Poland Update #13

            The past weeks have been very busy ones as we change seasons with the rest of the world! Time has slipped by, and there are so many things to tell you about what God is doing in Poland. Most of what we share with you in the Update is about our work and how God is blessing and challenging us with His grand purpose for the Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop ministry in Poland. Outreach events, days with happy people visiting the shop, worship experiences with those who become a part of our fellowship are just a few of the things that keep us all very busy and fulfilled with what God is doing in Poland.

Welcome! W & W Team from Spokane WA First Church

Team in Poznan Old Town

            For our first Update of the fall we thought it would be a good idea to say “THANKS!” to many people by featuring a Work & Witness team from Spokane, Washington, this past July. And we also thought it would be interesting to you to hear directly from the team members themselves. Jeff Shea, Team Leader, sent us wonderful photos of them on the job.




Here are some of the team members’ thoughts about their experience and about what God is doing:

Doug Jones

“I went to the community outreach to observe how people from another culture worship.  Instead God touched me at the core of who I am to help me come to a point of forgiving the most painful moment in my life.” – Doug Jones

Kathy Jones

“I am so excited that the Lord is working among the young adults in Poland.  The worship service at the Mercury Hotel was so incredible.  The reGeneration choir and Ev’s preaching really touched so many people, including Doug and me.”

-Kathy Jones

“My highlight was being able to use my skills to reach out and help our family in Christ, also the different opportunities to share Christ with others in many ways.”

-Victor Morrison

Vic in Kitchen before renovation.

Kitchen after renovation

Barry and Debbie

“After the Saturday evening service at Sweet Surrender Poznan, visiting with the young people in our broken/non-existent Polish, and laughing and learning a bit about their lives, is a very vivid/fond memory. “

-Barry Roth

“It was so rewarding to work so hard in the shop to be ready to ‘open’ for the Saturday night service.  We were able to see the main reason Sweet Surrender exists, which was inspiring and encouraging knowing the Gospel is being preached in Poland.”

-Debbie Roth

Jeannie

“The church service at the hotel was inspiring.  It was also inspiring that the girl in the seat next to me flying home wanted to talk about her feelings/rejection of God and her catholic religion.  I’m not good with words but the Lord was there to give me words and thoughts for her.”

-Jeanie Partee

Jana, Jeff & Tyler

"It was an honor and privilege to see firsthand how the Lord is working in people's hearts in Poland.  We were blessed to make wonderful new friends, and to be an encouragement to our missionaries and volunteers."
- Jana Shea

“We are so blessed to have gifted missionaries like Ev and Rhonda ministering to the people of Poland.  It was a privilege to partner with them and assist in spreading the Gospel in this beautiful country.”

-Jeff Shea

Tyler and Garrett

           God blessed the Sweet Surrender ministry in Poznan in very special ways through this dedicated team from Spokane First Nazarene Church. We are so grateful to them. 


One of the creative things they did, in addition to the work on the Poznan shop, was to sponsor one of our Outreach Events. They fully funded the cost for the hotel venue where the event was held and also covered the expenses for other necessary arrangements for special music, PA equipment, etc. How wonderful for them to have caught the vision of how our work can be made more effective through these outreach events. We are happy to add them to the growing list of people and churches that have helped in the past and for those who will take up the challenge to help us in the future.

            We are very thankful for all who have come to Poland to help us. Our wonderful corps of Volunteers is second to none! The people in our growing community of faith in Poznan and Krakow are also wonderfully gifted for the ministry we are doing together!

            Facing big challenges ahead in this ministry, we continue to be thankful for your prayers. Many of you have not visited Poland to see the work yet. We hope that doing so becomes a part of your future plans. If you feel challenged to put together a Work & Witness team or to put together a Prayer/Vision trip to Poland, let us know and we will be happy to work with you on dates for the future.

            In the meantime, continue to pray for these fledgling works in Poznan and Krakow. We will be bringing you additional information and inspiration about the work in Poland. 

Prayer Needs

Please join us in focused prayer for the Poland ministry!

*Continue to pray for the continued effectiveness of ministry outreach events and worship services.

*Continue to pray that God will make funds and locations available for outreach events.

*Pray for our Volunteers. They are a key to what God is doing through the coffee shops.

*Pray for our new Christians in Poland that they will be faithful and follow God's plan for their lives.

