My First Day of School

Yesterday was my first day of work!! It wasn't planned but I went to the school to ask some questions and one of the staff was away sick so next thing I know I'm given a crash course and am marking tests and interviewing students. I don't know who was more nervous-me or the students I was interviewing!!

This is Patrick-one of the teachers I work with at the school. I think his title is "Director of Studies". He came on the youth camp and was brave enough to participate in the water fight.

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There is a sign at the goverment department where you apply for residency which says:

Alien Services

and sometimes that is how you feel when living in another country. After work last night I went shopping to stock my fridge and pantry. It is like everything is put in a different package and the labels are mixed up! So the rice is in a box instead of a bag and cereal (usually in a box at home) is in a bag and brands such as Maggi have a complete different name although logos and colouring and lettering style are the same.

At long last, a photo :-)

This is me, in the Czech Republic at one of the Castles we visited. No princes to be found :-)

Although camp is over I spent almost everyday last week meeting with people from camp. By the weekend I was exhausted-so happy to escape to visit a friend (housesitting in the outer suburbs of Wroclaw) for a video day.

Yesterday I got a really special treat-a group of people from my Church called so I got to chat with many friends in a half hour that went too quickly.

Camp News

Camp was amazing! I grew a lot in my faith and from the discussions I'm sure others did too. Everyday was so busy that the 10 days felt like a month. Thank God we are working in his strength and not our own. Some of the highlights where seeing castles in the Czech Republic and having multi cultural and Polish nights. Even more amazing was the good friendships formed. Everyday since camp I have met with people from camp.

Which brings me to my next news-I finally have a home. It is amazing and contains almost everything I might need. It is very, very modern and spacious for a Polish apartment and it really feels like a home. In the next few weeks I should get 2 housemates. One from the Ukraine and one from England.

So I have about a week to settle in, work on visas to stay in Poland, stock my kitchen and get to know my neighborhood. The culture in Poland is different to Australia and some days I love it but others I have to bite my tongue and just take a step back and be ok that people in other countries do things differently. One thing that amazed me...... Ute's are something pretty unique to Australia. The English, Americans, Canadians and Polish haven't heard of them. It is late so more another time.

God Bless,
Keren

Wroclaw....the story begins

Sorry for not writing for a few days-the internet has been down and then I have been busy preparing lessons for camp which starts tomorrow.

Camp is for 22 youth and the days activities are English lessons, Bible study and then fun activities. I am running 11 English classes a multicultural night and a workshop on Aboriginal Art. Our aim is to give every student the chance to hear the gospel, understand the gospel and act on its message. Pray for boldness from the staff in sharing with the students and also good sleep!!!

Wroclaw so far has been good but I will tell you more about it when I have been here longer. I am staying with Rebecca in her apartment. She is a great help-a teacher who has been living in Poland for 6 months. She is very motherly and caring. Plus plays the piano and violin. The other girls my age are Debbie from Canada (just flew in today but has a great sense of humour), Christine from America (we are like peas in a pod-both allergic to green apples, both love to dance), Eve from Australia (Brisbane, gorgeous accent, of Polish decent and an avid traveller) and Maria (from Holland, gorgeous grey/green eyes, practical and just a pleasure to spend time with).

One thought that has stayed with me the last few weeks. When Joshua marched 7 times around Jericho it was not his strength but Gods that made the walls come tumbling down. It was Joshua being obedient that gave God the glory and fulfilled the promise he had made to Israel that they would take over the city. In the same way it is not in my strength that I do this. I am pretty worn out and a little tired of meeting great people but always saying goodbye. In Gods strength may He be glorified and people of Poland come to have a personal relationship with their Lord and Saviour!! Please keep praying and I will keep serving one step at a time.

I will not have email till after camp (maybe the 22nd or 23rd of August) so May God be with you till we meet again :-)

I got an invite :-)

In Proverbs it says that a gift opens doors to the giver-and last night it proved to be true. I came home and met a group of 9 children. I gave them balloons and played with them. Children are great because they seem to remember what it is like to communicate without words so they are patient and will dramatise and find a way to communicate. Plus they start learning English young so their level of English was about the same as my Polish.

The children then introduced me to their parents (I was introduced as Carolina as they thought that would be my Polish name) who where having a bbq. They gave me a glass of wine and talked about me. I understood more than they realised, which made me feel good. I played some more with the children and when it was time for them to leave I was invited to visit again today.

Camp next week is with teenagers-which can be tricky. It depends on if they think it is cool to speak English or not. I think teenagers are pretty much the same all over the world. It might take effort to connect with them but once you do it is more than worth it.


Sleep has been much better! Thanks for the prayers.
Love Keren

Prayer request

This week is a quiet one-some thunderstorms, some fine weather. My days are spent wandering around town occasionally bumping into someone I know, testing out my Polish on anyone who tries to talk to me. On Sunday I move to Wroclaw and will spend my time preparing English lessons for camp-which starts on Thursday the 8th.

Please pray for good sleep. I am getting plenty of hours sleep but it isn't good quality so I feel quite tired. Another point-there is an old man who gladly received the Gospel of John. I see him in the park sometimes but I have problems communicating with him. Some people can communicate well without words but this is more challenging.

It has been great to talk to various people from home. I've almost been here 1 month now-time does go so fast!! Also a reminder of home-Aussie Rules football on TV! Who would have thought they aired it in Europe.