His Faithfulness

“A voice says, 'Cry out.' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.' You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!' See the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:6-11

This is the scripture the Lord laid on my heart as we prepared for outreach in Radom, Poland. Truly the people are perishing, yet there is one thing that remains constant and that is the Word of God. Today there are many false teachers and prophets, just as the Bible prophesied and the world is following these movements to their death. Yet there is hope in the Lord who is the shepherd drawing His lambs to His heart. How faithful is our God!

To prepare for our trip we had prayer meetings daily at 6am and at lunch time for about a month. I don't tell you this to boast in our ability to or delight in rising early (let me be honest, the 6am was actually a source of conflict for awhile)but to tell you that God answers prayers and our time in Poland is a testimony of that.

We as a team partnered with the local church and missionaries went into Jr. High and High Schools and taught English and German classes for about 5 hours a day. In the evenings we held a two hour English course that was open to anyone.
The first school we went to was a bit skeptical of us and we were not allowed to even invite the kids out to the night classes let alone outwardly preach the gospel. BUT, by the second day the hearts of the students and teachers were softened and we were pretty much given all privileges! We did gospel based dramas and discussion groups and invited the kids and teachers to our evening classes. The evening classes were amazing, we taught our students silly songs and worship songs and they sang along with us with huge smiles (even the punk college guys we met at the dorm!!), we performed dramas and had discussion groups where we had the freedom to talk about spiritual topics and in most cases clearly present the gospel.

The church, Hosanna Christian Fellowship, really saw this outreach as an opportunity to build bridges for future ministry and God answered this prayer above and beyond our expectations!
He also answered our prayers by bringing unity to our team during the week. In the weeks before we found ourselves in conflict and segregated and due to nothing of ourselves but clearly the Holy Spirit, by the end of the first day in Poland there was a real sense of love and unity amongst our team members, praise God!

There is much more to tell, but I will end my account of Poland with a list of people for whom you can pray that they may enter the Kingdom of God! Lydia and Tomic (the owners of the Language School we taught at in the evenings), Adita (English teacher), Ewilene, Asia, Piotr, Ola (there are actually 2!), Anja (Jr. High students who came to our evening classes, Kacper and Paul, Anna and Nina (whom we met at the university),Daniel (a sweet little boy from the neighborhood who even came to church!) Kermit, (an English student). Please also lift up the Kula family, The Gonzales, Gosia, Matthew and Ildi who are laboring full-time for the Lord in Radom. Praise Jesus for His faithfulness and for the gospel He has given us.

In other news, I am returning to California for the summer in one week! My sister Audrey is expecting her first baby and I am hoping to make the delivery! I thank the Lord for the opportunity to spend time with my sister and my coming niece (we're also expecting another addition from my brother and sister-in-law in July, we are growing!).
Thank you for your prayers this semester, it has been incredible! The Lord has done and is doing a great work on this campus and in my heart. I pray that you will be encouraged by the testimony of His work around the world and that you will continue to pray.
Psalm 145:8,9