Church in Poland, Pizza, and Shooting Video

            So, today is Sunday, and we have had quite a busy day.

            We got up early this morning to leave for church to ensure that we were there on time. This was especially critical considering Pastor Holland would be preaching. We ate breakfast, and went outside to await our vans. Well, a van eventually showed up. Van. Singular. Yes there was supposed to be two vans. Apparently, the other driver had a problem, and couldn’t be here. So, we all packed into Jerry’s van, Patrick’s car, and the one rented van. (Hey, this is Tyler typing. Bye.)  Continuing after that untimely interruption… We rode into town packed into the various vehicles.

The Church in Nowy Targ

          Check out this panorama I took on location at the church:

Sleepy Doug and two of our translators.

            Once there, we sang several songs, two of which I recognized: How Great Thou Art and Revelation Song. I found it kind of difficult to sing along in English while listening to the song in a foreign language, but you could tell that these people were truly worshipping. Most of us gave a short introduction to the congregation. Jamie’s was my absolute favorite though: “My name is Jamie. I am currently 16 years old. I do not have much to share.”

            Pastor Holland then preached a sermon on Peter’s statement “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This was his first time ever preaching through an interpreter, but he did an exceptional job.

Pastor Holland, and the pastor of the church in Nowy Targ.

            After church, we were invited downstairs for coffee. As we waited for the bus to arrive we tried to decide where to eat lunch. 

Happy Ian

Tyler and Melissa waiting.

Good Pizza

One of our translators knew a good place to eat, so we followed her to a Polish restaurant that (luckily) served pizza. The pizza was delicious although several members of our group were surprised to find their drinks coming in a glass bottle – no refill.

Cheese and "Salami"

            After lunch, we headed back to the hotel. Donovan and several of the Andersens went on a shopping trip to the local Wal-Mart equivalent. I sent my camera with Donovan to take video. More on that below.

            Our dinner this evening included Schnitzel and American French Fries; the ultimate culture clash in terms of meals. After dinner, we rehearsed the Redeemer skit in preparation for tomorrow, and had our nightly share time with the Roma. Pastor Holland spoke on prayer, and the night was concluded with lively music from a couple of Roma musicians.
             Things are going well here, and we look forward to a full day of ministry in Szaflary tomorrow.

*Editor's Note: It is now time for Donovan's take on the events of today. As a slight disclaimer, the factual accuracy of the following is probably drifting closer to the 65% mark. You should be able to tell fact from fiction, with the exception of one thing. Donovan was indeed approached in a Polish supermarket while shooting some footage for me (thanks Donovan). The factual nature of the interrogation that followed, however, can not be confirmed.

Crocs with socks.

(From Donovan) Finishing up day 2 I feel the need to fill in all my fans back home with todays events……First off we attended church today and several of the Roma people came and joined us, Pastor Holland had a wonderful message that was introduced by 6-7 songs and followed by 4-5 more. Pastor Ken would be so proud, but please don’t get any ideas!!! Upon returning to the lodge, myself and a few others wanted to take a trip to the local super market. This is where I was introduced to “the law” “5-0” “smokey” “the man” or as I like to call them the man that screams in polish while I look utterly confused. Let me first say I was innocent and believe it or not IT WAS EZRA’S FAULT!!! See being the good friend that I am, when Ezra said “I don’t feel like going to the store but would you take my camera and film some so I can see what it looks like?” I was more than happy….that soon changed when we found out it is illegal to tape is a store!!!!!! After two very large polish men drug me to a dark room I explained that I was a tourist and helping a friend that could not make it….I pleaded not to take the camera because it meant so much to my dear brother so after several lashes they agreed. The camera was returned safe and sound but for some reason I keep walking into things and have started stuttering a lot a lot a lot……

            On the better side, I have been very impressed with how many of the Roma people remember the members of our team from last year. They have asked about several people that are not here this year. We visited a Holocaust survivor and she asked about Meg Carter. We had a letter from Meg and after the translator read it the lady replied “God Bless Meg”….it was so touching. Later that day as we walked along the road several of the local cattle asked about Ricky Wampler. We replied that he could not come and they carried on about something we could not translate. I think they miss you Ricky but I’m not quite sure…. Well better save some for tomorrow……Love you Chug Bug…Love you too Hot Rod….Keep taking care of mommy!!!!!

The End.

