Lunch was interesting! I set down to a bowl of cauliflower soup. Yes-soup in the summer time. I do not eat cauliflower in America, why the heck would I eat it in Poland. I stepped out on a limb and tried my first spoonful of cauliflower soup. (I make it sound like an adventure, but the truth is it was all they served, I had no car, and I did not see a McDonald’s on the way in-it is amazing what you will try when your hungry and there are no options) I found out that cauliflower soup is not that bad, it was actually pretty good. As I finished my soup, they brought me another plate with baked chicken, smashed potatoes and cucumbers. I got a little worried at this point. In America, we eat a light lunch; the meal they were serving me was like what we would serve for dinner. I thought to myself if this is lunch, then dinner must be a feast. (Boy, was I wrong) I was served a lot of food for lunch and the best part was the tea I was served to wash it all down. It was not sweet tea, or unsweet tea, in fact it wasn’t even cold tea; it was hot tea! Hot tea! It is 110 degrees outside and you want me to wash my food down with hot tea. It was the perfect storm-my outside skin was hot and sweaty and now my insides were cooking as well. I guess this is what you call being cooked through and through. After lunch I was seriously thinking of catching the train back to Warsaw in the middle of the night. I thought ok, lets get through dinner and then revaluate.
Lunch was a trip, dinner topped lunch. We ate 6:00pm and this was going to be my last meal of the day. I was not concerned about being hungry later, because of the size of lunch; dinner would be plenty. I set down to see several baskets of bread, plates of ham, cheese and tomatoes. It looked just like what you get when you sit down to a meal at any restaurant; you know the food to hold you over until the meal arrives. I started to make my mini sandwich; I only took one slice of bread as I wanted to save room for dinner. I ate my sandwich and was prepared for the next course. As I waited I watched the others continue to grab bread and ham, and make multiple sandwiches. I thought wow, these people can really eat. I continued to wait for the next course, when someone said, “Coach, is that all you are going to eat?” I was then informed that the mini sandwiches were dinner, there would no other course and no other food until 8:00am the next morning. I began to make multiple sandwiches. I would starve in Poland! I then began to think about my plan to sneak out in the middle of the night, as I finished my second cup of scorching hot tea. I decided that I would have to wait until the morning because at this rate breakfast had to be exciting.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Poland-Day 2
OK, to recap. I was giving the play by play for my first 3 days in Poland. I will wrap it all up with a lesson learned on Friday.
I slept my first night in Poland in an empty apartment, with no air conditioning, and only three channels that spoke English. I woke that morning ready to leave and go straight to the airport, but I told myself I could do it and I was going to make the whole 10 days. Sunday morning things got a little better, I was picked up that morning in front of the apartment by my two Polish host and we were off to church. I was a little nervous about church; would it be the same in Polish as in English? The more I thought about the question, the dumber I felt the question became. Of course there would be some differences, but worship is the same no matter what; it is more dictated by the individual. As I thought more about it, the more at ease I had become. I even felt that this would be the thing that would erase the anxiety because it was the one thing we all had in common. I was partly right!
Church was awesome. I could not understand the songs; but once they began signing I understood the tune and I was very familiar with the songs. I was even able to hear the message through a headset that was translating the message into English. I really liked this concept. I liked it because as I looked around the room it would give clues as to whether there were any other English speaking people there at church. I also liked the fact that somebody in the room was translating for me, and I tried all morning to find that person. As I scanned the room, I saw I was the only one wearing the headset which amazed me even further. I could not believe they would go to all that trouble for one person. They knew the power in the message and they did not want one person to miss an opportunity to get the message. Amazing! (Afterwards I felt bad that I didn’t listen very carefully because I spent the whole time looking around for other English speaking people and the translator). I began to loosen up at church until we got to communion.
Communion is not new to me. I take part in the communion service at church every Sunday just like the first century church. At my church the cup that represents the blood of Christ is grape juice, and the Polish church the cup was actual wine. For someone who is not a drinker, when you lift the cup to take the small shot in the glass and it is wine instead of grape juice, you are thrown off just a little. I almost came close to spitting it out. It set me back just a little. I am not sure why or why I expected it to be exactly like my church. Church really helped me to loosen up, the wine took me by surprise, but I guess it helped in its own way to overcome some anxiety.
