Monday, April 24, 2006

I Went to Green Mountain this weekend

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Zielona Gora! It means "Green Mountain". I went there to help my friend out with his student teaching and promote our English Camps. Alex is a student teacher, teaching English. He needed help and I needed to meet the the church who is hosting English camp this summer. I had a great time. I put on my Dan Luebcke hat and greeted the students in every idiom and slang term I though Dan would use. They were shocked as I greeted them, "Dude! How's is going?" or "Chica! What's up?" They got to experience a class that they will not have again soon. REAL English. The English of the real and common man. It was great. The teacher sat amazed that his students were participating. He said that they spoke more than normal. Great for Alex!

My time with Mariusz, the pastor and his wife was great. We talked about camp and the challenges that the church has there since most of the young people are exiting the country to go make money elsewhere. It is sad to see and yet there is a large number of teenagers who are being left alone, with no one to really mentor them. There is a great need in Poland. Only God will be able to fill the void that the pursuit of money will not fill.

Teens are teens all around the world. They have the same needs no matter what country they live in. I thought I would have to learn a whole new way that the Polish teens think and I am finding out that I do not.

Just last night I was walking with one of our youth group members and we started talking about priorities and fear and how you can get past fear in order to do what you need to do. God is the only one who can calm fear and our conversation took me back to many talks I have had in the States. I got to speak into this young man's life and I hope that the Spirit will continue the work that He has started.

Life here in Poland is starting to feel normal to me and I even am starting to understand more Polish as I get more vocabulary under my belt.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ooooo ... Zielona Gora!!! I'm so excited to go back this summer. And to see you!
Sounds like you're getting back into the swing of things ... I envy these students their conversations with you. ;)