Life in Poland

New KKI Purpose Statement

2012-01-20T20:49:00.000-06:00

King’s Kids International (KKI) has adopted a new purpose statement that I’m really encouraged about. It is “Generations living the kingdom together”. This is so richly seen in the bible and so there are many examples we looked at to learn about God’s heart and desire for generations gathering and living together.

Exodus 3:15: God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

How does each subsequent generation know the Lord? From their father passing it on. And it isn’t just passed on by words, or going church on Sunday, or doing good things. But from living it with our children. Moment by moment and day by day.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

If we don’t take care of the transition from generation to generation then we have to start over because they aren’t able to build on our victories. We leave room for a curse. I just heard today from a friend that “our ceilings are our children’s floors”. What a great word picture! I love that my girls will build on what I’ve learned and I’ve built on what amazing victories and truths my parents have been blessed with from the Lord! Pass it on people! ☺

Week 2: KKI Values and Family Ministry

2012-01-19T20:31:00.000-06:00

This week’s speaker is Guy Zeller from the French part of Switzerland. Let me just say I am so full from his teaching! I could chew and chew and then try to digest it for weeks, I’m sure. I am super excited because Father answered a desire of my heart in bringing Guy to teach on our PCYM.
Backstory: In November of 2010 we went to a KKI conference in Barcelona, Spain. We even had a couple youth from our club come with us. Guy Zeller and his family were there and came on as part of the international core leadership team and so I had the opportunity to sit in on one of his teaching sessions. I was radically convicted - the “good-kind-of-confirmation-that-what-the-Lord-has-been-revealing-to-me-was-right-on” type of convicted. That year the Lord had been revealing to me that the priorities in our family weren’t ok. I believe that often happens as the wife and mother - we are in the middle of the tension of raising our children while our husbands are out of the home providing for their families. In my case my husband was often away ministering to people, that in my opinion, had far greater needs than either me or my children. But I was realizing that was coming at a price - an expensive price that we actually were never asked to pay! After hearing Guy’s teaching that November, I returned to my room in tears because it had strongly struck a chord within me to stop the way we were “doing” ministry! It was a confirmation that the year of 2011 that we had prayed about as a sabbatical year would be a tremendous time for us to heal and be equipped in the new things God was calling us into. Greg and I sat before the Lord in prayer, repented of our neglect of the fact that God had also called our children into ministry and we were to do it together as family. Each person in our family had a specific role in changing the generation of Poland for Christ!

Needless to say, when I arrived in Hawaii and saw that Guy would be one of our speakers on our PCYM, I was giddy! I knew the Lord was going to speak to Greg and me through him and bring us both closer to being on the same page of what our future would look like together concerning family in ministry (and just plain family in general!). On the first day Guy went through Matthew 18:1-14. It would be a very long blog entry if I went through everything he taught but I will share what struck me the most. In verse 10 it says:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

He went into the meaning of the word “despise” from this verse. It has added a whole new understanding for me. In Greek it means “to contemn, despise, disdain, think little or nothing of”. In other words, it is like saying “just” or “only”. He is “only” a child or “just” a child. The same meaning is used in 1 Samuel 17:42:

And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

where Goliath “disdained” David and saw him to be worthless. But we have seen what God can do with children in the bible as we look at this story and the ones of Jeremiah, Samuel, and others. Even Jeremiah says in 1:6 “ I cannot speak : for I am a child.” Guy challenged us in asking us the question, “Who do you think told Jeremiah he was ‘only’ a child?” Ouch. How often I have “despised” my own children in thinking the Lord doesn’t speak to them or won’t use them in certain situations. I’ve even had the desire of having a babysitter while Greg and I were helping lead 7/11 Club on Saturdays so that I wouldn’t be distracted by the girls “getting in the way”. I realize that sometimes it is better for my girls to be in a different place while I’m doing ministry - some things aren’t age appropriate for them - but generally speaking I was convicted of my attitude in how God could use them, wants to use them, and will use them. This is something to think about in the coming months as Greg and I (and the girls!) seek Father on his heart for us in Poland and the ministry there. I’m excited :)

Week 1 in Pictures

2012-01-15T23:47:00.000-06:00

First view of the ocean Saturday morning. We drank 100% Kona coffee - it truly is the best!

Drama for the week - hopefully for the whole time we are here! The house next door to our PCYM leaders' home burned down but their house was saved!

Dale Kauffman live via technology!

View from our room. I will never get tired of this!

The next Saturday we spend at Wawaloli Beach which is a large tidepool surrounded by a lava rock wall. It has a long and wide sandy beach, creating a nice shallow swimming area where the water is warmed up by the sun. Greg is in the distance standing on the rock getting smashed by the waves. We also saw whales this day!! It was incredible.

Sunday we went on a very long walk along Alii Drive. It happened to be the 3rd Sunday of the month and a large art festival takes place then. We saw hula girls, the Hulihee Palace, amazing waves, and drank some more Kona coffee!

Social Justice and Family

2012-01-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

I had the incredible honor of Darlene Cunningham founder of YWAM sharing in our class today. I hardly took any notes because I was too engaged in her stories of pioneering YWAM Kona/ University of the Nations. It is always an encouragement to hear believers testimonies of putting their faith in Father. When someone, even more, a community of Christ-lovers, take God for what He says in His word and wait on Him to follow through (and He does!) - this is what sets me on fire and gets me excited. That time was exactly that! The one thing I did write down was:

At the core of each social justice issue is the breakdown of family.

This has started me thinking. I have been searching online for all the social justice issues that face us today. The list includes:

Abortion
Anti-Semitism
Child Soldiers
Child Labor
Cloning
Conflict Diamonds
Death Penalty
Euthanasia
Health Care Policy
Human Trafficking
Immigration Reform
Marginalization of the Poor

It goes on and on. I was surprised at some concerns that I discovered which are considered social justice issues. But as I look over the list I can see how the breakdown of family contributes greatly to these issues. I had never really put those puzzle pieces together.

When I think of this in light of being a mom, I have decided to take my job a lot more seriously. :) I've always known it was important - of great importance - but when I think about what Darlene said and what Dale said earlier in the week, I definitely want to be more intentional about what I'm teaching my children. Today we looked at the story of Cain and Abel. We talked about why Father didn't like Cain's offering. I believe it was because he didn't offer the first fruits or his best as Abel did. The bible does say that Abel gave his "best". As family we stopped and decided to ask Father how we could bring him glory and joy today. I heard these verses and turned over to the New Testament and read:

Matthew 25:31-40
New International Version (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats
    ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.   ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

I know this brings joy to the heart of our Father - when we stop and look at the least around us (the marginalized) and feed, clothe, and care for them. And I believe it takes community (and family) to do a good job of it. It starts with the individual and family and goes out from there as waves. It will affect our church body when the families begin to rise up and bring joy to the heart of our Father.

Week 1 Day 1

2012-01-10T18:15:00.000-06:00

Whew! What a whirlwind way to begin 2012! Most of you know we travelled 2400 miles cross-country to California in order to jump on a plane to Kona, Hawaii to begin a new ~~chapter~~ book in our family. We arrived safe and sound, and have conquered (somewhat) our jet/travel lag. Yesterday was our first official full day of class. Our course, Principles of Child and Youth Ministry (PCYM), consists of a 12-week lecture phase where we have a different topic to learn and study through each week. I'm super excited to kick it off with the founder of KKI (King's Kids International) Dale Kauffman. I heard him teach in Barcelona, Spain a year or so ago and couldn't wait to sit under his teaching again. One thing he said that struck a chord with me today is:

We need to recognize the home as the center of transforming and discipling nations.

He is speaking of the importance of the biological family, spiritual family, and discipleship being integrated in order to bring others into His unshakable kingdom. Since we are not guaranteed religious freedom in the future, we cannot depend on our Christian programs to be enough to do this. The roots of the kingdom need to be deeper - deeper within our home, church, small groups, and daily way of life. Dale believes these three agencies need to be strengthened.

Students again!

Arrival day- girls with one of the Foundation School teachers

The girls have both started classes as well! They are in separate classes. At first this was a bummer for both of them since we were told they would be together. But I'm thankful they've been split up. It gives Hannah a better opportunity to discover who she is without big sis showing her who to be! They have both made friends and love their teachers :) I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for both of them. The girls will have some DTS (Discipleship Training School) teaching in their classes and will spend time hearing from the Lord. I can't wait to see what Father has for them!

Airport in Honolulu- open air style!

Monday morning corporate worship

Thank you for reading and for your love and support! We wouldn't be here without it :)

Happy Jan. 3rd!

2012-01-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

Today is a very special day because my husband and oldest daughter share the same birthday! Both were born in Poland, in the same city, in the same hospital. We will have to celebrate properly in Hawaii but we did stop at Denny's for breakfast in New Mexico and put some party hats on.

In Gallup, New Mexico

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7 States, 22 hours

2012-01-02T20:44:00.001-06:00

We made it to Albuquerque! We left at 7:45 pm from Huntsville, AL and passed through Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and arrived here in New Mexico at 4:45 pm local time. The girls are incredible travelers. I'm so blessed to have them on this journey- they are such sports! Of course I got the usual, "Are we there yet" and "How much longer to California" but they didn't argue much and we didn't have to make any unplanned pitstops! Here's to amazing bladders and a good night's sleep! Until tomorrow!

First time to actually see Texas (flying into Dallas doesn't count!) There were so many dead deer on the side of the road!

My dear friend is from Amarillo. She suggested to go to Taco Villa for lunch and then to Roasters for coffee. We did just that and it was so yummy!

Hello New Mexico!! This was a welcome sign :)

One of many plateaus we saw

It's a new year!

2012-01-01T20:13:00.001-06:00

So as a family we are venturing into a new adventure! As I write, we are in the car on our way to California. We catch a flight to Kailua Kona, Hawaii on Thursday and will begin a 12 week course with YWAM. I'm still shell-shocked at this dream coming true. God is so good and faithful and I'm excited with expectation that great things are going to happen in these 3 months.
We spent the week packing up our home into boxes and saying goodbye to dear friends and family. I will share more this week as I reflect on our time in the continental US. Until tomorrow...

Hannah and Abi packed in an ready to go! We are driving through the night and stopping in Albuquerque Monday night to sleep!
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Stationery card

2011-11-16T18:07:00.001-06:00

Three Charming Wreaths Holiday Card

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View the entire collection of cards.

Autumn pics

2011-11-11T09:59:00.001-06:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our time at Tate Farms. We really had so much fun. Thank goodness for photo editing because we would have never had a perfect picture without it! Enjoy.

