Month: January 2004

Although I have known of the possibility that I would be giving tomorrow’s sermon (well today’s now) for a couple of weeks, and last Sunday it was confirmed, for some reason I thought I’d keep the news quiet. But now that it is finished, ready to be printed, I will let the world know. After I “deliver” it tomorrow, I will post a link to the contents, and a recording of it, if you wish to hear it. In fact, we will have recordings of all our sermons available shortly. I ask for prayer, this is my first “real” sermon to a church, but I have done similar things with Campus Crusade, and the youth group I worked with a few years ago. I have complete peace, and I am quite excited, I have no expectations for reactions though, because expectations just lead to disappointment. The only expectation I have is that God will speak his wisdom through me, and that my wisdom is not heard. The topic is “we are glorious” it is 100% inspired by John Eldredge’s book “Waking the Dead”, I thought it very appropriate since I myself have been having some issues with realizing that I am made good, glorious, and above all, a magnificent creation of our creator, and nothing less.

Father God,

I ask for the Enemy to be kept away from the people of our fellowship. I ask for your protection, for your light to remove all darkness, for your voice to be spoken. Be near oh God, your nearness is to us our good. I cry out, and I ask for your heart to break through tomorrow evening when I speak these words. I ask for your fullness to be known. I ask for your tender love to be heard but also for your burning fire and power to be felt too. I ask for the Enemy to be fought out of the lives of each person who is in that room tomorrow evening. I ask all these things in your son Jesus’ name. Make it so.

One of my main purposes for coming here to Poland was to build relationships. Friendship ministry is something that I think (at least in my experience) is not emphasized enough. It was through friends that I came to know who God truly was, and it has been through friends that I have seen the hands of God work the most. Large gatherings of people have their place, but I think people want real-life connections, people they can call on to hear their woes. People want other people to just listen, give advice, and sympathize. People are meant to be in relationship, we are meant to have close connections. Why do we have this deep need for connection? Because God has the same need, he created us to be in relationship with him. Since we are made in his image, we have the same need.

Creating relationships like those that I had back in Seattle has proven to be quite the challenge, here people create their friendships in primary school, and most live in the same city for their entire lives. Since the United States has a much more mobile, and liquid culture, I think it is easier to create strong life-long relationships in a shorter period, especially when in a healthy fellowship. I have come to realize that the connections I make here will need lots of work. I have already committed myself to coming at least every summer, as long as the Lord wills it to be done. I believe I can be a great ministry resource (being resourceful seems to be one of my gifts) to the people here.

Right now, I have $30 in my account, and about $100 in my pocket, and it needs to last for a month. The bills have been paid and the fridge and cupboards have food. I am rich in Jesus, and I have never run out of money since following God’s will. Although snowboarding may seem like a luxury it is through this snowboarding and skiing season that I have made quite a few connections with other young adults, both men and women, our young adults group should be seeing some new faces this coming Wednesday. I want people to know I came to be their friend, not to tell them about God, but to experience God with them.

Went to Krakow today, had lots of fun, we have a car for a week while Carol and Denise are in Switzerland… so we are going to use it as much as possible. Went snowboarding yesterday, mass fun, I “taught” Chris as much as I know… tomorrow we have an appointment with a local snowboarding instructor, should be real good. Chris really enjoyed it, so that makes me happy, should mean, more snowboarding for me. Alexis will be here in less than two weeks, I’m getting quite excited! For now… Real Life Trumps Blogging. I will post more in the morning, good night.

Quick note to my blogger friends (those who use blogger) please turn on your ATOM feeds, so I can “subscribe” to your site, so I know when you make an update, and so others can do the same. It will bring more traffic to your site too.