After church we began our 1 hour trek to Lochow, Poland. This was the place were camp was going to be held. I was very anxious to get there. Camp was set to begin on Monday. I slept the whole way to Lochow. (effects of the wine) Lochow is a one stop light kind of town. It is small and considered a village. We arrived at the school were camp would take place and after setting my stuff down I made a bee-line for the most important place on campus-the gym. Now I am home!
I slept my first night in Poland in an empty apartment, with no air conditioning, and only three channels that spoke English. I woke that morning ready to leave and go straight to the airport, but I told myself I could do it and I was going to make the whole 10 days. Sunday morning things got a little better, I was picked up that morning in front of the apartment by my two Polish host and we were off to church. I was a little nervous about church; would it be the same in Polish as in English? The more I thought about the question, the dumber I felt the question became. Of course there would be some differences, but worship is the same no matter what; it is more dictated by the individual. As I thought more about it, the more at ease I had become. I even felt that this would be the thing that would erase the anxiety because it was the one thing we all had in common. I was partly right!
Church was awesome. I could not understand the songs; but once they began signing I understood the tune and I was very familiar with the songs. I was even able to hear the message through a headset that was translating the message into English. I really liked this concept. I liked it because as I looked around the room it would give clues as to whether there were any other English speaking people there at church. I also liked the fact that somebody in the room was translating for me, and I tried all morning to find that person. As I scanned the room, I saw I was the only one wearing the headset which amazed me even further. I could not believe they would go to all that trouble for one person. They knew the power in the message and they did not want one person to miss an opportunity to get the message. Amazing! (Afterwards I felt bad that I didn’t listen very carefully because I spent the whole time looking around for other English speaking people and the translator). I began to loosen up at church until we got to communion.
Communion is not new to me. I take part in the communion service at church every Sunday just like the first century church. At my church the cup that represents the blood of Christ is grape juice, and the Polish church the cup was actual wine. For someone who is not a drinker, when you lift the cup to take the small shot in the glass and it is wine instead of grape juice, you are thrown off just a little. I almost came close to spitting it out. It set me back just a little. I am not sure why or why I expected it to be exactly like my church. Church really helped me to loosen up, the wine took me by surprise, but I guess it helped in its own way to overcome some anxiety.
After church we began our 1 hour trek to Lochow, Poland. This was the place were camp was going to be held. I was very anxious to get there. Camp was set to begin on Monday. I slept the whole way to Lochow. (effects of the wine) Lochow is a one stop light kind of town. It is small and considered a village. We arrived at the school were camp would take place and after setting my stuff down I made a bee-line for the most important place on campus-the gym. Now I am home!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Poland-Day 1
The world’s most famous conundrum or unanswered question is “how long does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?’ I have an even better question, “how long would it take a shy, somewhat anti-social coach to become comfortable in a foreign country?” The answer is: 3 days. I have to admit my first 3 days in Poland were tough.
It started with me arriving on Saturday afternoon after flying 10 hours and sitting with my knees pressed up against the business class section. My legs felt important they really wanted to stretch out in business class while my body rode economy. I was served food on the plane that I would never eat; I was offered wine and rum, which I would never drink. I was met at the airport by two young ladies who were to serve as my guide for the next couple of days until we arrived at camp on Sunday afternoon. They both spoke English which was nice. They were wonderful young ladies, very hospitable. One was a student in college, and the other was a professional women’s basketball player in Poland. They led me to a car that was big enough for 1 person, but it had 4 doors and 4 seats. My seat on the plane was bigger. It was very hot in Poland at the time and they told me that we could turn on the air in the car, and then they began to laugh as they rolled down the windows. Ha! Real Funny! They drove me to the apartment I was going to stay at for the night, and dropped me off to get cleaned up before they took me out on the town for dinner. That night they showed me around “Old Town” Warsaw. It was very beautiful. There were many people in the streets, walking around, enjoying the live music and beautiful buildings. We ate that night at a Polish restaurant where they served only Polish food. I am somewhat picky-so I was very nervous about Polish food. I searched the menu for a Polish hot dog. (The menu was in Polish, but surely I would recognize the word hot dog in Polish; I mean how different could Polish be?) I could not find a Polish hot dog anywhere on the menu; maybe just because the 7-11 calls them Polish, they are really not. I couldn’t wait to get back to blow the whistle on the management at the 7-11. (I was disappointed later to find out they were on the menu-hot dog in Polish is spelled nothing like hot dog in English-go figure). I chose a Polish dumpling called a Peorigi. They were stuffed with pork and cheese and they were very, very good. I was starting to loosen up-who knew that my nervousness and anxiety were so closely related to food. After dinner they drove me back to the apartment, (they reminded when I got out to turn off the AC in the back seat-roll up the window) where I stayed alone in a Polish apartment with no air conditioning, nervousness and anxiety had returned. I started thinking about what kind of minor, non-fatal emergency needed to happen for me to fly back home immediately. I was drawing a blank, but I clutched my phone tightly because I didn’t want to miss the call from home. Day 1 down-9 days to go. I will never make it!