Tate Farms

2011-11-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

I bought an awesome Groupon for Tate Farms. This was our first time there (which is apparently a North Alabama tradition for most) and we got in for half price but had some full-on fun! We took tons of pictures of our time there- some of the gourds there were amazing! I'd never seen anything like it so I snapped oodles of pics and will print them and frame them for some fun fall wall art! Tate Farms was cotton-pickin' fun with a hay-ride, corn swimming, pumpkin picking, tractor pull, and much more! We took "real" pictures but also some with our phone... here you go!

Corn swimming

Cotton Jump

Autumn Sky Study

2011-10-26T12:49:00.000-05:00

I have been homeschooling my kindergartener now for about two month. Though it's been rather hectic since I'm not a natural at time-management, we've enjoyed what we have been learning! We just started our autumn sky lessons and we are identifying the North Star by finding the Big Dipper and using the "pointer stars" to find it! I've found a great website to help us locate the stars in the sky. What's awesome is the fact that you can use this website regardless of which hemisphere you are in! Skymaps.com gives you the option of choosing where you are. Perfect for us world travelers!

Source: skymaps.com via Erin on Pinterest

Scanned Leaves

2011-10-25T20:29:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted to keep dry leaves in our nature journal but have struggled with a solution to keep it from getting messy! Well here we go! Awesome idea :)

Harmony Art Mom: Art Ideas: Trees!: Scan some leaves and then put the scan in your nature journal. Easy! I am really enjoying putting together this series of art idea posts...

I am a friend of God

2011-09-18T15:33:00.001-05:00

I just finished the second weekend of the Grace Life Advanced Training (GLAT) as well as the GCM Collective conference that took place at Summit Crossing in Madison, AL. I'm very encouraged by the Spirit of God and want to share a few things that have been running through my mind the past few days.
The theme of "friendship" has continued to surface in the past month. Throughout my life I have struggled with having friends- true sincere friends who stand by my side through thick and thin. On the flip side of that- I've rarely offered true friendship to others. For some reason I've never really known how to do it, or how to be good at it. And I'm very aware of how I've let other people down and haven't met their expectations of a true friend.
During our first weekend of the GLAT, my older sister made a statement that has continued to resonate in me. She said that the friends she chose during her first year of college weren't actually friends because they didn't really want the best for her. I thought, "Wow, I've NEVER chosen friends based on the criteria that they want the best for me." In my mind it was all about fun. Who could I have the most convivial time with? Who would entertain me or provide some type of carpe diem experience? Now don't get me wrong. I did have some wonderfully true and devoted friends in high school, yet, clearly, my definition of friend was skewed.
For me, in realizing the error of my thinking when it came to friend-relationships (all relationships for that matter) I believe I'm now able to be the person/friend I need to be to those around me. You see, I've never really enjoyed the company of people I deem shallow, but in light of this, I've realized how shallow I've been in the past by searching for just some external sensory high rather that putting my friends first and truly wanting the best for them. I've just been plain selfish. Yuck.
I also know, though, that just trying harder at being a good friend isn't going to cut it either. In becoming aware of my flesh, the way I try to get needs met apart from Christ by my own resources, I see there's not much hope in my trying to do that. Some people are more naturally a better friend than I am, and I used to think my life would be a lot better if I could just figure out how they did it- how they were such good friends that people desired to be around them constantly. If I could learn their secrets to success, or imitate their behavior then life would be ok. But I know that is also stinky thinking.
The exciting (and freeing) part of this is I don't have to do it. Only Christ can do it through me. He is the perfect friend! Romans 8: 10-11 says, "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Whoa! I have the Spirit of God in me that raised Jesus from the dead! And I know that it is only because of that I can be a good friend- I allow the Spirit in me to love those around me and be a good friend through me. I know I'm not hopeless!
This is also freeing for me because I'm able to be a friend simply for the purpose of experiencing Christ's life through me. I get to love someone else and really want the best for them in seeing them encouraged and shaped more into the image of our Lord and not because I am hoping they will reciprocate the friendship. Philippians 2: 3,4 says "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests , but also for the interests of others." And since I have the assurance that I am Christ's friend (John 15:15) then I don't have to involve myself in relationships for the sole purpose of gaining a friend but being a friend :) And besides, Matthew 6:33 tells me to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things (needs) will be added to me." So I have nothing to worry about!
Dear Lord and Friend,
Thank you for this freedom from trying to perform and figure it all out. Help me to rest in You as I enjoy the ultimate friendship with You! Continue to teach me to let You live through me and transform me by your strength. I love you!

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Domestic Violence in Poland

2011-09-12T09:16:00.000-05:00

I just read a very informative blog post about domestic violence in Poland. It's been difficult for me to find statistics on this so I'm thankful for this post. Please read. The link to Kasia's blog- Domestic violence in Poland

In today’s blog I would like to mention very sad topic – domestic violence - przemoc domowa.
I have never experienced that in my life, but I have friends who did. It is very upsetting. At the beginning it was hard for me to believe that a lot of women have no courage to stop it. But from all different situations my friends had to deal with, it became clear to me that it is not always so easy…
Domestic violence is becoming a public issue in Poland. Now women’s groups are discussing the issue, holding ”tribunals” where women tell their stories and seminars to sensitize the police and prosecutors, who have often dismissed such complaints. A national billboard campaign has alerted Poles to the idea that brutality is more than just a family spat. One of the billboards showed a badly beaten women with blood on her lips and her battered son and said, simply, ”Because the soup was too salty” – “Bo zupa była za słona”
Statistics are notoriously hard to pin down in Poland, but in 2002 the courts recorded a 33 percent rise in the number of domestic violence cases, suggesting that more women were reporting such incidents. The Women’s Rights Center in Warsaw says there has been a steady rise since then on the number of reported incidents of domestic violence.
Even as the facade of the cohesive Polish family is being peeled back, and Polish women are finding courage to report battering, they face considerable obstacles, according to a lawyer who heads the rights center. Divorce is still hard to get, in part because of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. Though people in Poland are recognizing violence more and more, it is still very difficult to get a witness in court. Often a witness will come and say, ‘I didn’t hear anything.’ ”
The Women’s Rights Center, staffed lawyers and a part time psychologist, advises women on their legal rights and offers counseling.
The lack of shelters combined with the economic dependence of Polish women on their husbands and an acute housing shortage in Poland makes leaving home almost impossible.
But I have noticed that women are becoming more brave. I’m not sure about the government involvement in the case today. Hopefully it has improved. Hopefully there are special shelters for domestic violence victims.
I know that stereotype of the husband being “the king of the house” is fading away and now, in more modern times there is more respect for women. However there are still a lot victims who never admit what is going on in their homes…
przemoc domowa – domestic violence
bicie – battering
schronisko – shelter
pomoc – help
odważna – brave (female, male:odważny)
prosić o pomoc – ask for help
rozwód – divorce
rozwodzić się – to get divorced
doradztwo, porady – counseling
świadek – witness
respekt, uszanowanie – respect
stereotyp – stereotype
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

Dragonflies

2011-08-22T15:33:00.001-05:00

Today for our Outdoor Hour Challenge we went out in search for Dragonflies. At first we headed to Braham Spring Park thinking that since there is a big pond that surely there would be plenty of dragonflies. We were wrong! We saw only one insect- a cricket. Our deduction as to why is because there are at least a hundred ducks and geese there to ward off any insect life and with no natural habitat for the dragonflies to take shelter it seemed quite a dangerous place for them to live! We will return there to study ducks and geese next week! We took plenty of great pictures there!

We decided to head over to a different pond with fewer birds and people for that matter, and went to Jones Farm Pond. We hadn't even turned into the parking lot when we spotted a dragonfly outside of our car. We knew this was the right place. Mr. G, A and H and I hopped out of the car with the camera in hand and were able to snap some wonderful photos of what we spotted. Here are A's observations from our nature hour:

OHC #28 Dragonflies and Damselflies
Location: Jones Farm Park
Season: Late Summer
Weather: Sunny/Partly Cloudy
What are some sounds you heard?: Wind, dragonflies buzzing, birds singing, ducks quacking, cars driving past.
What are some things you saw?: Ducks, geese, dragonflies (lots!), a turtle, grass, waves, covered picnic area, water, fish, duck poop, trees, butterflies, and birds.
Description of the dragonflies we saw:
When the dragonfly landed, his wings were open. It's individual wings were each shaped like and individual sunflower petal. It had striped wings of tan and black. Six legs and four wings. We also saw a dragonfly that has a blue body with wings that are white on the outside edges and brown/black on the inside edges. It was bigger than the other dragonfly. We also noticed that when the sun went behind the clouds the dragonflies hid and it was hard to find them!

Halloween Pennant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_Pennant

We are still trying to identify these dragonflies. When I find out the names, I will update the blog. Update: Aug. 29th, 2011- I have found the name of the first dragonfly after perusing many pictures online. Now onto the second one! I'm feeling accomplished!

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Splish Splash

2011-07-17T13:40:00.001-05:00

The fourth of July week we spent in Florida with our family- 22 of us in all! The girls had so much fun with their cousins. The only stress point? Deciding whether to go to the beach or pool! Below is a video of the girls showing off some of what they learned in swim lessons at the pool.

YouTube Video

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Learning to swim

2011-06-14T10:34:00.001-05:00

We've joined the local YMCA in Huntsville and have been very involved as a family! Greg and I teach the devotion on Tuesday and Thursday for kids' summer camp by doing a mini version of the kids' program we do in Poland. The girls began swim lessons this week and will later do a two-day summer camp in July. The first day of swm lessons was very "musical" due to the fact that most of all the 3-5 year olds weren't too keen on bring forced into the cold water with strangers! It was comforting that my girls weren't the only ones screaming!!!

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Jesus: My King!

2011-06-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

Women meeting before summer

2011-06-10T08:21:00.000-05:00

King’s Kids Club invites all women for “Deeper” on June 10th at 5pm

The program includes:

Caring for skin
Presenting allergy-free cosmetics
Jewelry
Coffee and cake
Good discussion

May in Pictures

2011-06-09T12:08:00.001-05:00

Basket weaving at Burritt Mountain

Watching a puppet show at the library

Cousins at the Early Works Museum

At the Huntsville Train Depot

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Easter 2011

2011-05-05T21:33:00.001-05:00

One of the wonderful things about being in America is the opportunity to celebrate holidays with my family and with the American twist to it! We had so much fun this Easter taking part in two Easter egg hunts! We were with family in Huntsville and in Birmingham. I was a great weekend!

How To Draw

2011-04-18T17:03:00.001-05:00

How To Draw a Leaf by Abigail. She's such a great explainer that I thought a "how-to" video would be just her thing!

YouTube Video

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Slackline

2011-04-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

I just found this on my phone! I forgot about our awesome time making fools if ourselves at the park. This was with my family in March. See for yourself!