            

First day in Szaflary, and A Report from Donovan

*Editor's Note: It has been a bit of a tradition on this blog to bring on another writer during the mission trips to add color to my allegedly dry and boring prose. Since Claire and Joseph are unable to be with us this year, the lot has fallen to Donovan. His report on the day is near the end of this blog. Not everything he says can be taken as unembellished fact, but it is about 95% true, as near as we can tell.

            So, our first official full day in Poland is over. Again, I’m going to try to keep this short for the sake of time, and rely on the idiom “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Casper, Joseph's piggy-back buddy.

            Our travel was, for the most part, uneventful. Except for Jamie, who was my seatmate on all three flights (why me!?!). Jamie decided it would be a good idea to wear a pillow on his head and a cape around his neck for part of the international flight, and call himself “Pillowman.” He also asked the flight attendant to be his best friend. He still informs me merrily that she agreed. The attendant came by while he had the pillow on his head (roughly 1:00 AM EST) and said in a dry, tired sounding voice, “Still awake I see.”

            Another interesting story from our trip over was the way in which our team managed to convince Melissa that her sister Katie was not coming on this trip. Melissa believed that because Katie had just gotten back from Uganda, she wouldn’t be going on this trip. All the while, Katie quietly packed and raised money. When we got to the airport, Doug skillfully avoided a direct count of suitcases. We proceeded to the check-in kiosk, where Mark and Beth (Katie and Melissa’s mom and dad) checked their whole family in, while Melissa waited in the back. Once we were all checked in, our group, excluding Katie, went through security together. Once through, we congregated behind a partition in the airport, in order to shield Katie from Melissa’s view. Katie then proceeded through security, and avoided us, keeping in contact by cell phone. As soon as the first call to board the plane was made, our group got in line. Once on the plane, Katie followed us in, and took her seat next to Melissa – who was in complete and utter shock. She had not suspected it at all, and had missed all of the red flags that should have been obvious. I’m currently sleeping with my door locked, as she has promised to kill all of us.

Greeting the village

            We had a layover in Washington-Dulles IAD, and had Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I was a bit suspicious at first, even though Tyler tried to convince me of the wonderful goodness these people make. I was however convinced after my bacon cheeseburger.

            We also had a layover in Frankfurt. Once we landed, we had to go through security again. In my humble opinion, those metal detectors were set to an excessively high level of sensitivity, as even the old woman in front of me in sweat pants set it off. The majority of our team received "enhanced" pat-downs. Security also didn’t appreciate my bag filled with cables and electronic devices. Even though Roanoke had no problem with it, the Germans made me dump it out, and send it through the X-ray machine again. They apparently consider shotgun microphones suspicious objects in that part of the world, and sent me into a little room with a metal table in it (not joking by the way). They then swabbed the microphone, and ran the swab through a machine, before releasing me (with my microphone).

Hardcore Ping-Pong

            We made it Krakow uneventfully, and met Jerry Goss (the missionary from the IMB who we coordinate with) and our translators. We then had a lovely bus ride to the hotel, during which the driver almost rear-ended one car, and came close to taking out another one while changing lanes; all of this in a van that had no seatbelts.

            Once we got to the hotel, we unpacked and unwound. After a team meeting, most of our group went immediately to bed. But, because Tyler and I are hardcore American sports fans, we stayed up, and watched some of the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games on Polish TV. We eventually got bored and went to bed because we couldn’t understand the commentary, and Google Translate was having a hard time keeping up.

Lunch, Kielbasa, cheese, and delicious bacon.

            This morning after breakfast, we made our first foray back into the village of Szaflary, where we ministered last year. Our purpose today was to rebuild relationships we had made last year while here.

            We did this through Ping-Pong, soccer, volleyball, a meal, and Bible Study. Donovan also passed out crayons to the kids, along with coloring sheets, and t-shirts with "Franklin Heights" on them.

            This evening, as is our tradition, we had a time of sharing with the believing Roma of Szaflary in an outlying building of our lodge. Pastor Holland preached a short message in which he relayed our team’s calling, which we see in scripture, the support of our church, and the calling of the Holy Spirit. Several people shared their testimonies, including an older Roma man, who was a pastor. He gave a brief history of the Roma people, and then shared the story of his salvation. It was a bit interesting relaying his story, because he spoke the Roma language and only spoke Polish haltingly. At one point, he was going to speak in Roma, a Roma woman was going to translate to Polish, and our Nigerian interpreter Patrick was going to translate from Polish to English. We ended up with the Roma man struggling through his Polish, with Patrick translating to English with occasional help from several of the Roma. This worked well, except for the fact that the Roma who did know Polish couldn’t help but laugh as this man apparently butchered the Polish language; a fact lost on us Americans until later.

