Mom's group begins

This past year, I (Kirstin), had a mom's group that met at our home one morning a week.  Usually, there were 3 of us regulars, although we invited many others along the way.  It was a good time to encourage one another, pray for our kids, laugh, and cry together -- (we did alot of the last two !!)  One neighbor we invited regularly and who showed much interest in coming was Patrycja.  But she never came last year. Although she is really seeking spiritually, I think her average English skills really scared her too much to come to our home.  But, Patrycja CAME to our first meeting yesterday !!  We had 4 of us there -- 2 newbies !!!  Oh, I pray that she felt comfortable and will come again !!  Will you pray for her with me?  I am also planning to ask Agnieszka, the owner of our neighborhood gym to come.  She came to one Bible study meeting this past Spring, but asked if we could do one with just a small group because she didn't understand all the English.  I'm hoping this might be more comfortable for her since it's all Polish women (except me), and I ask them to discuss in Polish so they can express themselves better, whether I understand or not.  We'll see, but I'm very thankful for God's blessing on our first week !!  Can't wait to see what He has in store!

School Days 2011

We have just begun our 2011-2012 school year here in Poland. Our kids will be at the same school for the first time in their lives. (Arin is VERY excited about this fact!) School always starts on September 1st in Poland, but the first day is only opening cermony day. You must wear your 'school uniform' on this first day, then you get to wear regular street clothes the rest of the year. After the cermony on September 1st, everyone goes home with their parents. So, the real first day of school is September 2nd.

Here are the sights from these 2 special days:

Summer Vacation

Before school started, we took a few days of vacation to visit Vienna, Austria. We picked the hottest week Vienna had this year, but we had a great time seeing the city and visiting friends we went through orientation with 2 years ago. (And we had a extra unexpected blessing of having A/C in our hotel room --- score !!!) Our time with the Elledge family was a real blessing for all 4 of us. They have a beautiful city....... different than Krakow, but still beautiful in it's own sense. A beautiful blend of old and new architecture! It was good for us to get away for a few days......and it was great to make some memories with like-minded friends in God's family !! Enjoy this slideshow of some sights from Vienna:

I mentioned in one of the rectent posts about an opportunity to visit a friend's Polish village. Well, here are the pics I promised. I met Justyna at an ESL class. We really hit it off, so I've pursued this friendship as much as I've been able to. This summer, she has gone through a really tough time in her life. She's needed lots of encouragement and support, so we have met regularly. I've been wanting to find out about her faith in God and whether she has a personal relationship with JC. We have talked about so much this summer, and I have loved every minute !! She asked if I would travel to her family home, where she grew up, to meet her family. I was so thankful she asked !! We took a 3.5 hour bus ride with another one of my colleagues (who also went to this ESL class), and we had the adventure of our lives for 4 days !! We met some precious people, saw some beautiful scenery, learned lots of Polish culture, and practiced all the Polish I know !!! Here's a recap of our time with a slideshow:

Hesskew Future Plans......

I just realized that I have not updated our prayer warriors here about what is next for the Hesskew family after this term of service ends in January 2012.
We have been praying for a long time about whether we should return to the States or stay in Poland. We began talking with the IMB about options for us back in January, but kept getting uncertain or conflicting information about whether there was a spot for our family to continue to serve overseas. So, we sought out to only hear from the Lord regarding HIS desire for our family. From Him, we felt confirmed that He was not yet calling us back to the States. We didn't want to return to the States by default, but only if He were calling us back there to serve. Our hearts are here among the Polish people. We have enjoyed life and ministry here in Krakow, God has blessed our kids with amazing adaptation, and we feel that there is still much work to be done here among these lives. So, we just had to wait and trust that God would provide a way for us to stay in Poland. At our company meeting in July, we got word that we would have the option of returning to the field with the IMB !! We felt a great sense of relief and joy with this long-awaited news !!
So, we will return to the States at the end of the year, spend the Christmas holidays with our families, get appointed as career missionaries with the IMB, then return to Polish soil in June 2012. We hope that we will get a chance to share with you, who are in the States, about our time here in Poland these last 2.5 years while we are there !!!
We do not yet know for sure where we will live when we return to Poland. There is a possibility that we will be joining a new IMB team in Wroclaw, Poland. This city is about 3 hours northwest of Krakow. We posted pictures from our trip to Wroclaw back in June...........it is a beautiful city too !!! If not, we will return back to Krakow.
For now, we are focusing on the beginning of Kaleb's 2nd grade year and Arin's kindergarten year here in Krakow. Then we will begin the packing process during the Fall. There are still many lives for us to invest in during these next few months, so we are excited to see where God can use us............and we're thankful that these next 5 months in Poland will not be our last.

