news http://www.send.org Copyright 2012 SEND. All rights reserved <![CDATA[Giant steps forward: Praising God from whom all blessings flow!]]>   
  “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts …” This hymn was going through all of our heads one Sunday a few weeks back as we reflected how in God's timing the Lubin city council voted unanimously for our church plant to receive at 1% of its value a large portion of land close to our current location.  Our friend (not a believer) who sits on the council gave testimony that everything our church does is for people -- not for money or making a name for itself.  It was encouraging to hear that our church is known as an active outward-focused group of people.

     It is a blessing knowing that we will have a place that we can call our own and do so much more in this community reaching out to those that are lost and searching for meaning in life.  The place that we are currently renting is seemingly getting smaller and smaller. 

     Another two songs that came forth two weeks ago were “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and “Amazing Grace”.  A number of months ago a lady who had been visiting the church for some time made the decision to give her life to Christ.  In the process of being discipled, she wanted to be baptized.  It just so happened that our mother church was also planning a baptism so we decided to join them for baptismal classes.  Our son, Andrew, also wanted to be baptized.  So Andrew, Dorota and I went to the prep classes. We then set a date for the baptism.  Andrew and Dorota wanted the baptism to happen here in Lubin so as to be an example to those around of the decision they had made.  On September 4th we had our first baptism.  We borrowed a swimming pool and filled it up in our church parking lot.  The whole service was wonderful as Andrew and Dorota reflected on their desire to follow Christ, not only accepting Him as their Savior, but following Him in baptism.  The sermon the pastor gave was a very good sermon on baptism and what it is.  As each person came up out of the water we sang, “I Have Decided”.  At the end we had communion and closed the service singing, “Amazing Grace”.

     We are also praising God for allowing us to have our first Bible camp.  The team that came from McCoy Memorial Baptist Church was well prepared and full of love for the kids and expectation for how God would work in their lives.  We had about 20 kids who came, heard the gospel and learned more about creation.

     These three steps forward are gigantic.  God is at work! Even if it is slower than we would like, it is true that precious lives are being changed and God is providing a place for this local body to be able to even have more opportunities to share their faith and to be a blessing to others. 

     We thank you for your encouragement through prayers and monetary giving.  We ask you to praise God for these three giant steps forward.  Also please pray for Dorota and Andrew that they would grow to become more like Christ.  We also need prayer and wisdom in building a physical building.  Pray that more people would see their need for a Savior. 

Blessings,

Paul, Carlene
Andrew, Aaron and Alaina


Prayer Update

Praise

  • Language school

Praise God for our students (children and adults) and parents of our students.  God has given us many possibilities for sharing our faith through the building of relationships.

  • Baptism / Salvation

We are praising God for the first baptism that we had.  It was encouraging seeing Andrew and Dorota desire and follow Christ in baptism. 

  • Land

It is a real blessing and encouragement receiving land.  Praise God for His provision.

  • Bible Camp

Praise God for the Bible camp this summer.  The 20 young people who attended heard the Gospel clearly.  We are thankful for McCoy Baptist group who came to help us. 

  • Gospel Jam

Our II Gospel Jam Session went really well.  We believe that it led people closer to God.  Most that attended do not have real faith. 

 

Prayer:

  • Marriage Conference

On the 24th of September we are hosting a marriage conference.  Please pray for all the organizational aspects but most importantly for people’s souls.  As the Gospel is shared during the conference, please pray for a clear working in people’s hearts and minds.

  • Gospel Jam

On the 5th of November we will be having our third Gospel Jam.  We pray that the time we spend singing Gospel will be more than just a good time singing Gospel but it will be a time also reflecting on the powerful words that are being sung.  We want this to be a time that would draw people closer to God.  Pray that participants would see their need for Him.