It started with me arriving on Saturday afternoon after flying 10 hours and sitting with my knees pressed up against the business class section. My legs felt important they really wanted to stretch out in business class while my body rode economy. I was served food on the plane that I would never eat; I was offered wine and rum, which I would never drink. I was met at the airport by two young ladies who were to serve as my guide for the next couple of days until we arrived at camp on Sunday afternoon. They both spoke English which was nice. They were wonderful young ladies, very hospitable. One was a student in college, and the other was a professional women’s basketball player in Poland. They led me to a car that was big enough for 1 person, but it had 4 doors and 4 seats. My seat on the plane was bigger. It was very hot in Poland at the time and they told me that we could turn on the air in the car, and then they began to laugh as they rolled down the windows. Ha! Real Funny! They drove me to the apartment I was going to stay at for the night, and dropped me off to get cleaned up before they took me out on the town for dinner. That night they showed me around “Old Town” Warsaw. It was very beautiful. There were many people in the streets, walking around, enjoying the live music and beautiful buildings. We ate that night at a Polish restaurant where they served only Polish food. I am somewhat picky-so I was very nervous about Polish food. I searched the menu for a Polish hot dog. (The menu was in Polish, but surely I would recognize the word hot dog in Polish; I mean how different could Polish be?) I could not find a Polish hot dog anywhere on the menu; maybe just because the 7-11 calls them Polish, they are really not. I couldn’t wait to get back to blow the whistle on the management at the 7-11. (I was disappointed later to find out they were on the menu-hot dog in Polish is spelled nothing like hot dog in English-go figure). I chose a Polish dumpling called a Peorigi. They were stuffed with pork and cheese and they were very, very good. I was starting to loosen up-who knew that my nervousness and anxiety were so closely related to food. After dinner they drove me back to the apartment, (they reminded when I got out to turn off the AC in the back seat-roll up the window) where I stayed alone in a Polish apartment with no air conditioning, nervousness and anxiety had returned. I started thinking about what kind of minor, non-fatal emergency needed to happen for me to fly back home immediately. I was drawing a blank, but I clutched my phone tightly because I didn’t want to miss the call from home. Day 1 down-9 days to go. I will never make it!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Expectations About Poland
I returned Monday night from Poland. What a great experience. I had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, and got to share my faith with youth from another country. I took lots of notes on the trip so you can expect the next few blogs to be about my experiences in Poland. Today, I wanted to share a little insight about expectations and assumptions.
My information gathering before the trip was through movies that were made and included the country and the people. This is a very flawed way to gather information, because the majority of those movies were set during World War II. That was over 60 years ago. A lot has changed during that time. My expectations were to get into Warsaw and have to go through several road blocks and be forced to show my documents. The only road block I encountered was when a man was crossing the street on a bicycle as our light turned green. Ok, I understood I was in Warsaw and it is a big city, so change was expected. In Warsaw, there was a McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut, and even a Kentucky Fried Chicken. People in Warsaw wore Nike shoes, long shorts and modern rock concert t-shirts just like the kids in the U.S. All the restaurants had air conditioning, the cars had air conditioning, you could get Diet Coke, regular Coke, PowerAde, and bottled water. I even had cell phone coverage. So far Warsaw had not met my World War II expectations.