*Pray for future financial resources for outreach events and Krakow building payments.

*Pray for Work & Witness teams.

*Pray for Katie Fitch as she heads to Copenhagen, Denmark, to begin a new Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop.

Practical Suggestions to Support Poland Ministry

1. Pray that God will continue to pour out His Spirit on the ministry.

2. Sponsor an outreach event. (The cost is about $700.00 hundred dollars for each event.)

3. Join with others who have decided to give a specific amount to this ministry monthly. This would help the ministry know how to plan as they search for a more adequate worship location.

4. Reach out to prospective “Poland Partners” or others who would be interested in supporting this ministry. 

5. Visit Poland by organizing or joining a Prayer/Vision or Work & Witness trip to see what's happening for yourself

Instructions for sending funds are found below, at the bottom of this blog page.

Poland Update #12

Renewal of Sweet Surrender Gdansk!


When we need help . . .

You Pray!

God calls!

. . . and you listen -- and come!

What an exciting week in Poland! Work and Witness teams from two different countries (a rare event!) joined together to serve the Lord’s work in Poland.

 

Team members from Nampa ID Fairview Church of the Nazarene arrived in Krakow the morning of July 2, a bit bleary from more than 20 hours of air travel.  Aaron and Brittany Bolerjack of the Sweet Surrender ministry team met them at the airport and took them on the tram to the main train station, where they loaded their luggage, embarking on a 10-hour train ride to meet the other half of the group in Gdansk.  

The Nazarene Work and Witness [WW] team from the British Isles had arrived the day before and spent the time doing prep work on the Sweet Surrender facility there.

The group totaled 20:  9 from Nampa, 6 from the British Isles, and 5 more from the Sweet Surrender ministry team.  The combined group meshed together seamlessly.

They worked for five days: pulling weeds, planting shrubs, and laying weed barrier and lava rock to create an attractive "backyard" to the Sweet Surrender shop.

Meanwhile, inside the building they laid a fresh coat of paint to anything that stood still long enough to get a touch up.

Other work completed:

·         New lighting strung to give the shop a brighter feel

·         New artworks created and hung

•          A children's corner built and set up  

•        A new kitchen laid out and plumbed

As the Gdansk facility prepares to be re-opened in the fall with new ministry team personnel, we still have a few more touches, but we’re 75% of the way there.

On July 7 at 11:00 p.m. the WW teams boarded a sleep train headed for Krakow.  They visited Auschwitz and Schindler's Factory Museum and went on the Crazy Guides Communism Tour.  

Early on Sunday morning, the weary crew from Nampa left Krakow by plane headed home.  

At 11:00 a.m. that same day the UK group attended the church service at the Sweet Surrender in Krakow; it was a quiet gathering with roughly 20 in attendance.  Rev. Bruce Lloyd from Sheffield Nazarene shared the message.  At the conclusion there was time for some brief sharing about what the Lord was doing in the lives of those there.  This share time led to some deeper discussions, which in turn led to one young schoolteacher from the Krakow church praying to ask Christ to become her Lord and Savior.  Simultaneously, in another part of the coffee shop one member from UK team also asked Christ to come into his heart.  The shop was aglow with the warmth of Jesus that day.  Hours later, the UK contingent boarded their plane headed home, and the shop doors were closed.

Grace and peace, 

Ev Tustin

Prayer Focus

Next up: the Spokane First WW team arrives Wednesday in Poznan.  They will remodel the kitchen in the volunteer apartment as well as serve a meal to the homeless at Bread of Life and give the shop there a fresh coat of paint. Join us in prayer for their safe travel and effective ministry while in Poznan.

Prayer Needs

Please join us in focused prayer for the Poland ministry!

*Continue to pray for the continued effectiveness of ministry outreach events and worship services.

*Continue to pray that God will make funds and locations available for outreach events.

*Pray for our Volunteers. They are a key to what God is doing through the coffee shops.

*Pray for our Volunteers as they raise funds to support their ministry in Poland.

*Pray for our new Christians in Poland that they will be faithful and follow God's plan for their lives.

*Pray for future financial resources for outreach events and Krakow building payments.

