More Firsts !!!!

Life truly is an adventure here..............and adventure with God is sure to be exciting! --- somtimes a little scary as well............but i'm learning that it's all about perspective !! oh, how I long for HIS perspective hourly!!!! (I'm a work in progress!)

Here are some pics of more of our "firsts" here in Poland:

Our first "sleepover"

..............at Claire's house..........and she's off !!!

Philip came to our house for the sleepover !!!!!

Our first visitors in Poland............Nana and PawPaw !!!!

Greetings at the airport!!!

Taking the tram to Polish Church together

Visiting the Mound

Arial view of our city !!!!

Fortress at the Mound !!!!

Our first horse and carriage ride in the City Square!!!

Arin's first manicure and pedicure in Poland !!!!

First "South Division Champs" Title for the Krakow Tigers !!!

Kaleb got to join the Captains on the field for the coin toss !!!

Albert huddling with the Defense.

Kaleb and PawPaw on the sideline.

First Days of Polish School for Kaleb and Arin !!!!

Arin enjoys new student "Acclamation Day!"

Daddy prays with Arin before her first day of school !!!!

Ready to GO !!!!!

Kaleb is proud of his new Spiderman backpack !!!!

Kaleb's checking out his new classroom !!!

Kaleb and Pani Malgosia -- his Kindergarten teacher who speaks no English !!!! (please pray for our language skills................even more !!!)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures !!! We are certainly enjoying our time with family !!! And the kids are doing well going to Polish school so far !!! (Mommy is learning a whole new realm of trusting the Lord in this uncharted territory!)

We are so thankful for those who pray for us.............those prayers are our lifeline !!! Please let us share in the joy of lifting you up in prayer as well -- we are only a short e-mail away at thehesskews@gmail.com!

I have updated the last of the month's prayer emphasis in the right-hand column...........please keep praying for the work all over Central Europe !!!

Lots of Praises !!!

I have updated the week's prayer points for each day this week !! Check it out.............there are tons of praises to join in on giving thanks for !!! God is moving in so many amazing ways all over Europe !!!

We are also giving praise for another Krakow Tiger victory yesterday !!! They are the South Division Champs ----- WHOOP!!!! (sorry, a little aggie in me coming out!) They had a great game inspite of the cool and rainy day !!! We have a semester missionary who just arrived here in Krakow, Jeremy. He has a passion for working with the football team and helping out wherever he can, and yesterday, he was able to fill some critical gaps on the team due to injuries during the game ---- including a touchdown pass reception !!! He is also staying with some of the football guys for these first 3 weeks, and 3 of them came to our International Church with him tonight !!! Please pray for Jeremy as he serves as a 24/7 witness among these Polish guys!!! Oh, how God could use him................pray with anxious anticipation!!!!!

We are also praising God for the safe arrival of Kirstin's parents here to Krakow !!! They arrived safely last Thursday (though their luggage was quite delayed)!!!!!! We have really enjoyed our time with them so far introducing them to our new city, our new country, and our new people!!!!

We want to say a special thank you for all the supportive notes of encouragement that our home church, Quail Springs in Edmond, sent over with my parents...................words can not express how precious each one has been as we have read them over and over !!! Kaleb and Arin feel so loved because of the special notes and pictures of their friends sent just for them!!! Thank you for loving us so very well !!!!

I will update with some photos soon...................just needed to get these quick praises out before heading to bed !! Hope your day is blessed today............it's a day that the Lord has made, so rejoice !!!!

Prayer Walk in Krakow !!!

Recently the Lord has really put prayer walking on my heart !!! I'm being convinced more all the time that we have no business being here to share the light of Christ if we have not put in the critical work of praying for His light to be received here to the fullest !!! Some teammates of ours have put together a prayer walking guide through some critical areas of ministry here in Krakow. If you have the opportunity to come here with a volunteer team, you will likely have the opportunity to do this very prayer walk !!! But if you do not, I thought I would give you a glimpse through the eyes of my camera from a couple of weeks back:

Heading out: our local tram stop..........riding the public transportation gives us great opportunities to pray for those around us everyday !!!

First stop: Church building where our International Fellowship meets each Sunday evening.

Beautiful scenery and beautiful artwork near the city's center --- surrounded by people who do not know the Creator of this beauty.

Stop #2: Hotel Polski -- location of Coffee House every Friday night. (right across the street from the art gallery pictured above.)

Passing through the Rynek.......the city square !!! I know you've seen this area before on our blog, but look closely and notice all the people who may need your intercession on their behalf !!! There's not only scenery here, there are precious lives all around !!

Stop #3: Jagellonian University building where ESL ministry takes place. Students here love to practice their English and it opens up great doors to build relationships with this population -- thank you, Lord, for the gift of English !!!!

In transit: a busy intersection that connects the Old City square with the hub of transport, the train and bus stations !!!

Final stop on this tour: Our largest mall -- Galeria Krakowska !!! Filled with people who love the new and modern Krakow with all it's luxuries !!! May they find fulfillment in Christ some day soon !!!! Notice the map and wording on the wall inside the mall, "Find your place in Europe!" Hmmmm.........a deep thought !!! I have found mine.............it's on my knees !!! Won't you come join me?!?!?!

P.S. Week 2 of our prayer emphasis is on the right side of the blog now !!!! Have a great week !!!

Month of Prayer Emphasis !!!!