^{Go to Part One, Two, Four}
One thing I have observed over the years has been the fear for two people to “define” their relationship. The excuse I hear is “once it has a label then there are expectations”, I am thinking, shouldn’t their be? Isn’t this person suppose to be your “significant other”, does not “significant” mean anything today? Is this person your boyfriend or girlfriend, or not? If you are “just friends” are you acting any different around this person than your other “friends”? These are serious questions, not just so others know and see something clear, but also for yourselves. Communicating a clear definition of a relationship will prevent many other questions in the future. If you are in any kind of leadership (and I believe we all are, Christians should at least lead by example of their lives) then defining your relationship will also stop any rumors, or questions, we should not be having relationships that raise questions. You may be thinking, “but it’s none of their business”, you can think that way if you wish, but I would rather tell people exactly what my relationship is than have rumors spread, because they will if people don’t know.

So… you have decided to start dating or courting, the term doesn’t really matter to me, but Alexis and I use courting, so people will hopefully ask what that means to us, what does that mean for you and her/him? Define your relationship with one another, in all areas of your courtship, such as boundaries, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes we are all adults, but that doesn’t mean we know how to treat each other in those areas, and if we want to glorify God with our relationship, we better agree on how that will happen. We all come from different backgrounds, therefore, we all have different areas of need and different expectations. This is just the beginning of defining the relationship, trust me, Alexis and I are still fine tuning just what we want, and I believe that is completely healthy. We discover things all the time, and give those thing to God, otherwise trying to do it on our own, without communicating, we would have been done with each other a long time ago. For many couples the only thing keeping them together is one area of connection, be it physically, emotionally, spiritually, or any other number of reasons. Love is not just a feeling, it is a feeling followed by action, and then repeated again, and again. God points out that Love is the highest priority of all things, therefore when it comes to our romantic Love, we must treat it as God’s crowning jewel.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. [1 Cor. 13:4-7]

^{Go to Part One, Three, Four}
So two years ago I made the decision to be content with life, the way it was. Then a year after that decision, I made another one to go to Poland. As a part of that second decision, I realized starting any relationship would probably be a distraction, so I focused my energy on preparing to leave. However, God had some other plans, more on that later. During that first year I made a point not to become romantically involved with anyone who was not a friend first, romantics came second to anything. Knowing a girl (or guy) as a friend first is not only safer, but also a lot less stressful. I had some standards, some ideas before this time in my life, but not anything written down. So I wrote a list, it wasn’t anything like, must have blue eyes, blond hair, etc… physical features do not mean a thing, but I do admit I had one “must be shorter than I”. I also decided that the next relationship was not going to be “just dating”, or “just checking out”, it was going to be “is this someone I want to marry?”. Over time that list morphed and changed (even the height requirement disappeared), and God was molding my heart, and I even became confident that I could live the rest of my life without a spouse, and with out dating, I became truly content.

I had a steadfast plan, which did not include any significant other. I was going to prepare myself as much as possible for the upcoming adventure. Apparently God had more to that plan. About five months after my decision to come to Poland, I met a girl. I thought she hated me the first time we really had a chance to talk, and I didn’t even give her a second thought; until we became friends through simply hanging out. Over the course of those first six months Alexis and I talked about all kinds of things, family values, thoughts on relationships, love of life, love of God, and best of all life experiences. Slowly but surely, things lined up, many things I had never thought about, but we agreed, we were “equally yoked” as some would say. This was the beginning of a new kind of feeling, but I had decided, nope no way, I am leaving for a year. I was not going to experiment with my heart, while on the other side of the planet. I prayed, and prayed, and for two weeks I thought hard, talked to some close friends… Not a single person thought I was crazy, but I did.

