My Mini-Miracle

Last summer when we were in Gdansk with our friends,
the Crocks, we took the opportunity to buy some
amber jewelry.
Included in the purchase was a ring with three stones in it; each of a
different color of amber. I loved it because was representative
of the variety of beautiful colors of amber found here in Poland.
Some weeks later as we were driving out of Warsaw,
I looked down and noticed that one of the stones was missing!
I made a thorough search of the car and turned up nothing.
When we arrived home a couple of days later,
I also thoroughly searched my luggage,
my make-up bag and the apartment
Still nothing.
So, I had to conclude that it was lost.
After all, it could have fallen out anywhere!
A month or six weeks later when were in our hotel in Zakopane,
hundreds of miles from our apartment in Warsaw and at a
location we had never been before, I noticed something on the
chair next to the bed in our room.
On closer inspection Dean recognized the stone from my ring.
I have no idea how it appeared there on the seat of that chair.
Three weeks later we were back in Gdansk and the
jeweller replaced the entire ring for me.
Who says miracles don't still happen?

Fonts

Since our arrival as missionaries in Poland,
we have witnessed a number of baptisms.
It's wonderful to see the Church growing here.
However, it is still in it's infancy and there is only
one chapel in the entire country,
thus only one baptismal font.
So when people in the outlying cities
wish to be baptized,
we have to be creative in finding locations where
it can take place.
In Szeczecin, they used the river.


In Bydgoszcz, tarps and an oversized tub were utilized.
In Wroclaw, we used an Olympic-sized swimming pool. I guess it's not really about where it's done...
it's just about GETTING IT DONE.
6 BAPTISMS in Warsaw last week!!!

Not Costco

Grocery shopping
in Poland is certainly not like shopping at Costco.
There everything is super-sized and maxi....
requiring a mini-van to get it all home,
and a freezer and a large pantry to store it in.
Here, most people live in small apartments and
many do not have a car.
Whatever they purchase must be
carried home in a bag or pulled in a
miniature shopping cart.
So, to accomodate the needs of the masses,
everything is packaged in much smaller
quantities and sizes, and buying a case
of anything is unheard of.
To give you perspective I placed a small juice glass
next to the items you'll see.
This can of corn contains as much
as an average can at home, but contains no water,
so is only half the size.
MILK comes in 1 liter cartons
and is stored on the shelf,
not refrigerated.
It takes an entire box of cocoa to make
a pan of brownies.
This is a box of
CEREAL.
Flour comes in 2 lb. bags.
Baking powder packages contain 1 tablespoon.
And this bottle of vanilla flavoring contains 2 teaspoons.
It's no wonder that people here shop every day.

Old Fogies New Year's Eve

Warsaw Senior Missionaries
decided to get together for a little celebration on New Year's Eve.
Dean said, "Do you think we'll be able to last til 10:00?"


But we did!
And we enjoyed a lovely evening of dinner, visiting and
writing some crazy New Year's resolutions.
At midnight, the sky around us lit up and
a thousand booms filled the sky.
You see, anyone can buy and set off fireworks in Poland---
and they do! Especially on New Year's Eve! As we stood on the balconey and
watched, we didn't know which way to look. They sky was brilliant with color
and sparkle! I've never seen such a display...it was amazing. Unfortunately,
it was impossible to catch it on my camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
It was truly memorable. . . just as we know 2009 will be!