Wow so we did make it safely back to Aprémont with all five children and all 16 pieces of luggage and assorted pillows. :) I'm sorry to confess I did doubt God could get us through a time or two but in my human weakness I thought surely this is not going to happen. But it did!! To start with our bus to the airport was about fifteen minutes late arriving at the hotel to take us. This was okay I thought because we had plenty of cushion time once we arrived. We were leaving around 10 AM and our flight didn't leave until 2 PM and it was just under a 2 hour drive to the airport, no biggee right? Hah. We got there and the domestic terminal was on the FAR END of the airport and we had to walk all the way down only to find we had to go UP stairs to get to it. Where is the ADA when you need them?? :P Man oh man they'd have a hay day in Europe. We ended up unloading all the suitcases off the carts we had, carrying them up the stairs, and reloading onto new carts. Then we went to check in and it took FOREVER as it did last time to get it all done. Apparently they had trouble running Thomas's passport, like it didn't show up in their system which is ridiculous since he's already flown more than once with it. In the end they only checked him into the flight from Kraków to Warsaw and we would have to check him in again there. It was also an ordeal for them to try to find us all seats together. By the time all this was done we had just under an hour before our flight was supposed to board and we still had to eat lunch. The hotel had given us lunches to bring and eat so that was super nice and we enjoyed opening those up but as you can imagine with that many little guys it takes awhile to eat lunch, go to the potty and get ready to get on the plane. By now we are pushing 15 minutes til boarding and still have to go through security. As we are just about to head through the lady from the airline counter runs up and asks for our passports again because she has to do one more thing. When she comes back she says for us to hurry because they are boarding now! It is NOT an easy task to hurry five kids through security along with three laptops (those all have to be pulled out of bags you know), a stroller and cranky baby. I had been holding Audrey because she'd been fussy and Amy was still finishing up so we got everybody through but me and Charles and then Amy came back out and got Audrey. We finally got through all that and reassembled everything only to realize that this stupid tiny airport in Kraków is one that you have to ride a stupid bus to the plane. So then we have to load everyone onto the bus and hang on to kids so they don't fall over. We finally got everyone all on the plane and situated and Amy says "don't you just breathe a sigh of relief when we all get settled in on the plane??" Yeah. Definitely. Thomas asked to sit by me and we had a good time on our short flight. :) He is SO stinking CUTE!!!
The flight from Kraków to Warsaw is only like 30 minutes long which seems hardly worth all the effort to get on and off the plane. :P But it was what we had to do so we did it. When we got to Warsaw we only had ONE HOUR before our flight was to leave for Paris and we had to go through security AGAIN and get Thomas checked in! The security line was INSANE. They only had ONE ROW open in this airport and there were like a hundred people all waiting to get in. We weren't the only ones in a time crunch either as people kept running up to the front, some barging their way into the line ahead and others begging to be allowed as their flights were already boarding. The two big ones were a Chicago flight that was boarding right then and the Paris flight we were trying to get on which was in fifteen minutes by the time we got to the front. We finally made it through security once more and got to the gate to get Thomas checked in which took just about the rest of the spare time we had. Amy had hoped to get the kids to the bathroom before the flight but didn't find one close and our flight started boarding so we had to skip it. They were kind and allowed us to board first so we got everyone in place before the masses started pushing their way on. As soon as the plane got good and off the ground I went to sleep. I think I slept an hour, it was so good!! I would have loved more but shortly thereafter we began landing preparations. Charles and Amy kept asking me this week if I was exhausted yet after various things and I was able to answer honestly not yet but last night and tonight I AM.
The rest of the trip was not as interesting, just gathering all the suitcases and getting them to the car, then unloading everything at the house. I've got my stuff mostly unpacked and dirty clothes ready to be washed as I've just gone about two weeks since I had that opportunity last! Yeah it's about time. :P I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to at least get my teeth brushed and whatnot. Love to all my peoples at home!!!
Showing posts with label Poland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poland. Show all posts
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Today's been another good day for spiritual food as I was able to attend the sessions this morning. Audrey stayed in childcare in her stroller and slept so Amy and I were both free to go. I didn't realize it but the main speaker this week is actually someone who works in a closed country that doesn't allow missionaries, and he has been going by only a first name which I've been told isn't even his real name even at this conference so far away. That's just how careful he has to be to prevent word from getting to the wrong people about what he does. I think a lot this week I've been lulled into forgetting about how dangerous some missionaries have it because so many have it so "good". In closing this morning the whole entire group of missionaries gathered around him and his wife to lay hands on him and pray. If I've heard correctly he has been beaten many times and has had to have his face partially reconstructed with metal plates (or that might have been a different missionary here). I feel so blessed to be among these people this week! I know they are just humans like the rest of us but something special about the ones God has out there in full time ministry away from homes, friends, and family and even more so the ones who are being persecuted for it!!
I've had about five different people today say "Don't you feel called to minister to the people of _____". :) Some in jest, some earnest, some a mixture of the two. I got to the point where I just laughed and said that I hadn't felt that calling YET. I know better than to say never to God. :) I still don't really feel any leading to full time mission work even after being here but I certainly haven't closed the door on it in the future. I just don't know yet where God is leading me! I do know that I reaaaaaally want to help them with their missionary retreat later this year but I don't know how logistically it could work. Does anyone want to teach a children's program maybe somewhat like CI or CMT for missionary kids at a retreat in the Swiss Alps around Oct 29 through the beginning of November? :) I don't see myself doing it alone for sure. If anyone is seriously interested in helping (with or without me lol) then please let me know and I will get you more details on it!
