My first BIG shopping day!

         Yesterday was my first big grocery shopping day in Krakow. Early that morning, Stephen and I woke up and went to the market. This is a small area that has little vendors who set up with fruits, veggies, cheese, flowers, etc. It is very similar to a famrer’s market. While we were there, we were able to buy three peppers (one green, one yellow, and one red), two Gala apples, two big pears, and a bottle of honey for 20 zl. which is about $6.60. While I was shopping, I started to look through the apples just seeing which ones I wanted. The lady started speaking very fast, very harsh Polish. Thankfully I had Stephen there. I knew she was mad at me, but I did not know why. So after looking at the lady and then back and forth to Stephen, he told me that people do not touch all the fruit here before picking. Apparently the lady had said, “What is wrong with those apples?” I think it would have been a whole lot worse if Stephen had not been there. He has been doing phenominal! It is so much easier having a translator around. After going to the market we walked to the bakery and picked up some breakfast. One apple turnover and one big donut filled with crème, was 3zl. which is about $1.00. It was awesome! I am trying to use the little bit of Polish I have. One time we went to the bakery I practiced what I was going to say: two apple turnovers: “dwa francesco jablko”. I got to the front of the line, said my rehearsed line, and was answered with a lot of Polish I did not recognize. So I looked at Stephen and he was able to translate. It ends up they only had one apple turnover and the rest were cherry.  I am hopefully going to still practice with the Polish I know and end up learning, but it is nice to have Stephen there to fill in the blanks.

After our adventure of shopping together, we met up with some friends who took us to the BIG store here. It is called Tesco and is essentially their version of Wal-Mart. They have groceries, clothes, housewares, etc. I was warned it was going to be overwhelming. So I was trying to prepare myself, but I think in the back of my mind I thought it would be like Wal-Mart. Since I went to Wal-Mart at least once a week if not more, I thought I could handle it without too much trouble. And while I did survive, it was extremely overwhleming. I could not read anything and they did not have familiar brands nor was the store organized in a familiar manner. I did not know where anything was. And the choices, oh my! There were like thirty different kinds of toilet paper. I thought we had a lot of choices in the states but for some reason this store blew me away. Thankfully our friends were able to help us by telling us their favorite brands and types. But before I went on this shopping extravanganza I did not make a detailed list of the types of food things I would need. I did not plan out meals because I was not sure what kinds of meals I could make here or what kind of stuff they had. But with a little bit of patience, a lot of help and prayer, we were able to get a toaster, a fan, a hair dryer, some landry soap, some bath soap, some groceries, some toilet paper, some clorox, a mop, and a few other things. I thought it was going to be very expensive, but it was not that bad. I know in time it will get better and not as overwhleming. In time I will learn how to understand the symbols. I will learn what tastes good and what does not. And I will learn how to plan a little bit better. The funniestafter we did all that shopping (like 2-3 hours worth) that night for dinner I did not have a whole meal to cook. So Stephen and I went to find our local store, Alma. We ended up getting turned around, but found it. We picked up some potatoes and pasta and made our way home.

Some friends here have told me that everything will take longer, be a little harder, and often a lot more stressful. They were right. It takes me longer to cook, plan, and prepare.  Some simple steps that were familiar are not easy here because of small differences. Transportation takes longer because we walk to the bus or tram instead of driving.  Also, the differences in prices here compared to the states is strange.  Some items here are incredibly expensive (mainly electronics, appliances and manufactured items), but other items are cheaper.  There are many difference, but so far I still love it. I love going to market to get fresh fruits and veggies. I love our little bakery. And I love trying to find our way. We have not always been perfect, but we have made it there. I cannot wait to see what other adventures we have. I think I will have to go shopping again on Monday because I only have enough food to cook dinner tonight. Thankfully we are going to a friends on Saturday. I guess Sunday we will get creative.    

Our Journey to Krakow Completed...