The Roma man giving his testimony, with Patrick translating.

            Well, time to wrap things up! Tyler and I just finished watching some Olympic swimming, Ping-Pong, and archery, and I’m ready for bed. I’ll do my best to keep you updated as the days roll on.

 So to add a second aspect to Ezra’s trip I (Donovan) have decided, as I always do, to lend a helping hand. To start off, Sonja your son is not typing this so please don’t freak out over the typos and grammar……..I still love ya.

We started out the day heading to the village in Szarflary to minister to the Roma people. The children have officially been introduced to FHBC’s crazy AWANA commander. Seems that the famous chicken hat is a hit in any language!!!!!

We grilled an authentic Roma lunch for the village including kielbasa sausage, white sausages, cole slaw, and a smoked salty cheese that you lay on the grill to soften and warm. The cheese reminds me of a smoked salty mozzarella that is delicious. ( Sorry Chele) Speaking of the cheese……Doug has talked about it non-stop since last years trip, so after eating his body weight in it today, he may not make it to the village tomorrow. The lady at the lodge was talking about making him stay behind to meet the plumber!!!!!

Now to take a page from Jeff Foxworthy…..You know your from Tennessee when…….a translator that speaks 4 different languages is ask to help you share a testimony and she replies “I will try I have problems understanding your accent” We made it through and I apologized to her for my upbringing.

On a final note Pastor Holland is doing great and is singing Michele’s praises. See when I was leaving Michele put some items in my baggage that I told her I would not need, she replied “someone on your team might need them so take them anyway” so Michele he says “thank you for being a nurse and being ready for anything” and “ tums are just as good as rolaids “. Note: see sentence about what we cooked for lunch if you have any questions.

Well better get to bed, headed to church in the morning to hear Pastor Holland speak and for us to share with the church here. So goodnight and Love you Chug Bug…..Love you Hot Rod…..take care of mommy for me…..

End of a long day.

First day of Traveling: Poland Mission Trip 2012

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update to let you know that we made it safely to Poland. Right now, I’m getting ready to go to bed, as I have had only short naps for the past 28 odd hours. For now, I just want to give you a quick timeline of our travels, interspersed with pictures. So here we go!

Leaving Roanoke Airport

Boeing 747-8i (one of the newest in Lufthansa's fleet) our plane to Frankfurt.

Jamie's Pillowman hat for the plane ride.

Dinner, quite good!

Happy Camper Donovan (we do our best to keep him this way).

Knocked out at the hotel after 21 hours of traveling.

Storms clouds on the horizon.

During planning meeting.

Jerry Goss: The missionary we will be working with this week.

Beautiful end to a long day.

I hope to have some more thorough posts as time allows as we continue on throughout the week. In the meantime, please pray that our ministry in Szflary tomorrow would be effective, and the we would be able to quickly re-form friendships made last year.

Stranded

I wrote the following story as a speech for my CST-100 Public Speaking Class at Virginia Western with Richard Ware.

Stranded

Captain Zee rolled over in his bunk and glanced at the display mounted on his wrist. The display read 06:00, November 26^th of the year, 2630. It had been three long days since his ship had crash-landed on this strange planet. He was extremely cold, but not as cold as he would have expected considering the generators had not worked since they landed. He looked out of his window onto the cold rocky landscape that surrounded his ship. He wondered if this seemingly inhospitable landscape would support life. They would find out soon enough, he thought.

He rolled out of bed and pulled on his flight suit and headed to the command deck to find the rest of the crew. The first person to greet him was, Dev, the ship’s resident electronic genius. “Captain, while you were sleeping, I managed to reverse engineer the cabin’s gas sensors, and orient them to the outside atmosphere. Initial tests indicate that the atmosphere could be hospitable.” From across the room, Dr. Grey looked up from his video game and lamented, “Captain, make him stop! I’ve spent the entire night trying to talk some sense into him. Just because his precious sensors aren’t detecting any gasses that we know are poisonous doesn’t mean that the outside atmosphere is safe. There could be any number of poisonous gases in this atmosphere that we can’t detect for the simple reason that we know nothing about them.”