The camp was held in a village town of Lochow. (It is not pronounced like it is spelled, unless you are Polish you will not get it) When my translators told me we were going to a village town I was excited. I got all my papers out and was ready to present them to soldiers at all the road blocks. As we drove from Warsaw we went into the country there were many forest, lined with trees, I was on the look-out for soldiers and paratroopers. I was disappointed as we arrive at Lochow, no soldiers, no roadblocks. I was so disappointed we had to stop at the local grocery store to get an ice cream sandwich. Once again, my expectations and assumptions never held true. Lochow was a very modern village as modern as any small town America. I even had cell phone coverage.
My first lesson learned in Poland- do not gather information from movies. Just kidding. The lesson learned is sometimes our expectations and assumptions are false, and we have to be open to learning and experiencing before draw a conclusion. Warsaw is a major city, why would it not be as modern as any other major city? Thank goodness God never gave up on us. We are human; we fail to meet expectations all the time. Sometimes we fail to meet God’s expectations, but he never stops loving us. We have to be open as well. We have to set high expectations and expect those around us to met them, and if they don’t we love them just the same.
My information gathering before the trip was through movies that were made and included the country and the people. This is a very flawed way to gather information, because the majority of those movies were set during World War II. That was over 60 years ago. A lot has changed during that time. My expectations were to get into Warsaw and have to go through several road blocks and be forced to show my documents. The only road block I encountered was when a man was crossing the street on a bicycle as our light turned green. Ok, I understood I was in Warsaw and it is a big city, so change was expected. In Warsaw, there was a McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut, and even a Kentucky Fried Chicken. People in Warsaw wore Nike shoes, long shorts and modern rock concert t-shirts just like the kids in the U.S. All the restaurants had air conditioning, the cars had air conditioning, you could get Diet Coke, regular Coke, PowerAde, and bottled water. I even had cell phone coverage. So far Warsaw had not met my World War II expectations.
The camp was held in a village town of Lochow. (It is not pronounced like it is spelled, unless you are Polish you will not get it) When my translators told me we were going to a village town I was excited. I got all my papers out and was ready to present them to soldiers at all the road blocks. As we drove from Warsaw we went into the country there were many forest, lined with trees, I was on the look-out for soldiers and paratroopers. I was disappointed as we arrive at Lochow, no soldiers, no roadblocks. I was so disappointed we had to stop at the local grocery store to get an ice cream sandwich. Once again, my expectations and assumptions never held true. Lochow was a very modern village as modern as any small town America. I even had cell phone coverage.
My first lesson learned in Poland- do not gather information from movies. Just kidding. The lesson learned is sometimes our expectations and assumptions are false, and we have to be open to learning and experiencing before draw a conclusion. Warsaw is a major city, why would it not be as modern as any other major city? Thank goodness God never gave up on us. We are human; we fail to meet expectations all the time. Sometimes we fail to meet God’s expectations, but he never stops loving us. We have to be open as well. We have to set high expectations and expect those around us to met them, and if they don’t we love them just the same.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Day Has Arrived
Well the day has arrived. I will leave at 4:30pm this afternoon from Houston and arrive in Warsaw Poland at 9:15am tomorrow morning. It will be a wacky difference with the time change, but I am a morning person so I am sure I will adjust.
I am nervous and anxious. I am going to be gone for 10 days and I will really miss my family. I have the greatest family in the world. I have a loving, caring, and supportive wife; two of the greatest children ever. Last night, Evelyn and I fell asleep watching Dora the Explorer. What a great last night together. I know it is only 10 days but it will be a long 10 days. However, I know God will comfort my heart and my family’s heart as well. I am going to get to share the Gospel with other people and that gives me great satisfaction. I am aware of the difference God has made in my life, and now I have the opportunity to share that with other people. What a blessing!
I am not sure how I will be able to communicate with my family while I am gone. Not sure about the international cell phone thing and I am not taking my computer. I do know that I will be praying for them and I feel assured the will feel that love from across the Atlantic. Communication through prayer does not need an international plan, long distance plan, facebook or skype. Communication through prayer is more reliable than anything we have, there is never a dropped prayer and you will always have a signal. God will be listening and he is always available. I will find comfort through prayer.
