Brooks June Newsletter

It has been quite a while since I have written anything…sorry. We have had quite a crazy month and I am glad that we are now in July. I am trying to get caught up on all the things I didn’t get done in June because of illness, traveling, and AGM. On top of all of this Emily and I are both sick. I have been sick with bronchitis since last Thursday of Friday and Emily has been sick with laryngitis for a couple days now. We feel like old people in the mornings when we get out our handfuls of pills, ointments, and steam therapies. Please pray that we will get better soon. Also pray for the Stevenson’s, three out of the five of them are sick too!

Updates

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging emails. Here is what we know right now. Lydia and their middle daughter are still in Budapest. She has been diagnosed with epilepsy and they are currently trying to get her medicine regulated to stop her seizures. We have talked to her several times this week and she still sounds like her chirpy little self. She had a seizure while I was talking to her on the phone this week and when it was over, I was crying and she said, “Don’t cry Aunt Emily, I’m okay.” She’s a tough little girl. Please continue to pray for the Stevensons. We aren’t sure how much longer they are going to stay in Budapest. Pray that they would be able to sleep at night and be rested in the mornings. Please pray that her medicine would start to work and that she and Lydia could come home soon. Thank you for all your prayers!

Kevin’s Granddad
Many of you have been praying for my Granddad. He had lung cancer and it spread to his brain and other parts of his body. We got a phone call from my dad on Sunday telling us that Granddad had past away early that morning. It is hard to be away from our family in this time. We would like to thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for our family as we are going through this hard time.

Dear Prayer Partners,

We have an urgent request for prayer for our team. Our supervisors’, Sean and Lydia Stevenson, middle daughter needs your prayer. She has been having episodes where she spaces out. They have become more and more frequent each day. They went to Warsaw today to have her tested and the doctors think she may have epilepsy. Please pray for her. She is 7 years old. Pray that God would give Sean and Lydia peace and that they would be able to rest at night. Please pray that God would show the doctors what is wrong and what to do. Pray that her little body would be healed. Thank you so much for all your prayers. We will keep you updated as we learn more! Kevin and Emily

English Club

Our discussions at English Club have been really great lately. We have been talking about the church and its function and sharing "our stories" of who we are and how we became who we are. Tonight one of the women in our group said that she had met people before who said they were Christians but didn't do what they said they believed during the week. She said that when she met us, she saw that we did the things we said we believed in and that we were different. What an awesome responsibilty we have here. It's so important that what you believe in your heart and head shows through you actions. It touches people more than we know! Lord, please make us more like You!

We have been super busy, sorry we've been out of contact for a little while. God reminded us about a promise tonight with this beautiful display outside of our back window tonight. Thank you for praying for us. We are doing well working with our English group. They are now meeting here in our home and the conversation/Bible study is leaning a lot more in the Bible study direction. Please continue to pray that those in our group will trust in Christ! 

Here's The Birthday Girl

Our middle daughter had her 7th birthday this last Sunday! Here is a picture of her and all her birthday stuff. We had a great time pinning the tiara on the princess, fishing for prizes and scavenger hunting. Kevin and Emily Brooks were here as well as our Uncle Joe, a missionary from Warsaw. We all had a great time celebrating. Happy Birhtday!

Candles lit for the Pope

This is a picture of the steps of the government offices in Olsztyn. The plaza in front of the building is named after the former Pope. All over Poland, Poles came to light candles on streets and in plazas named after him. We estimated that there were several thousand in this spot alone. Please pray with us that many Poles will place their hope in Jesus Christ alone.

The Catholic churches in Poland are packed with mourners. Here is one of the local churches in our area. Pray that many people would come to know Jesus Christ as their Savoir through this time of turmoil.

Spring has officially arrived in Poland! The water has melted in some places and the storks have returned from their long winter in Africa. We are warming up and so is everyone around us. People are out of their houses and in the streets walking around and riding their bikes. People are crowded into shoe stores buying spring shoes, there were lines today like we have never seen before. We went out today in search of storks because we heard they were in the area, Lydia even thought that she saw a pair yesterday so today we packed up the van and went to the country. Success!!! We found two. This is the one we could get closest to, isn't it a beauty? We hope you are all enjoying spring where you are and thank you for praying for us.  

The Pope

As most of you know, the Pope is nearing death. Many of you may not know that he is Polish. Our country is about to enter a time of deep mourning. Poles see the Pope as a father figure. Please pray that in this time of loss that they would seek God as their Father! Please pray for the Polish people that God would comfort them and that He would use this time of pain to draw them into a PERSONAL relationship with Him!

