Ellie in Poland

We had a much needed Sabbath back in Malenovice with the entire Poland Josiah Venture team, including English Camp and Fala (our Polish JV partner). For one day, we were not allowed to do anything that felt like work, and were encouraged to listen and bask in the voice of the Lord. I'll admit the idea stressed me out at first. In just a couple days, we were supposed to dive into teaching workshops in primary schools in the mornings, then head straight to Fala headquarters and lead worship for the first round of short-term American teams leading English Camps! We had so much to prepare, and we were supposed to take a day to just do nothing? But it wasn't nothing. It was a day to trust that if we made sacred space for God, He would renew our strength and provide for the rest of the crazy week. It was a day to reflect on everything He had done up to that point. It was a time for thankfulness, rest, and security. A time I didn't realize how much I truly needed. ...

Wow wow wow wow WOW! So, I've been in Europe now about 2 weeks, in Poland for one week, and so much has happened already that I hardly know where to start. The first 3 days of the Josiah Venture internship consists of a team-building exercize modeled after the scavenger hunt tv show, The Amazing Race. Without using smartphones, we had to decipher clues, find locations, solve puzzles, complete physical challenges, all competing against 28 other teams of interns who would be serving in various countries this summer. Our team hit a few bumps in the road and ended up finishing in 25th place, but right off the bat we we able to see how we cope with stress, problem solving, and working together as a team to use all of our different strengths and weaknesses towards a common goal. Aside from seeing some pretty incredible sights, my favorite moments were the ones where we prayed together as a team and were able to refocus our attention on why we were there in the first place, and I th...