Grace Capital Church

We made it! We are so excited to be working with Ostoja Church! We hit the ground running and had an incredible time with both Polish and Ukrainian kids doing crafts, sports, face painting and even some dancing! 

We were also served a traditional, home cooked meal that made us feel like we were in a five star restaurant. Tonight, we get to hang out with the church's youth group. 

We may be tired, but we are looking forward to what God has in store for our week. Please continue to pray for us as we work alongside the amazing people of Ostoje to share the hope and love of Jesus with the people in Opole. 

Kids ages 6 to 12 joined us today 

Today was so beautiful! I think this is what heaven will be like. We worshipped in four languages: English, Polish, Ukranian and Russian. Some of our team did worship and Pastor Mark brought a message on hope and the promises of God. We feel so blessed and filled. 

After church we had some time to explore a local park that is actually an island. Andy led us in a little devotional about prayer from Luke 11:1-8. We went off to spend some quiet time with Jesus. Even though we got rained on, on the way home, it was gorgeous and a fun time! 

We have the really cool chance to go in the high schools today and share about our culture and then invite them back to the church for a pizza party in the evenings. Excited to see what God is going to do!! 

Sharing our culture

We taught them cotton eye Joe and they taught us one of their dances! They took us into the hallway and taught us. It was so fun to learn from them! 

Tonight, myself, Carrie and Pastor Mark got to sit and hear stories from a few of the Ukranian refugees that attend Ostoja Church (which means refuge in Polish) it was both hard and beautiful to hear their stories. What's incredible is their faith. Even in the hardship they are leaning on Jesus. We prayed for their country and they prayed for ours. They wanted to take this picture to symbolize that we are all family in christ, no matter where we come from.

We are working at another high school today, and it's so cool to see how different their schools are. We are really enjoying getting to know the students, and our students are crushing it! They are doing an amazing job! 

Learning about sports from Josh and Elliot

Dejvo (David, he is Pastor Mariusz's son) has been spending the last few days helping us translate and just hang out. 

After school, David became our guide and took us for Paczki, polish donuts, and shared more about his city. We enjoyed learning from him, and getting to explore the beautiful cobblestone streets.

Donut time!

After two days of sharing about our culture in schools and inviting them back to church, we weren't sure what to expect. There is a lot of skepticism around church here, and we didn't know how many students would come. Over 40 students showed up!!!!! It was amazing getting to make new friends and start to really share the love of Jesus. We are excited for tomorrow.

One thing that we've been hearing, is that people are noticing something is different about us. We may not be allowed to share the Gospel in the schools, but both students and teachers are seeing something different and asking questions. God is doing something. People in Opole are looking for something more and are curious. We are excited to be pointing them not only to Jesus but also Ostoja church who will be the ones to grow and nurture this community. 

Back in schools today sharing more about us. It's been cool to see all the different schools.

We got to explore Moszna Castle, built in the 1700s.

Night 2, let's go! 

Josh shared his story and Elliott shared a little more about God and His love for us. Then they broke into groups and talked with each other about their own stories. We are excited to see how God will use this. 

Josh shared his testimony and Gosia, one of the Ostoja youth leaders, translated.

Tonight was pretty incredible. God moved in huge ways! They broke into groups and students started opening up and sharing their struggles. Most of these students haven't been in a church and know very little of who Jesus is. How beautiful that the teens from Grace Capital got to be the ones to show His love. What an honor to be chosen by God for this purpose. A lot of the local teens shared that they could tell we were different. Is there anything better than students ministering to students?

I feel excited that the ministry will continue, and we've invited these students back for the youth ministry that is already happening at Ostoja. Please keep their youth leaders in prayer as they work with the teens around Opole. 

This morning, we are working at a primary school sharing about us with 6th, 7th and 8th graders.

Charades!

Having fun at the primary school

Sharing at one of the prominent high schools in Opole 

We sent the team off bright and early at Katowice Airport. As we reflected on our week, we realized that we served 6 out of 9 schools, did 15 sessions, and 11 hours worth of sharing. We had around 40 kids at kids ministry on Saturday. A few people accepted Jesus on Sunday during Pastor Mark's message. We had over 30 teens attend our youth nights. We shared the love of Jesus. We shared our hearts. We saw a castle. We ate amazing Ukranian, and Polish food. We explored Opole. We heard stories from Ukranian refugees. Most importantly, we helped encourage (and were encouraged by) a local church and loved on the teens in their community. They told us "Mission Accomplished". God moved in beautiful and tangible ways. We know this trip was orchestrated by God, that He called each one of us to this place, even Pastor Mariusz told us he knew we were meant to be with them this week. We know that the ministry will continue, because of the solid leadership and vision at Ostoja Church. We feel we've gained a family, and we value the relationships we've formed. 

Thank you for your love, support and prayer!