One of the other things that struck me today as I looked around at the missionaries were the great variety of shapes and sizes that they come in. There are both old and young, some that just LOOK like missionaries (don't ask me why!) and some that look like businessmen or college students. Some married, some single...God calls all kinds of people! This morning they were mentioning a family and I didn't catch what country they are in but the husband is a potter and has an art studio or shop of some kind, and has had amazing results witnessing to the people who come in to buy his work. What an awesome tent making business that also helps you fish for souls!! I think it's been so interesting and so encouraging to hear how missionaries a lot of times live relatively similar lives to the rest of us -- they wash their own dishes, have to grocery shop, go to the bank etc but use these opportunities to build relationships and trust with people so that they can eventually invite them to church and talk to them about Jesus. Why don't I do that more? We are ALL missionaries right where we live. It really is a lot about lifestyle evangelism! Bringing Jesus with us to our every day activities. One of the things we discussed in session this morning was how we can do this more and I know I've got a unique opportunity as a nanny at home to talk to other mothers and caregivers at the park, at Chickfila, at the mall...in fact I did get to do just that a few weeks ago at a park, the woman appeared to be Muslim and SHE struck up the conversation with ME. We didn't get to chat long before I had to leave because a kid hurt himself but it is exactly the kind of thing I should take advantage of to share God with others.
Well pray for us if you think about us in the middle of the night haha!! We are off to the airport around 10 AM local time, then a 2:25 flight to Warsaw, and a 4:15 flight to Paris. We only have an HOUR between our flight arriving in Warsaw and leaving again so I hope it's enough time and the first one isn't too late leaving!! :-/ Traveling with kids is stressful enough even at a ration of 5 kids to 3 adults. Hopefully it will all work out well though and we will be back "home" again in France and get some rest this weekend. Or so I hope. I have no idea what the agenda is. :) Have a good evening all my peoples at home in the States!!
I've had about five different people today say "Don't you feel called to minister to the people of _____". :) Some in jest, some earnest, some a mixture of the two. I got to the point where I just laughed and said that I hadn't felt that calling YET. I know better than to say never to God. :) I still don't really feel any leading to full time mission work even after being here but I certainly haven't closed the door on it in the future. I just don't know yet where God is leading me! I do know that I reaaaaaally want to help them with their missionary retreat later this year but I don't know how logistically it could work. Does anyone want to teach a children's program maybe somewhat like CI or CMT for missionary kids at a retreat in the Swiss Alps around Oct 29 through the beginning of November? :) I don't see myself doing it alone for sure. If anyone is seriously interested in helping (with or without me lol) then please let me know and I will get you more details on it!
One of the other things that struck me today as I looked around at the missionaries were the great variety of shapes and sizes that they come in. There are both old and young, some that just LOOK like missionaries (don't ask me why!) and some that look like businessmen or college students. Some married, some single...God calls all kinds of people! This morning they were mentioning a family and I didn't catch what country they are in but the husband is a potter and has an art studio or shop of some kind, and has had amazing results witnessing to the people who come in to buy his work. What an awesome tent making business that also helps you fish for souls!! I think it's been so interesting and so encouraging to hear how missionaries a lot of times live relatively similar lives to the rest of us -- they wash their own dishes, have to grocery shop, go to the bank etc but use these opportunities to build relationships and trust with people so that they can eventually invite them to church and talk to them about Jesus. Why don't I do that more? We are ALL missionaries right where we live. It really is a lot about lifestyle evangelism! Bringing Jesus with us to our every day activities. One of the things we discussed in session this morning was how we can do this more and I know I've got a unique opportunity as a nanny at home to talk to other mothers and caregivers at the park, at Chickfila, at the mall...in fact I did get to do just that a few weeks ago at a park, the woman appeared to be Muslim and SHE struck up the conversation with ME. We didn't get to chat long before I had to leave because a kid hurt himself but it is exactly the kind of thing I should take advantage of to share God with others.
Well pray for us if you think about us in the middle of the night haha!! We are off to the airport around 10 AM local time, then a 2:25 flight to Warsaw, and a 4:15 flight to Paris. We only have an HOUR between our flight arriving in Warsaw and leaving again so I hope it's enough time and the first one isn't too late leaving!! :-/ Traveling with kids is stressful enough even at a ration of 5 kids to 3 adults. Hopefully it will all work out well though and we will be back "home" again in France and get some rest this weekend. Or so I hope. I have no idea what the agenda is. :) Have a good evening all my peoples at home in the States!!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
I keep debating whether or not to blog each night but then it turns out I always have plenty to say! I can't tell if it's just because a lot is happening here at the conference or if it's going to be like this the whole time but regardless here is today's recap. :)
I kept Audrey this morning for Amy while she went to the first session and then we caught the end of the second session before lunch. After that Amy wanted a nap so she let me take sleeping baby in her stroller and we went to my room and enjoyed the rain with the door to the balcony open. It was soooo refreshing and I loved hearing the thunder. Audrey didn't seem to mind it and slept right through. I was able to have a neat little chat with Sarah too so that was a happy time! I haven't been able to talk much to friends since I've been here between the time difference and CMT conference. I was able to talk to my mom a bit last night and a couple of nights ago. After that Amy said I could have a little over an hour off to myself before she wanted to go to another session and I thought wow what I can do!! I ended up napping to the sound of more rain and thunder and being awakened by more IMs. :) Jonathan was just catching me on his way out the door for the day. I was glad to have the little contact with two different friends today as it made me feel much more connected.