So, make some plans to come visit us.........and join us as we share about the greatest gift EVER !!!!

August Happenings

Although we are only part way through August, we already have lots of updates !! Albert has not been able to meet with many of the guys who made decisions at the football camps because of summer travel. Everyone goes 'on holiday' during July and August here in Europe !! But he's had good conversations with the few he has seen. And he's been able to meet weekly with Piotr to continue their Bible study! Kirstin has had lots of opportunities to meet with other moms with the kids this summer............and have met some new moms !! She even had a chance to visit the home village of one young lady who she met at ESL class ! That update will come in a separate post, I promise !!

We have also had a good family time as well. It's a joy to have our kids home during the summer. And although Mommy still makes them work on their English schoolwork, we find plenty of time to play too !! Here the usual update-by-picture presentation:

Kirstin had a BIRTHDAY !!! The celebration started off with having dinner with friends -- Justyna and Angela.

After dinner, we walked and talked and saw some beautiful sights:

After Albert prepared a full spread American breakfast on her actual day, the whole family headed out to play for the day:

We ate a good 'ol burger at "Love Cow" restaurant:

With dessert at Cupcake Corner......huge ice cream sandwiches !! Yum !!

Then playing at the fountain:

It was a great day to celebrate life !! I am blessed !!!

Here's some of our playdates with friends:

Kaleb, Arin, and Roksy at Park Jordana

Visiting a castle with Kuba and his family

Kuba's family also took us to a horse farm !! Kaleb and Arin rode a horse for the first time !! Our Polish friends thought it was quite funny when they realized that our kids moved from 'western' states like Texas and Oklahoma to finally ride their first horse in POLAND !!!

Playing in some bubbles in the city square:

Last week, Kaleb invited Kuba (one of his classmates) to spend the night. It was our first Polish overnight guest, and it was Kuba's first sleepover !!! We were a little worried about the language barrier, but the kids translated anything we didn't understand........and they had a great time !! I think Arin may have been more excited about the sleepover than the boys.........she played cars and good guy/bad guy games with them all evening.

At bedtime, Kuba was so proud to show us that he had brought his ENGLISH Bible that he had been given a long time ago. Although he didn't understand any of it, he requested that we read our bedtime story from HIS Bible !! Planting seeds for Jesus, I tell ya !!! Even across the language barrier (which seems like the Great Divide sometimes), Kuba's family knows the priorities of our family ! That made my whole week !!!

Yesterday, we found out that there was an annual Pierogi Festival going on, so Kirstin grabbed her favorite girl and headed out to taste test these Polish treats !!

Arin eating her favorite flavor -- Spinach pierogis !!!

Of course, we can always find the fun too!

Here's our boys out playing frisbee near our neighborhood park - so handsome !!!:

My favorite helper in the kitchen :

Answered Prayers !!!

I am so excited to report to you great things God has done here in Krakow !!! We had asked that you pray for our football coaches here from Oklahoma conducting a football camp for multiple Polish American Football teams in our region of Poland. We had 3 teams represented in our camp. By the end of the 3 day camp, the devotion leader for the week shared with Albert that 16 Polish men testified to praying a prayer of salvation with him as he presented the Gospel !!! 9 of these men are from the Krakow Tigers team! There is much work to be done here in this city !! Albert is eager to meet with these guys one-on-one to have them clarify the decisions they made, encourage their spiritual growth from this point forward, and get them into some regular study of God's Word !

Please pray for clarity in these conversations, and wisdom for Albert to know how to minister to each of these men. We praise God for stirring in the hearts of these guys, the power behind the testimonies of our missionaries from Oklahoma, and a spiritual springboard from which to invest in these lives further !!!

Thank you for praying !!!

Below are some of the pic we captured. There will be more to come from one of the team members who documented everything on film !!!

The team from Oklahoma !! Thank you for giving of your time and money !!!

Camp

group pics

debriefing and encouragement for growing in Christ

Below are some random pictures of the kids enjoying summer in Krakow !! Life is a constant adventure for kids..............so that makes life fun for all of us !! We are blessed to have these adventure-seekers around to brighten our days !!!