Well, this will be my last post until I return. I look forward to sharing with you the experience of Poland when I return.
I am nervous and anxious. I am going to be gone for 10 days and I will really miss my family. I have the greatest family in the world. I have a loving, caring, and supportive wife; two of the greatest children ever. Last night, Evelyn and I fell asleep watching Dora the Explorer. What a great last night together. I know it is only 10 days but it will be a long 10 days. However, I know God will comfort my heart and my family’s heart as well. I am going to get to share the Gospel with other people and that gives me great satisfaction. I am aware of the difference God has made in my life, and now I have the opportunity to share that with other people. What a blessing!
I am not sure how I will be able to communicate with my family while I am gone. Not sure about the international cell phone thing and I am not taking my computer. I do know that I will be praying for them and I feel assured the will feel that love from across the Atlantic. Communication through prayer does not need an international plan, long distance plan, facebook or skype. Communication through prayer is more reliable than anything we have, there is never a dropped prayer and you will always have a signal. God will be listening and he is always available. I will find comfort through prayer.
Well, this will be my last post until I return. I look forward to sharing with you the experience of Poland when I return.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Poland
I am a week away from my big adventure. I am leaving next week to go to Poland. I will be conducting a basketball camp in Poland as a ministry of Athletes in Action. Athletes in Action is a ministry organization that uses sports to take the word of God to other countries. I am excited, anxious, nervous and apprehensive. I have never been much of a traveler, so this is a big step.
Since being at Westbury Christian I have seen and heard the result of many mission trips. I know people who have gone to Honduras, Haiti, and China. They have shared with me the life changing results of these trips. I have always wanted to take part in a mission trip, but have never felt comfortable with the idea. I had decided that my mission field was right here in Houston and I was not cut out for foreign missions. That was my excuse anyway. The real reason is probably the level of apprehension I have for being away from home. In my heart I knew I wanted to do it, but I didn’t fell like I could. I can relate a lot to Moses in this circumstance; God continued to choose Moses yet he never felt like he could do it. This spring I decided I was going to do it, and what better way then through basketball.
There are a few things I have a passion for; my family, my relationship with the Holy Spirit, and basketball. Athletes in Action provided the best opportunity for me to share the word of God and teach basketball at the same time. I will have the chance to conduct and share what I know about the game and my love of Christ. I couldn’t ask for a better situation to get involved in foreign ministry. It doesn’t change the level of apprehension or nervousness, but I more comfortable because of basketball. Referring back to Moses; God aided Moses as he made excuses by sending Aaron as well to speak to the people on behalf of God and Moses. I think in my case basketball is my Aaron. I love teaching basketball, I love being around the game; so using it as the tool to get Poland and share God’s word is exciting.
Please pray for the trip and that lives will be affected. I know of one life that has already been effected-mine.
Since being at Westbury Christian I have seen and heard the result of many mission trips. I know people who have gone to Honduras, Haiti, and China. They have shared with me the life changing results of these trips. I have always wanted to take part in a mission trip, but have never felt comfortable with the idea. I had decided that my mission field was right here in Houston and I was not cut out for foreign missions. That was my excuse anyway. The real reason is probably the level of apprehension I have for being away from home. In my heart I knew I wanted to do it, but I didn’t fell like I could. I can relate a lot to Moses in this circumstance; God continued to choose Moses yet he never felt like he could do it. This spring I decided I was going to do it, and what better way then through basketball.
There are a few things I have a passion for; my family, my relationship with the Holy Spirit, and basketball. Athletes in Action provided the best opportunity for me to share the word of God and teach basketball at the same time. I will have the chance to conduct and share what I know about the game and my love of Christ. I couldn’t ask for a better situation to get involved in foreign ministry. It doesn’t change the level of apprehension or nervousness, but I more comfortable because of basketball. Referring back to Moses; God aided Moses as he made excuses by sending Aaron as well to speak to the people on behalf of God and Moses. I think in my case basketball is my Aaron. I love teaching basketball, I love being around the game; so using it as the tool to get Poland and share God’s word is exciting.
Please pray for the trip and that lives will be affected. I know of one life that has already been effected-mine.
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