Today (Saturday the day before Easter Sunday) is a big day in Poland. Each family packs a basket of eggs, meat, bread, cake, salt and decorate the baskets with greenery and lace. They take these baskets to their local church for a blessing by the priest. The items in the basket are symbolic of the foods that they will eat on Easter Sunday. Pray for the people in Poland who will be eating these foods on Sunday. Pray that they will know that Jesus Christ is the only bread that will give them eternal life. 

Here is a picture from our football party. There were a total of 14 people there, 11 ladies and 3 guys. People wore various shades of blue, green and yellow to support their teams. it turned out to be very much like an American party because by the second quarter most of the ladies were in the kitchen talking. We all did come back together for the end of the game. The Packers won the game and there was mass hysteria in our apartment from the Packer fans. Okay, that isn’t true, but we all had a great time and we got to build some new relationships, and strengthen those that already exist.
 

Gray Skies Are Gonna Clear Up...

Just to make me look silly the sun decided to come out as I was publishing the last post
 

Nearly all of our snow had melted and so we thought winter was gone, but we were wrong! Tomorrow is the first day of spring here but winter is trying to hang on as long as possible by attacking us with big fat white snowflakes.
 

Rams vs. Packers

On Saturday we are having a football party at our house. We have invited all of our friends from English club and many of our other friends. It is going to be a "traditional" football party with nachos and cheese, bbq smokies, chips, cupcakes, and Coke. Our friends have chosen a team to root for and are going to wear that team's colors. Please pray that this will be a good time to just hang out and strengthen already good relationships. Also pray that we will be able to fit the over 20 people that are coming into our little apartment.

Polish/English Bibles

We would like to thank you for your prayers about the Bibles for English club. We gave about 11 away this week and have a few more to give to people who didn't come this week.

We got an email from a rather new member of our group that say's that since he has been coming to English club he has an interest in the Bible. Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will give our friends a desire to read His word and to know Him.

Check it out I'm Shooting Skeet

Late nights with Drunk Bikers (this is a little long but it's a good story)

Last night on our way home from Sean and Lydia's house I noticed a guy sitting on the sidewalk, in the snow, with his bike. It was really late (around midnight) so Emily and I stopped to see if he was okay and by the time we got back to him he was asleep in the snow. We woke him up and asked if he needed help but he said he was okay and went on his way.

I really started to feel like I needed to help this guy so I took Emily home and came back to him. He had made it about 100 yards in that time and was stumbling all over the place. I started walking with him and talking with him, even though he said he was fine. We went for five minuets or so before I asked him where he lived and he said in Bartąg which is probably an hour walk. I knew that there was no way he would make it so I convinced him to put his bike in my trunk and get in my car. This is where the fun starts. I should also say that this was all in Polish, and it was at about midnight and didn't end until about 1:30 in the morning.

I start heading toward Bartąg and he then tells me he wants to show me around Olsztyn. I just ask him again where he is going and how to get there. So he tells me Bartąg so I keep going towards Bartąg. When we get to this small town he starts to give me directions but I realize that he is taking me on a tour. So I again ask him how to get to his house. He tells me to turn around and then to "go straight, always go straight." We start heading toward the town of Ruś and when we get there he tells me that he lives in Bartąg but he wanted me to see Ruś. We start heading back toward Bartąg when we come up to a sign for another little city and he tells me to go toward it. So I stop the car and start to really question him while I struggle to understand his drunken slurred Polish. I tell him that he said that he lives in Bartąg and he tells me his house is in this other city. I ask him again just to make sure, then I ask him how long it will take to get there. I take him and finally he is home. He thanks me over and over again and I tell him that I want to help people because I love Jesus Christ and in the Bible He tells us to love people.

MY PRAYER WAS AND IS THAT THIS YOU YOUNG MAN, named Waldek, WILL REMEMBER THAT HE RODE WITH A BAPTIST WHO LOVES JESUS AND WANTS TO HELP PEOPLE.

A Quick Update from the USA

Hello all you great people out in cyberspace. I just wanted to write a little post to tell you that we are having a great time here in Jonesboro, AR. It has been such a blessing to us to get to fellowship here with our brothers and sisters. We have been greatly ministered too, through prayer, fellowship, scriptures, and lots and lots of great food! We are thankful that we have had this opportunity to come to Central Baptist Church and feel refreshed, encouraged, and ready to return to Poland to see what God has in store for the next 10 months.