Poland week 1

June 16, 2017

Poland week 1

Hello again Friends!

It has been a few weeks since Omegas return from Poland and I have only given one update! How about we fix that?

My last post gave a look into my first week, which was touring the town the first two days followed by two days socializing with the Seniors at the Senor Vigor. In between that we had one beautiful evening that was spent playing with children in the park near the town square.

These are just a few of the children that I met and played with whenever I ran into them in the town. The boy and girl in the bottom picture are named Olga, and Marcel. I fell in love with them on the very first day. They stole my heart away and filled it with so much joy.

Very often, these children would appear at times that I was feeling so down, and simply hearing them call me name and jump around begging me to join in on their fun and games was enough to get me out of whatever mood I was in. They reminded me of the reason I was there, and they were only a small part, but all at once one of the biggest reasons I can look back and say "It was all worth it."

Our first day at the Senior home was spent teaching them about Canada, playing Canadian bingo and letting them entertain us with laughter, very simple talk and smiles, and beautiful Polish songs. Our second day was spent gardening in their small yard - I ended up wandering off to the benches where many of the little old Polish ladies were enjoying watching us laugh at bugs and an elderly man named Janek who kept teasing the girls.

Pause. These seniors are a pretty rowdy bunch. Before we went out to Garden and helped make paper flowers, they had all prepared a small presentation for us to enjoy, as a thank you for our presentation the day before. It was a mixture of songs, romantic Polish poems: including a small skit in which the group sang a song about grandpa being unable to do ... (you fill in the blanks) with grandma, while a pair acted out a flirtatious scene. Some of us cried laughing.

Amidst this fine group was Janek, who I believe must have been a ladies man in his younger years. He went above and beyond to give all the ladies much attention: he ended up giving all of us girls a small gift and pictures of himself when he was much younger. None of us really knew what to do with it but it's a wonderful story and hilarious memory now.

Leaving the senior home I felt so blessed and touched. We may not have been able to speak many words with them, but as I sat with the women and allowed them to teach me Polish words and let them tell me about their children and their lives in Poland, I knew this was one branch into the community, and another opportunity to shine the light of Jesus.

This is a small part of what I wrote in journal after our first night:

my heart was warmed as we sang for them. We taught them about Canada, and I think they loved it. They made paper roses and enjoyed taking pictures with us and smothering us in kisses. There is something so beautiful about having the opportunity to shine a light.

This was only the beginning of the amazing things God was going to do during our stay in Pultusk, and what he was going to plant, shape and mold in our hearts.

Stay tuned for week 2! Love you all!

Below are just a few pictures of our adventures that first week.

Our first walk through town and into the neighborhood

this was a beautiful spot to overlook the town (if you climbed high enough)

This used to be a beautiful spot for people to come, but it has not been maintained and people are reckless. However, that didn't stop us from finding the beauty within and reveling in it.