POLAND 2009 - Looking Like the Lord Looks

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland
Monday, May 18, 2009
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Looking Like the Lord Looks
I was given the opportunity to speak at the Sunday morning service here in Piotrków-Trybunalski yesterday. The main Scripture texts used were:
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1 Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (NKJV).
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Matthew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.” (NKJV)
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Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (NKJV)
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John 1:42, “Now when Jesus looked at him [Peter], He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone.).” (NKJV)
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Lukke 22:61, “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’” (NKJV)
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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Inter-Denominational Gathering

Zelów, Poland
Friday, May 15, 2009
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Inter-Denominational Gathering
Some friends of ours in Piotrków-Trybunalski invited us to go to Zelów on Friday night for an inter-denominational gathering of believers. There were people from different churches that gathered. A group of young ladies led the time of worship, and did a wonderful job. Some of the songs were familiar to us, as they must have been translated from English to Polish. The speaker’s name was Jurek, who is one of the leaders of a movement called, “Poland for Jesus.” He gave a passionate message about intimacy with Jesus. You can just tell that this guy is so in love with Jesus. There was a long line of people waiting to pray with him after his message. It was a very uplifting meeting. It really made us think about how we should really seek more intimacy with Christ in our lives; to really press in to know His heart, and what’s on His mind.
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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Ministry at the Pentecostal Church

Radomsko, Poland
Thursday, May 14, 2009
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Ministry at the Pentecostal Church
A few weeks ago we were able to connect with some people from the Pentecostal Church in Radomsko who came to the concert. Their names are Aneta and Janek, as well as Krystof, and are also connected with the Evangelical Church here in Piotrków-Trybunalski. Anyway, they asked if I could come down to Radomsko, which is only a 40 minute drive, on a Thursday to share my music and my testimony. This last Thursday worked out good for this.

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Jonas and I headed to Radomsko and were met by the lovely people at the Pentecostal Church. We were given obiad (lunch), and then had our first meeting at 1:30 pm. The first meeting was for a group of about 25 mentally handicapped people. The church there has an awesome ministry to these very special people. I was happy to play five or six songs for them and share my testimony with them. The next meeting was at 4:00 pm and was for youth and homeless from the local neighborhood. Some of the youth had previously come to the concert in Piotrków-Trybunalski, so there was already a connection there. I shared for a while and sang another six or seven songs. They asked if Jonas could sing a song, too. So hesitantly, Jonas got up and sang, “How Great Is Our God.” They loved it. They then asked if we could stay and minister through music and testimony at their small group at 6:00 pm. With no other previous plans, we gladly stayed and ministered there as well. It was a great day full of ministry.

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We were able to meet a lot of new people, as well as connect with others we had met before. Of course, Janek and Aneta were there, with their family. I connected with Krystof, who translated for me when I needed it, and met his family. Krystof is planting a church in Bełchatów and has asked that I come to help him on a Saturday in the future. Of course, I would love to help. I met another lady, Renata and her husband. We also met the pastor, Wiesław, and his family. He is an awesome man of God, and we connected right away. I met tons of others from the church. Their church is really similar to the church in Piotrków-Trybunalski, as they truly have a heart for the hurting of their community, which is really what the church should be about. They are working with the local government, as well as with the EU to provide job training for people. They also have a work with those in recovery. Pastor Wiesław shared with me about how God gave them their building and property, and cast his vision about what he sees God doing there at that place. They have a lovely community of Spirit-filled believers, who love each other and serve their community. I am sure we will return to their church in Radomsko to minister and fellowship some more.
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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Euangelion Concert

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland
Saturday, May 9, 2009
.Euangelion ConcertWell, today marked another day in history for the evangelical church here in PT, as they put on their first Christian Rock Concert that was held outdoors, in public. The concert was held at the Cultural Center very near the Old Square. Andrzej really went all out in promoting the concert; from t-shirts to radio commercials. I am finding that he is really gifted in doing PR work and DEFINITELY has the heart of an evangelist. The turnout was fairly good and there were people who came and went throughout the concert. Many stayed for the whole thing.