YouTube Video

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Playing in English

2011-04-14T09:50:00.002-05:00

When we first arrived in America my girls "first" language was Polish. It was their play language. Whenever they would pretend with dolls and barbies, they'd use Polish names for them and all the dolls spoke Polish! Well I awoke this morning to my kiddies playing in English. I know they have been for a while but it clicked today that it was all in English! They've been periodically asking me the English translation for names of their closest friends from preschool and now they are using these names like "Rose, Olivia, Alexandra" and so on. It's amazing to watch this progress! I'm so proud of them!

On a side note we are house sitting for a family that has four children. Abi and Hannah are having so much fun playing with their toys! Thank you, Browns!

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New experiences in pictures

2011-04-12T16:22:00.002-05:00

Hannah & Abi at the St. Patricks Day parade in Hunstville

Abi & Hannah as pioneers at the Early Works Museum

Hannah on a tractor at Burritt Mtn. for the Spring Farm Days

The girls playing on one of many playgrounds in Alabama with cousins and a new friends

We've truly been blessed in our time in Alabama. We've been able to get memberships to Burritt on the Mountain and the Early Works Museum so, needless to say, a lot of time has been spent there! What's great about these two places is that the girls are learning a lot of US and Alabama history without even knowing it! ;) They have stayed busy during the days playing, pretending, and exploring their new home!

Reality Check

2011-04-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

How rich are you? >>

I'm loaded.
It's official.I'm the 605,000,000 richest person on earth!

Charlie Brown Christmas

2010-12-26T07:07:00.000-06:00

This is one of my favorite monologues for Christmas. As far as Christmas traditions go for me, it ranks right up there with the annual reading of "The Gift of the Magi". We wish you a Merry Christmas this year!

Krakow Christmas Market

2010-12-24T06:04:00.000-06:00

The beautiful market in Krakow at Christmas time. We chose the coldest weekend to go and only managed to be outside for an hour (I may be stretching it even) before we jumped in the car and drove to the closest mall (making sure it was the one with Starbucks!). But we had fun eating some grilled Polish sausage and fresh goat cheese, honey roasted cashews, Hungarian sweet bread rolls, and the list goes on. It was a fun kick off to the holiday season. But I was thankful for our warm car and home to go back to! Merry Christmas to you all!

Gwiazdkowa Niespodzianka|Opration Christmas Child

2010-11-17T08:44:00.000-06:00

Hey! as every year we waiting for November and December where our club life is kinda getting crazy b/c of the big action called Operation Christmas Child where all local schools are collecting packages to be able to give to the needy kids in our town but not only.
We are so happy that this year we will be able to have the final at the square market In Ruda Slaska regardless of the weather we will be there to proclaim that the Best gift ever happened to us is Jesus !
Well, we so happy that we will be able to share His love with practice ! We wanna visit those kids in theirs own houses and bring them to the market square to celebrate Christmas ! Pray for us and for every single school which is involve !!

You can help by sending donations or making packages !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjvZuwEVULA

Hello to Daddy ♥

2010-10-19T04:02:00.001-05:00

Greg has been in the States now and has covered more than 2100 miles! They've seen Denver, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and are now headed to Seattle. There is the church conference that he'll be a part of for the next week. I've talked with him a few times and he sounds incredibly happy! He's posted pics on his FB page so check them out! Hello from the girls!

Birthday Princesses

2010-10-09T15:04:00.001-05:00

The girlies are at their best friend's birthday party. It's a dress-up party and they went as princesses with make-up and wands and the whole nine yards! At the moment they are making crowns and will soon see some magic tricks and then the ball will start.

Hannah

Abi

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Mushrooms

2010-10-03T15:46:00.001-05:00

After stuffing ourselves with Sunday dinner we, as a family, decided to go for a walk. The sun was actually shining here and if there's anything I've learned living in Poland, it's to not let a sunny day go to waste! So we headed out to our forest! I didn't have the intention of doing an OHC but after all of our finds I figured there had to have been a challenge that we just did without even knowing it! Sure enough, Autumn Series #9: Mushrooms. So I've decided to blog about it.

We started out looking for acorns that the girls could bring in to make little men out of (apparently that is a usual art project that Polish children do here) and as we were searching for some nice clean whole acorns, we came across a mushroom.


First mushroom we saw next to the tree

Now I don't really like mushrooms... I hate they way the feel on my hands and in my mouth... the texture bothers me. But, now, my husband knows a lot about them! To this day it is very common for Poles to go out into the forest and collect mushrooms, bring them home, and cook them, or pickle them. So I married a man who has a knack for knowing the difference between good and bad mushrooms. That's great (and a bit nerdy if you ask me, haha!) but there is a down-side to it... he only knows the names of the mushrooms in Polish... and they don't translate because I've tried. So, oh well. I have to resort to looking up pictures and figuring out what they are :) As of now, I haven't done that. Back to our walk... as we were looking for acorns we met two ladies who had picked two bags full of mushrooms that they were taking home to pickle. This got my girls excited to look for mushrooms. In our search we found a beetle, a bunch of acorns, and of course some mushrooms! Here are our pictures.

Proud of her find

Mossy trees

Found some acorns!

Our forest

Beautiful dor (?) beetle

Mountain of mushrooms on a tree stump

Sisters!

Edible mushrooms

Time in Germany

2010-08-25T03:01:00.060-05:00

We had the privilege to spend a week in Germany with new friends which we met in Poland. Two of the families came with the big MOVE 2010 team which was here for the last half of July. We really bonded with them and so we took the opportunity to visit them during our month off in August. One of the churches from Germany blessed us (a lot!) with money so we could do something together as a family. Our girls really clicked with the children from Germany so we thought it’d be a perfect time to head over and see them again. We had a wonderful time relaxing and getting to know the families better. We were on the road a lot... over 2,500km (1553 miles) to be exact! And our car didn’t like that... we broke down on the way to our first stop only 20 minutes from our hotel in Dresden (point B on the map)! We called our mechanic, family, and friends trying to figure out what to do, but after praying with the girls the car started and we were off to the hotel! Praise God!

That evening we walked around Dresden... but only close to the hotel. We were scared to use the car until we could take in to the mechanic the next morning. So we walked down to the Elbe River which was really high and ate in a cute cafe. Here are some pictures from our evening. Click play...

The next morning the mechanic checked our car and the diagnostic test said it was a crank shaft cable that needed to be changed. Unfortunately there wasn’t one available and would need to be ordered. We decided to risk it and drive 400 km to our next stop and we would order the part there and have it changed. And we made it all the way to stop C in Mulheim and spent time with the Pust family. It was awesome to see them again and the kids quickly warmed up towards each other: they had fun playing outside in the sandbox, swinging, kicking the soccer ball. We drove around some to see the area and on Saturday we all went to the most amazing zoo! Here are some pictures from that!

We also had the chance to share in front of the church in Mulhiem. Clemens translated for Greg as he shared from his heart how thankful he was that the church sent the youth to Poland to serve us for two weeks.

On Monday the car got fixed and then we headed off to Bremen, point D on the map to visit the Zobecs. We arrived on Markus’ birthday (lucky us!) so we enjoyed an amazing dinner with them and another couple that was in Germany. We also visited the pigs, cows, and fresh farmer’s market. The girls had fun spending time with the kids there and running around in the yard and seeing the animals. The next day we headed to the town center-- it is the cutest place! Greg and I fell in love with the city. I saw the stark contrast between Ruda Slaska and Germany here. I know there are ugly places in Germany, but I really was impressed that these youth were willing to come to such a beat-up run-down place in Poland and serve. We enjoyed the beauty of Bremen immensely. We also had a date night and went out to a restaurant appropriately named “Luv” on the riverfront. Greg's yummy steak salad:

From there we drove to Berlin. Ahhh, Berlin! I love this city! I'm so thankful I've had the opportunity to be there so often in the past year and a half. This time we went to the aquarium since we'd never been. Claus and his daughter Lara took us there with some awesome coupons and afterwards we met his wife and all went out for Thai food. The girls completely attached themselves to Lara and she was so patient with them. The next day she even took them to a very fun pottery store to paint their own plates! In a few days we should receive them in the mail after they've been glazed and cooked. We can't wait! Here's some pictures from our time in Berlin!

Here's our favorite fish in action: they looked like stones lying on the bottom of the ocean!

And one of the coolest things there is an aquarium that you take an elevator up into and then back down. Here's what it looked like:

I'm sure there is a lot more I could say and a lot that I'm forgetting. But this is a very long post for me so I'll leave it here. But thank you to all who hosted us in Germany! We had such a great time and really relaxed :) Can't wait to come back again! ~Erin

Chicken Pox

2010-08-09T10:22:00.003-05:00

It started with Abigail waking up from her nap onJune 28th with a low-grade fever. We headed off to the motor bike festival we were hosting next to the King's Kids Club. Thirty minutes into the fun and I discovered two bumps on Abi- one on her back on on her neck. So off we went to the pharmacy and then to the doctor. Poor Abigail. The weather finally turned warm- warm enough to strip off the sweaters and lather on sunscreen and bug spray- honestly, the smell of bug spray is invigorating after freezing it up for 7 months! We had a birthday party planned for Hannah July 1st at McDonald's for her 3rd birthday but had to cancel to due Abi's chicken pox. We were all so bummed- Greg called all the parents from preschool to let them know we'd have to reschedule. I'm sure they were soon seeing spots on their kiddos as well!

Abi was a trooper. She didn't scratch! If necessary she rubbed only with her knuckles... she was so cute trying to do the right thing. She was not a fan of oatmeal baths, though. They helped her sooo much but the thought of sitting in her breakfast did not go over well! She had CP everywhere- in her ears, mouth, bottom... and they were so big. But she began to clear up within a week of her first spots. And the only scar on her face in on the side of her nose. I think she did pretty well! One down, one to go...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks go by and Hannah is still ok! We'd been busy planning for a group from Germany of 150+ people coming. Tuesday July 13th arrives and brings Claus, his daughter, and a couple of other girls to meet with us, see the school where the group is staying, and make a to-do list before the entire group arrived. We met them at the club, Aniela made yummy soup and dinner for everyone, and Hannah began to act whiny and unhappy. My first thought was, "Oh no! Chicken pox. God please, no!" We went home, I gave her medicine for her fever and put her to bed. And, yes, she woke up the next morning with spots ☺ right before the group was coming, ugh!

I was so frustrated. I kept thinking to myself, "Why, why, why? We are hosting our biggest team ever! We've been planning this for so long and now we have to have chicken pox?!" But I knew that this is life and that God would show me something through all of it. And so, we stayed home for five more days. They were the longest days I can remember. We lied around, watched tv, sat on the balcony, took baths in oatmeal (Hannah thought that was funny and had no problem with it at all!), read books, and spent a couple hours a day putting medicine on each of her spots. I first thought there was no way she could get CP worse than Abi, but of course I was wrong. Hannah's were very small but all clustered together. So in the space of a half dollar she had about 30 chicken pox. It was terrible... and they hurt instead of itching. Poor thing.