“He has a good point, Dev.” Said the captain to his friend. Dev started to protest, but was cut off by the entrance of another crewmember. Kat stormed onto the deck in her usual way, throwing the doors open with a bang. “Captain, you’re finally awake! I thought you were going to sleep all day! It’s time to get moving.” “Not so fast, Kat.” Said the captain. “Where are the others?”

“Liv took off as soon as Dev started messing with the gas sensors.”, Kat explained. “She was afraid he was going to make a mistake and kill us all. I think she’s on the other side of the ship taking pictures of the surface.” “And how about Tex?” asked Zee. “No idea.” Replied Kat. “Last time I saw him was at mealtime. He’s probably roaming the ship somewhere, getting into mischief.” “Well, call them both here, we have an important decision to discuss.” said the captain.

Several minutes later, all were assembled on the ship’s command deck, and the captain addressed them. “Crew, now that we have been here several days, we have a decision to make. The food and atmosphere in the ship are running low and we are faced with the decision of whether we should risk entering the surrounding atmosphere. Preliminary tests indicate that there is a possibility that it could be hospitable, but nothing is certain.”

“Well”, said Liv “I think we’re safest inside the ship, where nothing can get to us. While we’re inside, there might be a possibility of repairing the thrusters and getting off this accursed planet, but once we open that door, there’s no going back. You know High Command will not let us back onto Htrae once the atmosphere of the ship has been contaminated.”

“But we have no other option!” Broke in Kat. “If we stay here and can’t get the thrusters working, we have doomed ourselves to a slow death either by starvation or suffocation! I say, better to die quickly if we are to die! Besides, we are all commissioned Adventurers are we not? This could be a great Adventure!”

“I second Kat,” chimed in Tex. “I’m ready for some action!”

Dev then reported a few statistics on the likelihood of repairing the engines, but eventually said “I trust your decision captain.”

Lastly, Dr. Grey, the eternal pessimist of the group, weighed in. “Well, I don’t see that there’s much hope either way. But, Kat is right, we are Adventurers, so I say we might as well go for it.”

The captain pondered all of these words for a minute or so, and then came to a conclusion. Slowly and deliberately he walked over to the door, took hold of the handle, and proclaimed, “IT’S ADVENTURE TIME!”

© 2012 Ezra Richards

An Apple a Day...

I believe that the Macintosh is superior to the Microsoft PC in almost every aspect, but especially those of hardware and software. I have used Macintosh computers for almost three years, and have found them to be the best computer no matter the application. Although often portrayed as the underdog, the Macintosh has now become a leader in the computer industry, both in terms of technology and of innovation. No longer does one have to take a huge risk to switch to the Mac. Despite this, Industry and Academia are just starting to realize the potential of the Macintosh.

In addition to being superior in hardware and software, Macs are also highly rated in customer satisfaction. As John C. Wood observes, “Additionally, we note a finding that we did not encounter in this study. Namely, not one participant in our study was unhappy with their Macintosh computer. On the contrary, all of the individuals were enthusiastic – die-hard – users” (14).

There are many reasons to buy a Mac. First, there's usability and intuitiveness. The Macintosh is designed to be easy to use. In a perfect world, the easier to use system would win out over the competition, but this has not happened with the Macintosh. Instead, most users are stuck with  an operating system that forces them to hit a button labeled “Start” to turn off their computer. Most users have simply accepted this poor design over time, not knowing that there is a better alternative, or simply not willing to leave the comfortable confines of what they know.

Most of the power of the Macintosh lies in it's operating system. OS X (the operating system that Macintosh computers run) is based on a UNIX core. Technology reviewer Jan Ozer finds that, “OS X is equally impressive. Connecting to the Internet via Mindspring or an Ethernet connection was a breeze, and I was able to successfully load and run Microsoft's Office Suite, as well as Final Cut Express and the iLife suite...” In addition to being easy to use, OS X is also very stable. Because the OS is based on UNIX (which has been around since the dawn of the computing age) Macintosh users experience far fewer crashes or program freeze ups than their PC counterparts. The dreaded but often used “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” shortcut, so depended on in Windows, can be forgotten once one begins to use a Macintosh. OS X also offers the welcome advantage of being susceptible to far fewer viruses than the PC, making it a far more dependable and durable machine.

