Home Again

First, I would like to thank everyone who prayed for this trip. I know that God worked through your prayers and that much was, and still is, being accomplished through them. God is faithful to hear our prayers. I would like to briefly go down my original list of prayer requests and give you updates on how your prayers were answered this summer.

• "Pray for financial support." 
• God is faithful. Through you, He provided all of the funds necessary for the trip.  
• "Pray for continued healing for my knee and against other spiritual attacks as the trip gets closer."
• My knee was free from problems during the trip! As a matter of fact, I exercised with some of the PROeM staff throughout my time there. 
• "Pray that God would fulfill His purposes in this trip and that my thoughts, attitudes and actions would demonstrate His glory."
• I had a great time working and playing along side the PROeM staff and campers. By giving the morning devotionals and speaking to the campers in the evening meetings, I felt humbled by the opportunity and gracious that God would use me in such ways. Again it was a really BIG responsibility to give the invitation talk to the campers on Wednesday night - a responsibility that I am honored to have experienced. Several campers came forward to address questions about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  
• "Pray that God would work mightily through PROeM ministries this summer."
• PROeM ministries is in a constant state of growth. Their preschool/elementary school, which is a ministry to the local community, has grown exponentially and now has a waiting list. All of the PROeM camps for this summer are sold out and there are great activities like a zip-line, climbing wall and the river to give the campers an authentic camping experience.  All that, on top of the fact that kids are learning about Jesus in meaningful ways, and turning from the god of tradition to the God of the Bible.
• "Pray for my relationships with the missionaries in Poland, and for my role as an effective representative of Cornerstone Church."
• I had some great discussions with Rafal, a PROeM missionary whom Cornerstone supports. He expressed great appreciation for the Cornerstone Camarillo community group's commitment to his family and the mission in Tomoszow and Lodz. I also had some great discussions with Daniel, the camp director, on the subject of PROeM's projects.  
 

 Thanks again for all your support and prayers for this year's trip to Poland. May God bless you as you continue to serve him.

Coming Home

Chrissy here.  Larry is in the air, on his way home.  His flight lands at 7pm tonight and I'm sure he'd appreciate your prayers for travel mercies.  I'll make sure he posts again here once he's home (probably tomorrow).  :)

Pictures from Wednesday

Here are a couple pictures from Wednesday night, after the invitation message.  These are campers talking about Christ with their counselors.  Such a great sight.

Sharp right hand turn

First of all, I want to thank everyone for praying for the Gospel presentation to the campers last night (Wednesday). I really appreciate all the comments and emails of encouragement. So here are the details. Yesterday (Wednesday) around 1pm, Robert informed me that Rafal could not make it back in time to give the message and so he asked if I would be willing to do this. My first thought was "absolutely not!" This is a "sacred cow." I have only witnessed Polish leaders give this talk in the past. I didn't want to mess this up or appear as the obnoxious American that demanded this honor. After some counsel from Stephanie (an American missionary here) and other Polish leaders, and with much humility, I prepared a talk. The message was on the Prodigal son, how our Father in Heaven desires for our return.  He desires humility and confession: "Father I have sinned against you and heaven". (Luke15:18)  He practices grace (Luke 15:22-24). Toward the end of the talk I started to recite John 3:16 but quickly remembered that this was one of the memory verses for the campers, so I asked them to recite it together. It was amazing to hear God's words flow from so many little ones. I ended with a prayer of confession and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then invited campers to meet their counselors up front if they prayed this prayer. Many of the campers came forward. Praise God. All honor and glory is his.

Just when you think you have it all figured out...