And then the team from Germany came Friday the 16th. We ventured out around Sunday to meet everyone. Three families came- two of them had kids Abi and Hannah's age. So there were seven kids with three languages. It was so interesting watching the dynamics of it all. Two of the kids only spoke German, three spoke English and German, and mine of course speak English and Polish. But they all coped and got along well. Kids are kids no matter where they live or what language they speak! And at that age language is not a boundary that's hard to cross. One who only spoke German quickly picked up some English words from all of us. It's fascinating how fear of sounding strange or saying something the wrong way does not hinder kids like it does adults. It's a shame that we let fear of what others think control what we do or don't do! I want to be as a child in that way!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, as of now, we are finished with chicken pox! At least I know I won't have to deal with it again. And if we have more kids then I will get them immunized! And we can't wait to visit our new friends in Germany. I would love to keep in touch with them. I know it's difficult especially when we live so far away from each other, but I really enjoyed getting to know the two moms and their kids. It would be terrible to lose touch with them! My girls loved playing with the children and keep asking to go see them too. We'll see what the future holds! I hope it's many trips to Germany!

Abi after her oatmeal bath. She had a problem bathing in food!

Hannah watching cartoons dealing with chicken pox

Sunday in the park with the German team

Playing on the playground with new friends

Capture the flag in the middle of Ruda Slaska

King's Kids Polska: Polish Tragedy

2010-04-11T15:55:00.000-05:00

Here's my post about the death of Lech Kaczynski:
King's Kids Polska: Polish Tragedy

Spring Flower

2010-03-22T11:47:00.002-05:00

springflower
Originally uploaded by skrobarfam
Abi's Spring flower sketch for the Sketch Tuesday set at Harmony Art Mom's blog. Come on spring!

God's Creatiom

2010-03-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting on the top of the world... That's what it feels like to a girl from Alabama! I'm in Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy in the Alps with my husband and close friends. This is my view while drinking coffee.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dr. Pepper

2010-02-11T10:46:00.001-06:00

DP from Germany... Ahhh the little things in life!

Outdoor Nature Hour

2010-02-05T06:44:00.041-06:00

Despite the terrible cold and winter we've been experiencing for the past month (or due to it!) I've decided to finally get outdoors. Our tiny 690 sq. ft apartment is making me stir-crazy and the girls so we are starting with Challenge #1 from the Handbook of Nature Study blog. I've downloaded the book written by Anna Comstock and I'm so excited to begin our adventure. I really am quite ignorant when it comes to anything outside... not even knowing how to

identify basic trees, plants or birds. So personally I'm looking forward to learning along with my girls. I'm most excited to follow nature as winter slowly fades away and spring emerges with the hope she brings every year. So below are some pictures from our brief emergence into the forest next door to our apartment.

Animal tracks. But which animal? I don't know! But I do know we have many deer and wild boar in our forest.

This was my favorite. I love how the snow layered itself on the west side of the trees. (Had to throw west in there because I actually pulled out my "compass" -thanks iPhone- and figured out which direction everything was!)

The girls couldn't resist making snow angels and when they did my oldest noticed the tops of the trees and the sky and wanted me to take a picture of "niebo" which is Polish for sky. Below is their point of view.

This week we will work on identifying a few trees in the pictures. And on our next walk we will pay more attention to the bark and twigs/branches of the trees since there are no leaves to help us identify them. My girls were most interested in going on a walk to the store or getting into the car so it was a stretch to get them to be quiet enough to really stop and listen to what was going on in nature around them. But once they did they heard the birds chirping and other people laughing and playing in the snow.

So, what did my girls notice or take interest in? Had a hard time getting it out of them but I was very impressed after a bit of discussion between me and my oldest. She told me she noticed "ice". So I asked her "where?" She told me "on the water" (there's a pond in the forest which is what she was referring to) and I asked her what else was on the ice. She said "snow" and I prodded a bit more and she remembered the animal footprints across the pond. I asked her if animals could walk on the pond in the summer. She laughed and said "No! They would fall into the water and all the fish would eat them!" Now we don't have piranha in the pond, but I was very proud that she came to that conclusion of the pond being frozen in winter and being water in summer! I'm very encouraged and looking forward to our next excursion. Now to get to naming the trees we saw!

Time to Pretend

2010-02-03T16:47:00.001-06:00

Abigail is dressed up like a ballerina with a crown on her head (being the pajama pants!) and Hannah's spoon is her mic. They're so cute!

Abi's Solo

2010-01-30T14:32:00.001-06:00

Abi singing today in the gym testing the mic before we began the kids program. She's definitely got her father's genes :)

Carnival at Prescool

2010-01-28T03:36:00.002-06:00

Abi and Hannah had a carnival Tuesday and got to dress-up like princess fairies. From my understanding it's a bit like Mardi Gras before the start of Lent. They get to let loose and have fun! Here's a few pics.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Proof it's cold.

2010-01-24T11:42:00.002-06:00

8•F and getting colder

Hannah's First Day of Preschool

2010-01-11T11:33:00.001-06:00

Wow! Two little girls in preschool! I can't believe it. Hannah has been wanting to go to school so I thought we'd let her try it out. Abi was so excited to show Hannah around the school and even get her ready this morning. She walked Hannah to her classroom and made sure she was ok. Hannah had so much fun and wants to return tommorrow! My little girls are growing up :( Greg and I went on a date this morning with our free time- we went for coffee and talked with a lot less distraction than usual!

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Presents from RiverTree!

2009-12-22T04:50:00.005-06:00

Thank you Kristi for being so thoughtful of my Hannah at Christmas. Greg and I really are touched that you put so much thought and love into sending a package to Hanhah, and Abi ;) We are blessed to be a part of such a loving church body in Huntsville. The girls have had so much fun showing off their Dora hats! And Abi said, "I'm really happy that Hannah got a box of presents and there was something for me!" Here are some videos of them opening the box. We're waiting until Christmas to let them open the wrapped presents. The pictures are up of Hannah's friends from Sunday School. Thank you so much to all of you sweet things in her class!

Merry Christmas from Poland!

Sledding pt. 2

2009-12-17T14:59:00.001-06:00

Hannah still crying

Sledding

Although Abi was having a blast, Hannah wouldn't stop screaming!

Nice Ladies Night

2009-12-14T13:41:00.001-06:00

Went to the house of cultue tonight, invited by my mother in law, and enjoyed Christmas music, coffee, and cake. It was nice except for the lady who bought the last house cleaning detergent that I wanted... She took it straight from my hands!

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King's Kids Poland 10 years

2009-12-12T07:38:00.001-06:00

A video I made of what our club is doing now in the Silesian region of Poland

Fall walk

2009-11-23T08:11:00.000-06:00

Greg took the girls on a walk so I could have some "me" time. Mondays are my days to get things done around the house and catch up on my bible study homework. Thanks Greg! You are a great daddy :)

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2009-11-22T07:04:00.002-06:00

Abigail

My girls

2009-11-22T06:02:00.001-06:00

After church... They are so cute!

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Walk in the forest

2009-11-13T08:58:00.002-06:00

Reminiscing in Budapest

2009-10-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

We had just landed Thursday afternoon from our 2 month stay in the States and within 24 hours I was on a train to Budapest for an Effective Communication Workshop organized by YWAM. Delirious from 4 nights of sleeplessness I stumbled around the city, along the Danube River, and among the many tourists enjoying the unique draw of the city. I couldn't help but think back on my first experience with the magnetism of Budapest. Eleven years ago, unbeknowing to me, this Hungarian capital captivated me and lured me from my discontentment and ignorance in Alabama. God used this enchanting city to expand my worldview and experience a bit more of his vastness. Less than a year and a half later I was back and within five years I had met my love and gotten engaged overlooking the Chain Bridge.

As I was stumbling around along the banks of the Danube Saturday, I couldn't help but find memories everywhere I looked. As I passed the Parliament building I remembered the moment I realized that I truly loved Greg as we were standing there together some six years ago. It was also in Budapest that I felt a true calling from the LORD that one day I'd live and serve in Central Europe. I'm thankful for this city and for the significance it's played in my life. It has truly been an unforgettable place that will continue to call back to her.

Birmingham

2009-09-25T14:04:00.002-05:00

We've had so much fun and downtime since we've been in the States. Abigail and Hannah are now speaking English and I'm so proud of them! Their vocabulary has taken off! The time they've had with their cousins has been priceless and we can't get enough of running around barefoot in the backyard! There is less than two weeks left before we pack up and head to Poland. So we're squeezing in as much as we can until we step onto the plane. We'll post pictures as soon as we can hook up our camera to some one's computer.

Two weeks today...

2009-07-29T11:05:00.002-05:00

... and we'll be on a plane headed for sweet home Alabama. We're so excited to see you and visit friends and family. Practically speaking we need a few things while we are in the States. If you have any of the following you'd like to lend to us please let me know at skrobarfam@gmail.com.

Mobile phone
Car seats for a 2 yr. old and 3 1/2 yr. old
A car

And if you'd like to help us send back our suitcases full of loot which we can't get in Poland then please take a look at the list on the left-hand side of this blog for things we'd love to take back with us. For a look at ministry needs then go to our ministry blog. Thanks and see you soon!

A Day without our Daughters

2009-07-23T02:18:00.001-05:00

Today we are in wroclaw with our dear friends. Sandra is brave and keeping the girls over night So that we have some time to ourselves! We are sightseeing and enjoying starbucks!

Croatian Vacation Pics

2009-07-15T08:35:00.000-05:00

From June 26th to July 6th we spent time in
Medulin, Croatia with another family. We
shared a house with a wonderful yard and
grill with only about half a mile walk to the
beach. We had lovely hot weather with only
one afternoon of rain! The girls had a blast
spending ALL their waking hours outside play-
ing with the other children and mosquitoes :) Not
far was the city of Pula with an amazing colosseum
built by the Romans. It was wonderful downtime
for us away from Poland and spending precious
time as a family with our sweet girls and Polish
friends. Thank you God!

Starbucks finally arrived to Poland !!!!

2009-04-21T08:08:00.002-05:00

hello, everyone! As you know the two maybe three things about America as a Pole I love : reese's, good steaks and COFFEE from Starbucks !!!!
I want to announce with all of my pleasure that STARBUCKS arrived to Poland, is located in Warsaw (capital city of PL) and beautiful place Wroclaw. We are waiting in Katowice for the big Day as well, maybe next year....... anyway i'm happy so much !!!

Thinking about Parke

2009-04-21T05:01:00.002-05:00

Hey Parke! We saw a sign to you in Berlin and we looked everywhere but couldn't find you! Where were you?! We love you and miss you! ;)

More space in my kitchen!

