Pumpkin Seeds

Our little neighbor Natalia continues to stop in each week. Not long ago she brought Greg pumpkin seeds. Her grandmother grows pumpkins and during our Christmas visit to their house, Greg asked if he could have the pumpkin seeds. After receiving the seeds, he roasted them and took them back to Natalia's grandmother and was invited in for tea. He had a nice time chatting with her, Natalia's mom and boyfriend, and Natalia too.

As we settle into our new neighborhood we also want to contribute in good and helpful ways. In the last two months we met with a man who oversees social needs for the area, the vice-mayor, and elementary school principal to introduce ourselves and to let them know we want to help out in the community. I think all of them were a little shocked to hear the news and I hope that it is the beginning of expressions of the Gospel.

Gospel Community on Mission
Right now in South Poland four couples, focusing on Advance (click here for refresher on Advance) are meeting twice a month to pray and encourage one another in our local outreaches. Here we are pictured below.

I'm so thankful for the community God has us in the middle of - that I/we don't head out into each day alone. We have God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our fellow christian family to press on together.

Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas to you from our family. We've enjoyed a full few weeks already with the arrival of our nephew Kevin and his wife Allie. They are spending Christmas and New Year's holidays with us and it's been great to have them in the middle of our life here in Poland.

As I mentioned in our previous post, we wanted to take a small Christmas gift to our new neighbors and introduce ourselves to them. 

It was a little awkward getting started, but we found all but 2 of our neighbors home that afternoon. A great way to start something more than nodding heads to each other as we drive by. We included a card that had our names on it and asked them if sometime in the future they could give us their names and phone number. We've had 3 families drop by with their names and also small Christmas goodies.

Below you'll find a portion of our Fala team in fun Santa hats. We were able to host our Fala work Christmas party, play a few games, enjoy a wonderful meal with contributions by all, sing carols in a few languages, and take part in our annual White Elephant gift exchange. It was a great time to play and laugh together.

We took some time to take Kevin and Allie to beautiful Krakow to catch the Christmas mart, enjoy Polish sausage off the grill & a cup of warm mulled wine. In addition to the quaint old european charm, we headed into the mall for a Starbucks treat as well.

This summer at our English camp we met a family that we've wanted to get together with more often. They've been here; we've been there and we tentatively planned to get together for dinner during this break. Well, yesterday I planned on calling to set up a time to meet and before I called, they were at the door, singing, holding a lantern and a plate of cookies! What a fun holiday surprise!

  

Wishing you a happy New Year and a time to reflect on 2012 as well as think about 2013 and those things you wish to be true.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Heidi

Getting the Names Down

Not everyone has a name yet. Well, they have names; I just haven’t learned them yet. Except for Marcin and Asia and their children, Tymek (5) and Kaja (3 months). I try to stop over once every other week. This week I’ve been there 3 times.

There’s “grandma” who lives two houses up. Her 9-year-old granddaughter stops by our place a few times each week to see if Jillian is home. Unfortunately, Jillian is usually still at school, but luckily Cody is always home and excited for a visit.

Then there’s the “over the fence” couple, which are always so friendly and chatty – well, the wife is anyway.

Yesterday I finally saw the owner of the “white house below.” She told me I have a very nice dog. Phew - still in good standing there.

I’ve made a point this month to have at least 3 conversations a week with our new neighbors. It’s not so hard, but it isn’t so easy either. I’ve been taking our dog for walks and praying along the way for what God’s plans are here with us in this new community and I believe He is causing the eyes of my heart to notice others with more purpose than I was before.  For example, my “over the fence” neighbor tells me each time we chat about a family member’s health. She is a wife, mom, grandmother who carries those worries/burdens on her heart. However, Asia’s newborn baby has serious hip issues and is undergoing intensive orthopedic treatment. Yet Asia, I noticed, is taking it in stride. I asked her more about that yesterday and it was a great conversation.

Our family will deliver home made cookies and holiday goodies on December 6, St Nicolas day, when kids get presents in Poland. We will take advantage of the season and officially introduce ourselves to the neighbors. My hope is that we will learn everyone’s name and begin a different way to be neighborly. I’m also praying it will open the door to future visits inside our home (or their home) with a cup of tea and more conversations.