Totally pumped!

I am enjoying life extremely much right now. one of the major contributions to this state of being is that my friend Robin Soukup is in Mińsk! Last night, I walked out of the school and bumped into Robin as he walked up the steps. I was totally not expecting him; what an incredible, awesome surprise! He's going to be here for like 2 weeks, for Christmas and everything. What a super Christmas gift! Friends give so much meaning to life, especially if you've got an ocean separating you. So, it's super-amazing to have Robin here right now. I love my friends, and especially as Christmas approaches, I am definitely excited about spending time with them. They are a gift from God!

Windows Office 2010

Hey People! You can now download Office 2010 Beta version. this is FREE! Of course, it is the Beta version, but it is still Windows Office. IMHO, this is way cool! You can go here to get it.

Making Cider

Some recent activities....

-Making cider with the team.







-Playing basketball with the guys...

Of safety classes and praying in the park

This is from about two weeks ago....

Today proved to be rather interesting and somewhat unusual. As Polish workers, the teachers at GTE have to take a class on workplace safety. Today Ria and I went to a local school where we listened to a 2 1/2 hour lecture on safety. it was all in Polish, and we HAVE to pass the exam at the end of the class. Good news, though; everybody passes this test! The test was handed out, the teacher read down through the questions, and all the students shouted out the correct answers! I didn't understand the test, and I understood only the general gist of the lecture, but that's ok, I still passed with flying colors:) When Ria and I left, I just started laughing, the whole thing seemed so crazy and ludicrous:)

As we were walking through the park on the way back to Gateway, we passed a lady and her daughter on the path. Polish people are more reticent than what I'm used to, so usually when I say hello to the people I meet on the street, they don't respond. But this time when I said, "dobry wieczor", I pleasantly surprised when replied to me. We kept on walking and had gone about 20 feet past the woman when she started hollering for us to come back. We walked back to her, and I immediately told her that I don't speak much Polish.

She commented on the fact that Ria was wearing a dress and had a veiling. She told Ria, "You must be a saint, because you are dressed like that". (All of our conversation was in Polish, of course.) This lady thought that Ria must be a nun, because of how she was dressed. It's not uncommon for Polish people to think that of Mennonite ladies, actually.

Anyway, this lady, Ania, started telling us about her father, who is an alchoholic and desperately wanted Ria to pray for him. I thought she said that her father had died from alchoholism. I was desperately trying to think how to explain that we don't pray for dead people, and I just didn't have the vocabulary, so Ria called Lolita and the lady talked to her for a bit. She got quite emotional on the phone, and we decided it would be good to pray with her, even if the lady didn't understand what we said. So, after Ania got off the phone with Lolita, Ria and I prayed for her. Ria started praying and Ania immediately grabbed her little girl's hand and we stood in a circle and held hands while we prayed. After Ria and I prayed, Ania and her daughter recited a Catholic prayer together, ending of course with, "Holy Mother of God have mercy on us". We had our own little prayer circle in the Minsk park:)

After we prayed, this lady asked, "now am I good?". Oh man, it was incredibly frustrating to try to explain even the simplest aspects of salvation to this lady. The language barrier was just so inhibiting. She kept commenting that we have good hearts and she can see that. We were able to tell her that it's God that lives in our hearts, and that's what makes the difference. We talked for a few minutes more, and I gave her John's (Smucker) phone number. So far, we haven't had further contact with this lady, but I hope that we will have more opportunity to talk with her. It's experiences like this that remind me of what I'm really here for, not just in Poland, but in the world.

My alarm started ringing at 7:40. As I groggily rolled over to hit the snooze, I noticed a strange white glow outside the window. What!? What!!! Hey, that's snow!!! Indeed, the ground was covered with about 6 inches of snow. The birch and pine trees that surround our cabin were also covered with snow. All morning, we kept hearing tree branches snapping off under the weight of the snow. The good part of all this is that school was canceled today, due to unreliable power at the school. So, bring on the hot chocolate and cookies!!

New family member!

We congratulate the girls on the recent addition to their family. With money donated by friends from the U.S., they were able to purchase a car! We're very grateful to have been able to get this car; it came just as school was beginning, so it was a very timely purchase.