2009-04-15T13:26:00.003-05:00

We had a guy come and add some cabinets in our kitchen. I can finally put everything away :) So here are some pictures for those family members who keep asking about it!

Family Bike Ride

2009-04-14T05:59:00.003-05:00

A big thank you to our family of supporters who bought us bikes at the end of last year! We now have two bikes and two kiddie seats for our girls and so we've been taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather we're having here in Poland. We've been trekking through the forests around our home looking at all the new life around us. Leaves are growing, flowers are sprouting, the birds have come back from the warmer countries so we've seen storks and ducks and birds that I have no idea what they are named! It is wonderful experiencing all the new life around us. It is impossible not to be infected with the hope it reveals in Jesus Christ. I love spring!

New Car!

2009-04-02T09:51:00.001-05:00

God heard our cry and provided through a faithful friend money for a car! We've been praying for a few years about a reliable car with seven seats. We were in need of a bigger car for ministry and for when we have visitors and the many trips to airports and have been keeping our eyes out for something. So when we were surprised with an end-of-the-year gift we prayed about what to use the money for. And after three long months of looking for a car in Germany, Belgium, and Poland this is the one we were waiting for! God is faithful to us and he led us to whom we found out later to be "the most honest guy in Tychy"! We bought this 2004 Opel Zafira from his used car lot in March right before my parents came over with the team from RiverTree Church in Huntsville, Alabama. It's a diesel engine which is the best to have here- the gas is cheaper and the engines last a lot longer than petrol engines. It has about 56,000 miles on it and looks as if it's never been driven. We took it to the Opel service to have the car checked before we bought it and the manager of the service department said he would buy it if we didn't. It's a very good car! And of course we've already had our chance to put it to good use! We took a road trip with my parents and the girls to Berlin and we all got to ride together! It is so nice to enjoy this blessing- especially with others. Thank you so much for this good gift!

5th Anniversary in Berlin!

2009-02-23T03:59:00.004-06:00

So we just returned from Berlin and despite the freezing temperatures, snow, and grey skies we had a lot of fun exploring! Here is a slideshow from our time there. I'll post some more thoughts later about our time at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and reading the stories of those who tried to escape over the wall into West Berling. It was very moving for both Greg and me.

Life

2009-02-15T09:54:00.006-06:00

www.wordle.net
Thanks Krista for this awesome website! I'll be playing with this for hours!

Abi's First Sleepover Friend

2009-02-08T03:51:00.001-06:00

Abi's best friend Noemi spent the night with us (and so did her parents, Aga and Mariusz!) and they had so much fun! As you can see they played dress up and tea party and of course ran around until they crashed at about 10 pm. And the next morning the girls hadn't had enough of each other yet, so we spent the day at the park... it was a random "warm" sunny day in February. The next day it started snowing so we got lucky! I'm sure there'll be many more sleepovers- our girl is growing up so quickly!

Happy Birthday!

2009-01-04T10:43:00.000-06:00

Abigail and Greg celebrated their birthdays January 3rd. We spent a nice time with family eating cake, playing and opening presents. Here are a few of our pictures from that day.

Krakow with friends

2008-11-20T10:19:00.000-06:00

Our English friends Paul and Stephanie visited us in November and we went to Krakow together. Here are some pictures from that nice time together.

Krakow with Paul and Steph

New Pictures

2008-11-03T11:40:00.002-06:00

I have uploades some pictures of the girls so go have a look!
click here

Abi's 1st Day of Preschool

2008-09-07T14:05:00.002-05:00

Well, I did it. I broke down and signed my little girl up for preschool. After telling everyone I'd never do it, I ate my words. Why? Well, I never got to transition into Poland as I should have. We moved here nearly 4 years ago, started taking Polish lessons, got pregnant, stopped learning the language, had a baby, thought about learning the language again, oops, got pregnant again, had another one, and, well, I NEED A BREAK! :) So, with Abi begging me to go to preschool and me in desperate need to have some time to learn Polish I decided it would be best. She did so well her first two days. She ran right in and started playing with all the new toys and fun things but by the third day the newness wore off and she was no longer telling me to leave her side. By Thursday she absolutely did not want to have anything to do with preschool. So, I don't know what I've gotten us into but I hope she'll get used to it! She goes from 9am-1pm and has breakfast and lunch while I get some study time in. If she doesn't adjust, though, I won't mind putting off the language learning for another year... I've done ok so far! ;)

Hannah's First Steps!

2008-09-07T09:40:00.003-05:00

Hannah is now really trying to walk! We're so proud of her. All she wants to do is hold someone's finger and walk around exploring. It's tons of fun but we'll be even more satisfied when we don't have to go exploring with her and can just sit down and watch her. :) This was filmed the 20th of August.

Hannah's 1st Birthday

2008-07-25T13:03:00.003-05:00

Happy birthday Hannah! We had a great celebration in our garden with friends and family. We grilled Polish sausages and ate birthday cake. The kids played in the baby pool, painted faces, ran around crazy, and had a wonderful time! We are blessed with Hannah... she's such a happy girl and a sweet addition to the family. Here are some pictures!

Baltic Slideshow

2008-07-25T10:28:00.002-05:00

We just returned from our vacation from Gdansk and the coast of the Baltic Sea. It was wonderful! We had perfect weather- it wasn't too hot or cold. It was strange for me to be at the beach and actually enjoy it... since I'm from Alabama the beach is usually unbearably hot! Greg, the girls, Mom and Dad and Greg's dad and I drove ten hours on terrible Polish roads but had a blast! We toured Torun, Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot, Hel... yep, Hel, we can say we've been to Hel and back! :) So here's a few pictures to enjoy!

Huntsville Mission Trip- English Classes at King's Kids Club

2008-07-14T08:56:00.003-05:00

We had an absolute blast this past week teaching English! I am so proud of the group which came from Huntsville. There were six people: Mom and Dad, my sister Meg and her husband Josh, and Lawren Ledbetter (who was here last year), and Amy Bolton. They were very prepared and quite flexible and were very capable of teaching English to those who came from age 5 up to 55! Many responded with interest in continuing the classes with me in September so of course we are excited that these relationships will continue to grow and develop. We had beginner, intermediate, and advanced groups and all said they learned a lot. Most had never conversed with a native English speaker and so this was a huge occasion for them.
The group stayed in our neighborhood in a furnished flat in which some Canadian friends of mine had lived. They moved back to Canada after studying medicine here for two years and so it was a perfect place for the group to stay. We took public transportation to and from the King's Kids building, around the city, and even to Krakow and so they experienced some real Polish culture! Hopefully that didn't scare them off from coming next year! Thanks team for your hard work and wonderful job, for your vacation time you sacrificed and the money you put towards being here. In the name of our club we say "Thank you, and you're welcome back anytime!"

God is good all the time !

2008-06-23T15:30:00.012-05:00

kids day team at the city open market

God is good all the time everyday .....

1. Club life
2. Our help to the city
3. Paulina's miracle !
4. Marta receives Jesus
5. Our girls from the club get awards !!
6. Open door to the schools
7. The conversation with the Catholic priest
8. Summer missions
9. Skrobarczyk's corner

1
we just notice that the club is growing of youth people who are coming to seat and enjoy coffee or drinks and just chat. Its was amazing to see that the dance studio project brought many young people who were able to meet us and know about us. Some of them decided to stay and help us with the voluntier work. Our prayer is how to make guys interesting to read Bible and have desire to know Him better, to receive Him as a personal Saviour. We discover that They need short message about Jesus and talk - show. There are exited about the train car project in our club which is slowly going forward. The other thing is that our walls will covert by the passages from the bible translated to the young language. We had been blessed by some medical students who are not so far away form our flat, they sold us very,very cheap two stereo's which are used in our coffee corner playing music with the Christians words.

2
as a club we were helping the city hall in the big project called KIDS DAY where we lead kids games, music and fun , there was about 700 people who would able to hear about as king's kids. I think that was really nice because helped us to show especially to the schools who told the students that we are sect and didn't let the kids to visit us.Praise the Lord for that big favour !
Another big things was that we were helping at the Special Olimpic games for disable kids in our city. Was really fun to help them and learn to understand the different world. I was able to pray and blessed those who are sucriface and helping the needy kids.

3
Doctor's were faithing for Paulina's life two days, girl in the age of 13th who try to commit suciade because of not acceptence in the school. We prayed for Her and send her couple letters hoping that She received and were able to read and be encouraged. Praise the Lord that God give Her another chance and that He hear our cry out !
We hoping that She will able to come back after she come back from the village.

4
One of our girl , some of you probably remember Her from last year , three weeks ago received Jesus to Her heart !!! That was awesome news we got from Poland when we particpated ywam conference in Slovakia. She was prying with my dad and sister and by her self decided to open Her heart ! She satrt imediatelly read the Bible and I think I discover She is different , i can't describe it but is see and hear what she is saying , well She brought another 3 girls ......
Please pray for her for growing and protections She is only 14 years old !

5
Our gilrs from one of the gymnasium school were honored by the councelar of prestige school with an awards for theirs volontuer work for the society ! Natalia and Beata are 16 years old and got saved on the Excelerate Evangelism concert last year. Wow we so exited about them and praying that God will lead them and show them the truth. Its really nice that theirs parents leting them go and attend our club especially Beata who's uncle is a catholic Priest.
Thank you grils for your good example to the others !!

6
Beatas and Natalia's succes give us open door to some of the high schools where they asked us for colaboration !! Also different school where our boy who had trouble attending open door for colaborating asking us to help Marek to be able to pass exams and motivate him to better life, which actually is slowly going on. The interesting thing is that His 50 years old mom coming to our meetings as well to help with full of joy seeing her son change.

7
Greg met with the priest from the Catholic church in our neighborhood on Monday. As you know the religion teacher at the local school has given us grief so we knew it was time to pay a visit to the one responsible for the sheep in the area :) Greg went and had a wonderful conversation. They both shared their heart about the difficulties with the youth in the area. The priest even shared the results of a poll he did which concluded that only 5% of the youth respect the Catholic church's law and morals. It's a tragedy that the moral bar is so low in our area. But he is willing to work together for local evangelism and projects! Hallelujah!

8
We expecting two teams this summer one from the States who will lead english classes for kids and youth&adults please pray for them that God would be able to use them and give them power. The other team is coming from Holland at the end of July and will have (we hope ) opportunity to serve at the catholic church close by :-) Im very exited about it and praying taht Lord willuse this for His glory ! Also we will work around the city to bringing hope.love and salvation ! we will also visiting one of the biggest catholic monanstery in Poland where the team will do whole day program.