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Euangelion is a great band out of Warsaw. I know that Christian rock bands are scarce here in Poland as well. All of the guys in the band are really cool. There was NO MISTAKING the gospel being presented through the lyrics in their songs. Jacek, the lead guy for the band, has an awesome testimony and is ON FIRE for Jesus. They played for about an hour. I opened up for them taking about 20 to 25 minutes, playing four songs and giving a short testimony in between. The last song I sang was “Dzięki Ci,” which is the Polish translation of my original song, “Thanks To You.” I was pretty nervous trying to pull it off, but I think it went fine. Anyway, you can watch the video of that song, with English subtitles above if you would like.

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God only knows what sort of impact these evangelistic outreaches have in the lives of the people in Poland. My prayer is that the seeds of the gospel fell on good soil, and that people went home that day, really thinking about all they had heard at the concert. I could definitely feel a tension in the air, and although no one outright said or did anything against us who are born again at the concert, there was still this sense of resistance. It is definitely a spiritual battle we are facing here. Thank you for all of your prayers around this concert.

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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Justine's 7th Birthday

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
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Justine’s 7th Birthday
We got to celebrate another one of our children’s birthdays here in Poland. Last Thursday was the actual day of Justine’s birthday. So we had her open a gift then. But when we asked Justine what kind of birthday party she wanted, she said that she wanted to have a pizza party at Tina’s Pizzeria. So last Sunday, they sang “Happy Birthday” to Justine and a few others after the church service. Then, after church, Mark and Naomi and their children walked with us to Tina’s where we all had a great lunch. Then after that, we walked back to the church, came upstairs, had cake, opened presents, and then the kids just played together all afternoon.

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A group of you sent a special gift of money, earmarked for Justine’s birthday. So yesterday, we got to take Justine to the toy store where she could spend her money. She chose to but a little toy acoustic guitar and a big Barbie-doll-head-thing that she, her sister and her friends can put make-up on and such. Justine had a special birthday. Thank you all for making it such a special one for her.
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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Castles of Jura

Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, Poland
Saturday, May 2, 2009
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Castles of Jura
There is a holiday celebrated in Poland at the beginning of May every year. So because our Polish friends had a long weekend, it was decided that we would travel south together on Saturday to visit some castles and spend time together. So our family, Daniel and Ania and their family, Andrzej and Kasia and their family, and Mark and Naomi and their family visited four castles along the “Eagle’s Nest” trail. It doesn’t take very long to get to these castles, and we had a lovely time together. It was perfect weather for such a trip. We are trying, as best as we can, to include some history of the places we are visiting. So the rest of this post will include a brief history of the castles we visited, as well as pictures we took at the various locations. Also, please check out the map below of which castles on this “Eagle’s Nest” trail that we visited.

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Jura is a popular name of the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland. The landscape of this area is formed by lime rocks, picturesque hills and Gothic castles. In the Middle Ages, the Upland was the Western rampart of the Polish Kingdom. That is the reason why so many castles and watch-towers were built along its’ borders. One of their founders was a Polish king Kazimierz Wielki (1333-1370). Royal strongholds included the castles of Będzin, Bobolice, Mirów, Ojców, Olsztyn and Pieskowa Skała. Other castles, among them Bydlin, Korzkiew, Lipowiec, Morsko, Pilica, Ogrodzieniec, Rabsztyn, Siewierz, Smoleń and Tenczyn were erected by representatives of the powerful noble houses and the clergy. Their days of splendor and military importance came to a close with the Swedish deluge (1655-1660). The Swedish invaders destroyed nearly all local fortresses. In 1857 Wiktor Zieliński, a poet and sightseer, amazed at the beauty of the Castles of Jura, called them Eagle’s Nests.