For all of our prayer warriors, we wanted to share something neat with you !!! This next 30 days, starting today, is a highly "religious" month among central European peoples. So we, along with all of our colleagues in central Europe, will be participating in a focused prayer emphasis each day this month for our people groups. While Poles may be participating in religious activity, we want to be on our knees on their behalf with the most effective religious activity......intercessory prayer!!! It is not only the foundation for our work..............it IS our work !!!!
Daily praises and prayer requests are being sent to us each week, so I will post each week's prayers for you along the right side of this blog. Do you see it over there? I apologize for the fomat...........the narrow column makes it difficult to read. But you can copy and paste them onto another page for you to print out. If you have difficulty with this, please let me know and I will e-mail you the full week's entries !!!!
Each day contains a praise, then some scripture to guide our prayers for a specific barrier that can often prevent Europeans from having a life-saving, life-changing personal walk with their Creator! Just reading through today and tomorrow's entries, I can not express how true and relevant those prayers are for the people we come into contact with here on a daily basis !!! I couldn't possibly write them any better !!!!
So, please come back here daily this week to read and pray through these requests with us !!! The operative word here is PRAY...........there is no power behind the reading of these entries, so please don't take the time to read them without making time to take them before the throne of our King!
Join us on this prayer journey................so that we can be blessed together as we witness His Glory................are you ready ?!?!

Lots 'o Celebrations !!!

This past weekend, we were able to go out on a date to celebrate Kirstin's birthday. Another missionary couple offered to take our kids for the evening as their birthday gift...................it was a great gift --- for all 4 of us !!! The kids had a great time going to a new pool with Aunt Beverly and Uncle Ted................and they fed them hot dogs and macaroni and cheese --- it doesn't get any better !!!! Meanwhile, Albert took Kirstin to a great Italian food restaurant, then down to the Wisla River for a romantic boat ride ! It was so relaxing..............and romantic!!!! (did I mention that already?) Plus, it was fun just to be out after dark...................a novelty for parents of young kids, you know !!!! Krakow is a beautiful city, especially in the evening !!!! From the river, we got to see parts of the Old City we had not seen before:

The Wawel Castle

Another shot of the Castle as we rounded the bend.

Our resident tethered hot air balloon !!!

Self portrait while the sun set !!!

Wawel Castle on the return trip!!!

The balloon descending during sunset !!!

We had another celebration today! Today is the birthday of our language teacher, Kasia! The kids helped make her a small cake and a homemade birthday card. At the conclusion of our lesson, the kids came running in with party hats and noise makers, anxious to sing "Happy Birthday" in both English and Polish to Miss Kasia. They proudly presented their card to her and explained in great detail every picture................it was precious !!!

Kasia was so overwhelmed, she had difficulty finding the words in English to express how she felt behind held-back tears !!! She even stated that it was her best birthday in Krakow !!! Wow !!! It was such a blessing to lavishly love on a Pole...............even through the simplicity of a cake and a card. It really gave us a glimpse of how guarded the hearts are that surround us.............no wonder it's hard for them to grasp the lavish love of a Savior who died on their behalf! Oh, that we can find ways to communicate God's love like this daily.............would you help us pray for hearts made tender by the work of the Holy Spirit, hearts that are ready to embrace His Grace and acceptance.............maybe even Kasia's !!!!!

On the Mend Again!!!! Whew!!!

We have had a rough couple of weeks..............our first round of sickness here in Krakow. Arin got a stomach bug, then 3 of us came down with sore throats and fever in one day. Nothing too severe, but it's a whole new ball game gettting medical care in a foreign land!
We are now recovering, so I thought I would update you with a few of the more enjoyable moments!

Albert and Kirstin got to go out on our First Official Date In Krakow, Poland!!! We got some good food and spent some time in the city square. The restaurant we ate at is one of the Krakow Tigers Football team sponsors, so it was fun to get to support a place who supports our team. It was some of the best food we have had here in this city!!! Check out the size of Albert's plate............a ton of food !!!!




We also got to take some time to stroll the city and some of it's more beautiful park areas...........we truly live in an amazing place!




Our tram route on the way home took us by one of the malls here, so we stopped to capture one of the rarities of this city for you ......................




the only stash of Dr. Pepper sold in this city of 800,000!!!! (We do have our priorities, you know!) Each of these precious cans of heaven sells for $1.65!!!! Kirstin has to savor each sip when we splurge and get one!!!!


We also wanted to take some time to introduce you to our 4 summer interns who spent 3 months of their summer here serving us and serving alongside us !!! Leslie, Christian, and Meleah (Michael not shown). We got to have them over for one last hamburger cookout before they returned home to the States! We have grown to love each of you.................thank you for your passion and sacrifice for our Lord !!!






Updates on ministry: Albert's August schedule is looking pretty full............beginning even today. The new Baseball team has approached Coach Al to see if he would be willing to have more practices during this last summer month, so he is going to be with those guys 2 nights of each week. He is still keeping up with the Bible study on Wednesday nights. And he begins conditioning training with the Football team twice each week in preparation for their intensive Football camp at the end of the month that will be outside of Krakow. Please pray for Albert's leading in this week long camp..............he is hoping to have evening Bible studies or devotions for the whole team during this time! Please begin praying now for teachable hearts!


As a family, we have been discussing the story of Moses quite a bit with our kids.............and it's amazing how fresh and new these "familiar" stories become in God's Word -- it is so alive! We have been awestruck again to see what great lengths our Father goes to bring salvation to His chosen ones! We know that His love for Poles is no different than His love for the Israelites! He desires to rescue them from their strongholds, just as He rescued the Israelites from the oppression of the Egyptians..................oh, that He would show His wonders to the people of Krakow............that they would know the depth of His love for them!!!! May we be a useable vessel like Moses for setting the captives free!!!!!
If you need a good visual, check out the animated film "The Prince of Egypt"!!!!!
Blessings to each of you!!!!