Thanksgiving x 2!

We had a blessed Thanksgiving celebration. We first had the opportunity to celebrate with our team of Americans. We then continued the tradition of giving thanks to our Lord in front of some of the Krakow Tigers. This year, we had some new teammates to celebrate these meals with.........Stephen and Traci Edworthy...and they graciously hosted both meals in their home. This was especially strategic in regards to the Krakow Tigers because Stephen has joined our team to do sports ministry. Al is transitioning all of the sports ministry to him as we prepare to leave for the States soon. We believe God is going to do some amazing things through the Edworthys in these next 6 months!
As usual, here is the photographic documentation for you:

Team Thanksgiving -- MKs filling up their plates

Littler ones chowing down

one half of the crew......

other half.......

desserts waiting to be devoured

Thanksgiving with the Tigers: 4 of our 8 guests had never experienced a Thanksgiving celebration before this day. Fun, Fun !!!

Traci and Kirstin, acting like we've got everything under control in the kitchen

Arin has the important dish covered...........Mac n Cheese (from America!)

a friendly flag football competition outside with the guys

let the feasting begin......

Al shares about this American tradition and what he is thankful for....

I'm sure this is Stephen's first and only fill-up, right?

full and happy...........ready to watch a little NFL on our mock "big screen" (projector on the white wall)

Although is it hard to be far from family during this time, we are thankful to be here for this season. We pray that you found countless reasons to give thanks this season, even though your circumstances may be difficult. Every good gift comes from above..........so we give Him thanks!

Great News for us !!!!

We have been praying since this past June about where God would have us serve when we return to the field in June 2012. There is a new team of missionaries starting in a city 3 hours west of Krakow, in Wroclaw. Although we've loved this city when we visited, and we enjoyed meeting the team leader who will be in Wroclaw, we never felt God calling us away from Krakow. Our heart is here among the people we've invested in for 2.5 years. We've shared our hearts with our leadership, and have waited on their decisions.

We found out last week that we have been approved to return to Krakow for this next term !!!!

We are SO excited and thankful for this answer to our prayers !! My heart rests a little better each night knowing that we don't have to say permanent goodbyes to our Polish friends here in Krakow. And we are excited to see how we can continue to join Him in his work here in Krakow, Poland !!!

Here are some shots of our happenings over the past couple of weeks:

Once a month, our church has one service geared toward the children. Here are our kids leading in worship one Sunday morning:

The kids' school has a "Bible Day" holiday program. Here's our kids singing in the program. I'm afraid our kids sing more in Polish than in English.
(church may be an adjustment for them while we are in the States.)

Our team went on a retreat over a weekend in October. It was a great time to get out of the city, enjoy God's creation, and fellowship time with each other.

Our view of the drive

We got to do a ropes course together.


They are ready.........bring it on !!!

We got to do alot of other things together, like carve pumpkins, play pool, sing, and go fishing!

As a family, we went to the cemetery on All Saints' Day so that we could show our kids part of the Polish culture and pray for the eyes of the Polish people to be lifted in hope to Jesus Christ instead of religious rituals which leave them without hope.

This past Friday was Independence Day for Poland (well, one of several). This holiday was in celebration of the new Poland freed after WWI!

Playing in the park..........mommy had to capture some of the beautiful fall colors:

Our Daddy also had a birthday !! We celebrated from morning till night !!!

Happy Birthday, Al !!!

Funny kid quotes.....

We have a couple of funny kids quotes from the past couple of days. This weeek, Arin has been our comedian:

On Friday, Daddy was talking to the kids during our morning devotion about how we should ask God to help us be BOLD in sharing with others about Jesus. Arin looks up and says, "Daddy, I'm not 'bold'............see, I have lots of hair!"

Today, while picking out her clothes for the day, Arin stated that the shirt I had selected did not match 'gravy blue'.

As you can see, we obviously struggle with English just as much as Polish these days --- bold/bald, navy blue/gravy blue.

But we certainly have lots of laughs along the way!

Latest and Greatest....

Here's an update on the latest and greatest in our family and ministry !!!  The kids are plugging along in Polish school along with their additional classes of swimming, soccer, and American football (Daddy's teaching this one!).  Al and Kirstin use this time while both kids are in school to meet with contacts and invest in Polish lives.  God has really blessed our Polish relationships this semester.......adding more of them and deepening the previous ones.  We are thankful!

Our Polish church had a baptism service this past month!  We baptized 6 at the local YMCA pool -- 2 adults and 4 teens. 

 I really appreciate how the Polish believers wait for baptism until an older age where these kids can give a testimony of the impact Christ has had on their life.   Making a profession of faith apart from the Catholic teaching is a huge decision in this culture.........and these 6 have weighed those costs and boldly proclaim Jesus as their Savior !  It was a rich celebration for us all !!

(the 2 men baptizing are our Pastor and a fellow IMB M, Ken Brownd)



We decided the surprise our kids with a spontaneous family evening at a local amusement park.  It was one of those seasonal set-ups that was way over priced and probably not very safe, but we made some great memories !!!



Arin is not so sure about this one......

But she came around and LOVED it !! 

Arin and Kaleb attended a few birthday parties this month.  For Poles, it is important to celebrate birthdays when friends are available, so most of the summer birthdays get celebrated after school starts and everyone returns from vacation.

The following pics are from Zuzia's party.  They had the party at the local aquarium.



Arin and Zuzia



another friend from her old school!



 



They got to pet diferent animals.  Arin agreed to have a snake wrapped around her neck!!!

One Saturday afternoon, we had an invitation to go hiking with Kuba's family!  Kuba is in Kaleb's class.....(he was our first Polish sleepover buddy from a few posts back.)  We really enjoy spending time with their family, and they always show us sights we would NEVER find on our own!  Jacek (the dad) is a believer, but speaks very little English which is good for our Polish. Agnieszka (the mom) is a new believer as of this summer..........and she speaks beautiful English, so we have some great discipling discussions when we get together.  Our kids always have fun together...............and Kaleb and Arin communicate fully and comfortably in Polish with both of their sons.  (have I mentioned that they still amaze me?)



We got to explore a cave with bats in it !!!