A Macintosh also makes it easier to be creative. Most high end professional video and  image editing software is available only for the Macintosh. The Macintosh has built in tools such as the Digital Color Meter and the system wide color profile settings that were designed specifically with artists in mind. Even the user interface is designed using neutral colors, so as not to affect color perception when an artist is editing images.

So, if the Macintosh offers all of these advantages, why is there not a massive rush to snatch up every Mac available? The PC crowd offers many reasons why the Macintosh is a second rate choice, and most of these arguments can be broken down into two categories: price and compatibility. We'll start with price.

In his buying guide entitled “How To Buy A Pc.”, Brian Kennedy points out, “Most of the world uses PCs, so they're cheaper, have more software and more plug-and-play peripherals.” and “PCs also tend to be less expensive than Macs that have the same features.” Macintosh computers can be expensive when compared to their PC counterparts, but I think a basic principle of economics holds true: “You get what you pay for.” This is the case with the Macintosh. Macintosh computers are known to last longer than their PC counterparts. There are two reasons for the Macintosh's unmatched longevity; the quality of the components and the fact that it contracts fewer viruses. There are ten year old Macintosh computers still selling for two to three hundred dollars, something you will not find in the realm of the PC.

Lastly, and most importantly, compatibility. According to Brian Kennedy “PCs account for more than 85% of the desktop computer world; Macs represent a mere 10%. That's why software developers (especially game companies) make a lot more programs for PCs.” For a long time, major software packages were available only for the PC.  This is one area where PC proponents held the upper hand for a long time, but this in no longer the case. Macintosh users now account for a large enough percentage of users that software developers are giving them quite a bit of consideration. As stated earlier, Microsoft's Office suite can be run natively on the Mac. Every day, more and more work is done through web browsers reducing the need for specialized software. And if that wasn't enough, the Macintosh can even run Microsoft Windows for the ultimate compatibility.

These are the two main reasons for not buying a Mac, and I believe that the other reasons are quickly becoming fewer and less relevant as time passes. David Beckman and David Hirsch also share this belief. They conclude that,

Every few years we nostalgically look at, and sometimes write about, the Macintosh. Invariably, we conclude that most of Macintosh's features are better than conventional Windows, but not so much better as to overcome Windows warts. Things are different now. It used to be difficult to mix a Macintosh into a Windows network. No longer. It is pretty much plug and play. There used to be many must-have programs that only ran on Windows. That is becoming less and less true now.

Keeping all of this in mind, I would recommend a Macintosh to any friend or family member without hesitation. It is the obvious choice for someone seeking an easy to use, yet powerful and stable machine.

Works Cited

Beckman, David, and David Hirsch. "Big Mac Attack." ABA Journal 90.12 (2004): 60-68. Academic     Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

Jordan C. Wood, et al. "Self-Admitted Pretensions Of Mac Users On A Predominantly PC University Campus." Educational Media International 47.1 (2010): 1-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Kennedy, Brian. "How To Buy A Pc." ON Magazine 6.7 (2001): 44. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.

Ozer, Jan. "ESCAPE From Freedom." Emedia -- The Digital Studio Magazine 16.8 (2003): 48. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

We See Genius

  When most people think of a “geek”, a stereotypical image will most likely pop into their head. A lanky, skinny guy, with buck teeth and glasses, walking awkwardly down the hall. He might be wearing plaid pants (held at an abnormal height by suspenders), a striped shirt, and tall socks escaping his tight fitting dress shoes. Geeks are commonly held to be losers with no life. Part of this is due to the way they act. They never go to dances, football games, or parties. Instead, they stay at home and do weird things, like read, study, and program computers. Therefore, the thinking goes, they must not be very interesting or have anything useful to contribute to society. Right?

This stereotypical view is one that is held by my friend Alton Wampler. He said that when he thinks of a geek, he sees someone who “is really obsessed with schoolwork and getting good grades, and doesn't take time to have fun.” He also says that a geek “does a lot of work with computers and stuff that no one really understands.” His description of a typical geek includes glasses, a graphing calculator, and flash drives.

The Wikipedia definition also does a lot to advance this commonly held view. Wikipedia defines a “geek” as “a person obsessed with intellectual pursuits for their own sake, who is also deficient in most other human attributes so as to impair the person's smooth operation within society.”