I had only been with Audrey for about ten or fifteen minutes before Charles came in and said he was skipping a session to take a nap and I could have some MORE down time. I was thrilled because Alicia Chole had another session and I was dying to sit in on more of her stuff. When that was over I once again had a few more minutes before they needed me for dinner so I went down to check out the gift shop. They have a really spiffy one here at the hotel. Too bad I don't know how much all this stuff is in US$!! :D I have a feeling it's like dirt cheap but I don't know for sure...I bought some postcards but now I don't know how to mail them. It's really rough because the people here at the hotel don't tend to speak much english and there are hardly any signs or papers with any kind of english on it.
It has been downright chilly today!! I'm not sure the exact temp but I'm guessing it's close to 50 now. Incredible weather to me a Houston gal who is used to it not dropping below 75 at night during the summer. :) Loving this!!!
This evening we had dinner with a missionary from Greece. He is apparently actually Greek himself and has dual citizenship. He was one of 6 boys, they were missionary kids and out of those 5 of them are now missionaries themselves!! I found that to be sooo encouraging and amazing in a time when Satan is fighting families so hard, particularly men and ESPECIALLY those on the front lines for God, and here is a family that stayed strong. Just one of the many incredibly awesome stories I've been able to hear this week. I am LOVING being able to mix and mingle with missionaries in a way you don't normally get to. One of them even asked me if I'd come back to the conference next year! :D I said you know I'd be totally interested in coming back but we'll just have to see what happens right? Amy said she was thinking about whether or not she'd like to have another baby and didn't think after Audrey she could manage. Then she said "buuuut if Megan would come back and commit for a whole YEAR now THEN I could have another baby! So I guess it all depends on if Megan will come??" Hahahaha...
Something else that's happened because of this trip is I picked up a book called "Who Has Your Heart?" by Emily Ryan who is actually from Houston. It's for single women and really some of the most straightforward talk I've heard, it's so refreshing. It's based on Jepthah's daughter in the Bible. Yeah that tiny little passage. I can't wait to share it with some of my friends! I picked it up off the swap table they have for the missionaries (Amy told me I should check for some books because she brought a ton and the cute little old lady in charge was BEGGING me to take lots of them home; I felt kind of bad and like I should just borrow them and return so someone else can read them but Amy insisted I should take it home with me to share) and I've been reading it while Audrey naps to pass the time. Wow. It's super excellent and I'm loving it.
Tonight I have my room all to myself because Charles & Amy went to visit friends on another floor and we put them all to bed in their own room so I could babysit them altogether. I liked sharing my room but it's also easier getting up in the morning without being afraid I'll wake someone. Thomas slept right through the first night but Emma I think woke when my alarm went off this morning. :) Anyway for now I'm chilling on my laptop and now I'm chatting with Melody (score!! 3rd wonderful friend conversation of the day after so long of nothing!!) and waiting for them to come back so I can go to bed. I think I'm officially changed to the right timezone now because I am READY for bed at 10ish and feel decently rested even as early as 6:30, or did until this morning. I think I'm just getting tired again because I'm getting only 6ish hours of sleep at night and running all day long and I KNOW my body does better on 8, or at least 7. Hopefully I can catch back up this weekend after we get back to France. Good night dear friends and family. :)
I kept Audrey this morning for Amy while she went to the first session and then we caught the end of the second session before lunch. After that Amy wanted a nap so she let me take sleeping baby in her stroller and we went to my room and enjoyed the rain with the door to the balcony open. It was soooo refreshing and I loved hearing the thunder. Audrey didn't seem to mind it and slept right through. I was able to have a neat little chat with Sarah too so that was a happy time! I haven't been able to talk much to friends since I've been here between the time difference and CMT conference. I was able to talk to my mom a bit last night and a couple of nights ago. After that Amy said I could have a little over an hour off to myself before she wanted to go to another session and I thought wow what I can do!! I ended up napping to the sound of more rain and thunder and being awakened by more IMs. :) Jonathan was just catching me on his way out the door for the day. I was glad to have the little contact with two different friends today as it made me feel much more connected.
I had only been with Audrey for about ten or fifteen minutes before Charles came in and said he was skipping a session to take a nap and I could have some MORE down time. I was thrilled because Alicia Chole had another session and I was dying to sit in on more of her stuff. When that was over I once again had a few more minutes before they needed me for dinner so I went down to check out the gift shop. They have a really spiffy one here at the hotel. Too bad I don't know how much all this stuff is in US$!! :D I have a feeling it's like dirt cheap but I don't know for sure...I bought some postcards but now I don't know how to mail them. It's really rough because the people here at the hotel don't tend to speak much english and there are hardly any signs or papers with any kind of english on it.
It has been downright chilly today!! I'm not sure the exact temp but I'm guessing it's close to 50 now. Incredible weather to me a Houston gal who is used to it not dropping below 75 at night during the summer. :) Loving this!!!
