We're HERE!

Well- we made it!  All four of us and all 10 of our bags (which, by the way, we didn't have to pay for the two extra ones!!!) made it to Warsaw this afternoon.  We were greeted by our dear friends (and the overseers of the ministry) Maui and Ewa Dwualt.  We piled all our luggage (another miracle!) into the two cars and they sent us straight on down to camp about an hour away with one of the cars. They led us out of Warsaw and we stopped at a McDonalds (they are coming later with other groups coming in from the states).  I attempted to order two chocolate icecream cones (ended up going with a chocolate McFlurry to save me the embarrassment of botching up the order with my severely limited Polish!) and one Big Mac.  I typically "hold the cheese", but I, again, didn't bother to try.  So, once back in the car, I decided I needed to look up cheese (no is "nie") and ice cream in attempts of some day trying to order the way I want/need to!  So- driving by ourselves in Poland... check.  attempting to order food in Polish... check (I "attempted" at least!).  I think that's a pretty good start!

Camp is as beautiful as it's always been.  I will try and post a picture of it tomorrow.  Saturdays are "lull" days between their camps.  There is a group of about 20 Lithuanian high school students that came for last week's camp and are staying through next week.  I got to meet some of them this afternoon and I just love hearing my girls say, "There are so many languages spoken here right now!".

Girls did great on the planes and slept the 6 hour lay over in Copenhagen's airport.  I wish I could say I did as well, but Josh and I took turns staying awake to make sure no one attempting to run off with our carryon items!  I think we are all going to be happy to sleep in beds tonight!  Speaking of beds, we have been given the same room we had 4 years ago and it's been remodeled!  We somehow got the best room in the inn because there are three beds and AC!  The AC alone makes it the best.... because it's HOT during the day!  As soon as the sun went down, the mosquitos came out... and guess what I didn't end up packing in one of those 10 pieces of luggage?  Yep, repellant. I'm sure we'll find someone who has brought some along!

Well, I'm going to close up because Josh is outside learning how to help teach and

Onward!

In 15 minutes, we will be leaving for Boston and heading out to POLAND!  It's unbelievable that this day has finally arrived.  Excited and nervous all at the same time.... it's nerves with hoping how all our luggage will get checked in smoothly.  We ended up with 2 extra pieces of luggage, so maybe we'll be fortunate enough to have an attendant take pity on us and not charge us for the 2 extra pieces?!!! Ah, wishful thinking!  Will post once I get a chance again... but we fly to Iceland then to Denmark and finally to Warsaw arriving in the afternoon their time.  Eastern Standard timers.... think about us at 8:30am Saturday... because that's when we'd be arriving in Warsaw!!! Love to all!!!!

And now...Off to NH!

I know I say this every time, but where does time go?!  Tomorrow morning we take off to head back home to NH and this will be a return home that will be a memory maker I'm sure!  5 kids and 6 adults will be loading up in my brother and sister-in-law's RV to make the trek back.   We'll have a few days of showing them our favorite sights and places in NH and Maine before we leave for Poland next Friday!

So for today, we will get our "summer family vacation" bags all packed up and put our van in storage at the farm for the year.  Emotionally?  I have mostly excitement, but I've had some anxiety and worry creep up. Come on, let's be honest here.... we've had an intense last 5 months of preparations!  We had to carry some of those preparations over to our "vacation" time with family, which is fine, but it's hard to get a "break" from thinking about all we've had to get done prior to our leaving! It's a flood of emotions really,... and based on the "unknown" of schedules and things of what's to come for the year. Have we accomplished everything that truly needs to be done before we leave?  Do we have everything we need?  Are we forgetting something important?!  Ah- at one point you just have to let it go and trust that everything is ready. :)

So that's why my quiet time this morning was so important and I'm allll good for now!!

I am looking forward to this blog steering away from just "updates" on getting "prepared" to the day-to- day stories of starting our year-long journey in Poland!  Hopefully the posts will become more enjoyable, flavorful and God-inspiring!!!  Thanks for walking this road with us!  Blessings!

Now off to Illinois....

So, we've had 2.5 weeks with my family in the fabulous and pristine state of Wisconsin.  I can't articulate well enough how much I have loved my mornings sitting on the back deck (humidity and all!) drinking my cup of coffee.  I'm surrounded by God's creation... the birds chirping wildly about me.  It's so relaxing and contemplative and such a change from city life. We enjoyed days of fishing on the Mississippi River, going to the infamous Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells (largest waterpark in US for those non-midwesterners reading this!), stopping by the "Field of Dreams" filmed location on our way back from visiting friends in Iowa, pool time in the city pool (it's so crazy hot here right now!), and then just the good ol' local stops and eateries with my family.  Ahhh,, yes,  I've had some good quiet times reflecting, resting and just, well... resting.  It's been good. Coming home to my roots refuels my soul!

