POLAND 2009 - Visiting South Poland with Daniel and Ania

Zakopane, Poland
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
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Visiting South Poland with Daniel and Ania
The Lord blessed us so much with great weather today, enabling us to view the stunning, majestic mountains around Zakopane that we were unable to see in the daytime yesterday. I don’t know about you, but when I look at such breath-taking sights, I marvel at the greatness of God. I mean, He is truly an artist, creating such lovely things. And He created it for our enjoyment. We thank Him for allowing us to enjoy His wonderful creation.

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We ate dinner last night at a lovely restaurant translated, “mountain trout” in Polish. It was really good food. This morning, we started a hike up the mountain side near the place we stayed the night. It wasn’t too steep of a climb, and it felt really good to get some exercise in such fresh air. When we got to the top, we got to take in the view. Again, the mountains surrounding the city of Zakopane in the valley is an amazing sight. There is also an architecture in Zakopane that is quite unique to this region. The houses all look very much like they belong in the mountains, with steep-pitched, A-frame roofs, and many of these homes are built from wood, rather than brick. There is a big walking path up at the top of where we hiked to, with all kinds of shops and attractions along the way. They sell a special cheese made and sold in these mountains (pictured below) that is very salty in flavor and is sometimes from cows, goats, sheep, or a mixture of them. We decided to take a gondola down to the city to get some lunch. We all had a blast getting in and cruising down the mountain, being suspended in the air, but the kids especially enjoyed it. We ate lunch at the same place we ate last night, which was fine by us. After lunch we decided to take the train back up the mountain, and then hike back down, rather than up to where our cars were parked.

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We then drove back down to where the main walking path is in the city, and stopped in to have a coffee before we hit the road back to Piotrków-Trybunalski. Again, the fellowship with Daniel and Ania has just been sweet. We have been able to encourage one another, and just enjoy each other’s company. It was a lovely end to the last two days in the mountains. We then got into our cars and made it back to PT in relatively good time, with favorable weather and driving conditions. We praise the Lord for this time we’ve been able to have with our friends who the Lord has brought into our lives. Being an evangelical pastor in catholic Poland, as Daniel is, has its’ challenges to say the least. Part of our calling as missionaries, I believe, is to bless and edify local pastors in the countries that God brings us to. I truly hope that we have been able to do this with Daniel, his wife and his family. They are dear people who we love very much. Please pray for them as the Lord brings them to your mind. Thanks guys.

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Christian Young