The Birthday Saga!!!

Ok, so what you've all been waiting for.......

It started off on Thursday-with breakfast at Ciocia (Aunt) Ruths the founder of the English School I teach at. After that I met with Agnes (from Alaska) and Mary (from USA) for Nalesniki (not sure if my spelling is correct-but it means pancakes!). I came home to letters from ECM and my sister Naomi.... Even a letter from my nephew Matthew!

On Friday the fun continued with a cultural study in the childrens class-of course the topic was birthdays!! In Poland the tradition is to celebrate "name days" as the Church kept a calender of the saint days so you celebrate on the day of the saint which you where named after. The children brainstormed Birthday words, took dictation on birthdays, play guessing games (forming correct questions) to guess what presents they would recieve, learned to sing happy birthday and of course ate cake!! (Chocolate with sprinkles kindly cooked by Louise-from America and Pumpkin cake courtesy of Agnes).

But the fun doesn't end there! Friday night I had some of the teachers visit along with people I had met on camp for an icecream night..... and of course more cake! Oh, and it snowed!!!!! Ok, so I missed it as I was indoors and it wasn't enough to last-but what a great present for my birthday!

Saturday (my actual birthday) I rolled out of bed early to call my Mum on a mysterious number-only to find my relatives gathered to celebrate my Aunt and Uncles 35th wedding anniversary! So they played pass the parcel with me until finally I managed to stop the music and tell them how cheap the call was..... time for some good chats and a chance to catch up on the family news. Also got to speak with my younger sister Natalie for the first time in ages.

So I went home and got some great gifts and said a quick hello to people. changed into my birthday top and headed across the street to spend the morning with Ala (a Polish lady who teaches at the school) and her two year old son. We played with the toys and then went for a walk. And I learnt more Polish!! Children are great for picking up Polish words. I know Nie Mam- "don't have" and pa pa-"bye bye". Woytec (once again, apologies if the spelling is wrong) is cute-blond with dimples-but going through the terrible two's! So when we went for a walk he wanted to walk with Ciocia (Aunty) Keren and kept saying Pa Pa to his Mum who had to walk 10 steps behind for the first 5 minutes of the walk!! I got a tour of the area and the best places to eat/shop etc and then we bought the best pierogi I have ever tasted.

I returned home to find missed calls and birthday wishes via email but soon got whisked off again by Joshua and Becky (both teachers from America) to taste the most delicious hot chocolate ever and pick up some gourmet chocolates (which will be eaten if I ever feel the need to eat chocolate again!! Wow, the weekend was a chocolate overload). Afterwards I met Rebecca (again from America) and we headed to Louises for a roast dinner, games with her 5 children, happy birthday in both the English and Polish versions and ANOTHER amazing cake (chocolate date nut..... and yes, it had candles!). That night we rugged up and watched Oceans 12. I went to bed feeling very content.

But it doesn't end there! Sunday I caught up with Naomi, went to Church and afterwards had my Bible study group over for a meal. Good times! They made me do a speech.... I tried to get away with doing it in Polish-but they wanted something deeper. Sunday people went to vote so the evening was time out just to relax and recover. I thought my birthday was over for another year but it was not so!!

Monday more birthday mail arrived, as well as more gifts-including one from my adults class along with a beautiful rendition of Sto Lat (the Polish "happy birthday" song..... it means 100 years and goes on to say "we wish you 100 good years" they tell me they don't know what to sing when people actually turn 100!!). It was amazing to celebrate my birthday in a country which I have been praying for for so long!

And now for the present list (because people have asked):

6 fragrant beauty products
5 floral gifts (2 pot plants, 1 bouquet a sunflower and a rose)
4 blocks of chocolate
3 birthday cakes
2 elephants (what would my birthday be without elephants!)
A teapot and candle heater-with strawberry and cream tea
A journal (with some great memories already recorded on the first few pages)
An American flag scarf
A memorial plaque
A stunning top and a CD

I think that is all...... please forgive me if I missed anything off the list!
As you can see-my birthday included everything a birthday at home would have and more.

Autumn weather

The first part of Autumn is gorgeous! The weather has been sunny and warm for the last three days, the leaves are falling and it even smells really good! They are expecting that to change soon, the leaves will fall and the maximum temperatures will be maybe 7 degrees or less and it will rain...... so I am loving this weather while it lasts and remembering that if it didn't get cold then it wouldn't snow.

My Polish is slowly improving and I use it whenever I can. This weekend the elections will be held so please pray for it. I have started a conversation hour with a university student. It is great because she and I have similar interests so it is easy to speak with her for an hour a week.