9
Abi,Hannah are doing well growing and making more mess :-) but giving us a lot of joy ! Hannah had to attend soem rehabilitation because She coudn't craw and make movements. Praise The lord God is helping and making her so motion ....
Unfortunately my mom had to go to work in Norway on the small island where she is working with the fish. We missing her because She was really big help but didn't have finances to continue Her clown mission project ....... the other 2 sad things are that she is planing come back in November , and my sister is gonna join Her in one week :( its a big lost for few months because that means everything is jumping on my head .... im kinda scary of this because a lot of things are upcoming but lack of people .... we just praying that God will provide somebody who would help to provide some support. We also would like to rest and preaper for the new season especially for Erin who have heart for prostitute in the Katowice street therefore if you would like to donate our vacation budget would be really nice.
Poland becaming really expensive and I can trully say that we wonder how the coming years will look's like. Its becoming harder especially where gallon of gasoline cost around $10 which is killing many our projects.

king's kids update - April 2008

2008-05-04T05:54:00.013-05:00

Tough weekend & month experience.
Starts from Hannah & Abigail kick Erin to the hospital. I'm so thankful that I could learn and wait for God's will concerning Erin. That wasn't tragic things, but first time she need to go to the hospital and for the first time we went together through tough month. Erin was taken from the doctor office straight to the hospital where after an unsuccessful giving IV she finally got two and still with some pain and antibiotic release home. Friday we had to be come back to the hospital but different one which our friend from help us to be in. In Poland very often you have to be lucky to be at the hospital. We find out that the head doctor of the department was our duty one in our Samaritans Purse Package action.

This month also was hard for me as far as my back, its better now but I couldn't walk. I'm going through rehab right now hoping that God will show me how to take care more for my health.

We find out also that living in the Silesia area (polution) cost our kids some allergies, We tried almost everything and with Abigail is better but Hannah have to take some special medicine with babyhaler, therefore this month was broking us financially because of every third day at the Pharmacy.

Polish health care system is for free but unfortunately is not really covert people needs, very often to make ex or usg you have to wait in the line for few weeks, therefore we trying how we can go private which is costing money.

Pray for us for health proctection.

club stuff
we are happy of the mirrors we got from Lawren (Bless you) because they really serve us with our project with a guy from You Can Dance. For the first day we had 80 young people show up in our club who wanted to spend time in our club instead of doing stupid things.
We praying now for God's wisdom how to reach the new generation ! We start to have 4 times a week meetings with different groups on different level.
Darek is really good person, We are praying for Him as well. He is coming from dysfunctional family where together with His brother they have to start train karate to be able to protect Theirs mother who was bitten and abuse by alcoholic father.

Last week we had guys coming and ask us about permission to train box in our building. We were able to talk about Jesus with them and connect with our Christian Friend Marek who was Euro Champion few years ago. We believe that through this contacts we will able to talk to the fanatic fans of the soccer club about Jesus and His Love to them.

Other thing is that we lost contest for donation for our work from the local government because of some discrepancy papers which was surprice kinda.

We thankful to God that He is protecting us and helping with His Wisdom and Peace.

club under attack,
we are actually got accustomed to some kinda attack concerning our club, last week some guys break our windows where our beautiful mirrors are, I don't know why that happened but we are in contact with the Police and they will start investigation to ketch those who did this damage plus our mail box which was also devastated.

week ago also we had mom of one of our dance participant who ask me who we are, She was nice and calm but want to know more about us because one of the religion teacher set in teh school class that we are sect and categorically forbade every kid from the school attend our meetings !!! I could accuse Her for saying no truth and sue Her in the court house for libel but we decided to give the issue to the Lord. Its a big matter because about 300 kids can hear lay from her mouth but we pray that God will protect us against. We thought that the best defend is to do what we do and the fruit will speak for it self.

My mom retirement project - request to everyone
As you know our whole family is involve in this ministry, my mom is leading worship and clowning and together with my father, they care for the parents.
My mom is unemployed, since 5 years and is really hard to find job for her in the age of 51, but she use to work as a seller so She still have a chance to get retirement but She need to work 5 more years ! Its hard for her to find any job because of the 20% of unemployed in our area and what She found out was that Her last employer didn't pay national insurance and this why she is missing the 5 years ! We were thinking to sue Him but His company is not exist anymore becuase of bancrupcy but She would be able to get this retirement if She will pay for her self for 5 years only about $150 per month., so She can get to the retirement age. If anybody would have this request in your heart and would be able to help with any donation (we wanna help as well ) we would be appreciate. That would help Her and She would be able to work in our ministry fully and be not worry. If you feel that you would be able to help please let us know.

2008-04-11T11:24:00.001-05:00

I am always thinking, "What is the best communication tool to be able to encourage people to become part of our life here in Poland? We would like our friends to be able to read our news and send us feedback, we would like to interact through the best tool with you to receive some more advice, prayers and thoughts. The world is terribly fast, as Christians we also sometimes get lost in the whole atmosphere of the surrounding world. I know also that a true relationship can be built only by seeing each other, talking to each other and caring for each other- not only by words but action- which here in Poland (as Poles) we're starting to miss. I had a dream the other night about being in our own busy world and having no contact with others .... the church was looking at me seeming to ask me how to fix the problem! I'm not sure of the solution but I know we must sacrifice something in order to be relational and to communicate. But are we willing to sacrifice, are we willing to put forth the effort it takes to build better communication? Let us know how we can improve on our end in order to carry each other's burdens in the body of Christ.

-Greg

JANINE STELLATOS FROM METRO MINISTRIES

It's been almost two weeks since Janine has gone but we can still hear comments and encouragements after her visit. About 100 people showed up in the two seminars- here in Katowice and in Gdynia which is about 670km north of Katowice. We organized it for people who are working with street kids and those from block environments. Janine is an assistant to Bill Wilson, president and founder of Metro Ministries International, America's largest ministry to children serving over 42,000 children with Sunday School services, child sponsorship, special programs, and personal home visits on a weekly basis. The key is simple- visitation! It builds relationship with those who attend every Saturday. Another key? PASSION... and Janine is filled with it!
It was a big privilege to host her and watch how God is using her in action to do big things! We were encouraged and really blessed by her sacrifice in coming here to serve us and the Polish people! That motivated us to put more effort into our kids ministry and gave us a breath of fresh air! THANKS JANINE!

Club Update

-by Greg
A huge blessing came in the form of 5000zl ($2500) which really helped us to finish some of our projects we've been dreaming about. We purchased a really nice Ping-Pong table and Foosball table and with the rest we'll renovate our coffee corner! Because of that we'll open the club every day from 5pm till 8pm for those who want to come and play or just hang out. Every Monday we'll have a guy, B.Boy from the show YOU CAN DANCE who will teach Hip-Pop & Break Dance! We started to promote this through newspapers and local government organizations. He's had a really tough life with an abusive father who later left the family with no means of finances for food clothing etc. We are looking forward to working with him. The theater project is a hit...twice a month participating in Euro-Project called "Theater from wood till wood". We have about 25 youth who are involved in this.

Our Car

-by Greg
THE BREAK-IN: When I was 670 km away with Janine and my mom, somebody broke into our car the first night we were gone. They had tried to steal our stereo. God is Faithful b/c the person was unable to take it and besides the stereo being damaged everything else was ok... no broken windows or locks! THE REPAIR: We've had some corrosion problems under the car as well as one of the doors. So went sent the car to the mechanic for over a week! A few surprises and $1,000 later we are up and running again- and hopefully for a while! What we thought to be a two hundred dollar problem turned into a much greater one- our frame was completely corroded as well as the gas tank and more of the body. But we had a blast riding around in the "toy" car that's pictured and taking the buses and trams. A friend loaned us his Fiat (above) which looks like a wind-up car until his van broke down and needed it back. Look closely and you can see Abi in her car seat up front since she was too big to fit in the back! Don't worry though, there are no airbags in this car!

Skrobarczyk Family Corner

-by Erin
We are learning to be appreciative for health! We have found a doctor very close-by who is able to speak English well enough for me to take my children w/o Greg's help! That is a big hallelujah for me especially since we have all been sick since last October. Greg was somehow able to resist the "funk" going around but two weeks ago his back gave out. What we thought were kidney stones have turned out to be a deterioration of his lumbar vertebrae. Greg has gone through rehabilitation for his back a couple years ago and now must start the process again. We are grateful for the long awaited diagnosis and we now know what we must do to treat it. Pray he will heal up quickly and he will have wisdom in how to care for himself. Abi and Hannah have been feeling better and we haven't seen a doctor in three weeks! That's progress! They are growing like crazy... Abi is repeating everything she hears (in Polish and English) and Hannah is the light of the room continually laughing, squealing, and clapping her hands. They are so cute!

I was able to go to a women's conference the last weekend of March. It was my first one since we have moved to Poland! It was organized by our new church and five ladies from Colorado came to teach and serve. It was so refreshing for me, I was encouraged spiritually and revived physically (the theme was "Spa for the Body and Soul")! Hannah came with me and was a big hit while Abi stayed home and took care of Greg :) He ended up in the hospital with his "kidney" pain that weekend! So I hit the ground running as soon as I returned. Oh well, there'll will be another one!

Well, I could go on. But I know that I must save something for next update. Thanks for your prayers, supports, and emails of encouragement. We have been lifted up by you and your concern for us. God bless you and keep you!

Sincerely,

Greg and Erin Skrobarczyk
King's Kids Poland

Return to the forgotten City

2008-02-17T13:03:00.008-06:00

A few days ago we had the privilege to go to the district where we experienced with King's Kids from Holland miracles and healings. It's been amazing what's happened after the summer. My mom found a guy who is dancing break dance in "Neo Squad Band" in this area. Later we found out that some main Polish TV station made a 45 minute report about three guys who liked to break-dance and wanted to change their lives . Three of them came from very dysfunctional families. In this area there is about 40% unemployment. His life story is really tough because since this time two of the three couldn't carry the heavy burden on their shoulders, perhaps they didn't have any support, therefore their dreams dissapearred. But Andrzej (in English, Andrew) has passion for this area and is fighting for resources and a place to be able to encourage the new generation who is living there that there's a better way to life than drinking, stealing, drugs and violence.

February the 13th 4pm.

We were able to lead one of our programs with object lessons to the 200 kids gathered at the public school. Through the object lessons we were able to talk about sin and how our mouths are not always saying good things. Of course we had Andrew who did an awesome job with guys from his band. The most blessed thing happened afterwards when we were able to talk to the teachers and some officials. They said it was amazing to see the kids really paying attention like never before and that the Christian message was really neccesarry that night. We're looking forward to see these kids know God- especially those needy ones who came afterwards asking for some more packages for their siblings which this night we were able to share at the king's kids program. God Loves them so much- as we do!