You know you are completely deceiving yourself when you think you have others already figured out. I came to camp this year with the expectation that past opportunities like working in the snack shack, life guarding or working the zip line and climbing wall would be my go-to ice breakers for conversations. God shattered the same old expectations and gave me new and exciting outlets to talk with campers and counselors this year. For example, I have been playing volleyball with a bunch of ten year old girls. Well, it's more like watch the tall funny guy fall in the sand court every time he goes for the ball, but it is here that I have met two campers Ulia and Agata. Both girls attend the language school in Tomasczow. They both love the Lord and love coming to camp every summer. I have also found myself eating with the Northern Irish team at lunch. They have a few on their team who are not believers, but they are seeing that there are Christians out there that back up their talk with a we bit of action. They love saying a "we bit" whenever they can. As for my time with the camp counselors, we are not sitting around drinking coffee or tea and discussing Godly things. No, we are working out every morning this week to something called P90X Insanity. Its more of a time to see who can outlast whom in these workouts, but great conversations have developed from our time together during these mornings. Thank you, God, for keeping my time at camp fresh and new. I have also been leading morning devotionals this week. I discussed living intentionally in the moment with our campers by reading the story of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman. Would you please join me in prayer for our campers tonight? Tonight is the invitation for the campers to make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Would you pray for open hearts and limited distractions for the campers as Rafal gives the message tonight. (Update: Rafal was called away - now I'll be giving the message!)  Thanks again for your support and encouragement.

Love Talk

Yesterday (Monday night), I spoke in the evening meeting on the subject of God's love. Since most of us associate love with family, I started by introducing my family to the campers with a picture of Chrissy, me and the boys. I then talked about how God's love for us is greater than the love we have for our family. I used Romans 5:8 to illustrate God's love for us even as we continue to sin. I showed a picture of David as a messy eater to illustrate this point. I then used Titus 3:4-5 to illustrate that God's love for us is a gift - not something to be earned because of good deeds that we do. I showed a picture of Jonathan eating his foot.

Yes, I know that it's not a righteous thing to eat one's foot, but the campers loved it. I then discussed how we are all fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), and then ended with John 3:16. It is my hope and prayer that the campers are open to the gospel and see their worth and that they are loved by God. Would you please join me in this prayer for the campers? They will get the invitation to make Jesus Christ their Savior this Wednesday.

Mixer Camp

First I want to thank everyone for their prayers for me. After two days, my swollen left hand is getting better. I have been using an anti-itch/cortizone cream on it. Aside from my hand, life here at camp is great. Yesterday (Sunday) we welcomed a team from Belfast, Northern Ireland that have a mix of believing and non-believing college age students.  They will be helping out with activities for the campers. Northern Ireland is home to many Polish immigrants looking for work (who knew?).  This has helped Polskis and Irish to forge a strong relationship, enabling this team to come to Poland and work with Evangelical organizations like PROeM. Since Sunday, I have moved into the upstairs hotel here at camp, a move only a few of you can truly relate to. I was informed by Robert (the camp director) that I will be leading morning devotionals Monday through Friday this week and I will give the evening talk to all the campers on the subject of God's Love tonight.

Please pray for the following:

• Continued healing for my left hand. 
• Rest - still having a hard time with jetlag (I'm writing this at 4:30am). 
• Preparation for morning devotionals and tonight's talk on God's Love 
• Hearts of the unbelievers at camp this week. (The campers as well as a few of the members of the Northern Ireland team.)

Saturday in Krakow

Today I had the opportunity to go to Krakow, the former capital of Poland and one of the few old world cities left intact after WWII. It was a fun filled day. On the 5 hour bus ride I had a chance to talk with two PROeM staffers, Stephanie and Zaba. They shared their heart for children at PROeM's pre-school in Tomasczow, and the growing opportunities to reach out to English Language Learners in the big city of Lodz.

In other news I have one more week here at camp.  Can you please pray for the following needs?
-pray for flexibility and patience on my part. I still do not know the specifics of my roles for the coming week.
-I was stung by a few wasps yesterday. Twice on my neck and once on my left hand. My left hand is very puffy and hurts. Please pray for healing. Medical care is limited here.  All you nurses and doctors out there: should I be concerned?