       We arrived safely in Krakow exactly when we thought we would. Our long flight over the Atlantic was amazing! We were able to watch some fun and interesting movies, like Fast Five, Midnight in Paris, Water for Elephants, and Kung Fu Panda 2. We were able to eat a great meal. Well Stephen did not eat his, but I ate all of mine and it was good. I had vegetarian pasta, which was noodles with a red sauce that had different veggies in it, salad, bread, and a piece of cake. It was very delicious. We were able to sleep a few hours due to complete exhaustion. When we arrived in Munich, we explored the airport some, had a wonderful breakfast of a muffin and a donut, and then waited for our next flight. This flight was actually more comfortable to me than the previous ones. I was able to sit by the window, which is my favorite, and Stephen was able to sit on the aisle. I slept for thirty amazing minutes and slept better than the Atlantic flight. When we arrived in Krakow, we were blessed to have all of our luggage, six large bags and two carry-ons, arrive as well. We walked through baggage claim and we were met by most of the team here. And it was so great to meet everyone! We then went straight to our apartment. And it is amazing!! We will place a video on our YouTube channel to show you everything. It has been so amazing being here in Krakow. The weather has been gorgeous! It has been sunny with a magnificent breeze and a little bit of warmth! The city is gorgeous! We have been able to take some trips to look around, get some ice cream, and just enjoy where we are.

We have been blessed. I know I am in the honeymoon stage of our adventure, because I love everything! I think everything is amazing!  And I am thrilled to be here!! But I also know that soon winter is coming and the honeymoon stage will probably end.  I am trying to enjoy every minute. Yesterday, we walked to a bakery to buy some bread and some pastries for breakfast. Yesterday, we went into “Old Town” and got some ice cream at a little shop, and Stephen got a Gofry, which is a waffle with whipped cream on top. This morning we had breakfast on our balcony.  Everything here is amazing! I feel so extremely blessed to be here. Our apartment is incredible! Today, we finished organizing and unpacking. We are much closer to feeling settled! I wish you all could be here and we could visit and share this with you. But I hope you enjoy the pictures and videos. Thank you for all of your prayers! Our journey here is just beginning so if you could pray for opportunities for us to meet our neighbors and people in the community that would be great. Thank you and praise God for His providence!!!    

Our Journey So Far..

Last night and early this morning I realized firsthand the impact of spiritual warfare. As Stephen and I prepared to leave, Satan was hitting us with everything he had. He was definitely trying to break us. It all started Friday when we were both stressed beyond measure trying to finish all the last minute items that had to be completed before us leaving: scanning documents, trying to set-up magic jack, emailing, etc. While we worked effortlessly to get everything done, time seemed to be speeding by. Before we knew it, it was 4:30 and we each had somewhere to be at 5:30 and nowhere near ready to leave. I had to mail some packages, and Stephen had to pick up his brother from the bus station. With the help of some loving grandparents and God’s amazing provision, we were able to accomplish both tasks and then meet up for dinner. After dinner is when the battle got really fierce. We were out practicing driving with Stephen’s brother, and while we were in a parking lot, after stalling out, the car would not start. After many attempts, we had to call the grandparents for some assistance. We pushed the car into a spot and left it for the night. After running some errands, we make it home. However, our night was just beginning. For the next five hours we packed, weighed, repacked, and weighed, until at 4:30am when we had all of our bags at the perfect weight. During these five hours, I broke down multiple times. I was so discouraged, so hopeless, so defeated. I was exhausted, but could not sleep. I was overwhelmed, but could not relax. Finally, I had to tell God that I surrendered. I surrendered having it packed just right. I surrendered me having to be the one who packed it. I stepped back, took a forty minute nap, and helped Stephen finish the daunting task. With two hours of sleep, we were awake again. Stephen went to fix the car, and I went to finish packing, cleaning, and getting ready to go. Here is where the story changes, this is where Satan is defeated and God is glorified!

