Today, I continued to volunteer in the classroom, but during my breaks between classes, I was able to work & mingle in the church’s basement where they have made a café for Ukrainian refugess. This is where they are able to get coffee, food, copy government documents, talk with each other, have a clean bathroom, etc.… In short, this church basement has become a safe haven to the Ukrainian Refugees.

It was very chilly today, so many Ukrainians lingered longer than usual. It was warm in the café. There was hot food in the café. There were people that could empathize with them & hear their stories. There were clean bathrooms and people to hold babies so that tired mothers could eat. This café has become such a blessing for many refugees. It’s a place where they can feel known. It’s a place where they can make connections to others. It’s a safe place with food & drink. The Ukrainians have been completely uprooted into a new culture (new language, new foods, new housing, new schools…) without their husbands & older sons. This café has become a place that they can just come and be—even if for a few minutes or hours—this is a place they know will be open each day, available to them, and willing to help them.

Although there is still such unknown in most of their stories, the comfort they feel in the church café reminds me of the security we have in Jesus. HE sustains us when we are weak. HE empathizes when we struggle. HE protects us when we feel abandoned. HE is faithful. HE is available and willing to help us. When our lives don’t go as we plan, HE is working to draw us closer to him. It is HIS wisdom that sees what we cannot see. (Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but The Lord establishes his steps).

Thanks for continued prayers for the Poland church leaders that are working tirelessly to rally around the Ukrainians and for guidance, comfort, and wisdom for the Ukrainian people.

Until next time, 

Emily

Hey everyone! Looks like my photos in my update a few minutes ago didn\'t send the photos. Here they are!

Our team has almost finished with our first week in Poland. We arrived in Krakow on Wednesday afternoon. We were able to explore “Old Town” before crashing for the night. The next morning, we toured Auschwitz & Birkenau Concentration Camps. It was surreal to be there after being fascinated about this time in history throughout middle school, high school, and college. Being there really gives a harsh (but tangible) example/reminder of the how evil humans are apart from God’s grace.

We made it to Warsaw on Thursday & officially started our volunteer work on Friday with an orientation and establishing each of our roles to help out the church. Debbie (Perimeter Church volunteer) and I were assigned to help in the preschool at Pulawska church. The preschool has 5 classes (3year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, and 6-year- old, as well as a Ukrainian class that began only a few months ago). The last Perimeter Church crew that volunteered a few weeks back helped teach the Ukrainian class a little bit of English. Debbie and I get to continue this week with that same task. We have planned lessons to teach them some new English terms for 30 minutes each day. The rest of our time in the preschool will be teaching the Polish classes about America’s Pastime: Baseball. Their teacher said all the children are fascinated with it and want to learn how to play and about the famous American Teams. I am excited to see how a Polish school works & eager to provide some support so that their teachers can (hopefully) have some extra support and rest while we are here.

There are 6 people on the team that are helping Ukrainians by serving meals, cleaning, running the donation center, etc. They have had the chance to hear the stories of these people and their longing to be reunited with their brothers, fathers, husbands in Ukraine sometime soon. Continue to pray that this will happen soon. One woman & her 3 children was reunited at the church last night with her mother (who had been in a bomb shelter and final had some help escaping). Today, we thank God for their reunion.

This morning we got to experience a worship service in the church we are volunteering with. The pastor’s daughter translated the entire service for us. There were 4 baptisms that we witnessed & we were able to participate in communion. They sang Revelation Song in Polish which was really power for me to hear them worship as we worship- just on the other side of the world!

Thanks again for the continued prayers!

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for all your generous donations & prayers for my trip to Poland. I am fully funded with an additional $575 that will go directly to Warsaw, Poland for Ukrainian relief work. THANK YOU! Our team has finished all of our training meetings & are looking forward to the trip that begins on June 14th. One of the Polish partners that Perimeter Church works with is a guy named Nate Berry. Nate and his wife live in Poland. He has recently updated us that they were able to purchase an old hotel to house Ukrainians in Warsaw and will eventually use as part of their church. Most of what they are going to have us do while we are there is fixing up the hotel to make it suitable for the refugees...

Some of those tasks include:

• Create a child day care room, painting, building childcare equipment and outfitting the room 
• Move beds around combining some beds in larger rooms for families and emptying some rooms of beds for things such as childcare rooms, perhaps purchasing and building bunk beds, especially in the short-term missionary rooms. 
• Create welcome baskets for each room which contain: stuffed animal for each kid, toiletries, snacks, bibles in Ukrainian language, etc. 
• Get the kitchen operational with a menu and food supplied
• Start and run a distribution center where refugees can get baby food, clothes and other items. 
• Begin organizing childcare and children’s activities/day camps 

Based on an email sent from Nate in Poland on May 24th, \"Everything listed there (the above tasks) was on a physical level, but the amount of spiritual support Ukrainians and Poles need right now is incredible. People with a heart to come, hear stories, pray, share the gospel, counsel and be sensitive to where the Spirit is leading will be very much needed. Ministry is not all about doing…it is first and foremost about being. Feel free to come and just “be” with us.\"

Pray that their time in Poland is fruitful and productive as we bring support to the Poles that have worked so hard to aid the Ukrianians. As Paul writes in Romans, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” 

Thanks again for your prayers and financial support! I will send more updates once we arrive in Poland.

Emily 

Well, Dad just told me that I was supposed to add this link for people to donate directly to my account. Rookie mistake...

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