Practical Suggestions to Support Poland Ministry

1. Pray that God will continue to pour out His Spirit on the ministry.

2. Sponsor an outreach event. (The cost is about $700.00 hundred dollars for each event.)

3. Join with others who have decided to give a specific amount to this ministry monthly. This would help the ministry know how to plan as they search for a more adequate worship location.

4. Reach out to prospective “Poland Partners” or others who would be interested in supporting this ministry. 

Instructions for sending funds are found below, at the bottom of this blog page.

Poland Update #11

Prayer/Vision: Discerning God’s Leadership into the Future

One of the wonderful gifts God has given to the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Poland is its dedicated corps of volunteers who have given their time and talent. Volunteers have served with distinction. They have been supported by a whole host of people who believed in them and gave the necessary resources to enable the volunteers to spend time living and working in ministry in the Sweet Surrender Coffee Houses. They have lived a life of Christian commitment in community together with our growing number of Polish nationals who love the Lord and His work in their homeland. Our work in Poland owes a huge debt of gratitude to this talented group of volunteers.

As we look to the future, we are anxious for potential volunteers to know that we need them to keep answering God’s call to raise their support and join us in this unique adventure in coffee house ministry. As you are praying for our work in Poland, let me help us focus on some future volunteer needs that we see will be needed in the not-too-distant future:

1.            Coffee House Volunteers.

                We continue to need a “flow” of qualified and committed people to come and live with us for periods of time from several months to a year or two. These volunteers are our frontline missionaries who share not only their work, but the love of Christ with people who are drawn to the coffee houses. Most often it is through their friendship and care that people are finding a new and exciting personal relationship with Christ to be possible in their lives. We will continue to need a series of these crucial volunteers for years to come. We cannot achieve our long range goals without them.

Prayer Focus:     Pray for raising the consciousness of people, especially young people, that the Kingdom of God could use them in this ministry.

2.            Ministry Mentoring Couples.

                We have been so grateful for the six month commitment made by Dr. Dennis and Jamie Johnson, former pastors and District Superintendent, to come and live with our developing ministers in Krakow this year. Our Polish national leaders in Krakow have experienced rapid growth in their understanding of the Nazarene Church and of holiness ministry through the faithful mentoring that Dennis and Jamie have given. We believe that God will call other experienced ministry couples who would be willing to raise their support, as the Johnsons have done, and come to live with those whom God calls into vocational ministry service in Poland. Our prayer is that other couples who may have recently retired from full time active ministry will heed God’s call to give several months of their time to mentor our new Christians and new Nazarenes.

Prayer Focus:     Pray for God’s call to potential mentor couples.

3.            Administrative Volunteers

                God has been blessing our work in Poland with growing numbers of Christians, growing coffee shops, and a growing need for more professional help in some specific administrative areas. We know that as God blesses His work in Poland, the need for those with special skills will continue to increase. We need to keep our missionaries and our missionary volunteers on the “front lines” with our people rather than to burden them more and more with administrative work that puts them in “back rooms” where accounting and reporting, etc., must be cared for. Our prayer is that God will call and once again volunteers will answer the call to help with this need.

Prayer Focus:     Pray that God will call someone who has bookkeeping skills.

4.            Social Service Volunteers

                An area of developing need among those reached is to create the beginnings of social service ministry among people with a variety of needs. These specialized skills would help us develop another outreach arm for our ministry among those who come into our sphere of ministry who are in need social service ministry. This would be a new area of ministry that God would open up, we believe, if we had the human resources and expertise to do it.

Prayer Focus:     Pray that God will raise up volunteers for this ministry.

                Thank you for joining us in prayer. More than anything, we want to discover what God is already doing in the hearts of the people of Poland and join Him in bringing the joy of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to everyone He leads to our ministry.

Prayer Needs

Please join us in focused prayer for the Poland ministry!

*Continue to pray for the continued effectiveness of ministry outreach events and worship services.

*Continue to pray that God will make funds and locations available for outreach events.

*Pray for our Volunteers. They are a key to what God is doing through the coffee shops.

*Pray for our new Christians in Poland that they will be faithful and follow God's plan for their lives.

*Pray for future financial resources for outreach events and Krakow building payments.

*Pray for Work & Witness teams.