  • Film Night

On the 7th of October we are beginning a film discussion evening.  Our first film will be Apollo 13. We will watch and then discuss the film from a Christian perspective

  • Language School

“Logos” Language Center started last week.  Please pray for the teachers – wisdom in teaching good English, boldness in clearly presenting the Gospel through their teaching.  Pray for the 110 students and their parents (some are adults) that their eyes would be open and they would see the emptiness of religion.  May they find an everlasting relationship!

  • Kids

Please pray for Andrew, Aaron and Alaina that they would be strong in their faith and hold to the truth.  Pray that they would have opportunities to share about the relationship they have in Christ.

  • Unbelievers

Some of those who come to the fellowship still have not publically made a decision for Him.  Pray for their salvation.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.

  • Small Groups

We are looking at forming small groups that would meet during the week.  We already have one group and a ladies group starting soon. 

  • Building a building

Prayer for wisdom and the resources to build a church building that would serve the community in the best way possible.  It could be really easy to build a building and forget the people.

]]> Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[PBU Chorale Tour: Many Stories to Tell]]>
We flew out of Newark airport May 21st and landed in Poland at 1:00 p.m. the next day. The first two days in Poland was spent getting to know the cities we would be singing in, and resting from the long trip. We went on a five hour tour of Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp in Poland. I thought that this tour was going to be another touristy stop, and I feared it would distract from the missions trip rather than add to it. But the tour proved to be essential to my understanding of the Polish mind set. Many of the people living in Poland today grew up under communist rule. Now Poland has an anti-culture against communism and the systems that it established. The acts that the Polish witnessed during the second World War caused many of them to abandon their religious practices, accepting that there is no God to stop the cruelties of man; we are left to our own devises. This humanistic philosophy is seen in their art and architecture, as well as in their academic discussions. We had an opportunity to sit in on a college English class in which they discussed change. Many of their philosophies were centered around the achievements of man, and around the potential and willingness of man to change.

We stayed in the city of Wroclaw, men in one church, women in another. The city is called the city of 100 cathedrals and 100 bridges, due to its many churches and rivers. We got to visit many of the cathedrals, and even sang in a few of them. Standing there, I was struck by the understanding of the majesty of God that the cathedrals displayed in their art. There was no assumption that God was as simple or humble in His nature as man is. America seems to have removed itself so far from the traditions of the church that we seem to have rejected some of the biblical truths because of their connections to tradition.

We spent five consecutive days singing across Poland. We never did a concert in a church, though most of our programs were arranged by the local churches. Our first two programs were benefit concerts for autistic children. The Polish government provides the building for handicap centers, but does not provide funds to furnish the center or for services. They were grateful that a church group, especially one from a university, was willing to help them in their fund raising.

We also got to do several outdoor concerts, one for the Protestant Cultural Festival, and one in a town square. There had been a lady that the local church had been evangelizing for a while who attended one of the outdoor concerts. After the concert, she said she was deeply moved by the love and hope that was in our songs. She said she was going to take her copy of the program home with her and reread the words to the songs and reflect on them. This was such an encouragement to the group, seeing fruit from God’s work so soon after the seeds had been planted.

One of the highlights to the trip was getting the opportunity to sing for a group of about 60 men in a maximum security prison. One of the pastors that we were working with had a prison bible study which met twice a week. The program was followed by a quick message from the pastor. The prisoners were eager to speak with us and shake hands afterwards, and we met several of the prisoners that were a part of the prison church. One man was able to give a short testimony before he was ushered out. He said, “36 years is too long a time to condense into a few minutes, but it was not until I was imprisoned that God set me free.” I was delighted that we got these chances to sing to the people who do not usually find themselves within the walls of a church. When the chorale sings in a large church, I often get the feeling that the congregation’s enjoyment of the music and of the message is lessened by their familiarity with music. But the Polish people responded with so much emotion, it was a joy to sing to them.

Please continue to remember the Polish church in your prayers. A large evangelical church in Poland is 50 members and the people are starving for pastors and people who are willing to organize service and evangelizing opportunities. Please pray that the church will see healthy growth and that the nationals will be provided with good biblical education, so they may in turn pass their knowledge on to the Polish people.