- We will have a new group of campers and a new support team from Ireland arriving tomorrow. Please pray that God would already be at work in their hearts.

Building Relationships

Eric and Julie are an American couple here working for PROeM. They are quite unique as a couple, because they have been married for nearly a year but have established relationships with PROeM staff that dates back prior to their marriage. To add another layer, they were never together in Poland longer than two moths at the same time. Needless to say they have their own unique relationships here with the PROeM staff. Eric led this morning's devotional out of Psalm 107. Basically the message was "Do we know God through our pursuits?"  Do we know how those who are close to us are doing with their pursuit of God? This perspective challenged me to reevaluate my relationships with other believers, and see that God has given me a greater purpose to pursue others for Christ by asking questions that have eternal impact.That is how Eric and Julie operate with the staff here at camp. As a result, it has encouraged staffers to ask the same questions of Eric and Julie. It is great!  I've seen it in the few short days that I've been here and hope to implement it in my life too.

A Return to Camp

So I made it. Thank you to all who prayed for my travels. Of course the flight was okay, but I missed my family every time I heard an infant cry or a young child get fussy on the plane. Crazy, I know.  Well I'm here and camp life is as I remember it: Mosquitoes, humidity and the mysterious odor from the back of the lodge. It's all here. I met up with the staff last night. My friend Robert will be the director for the next two weeks. Both weeks are "mixer activities" (sports, arts and craft) for elementary age children. He asked that I take a more behind-the-scenes role this week. I'll help out with the climbing wall and the zip line while getting to know the campers. Next week I will be more "present," as Robert put it. Last night (Wednesday) was the invitation night for campers. Praise God, 22 little campers came forward to give their lives to Christ. In previous years, PROeM made Thursday night the "invitation" opportunity. When I asked why they changed it, I learned that they just wanted more time with the campers that did make decisions, to discuss what it means to follow Christ. Please pray that these 22 campers would forge genuine relationships with their counselors and fellow believers so that when they return home they can continue a genuine relationship with Jesus. Thank you and please stay tuned!

Lift-Off

It's July 3, which means today is my departure day!  My flight takes off at 5:55pm from LAX.  Your prayers are much appreciated as I travel.  Hopefully by 10am tomorrow (California time), I'll be safely in Poland.  So today is the long goodbye as I pack and wait to leave for the airport.  While leaving my family is sad, I am looking forward to reconnecting with the PROeM staff and experiencing Poland again.  Also, an update on financial support: I am now only $250 away from my goal of $1900.  THANK YOU!!!  If you'd still like to support me financially, it's not too late.  (See below.)  Thanks for your prayers!  I'll post something again once I arrive and have WIFI.

One more thing: Some of you were having trouble commenting on this page. I think I fixed the problem.  If it still doesn't work, please email me or Chrissy.

Here's how to donate financially:  Send a check payable to PROeM to the address below, and include a note with my name on it.

PROeM Support Ministries

12910 Shelbyville Road, Suite 200

Louisville, KY 40243

The knee is better

Today I went to the doctor for a check up on my knee. Thank you all for your prayers!  Praise God, the doctor believes that the knee is getting better. He has ruled out the torn meniscus that he listed as a possible prognoses. He arrived at this conclusion since there has been a reduction in swelling and my pain level is dropping a lot. My mobility is much improved; I just cannot run any marathons anytime soon.  (Oh well.) He believes that the injury might be related to an injury from the 1980's when I wore out my cartilage playing soccer and created friction in the knee joint. All this to say I have been given the green light to go to Poland, but not to over-do it. Maybe I should fly first class, just to be safe.  Ha ha.  I am so grateful for all of your prayers and support.

Here’s how you can pray right now:

• Pray that the last $450 of my financial support will come in soon.  (See below for how to give.)
• Pray for continued healing for my knee and against other spiritual attacks as the trip gets closer.
• Pray that God would fulfill His purposes in this trip and that my thoughts, attitudes and actions would demonstrate His glory.
• Pray that God would work mightily through PROeM ministries this summer.
• Pray for my relationships with the missionaries in Poland, and for my role as an effective representative of Cornerstone Church.