This evening we had dinner with a missionary from Greece. He is apparently actually Greek himself and has dual citizenship. He was one of 6 boys, they were missionary kids and out of those 5 of them are now missionaries themselves!! I found that to be sooo encouraging and amazing in a time when Satan is fighting families so hard, particularly men and ESPECIALLY those on the front lines for God, and here is a family that stayed strong. Just one of the many incredibly awesome stories I've been able to hear this week. I am LOVING being able to mix and mingle with missionaries in a way you don't normally get to. One of them even asked me if I'd come back to the conference next year! :D I said you know I'd be totally interested in coming back but we'll just have to see what happens right? Amy said she was thinking about whether or not she'd like to have another baby and didn't think after Audrey she could manage. Then she said "buuuut if Megan would come back and commit for a whole YEAR now THEN I could have another baby! So I guess it all depends on if Megan will come??" Hahahaha...
Something else that's happened because of this trip is I picked up a book called "Who Has Your Heart?" by Emily Ryan who is actually from Houston. It's for single women and really some of the most straightforward talk I've heard, it's so refreshing. It's based on Jepthah's daughter in the Bible. Yeah that tiny little passage. I can't wait to share it with some of my friends! I picked it up off the swap table they have for the missionaries (Amy told me I should check for some books because she brought a ton and the cute little old lady in charge was BEGGING me to take lots of them home; I felt kind of bad and like I should just borrow them and return so someone else can read them but Amy insisted I should take it home with me to share) and I've been reading it while Audrey naps to pass the time. Wow. It's super excellent and I'm loving it.
Tonight I have my room all to myself because Charles & Amy went to visit friends on another floor and we put them all to bed in their own room so I could babysit them altogether. I liked sharing my room but it's also easier getting up in the morning without being afraid I'll wake someone. Thomas slept right through the first night but Emma I think woke when my alarm went off this morning. :) Anyway for now I'm chilling on my laptop and now I'm chatting with Melody (score!! 3rd wonderful friend conversation of the day after so long of nothing!!) and waiting for them to come back so I can go to bed. I think I'm officially changed to the right timezone now because I am READY for bed at 10ish and feel decently rested even as early as 6:30, or did until this morning. I think I'm just getting tired again because I'm getting only 6ish hours of sleep at night and running all day long and I KNOW my body does better on 8, or at least 7. Hopefully I can catch back up this weekend after we get back to France. Good night dear friends and family. :)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Audrey did a little better today! She really likes listening to music while she sleeps so I set up my iPhone (which is in airplane mode but today I realized this doesn't prevent me from turning on wifi!) playing the Galkins and Steve Pettit in the room where she slept. :) She still had trouble when the people came back once again from wherever in the middle of the afternoon and were super loud and noisy stomping away in the room above us. I ended up finally having to pick her up and calm her down and then she was happy. She will be better once we get back to her home I'm sure.
The food here at the hotel is really and truly amazing. They have a chocolate mousse every evening with dinner that is like WOW and all these fried foods haha. Last night they had fried BROCCOLI. I felt a little better because I thought only Americans could take an otherwise healthy food like an onion and fry it. I keep thinking surely I'm going to gain a ton of weight while we are here but then I remind myself that the main conference room is on the 6th floor, our room is on the 3rd floor, dining is on the 1st floor, and today the ladies had lunch on the 8th floor. And I haven't been using the elevators except for when I have the stroller because they take too long. Surely it all works out in the end right?? :) The weather is also absolutely fantastic, I wish I could have it be like this all the time! The window stays open in my room and the temperature is never too hot or too cold.
This morning I started out with Audrey after breakfast and Amy went to the ladies session for a little bit. We worked out a phone system because only one of the cell phones can send texts and she left me the one that could send and she took the one that can only receive so I could let her know when Audrey woke up to eat. When she came in to feed her she encouraged me to go into the session because it was super good and said she'd try to bring Audrey in the stroller after she finished. I went ahead and got in and she was talking about "Whispers from God". They were so very very convicting!! I didn't have anything to write with at the time so I'm trying to write things down as I think of them and hope to look at Amy's points she was able to get. We were still in and out with the baby so we didn't get all of it but it was sooo amazing. If you get a chance to look up Alicia Britt Chole please do! She apparently gave her testimony this morning about being an atheist and getting saved in her 20s. It's an amazing story I hear. From the rest of her lesson I was so very encouraged, I have already ordered two of her books. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to hear her speak a little more before she leaves Wednesday. Please pray Audrey will be good!! :) I'm also giving up the regular mascara and pulling out the waterproof for the rest of the week. :P
We went to the water park again today and the girls got me on the slides. The first one was pretty fun but the second empties into a kind of toilet bowl type swirly thing and is oh-my-gosh scary!! I was not thrilled about that one and probably won't do it again. :P Claire kind of tricked me into doing it anyway. I asked her how deep the pool was at the bottom and she kind of hesitated and said "it's not too bad". I said "how deep!" She said "it's not TOO deep!" I sighed and went for it anyway. Yeah it must be like 10 ft. :P I hate those because you feel like it's going to take forever to hit the bottom and come back up!!
