Back to the daily grind in Poland!

After a fun and eventful weekend we are back to our regular work-week schedule here in Jawor.

We have finished installing the moisture barrier membrane and insulation and the big flooring project in the “new” church building is continuing slowly, but steadily. Each board (roughly a 1x4x12’) must be carefully measured, cut, fitted, sometimes shimmed, clamped, drilled, and finally nailed into place. The team is learning the importance of checking and rechecking measurements, paying attention to the details, and taking the time to do it right the first time. Cyrus E, Fisher E, Dylan I, and Lindsey N. have really gotten the hang of it though and have made a lot of headway this week with the help of various other team members and local church members who have been helping on the projects.

Some other projects at the “new” church this week included finishing the fence around the the neighbors garbage bins, cleaning up a large pile of rocks, blocks and other debris from behind the building, taping off and getting the first coat of primer on the newly refinished foundation on one side of the building, and continuing the cutting and stacking of more firewood for the winter.

We’ve also been back at the Jewish cemetery to finish cleaning up the trees that were taken down. Mr. Brandon and Mr. David (one of the pastor’s sons) did the chainsawing and log splitting and the team sorted and hauled the firewood and piled up the smaller branches and brush. Today (Thursday) we rented a small wood chipper and ran all of the unusable debris through there so it could be compacted in to the big recycling bin that will be picked up by the local utility.

Work by our team on the building where we are staying has been mostly on pause this week since most of the painting has been finished and we were waiting on one of the local church members to finish re-bricking and plastering the wall in the room where we took out the old chimney. Today a few of the team, led by Hazel A, were able to clean and prep that room and start with a little bit of the painting. Miss Emma has also gotten the green light to start work on a commemorative mural on one of the other walls, and we’re excited to see how it turns out.

Mrs. Maddi, Miss Emma, and KP have continued to feed us well, and they enjoy their daily walks to the grocery store (buying in bulk does not seem to be much of a thing here). Today they took a little detour and discovered an old watchtower from the 16th century that was also a prison of sorts at one time. There is so much cool history all over the place here! Darrell (Mr. Brandon and Mrs. Maddi’s 4 year-old son) continues living the dream as seen in the photo.

We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as our time here begins to draw to a close, and we will be starting our journey home in a little over a week. Please join us in praying for good energy and attitudes as we continue work on our projects, and that we would make the most of the limited time that we have left in the beautiful county of Poland as we labor on for His glory!

From the team:

Hey y’all! Poland is amazing! Everything‘s going great. Sorry I haven’t gotten stamps yet. Our walk is going amazing. We had some great chances for a evangelism and we had a visit to Germany. The summer, I’m learning to trust God and think twice. I hope y’all are doing well. Miss y’all. PS Dad don’t hurt your leg more. - Cyrus

Hey mom and dad. Poland is great. The work project is going swimmingly and my team is also great. Sometimes we get to go to the store after work and it’s fun to look at the differences in stores compared to the US. The snacks here are kinda OK. They’re nothing special, but there’s this one brand Milka and it’s super good. Anyway, at the work project, we’ve made good progress at building the floors, and although the missionary contact overseeing us is rather particular, he helps me focus more on the small details. Anyway, hope you guys at home are doing well. God bless.- Dylan

Hi family! Paul has been an incredible journey, and I can’t believe it’s almost over. We had the unique opportunity of spending the weekend in Germany. While there we attended two church services one was Germany. The other was Ukrainian. I totally experienced the meaning of the God of nations. God is faithful to all his children throughout the world. I was so encouraged by the heal that all the believers had God. Miss you all all all. -Hazel

Hi mom, Dad J Eli Adam John Ivy Amber. The work has been great! We were working with insulation the last couple of days. I had Darrell duty today and it was awesome! All the leaders are great and really encouraging. Everyone on my team is really amazing. Miss you all. - Lizzy

Hey mom and dad! I miss you so much. Much pollen is awesome and working. Here is super fun and hard. My team is a bunch of smart amazing children of God. Together we have painted the church we’re staying at remove large piles debris planned, and laid out insulation and a lot more. I’m so glad I got the chance to be on this team! Make sure you tell the church I said hi. -Brooklyn B.

Hey family! Poland is amazing! Our work is going well. We went to Germany this past weekend. I’ve been to Germany! Crazy! I’ve been learning new skills while hoping the church. It’s very fun. I’ve made friends with a few Polish sisters. They are so sweet! I am learning and growing in Christ so much! I have been in the word a lot. I love it! This is such a beautiful country. I wouldn’t mind coming back in the nearest future. I miss you guys! I’ll see you soon! PS diesel fuel is cheaper than gas. It’s crazy. Tell Jason! -Lindsey

Hey y’all, I’ve missed you! It’s been great here. We’ve been getting a lot done. I have lots of new building and flooring skills to show you all. This has been amazing. I’ve grown lots in the spirit. Paul is beautiful and our hosts are very kind. I think I’m one of their favorites. Can’t wait to see y’all. Love you, mommy daddy Juliet, Samuel, Rohn River, Gussie Bear, and my Gwenie- Audrey M.