And here's how to donate financially:

• Send a check payable to PROeM to the address below, and include a note with my name on it. 

PROeM Support Ministries

12910 Shelbyville Road, Suite 200

Louisville, KY 40243

One "bad" step for Soderlund

Here is a personal update. On Wednesday, my second to last day at work, I took a "bad" step and my left knee popped. Being one who has majored in the art of self inflicted injuries with a specialization in knee injuries, I thought I could walk it off, ignore it, get distracted and it would go away. Sadly it did not go away. Today I gave into Chrissy's petitions for me to see a doctor. The jury is out on what the problem really is, but the doctor seems to think it might be a torn meniscus (cartilage). He wants me to come back next week to see if my swelling has gone down and my mobility has improved. If the prognosis is not good, it may necessitate surgery.  If this outside chance becomes a reality, the doctor says my plans for going to Poland may be canceled - news I was not prepared to hear!  Please pray for me and my left knee. I will see the doctor again on Thursday June 21 and I will be sure to update the blog at that time.   In the meantime, let's assume that I will still be able to go to Poland.  I believe God will come through here.

This Summer's Theme is.....

Hi Everyone.  Guess what I just heard?  It's an update from PROeM on this year's camps.  This year's theme is  "Summer of Champions."  It is in line with the Summer Olympics in London and the European Soccer Championships being held in Poland/Ukraine. The Polish translation of the theme is "Lato na Medal" which means something like a summer worthy of a medal -- simply an "awesome" summer. Both these events will dominate the news during the time I am in Poland.

I also promised to give you an update on my support raising.  Thank you to those who have committed to praying for me.  I appreciate your prayers and value that above all else.  Thank you also, to those who have donated financially.  So far, $700 of the $1900 has already come in.  I'm thanking God for that!  Can you please pray with me that the rest would come in soon?  If you were planning to support me financially, could you please do so before the end of this month?  And if you are planning to pray for me, please email me and let me know.

Here’s how you can pray right now:

• Pray that God would fulfill His purposes in this trip and that my thoughts, attitudes and actions would demonstrate His glory.
• Pray that God would work mightily through PROeM ministries this summer. A small group of people run the entire operation. This includes the camping facility (which ministers to over 7,000 people each year), a church in Tomaszow, another imminent church plant in Lodz, and a fully accredited elementary school.
• Pray for my relationships with the missionaries in Poland, and for my role as an effective representative of Cornerstone Church.
• Pray that God would stir up a team of financial supporters. I need to raise $1,900 by June.

And here's how to donate financially:

• Send a check payable to PROeM to the address below, and include a note with my name on it. 

PROeM Support Ministries

12910 Shelbyville Road, Suite 200

Louisville, KY 40243

Thanks, Everyone!!

All By Myself

Yes, you read that right. This time I'll leave Chrissy and the kids behind in California, and head to Poland all by myself. That is, unless you would like to join me! (I'm serious, will you consider it?) Those darling little boys in the picture at your right are just not good travellers right now. Maybe next year they'll all join me.

Please check back soon for updates on prayer and financial support! But before you do that, please prayerfully consider joining me. The trip will change your life and you'll be amazed at what God is doing in Poland. Join me!

We're Home!

Thanks, everyone, for your prayers yesterday. We left Zakosciele at 4:30am, as planned. Both our flights were on time, and logistically everything went according to plan. Our dear friend Thomas picked us up from LAX and took us home, through Friday afternoon traffic. Thank you, Thomas!