Practical Suggestions to Support Poland Ministry

1. Pray that God will continue to pour out His Spirit on the ministry.

2. Sponsor an outreach event. (The cost is about $700.00 hundred dollars for each event.)

3. Join with others who have decided to give a specific amount to this ministry monthly. This would help the ministry know how to plan as they search for a more adequate worship location.

4. Reach out to prospective “Poland Partners” or others who would be interested in supporting this ministry. 

5. Visit Poland by organizing or joining a Prayer/Vision or Work & Witness trip to see what's happening for yourself

Instructions for sending funds are found below, at the bottom of this blog page.

Poland Update #10

Dear Partners:

Here is a brief account of the worship service at our recent outreach event in Poznan.

On Saturday, May 28, at the Mercure Hotel, Sweet Surrender Poznan hosted its fourth worship service. There was a great deal of anticipation of this service and we spent a lot of time praying for the outcome.

As the room began to fill before worship, we noticed there was a sense of warm fellowship. Hugs were given freely and the chatter of happy voices filled the space. This is something of a new phenomenon, and we are happy that our attendees are beginning to come together for worship with a sense of belonging.

As the choir led us in worship, there was a sense of connection. 

Ev began to speak about the grace of God, and how forgiveness is available. Hearts began to respond; the video shows that response. A clip from the movie "the Passion" stirred our hearts as we sang "Amazing Grace."

As the offering plates were passed, people were given a chance to respond. The prayer cards we got ranged from prayers for family to a need for faith. We were excited that anyone actually dared to turn in their slips at all, and so we have been praying fervently over these requests.

After the service I was asked to meet with a young lady. After our discussion she asked for another meeting. So on Wednesday night following the service one of our American volunteers, Paige Stines, and I met in the office at the coffee shop to talk with our friend Karolina. We prayed with her that evening, and she is now a new creation in Christ! Isn't that just so great?

Please continue to pray for all of us here in Poland. While amazing things are happening, we are also experiencing a time of great warfare. The enemy is trying to discourage what God has begun, and we desperately need your prayers as we move forward. We like to focus on the power of God.  We know He will help us overcome.

Thanks for your love and prayerful support and partnership of Poland. We cannot do this without you!

--Rhonda Tustin

 As a follow up her new faith, here is how this young lady described it to all of her friends on Facebook the next day:

“Oh, my God, I’M BACK!! I GOT MY SOUL BACK!! I pray for people in the street again, I’m nice to people again! I feel overwhelmed but amazing at the same time, this is just incredible. You can’t imagine the relief I’m feeling right now…:))) THANK YOU!!!!      I love you, guys! See you soon!”

Do our prayers and investments in our work in Poland pay off? Just that one testimony to new life in Christ is worth it all! Thank you again, Medford First Church, for sponsoring this outreach event. We hope to do many more of these in the coming months. There are so many more people we need to meet who would be this excited to find a personal relationship with Christ like this young woman.

Please continue to pray for our new Christians in Poland for the Spirit to strengthen them in their faith and for them to have the courage it takes to live a faithful life in Christ. 

Here are some pictures to give you a little idea of our joy-filled evening.

Check out a short video of the service at:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxRL0J-Ckd8 

Thank you for praying! Keep on praying but take some time to rejoice and give thanks for God’s goodness in the lives of our people!

Prayer Needs

Please join us in focused prayer for the Poland ministry!

*Continue to pray for the continued effectiveness of ministry outreach events and worship services.

*Continue to pray that God will make funds and locations available for outreach events.

*Pray for our Volunteers. They are a key to what God is doing through the coffee shops.

*Pray for our new Christians in Poland that they will be faithful and follow God's plan for their lives.

*Pray for Katie's new Bible study group in Krakow.

*Pray for future financial resources for outreach events and Krakow building payments.

*Pray for Work & Witness teams who are coming this summer.

Practical Suggestions to Support Poland Ministry

1. Pray that God will continue to pour out His Spirit on the ministry.

2. Sponsor an outreach event. (The cost is about $700.00 hundred dollars for each event.)

3. Join with others who have decided to give a specific amount to this ministry monthly. This would help the ministry know how to plan as they search for a more adequate worship location.

4. Reach out to prospective “Poland Partners” or others who would be interested in supporting this ministry. 

5. Visit Poland by organizing or joining a Prayer/Vision or Work & Witness trip to see what's happening for yourself! 

Instructions for sending funds are found below, at the bottom of this blog page.