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” [Prov 31:10,28,29]

“Elanna…”
“Yes, Grandfather?”
“You ask these questions because you yourself long to meet your soul’s match. Don’t pretend I don’t know you, child. You have your First Mother’s eyes. They looked just like yours do now when she was longing for the Garden. But you miss someone you’ve never met. You want to run through time and glimpse that first meeting. You want to know how you’ll know him. But you need not fret.”
“But it doesn’t seem fair to me,” Elanna said, the words born of frustration tumbling out. “It was so easy for you. The Maker brought Grandmother to you. She was the only woman for you. She was the only woman!”
“Child…”
“But here, now, it’s so different-so, so confusing.”
“It’s not more confusing,” he said gently. “It only seems that way. Our meeting was ‘easy’ as you put it, not because we were the only humankind, but because in those sweet days before we disobeyed we implicitly trusted The Maker to bring what was good.” He reached out and with both hands lifted her head so her eyes looked into his. “My dear child what you must try to see is that nothing has changed. When the Maker brings you your husband, you’ll be aware that it was the Maker who made you for each other and He who planned your meeting. And in that moment, just as we did, you’ll want to sing a song of praise to Him.” [Passage from the preface of Boy Meets Girl]

I have (finally) finished my fourth newsletter, its short and to the point. You can find it on the sidebar under “Zakopane, Poland Church Plant Info” along with the other newsletters and more information.

^{Go to Part Two, Three, Four}
I have had some people here (Poland) ask me what I think makes a good relationship. I said it is not very easy to explain, and that I am better at explaining things in writing rather than in speaking. So I told them I would post it on my blog, and they would have to read it here (for those that know English). And since relationship building is close to my heart, I wanted to portray it clearly. I am in no way the “relationship expert”, but I do believe I would not have the relationship I have with Alexis without practicing the following principles. They are simply my suggestions, based on what I see as Godly truths, I am sure that after years of marriage, I may say, “that was a little silly”, but for now, it has not hurt, so I am going with it.

The first thing I had to be sure of was that I was completely content with being single, and that my number one love in my heart was/is God. Being completely happy, and able to serve God without thinking I needed a spouse, even if that was for the rest of my life, God knows our needs, and if those needs are to have a spouse, than it will happen. About two years ago, I realized the great joy of simply being content with myself, and loving God without any earthly conditions. Learning, accepting, and living this principle is not easy, and at times the desire to be with someone will creep up, especially when it seems everyone around you is “falling” in love, and “all” your friends are getting married.

I remember being in the middle of that feeling, it seemed everyone had a girlfriend or a boyfriend, except pour Travis. Of course, that was not reality; two of my closest friends did not have girlfriends either, but at the time all is saw were the ones with a significant other. I ended up trying to date some girls just because, I thought maybe I was being prudish, and I went against all that I knew was right. And with that, I got hurt, badly. But it was the only way I was going to learn, because I was determined not to be “lonely” and I ended up even lonelier. I had opened my heart up, for the wrong reason, and had not let God be the foundation. I learned to let God do the hard work, and I wouldn’t be hurt. I let that situation be a turning point to put God in control of who I was, and not my situation.

Jesus, I plead
Please purify me
Make my heart clean
Drench me with your mercy
Jesus, I pray
I love you, I need you
For the rest of my days
I swear I will seek you
To the best of my ability
I’m practicing humility
And I lay myself before
‘Cause less is more.
[Less Is More – Relient K –
The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek]

I just want to go home. That is how I feel right now; I guess I am longing for the familiar, the “feel good” stuff. I have an open-ended ticket, with the return reservation currently set to March 24th, the temptation to just leave that the return date is enormous right now. I have not even been here for five months, not even half a year. I feel as if I have learned enough already, I’m feeling beat up, taken out, strangled. But I have made a commitment, and I do not brake commitments, ever. Right now Alexis is sitting in church, with the church family I miss more than anything else right now in this world. Right now just typing about it brings strong emotions, tears are swelling up in my eyes, and a lump has formed at the back of my throat.

I guess in a way I feel stuck between two worlds, I think it would be better if I knew I was staying here, and was building a long-term life here. However, the fact is, I am returning to Seattle, to what I had. I have a genuine love for everyone I have met here, and for this country and its people. But I do not have any strong relationships I can fall and depend on. I have God, and God alone, and over the past five months I have had to depend on him more than any other time in my life. I have this gut feeling I will have another seven months of this, it scares me to death, but I know in the end it will be worth it.

