Lots to Process

I am way overdue on blogging, but I've honestly been putting it off because there's just been so much to process. I'm afraid none of it will make sense coming out of my head. So here goes the hard work of processing out loud.

We are walking through history with our host country right now. The tragic death of a large number of this country's leaders this past weekend has been devastating for this nation. The circumstances surrounding the location of the plane crash, the large concentration of all the country's leaders being lost in one day, and the unprecedented void left behind has been very surreal for the people we see each day coming and going. Although we are in the midst of them, it is still difficult to truly relate as a foreigner. We have seen reactions of heartbreak, absolute shock, fear over who might politically take advantage, and even guilt over a lack of support for the president. I have learned alot watching them grieve and process this tremendous loss. We are currently exercising a 7 day mourning period here in Poland. What does this mean? Well, it is interestingly tied to many cultural rituals...........with rules. So much of life here is overwhelmed with cultural expectations and rules. Even in their deepest times of crisis, they revert back to establishing and then maintaining the cultural norms. This is what they know...........and hence, there is security there.

It paints a very clear picture as to why Poles have a works-based faith.

Oh, how I long for them to get a taste of the freedom in Christ. That they would taste and see that the Lord is good! How light His burden can be for them !!!

Oh, to be able to speak their heart language at a time like this!

Which brings me full circle with my greatest struggle here.......the language barrier. With the known difficulty of the Polish language and the abundance of English speakers here in Krakow, it would be so easy to cut my losses with learning the Polish language and be free from this struggle............but my heart just doesn't comply. My heart longs to be able to communicate effectively on a deeper level. But until God blesses me with a miracle, or I've had 5+ years of language immersion (according to the stats)..............I've got to trust that HIS power IS made perfect in my weakness.

So, we continue to learn, become experts in pantomime, and trust that our actions and non-verbals somehow express the love we have for them growing in our hearts.

Here's to another day of being a common vessel..............filled up with HIM, available to be poured out on Poles. Dobranoc (goodnight)