The trip was exhausting for all of us. We had a short layover in London, where we had to go through security again. As we took our bags off the conveyor belt, David saw his blanket, pulled it down onto the floor, and lied down on top of it. He was ready to go to sleep, right there amidst the bustle of airport security! We sat in the "bassinet seating" for the long flight from London to LA. While David is still young enough to qualify for the seat, you can see from the pictures below that he's really too big for it now. After he had been awake on the flight for several cranky hours, we asked God to give him just 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Within minutes, he was fast asleep! Then exactly 2 hours later, he woke up! Thank you, Lord.



We got home around 6:45pm last night. Within minutes (5 minutes, max), David and I were both asleep in our respective beds. Wonderful Larry brought in the bags with Thomas and he, too, was asleep shortly thereafter.

On our last day in Poland, we went into Tomoszow to help a little at the preschool and visit the church and elementary school. At the church, David and Kenji found their way into the ballroom:

Later that day, David befriended one of the campers. He followed him around, speaking gibberish to him. Everybody had a role to play during our trip. :)

Coming Home

Here we are, folks, on the eve of our departure. It's 9pm in Poland right now, on Thursday night. We're pretty much packed and ready to go. Our flight departs from Warsaw at 8am tomorrow. Would you please pray for us over the next 24 hours? Here's our schedule:

10:30pm (tonight) - Attend the leaders party, where PROeM will say goodbye to us.
4:30am (Friday) - Leave for Warsaw
8am (Poland time) -Fly from Warsaw to London
12pm (London time) - Fly from London to LAX
3pm (CA time) - Arrive in LA.

Since our travels begin at 7:30pm CA time tonight, would you please pray for us before you go to sleep tonight? By the time you wake up on Friday morning, we will have hopefully made our connection and be on our way over the Atlantic.

We're looking forward to being stateside again. Thank you for your prayers!!!

Tuesday of our last week

It's Tuesday now. We'll leave Poland on Friday, so we're down to our last few days here. In fact, this is the LAST CAMP OF THE SUMMER! I think it's the 7th week of camp here and we can sense the excitement in the air as the leaders and staff enjoy only a few more days of heat, rain, mosquitoes, camp food, cabins and homesick kids. But joking aside, it's been a great summer here, with hundreds of kids coming to know the Lord for the first time. His name has been glorified here in Poland.

What are we doing this week? Not as much as last week! Larry and Kenji are leading the morning devotions for leaders each day; Larry spoke on love in last night's evening session; Heather and Kenji are teaching English during "club" time in the morning; and we're all taking turns standing guard over various locations on the camp. (For example, David and I stand at the swinging bridge, making sure no campers jump off it.)

The best way to escape from the heat is with ice cream from the snack shack:

When we went into Lodz to see the Real Action program, we spent a couple hours at the Manufactura, a large mall. David found his favorite spot quickly:

Tomek has been at the camp all summer, since his parents are PROeM staffers. I think he's had a better time than anyone:

Another ice cream break. Who's having more fun? Sammy (in the foreground), David (in the middle), or Heather? It looks like the local kids were jealous:

David LOVES the hammocks, a new addition to the camp this year:

David and Sammy:


Last week, one of the campers made a "Lary Boy" doll for Larry:

Some of our campers:



Larry, Rafal (PROeM staff), and their boys:

On Saturdays, after the campers leave their cabins, someone needs to go through and collect all the sheets for washing. If you look closely at this pic, you'll see Kenji and Heather, driving a car across the lawn, filled with sheets from the cabins. Nice!

Recovery, Diplomas, Parents and Lodz

It's Friday night now in Poland, and I'm happy to report that today was much better for all of us. Heather, who was struggling with sickness and having trouble sleeping, is on the mend. She also got a full night's sleep last night and she seems like a new person today! David, who was suffering from exhaustion, was up again last night, but took 2 naps today. He's now peacefully sleeping and we're praying he remains that way.