...thank you God for your faithfulness, thank you that everything with you is better

2007-11-24T15:49:00.000-06:00

Well, I think it's one of the last posts we are putting here before we will leave for the States ;-) We are exited to see family, friends and show our daughters their second homeland.

A week ago we were involved with our volunteers at a big event called the World Day of No
Smoking. All this happened in the Plaza mall in Ruda Slaska. We were painting kids' faces, making balloons and showing a drama about how we're suppose to not using cigarettes. It was really cool to talk to young people from many public schools and see what they think about it and how God is sees it.

As well we have been renovating our building to be able to use for more activities, one of the rooms is being painted and has NEW LAMPS!!! It looks better! The other room is waiting as well for new lamps and mirrors which will come soon !!!

Right now we using our lodge for the youth gatherings and parents who are coming with their kids- they always can get coffee and something sweet while waiting for their kids.

Last week we had the privilege to host 16 different non government organizations in workshops organized by The City Hall and Institute of the Promotion of the Social Activity.
We were really blessed to learn for free the other side of our ministry, how the world is regulating things, how important is to take care for volunteers, how to use wisely finances etc..
Because of that we were able to share what we do, what is our goal to the representatives of the non profit organizations. Many of them were impressed what they saw and what they heard. Praise to the Lord ! that the government people could see what we do and heard that everyone wanst to cooperate with us.

The first picture above is really important for us. It's showing an apology and a gift giving for us because when we had workshops some guys came to ask for dance club but seeing that nobody is at the lodge stole a big bottle of pepsi. Half hour later we found the piece of paper saying : We really sorry, we don't know what pushed us to do that - we apologize. Isn't it a nice testimony? That God is so big ? Thank you Lord that you are with your kids who belive you and with those who don't .

this coming saturday we hope to see kids in our club

2007-11-14T12:57:00.000-06:00

.... also :-) this coming Saturday we will have meeting with kids from our neighborhood , Please pray that God would use our skills to serve those who will show up! the one thing we will use in our meeting would be 4 important things where : God loves you, I have sinned, Jesus died for me and I have to decide to live for God

we got the chairs today! 30 of them...

2007-11-14T12:11:00.000-06:00

hello to everyone! We would like to tell you that we purchase 30 chairs today ! We so happy finally we will able to seat normally :-) and enjoy the freshness ! Thank you once again for those who donate and thank you for your patients till today ! (we have small list of donate people.

I hope we will able to say thank you personally to you when we come to US this December)

We will make real pictures of them this coming Saturday when we meet on our first club SevenEleven 7/11 meeting! We so exited ! Keep pray for us and for the first opening meeting !

Excelerate team from Performing Arts School in New Zealand Impacted Our Environment

2007-10-29T06:40:00.000-05:00

..those who didn't see the concerts can only use their imaginations by looking at the pictures to think how everything was- which was very excellent!
We didn't know if they would be able to come until the last minute but finally they arrived with two vans and a trailer full of sound equipment and instruments.
The first concert took place in my old Technical-High School where youth were amazed by the high quality of music, dancing and performance. For me it was a trip down memory lane and I talked to the teachers who were still there and shared what's happened in my life. Its been almost 12 years!! It's good to look now from a different perspective my school, teachers and different things .... even the janitors were the same :-) I talked to them too! They of course knew more gossip than the principal :-) I think this is the old truth everywhere: "Talk to the janitors and you will know everything!" ;-)
When we were organizing the concerts at the schools in Ruda Slaska we received different feedback as far as religion, faith and Christianity. Some school principals treated us quite rude if I can say and saying Christian in this "Christian Nation" you would think to be acceptable but unfortunately is wrong. Therefore we had to cancel some of our concerts at the school where most of our kids and youth are attending. But in the end seven schools hosted the team and were pleasantly surprised and blessed by them! Praise the Lord! The band had a different program for schools and different final concert called "Protector of the Beat" - a story about God and His creation - how God gave us a beat and how others want to destroy it.
The final evangelical performance took place in the big civic gym on Sunday night and brought over 300 young people! We were so thankful to our friend from the Sports Department who organized this place at the last minute! The response was great about 50 young people went to the front accepting Jesus as their Lord! Some of them were friends of the kids in our club- what an encouragement for them :)
Monday in our club we had a meeting for those who wanted to meet the team personally and about 60 guys came to participate at the talk show. I had the privilege at the end of the meeting to share my testimony and tell how the Bible has impacted my life and encourage the young generation to read the Bible and discover God. I can say at least that many people were touched and cried, especially at the prison and children's hospital where the team also performed. Well this showed how God can use our talents and skills for His glory and purpose. We believe that many of our kids were encouraged and they saw how diverse God is and what He can do with our lives. we pray that God will give some fruits from these concerts and His glory will rise!

THANK YOU NEW ZEALAND TEAM! WE WERE BLESSED!

Operation Christmas Child - Shoe Boxes - beginning in our town

2007-10-14T06:38:00.000-05:00

We are so glad that God brought us to this point that the simple action of giving "shoe boxes" is touching many people in our town Ruda Slaska. I believe that it's much more than only an action but it's faith, love and hope in action. With this tool we are reaching, touching and pointing the "Heads" of our town towards God. We're so happy that our Mayor, Education Department, and Sport Department from our town are involved to share the message from Franklin Graham about Jesus' Love to the needy.
What a great opportunity to show them our faith in Christ!
This past week we got propositions from the local TV station to be in a commercial. Next week I'm going to speak at the gymnasium Principles gathering about the action. Please support us in your prayers! I need knowledge and wisdom to be able to speak out the truth about Him and His purpose in raising packages.

Red Cross Single Mothers' Safe House: Fund Raiser at Ruda Slaska Mall

2007-10-13T05:44:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago we were able to help collect and raise finances for the Single Mother House at the Shopping Center PLAZA in Ruda Slaska. We had a really good time painting and making balloon animals for kids and adults. The role I had was to talk to people and encourage them to donate some pocket money :) Well I wasn't prepared for that (no one told me beforehand) but after three hours of talking I finally had a break! We had our friends from Kings Kids Daisyclub in Katowice where we used to work. The girls prepared some dances and presented some clothes from one of the stores who sponsored the crisis house.

There was another reason I was so happy- I don't know if I shared with you but after many years of no contact with my colleague from primary school and from my block where I grew up, He called me to say that he had a very serious problem with his marriage. His wife of 13 years decided to leave. He was depressed and tried to commit suicide. After one whole week of hanging with him, praying and meeting with his wife and also Erin, God changed some circumstances! God is Good! For now they are separated but he has stopped thinking about himself and started caring for his precious daughters! That Saturday they were helping us out at the shopping center full of joy and hope for the future.
God you always working at the right time.

"... my son, came back home very different": Impressions from the Parents Meeting in our King's Kids Club

2007-09-11T02:56:00.000-05:00

Open day for Parents at the King's Kids Club

Last Saturday, we had gathered parents from our kids who joined us before the summer and helped us very much. We had the opportunity to share who we are, what is our goal, and some of our history.
It was nice to see all the parents and youth gathered together with us !! We were surprised that they took seriously the invitation that was sent before and showed up to know us better.

The meeting went really well and was a big encouragement for us b/c it reinforced that we are in the right place. In talking with the parents we had really good feedback and observations. The nice thing was that they were happy that their kids can attend our club and BE INVOLVED EVEN WITH BIBLE STUDY!

One of the mothers said that she was concerned about her son's behaviour, "He came back home calm, smiling , He was different, I noticed that He is not sitting on the stairs in the front of our block with some of the not really good company , so where's He going? Today I know that He is in the right place". Another mother said: "well, my daughter was scared that I will not let Her go there anymore, when I asked Her what they do there She said- they do a lot of good things, but also they pray .... but different then we do- so I decided to send my other daughter to spy on this place which is about 100m from our apartment . When She come back I knew that this is the right place for Her to stay and be involved. Well I would like for them to study Bible and know more about God"

How encouraging is this! I believe that God has His Plan for this place! There's no doubt that He can use this time to Show Himself through our ministry. I don't know how long we will stay there , perhaps one more year, months ... because of the difficulties with paying utilities but one thing we know That God can use this period of time to bless and show His love to the neighborhood.

The Responsibility Project

After praying and asking God how we can disciple our youth God gave us an idea to choose 5 of the guys and train them by giving them responsibilities to lead 3 main areas in our club. There is Worship, Hospitality, Dance & Drama. After each month we will meet to debrief and talk about our experiences. The whole idea is connected to the new Sunday afternoon meeting called : "Where are you going?".
We pray that God will lead them and teach showing His plan. Each person has a Staff person who is overseeing them and available to talk and consult.

First Home Church Meeting

Was nice to gather with the oldest, together with the youth and worship God listening to His word and have real fellowship! Well Abigail was playing drums and saying "jejula!" which means Hallelujah! That shows her heart and encouraged me to be free when I worship Him.

Where are you going? - the new Sunday afternoon worship meetings

2007-09-07T05:13:00.000-05:00

hello guys! we ask you for prayer support for the new meetings in our club on Sunday afternoon called : "Where are you going?" - this meeting will be about worship,prayers and free sharing from the youth.

The Fruits Which Were Planted In Ruda Slaska

2007-09-03T07:22:00.001-05:00

Group From The Church at Hampton Cove

The week in July was so full that actually I don't know how to start to share about the amazing visit of the group from Alabama in Ruda Slaska where me and my family were born and raised!

Vacation Bible School: in Polish- Niezwykle Historie (Unusual Story)

Beginning of the week brought us questions if more than 6 kids would come in the morning to learn about unusual people from the Bible but every day God provided more and more. By the end of the week we needed a bus to deliver kids from the most needy area in our town! I believe that God touched the young hearts through the biblical stories shared and the wonderful crafts helped them remember that Jesus loves them so much. And what more? We were able to hang out with those who never experienced true love and joy. Some parents were also God touched through this!

American Football clinic with guys from Silesia Miners

When we met for the very first time I knew that would be a good idea to combine together our experiences to play and learn. Many guys attended this "exotic" type of sport in our country. I was surprised that the young guys wanted to learn this game and play. There were amazing opportunities to make new relationships and share about God's love! The fruit is that we are still continuing to train the young generation in football. Also they had a great chance to show at at half-time of a Silesian Miners game what they learned where about 600 people were watching! That's wonderful for the kids to learn and spend time with us instead of doing stupid things which in the Club area is easy to do. Why? Because there's nothing there to do which is why God sent us there!

