Saturday Afternoon

Partners,

Chesch!!!! We are doing well and have had some nice days here in Hel (Bet you never thought you'd herre me say that). Yesterday was warm and breezy and the kids and Cheryl spent the entire day on the beach with Ewa and Alex while Waldek proceeded to teach me his favorite sport of Windsurfing on the bay up here in Hel. It is a very tough sport. We have had wonderful meals and wonderful conversation with them and tomorrow we head back to Warsaw. we visited Gdansk today as they were off preparing their camper to go into storage so it was a nice family day in Gdansk and Sopot...Pictures to follow later and more updates...Love to you all - Please pray for my Dziadek (Grandfather) as he is still hospitalized with some ever complicating problems..My mom is taking good care of him so please pray for her strength as well...

Gabe, Cheryl & The Kids....

Update From Poland

Ok -- So internet access here in Hel is spotty however we are on and we are having fun in the area and with Waldek, Ewa & Alex. Our drive from Plock was interesting as our rented GPS unit in our less than together van broke the morning we were supposed to depart. We spent an hour trying to reset it and get it working again but because the screen was cracked from the beginning I believe it just could not function anymore -- so enter the wonderful maps provided by Mom and Dziadek....They saved us as we navigated the roads via maps and help from the lord -- 6 hours later we arrived in Hel @ the camp ground where Waldek and Ewa were staying. We checked in and sat down for some dinner with them.  

Wednesday we woke up to rain and clouds again and Waldek and Ewa decided it best to head into the actual town of hel about 30km away and see the city, a maritime museum and take a ferry ride through the bay. It was quite chilly but the kids really enjoyed it. We have taken some beautiful pictures as it is absolutely lush, green, and beautiful here. 

Now it is Thursday around 11am we are here at teh cafe next to the beach, kids are playing on a sandy playground and the weather has turned sunny and warmer (but not Warm)...I would say it is a cool 62 right now and breezy. We have had a few nights of nice conversation with Waldek and Ewa and have enjoyed their enjoyment of planning the next days since they are the resident experts here. Today Waldek wishes me to try windsurfing however it is really really cool and I am not sure we will make it. Tomorrow to Gdansk for some sightseeing while Waldek prepares his camper for storage for the summer as they will not be back for a few months. Sunday it is back to Warsaw for some meetings with schools and on the way a middle ages Teutonic Knights Castle called Malbork....More to come as the days progress and as we have internet access.

Love to you all and thanks for the prayers...

Gabe, Cheryl, Alexxis, Natalie, Payton & Preston...

We've Landed Safe & Sound

Partners,

     We have landed in Poland. Praise our Lord that we are here despite many obstacles along the first 24 hours of our Journey. Our flight into Chicago and transfer was late and we almost missed our flight -- it took 15 minutes to get our stroller out of gate check, then the train that runs between terminals at O'Hare was really slow and it took us 40 min to get to the new terminal just to get stuck in a long security line with 20 minutes until departure. We arrived at the gate 2 minutes after they should have taken off but they were still there and had not left (hmmm..wonder why -- thank Jesus). On the plane we were supposed to be separated by 8 rows and Cheryl was going to be by herself, but again jesus intervened and they had room to put us all together where Cheryl was seated so I was able to help with Preston during the flight. During the 9 hour flight Preston actually slept a great deal of the time despite the bassinet having a 25lb limit and he is 27lbs......We landed on time, got through customs easily and then waited for about 1 hour for our rental company to show up...Once they did we got our van but the cigarette lighter would not work (Not for cigarette use for us, but to power the GPS we so desperately need to get around this country). So for about 1 hour they tried to fix it finally changing some fuses and getting it all set. Off we went driving into Warsaw to Plock (our first destination). After about a 2 hour drive (everything road wise here is under construction and speed limits are low -- Like 40-60Km per hour the whole way -- that is roughly 25-36 mph the whole time. We got here and despite sleeping and very emotional kids we had some polish dinner and off to showers and bed we went. 