So, now we are off to Illinois to spend a couple of weeks with Josh's family and the pace is much faster as we dart about from place to place and we have crazy fun with my nephews and Josh's aunts, uncles, cousins and all!!   I'm thankful that we have this extended amount of time each summer to be with our families in the midwest... most people do not have this luxury.  So, off I go now to make my last cup of coffee in WI... until sometime next summer when we return from Poland!

Last boat ride for the year on the Mississippi...

Josh and the girls in the "Field of Dreams" cornfield... amazing how easy you can "appear"!

The girls and I at Pikes Peak- a most breathtaking view of the Mississippi River with the Wisconsin bluffs behind us and my hometown, Prairie du Chien.  We went with my Grandfather and his wife to an ecumenical worship service on Sunday morning... it was so beautiful!

Countdown!

Ok, I haven't quite gotten the exact "count" of how many days until we depart... but we are well on our way!  The checklist is getting smaller by the day and excitement continues to build!  Good news is that we have secured a furnished apartment in Tomaszow!  It is in the same building as good friends of ours... near the school!  It will be available in September, which is perfect timing!  In the meantime, we will be living at the camp as we will be arriving during summer camps and well, basically, all proEm staff lives there!!

This will have to be a short post, but we are getting closer and closer to our monthly financial goal!  What a journey it has been!  Sending a prayer up to all of you who are receiving these updates (the posts plus pictures will be more frequent when we're there... because seriously, who wants to hear that 7 out of our 8 bags are packed?!!)... thank you for your continued prayers and joining us in this journey!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race....

I think the tortoise and hare story has been one I've been drawn to the most these past few months... along with key Scripture verses that God has drawn me towards while teaching me the "art" of developing patience.  I can truly, truly say that I think I've come to a place where I have embraced what God's been wanting to teach me through the process.  Granted, we are not yet quite there at where we need to be for our monthly commitments, but as I said... I feel I have embraced the fact that I have to remain patient in waiting on HIS TIMING.  He will make all things come together for HIS purpose.

Speaking of "coming together for His purpose"...we have secured a renter to cover our entire mortgage... and we are in such "awe" of how God made it all work out!  We are completely at ease and at peace and know our place will be in superb hands! It's God's house anyways, so we always knew all would work out.  It's just really cool to be on this side of things now- meeting the individual who we had been praying for and always knew God had planned all along anyways!

So- I feel like there's light at the end of this tunnel.  We only have a few short weeks to finish our packing and having the house all in order as we will be back in the Midwest in June.  The girls finish school next week! Unreal!  There's a sense of excitement building....

Thank you all for walking this journey with us!

on and on...

I've added some more email subscriptions to the blog.... so I extend our sincere... "welcome" and thanks for partnering with us in Poland (even though we're not quite there yet!!).  We just purchased our tickets and are set to leave on July 27th!

I just want to post that I have been extremely humbled by God's personal love for my family through many of you... right when I need some "assurance" from Him- He's there using you.  I wasn't able to make it through Sunday's church service without the flowing of tears for many reasons, either.  One being that I just learned that good friends of ours were going to partner with us financially and they were going to start much earlier than we had asked in our letter.  This was incredibly touching to me because of just the tough year we've had with our vehicles and extra expenses and to have that extra support those few months early will help absorb some of our upfront costs (like the girls' passports--- that we have to renew because they expire next year and international insurance).  I was so touched and humbled with God's generosity for us personally.

Secondly, because I witnessed our church declare its intent to move forward with an amazing opportunity to reach more people in our community. We have been hearing about this and working up to this moment where the rubber meets the road, you know what I mean?  And to witness dozens upon dozens of people, and of all ages, walk up front to drop their pledge cards for the campaign was just so (again) humbling to be witness of and to be a part of.  I pray "big" for "others" and our church, but find myself, if I'm honest, resorting to a "but who am I to think God would do that for me" mentality. I've just been more aware that it's not the "getting" the provision met, but the awareness of WHO HE IS.  

Yes, I am saddened to be stepping away from being a part of our local church's work here for the next year and not "seeing" His handiwork, but I also know that what God is calling us to is just as important. I have no idea what He's been orchestrating behind the scenes, but I'm catching some glimpses that it's pretty awesome and I can't help but feel that somehow the work in Poland and here will be connected in a way I would've never imagined.  It's just... well, just so humbling to know God personally, to be loved by Him personally, and to see and feel His lovingkindness through His people.  What more can I say?!

So- in a nutshell, that's why I couldn't make it through church service without shedding "some" tears.