We’ve lived in Kraków now for 18 months, and at times it feels like much longer (not in a bad way, just that it’s been a time full of life), and yet it isn’t much time at all on the grand scale of things, nor compared to many other workers here. However, because I’m keenly[…]
Yes, there are dragons of all kinds in Poland, particularly Kraków… although I’ve only seen two, the one above which spews water… and another one near by which at one point use to breath fire if you sent him a text message! Then there is the most real dragon of all, the enemy to our[…]
So often I (Travis) find myself jealous of other missionaries serving in places like Africa, South East Asia, the Middle East, South America, etc… these are places I call “the sexy” mission field, there’s a certain automatic appeal about these places. Generally (and very generally) people (mostly Americans) associate this appeal with either Islam, third world, or poverty. All[…]
One of the key values of our mission to Poland is building meaningful relationships. Relationships built on God’s kingdom and values. The core to meaningful relationships is interdependency, the idea that we all need one another. Church should reflect a family system, the idea that we are there for each other in spite of circumstances.[…]
Simply put “missions” is Matthew 28:18-20 “18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the[…]
“No matter where you move to, you better like some of the food. Other wise you’re toast.” Just some special very wise words I got from a missionary friend. 🙂 But this got me thinking about my, me being Alexis, first couple trips to Poland. I went to some of the traditional places that basically[…]
Cannon Beach, Oregon There’s something about the ocean that just makes me stand in awe of who He is (I think there’s a song along those lines). Prayer can be so mysterious and also very tangible. We are strong believers in the power of prayer (and fasting) as we have experienced the amazing and life[…]
Seems like this is almost a bad word these days. There’s a lot of different ideas about what evangelism is and how to “do” it. One of the problems we have witnessed is a general fear of evangelism, it seems more people than we think are afraid of rejection and disapproval. Even myself (Travis) run[…]
In realty it’s all about location, location, location. In missions it’s all about language, language, language. Language is an incredible thing, it’s the substance of cultures and the wall between them. One of the key items and first hurdle for us is to learn and hopefully master Polish. Of course we know this will take[…]
We have made many intentional decisions for the coming year to focus ourselves on the call ahead. As we focus on learning Polish, studying Polish history and culture, and listening to God’s voice. We are filled with a new kind of love for Poland; this love must be something akin to what God feels all[…]
One of the lifestyle changes we plan on making when we move to Poland is living without a car. I’m sure from time to time we’ll rent a vehicle, but for the majority of our trips, we’ll go by public transit, and/or bike – I just found this web page about a bike sharing program[…]
Poland is a place of many amazing things, good, bad, and ugly. There’s not a shortage of water or food, nor is there an overwhelming need to help in the orphanages, and it’s not a place struggling with war. But it is a nation of 38 million people, 38 million people who, for the most[…]
Today the citizens of Poland experienced a national tragedy of significant size. You can read an excellent article about the plane carrying the Polish president, which crashed and killed all aboard. The toll cut a swath through Poland’s elite. The 97 dead included the army chief of staff, the head of the National Security Office, the national bank president, the[…]
We just came back from the Polish Festival and boy are we exhausted. It was a lot of fun though. Tons of amazing food, singing, dancing and little trinkets that people want to clutter their houses with…it was nice. We invited a few friends with us and they loved it! They especially liked all the[…]
Just recently I, Alexis, was driving down a street and suddenly became overwhelmed with how much I love seeing Autumn arrive. Everything about it beats every season out of the water. But, the best part of autumn is that it ushers in the holiday season. Costume parties, large family meals, pumpkin spiced everything, eggnog, caramel[…]
Today I was doing some work for a company called “Nova Wealth” – which isn’t odd or strange… it’s just that when you’ve been studying a language that uses “w” instead of “v” for the same sound, it kinda confuses the head. So I was kept typing “Nowa” instead of “Nova” – and “Nowa” in[…]
Back in October when we took our 2 week trip to Kraków we had 5 hours a day, Monday through Friday of intensive Polish language lessons. As of today, we have practiced all but a mere 5 minutes. We are creating a new schedule which will make practicing Polish a priority, and one of our[…]
It’s been a couple of weeks now since we returned from Poland, and at times it feels as though we were never there, which deeply saddens me. Then other times we seem to have such grief it’s hard to move on with life here. We go back and fourth as if on a see-saw and[…]
There’s many place on the Internet to learn about Kraków but Wikipedia’s article is pretty good, if you wanna know more about the place where Alexis and I will be living in just under two years, take a look, interesting history, and much more. Also, we’ve been looking around at different neighborhoods, and this past[…]