Today was our last day of English classes. (The camp ends tomorrow.) Every camper got a special diploma to confirm that they finished the class. Very cute. I think there should be some sort of Final Exam before diplomas are distributed, but I'm told that takes the fun out of it. Hello, isn't this English camp? But I digress. :) ... Larry has one last talk to give as "Lary Boy." He is doing a GREAT job. It seems a new talk is posted at proem.tv every day, so be sure to keep checking it! His last talk tomorrow is for the parents! I know he's a little nervous. It's one thing to do all that in front of a group of 200 kids (even if it's eventually posted online for the world to see). It's a whole different experience to add parents to the mix!

Right now, Larry, Kenji and Heather are out meeting with Rafal (a dear friend and one of the PROeM staff) to learn more about where PROeM is headed this year. In particular, they are planning a church plant in the city of Lodz, about an hour from here. The church plant and community outreaches that already take place in Tomoszow (the city closest to the camp) have been tremendously successful. Now PROeM is hoping to take the Gospel to Lodz, the second largest city in Poland. (Warsaw is the largest.) They are praying about renting a building that will require very little renovation, and then serving the community next door to it, as they start the church. You may recall that Heather and Kenji were in Lodz during the first week of our trip, serving with Real Action. That was, in many ways, the kick off to this new church plant.

Here's how you can pray right now:

• Please pray for health and rest. As mentioned above and on previous posts, please especially pray for Heather and David.
  
• Please pray for "Lary Boy" as he prepares his final lesson for the campers and their parents.
  
• Please continue to pray for our relationships with the staff here and with each other. Pray that we seize the opportunities we have to connect with people and share our lives. Pray for unity within our team (Larry, Chrissy, David, Kenji, Heather), and that we be filled with the Spirit so that we can display the fruits of the Spirit.
• Please pray that God would bring the Gospel to Lodz, however He wills. Pray for the men and women of PROeM, that they would discern His voice and follow the Lord wherever and however He leads.
  

A Rough Day

Greetings, Friends! We posted a short post this morning, so if you didn't have a chance to read that, please see below. The talent show is now happily behind us. It was, uh, your typical talent show. (The hokey-pokey was mediocre and Larry's kids' skit was, let's say, very creative. They had a lot of neat costumes and props.) Today was a rough day for us Soderlunds because David is, I think, exhausted. He doesn't sleep as much as he needs to here and I think it's catching up to him. We had a long afternoon filled with discontent and typical grumpy 2-year-old behaviors, ending with him losing his lunch. (Sorry, this blogsite has had far too much vomit in in.) He hit the pillow early and we're hoping he can get a full night's sleep tonight. Will you please pray for that right now? (Chances are, you're reading as he sleeps.)

In other news, Larry's first introduction as "Larry Boy" is now up at proem.tv! A few things to notice: (1) The spelling of his name: "Lary Boy." Kids roll their "r's" here and apparently more than one "r" confuses them. Picture them rolling their "r's" indefinitely. Ha! (2) David screaming in the background. He cries every time he sees his daddy on stage. (3) This is his 1st time as "Lary Boy" and he's still finding his character in this episode. Larry isn't thrilled with the idea of us sharing this with everyone, but he does want you to know what we're doing here. He says that future episodes will be better, but I think he does a great job in this one.

Here's how you can pray right now:

• Please pray for Heather. She is sick (with a head cold) and having trouble sleeping. She lost her voice today too.
  
• Please continue to pray for Larry as he prepares his Bible lessons for the rest of the week. He'll speak on Friday morning, and then give a short re-cap for the parents on Saturday.
  
• Please continue to pray for David's rest. Last night he was up again, from 4-6am. His sleep time is usually from 11am to 10pm, California time, so if you think to pray for him in the afternoon, that would be wonderful.
• Praise God for PROeM. I don't know exactly how many kids came forward last night, but there were dozens of them. God is clearly working to spread His Gospel through this organization.
  
• Please continue to pray for our relationships with the staff here and with each other. Pray that we cease the opportunities we have to connect with people and share our lives. Pray for unity within our team (Larry, Chrissy, David, Kenji, Heather), and that we be filled with the Spirit so that we can display the fruits of the Spirit.