My birthday was early in
February and my home group surprised me with a party. And I mean surprised me. I couldn’t have been more shocked. They’re really lucky I wore make up, because
I had no clue I was coming to a party.
It was a great time with delicious food and card games.
Despite the dreary weather
and never-ending snow, I’m still enjoying my classes and private students. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here 9 months
and that I’ll be coming home in 3.
“Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured
into your lap.” Luke 6:37
I rarely talk about money in
this blog, but when I do, I’m happy that I can back up my requests with this promise. Contributing to God’s ministries in this
world is a lot different than spending money on anything else. Not only are you making an eternal
investment, but God promises to pay you back more than you invested!
I’m facing the last 3 months
of my time here and Poland and looking forward to coming home. I knew I’d love it here, but I didn’t know
how much. I never knew how much God
would teach me and stretch me. There’s a
part of me that is forever Polish now!
Giving has definitely slowed
down, so I’m in need of funds to finish up my time here and buy a plane ticket
home. Please pray about whether God
would have you take part in the end of my journey. The easiest way to give is to follow this
link:
I know there is nothing in the space above. I've been trying since last night, and I can't get it to show up. But if you hover your mouse over the space, you can click and it will go to the link. It’s for Fellowship of the Parks Online Giving. Choose “I don’t have an account”. Then, in the drop down menu, choose “Poland Mission Trip” and fill in the amount.
If you want to mail a check,
send it to:
Fellowship of the Parks
9900 North Beach
Keller, Tx 76244
Attn. Melanie Cervantes
Be sure to
mark the check for Poland Mission Trip or put my name one it. It also really helps me if you let me know that you have sent a gift.
I also want to make a request
on behalf of the Zaleze Youth. This is
the group I work with on Tuesday afternoons.
Here are some of the kids in the group:
This is a very unique group
to work with. They require a lot of
patience, but they’ve captured my heart.
I love them so much! Gosia, the
youth leader, and her assistants; Piotr, Pawel, Maria, and Michal are firm, but
have endless patience with these kids.
Most of all, the kids know that they will be loved here.
Just to give you some idea of
what these young people deal with: Most
live with only 1 parent. While that may
sound normal to us, it isn’t in Poland.
The divorce rate here is 17% (in the US it’s 46%). Several live with alcoholic parents and have
watched them literally drink themselves to death. One of the girls has 2 sisters. All three of them have different fathers, and
all 3 fathers are in prison. One of the
boys has a mom who works in a bar. When
he comes home from school, he sees her for a short time, then she goes to work
all night. She comes home very early
while he’s asleep. He gets himself up
and goes to school and doesn’t see her until that afternoon.
This summer, they have an
opportunity to go to a Christian camp, but of course, none of their families
have any money to send them. Here's a link if you'd like to see the camp. It's in Polish, but if you choose 'Galeria' on the menu, you can see pictures of the camp, and under 'Start Zlot', there's a cool video.
If anyone
would like to donate any money toward sending them to camp, please email me (niski@aol.com)
I know this blog sounds dreary! But there are definite needs right now, and the journey here isn’t always easy and pleasant. Sometimes it’s difficult and heartbreaking. Oh, but it’s so worth it!
