glamki (stuffed cabbage rolls). We should have been nervous since she didn't recommend any ACTUAL Mexican food, but we pressed on. I ordered a Chimichanga and when it came to the table, it looked pretty good. However, it was a tortilla covered in marinara sauce, and was filled with some sort of Manwhich meat and chopped pickles. INTERESTING! It's always an adventure in another country!

Lydia, Emily, and the girls watching ice skaters in Torun on Thursday. 

This picture was taken Saturday night at a baptism ceremony. In this picture, two local pastors, who we work with, are praying for these new believers.
 

Tonight was our first night back with English club. We thank you for your continued prayer for these groups. We are excited about this new session and the opportunity it brings to help improve our students' English and the sharing the of Scriptures. Please pray for our new Bible study; the next six weeks we will be looking at key stories from the Old Testament. Please pray that they will see God's faithfulness in His promises, and that now He has provided the final and PERFECT sacrifice for our sins.