Autumn

The days are getting shorter, the wind sharper, and the temperature lower. The leaves are changing color and falling to the ground. Autumn is here! I love autumn, although I don't really know why. Maybe it's because the crisp air and blustery wind stirs my blood and makes me feel more alive. Maybe it's because I make pleasant associations with bowhunting and spending time in the woods. Whatever the case, I'm happy that Autumn is here once again. This year finds me spending Autumn in Poland, where I dwell in an A-frame cabin situated in a little pine woods. One implication of this is that I don't have to rake leaves this year. (Yeehah!) However, it's always fun to reminisce about chores that I don't have to do anymore (like raking:) So, here's a poem about raking leaves. It's by Robert Frost, who is one of my favorite poets.

Gathering Leaves
by Robert Frost
Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

Come learn English!!

Gateway to English is beginning a new school year! Come learn conversational English! Our school features American English taught by native English speakers. Zapraszamy!

School

The first week of school at Gateway to English is history! I have survived some classes, done ok on others, and even enjoyed a few:) I went into the week with some apprehension, partly because I didn't know what all to expect. It really is scary to think of placing yourself in the vulnerable position of teaching people you've never met before, especially when those people are considerably older than you. But in all the newness of teaching, God was very good to me. He worked out many details that allowed me to come through alive and kicking. For instance, I was originally scheduled to tutor Monday morning and then teach three classes from 3:30 to 8:10 that afternoon and evening. That looked a bit daunting, especially on my first day of teaching! But one of the evening classes was canceled, and one of the other teachers is taking it for the rest of the year. Whew! The point is, though, that all through the week God did many "little" things like that and gave me strength and energy to operate out of my comfort zone.

Currently I am teaching nine students in classes and tutoring four people. I teach three classes: a class of four children, a class of two thirteen year old boys, and a class of three ladies. I am starting to get an idea of where I'm headed with these classes this year, and I think I will enjoy this year. More importantly, though, am I actually causing my students to learn? And how can I share Christ with these people? (That's a major reason for me being here, after all.) Please pray that I would know how to teach so that my students could see Christ through me. It has been very exciting and for the most part fulfilling to get to know Polish people. It is my hope that these relationships can be used for God's kingdom.

I'm really excited about several things in particular right now. Number one, I just survived teaching my first two English classes. It feels very good to be alive! Number two, my wonderful friends here in Poland made my life a bit more complete with a birthday gift of J.R.R. Tolkien's Ring Trilogy. Number three, I finally figured out how to type with Polish characters. This means I can type things like Wrocław, Piława, and Częstochowa:)

Bike Trip

Leroy and I just took a quick bike trip to the town of Kazimerz Dolny. We left on Friday morning and returned home on Saturday evening about 10:00. We left home about 9:00 am and poked around on the 30 Km ride to Piława where we caught the train to the city of Puławy. As we were biking out of Puławy, we got the brainy idea to stop at the Wistula river, which runs close to the road, to go swimming. Wow, was that great!

Bad news awaited us after our swim, however. My bike tire was flat! Now that is not good news on a bike trip. So, we pushed our bikes out to the road, and asked two Polish gentlemen where we could find a "pumpka" or a "rowerem serwis" (bike shop). They indicated that we had to go two kilometers back toward Puławy to find a pump. Let me tell you, two kilometers seems alot longer when pushing a bike than it does riding one. Well, to make a long story short, we finally found a bike pump, and made it to Kazimerz Dolny about twenty minutes before sundown. After camping out by the river Friday night, we walked around the town and toured the castle ruins high on the hill above the town.

What a gorgeous town! I was impressed to find that while this town is somewhat of a Polish tourist destination, it certainly isn't a high-pressure tourist town. In fact, it seems rather sleepy. There are plenty of little hole-in-the-wall polish restaurants, with a quiet market square that simply oozes charm. The "Dolny" of the town is the castle situated high on the hill above the rest of the town. Above the castle ruins is a massive stone tower that is thought to have been erected at the end of the 13th century. There's not much left of the castle, but the tower is in good condition and offers a spectacular view of the town and river.

After getting my bike tire fixed on Saturday afternoon, we retraced our route home; 15 Km to Puławy, an 80 Km train ride to Piława, then 30 Km home.

I had the thought as we were biking, that this trip is somewhat surreal. Taking a bike trip in Europe, however short a trip it might be, is something that seems fairly exotic. It was an incredible privilege to do this trip. I'm not just on vacation here in Poland, but I do have the opportunity to act like it sometimes:) I'm very grateful for that.