I'm really enjoying being in the company of so many missionaries. I know they are just normal people like the rest of us but there is something special about people who have been called to leave family and friends and home and what we like to think of as "financial security" and good jobs to come live a life of hardship and sacrifice. Sometimes I think I have problems, well I don't have half of what some of these people have to face. Some of them deal with the same trials I have on top of being separated from family. It's been so neat to listen to them as they are having a week of refreshing and so many of them are good friends. It feels like a big family reunion! And they are all so open and receptive to a new person. It's really been a neat time.
Well I think I'm going to climb into bed. The sun keeps coming up around 4:30 and this hotel does not have decent darkening shades on the windows. I spend 4:30-6:30 tossing and turning because it's so bright in my room. :( Oh well! This is my sacrifice this week right? ;)
The food here at the hotel is really and truly amazing. They have a chocolate mousse every evening with dinner that is like WOW and all these fried foods haha. Last night they had fried BROCCOLI. I felt a little better because I thought only Americans could take an otherwise healthy food like an onion and fry it. I keep thinking surely I'm going to gain a ton of weight while we are here but then I remind myself that the main conference room is on the 6th floor, our room is on the 3rd floor, dining is on the 1st floor, and today the ladies had lunch on the 8th floor. And I haven't been using the elevators except for when I have the stroller because they take too long. Surely it all works out in the end right?? :) The weather is also absolutely fantastic, I wish I could have it be like this all the time! The window stays open in my room and the temperature is never too hot or too cold.
This morning I started out with Audrey after breakfast and Amy went to the ladies session for a little bit. We worked out a phone system because only one of the cell phones can send texts and she left me the one that could send and she took the one that can only receive so I could let her know when Audrey woke up to eat. When she came in to feed her she encouraged me to go into the session because it was super good and said she'd try to bring Audrey in the stroller after she finished. I went ahead and got in and she was talking about "Whispers from God". They were so very very convicting!! I didn't have anything to write with at the time so I'm trying to write things down as I think of them and hope to look at Amy's points she was able to get. We were still in and out with the baby so we didn't get all of it but it was sooo amazing. If you get a chance to look up Alicia Britt Chole please do! She apparently gave her testimony this morning about being an atheist and getting saved in her 20s. It's an amazing story I hear. From the rest of her lesson I was so very encouraged, I have already ordered two of her books. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to hear her speak a little more before she leaves Wednesday. Please pray Audrey will be good!! :) I'm also giving up the regular mascara and pulling out the waterproof for the rest of the week. :P
We went to the water park again today and the girls got me on the slides. The first one was pretty fun but the second empties into a kind of toilet bowl type swirly thing and is oh-my-gosh scary!! I was not thrilled about that one and probably won't do it again. :P Claire kind of tricked me into doing it anyway. I asked her how deep the pool was at the bottom and she kind of hesitated and said "it's not too bad". I said "how deep!" She said "it's not TOO deep!" I sighed and went for it anyway. Yeah it must be like 10 ft. :P I hate those because you feel like it's going to take forever to hit the bottom and come back up!!
I'm really enjoying being in the company of so many missionaries. I know they are just normal people like the rest of us but there is something special about people who have been called to leave family and friends and home and what we like to think of as "financial security" and good jobs to come live a life of hardship and sacrifice. Sometimes I think I have problems, well I don't have half of what some of these people have to face. Some of them deal with the same trials I have on top of being separated from family. It's been so neat to listen to them as they are having a week of refreshing and so many of them are good friends. It feels like a big family reunion! And they are all so open and receptive to a new person. It's really been a neat time.
Well I think I'm going to climb into bed. The sun keeps coming up around 4:30 and this hotel does not have decent darkening shades on the windows. I spend 4:30-6:30 tossing and turning because it's so bright in my room. :( Oh well! This is my sacrifice this week right? ;)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
It feels so bizarre to me to think about where I'm at. In Picasa I've been tagging my photos with locations and looking at the map it just kind of astounds me to think. I'm in one of those little places you might hear about during the Winter Olympics, and some sad little story about this olympian who had the worst life ever and here is where they lived. Okay maybe not exactly but for some reason when I think of Poland I think of Winter Olympics. It's just how my strange little mind works. Oh and I forgot to point out last post that Wisla is pronounced Vee-swa or something like that. It gets super confusing to me but they seem kind of picky about it. ;P It also throws me for a loop to get Facebook ads in whatever language I'm currently in (French and Polish so far) and even Blogspot picks up on my location and some of the site changes language accordingly. Very crazy.
I think I've finally met my match with Audrey! She is the first baby I've not been able to quickly identify the secret to calming down. She gets soooo worked up and did it several times today. I'm convinced there has to be a secret to it, I just have to figure it out! Hopefully she will be better tomorrow. I know that yesterday was a traumatic day with the plane and bus, so today was super difficult. Maybe she will be a little more settled.
We went to the indoor water park today and Thomas and I played in the wave pool while the girls went with Charles to check out some of the slides and things. It was pretty fun and Thomas is quite the little fish! I didn't realize at first it was the wave pool because it cycles between just a pool with fountains and this wild wave thing. It took us off guard when it first started up and I know how much Joel gets nervous in the water so I was right beside him in a flash to scoop him up out of the water, but when he came up he was laughing and not crying. It made ME nervous because the waves were pretty big and he kept getting knocked over by them but he kept going back for more. :D The only major negative I found was that it seems Polish men prefer to wear speedos. Ew.