When Stephen went to start the car, it started after the second try! Praise the Lord! From this point on God’s grace, love, and mercy just kept pouring on. We were spared from having to pay a tow truck because Stephen was able to drive the car to get a new battery. We were spared from having to send Jacob back to school empty handed. We were blessed with the ability to get him everything he needed to get back to school. God lovingly gave me the strength needed to pack everything else up, clean the apartment, and prepare for the day on two hours of sleep and nothing to eat. (As some of you may know a BIG miracle for me, due to my charming personality and ability with lack of food and sleep;) With God’s grace we were able to pack, clean, and prepare everything with fifteen minutes to spare. The shuttle was on time, and we had a peaceful drive to the airport. When we walked in the airport, we were met with the beautiful satisfaction of no lines at check-in. Then this is where God blows me away with His provisions! All of our luggage was 49.something or 50.0! Talk about a miracle! We paid exactly what we thought we would have to pay for our luggage. And the person helping us was so kind and helpful. Then as we progressed to security again no lines! Praise God! We were not rushed as we had to unpack computers, pockets, and other odds and ends. We were able to nicely pack them all back and walk on through security. Now we are waiting to board our first flight to Washington. I wanted to write to thank you all for praying, and to show you the power and importance of prayer. Because of your faithfulness and diligence in praying God has given us a renewed strength in some of our physically weakest points. He has provided us with some amazing provisions. He has taken care of everything! He is truly an amazing God worthy of all our praise! And He gave us the blessing of sharing with our shuttle driver. He is a loving God that takes care of His children. I am so glad that Jesus Christ has won the battle and those set against us could not stop us, if God is for us NO ONE can be against us!! Thank you for your faithfulness and support. I will continue to write to let you know of the rest of our journey. We miss you and appreciate you so much!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!

Washington DC

Yesterday, we traveled with our team to Washington DC. We were given assignments to observe, pray, help, and engage internationals. While it was a long day filled with many interesting adventures, it was clearly a day that the Lord was working. One of the biggest ways God spoke to my heart was in the form of answered prayers and personal miracles. We had planned to venture into embassies to try to talk to internationals from the countries our team was planning to travel to. As we are walking down embassy lane, we are seeing all these embassies with tall impenetrable iron gates. They are fortresses of protection for their nationals. As we approach closer, we start strategizing how we are going to try to penetrate those fortresses. In my head, I am thinking this is impossible! But then I start praying as I am walking. I tell God I am sorry for my unbelief. I ask Him to not let my lack of faith hinder anyone in my group. I definitely do not want to be one of the guys telling Joshua and Caleb that we cannot get to the Promise Land because the giants walls and people are too scary. So instead of focusing on the impossible, I start asking God for an open door. I ask Him to show us a person to welcome us. I ask Him to show me a personal miracle that those giant gates mean nothing to Him and the Promise Land is within reach. As we approach the embassy, it has a big, black, iron gate surrounding the premise. But as we walk around to the front some service men are leaving and while the gate is open, we walk right in. As we go in the front door, we explain why we are there and the clerk says they are closed but come on in. So we come in and for the next thirty minutes he tells us about his home country, his favorite foods, holidays, and even his religion. We are blessed with an opportunity to tell him about our beliefs as well. While he was not open to us praying for him, he was very glad we were going to his country because he felt there was a need there. As we left, I was personally amazed at the miracle God revealed to me. By His love and power, we were able to freely walk in, find an open person that we could share with, and learn a lot about an amazing country. I am once again amazed at how personal and amazing God is!! I am so glad to have such a loving, personal, amazing God to call Father. While there was a lot of hopelessness and despair in DC, I know that God is not done with that city. And I am going to try to pray once a month for the city, the people, and the government there. What are some ways that God has amazed you?

I tried to add some pictures from the trip but I had the hardest time trying to get them on blogspot. So I added some to our http://edworthyedition.wordpress.com/ Please feel free to check them out there. 

