Mission Teams

Our first mission team of the summer was from our home church in San Antonio, Texas..... FBC.  They have been on Polish soil several times and brought some old and new faces to minister here on Polish soil.  They came ready to serve in so many ways!

When they were not working, we filled them up with scrumptious Polish food.........

They got the unique opportunity to be native speakers in an Ethics class, discussing in small groups the various ethical issues we find in relationships.  This topic allowed many discussions to turn toward spiritual directions, and we had the opportunity to connect with students we had met in previous meetings at this university.

Here's the whole group standing on the oldest street in Krakow !!

Enjoying the Rynek at night.............blessings the Hesskew kids and helping Kaleb celebrate his birthday!

The team got to eat a meal with us in our home, bringing part of our "SA home" over the ocean to us!

For 3-4 days, the whole team labored at our local Baptist church remodeling our common meeting and fellowship area...........our Cafe.  We even put some of their artist talents to work in painting a beautiful mural of the narrow road on the wall.  Kristi and Kate left a beautiful mark on this land!!

They got a traditional Polish meal prepared for them by ladies in our church as a THANK YOU !!!

They helped cheer on two of our favorite football teams, and our favorite local American football coach, Coach Al !!

They soaked up the beauty of Krakow, lived life with us, served us, and encouraged us !!  We are so thankful for our church home in San Antonio !!!

Green School

Every year each class take a trip with their teachers called Zielona Szkola (Green School).  This is considered part of school and along with daily trips each day, they have lessons as well.  Kaleb's zielona szkola was a 7 day trip to the Polish seaside.  They had 2 teachers accompanying 20 students.  They left at 12:40am on a 9 hour train ride, then had another 1 hour bus ride to their hotel at the far northern tip of Poland.  Kaleb stayed in a hotel room with 4 other boys (no adults).

Mind you, this is a cultural norm here...................all these details would be a lawsuit waiting to happen in America, but for Poles, this is just what Polish school children do every year !!

I can't say that I like this cultural tradition..(I feel so much better when they return home safely), but Kaleb loves it !!

Here are a few shots we captured at departure and arrival at the train station here in Krakow:

 Chaos getting on the train !!  Kaleb was so excited and awake despite the fact that it is in the middle of the night..........

Kaleb learned some valuable lessons on this trip, like budgeting out his spending money during those last 3 days so that he had money to buy a snack for the train ride home.  He also learned the value of eating whatever you are served at mealtime, so that you're not starving later that day.

Their ride home was a step up from the train at the beginning of their trip.  We have a new train line in Poland that is pretty elegant.  Kaleb called from the train to tell us about all the amenities he was enjoying -- his own personal reading light, airplane-type seating, bathrooms with sensors, etc.  A child's perspective is so precious !!!

 Introducing the new Pendolina train........

 there he is............our boy, with the blurry wave!  

(I was glad to NOT be the only mom there with a camera embarrassing my kid.)

We've heard stories for days................such adventures he had.  And I think he actually missed us!!  I know we sure missed him!  Thankful for the adventurous spirit of our kids that afford them special memory-making opportunities like these !!!

Odds and Ends from Spring 2015

This post is just a collaboration of random photos from this spring to document life and events in the life of our family.

The Polish schools have a celebration called Karniwal, where the kids get to dress up and have class parties for the day.  I'm sure this celebration is one of the few that are in no way connected to the Catholic faith, and most don't know the meaning behind this fun celebration.   We don't either, but we gladly take part............at least the kids do.

This year, Arin went as Pippi Longstocking:

At Easter, Kaleb got the honor of role playing Jesus in his class program.  He didn't have any lines this year as the action was played out while a narrator was speaking off stage.  Kaleb really enjoyed the honor he was given !!!

Getting ready to start.............finally, a smile for the camera.....

Jesus, helping God create the world.....

Nailing Jesus's hands to the cross....

The take-home story was that each of us are really the guilty ones, whose sin put Jesus on the cross.  Then He conquered and defeated that ultimate punishment for our guilt when He rose again.

We got to celebrate Easter at our Polish church Misja Laski.  I was thankful everyone was well................it's been a rough spring on the Hesskew clan as far as health.

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In April, Kirstin had the opportunity to attend a women's conference in Naples, Italy.  This was organized through a ministry called Pure Joy.  They fund missionary women at these retreat for spiritual refreshment and encouragement.  They bless us beyond measure and cover all costs except for transport to/from the retreat hotel.  It was a wonderful time spent with other women and with the Lord !!!  I needed a few days after the retreat just to process all the spiritual feeding!

Here are a few shot of Naples................