I went shopping today and was amazed at price differences-things that are cheap in Australia might be expensive here and some things (like bathers) seem so cheap here. I am finding you get what you pay for. Cheap stuff really is cheaply made and good stuff is expensive. No in between stores like Target or Kmart. I ended up getting nice leather boots at an Op-shop (Praise God!) They often cost around 400 Zloty but I got mine for 40. I am listening to Nathans advice. He told me if I keep my feet warm I will be fine. And it is true!! There is nothing worse than having cold feet when walking outdoors.

I am reading the old testament-about Israel and how they always turned away from God. My American friends are concerned for their country. They tell me morals are declining, the economy is getting weaker and people are not seeking God. Sounds like the way the world goes. People forget Gods faithfullness. Being in Poland is a continous reminder to me of Gods faithfullness and provision-I am praying for opportunities to share that with people here.

Good News!

Ok, so after having a stressful week-wondering if I would have to leave the country as I didn't have a visa, all has turned out well. I went to the office today and recieved my permission for residency for the year!!!

Yesterday the new teachers had medical examinations. It was such a public event! Anyone could watch them take your blood as it was done in 3 sided booths in a corridor. When getting our nose, ear and throat tests done people would enter the room without knocking and when doing our physical examination we where in a room with 3 people and large windows without curtains!! Very different to what happens at home.

Customer service here is different than in Australia. People may be very friendly-but not overly helpful or they may be very unhelpful but it isnt considered that they are doing anything wrong. Like the people at the Visa place where lovely but they said I would need to do things I'd already done or to come back another time to do the next step in the process and when I asked if I could do it now they said yes. Or an outdoor market I went to and was looking at a shop. The person sitting there was reading a newspaper and when I asked to buy something he said "I'm sorry, we are closed". Very different than the call centre I came from where you had to answer within 3 rings and always be extra helpful to the clients. Informing them of everything they should know and more.

But you probably wanted to know more about my classes. On the second childrens class the boys (11 and 12 years old) asked me if I loved them!! The adults are great too. They acknowledge that my accent is a little difficult for them and let me know what they need extra help in. So far I've been invited over someone house for dessert, to go on a trip to Warsaw with a student and invited out for coffee. Thanks for all your prayers!! I couldn't do it without your support and encouragement.

Happy Birthday Mum!

Today is my Mums birthday I get my numbers mixed up so I tell everyone she is 39 years old!

Childrens club on Friday was fun-I got to paint a scarf. I didn't get to do much with the children but I think it will take time for them to get used to me. I went for a walk in the country with a friend and her family on Sunday and her son (who is 11) was scared of me because I couldn't speak Polish...... but I am learning slowly.

Anyway-it is 2:30am, I've been working on my next update/prayer letter. I also phoned my Mum! Must get some rest before another exciting day.

Lesson Number 2

My second lesson was with children. They are a great group-8 boys and two girls!!
The girls seemed very shy while the boys wanted to see just how much they could get away with in the first lesson. People turned up very early for class and 5 minutes before the start one boy decided he was bored already. I told him that was okay as class hadn't started yet. I think I am going to have to find some English games/toys they can play with before class starts. Any ideas???

After class I went to the students Bible study group. It was so much fun. I used more Polish in one night then I had in the last month and I understood some of the words used. I was really welcomed and they made sure someone translated for me during the Bible study. I feel like I have had a big hug!! I really needed to spend time with other Christians.

Small Blessings!

Sometimes the smallest blessings are the ones most needed! Like before Church today I had 3 Polish people that I had met during the week come and say hello to me. I've been feeling a bit lonely and isolated so it really made my day.

Tomorrow school starts so Friday we had a lecture on safety. It should have been entitled "101 ways a teacher could die on the job" we laughed so much. Saturday I went walking for about 3 and a half hours. It is good to get out while the weather is fine and both walks where done with friends. The leaves are gorgeous colours so it really feels like Autumn.

I decided I really need to get more involved so this week I start attending a University Bible study group as well as classes and helping at the childrens club. In a few weeks I will also start helping with 4-6 year olds in Sunday School. We had camp reunion on Friday so we are starting a Bible study every second Friday night for them and I might meet with a few of them to see a movie or go out for icecream as well.

I am studying my Bible a lot. I am reminded this week that God is in control so I need to let go of control and let go of my expectations of what God will do and allow him to be Soveriegn. I feel so far from where I want to be with God but it is a good journey as I walk it with Him.

God Bless,
Love Keren