Today we head to Hel Peninsula to meet up with Waldek, Ewa and Alex...Looking forward to bonding and having a great time with them for the next few days. Please continue to pray for our safety and that our funds hold out - the airport exchange was horrible and much less than we expected.....God will provide.....Thanks for your prayer - more updates as we have internet access.... Signing off from Plock @ 4:30am Poland time (Yep we are all up already and maybe try to rest for an hour before we take off)....

God Bless,

The Phillips Family 

T MINUS 17 Days.......

POLAND SUMMER 2009


Partners,

In Matthew 4:19 Jesus says "Come follow me."
In our preparation to follow him to Poland where he has called us, we will depart in 18 days (June 22nd) and stay for 14 days (July 7th) to accomplish some very important pre-field goals:.

1) To grow and deepen existing relationships with Polish Nationals in the Business Community.

2) To enculturate the children to Poland (its Culture, People, Food, Language, and History)

3) To visit and pray over schooling options, and housing options.

4) To visit and pray over language schools needed for our first two years of Polish saturation.
Please pray with us that each of these goals would be realized through the power of the Holy Spirit and to HIS glorification

Goal #1 Details - [Growing our relationships]

We arrive on June 23rd @ 14:15 Warsaw time and will be picking up our rental van for the duration of our trip. From there we will be driving 2 hours north to Plock (Where my family is from) to stay the night before meeting up with Waldek & Ewa on June 24th in the town of Hel (another 4 hour drive north), at the tip of the Baltic Sea. We will be spending four days in Hel and the surrounding Gdansk area. This will be a fantastic bonding time for us with them as they will be on holiday and will be far from the fast paced working environment they are used to. Please pray with us for safety, rest, open conversations, and softened hearts.

Goal #2 - [Enculturation]

This trip was designed to provide a taste of each of the 3 major Cultural areas of Poland (from Gdansk and Hel in the north, to the heartland in Warsaw, and to the southern cultural capital of Krakow). Each provides a history, flavor, and architectural view into what makes Poland a thriving nation and a historical wonder. Each area has historical locations we will be visiting (time allowing) to allow Alexxis, Natalie, Payton, and Preston to experience what their new "home" will be like, and that it is not that different or scary. Please pray with us:

1) For Cheryl's back to be completely comfortable and for no issues of stiffness or pain (as long drives and sitting upright in auto chairs can aggravate her condition)

2) That they will absolutely fall in Love with the people, landscape, and history.

3) Our safety to and from these areas driving as Gabe navigates the road system and Polish auto laws.

Goal #3 - [School & Housing]

During June 28th - 30th, and again from July 2nd - 4th we will be in Warsaw visiting the schools that we have been communicating with as options for our children, and viewing housing options in and around the school/ business areas.

We pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in our decisions for the kids future education as well as the future home or flat we are to reside in. That both will be affordable in our support package estimate and that the areas will provide us the opportunity to engage the business community for Christ.

Goal #4 - [Language Acquisition]

Our final goal is to visit some schooling options for our language acquisition. Polish is a very difficult language to learn and we know that the Lord has orchestrated a place for us to study appropriately and effectively to learn fluent Polish. Please pray we find an affordable and flexible solution.

Goal #5 - [Provision]

Praise the lord that HE has raised $1,350 towards the expenses of this vision trip. We ask your prayer and consideration for the other $7,650 to cover all of the necessary expenses to make this vision trip happen. We place our faith in the GREAT PROVIDER and in you, our partners in the Ministry.
Please pray that these funds can be raised prior to the June 22nd date and that new Monthly supporters will also come on board for our eventual full time transition.

Gratefully at 16% Monthly supported

As always we covet your prayers and know that HIS provision is always at the right time and in the right fashion to carry out HIS will.

I will send out two last updates prior to our departure and during our trip we will blog our progress -- so join the feed and stay tuned......

Together in Service for THE Kingdom,

The Phillips Family
Gabe, Cheryl, Alexxis, Natalie, Payton & Preston
WorldVenture Missionaries to Poland