Gifts of the Season

“I will cause showers to come down in their season; there will be showers of blessing."   Ezekiel 34:26

My gifts this season were too many to count!  I was surrounded by my Polish family and friends and received so many loving gifts.  I learned Christmas traditions of this culture that will always stay in my heart.  Of course, one of the best parts was discovering traditional Polish foods served at Christmas.  My very favorite was Usczka – which means ‘little ears’.  Here we are making over 200 of them in Lila’s kitchen:

They’re like Pierogi, but little ones – dough wrapped around meat, onion, and sometimes mushrooms and cabbage, and they do look like little ears when you fold them correctly (I got better with practice).  They go into Barszcz – beet soup, and it’s SO good.  The most popular Christmas dish is Carp.  I had it fried and it is delicious, but a LOT of work because of so many little bones.  We also ate Pierogi, Bigos (another favorite), potatoes, cabbage, and lots of sweets, including Makowki, which is like poppy seed bread pudding. 

So I guess gaining weight during the holidays may also be the same all over the world.  Although, it’s also common for us to take long walks after the main meal here!

Rachel trying to control Misiu :-)

 

The week before Christmas, we had a party for the Zaleze Youth. Several of you sent boxes of gifts for this party. I can’t put into words what this experience was like; watching them open their gifts was one of the best Christmas presents I’ve ever gotten! First of all, they didn’t even know they were getting gifts. Last year, they received only chocolate. Then, when they found out they got gifts from the US, they were SO excited. It was just precious! There is one girl in the group that I swear, I haven’t seen smile since I met her in September. That night, I caught her smiling at me about 4 times. It was the sweetest thing!

Paulina

Gosia gives Wiktoria a hug

Nikola and Patrycja

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







 



Maria and Kinga

Nikola and me

 

The whole group with their gifts

It's sinking in that I have 5 months left here in Katowice.  What will I leave here?  Will this city, this country be changed in any way because I was here?  I pray it’s not only that someone speaks English a little better; but that someone felt loved, someone felt valued.  Did the woman who works at the corner store and the one at the post office feel God’s love from me?  Did the people on the street find warmth in my smile?

I know now that the fog settling in to my little woods is as much a part of me as the Texas sky.  I'll have to say goodbye in May, but it will only be temporary.  I’m in love with this place and these people.  I have family here now and I know I'll be back.

 

The greatest gift God gave me in the last seven months is more complete trust in Him.  I’m not afraid of what lies ahead.  In the verse above in Ezekiel, the word ‘season’ literally means ‘opportunity’.  God gave me an opportunity – this is a beautiful season in my life and He has showered me with blessings!

 

 









 

 

 

Lessons Learned

The last few weeks have been difficult.  I’ve done a lot of short term missions, but the longest period of time for any one mission trip was 10 weeks when I was a summer missionary in college.  I’m learning a lot about what it takes to be in a more permanent position of ministry.  There’s nothing like ‘on the job training’ sometimes.  The lessons might be hard, but I’ll never forget them.  Here are some of the more important things I’ve learned.

1.     Know Who You Are 

My identity is not in what I can do.  I’m not Niki the Missionary, or Niki the English Teacher.  I’m not who I am because I can write poetry or cook, or even because I’m a mom.  And I’m not who others say I am.  My identity is solely who I am in Christ, and who He says I am.   Everything else changes – how good I am at things, what people think, and even how I feel.  But who God says I am will never change.  It is the only truth. 

People can take you to extremes in either direction.  They can admire you and make you think you’re special, and they can criticize your every word and make you question who you are.  It’s a fight sometimes to remember who I really am.

     2.     Learn To Let Go

Whether I’m at home, or far away, things happen in my life that are out of my control.  But when I’m far from home, it seems to be a lot harder.  I don’t know why, because I was no more in control of things when I was closer to them.  I was just fooling myself.  There have been moments in the last few weeks that I’ve thanked God for doing for me what I didn’t have the strength to do for myself – get me out of the way.  It reminds me of an old quote:

“Good morning, this is God!  I will be handling all your problems today.  I will not need your help, so have a good day!”

     3.      Surround Yourself with People Who Encourage You

We don’t get to choose the people we minister to, so ministry can be emotionally draining and sometimes even painful.  It’s not just a good idea, but I believe God’s will that we set appropriate boundaries in relationships, for our protection as well as those that we minister to.  But we also need those around us who feed us when we’re drained completely dry.

I want you to meet two friends who do that for me.

 



This is Basia Rembieliński  and Iwona Cygan.

Basia was born in Myslowice.  She is married to Artur.  They have two daughters, Zuzanna and Marta.  She loves movies, swimming, jazz, and the music that Artur plays J

Iwona was born here in Katowice.  Her husband’s name is Grzegorz and they have a daughter named Paulina.  They also have a dog named Nana, who I think is Obie’s Polish twin!  Iwona also loves movies, swimming and jazz, but she also likes rock music. 

Basia and Iwona are very close friends, but they make room in their hearts for me.  They love me warmly, pray for me faithfully, and joyfully encourage me.  I love them because they always make me laugh.  I always look forward to seeing them because I know they will bring a smile to my face.  I’m so thankful for their friendship and their ministry of encouragement to me!