Remembering

There are a lot of things we remember as children and as adults. There are things we have been told to remember. There are things we want to remember because they are happy memories or monumental occasions in our lives. And then sadly there are events in our lives that are horrible, hard, and drastic that through pain and tears we can never forget. Ten years ago for a lot of people one of those events occurred. Our country was hit with the horrific attack of September 11^th. A day that many families would never forget, because it changed their lives, changed their jobs, or changed their homes. Many perished in the planes, many perished in the buildings, and many perished in an attempt to save others. Our country gathered in homes, churches, and schools to watch as our country was shocked speechless by this heinous terrorist attack. Many remembered exactly what they were wearing, doing, eating, or thinking at that moment in history. To this day, some can still recall the little details of that day. They can recall how God saved them or kept them from work. They can recall the last words they spoke to a loved one that perished. They can even recall the smell of fear, the taste of dust, the sounds of death and panic. The people who lived it that day will probably never forget the horror they faced. Sadly, the rest of the country often easily forgets the way that event brought them back to friends, family, or faith. We don’t take the time to continually praise God for the ways He has blessed us, protected us, saved us, or delivered us from horrible events or dark times in our lives.
This morning in church, we took time to remember some of the ways God has shown His loving hand in our lives. We talked about the ways He saved us or helped us. We tried to take time in remembrance and praise for the awesome God we serve. In the Bible, the Israelites would create a memorial or establish a holiday to remind them about how God provided either in food, health, or life. For generations after generations, some even to this day, they would praise and thank God for the love He demonstrated in their lives. What are some memorials or things you have placed in your life to remember the ways God has demonstrated His love and providence for your life? For me, it has been the way He protected our finances from the purchasing of a home; how he provided finances for Stephen to take the CPA and all the courses with it; how he provided me with the opportunity to have surgery and then have some relief from the pain; how He provided Stephen with the opportunity to pass the CPA the first time through; how He enabled us to be here studying, learning, and preparing for the next great chapter in our life. These are just the BIG events in my life. There are small ones every day that He demonstrates the love He has for me and the way He knows my name. It is extraordinary!! The next step is creating a way to remember all the ways God has blessed us.
We don’t want to live like the Israelites. Just after God blessed them with freedom from slavery, escape from death, and miraculous victory from the army pursuing, they are complaining that there is nothing to eat and they are going to die in the dessert. After God has done so much in their lives to save and provide for them and they cannot even remember or think He will provide again. How often do we do the same in our everyday lives?  We have to create ways to remember all the ways God has provided for us and then in the dark days and hard times we can recall the amazing ways God has been there preparing and helping us all along the way. Do you have any ideas on ways that you can recall the promises and provisions of God? I would love to learn from you. As always thank you so much for your support. I appreciate you taking time to read, respond, and teach me. I hope you have a great week and God shows you amazing things!

Promises from God

Thank you so much for all the prayers last week. We survived contingency training and learned a lot. In my quiet times, I have been reading in Romans. And I have not been able to connect, understand, or relate to all the lectures Paul has been giving. As a result of my inability to comprehend, I have felt very dry and not as connected to the Lord. So I was talking with my accountability partner asking for advice about what I should do when I am in the dark, cold winter of Poland and feeling like I am in the dry, hot desserts in my relationship with the Lord. She gave me some books and ideas. But I was praying and desiring for the Lord to speak to me while I was here and encouraging me that I can thrive here as well as there. And then yesterday He did. I read Romans 8. And I felt God speaking promises straight into my heart and life. I thought I would share some of those promises with you. In Romans 8:31b, 35, 38-39- “If God is for us, who can be against us?...Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardships or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord.” This was a battle cry for my heart. As children of God, God is for us and with that promise follows the knowledge that nothing will succeed against us while we are following Him. And then to read further to know that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God that guides us. These promises spoke directly to my dry heart. They reminded me that God was fighting for us and with us. He is preparing us all for a great work. And in that preparation, sometimes surviving the dry desserts makes us stronger for the dark, rough, turbulent storms that may lie ahead. Some of the storms we might be facing are coming up quick. In seventeen days, we will depart for the amazing journey in Krakow Poland. And just as we see storms in Greenville, SC, we will see storms In Krakow, Poland. During those storms, I am hoping that I will recall some of the promises that God has spoken into my heart. What are some of the promises God has spoken to you? What were some of the ways you tried to remember or live by these promises? I am trying to memorize them and apply them, but I would love to learn from you. So if you have any advice, promises, or methods please share. If you are having trouble commenting and would like to send something more personal, please email me at traciedworthy@gmail.com. As a side note, we are getting our webpage set up. Some stuff is already on it but if you are interested in checking it out it is: http://edworthyedition.wordpress.com/. Eventually we will link this blog to that webpage so that all of our communication will be interlinked. Thank you for all of your support, prayers, and love. If you have anyone who you would like to share or pass our information on to, please do. We love you all!