Thomas and Sophie are definitely my little buddies. :) It really helps that they are stinking cute and pretty good kids. Tonight the big girls went swimming with friends and Thomas and Sophie had to get ready for bed so I was helping them while Amy nursed Audrey. She was still trying to get her down for the night and said they'd probably like to hear a story so I made a very feeble attempt that was pretty lame because I stole someone's lines about Jimmy and wild chicken. They both decided then that they wanted to tell me stories too. At one point it was soooooo funny because Thomas was trying to tell an "important" (serious) story and not a funny one. He'd compose himself and say "once upon a time"...and he'd look at Sophie and say "don't Sophie!" and then burst into giggles. I tried to get some of it on video. He cracks me up because he is so very proper in his pronunciations, and then he'll randomly switch into French on me and I can't understand what he's saying. :P Tonight I helped him with his pajamas and said "is that good?" and he said something in French. All I caught was "bien" which is good so I thought it was fine. Claire laughed and said "he said it's NOT good". For a special treat since Thomas and Sophie didn't get to go with the big girls tonight I said they could sleep in my room with me. Sophie backed out at the last minute but Thomas is sleeping away on a palette in the floor. :) It's fun to have a little buddy who is as loving as Joel! It helps me not miss him too much.
Well I'm going to quietly get ready for bed and hit the hay. Gotta be up early again tomorrow. I'm just wishing I could figure out a way to get real bottled water instead of this nasty fizzy junk they keep giving us in our rooms. Ick.
I think I've finally met my match with Audrey! She is the first baby I've not been able to quickly identify the secret to calming down. She gets soooo worked up and did it several times today. I'm convinced there has to be a secret to it, I just have to figure it out! Hopefully she will be better tomorrow. I know that yesterday was a traumatic day with the plane and bus, so today was super difficult. Maybe she will be a little more settled.
We went to the indoor water park today and Thomas and I played in the wave pool while the girls went with Charles to check out some of the slides and things. It was pretty fun and Thomas is quite the little fish! I didn't realize at first it was the wave pool because it cycles between just a pool with fountains and this wild wave thing. It took us off guard when it first started up and I know how much Joel gets nervous in the water so I was right beside him in a flash to scoop him up out of the water, but when he came up he was laughing and not crying. It made ME nervous because the waves were pretty big and he kept getting knocked over by them but he kept going back for more. :D The only major negative I found was that it seems Polish men prefer to wear speedos. Ew.
Thomas and Sophie are definitely my little buddies. :) It really helps that they are stinking cute and pretty good kids. Tonight the big girls went swimming with friends and Thomas and Sophie had to get ready for bed so I was helping them while Amy nursed Audrey. She was still trying to get her down for the night and said they'd probably like to hear a story so I made a very feeble attempt that was pretty lame because I stole someone's lines about Jimmy and wild chicken. They both decided then that they wanted to tell me stories too. At one point it was soooooo funny because Thomas was trying to tell an "important" (serious) story and not a funny one. He'd compose himself and say "once upon a time"...and he'd look at Sophie and say "don't Sophie!" and then burst into giggles. I tried to get some of it on video. He cracks me up because he is so very proper in his pronunciations, and then he'll randomly switch into French on me and I can't understand what he's saying. :P Tonight I helped him with his pajamas and said "is that good?" and he said something in French. All I caught was "bien" which is good so I thought it was fine. Claire laughed and said "he said it's NOT good". For a special treat since Thomas and Sophie didn't get to go with the big girls tonight I said they could sleep in my room with me. Sophie backed out at the last minute but Thomas is sleeping away on a palette in the floor. :) It's fun to have a little buddy who is as loving as Joel! It helps me not miss him too much.
Well I'm going to quietly get ready for bed and hit the hay. Gotta be up early again tomorrow. I'm just wishing I could figure out a way to get real bottled water instead of this nasty fizzy junk they keep giving us in our rooms. Ick.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
the journey to Wisla, Poland!
What an adventuresome day we had today!! I’ve never flown with kids before and always pitied those who did, especially the mother who had two little ones and all the assorted gear that goes along with munchkins and how did they ever manage to get through security and on and off the plane without going mad. I have an even greater appreciation for those women today! The morning didn’t start off so well when Audrey began screaming half an hour before we were set to leave. Thankfully I was able to take her and calm her down for Amy while they finished last minute preparations and loading the van. We were just about set to load up the last of the bags and the van wouldn’t start. A few moments spent pulling the cars out so that it could be jumped and we were back in business thankfully and off we went to the airport.
While there was virtually no traffic driving to the airport we quickly found that it was indeed a very busy travel day for France. First unloading the suitcases and bags was no small feat, Amy pushing the stroller with baby Audrey inside and Sophie and Thomas clinging to each arm, and Claire and I each had carts piled with suitcases while Charles parked the car. We made quite the processional. :) Once inside there were OH so MANY people!!! I don’t know where the heaviest flights were headed but it wasn’t our counter. Instead they were all wrapping lines around so much that no one knew where one line ended and the next began and it was pretty much mass chaos as people pushed and shoved their way through looking for where they needed to be. After two or three stops to ask questions at various ticketing counters we finally found where our airline was supposed to check baggage in and we got into that line. It moved fairly quickly until WE got to the front. Then the lady was so confused between how many of us there were, the baby, the nanny, who had checked suitcases and which ones belonged to who. We had only just finished sorting through all of it and getting it all checked in when Charles finally made it back from parking. He joked about what great timing he had. Of course that was only the beginning!
