Koszalin Camp

Ben and I are in Northern Poland right now with a team from Lakewood Church - MN getting ready for camp #2 with Koszalin youth! They have a great Blog that they are updating daily... check it out!

Lakewood Poland 2009

Engagement

Our first camp just ended on the 4^th of July, (aka. American Independence Day), and also my birthday:) It was a wonderful day, having the campers sing “Happy Birthday” to me in both Polish and English. After we arrived home I visited a campers home for lunch, and then Ben took me out to dinner.

[Ben is a wonderful man that the Lord brought into my life a little over a year ago. He is American and has been serving the Lord overseas for the past 3 years. He came to Poland this summer to help with English Camps!]

It was a beautiful restaurant in downtown Katowice. On the way home I saw a sign in the forest that said “Happy Birthday Krista” and a lantern. Ben said, “Your friends must have done something for your birthday!” So we jumped out of the car and started following the lights… The candlelit path through the forest led to an open field where there was a blanket and candles on the ground. I was surprised and a little confused (thinking that my friends would be there with a surprise happy birthday!) But something even better happened… with music playing in the background Ben got down on his knees and asked me to be his wife!!! I said “YES!”

So after years of waiting and trusting the Lord to bring me a man after His own heart, He has proven himself faithful and good. We are looking forward to filling you in as our story continues to unfold (and having you as part of our story) and look forward to our next chapter together.

Visiting Wroclaw

I was also able to spend time with my dear friends Daniel and Iwona and their children in Wroclaw. It's been fun to reconnect before camps begin this summer. Here are some picts...

Bubbles and Balloons

It was fun to visit Poznan! I got to see my friends Sasha, Ania and Katie and reconnect with English Clubs students from 3-4 years ago! I was reminded that the Lord continues to work in peoples lives, long after i am gone. It was encouraging to see that some of the students truly are seeking and walking with the Lord.

Jumping In

I have close to 2000 pictures from Israel and so much in my mind that I am still trying to process... instead of trying to catch up on blogging i thought i'd just start with today and do 'flashbacks' throughout the summer as God allows the time :)

Well I arrived in Poland Sunday, just in time for church. It has been a whirlwind since then reconnecting with people, meeting with girls, celebrating birthdays, catching up on 10 months of life. It is so fun to see what God has been doing and brings me great joy. It is also humbling to once again be reminded of the great need in Poland. I'm so glad that I will get to play a part in what God is doing here for the next 2 months! Here are some pictures from one of my dear friend Kasia's birthday parties (we threw her a princess party)! Since arriving I've also visited intern training in Czech Republic and seen a friend from Dallas Seminary, Nigel, along with many of my JV co-workers! It was so fun to see everyone and i felt blessed by their warm welcome and embrace. We had a Fala meeting at H2O (the camp here) and I got to see most of my Polish co-workers), then last night one of the worship leaders at church had his final performace for his music degree (in conducting Big Band Jazz)!!! It was so fun! My favourite was a song he wrote 'Peter's confession'... his thoughts of what Peter (Jesus' disciple) must have been thinking and feeling.... it was powerful after being in Israel. He ended with a song he wrote called "The Joy of the Lord"! He had the choir and band jamming to that tune, what an amazing thing. My hope is that this summer when all is said and done, after the hours of work and relationship building and truth sharing... many more will be singing that tune!

Going to Visit...

Since I graduated college and parted ways with some dear friends there is one thing I love doing when I have the chance... going to visit them in their new homes. Long distance communication is wonderful in our day, however nothing can beat seeing their front yard, the kitchen, the couch, their kids rooms... knowing that when they give their children a bath or take them out for a walk what their world looks like. I love the way it gives substance to our relationship and context to our conversations...

Today I get on a plane for Israel and it struck me... in the same way, I am going to visit God's home on earth! I will get to see where Jesus walked, in Jerusalem, the synagogue from which he preached, the place that He calmed the storm and fed the five thousand! Jesus is my best friend - what a privilege it is to go and see his home! As much as people make pilgrimages to places of religious dead people to be 'closer to God' I realize that Jesus is not there... I will not visit His body in the grave - He is Risen! I can't wait for the sights and sounds that await us!

Dallas Symphony

This year it has been so fun to go to the Dallas Symphony with friends from school. The Symphony graciously gives the Seminary extra free tickets it has! We were able to celebrate the end of exams this Thursday and came home feeling a little more cultured :)

the girls

the guys

my roomate this year, Caitlin & me

Summer Camp 2009 :: Stories

This year the theme of Josiah Venture Summer Camps is STORIES. Most of the camps are English Camps, but the ones i'm helping to lead will be English/Volleyball Camps!

We will be telling God's Great Story from Creation until the present using Story Telling methods. The goal is for each of us to see how we fit into God's great story and how He has created us to be a part of it, in fact he has a very specific role for each of us in His Great Story.

I leave in three days for Israel, and am SO excited to see what God is going to do this summer in the lives of Polish youth, and in my own life, as i trust in Him.

He must become greater; I must become less. John 3.30