-Gabe Magill, PBU chorale member]]> Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:17:00 EST <![CDATA[PBU Chorale Tour Begins]]>
Please pray that these young ambassadors for Christ would:

- be forever changed by the joy of experiencing the Lord reach out and touch another life for eternity through their obedience.

- be bold to share not only their musical talents but would also step out in loving faith to interact with Poles to be used by the Lord to gather the ripe fruit of those seeking to know and learn more about a personal, dynamic, saving faith through Christ alone.

- be safe from sickness and exhaustion that can be part of an intense 10 days as well as safety as they travel and serve.

- be personally impacted by the spiritual needs of a post-communist Poland and that the Lord may call some back for future longer term service of ministry.

You can follow the chorale’s journey on their blog at www.send.org/pbuchorale2011.]]> Tue, 24 May 2011 04:17:00 EST <![CDATA["Prayer At Unexpected Times Brings Results"]]> You could have heard a pin drop during our annual Gospel Workshop, while midway through rehearsing the song  “speak to me” ...

verse: Speak to me, my Father
In a small voice
Reaching all my tears and sorrows

chorus: Hear me when I cry, my Father
Hear me when I cry
(Ruth lynch / shean roberts)

... one of our instructors looked the drummer straight in his eyes and asked if she could pray for him on stage right then and there. Prayer for most Poles is usually done at church or privately at home so this was quite unexpected.  

The drummer who has played for us the last five years has not yet made a decision to follow Christ.  He looked at her with big eyes not quite knowing what to do.  He asked, “Me?” and she said, “Yes, you.” she asked the other two instructors to come up (one is a pastor in England, the other is Polish and from Kraków).  They publicly prayed for him right on stage.  It was an incredible moment as she prayed.  The Holy Spirit was touching lives.

She had prayed specifically for him all year long and at that moment God wanted her to pray publicly for him. She did it even though other voices screamed for her not to. 

Following this prayer, it was break time and some very interesting things happened.  The base guitar player, an atheist, agreed to let an instructor pray for him, the drummer's girlfriend said she needed Jesus and made a decision to follow Christ and one other girl later on also made a decision for Christ.

It is wonderful how God leads us to pray at unexpected times.  When listening to Him, we many times get unexpected and blessed results.

As a team, we feel blessed to be a part of what God is doing in building His church in Lubin.  We thank you for your faithfulness in praying and giving.

]]> Mon, 23 May 2011 08:33:00 EST <![CDATA[Reaching the Lost]]> The PBU chorale is deep in preparation for a musical tour mission trip to Poland May 21-31.  One of the chorale members, Valerie, posted this in the PBU blog yesterday:

I have to admit...preparing for a trip like this has definitely been an experience in itself. I have never been outside of the United States, so there were a lot of things that I had to learn before going over to a foreign country. For instance, I have never gone through the process of purchasing a passport. It will certainly be one of those experiences that will stick with me after this is done. Over the last few weeks, I have also been learning basic Polish phrases such as, "yes" (tak), and "no" (nie), though not all of them are as easy to pronounce as the two noted. Recently, I have also been researching information about Poland's economic climate. 

Although this was all good for research purposes, there was one aspect of this preparation process that has really hit home for me, and one of my friends in Chorale put it so plainly: We are not going over there for sight seeing or for the sake of socializing (though it is likely that these will happen)...We are going to reach out to the people of Poland. 

Once that truth really sunk into me, things started to change. I was no longer looking at the Chorale music that we were given at the start of the school year as just "your everyday college choir music". These pieces of music were tools that we, God's servants, had been given to use in a nation that did not fully acknowledge Him. 

In addition, the letters that I sent out for support money were not just routine anymore. I really started to think about all the efforts that I was making so that I could help a group of musicians impact a population of people overseas. It truly changed me. As I continue to make these preparations for the trip over, I pray that God will continue to impact my thinking about going into a foreign country and how I can show God's love to the lost.