Playground dream-come-true at the Single Mothers' Safe-House

We can say today that this project was a gift and blessing from God to the house inhabitants! A few days ago I got a phone call from the director of the house and He was very happy that so many mothers (from normal families) coming there every day with kids and getting know the single mothers' life stories.
The beginning ...... the idea was to introduce to the society around that this place needed help, understanding and love. For so many years this house was thought of as a strange place where the kids and women are crazy. The first thing I noticed when I came there in 2000 was the closed main gate which gives the impression that not everybody is welcome there.
The new director this year had an idea to open this house to the neighborhood and make it known that these people are normal and need attention and help. What a great opportunity to share Jesus' Love in a practical way! Grand opening was amazing ! About 200 people showed up to celebrate the gift from heaven brought by the team from Alabama.
This event created a great time to share about Jesus to the Radio, TV and many newspapers around the Silesian area! I'm happy and want to laugh when I remember the main question asked by the news people, "Why Here?" , and I'm so blessed when we could respond because of Jesus love !

Summary:
I think it was a great privilege to have the team who impacted the city this summer, we got understanding from the local government that ministry like ours are necessary to the society. My conversation with the mayor assistant about God's blessing made her full of admiration and respect that we were able to show practical love to ours neighbors.

Another question I'm still hearing is : They are coming next year right?! :-) Be blessed. -Greg

New Pictures!

2007-08-27T14:30:00.000-05:00

After a full, fulfilling, and fully exhausting summer we rested for some of August! Below are pictures of the month. Click on the picture and it will take you to the photo album.

August '07

Mt. Vacation

Bill Wilson book project

2007-08-18T02:11:00.000-05:00

We would like to invite you to pray for translating to Polish, this incredibly life story book of men who is reaching 20.000 kids each week at the street of New York.

Canadian Christian concert @ the Kings Kids club

2007-08-16T09:55:00.000-05:00

Conversations With the Boys ...

After the concert we were able to talk to the boys who are in the group of 11 guys who are often interrupting our meetings. But when they heard testimonies from the members from the christian band from Canada they really got interested and calmed down to talk and ask questions about life and God. We believe that God touched them this night and the Holy Spirit will draw them to the peaceful place. They already want to help us organize a soccer tournament for boys from our triangle area! Praise the Lord!

Concert

Thank you God that this team was able to come for one night because people were really touched by the testimonies and worship music. That was a big Blessing too and made our hearts happy that in this place Worship music could be proclaimed around the blocks, school and all neighborhood- words about God, Jesus and faith, love & joy. Jesus -Hope of Better life, better future!

I was impressed how many people showed up to listen and dance before the Lord all Mighty.

Blessings from Belarus

2007-08-16T09:04:00.000-05:00

Ministry at the show Heavens gate & Hell Flames

Well, it was 2 hours between King's Kids Holland leaving and King's Kids Belarus coming :) It was a big blessing to have 10 guys from Belarus. We worked around the Katowice area mostly in our big park where one of our friends has a restaurant. Guys helped in a well-known performance called "Heaven's Gates & Hells Flames" where about 500 people watched the story about our life, choices, spiritual fight between evil and God. One of the nights our 4 girls and one of the girl's parents and grandma and guy invited Jesus to their hearts! Even Silesian Miners football team (5 of them ) were watching the Christian message through the Show.

Sport Department American Picnic at Ruda Slaska

The new American football players had a big game at the stadium in Ruda Slaska where the Sport department organized an American-Silesian Picnic! The Belorussians and our Polish team had a great opportunity to share Jesus' Love from the main stage !

Reminder from the past ...

I really appreciate the fact that we were able to host the Belorussian team, especially last Sunday which touched my heart when we were able to take them to Pizza Hut. We were eating lunch and had free drink refills and the guys couldn't believe that they can drink as much as they wanted :) At one moment the guys from Belarus started to be wild which aggravated my sister but God reminded me of 1991 when we were invited by a church from a small Danish Island called Bornholm, where we acted the same :-) Thank you God that we are able still to Bless the others and lift them up.

new wave at forgotten area in the city of bytom

2007-08-06T15:10:00.001-05:00

It was a privilege to host a team from Holland. The 24 teens and our guys who came at the begining when we opened our club were reaching new areas where we never went before.
One of these areas is Bobrek , a needy district of the city Bytom (near Katowice) with many ethnic conflicts. A few years ago the steel factory and Coal Mine closed there. People are without hope, love and work. Walking through the streets sharing invitations for kids' program was kinda scary. Some gypies there were shocked at our presence there and were looking for ways to steal , from a window somebody was screaming that he'll kill his neighbor if he doesn't leave his daughter alone, and on the corner were two policemen mediating for some drunk men.

HOW WE FOUND BYTOM?
Many times my family and I were passing this area and saw kids, dust, dirt, bricked up windows, and youth sniffing glue on the corners of the streets. Most of the stores there are 24hr open offerring vodka and cheap wine and food by giving your lastname to the huge book of debtors. The idea came immediately that we had to go there, but when and with whom? It's been 5 years since the first desire to go there and last week was finally the divine time. Us and the King's Kids team from Holland hung out and talked and listened and played games and danced and got dirty!!!

The first day we started with our program of dance and drama and then we played games with the 200 kids. They soon asked us for prayer and WE were blessed seeing the healing power of God!!!! One of the ladies' leg was healed and did not need her cane anymore, another ladies' migraine went away as we prayed, and a third ladies' rash disappeared. The next day when we returned we had more people asking for prayer around the neighborhood. Miracles happen. It built our faith, the teens faith from Holland, and the citizens in this grey sad place. Is this a small revolution? or just something we should be doing wherever we go....

Thank you Lord for meeting us there. Thank you for your healing power. Thank you for your encouragement and for building our faith. Thank you for your love for all.

2007-07-10T02:19:00.000-05:00

Here's Hannah!

Hannah Elizabeth

2007-07-08T03:05:00.000-05:00

Hannah Elizabeth Skrobarczyk born July 1st 2007. 3.3 kg and 50 cm long and 12:50 pm. We welcome you and bless you little Hannah! We are so excited at your arrival and our new life.

Mission in our new place is started , first trouble...

2007-04-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

Czesc! means Hello! :)

is 19:37 , i just seating and thinking how i can share with you about our life, ministry , waht is the most important? Storm in my brain how to start how to not make mistake etc,.. well first of all im very thankful for our your encourages verses and prayers you send to me when i was down! Thank you that you thought about me and did the effort supporting me in the hard days. I really appreciate it!

thank you and God Bless You!

ministry in our new building starts for good, as you know we preapering big event for kids from age 6 to 12 called Boomernag and its going nice. We had first bible studing, sharing and dance practicing (was nice to see all this things going on in the new place, well we did this for 7 years in many differents places and know we have our own ! wird feeling.:) but good.
As we start to be kinda loud in this area we became visible which is good for some reason - its funny to see all faces looking through the spray painting windows how kids and youth wanna see just a little small piece of something what is going inside...

well we also had some first break - in to our class were fortunatelly nothing valuble was there. the just stold a light bulb from our small lamp, i just pray that the bulb will shine somebodys life :) they also demages our lock door by kicking it.
The break in through different window to other class. Also during our meetings some guys was throw stones to make noise to disturb. well we knew that we are in the very blessing area colled the GOLD TRIANGLE !! how big challenge but also HOW BIG BLESSING! when im looking to the future what God can do i can't even say ... God help us to bring the Light to these young generation and see miracle happen!
Please support us in prayers for this work constantly! we are preapering to fast and pray for week for this special area that God would show us what to do how to start with the unkown youth and kids.

Yesterday team of 10 people from DTS England (there are Canadians, Americans and English) arrived for two months to help and support develop and build ministry in Ruda Slaska somewhere in the south of Poland.we are so exited and looking forward !

Personally, we established our new place and make as new home trying to meet new neighbours,(a lot of them speaking english very well!)and adopting new environment.
week and a half ago we had some trouble with Abigail health, she was going through stomach flu which made us stay over night, Praise the Lord everything is well know.We know that we have Daughter! Other thing: our car broke twice :) but is not anymore surprise becuase this is part of our life if you use 11 years old car. Praise the Lord for this experiences.

oh, we still don't have internet access i got papers back saying by the company that my signature is immposiblee to read :) well another week of passion and patience for the company!

But we did have good Easter !

greetings from sunny Poland!

to the next time! maybe in our own internet :)

Our Lord Jesus is risen !

2007-04-04T11:57:00.000-05:00

Easter morning, God be praised,
Allelujah!
Jesus Christ from death was raised.
Allelujah.

On Good Friday, Jesus died;
Allelujah!
All for us, He was crucified.
Allelujah.

Jesus bore the pain for me,
Allelujah!
From my sin, to set me free.
Allelujah.

Death could not confine our Lord,
Allelujah!
And to life He was restored.
Allelujah.

Easter morn we consecrate,
Allelujah!
His resurrection to celebrate.
Allelujah.

Jesus’ love means when we die,
Allelujah!
We’ll live in heaven with Him on high.
Allelujah.

Our Savior loves us awesomely;
Allelujah!
That’s what Easter means to me.
Allelujah.

He is Risen forever!

2007-04-04T11:37:00.000-05:00

personally creed

2007-04-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

yesterday i had some break down thinking about what will happen with our club in the future, the questions were who will pay for the rent , what the chairs will come from..... and other , other questions mark?
I thought that my mind will blow up saturday night, the pressure was that strong that i almost lose my reality.

Since few weeks our staff is kinda everywhere, two guys finally gat job and working 75km away from Ruda Slaska, two ours girls plus a guy are studing , my mom strageling with job as well.... all this thing s hit me at saturday night. I'm so thankful that God gave me Erin who prayed for me and encourage me.

today i got another respond yupiee , God gave us donation for some chairs , PRAISE THE LORD!
i think GOD show me that I needed humility before HIM, family and staff HE wants me to be more involve in the relationship...... well i hope you understand me , thats my thoughts my experiences from past few days..

Thank you God that you are Rock that you are lifting up when we going down...

internet access issue

2007-03-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

well, we still using friends access to the internet therefore we apologize those who we can't respond.
Hopefully next week we will able to use our computer. =)
its to complicate to explain to you, why is taking to long, but this is the reality over here in poland especially if you apply for chaep internet.
We doing this through two different company, one is owner of the wires the other one have better internet. We have not other options.

THE BOOMERANG KIDS DAY

2007-03-29T09:41:00.000-05:00

Swiming ball pool, trampoline, kids slide, planty of workshops like how to make a theatre mask, talent studio, recording studio ,- BOOMERANG this is how we called the big ever kids party which will take place at the church in Katowice in 19th of May.
Since last year after days of prayers as a team we decided to encourage kids from churches and our neighbourhood to free worship. Our goal is to show and tell and practice with kids from 6 to 12, worship as a daily life style.

We would like kids to come back to the next meeting in the nearly future therefore we called our event boomerang which means COME-EXPERIENCE-COME BACK and share.

This time we would like to ask you not only for prayers but for some ideas what with your opinion would be nice to teach the new generation.