Update #4

Update 4 – July 10, 2007VBS started today. The team was really excited to begin as we got to the coffeehouse. Our point for the day was that God is real. Katie D. told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 and did an experiment with vinegar and baking soda. Then the kids went to Dawn and did crafts. They made a paper basket with fish and bread in it. Next it was off to games with Sarah where we played with the parachute in the school gym. As we came back, we ate our snack and learned the verse in both Polish and English. This was quite an experience for the team that was teaching that day because it was the first time for some to talk with a translator. Everyone was so excited that we had 20 kids at VBS today! Doubling what they had last year on the first day. After VBS, we ate our real polish lunch; Yum Periogis! Then we had a couple of hours of free time to relax. We spent some of it at Real, a wal-mart type store with mall stores built inside the front part. Then back to the coffee house to grill and have kielbasa. We probably consumed a ton of it. (At least the boys did) The rain cancelled our planned scavenger hunt for CX, so instead we hung out in the coffee house and played games with the teens there.So far, the food here hasn’t been too bad. Monday we had chicken, potatoes, veggies and chicken soup. We all loved it. Today, like I said we had periogis, soup and beet salad. The opinion on whether the beet salad and soup were good was definitely split. We are definitely looking forward to what we will have tomorrow. Monday was probably our first taste of polish food in Poland, except for those who ate kielbasa at the Castle we visited on Sunday.. Carlene and the other leaders spoiled us by feeding us familiar food and letting us go to McDonalds after church on Sunday.Every night before bed, we meet as a team to debrief the day. Starting with VBS, it came out that watching Katie Dean teach was like watching her mom Jan teach a story. It was like she was channeling her mom while she was teaching Jesus feeding the 5000. Then we started sharing fun stories about our night at the coffee house. Matt S. challenged us to go around the room and share how we had seen God working in this trip or in our lives. We laughed, Katie D. cried, but mostly we laughed. We discovered that we had a new team record for most kielbasas eaten in one sitting. Matt P. holds the record with 11. Most of the girls could only handle one. We have one prayer request for Jacob (Say the J like a Y) He is a teen from the coffee house that Pastor Joel and some others have been talking with. He claims to be an atheist, and Pastor Joel and the guys say he is so close to believing. Please pray for Pastor Joel and the guys as they talk with him about Christianity and for Jacob that he would just be open to God’s leading.~ The UpdatersP.S. Devon says hi!Important Information for the Leaders…The team asked us today to remind everyone that they are unable to respond to you all in email, because we have such limited time and access to internet. Please know that they are receiving all or your emails and have found it very encouraging. So please continue to write them. There have been some complications with sending out pictures so from now on to see pictures go to www.sgcyouth.com and look at Pastor Joel’s blog. We are also posting the updates there. There have been other issues with not all of the emails getting through to everyone on our support team, but know we are doing everything in our power to make this a smooth process. Despite the issues with emails, we are doing our best to keep our focus on what God has brought us to Poland to do. Please be patient with us.Thanks