Daniel and I left Bemidji the morning of January 17th and drove to my grandparents' house in Delano. We loaded up all our luggage into their vehicle and they took us to the airport.
No, this isn't all my luggage. We brought two team suitcases, so Daniel's car was pretty packed.
Our flight left at 7:10 pm, so I had to have a little "supper" before we left - there just happened to be a frozen yogurt bar right next to our gate. I think I got some of the chocolate yogurt and some peanut butter yogurt, and lots of yummy chocolate toppings.
We met Mandi (in the red) and Laura in Minneapolis. Laura was on the team both times I went before. We only had one layover in Amsterdam, which is very nice, though I do like seeing other airports.
By the time we got to Warsaw, I was pretty excited to be back.
The adventures started right away - Ryan (one of the long-term missionaries) and David (a short-termer) met us at the airport to take us on the train back to Radom, but when the train came, it was pretty full. We all went to the first door, and couldn't get on. At the second door, David, Laura, and Mandi managed to squeeze on. The third and fourth door were both no-go's. Ryan found room to jump on at the fifth door, and Daniel and I ran to the sixth, but there was no way we could we were going to fit, and at this point, the train was starting to move. Ryan was watching from the fifth doorway, and when he saw we didn't make it on, he jumped off as the doors were closing on him. This picture is us waiting for the next train, which Ryan thought was in an hour. But it actually came only ten minutes later, and Daniel, Ryan, and I got on with no problem. The ride is about two hours long, and the three of us had a great time talking.
Daniel took the pregnant lady's seat haha.
There aren't any chipmunks in Poland, so I thought I should demonstrate so we could show our class. When we got to Radom, it was about 7:00 pm I think. It was so good to see everyone!! Well, almost everyone - some of the people we didn't see til the next day. On Saturday, we had a team meeting to prepare for our presentations in the schools. I and five of the other short-termers stayed at the Friendship House. The Friendship House is a building that was recently purchased to be renovated to be the headquarters for the homeless ministry that the International Messengers missionaries in Radom head up. It is a work in progress, and it was great to see the work that has already been done. On Sunday after church, the whole team came back to the Friendship House to make sandwiches to be handed out to the homeless that night.
On Sunday night, the younger people on the team went to Tomek and Kasia's apartment for a game night with some of the young people from church. The guy in the blue is Phil, a short-termer from Iowa.
My friend Sara and I - I missed her so much and it was great to see her again. Even though we hadn't been together for two years, it felt like it had barely been a week.
Veronika and I. Veronika is the daughter of Steve and Bernatka Snyder, some of the long-term missionaries we were working with.
Edyta (a lady from the church) gave us a ride home afterward - it was pretty cozy in that back seat!
It snowed almost every day the first week - it was great!! It warmed up and most of it melted the second week though.
Daniel and I did the presentations in the schools together, and they went really well. We talked a lot about what life is like in Minnesota because most of what the students know about America is what they see on TV - a far cry from our lives! We did presentations in the schools Monday-Thursday of the first week.
One day after presentations were done, some of us walked to the new mall to get ice cream!!!
Not that I really need to say it, but it was absolutely delicious.
Bernatka and Veronika
Me, Daniel Snyder (Steve and Bernatka's son), and Phil
After ice cream, we went over to the Snyder's for the evening. This is Veronika and I outside their apartment.
Daniel and a statue in the park. I think it was a famous Polish writer under all that snow.
A beautiful church just down the street from the Friendship House.
Inside the church
What's a presentation on Minnesota without explaining Minnesota nice?
On Thursday after presentations, some of us went ice skating at the rink by the new mall. This is me, Mandi, and Sara on our way.
I was a little shaky at first, but Daniel and Veronika helped me get going.
L-R: Daniel, Magda, Veronika, Sara, and me.
On our way to the Snyder's after skating. L-R: David, Andrzej, Phil, Veronika, Sara, Mandi, me, and Daniel
Phil showing Ardena something on Tim's new ipad. Ardena is from Nebraska.
L-R: Bernatka, Laura, Steve, Sara
L-R: Daniel, me, Tim. Tim is from Nebraska and he was on the team both times I was in Radom before.
Stay tuned for more!!!!
1 comment:
What great pictures! Thanks for sharing about your trip. I can't wait for the next update!
Debbie Johnson
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