We were married in November 1983 with the conviction that one day we would find ourselves on the mission field.  While waiting for God to direct our steps, we availed ourselves of opportunities to enrich our understanding and knowledge of the world of missions, attending conferences and taking part in short-term opportunities. After one of these trips to Poland, Rick began studying for a Masters in Education in the field of Teaching English as a Second Language, believing that this was the Lord’s plan for our entry to the field.  While he was completing his education, we took another trip to Poland together and subsequently received an invitation to work with a local church in Lubań, Poland whose pastor had a vision for using English to reach young people with the gospel.  This was an offer that we eagerly accepted, thinking that we would come to Poland for 5 to 7 years—long enough to hopefully make a difference in the lives of those we came to serve.

Family

We sold most of our belongings, put other things in storage and set out with two small children, Kevin and Emily, who were ages 3 and 1 at the time.

Now it is 15 years later.  The size of our family has increased, as have our opportunities for ministry.  Surely the Lord has enlarged the place of our tent!  We have been blessed to see much fruit over the years, yet we long for more. We have come to love the Polish people and desire to see a great harvest of souls among them. 

SCHOOLING

All of our children have attended Polish schools from preschool on up so their Polish is quite good. Lisa does some additional homeschooling with them as time permits. Once our children are in high school (currently Emily) they attend Polish high school for half the day and then do a half-day of homeschooling where there is emphasis on English literature and composition, American history and American government. This is to help prepare them for attending university in the States. Our oldest,  Kevin is in his first year at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. the second year of high school. He audits courses at a local Polish high school and take additional courses at home through both traditional

HOUSING

The Lord has provided us with excellent housing. We share a large home with our local pastor and his family. The house was designed for two families with each family having separate entrances, separate driveways and garages. We live on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors with ample space for our family of seven. Rick’s office is in the basement along with the office for our

COST OF LIVING

Some things are cheaper in Poland – rent, appliance and automotive repairs, medical and dental care.  For example:

· basic blood work -  $2.00 and you have same-day results

· teeth cleaned and checked - $27

 

Other things are more expensive – gasoline, cell phone, electronic equipment

· gallon of gas - $7.15

· cell phone – 110 minutes/month - $23

 

Other things are about the same – food, utilities, car insurance.

We pay 22% VAT (value added tax) on most purchases.

SHOPPING

So much has changed since we have been here. Now we have major chain stores within walking distance of our house. Here are three examples:

 

RECREATION

We don’t do a lot of recreation. Kevin and Rick jog together in the mornings. We occasionally go to a nice indoor water park in the city or a bowling alley. We have a small yard and the kids enjoy playing ball there with the dog. Occasionally we go to a city park.

LOCAL CHURCH

We attend Upper Room Fellowship which has 90-100 members (including children). Most of the members are young couples (late 20’s to late 30’s) with small children. The pastor, Bogdan Olechnowicz, is a good friend of ours. He and Rick have worked together on the leadership team for Poland For Jesus for many years. We see our role in the local church as primarily to motivate and provide leadership in the evangelistic outreach of the church. The church’s meeting hall is in a low-income section of the city and is a ministry base for the church to reach out into the poorest neighborhood of the city (about 10,000 inhabitants in this area).

local church and the office of Poland For Jesus (the national prayer and revival movement that we work with).

Castorama

(Building Supply)

 

TESCO

(Superstore)

Panorama

(Shopping mall, complete with escalator!)