International Missions

How do you say, “Silk Banners” in Polish  (click on link for photo)

This Spring has brought new adventures, new challenges and more “God sightings”, or mile-posts on the journey.   We are plodding along, making progress in the language and building relationships in our church,  community and among students. 

Certainly one of the greatest gifts was the “First-Ever Live Skype cast” with Fellowship, on Missions Week.   We did some practice calls with the tech guys and started the call early to make sure we had a good connection.  It was so fantastic, because we sat here in Poland in our living room, and saw and heard, real live worship in our own language, for the first time in over a year, except for the huge Europe Area Missions conference. 

Fellowship plays a huge part in this conference and sends the childcare team each year.  That is also a very special blessing, and helps us feel connected to you, in a very practical way. 

The care packages are really wonderful, and really communicate your care and support, but seeing the team, and knowing what a great impact they are making long term in Europe is really an indescribable gift.  

Watching the service on the webcam, we felt like we were right there in Knoxville.  The technology is amazing, and it has been a great way for us to connect live with our community group, For Better Or For Worse.  There were a few hiccups and glitches, and a toddler who was in the middle of potty training and had to “go potty” in the middle of the skype call, are parts of life that make it real, and remind us that children are not an interuption to our ministry, but that family is our first and primary ministry.  

 So many families all over Europe have been hit by the falling dollar, but God is faithful, and several people have increased their giving.  We will be visiting our supporting churches as well as visiting other churches in the district with which we have been in contact and developing a relationship.    In addition to meeting with friends and family, we will have several informational coffee and desserts about our ministry here, and the exciting ways we see God at work, and how you may join us. 

Of course the greatest blessing of the year is the healthy pregnancy, which is a gift from God.  So far everything is going well, and Christina is in the fifth month, and all the checkups and tests and ultra sounds have been very positive.   It is a girl, and Clay is already excited about his baby sister, and keeps asking when she is coming. 

He is so anxious, he even offered to go in an get her. 

Another highlight of the spring has been Easter, and all that means, but also being able to help with the Easter Program and seeing the seeds of creativity and thinking outside the box.   

We were able to use the drama banners, or billowing silk scarves which were so graciously donated by Fellowship.   Loren worked with Sondra, the pastor’s daughter, and the youth, and they choreographed the colorful billowing banners to Michael W Smith’s song Allelujah/Holy and it really was a home run!  The biggest challenge was that everyone wanted to participate, and there were more youth than banners. 

Loren also was able to use his years of  experience in carpentry and he and Bartek, the pastor’s son, built a life-size cross, which was used for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.  The pastor and his wife and another member contributed ideas and the result was fresh and new and not only visually powerful and symbolic, but the whole church body was able to experience and interact in the Easter message.   

So many times we feel that we only understand 20% on a good day, and that we can’t even contribute, but this was really exciting to not only bring creative ideas to the table, but to see the leaders of the church get on board and take ownership, and then to hear the positive comments from our Polish friends.   

It never would have been possible without people from fellowship, some of whom came on a short term trip to Poland, and used the banners in a short term summer trip.   

There is synthetic silk here, and we could have purchased something very similar, but the larger point is empowering people with tools and ideas, thinking outside the box, and helping them take part in the creative process– something which communism destroyed, and can’t be bought here for any price. 

Pray for the church here, as it is experiencing growing pains, and is seeking to make the Gospel relevant to a culture is religious, but sees the church and its message as a compartment, for Easter, and Christmas, but has little relevance to life on any given Thursday, or non-holiday. 

 Grace and Peace, 

Your co-laborers on the journey, 

Loren, Christina and Clay Ozanne