Next we had to make it through security, which if you’ve traveled in the last two or three years you know what an undertaking that has become. One must essentially half undress, removing belts and shoes, emptying pockets, pulling laptops out of bags, etc. etc. This plus a stroller and baby, who had so far been perfect and sleeping, but I was worried would wake up screaming again at any time. Thankfully she didn’t seem much disturbed by being pulled out of her seat and patted down (gotta watch those two month olds, never know when they might be trying to smuggle liquids or fingernail clippers on board!). By the time all of this completed we only had half an hour to kill before our plane was to begin boarding. God is good for allowing us just enough time!! Somewhere in here Emma was kind enough to point out to me that once again she approved of my outfit. She is such a mess always telling me how romantically I dress. I’m glad I haven’t let her down so far since she has such high expectations of me now. :D
All along the way in the airport it was amusing to me that our little travel party seemed to grow. There were several other missionaries with GEM headed out on the same flight with us. The Williamsons had been scheduled on an earlier flight but it was cancelled and they were rerouted to ours. I thought that was kind of fun. A Candian pastor who has apparently done some work with Charles and the gypsies was also there.
Getting on the plane was another small task but didn’t go as badly as it could have. We got settled into our seats and waited about twenty minutes before the plane actually took off. I’m not sure what the deal is but so far every flight I’ve been on this trip has been so late leaving the airport! Maybe this is typical of an international flight but I know when I’ve flown domestically the last couple of years we’re usually good about taking off right on time or even five minutes early so that was kind of annoying. Patience IS a virtue however. :) Once we got to Krakow we had to walk down the stairs off the plane and get into a bus like Germany only the airport was like so close we really could have just walked. In fact by the time our crew got off the plane and on the bus the others could probably have walked to the terminal and back again. Krakow is not a very large airport so we were able to fairly easily use the bathroom, collect our suitcases and find the bus we were supposed to get on for Wisla and the hotel.
The bus was pretty nice!! I think it was more comfortable than all the planes I’ve been in this week. Thomas sat by me this time and it was a lot of fun. It was most everyone’s first time in Poland so that made me feel more a part of the group to get to experience something new with everyone instead of being the only newbie in the bunch. :) We oohed and ahhed over the beautiful scenery as we drove through. Although I’d seen photos online and heard about the hotel from another missionary I was still amazed when we got to the hotel. It is one of the biggest hotels I’ve ever seen! I don’t have a lot of pictures of the hotel yet but I hope to get some more soon. The one annoying thing is that GEM told us we shouldn’t drink the tap water but the free bottles of water in our rooms are icky bubbly water. That’s not very satisfying at all when you are thirsty! I’m leaving mine open to see if it will go flat. :P Does it work like that? I figured it’s worth a shot anyway!
Mealtime is apparently going to be quite the experience all week! It’s this extraordinary buffet and I liked everything I put in my mouth. There were “turkey nuggets”, potato dumplings, penne in a white sauce with mushrooms, vegetables, salad, and much much more that I can’t even remember. The dessert spread was just as amazing!! Charles told Emma when she asked to go get some that she should be moderate, and then Amy said “go get one of everything so we can try it all and decide what to get!” Emma being quite literal did just that and came back with two bowls full of a little of everything! We all tasted a bit of this and that and then went back for our own bowls. :D My favorite part was the chocolate mousse complete with dark chocolate curls on top. There were several other very yummy things that I have absolutely no idea what they are because all the signs are in Polish. It was soooo yummy.
There was an opening kind of session tonight that I got to sit in on part of. There is childcare available for all the children down to Audrey and Amy said she hopes for me to be able to attend some of their sessions. We started out with everyone in their classes but as if I was worried about job security the nursery came within ten minutes to get Amy because Audrey (who had been angel ALL DAY after her first little screaming fit that morning) was crying. Amy calmed her down and then brought her to me and I took her out so she could sit in on some of the service. She fussed a tiny bit at the beginning but I talked to her and within moments she was grinning, cooing and even laughing at me. As it got closer to 8 she did get hungry and fussy but I was glad to see she did not scream or become inconsolable with me. Bless their hearts in the nursery but I’m thinking they maybe don’t take care of babies a lot or something. :)
Well breakfast comes early (it starts at 7!) and I think I want to try to get this posted and still get some sleep. I can’t get internet in my room, I have to go to a public area of the hotel which is lame but I guess it’s better than none at all! We’ll see how much I can post the rest of this week as I’m supposed to help with Audrey so that Charles and Amy can do their jobs here at the conference. Charles is the GEM director in France so I think that makes him kind of important. :) The one thing so far that amuses me is while there are a lot of people here for the conference it still seems to have a small church family feel to it because everyone seems to know who I am, even the ones I don’t remember meeting. :D This week should be pretty epic!