My view of a geek, however, is much different. Part of this has to do with the fact that I consider myself a geek. I don't wear tight fitting pants or walk around with a graphing calculator in my pocket (those belong in a backpack), but I am still often called a “geek” by my friends. This is mostly because of my interests in academics and computers. I read computer manuals for fun, thus making me very geeky; or so say the people around me. But, although my friends make fun of me, they're very happy they know me when their computer crashes. They know that I can help them, because this is my area of study and expertise.

So, instead of defining a geek as someone “with no life”, I would say that a geek is someone who is extremely dedicated to a particular subject matter that just happens to be perceived as abnormal by the large majority of people. I think geeks are able to separate those things that are important from the things that aren't, and will pursue those things that are most likely to benefit them in the future. A geek is willing to sacrifice his perception by society to do something great.

A good example of this would be Steve Jobs. Perceived by the rest of world as a loser, Jobs dropped out of Reed College during his first semester so that he could “stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting” (Stanford University). One of these was a calligraphy class that would later inspire the beautiful fonts on the Macintosh. Jobs' invention of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, have literally changed the world by making the internet more accessible to people no matter where in the world they are. Although most thought Jobs' obsession with technology was “weird”, he made an impact in the world through his dedication and commitment to something he was passionate about.

Essentially, I believe that being a geek is about being different, and I think that the following poem, entitled “Here's to the Crazy Ones”, sums it up very well.

Here's to the crazy ones

The misfits, the rebels, the trouble makers

the round pegs in the square holes

The ones who see things differently

They're not fond of rules,

and they have no respect for the status quo

You can quote them, disagree with them

glorify or vilify them

About the only thing you can't do

is ignore them

because they change things

They push the human race forward

While some may see them as the crazy ones

We see genius

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world

Are the ones who do

(Apple Inc.)

Works Cited

Apple Inc. Apple Steve Jobs The Crazy Ones – NEVER BEFORE AIRED 1997 YouTube, 01 Feb. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2011

“Geek.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia. Web. 13 Oct. 2011

Stanford University. Steve Jobs' 2005 Commencement Address YouTube, 07 Mar. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2011

Wampler, Alton. Telephone Interview. 22 Oct. 2011

People are People

(This is an essay that I wrote for my ENG-111 class at Virginia Western)

I believe that people are people, no matter how different they may seem at first. I believe that people, no matter where they live, what language they speak, or what their background they possess, ultimately have the same thoughts, feelings, joys, and needs.
This summer, I went on a missions trip to Poland with my church. On this missions trip, I met a variety of people. At first, most of these people seemed radically different from me. They didn't look like me, they spoke a language that was foreign, and they ate strange food. But, during the week we were there, and as our team ate with them, played with them, and talked with them through translators, I made a discovery. Despite our seemingly radical differences, we actually had a lot in common.
One of the most powerful ways of relating our team had was through sports. The majority of the time we were in Poland was spent in a small village called Szaflary. Over the course of the week, we played hours upon hours of soccer (fütból) with the people of that village. During these games, our relationships with the people grew exponentially. At the beginning of the week, when we met on the field, there were awkward handshakes all around. By day number two, handshakes had turned into fist bumps, and by the end of the week, we were sharing brotherly hugs with this group of people that we had just met several days prior. I believe that the joy of sporting and the human need for companionship allowed our team to transcended the language barrier and build meaningful relationships across cultures.
Another way our team connected with the villagers was through music. Music has been called the “Universal Language”, and this proved to be true once again. During our time in Poland, we sang many songs with the people of Szaflary. Some of the songs they sang, we knew the lyrics to, and vice versa. We would sing along with each other when we could, and sit and listen quietly when we couldn't. I cannot describe the incredible sense of connection and community that I felt as I stood singing those worship songs while the person next to me sang along in another language . Once again, the music was something that both our team, and the villagers could understand on a deeper level than language.
Although similar joys are a powerful point of connection, I believe that similar needs connect us all on an even deeper level. Joys may change, but needs do not. Needs such as family, friends, food, and shelter are universal to all people, no matter their position in life. Overall, I believe the greatest need is to have purpose in one's life. I believe I have found that purpose, and it is my desire to use my life to share it with as many people as possible.