Partners for Nazarene Missions in Poland: April 2011

Easter Report from Krakow

Missionary volunteer Dennis Johnson has sent this report of the first Easter celebrations for the new worshiping community in Krakow, Poland.

"Easter week provided a unique worship experience for our Polish Church family. Traditionally, families see this weekend as a holiday time with focus on being with family. We met with Peter, pastor of the Wesleyan Church, and planned for combined Great Friday and Easter services, a new experience for both groups.

"Friday over 35 children and adults gathered at 6:00 in the Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop for a family worship time, with adults and children reading the Scriptures, walking through the last week in the life of Christ.

"Each segment was followed by focused prayer leading to a brief devotional by Peter, an opportunity to 'nail our needs' to a cross and then share the common cup in Communion.

"A wonderful time of fellowship followed with a variety of food and drink.

"Easter Sunday morning we gathered in the Theater worship center with the Wesleyan Church and enjoyed a wonderful service—beautiful music led by their worship team, and 'a sermon in a sack' and Easter message, by Dennis interpreted by Maciej—a wonderful Easter celebration even with the constant rain and cool weather. Peter said they did not have an Easter service last year because most of the families were gone, so this week was especially meaningful as we trust the Lord to expand His Kingdom in this beautiful city."

We rejoice with our new family in Krakow and praise God for His gracious presence among His people there.

Funds for "Outreach Events" given by

Medford, OR, First Church of the Nazarene.

It was a special joy for us to visit Medford Nazarene Church during our recent home assignment. It was the church where Rhonda's father served on staff for much of Rhonda's teen years. This was also the church where we were married in 1984. We have not visited for nearly 20 years, and have never come for deputation services until this past March, but the congregation embraced us in such a warm, supportive way, we will never forget our time there. After the service on Sunday, the youth minister handed us two brand new microphones for the outreach services in Poland. Additionally, we recently discovered that the Medford NMI council has sent support money to cover costs for roughly 5 of the outreach services at the Sheraton hotel over the coming year! This is such a great answer to prayer and gets us well on our way toward being able to schedule the services on a monthly basis.

-- Ev and Rhonda

Thanks again for all your help...

Answered Prayer

Our special thanks to Medford, OR, First Nazarene Church for being the first to step forward to answer our prayer that we will be able to use "outreach events" more fully to reach those who will become a part of our growing communities of faith 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 safe travel for the Tustins as they return to Poland May 1.

*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.

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 several 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.

Tustins' Home Assignment Nearly Complete

From Ev and Rhonda:

Fast Food in Poland

“We send a heartfelt ‘Thank You!’ to all the churches in Michigan, Oregon, and California that have hosted us this past month. We just finished up a stretch where we spoke in 22 churches in 27 days. It was a very busy time, but we are thankful that even in a time when the economy is difficult, our Nazarene family has shown us such great support. We feel incredibly blessed to represent our church on the field. We are also blessed to represent our wonderful team from Poland while visiting these churches. Our last stop will be a return to the Seattle area to visit Ev's mother and see how she is handling the transition of Dad's passing in October. Then we will head to the Portland area to help Rhonda's parents transition to an assisted-living situation. We so appreciate your prayers for all things and count it a privilege to think of you as partners in ministry.”

The Latest News from Poznan

Poznan is still growing!

Partners, you member the great report about the third worship service on March 2: over 160 people attended this worship service, with the room packed; the holy Spirit was present; and people responded to the Word of God. After the service over 100 people came to the party at the coffee shop. At the shop Rhonda prayed with a precious young woman who was in crisis and looking for the answer. She prayed to accept Christ, and she is a new creation.

Sharing needs in Poznan

We need our Partners to pray about two big needs:

1. Something BIG is happening in Poland. If we had the ability to rent a bigger facility, we would have the makings of a large congregation here. We KNOW that this is a time when finance is low for the church, and yet we see that God is pouring out his spirit on Poland just now and reaching into the lives of young people, calling them. So, we are calling on God and asking Him to send the way to do this.

2. Pray for the young woman mentioned above, regarding the transformation needed in her life as she has daily struggles to move away from her past.

Our next outreach service has been scheduled for May 28.

* * * * * * * * *

Good News from Krakow!

Prayer is Answered!

Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop is Open!

Katie reports:

Welcome to Sweet Surrender!

“WE ARE OPEN! We received the official approval on Monday. And at the same time our Espresso machine broke….so, we did not get to open until Wednesday afternoon….We have two girls working part time starting Monday they will be splitting time in the shop with us. And that will give me or Emily time to go out and promote the shop. Also, we are planning another big concert on the 29th….So, it will be a big night. Like a second opening!

“Things with church are going great. Ever since the opening weekend there has been a different spirit with us. Like we are all closer. The families have started rotating who is leading the service each week. It has been really neat to hear everyone share their stories and things God has laid on their heart. …Emily has been doing great with the kids…teaching them worship songs with fun motions and lots of games before the lesson. It has really helped bring them all together. I am starting a Bible Study with some of the girls from [a music group] during the week….They are interested in learning more about women in the Bible. I am excited about it.

We are moving along! Everyone is doing really well. We may not have a lot of business in the shop yet, but we are not discouraged; instead we are excitedly planning any events possible to bring people in. Things are good.

Thank you for the prayers!” – Katie R. Fitch

* * * * * * * * *

The Johnsons report: (Dr. Dennis & Jamie Johnson will be in the States April 28-May 26.)

“Jamie and I have made a number of contacts. Tuesday we spoke in a class at the University at the invitation of the teacher, Maria, who attended our ‘soft’ Grand Opening. She came with Ela, a lady we had met in a coffee shop at the Old City Center. Ela and her husband Arthur and son Peter came to the Grand Opening and brought Maria and another couple, Robert and Agata. … These folks all have Catholic background but certainly are open to us and we trust God can move as He will through our friendship.

“Training is going very well with Slawek. We meet for three+ hours each Wednesday. . . . We will complete History and Polity before we head back to the States. [We have] … had excellent discussions … about theology, worship, service planning, leadership, Biblical authority. … We have spent time in each of their homes and are very much enjoying growing friendships. The group is aware that our time is limited here, and do want to take advantage of further teaching. They plan to meet in one of their homes every other Saturday when we return for extended teaching times.

“Children's ministry. Savannah will be arriving May 12 and is bringing puppet equipment with her. She still needs to have more puppets if you know any churches that could donate from their inventory. Also, we need to have material that we can translate and get approved for released time religious studies. We only need one copy of each level of age-graded material, and do not plan to publish--only provide for our own use.

“Jamie and I are very much enjoying our time here. Our core families are very loving and truly reflect their faith in Christ. We are planning a Good Friday service here at the Shop and have invited the Wesleyan Church group to join us. We will be joining them for Easter Sunday service and I will bring the message. …

“Thanks so much for your prayers and support. Grace and peace to all.” – Dennis and Jamie

Answered Prayer

*Krakow shop has officially opened!

Paperwork is completed!

Equipment is paid for and installed!

Finish work on shop is finished!