While there was virtually no traffic driving to the airport we quickly found that it was indeed a very busy travel day for France. First unloading the suitcases and bags was no small feat, Amy pushing the stroller with baby Audrey inside and Sophie and Thomas clinging to each arm, and Claire and I each had carts piled with suitcases while Charles parked the car. We made quite the processional. :) Once inside there were OH so MANY people!!! I don’t know where the heaviest flights were headed but it wasn’t our counter. Instead they were all wrapping lines around so much that no one knew where one line ended and the next began and it was pretty much mass chaos as people pushed and shoved their way through looking for where they needed to be. After two or three stops to ask questions at various ticketing counters we finally found where our airline was supposed to check baggage in and we got into that line. It moved fairly quickly until WE got to the front. Then the lady was so confused between how many of us there were, the baby, the nanny, who had checked suitcases and which ones belonged to who. We had only just finished sorting through all of it and getting it all checked in when Charles finally made it back from parking. He joked about what great timing he had. Of course that was only the beginning!
Next we had to make it through security, which if you’ve traveled in the last two or three years you know what an undertaking that has become. One must essentially half undress, removing belts and shoes, emptying pockets, pulling laptops out of bags, etc. etc. This plus a stroller and baby, who had so far been perfect and sleeping, but I was worried would wake up screaming again at any time. Thankfully she didn’t seem much disturbed by being pulled out of her seat and patted down (gotta watch those two month olds, never know when they might be trying to smuggle liquids or fingernail clippers on board!). By the time all of this completed we only had half an hour to kill before our plane was to begin boarding. God is good for allowing us just enough time!! Somewhere in here Emma was kind enough to point out to me that once again she approved of my outfit. She is such a mess always telling me how romantically I dress. I’m glad I haven’t let her down so far since she has such high expectations of me now. :D
All along the way in the airport it was amusing to me that our little travel party seemed to grow. There were several other missionaries with GEM headed out on the same flight with us. The Williamsons had been scheduled on an earlier flight but it was cancelled and they were rerouted to ours. I thought that was kind of fun. A Candian pastor who has apparently done some work with Charles and the gypsies was also there.
Getting on the plane was another small task but didn’t go as badly as it could have. We got settled into our seats and waited about twenty minutes before the plane actually took off. I’m not sure what the deal is but so far every flight I’ve been on this trip has been so late leaving the airport! Maybe this is typical of an international flight but I know when I’ve flown domestically the last couple of years we’re usually good about taking off right on time or even five minutes early so that was kind of annoying. Patience IS a virtue however. :) Once we got to Krakow we had to walk down the stairs off the plane and get into a bus like Germany only the airport was like so close we really could have just walked. In fact by the time our crew got off the plane and on the bus the others could probably have walked to the terminal and back again. Krakow is not a very large airport so we were able to fairly easily use the bathroom, collect our suitcases and find the bus we were supposed to get on for Wisla and the hotel.
The bus was pretty nice!! I think it was more comfortable than all the planes I’ve been in this week. Thomas sat by me this time and it was a lot of fun. It was most everyone’s first time in Poland so that made me feel more a part of the group to get to experience something new with everyone instead of being the only newbie in the bunch. :) We oohed and ahhed over the beautiful scenery as we drove through. Although I’d seen photos online and heard about the hotel from another missionary I was still amazed when we got to the hotel. It is one of the biggest hotels I’ve ever seen! I don’t have a lot of pictures of the hotel yet but I hope to get some more soon. The one annoying thing is that GEM told us we shouldn’t drink the tap water but the free bottles of water in our rooms are icky bubbly water. That’s not very satisfying at all when you are thirsty! I’m leaving mine open to see if it will go flat. :P Does it work like that? I figured it’s worth a shot anyway!
Mealtime is apparently going to be quite the experience all week! It’s this extraordinary buffet and I liked everything I put in my mouth. There were “turkey nuggets”, potato dumplings, penne in a white sauce with mushrooms, vegetables, salad, and much much more that I can’t even remember. The dessert spread was just as amazing!! Charles told Emma when she asked to go get some that she should be moderate, and then Amy said “go get one of everything so we can try it all and decide what to get!” Emma being quite literal did just that and came back with two bowls full of a little of everything! We all tasted a bit of this and that and then went back for our own bowls. :D My favorite part was the chocolate mousse complete with dark chocolate curls on top. There were several other very yummy things that I have absolutely no idea what they are because all the signs are in Polish. It was soooo yummy.
There was an opening kind of session tonight that I got to sit in on part of. There is childcare available for all the children down to Audrey and Amy said she hopes for me to be able to attend some of their sessions. We started out with everyone in their classes but as if I was worried about job security the nursery came within ten minutes to get Amy because Audrey (who had been angel ALL DAY after her first little screaming fit that morning) was crying. Amy calmed her down and then brought her to me and I took her out so she could sit in on some of the service. She fussed a tiny bit at the beginning but I talked to her and within moments she was grinning, cooing and even laughing at me. As it got closer to 8 she did get hungry and fussy but I was glad to see she did not scream or become inconsolable with me. Bless their hearts in the nursery but I’m thinking they maybe don’t take care of babies a lot or something. :)
Well breakfast comes early (it starts at 7!) and I think I want to try to get this posted and still get some sleep. I can’t get internet in my room, I have to go to a public area of the hotel which is lame but I guess it’s better than none at all! We’ll see how much I can post the rest of this week as I’m supposed to help with Audrey so that Charles and Amy can do their jobs here at the conference. Charles is the GEM director in France so I think that makes him kind of important. :) The one thing so far that amuses me is while there are a lot of people here for the conference it still seems to have a small church family feel to it because everyone seems to know who I am, even the ones I don’t remember meeting. :D This week should be pretty epic!
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