See pictures on my Photobucket.

Random quotes

..."The pendulum of change often swings from one extreme to another, and reactions can result in overcorrection."
"The yearning for holiness is not at odds with the desire for relevance. For while holiness sets us apart unto God, it is God who calls us into the world."
"Always tell the truth, that way you don't have to remember what you said." - Mark Twain

Ok, let's see now....long time, no post. Ahh, what happened since last time? Lots of things, but I only have a few minutes to type, so this will have to be short. First of all, Polish class is over! I enjoyed the class, but it's nice to have more free time.
Second, Maria and Ria had a minor car accident. Fortunately, no one was hurt badly. Ria (Maria Wadel will hereafter be known as Ria) was uninjured and Maria is almost fully recovered from her bangs and bruises. Unfortunately, the faithful Fiat met it's end. (more on that to follow).
Lastly, we (Leroy, Maria, Ria, leroy's sister Joanna who is currently visiting Leroy, and I)are going to the city of Wroclaw tomorrow for a two-day visit. If you don't know anything about wroclaw, don't feel bad, but just read up on it. It has some fascinating, although somewhat sad, history. (For the record, and so you can impress people, the pronunciation of Wroclaw is Vro-tswahv:)

Good ol' social networking

This is not original with me. In good blogger fashion, I stole it from another blog:) Pretty succinct, huh?

Cars

We vs'ers have two small cars to drive. The girls drive one, and Leroy and I have the other. Both of them are Fiat Maluchs and I think they have about 25 horsepower. Think of it this way - "How many horsepower does you lawn mower have?" There's a chance that it's output of hp exceeds that of our car. These cars even have chokes! This is not American driving! Think Geo Metro on a diet:)

Ever see a car engine in a wheelbarrow? This is the entire engine and exhaust system from the girls Fiat. The exhaust system was pretty much shot, so Leroy decided to tear it out and get it fixed. So one evening last week, we took the engine out. Fixing the exhaust became somewhat complicated, but the engine is ready to put back in, and before long the girls will have their car back.

Who would want a smart car when you could have a Fiat?
This is our car. It dates from the late 80's sometime, so it's not exactly ritzy, but I really enjoy driving it around:) It has a bit of a temperament, but I think that lends it a bit of character, as well.

Well, today marks the halfway point of Polish class. One-and-a-half more weeks to go! My vocabulary is slooowly growing, but forming sentences is still a real challenge. "Do I say czy, jest, or ile here?" Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself. Imagine somebody in America practicing over and over how to say run, walk, stand, hello, goodbye, etc. Lots of basic words that even two year olds know can be a challenge for me to pronounce. In quite a few ways, learning a language puts a person on the level of a baby. When you want to say something, you have to frantically search your vocabulary for the right words. And even then, it comes out very simplistically and sometimes isn't what you wanted to say. I guess it helps me to think more about what goes into a language and not take so much for granted.

After that depressing paragraph, I will now offer words of encouragement:) Even though it is hard work, learning Polish is fun! It is satisfying to be able to communicate better with people. I can now read a menu in Polish (at least most of one). I recognize more words on signs. I can turn to all the Scripture references in church. And of course, my repertoire of hand signals is increasing:)

This is us at Wazienki(spelling is not correct) Park in Warsaw today.
Maria Zimmerman, Leroy Schwartz, me, and Maria Wadel are the current four Vs'ers with AIM.

"Let's start at the very beginning..."

We (Maria Wadel and I) arrived in Warsaw, Pl on July 31. (That already seems like a long time ago). Since then I've been settling into life here. I live in a town called Marianka, which is on the outskirts of Minsk Mazowiecki, which is a fairly decent sized city.

This week I've been attending a Polish language class in Warsaw. It's a three week class and runs from 9:30 to 2 every week day. This means that I'm in class for about 4 hours a day. Usually about a half hour before the class is over, my brain is so full of Polish that I wonder with trepidation when the steam is going to start coming out of my ears!

Hello World!

I sit pondering the seriousness of putting my words and pictures onto the internet for all to see. All the flippancy I had about starting this thing is gone. Oh well, here goes. There's at least one good thing - the URL mattgingerich wasn't taken:) I am going to try to update this blog as consistently as possible. Having said that, if you want to razz me about not posting, send me an email, don't put it in the comments:)