It's the
week after the Arise Conference in Kansas City, and here in Poland we are
getting ready for a weekend of services. The ladies (Patrycja P., Alla T., and
Iza S.) all made it back to their homeland safely! Already the stories we have
heard have been tremendous, and our hunger is getting stirred up. Before I go
into what happened here in Poland, while they were in the U.S. last week...I
need to make a correction.
I stand
corrected
So a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that there was no bacon in Poland.
Now I knew that there was a ton of pork product everywhere. In fact, it's not
so easy to find ground beef. It's there, I see beef products in the store, but
it is not America. Usually in America I see some pork products (minus the bacon
aisle), and BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEF as far as the eye can see. So pretend you're in
Poland, and switch it around to pork. PPPPPOOOOORRRRRKKK as far as the eye can
see. It comes in the form of kielbasa, cuts of pork ground pork, and etc.
However, despite the fact that there is an abundance of pork, there isn't an
aisle dedicated to American style bacon. Thanks to people, such as a random
Polish blogger in Warsaw, I stand corrected!
Yes, there is bacon in Poland, but you have to know how to get it. It's like a
secret bacon code or something. You have to know what to say when you go to the
butcher, and tell them how much you want (not in LBS). So, I have learned how
to get bacon in Poland, and it is different from American bacon. It has a
slightly different smell, you have to cut it yourself, but when its on the
stove...it's bacon!
Also,
I'd like to give honor to where honor is due, and that's to my terrific
roommate back in the states...Maria Villegas (AKA Marizzle). Maria is managing
my home while I'm abroad, and was a total God send. One of these blogs I'll
have to share the story about how Maria made it to Kansas City, MO, and stepped
into a part of her destiny. Anyways, her, our other roommie (Becky Tuttle...AKA
Becky Tuts), and Mrs. Stegner really took good care of me. They sent me via our
Polish ladies, books, socks, ranch dressing, pictures of my family, and ziplock
bags. Oh yeah! So now I'm sitting pretty with real Polish bacon (cut American
style), Ranch dressing, and Ziplocs.
The
Stirring Has Begun
Last
Friday night, I did a youth meeting in a town called Ustron. It was for the
youth from Pastor Marcin's church
(Kościół Chwały/Church of Glory). For me it was like stepping
back into Firehouse, because it was going to be a night of training. I brought
a youth from the church I’m at in Ciesyzn to minister along side of me. He did
an amazing job of sharing his testimony about coming alive in God, and
maintaining it. I spoke on having an attitude that gets you close to God, out
of Matthew 5. You empty yourself of yourself, you realize that God is the most
important person, you humble yourself, and you stir up a hunger for
God. Then I had the kids begin to exercise what I just preached. These
kids are used to being around adults who are strong in the LORD, but they
weren’t used to being strong themselves. They were very hungry for God, and we
spent time stirring that that hunger. They learned how to cry out to God, how
to empty themselves, and how to humble themselves (i.e, God I’m not as great as
I thought I was, and I need You). Kids were crying, some experiencing God for
the first time, and some were really being stretched. As we were leaving, the atmosphere in that
room was full of God presence. These kids did a great job stepping out of their
comfort zone, and stepping into the God zone.
20 mins
later, we were back in Ciesyzn, and headed to our Friday night revival service.
With the group of ladies from our church being gone, I wasn’t quite sure how
the service was going to be. I ended up singing on the praise and worship team
(in Polish), and saw God really begin to move. At first people brought the day
in with them, and they needed help pushing through. Pastor Slawek grabbed the
mic, and began jumping with zeal for God. I had never seen him do that! Then he
grabbed a couple other people, and had them pray over the mic. Worship was
getting good, and you could feel God’s freedom increasing in the room. Pastor
Slawek preached on being a servant for Jesus, but only one person responded to
prayer! I was shocked, and God was just burning on the inside of me. Then one
middle school aged boy came up, and had tears in his eyes. I had the youth who
had gone with me to Ustron pray for him. Eventually that evening, those who
were left in the room ended up on the floor crying out to God. This included
the pastor; I had never seen him do this before. He lay prostrate on the floor,
crying out to God. The people in the room cried out for more of God, and God’s
presence was thick in the room. Later that evening I got a text from the
pastor’s wife, because she was so stirred she couldn’t go to bed.
After what
happened Friday night, we were all hungry for more. We were not going to allow
our Sunday morning service to be just a service. We came in ready and hungry.
There was a huge increase of freedom during worship, and people were even
jumping up and down. Then after the sermon, everyone responded for prayer.
Pastor Gosia had really experienced some freedom, and she went through the room
praying for all the women. Pastor Slawek grabbed all the men, and had them come
together in the front. They gathered together and shouted to God! It was
powerful, and the room was full of God’s energy. So I give a big thanks to what
happened in the Arise conference, it made a huge difference in our church in
Poland. Yes, the Lion has roared, and in Poland… the stirring has begun!
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