Chris has some friends over from his hometown, great people, and their love of God is stronger than any of the people here, and the best part, three are guys, with two speaking English. I think I may be jealous, he’s having a great time with them, they will be here for a week, I wish I could have over four of my best friends. Thank God in the highest, Alexis will be here in a short three weeks, some familiarity, a refreshing wind, someone to share everything with, and for sure, cry with.

Lord I need your strength
‘Cause I am weak and falling to my knees.
Who is on my side?
‘Cause I can’t tell my friends from enemies.
Filling up with pain.
Bitterness controls the air I breathe.
What am I fighting for?
Do you have a plan for me?

Must be some mistake
‘Cause I’m not worth the price you paid.
With every passing hour,
I convince myself that you saw something in me.
But I can hear them still,
As the whispers laced with hatred fill the room.
Guess I’m wasting my time
How could you love a man like me?
[My Struggle – Seventh Day Slumber – Picking Up the Pieces]

Update: Now that I’ve talked to Alexis, and played a good game of Outburst! with Chris and his friends (cross cultural, and in Polish and English) I feel much better, and I need to remember to take life just one day at a time, otherwise I’ll be dead, in my heart and physically before I know it.

Today I am going to a traditional Polish wedding, I am a little apprehensive because the girl I am accompanying does not speak much English. I am afraid I might do something embarrassing, or wrong, since it is going to be held in a Catholic church there are many traditional prayers, and other things, which I do not know about. The reception afterwards can last all the way into tomorrow morning, but thankfully, we can leave since we are not part of the family or close friends. Anna is the name of the girl I am going with, and she is only going because the bride is her boss, and if she does not go, it may not reflect too well, plus in Poland it is very embarrassing to go to a wedding with out a “date”. Anna has a boyfriend, but he is in Switzerland as part of an internship at another church we are connected with. So, I’ll be taking pictures, and I am sure the dancing afterwards will be fun. Thankfully it has warmed up a bit, it was -22 Centigrade last night, now it is a tropical -6. This will very much be a cultural experience.

Well I saw Carly’s apartment tour, and she fulfilled my request, here is my end of the deal now.

Travis and Chris’ Zakopane, Poland Flat
Since it was a bit cold out, all of these pictures are from inside. When you enter through our front door you will be greeted by the “entry hall”, “mud room”, or whatever else you want to call it. Then you will go through yet another set of double doors, and up the small flight of stairs to the “foyer”.

Next you may see “the stairs with no rails”, these lead to Chris’ room. His room is small and cold, he decided to take it, thinking that “being American” I would expect a larger room, his room isn’t much smaller than the room I grew up in.

If you go back down and make a left, you’ll find yourself in the living room. It’s the biggest room, and it triples as the guest room, dinning room, and general purpose room. On sundays it is transformed into our church sanctuary. The baloons are left over from New Year’s, we will keep them up until we get some posters and poster board and put up encouraging verses, quotes, and pictures.

If you go back across the foyer (which is where are closets are too), you’ll enter the “kitchenette” as we call it. The kitchenette is huge! All of those dishes are from our upper room night the other night.

Right next door is the bathroom. The washer machine we didn’t have for almost two months! Thankfully our landlord paid for it in the end. Notice the shower does not have a shower curtain, and you can’t see it, but the door has a window (none of the others do, but of course the bathroom does), it’s sorta frosted, but makes me nervous.

If you go through the kitchen and go through the other door, you’ll be in my bedroom. It is huge, the biggest room I have ever lived in, and could easily be split in half for others to use. In the corner is our “dryer”, it means I have to actually plan my laundry. This is where all the blogger magic happens… I am such a hopless romantic… Each time I blow out a candle at night, I pray for someone, so one of those candles could be the answer to your prayers…

Now take a look at these temps… The first one is in Centigrade, the second one is Farenheit.


It’s COLD.

Look outside my window, at our steps and the chaple across the steet!

Well I hope this was a fun tour, please visit again. My next topic… something on the whole dating relationship scene, it seems many are just going crazy over it. Good night.