-Valerie Reynolds
If you are interested in giving to the PBU chorale for their Poland trip, email music@pbu.edu. 

]]> Wed, 9 Mar 2011 09:30:00 EST <![CDATA[SLOT Art Festival]]>
We had a smaller attendance than hoped for but got a positive response during the workshop. The participants were thrilled to see photos of the Philippines’ white beaches and other tourist spots.  When they asked why we left our country to come to Poland, we had the opportunity to share what we believe.

Please pray that the participants will think about what they heard and that more will come to the next event in March.]]> Wed, 8 Dec 2010 04:15:00 EST <![CDATA[6 Campers Make Decisions for Christ]]> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 06:30:00 EST <![CDATA[Church Planting Workshop]]>
Churches in Poland are small and the number of Bible believing Christians is around 0.5 % of the population. The SEND team and the pastors have set goals to increase effectiveness as church planters in seeing more church plants move toward establishing and reproducing, to cast vision and see more nationals involved in church planting, and to realize the vision of the District and the mission of SEND North Central Europe. Pray for effective communication in the seminar presentations and for visits to different church planting sites in the Silesia Region to consult with the church planters.
-Dick Walton]]> Thu, 9 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Christianity Crisis in Europe?]]>
He went on to say that in such areas as Europe, “The process of secularization has produced a serious crisis of the sense of the Christian faith and role of the church.” No announcement was made as to who might lead the council.

What’s to be done? Christians need to do the same things as they have always been called to do: continue in sound, biblical teaching, and learn and practice consistent Christian living. It is the way we live that makes our beliefs plausible in the first place. The word of God is not bound. Please pray for the expansion and proclamation of the gospel through the lives and the words of the believers that exist here in Europe.]]> Tue, 7 Sep 2010 08:40:00 EST <![CDATA[Combat at English camp in Poland ]]>
One woman is a doctor and the other lady is a lawyer. Both are very strong women. The lawyer had a difficult time setting that role aside during our discussion time. In one discussion she said there was something in her that makes her want to be argumentative and that she had to work hard not to be. She said she likes coming to the camp because it is a sanctuary for her and she sees good there. She said she considered herself to be an agnostic and that faith was only an electrical activity in the brain.

She said she had to see proof of God, some sort of miracle in her life. She indicated she had traumatic experiences in her past. My response to her was that if she saw any good in anyone at camp it was because she was seeing God and maybe the reason she was coming to the camp year after year that it was God giving her the desire to come. Later she responded that it was not her human will to decide to come.

When she said she had to see proof like the table or chair where we were sitting I used the example that you don't inspect the chair before you sit down; you simply sit. I also told her the compulsion that was within her to be combative was because of the enemy we have within. She said she didn't believe there was a devil. I understand that every year she comes she is verbally combative in the group she is in, but interestingly she isn't this way during the monthly Bible studies. I was also told that she and the doctor are among the first ones every year to sign up for the camp with their sons.]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Outreaches Produce Spiritual Conversations]]>
Although Joanna had registered for the workshop, she had to leave during the first practice. She did, however, attend the final concert. During that concert, Elaine, the woman from England who led the concert, spoke clearly about the gospel and talked about religion versus relationship. Later I asked Joanna her impressions on what Elaine said. Before answering she asked me what I thought. I told her that as a team we were very pleased that Elaine was bold in presenting the gospel.

Joanna proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t the place to talk personally about God and pray. Only on certain occasions should this be done, like when the president’s plane crashed the month before. She also said that Polish people don't think about God every day.

Poland is supposedly one of the most “Christian” countries in the world—90% belong to the Roman Catholic Church. But Joanna’s response shows how Polish people compartmentalize God and put Him in a box.

In spite of that, Joanna did say that people see a difference in our lives and are drawn to that. We know that if they see any good in us, it is Christ.

Pray for Joanna and for my conversations with her.]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:15:00 EST <![CDATA[Church planting module held in Poland]]> Thu, 20 May 2010 10:00:00 EST