Bbcpoland08’s Weblog

Today we made a lot of progress on the wall. We have several teams of people working on the wall together and learning how to lay brick from those more seasoned than us and those that are still cleaning the brick so that we can even have a wall to put up.

We’ve had a neighbor that has been watching this summer and has seen the changes that have been happening in the cemetery. This man went and told his wife who works for the news station, and they are coming to the cemetery tomorrow to do a story on the work being done in the cemetery. Steven called the Jewish council to inform them of the opportunity but they have declined to speak so Steven will be speaking about the work that we are doing. Please pray for him as he has to be careful about the words that he chooses to use tomorrow but that many will see the work being done and that it will only be a testament to what our Father is doing.

Also, another neighbor saw the work that was being done and they invited some of our team over for tea and cookies. In the Polish culture, this is not a common occurrence for someone to open their home.

Tomorrow we are going to a Jewish synagogue in Warsaw for a service. Then on Saturday we are going to Treblinka to prayer walk and view what is left of the death camp.

Continue to pray for us as our time in Poland quickly comes to a close and we will be leaving early Sunday morning. Pray that our bodies stay strong and that our minds clear as we complete our tasks. We’ll see you when we get home and we’ll post some pictures when we get back as well.

I have to admit that as each day passes, it seems that we are getting slower and slower in our particular jobs. The brick layers, however, seem to be working non-stop and almost never take a break. We had to hire a Polish brick layer to come and help us with the wall because of the codes that the city has and also because we were trying to get more done. It’s been an exciting time because we have officially gotten all the brush cut down in the area around the tombstones and all we have left in that area to do is to finish clearing the bush out. There are thorn bushes that have at least inch long thorns all over them and so it makes it kind of difficult to carry a huge load at once, and even leather gloves don’t seem to help, but we are working hard and playing hard as well. We’ve found plenty of animals to entertain us during the work day. There is a friendly cat that comes to visit us everyday and we’ve found at least 10 toads everyday. Also, the neighbors have dogs that like us especially because some people share their sandwiches with them. And today, we were even able to see a hedgehog which was a first for many of us. Everyone is still working diligently on their assigned tasks and tomorrow we will all have the chance to work together on the wall and cleaning the bricks. It’s quite a daunting task to look at the wall and see how much we have left, but with God, all things are possible and we all know that this is true because we’ve seen it proved time and time again in our personal lives and here.

Continue to pray for us and that we will have the strength to finish the last two days out strong and that we will not get discouraged in the task that lies ahead but that we will be able to finish and get done everything that we need to. We miss you all.

Today we spent the whole day working in the cemetery. We were finally able to get a cement mixer for the mortar and power on which we could run the mixer! We were able to get all of the materials needed and started a busy day building the wall, cleaning the grounds, and cleaning the bricks. Through everything, it’s evident that God is with us and is answering our prayers and meeting our needs. The brick layers did quite a bit of work today and it’s fair to say that they are by far the most exhausted. It’s been amazing to see how everything has been coming together and we have been so richly blessed by our Father.

Carol, I have a special message from Bill: He can’t wait to get home to clean the windows and also we have been teaching him this week that it’s only proper to do the dishes after you’ve done the cooking.

Well, it’s been a wonderful time so far. This weekend, we’ve been getting to know each other and having a good time learning about the Polish culture. We’ve spent the last 2 days in orientation about what we will be doing this week and about the culture. A team from Texas joined us Saturday and they are fitting in well. So now we have 27 people total working in the cemetery. Today was our first day of working and we are exhausted. We worked today on clearing out some of the brush in the cemetery and while others worked on cleaning the bricks so we can rebuild the wall. It rained some today and so while it kept us working inside the barn, we were able to get many of the bricks cleaned. We had a man from a Jewish council come and tell us about the importance of the cemetery and what a difference what we were doing was making. It was a chaotic day, but overall, I think it was very productive.

We’ve had a chance to walk around the city of Pruskow and it’s very beautiful. We had yesterday afternoon off while the Texas team had their orientation and so many of us went outside to enjoy the weather and the parks and walk around the city for a while.

While we miss our families and friends back home, we know that we are where God has called us to be for this time. Thank you for your prayers. And continue to keep us in them.

After a 2 hour delay even getting out of Nashville and running through the Chicago airport to make sure that we got to the plane on time, and then walking through possibly every security checkpoint in Frankfurt, we arrived safe and sound and so did our luggage. We arrived in Warsaw this afternoon. We checked into our “hotel” and then rested for a while but we tried not to sleep so that we would be able to sleep all through the night.

We had our first Polish meal tonight. We had cabbage soup, pork, cucumber salad, and mashed potatoes and it was delicious.

We met the missionary Steven, which many of you may know and his team. Tomorrow Steven will be having an orientation type day with us.

Continue to keep us in your prayers. We can already feel them.

God bless.