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Olsztyn Castle
Olsztyn Castle was erected by the king Kazimierz Wielki in the 14th century. During it’s history it was besieged by the forces of Archduke Maximillian von Habsburg (1587) and the Swedish invaders (1656). In the 1990’s the castle won it’s fame for an open-air event: fireworks and a laser show. The surroundings of the castle were a set for Polish films: “Manuscript Found in Saragossa” by W. Has and “Demons of War” by W. Pasikowski. Now it belongs to the Olsztyn commune.

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Mirów Castle
Mirów Castle was built by the king Kazimierz Wielki. Later it was in the hands of noble families: the Kozieglowskis, the Myszkowskis, the Korycińskis and the Męcińskis. In 1587 the castle was seized by the troops of Archduke Maximillian von Habsburg, and in 1657 it was seriously damaged by the Swedish invaders. In 2006 the fortress was bought by two brothers, Dariusz and Jarosław Lasecki, who also own the nearby Bobolice Castle.

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Bobloice Castle

Boblice Castle erected by the king Kazmierz Wielki, dates back to the middle of the 14th century. In later years it was owned by such families as Szafraniec, Męciński and Myszkowski. In 1587 the castle was conquered by the troops of Archduke Maximillian von Habsburg and in 1657 seized by the Swedish troops. In 1999 it was bought by two brothers, Dariusz and Jarosław Lasecki.

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Ogrodzieniec Castle
Ogrodzieniec Castle erected in the 14th century, is one of the most picturesque castle ruins in Poland. Centuries ago it was possessed by different families, such as Włodek, Salomonowicz or Boner. Twice in it’s history the fortress was seized and destroyed by the Swedes (1655 and 1702). Since 1995 it has been managed by Zamek Ltd., Ogrodzieniec.

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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Ministry Activity Update

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland
Friday, May 1, 2009
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Polish-English Language Lessons
One of the doors the Lord has opened up for us in ministry here in Poland is by building relationships through giving English language lessons while receiving Polish language lessons. Once a week, we meet with a couple about my age whose names are Adam and Ewelina. They come over every Thursday afternoon for about an hour and a half. I can tell that our Polish is getting better and their English is getting better because of these meetings. But more importantly, we have been developing a relationship with them. We have gone over to their house a couple of times now, just to hang out. Last time we watched a movie with them and took a look at the house they are building for their family. Ewelina has come to some other church meetings as well, I think they will come to the upcoming concert next week and now they want to spend their vacation time this summer with us, perhaps taking a camping trip with both of our families to the north of Poland. Last week, we had them listen to the original song of mine that I translated, first in Polish, to listen for errors in my accent, then in English, while reading the lyrics as well. God is so good. This is a very non-threatening way to witness. They have become good friends. We've also been developing other relationships here in Piotrków-Trybunalski, as well. God has been so good in giving us so many friends here.

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Prayer Meeting and Bible Study
On Wednesdays, we attend the weekly prayer meeting that is held downstairs here at the church, gathering with the lovely people of this local body to pray together. On Thursdays, after our meeting with Adam and Ewelina, I head downstairs to join the mid-week Bible study where we are currently studying through the gospel of Luke. It is neat to just go around and read the passage in Polish, then have an open discussion about the passage that was read.
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Youth Group
As I have told you in previous posts, one of my responsibilities is to teach the Jr. High Youth Group every Saturday evening. We have taken a break from our topical study using the Polish curriculum for time being, as I felt led to take the group through a crash-course overview of the book of Acts. We bought some little notebooks from the store and are I am having the youth use them to take down notes as we read through the book of Acts over the next six weeks, creating their own personal commentaries. Four questions I am having them write down as we read through the entire book are:

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(1) Describe what this verse or passage means in your own words. Explain what is happening.
(2) Why does this Scripture stand out to me?
(3) How can I apply this verse to my life today? Pray about this.
(4) What is God saying to me through this Scripture? How am I different after studying this Scripture?
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Sunday Morning Involvement
We are also involved at the church service every Sunday morning. I help out in the worship team by plating guitar and singing. Then, sometimes I have been asked to speak on Sunday mornings. Last Sunday, I was asked to give a short testimony, and perhaps something we have experienced here in Poland, that would build up the congregation.
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Christian Young