Moved In

Nearly four weeks into this new adventure and we're almost completely moved in. Ginger and I were very pleased with the work done during our apartment renovation. You can't beat the cost of labor in Poland. All tolled, I think the labor for six days of tile and flooring work was about $400 US. Nice, huh? It would cost me that much in duct tape alone if I tried to do it myself. The fact that we were able to find an apartment and renovate it in a period of about two weeks is completely of the Lord. That just doesn't happen in Poland. Ginger is now busy making our things fit into 800 sq. feet. The apartment is smaller than we Americans are used to but it is large by Polish standards. Our home in the states is about twice the size, but we honestly dont feel "caged in." I think layout helps, there is a large entryway that gives it an open feeling. I also believe that we Americans don't need as much space as we think to be happy.

What I can't get over is the whole "warm drink" thing here. It's literally culturally unacceptable to serve ice cold drinks. They believe that doing so causes sore throats and colds. Whoever heard of such insanity. The milk here doesn't have the preservatives we have in the States so it is sold at room temperature and can last on the shelf for a month. Imagine waking up in the morning and putting that into your cereal. Talk about cultural barriers. We bought a fridge and got it running last week and the first thing I did was fill some ice trays we brought from the states. Combined the ice with water I let sit in the freezer for half an hour and only one word describes it . . . .OASIS. You can feel the refreshment right now can't you. I think its the little things that keep you sane when you are adjusting to a new culture. All in all, the adjustment hasn't been bad to this point. Living in a smaller town allows you to learn your way around quickly and it allows you to make friends and acquaintances more easily. To this point Ginger and I have found the people here in Siedlce friendly and sympathetic to our plight concerning the language. Thank you for your prayers and don't forget to hug that refreshing glass of a ice water a little closer today.

The Kids Hit Poland

Ginger took the kids to a park here in Siedlce two days ago and they were offering pony rides, as you can see, the kids had a good time. Bradey kept asking for the horse to go faster but to no avail. We are right in the middle of moving into our apartment. The tile work and flooring have been completed and I now have carpel tunnel from putting 10,000 screws into IKEA furniture. Those of you with IKEA furniture know exactly what I'm talking about. Yesterday Kristen and Deb flew back to the states, they were a great help with the kids and with painting in the apartment, they will be missed. We are still hit and miss with email because internet and phone have not yet been installed in our apartment, hopefully that will change in the next few days. As we get settled in this week we hope to connect with many of you back in the states. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers. But admit it, you thought we wouldn't keep our promise of updating the blog weekly, shame on you. OH YEAH---I FORGOT TO TELL YOU---LOOK AT THE TOP PICTURE---IT IS ABOUT 65 DEGREES OUTSIDE---LOOK HOW AUBRIE IS DRESSED AND LOOK HOW THE POLISH BOY IS DRESSED. THIS IS VERY COMMON

Renovations

I've been here in Poland for over a week and a half now and we've been able to knock out several details. The apartment we are renting is in very good condition with the exception of the flooring and the bathroom. We worked out a deal with the landlord where I will pay for the renovation and they will discount our rent for six months. What you see here is the new flooring in our living room. We've run into a snag for flooring the entryway. The concrete is so uneven that they can't guarantee the floor. I guess we're going to find out if you can by quickcrete in Poland?!?

With Poland joining the EU, trade has opened up for them, so many of their skilled laborers are currently in Ireland, Germany, and France. There they can work for much more money. This has made it difficult to find someone to do our renovations. I know some of you are saying "why not do it yourself?" If you are thinking that you should really keep your comments to yourself. Also, if you can't fix it with duct tape--I can't fix it, in addition, labor is extremely cheap. After a week of looking for a tradesman to do the bathroom remodel we had given up hope. However, Wednesday we got a call from a member at the church in Siedlce who had the name of an acquaintance that had just returned from working in Germany. He began the bathroom work on Friday. Ben and I have been very impressed up to this point.

Some of you know that our plan for the last several months has been for me to come to Poland, ahead of the rest of the family, to work on lining up a house, car, etc. . . At best I never thought I'd be able to do what we've done in the last two weeks. I attribute that to your prayers. Ginger and I greatly value your friendship and spiritual support.

On another note, I believe that's two updates in one week, which is how many times we updated our website in a year and a half. So let the skeptics be silenced and in the words of Emeril "BAM!"

Oh No!

Yes, the Stover family has entered the blogosphere. And in the words of Stinky Pete from Toy Story 2, "its a dangerous world out there Woody." I know what you're thinking. . . "yeah, yeah, yeah, you had a website and updated it like twice in two years." Well, Ginger and I feel sooo strongly about keeping you informed that I promise, thats right, I PROMISE that our blog will be updated once a week. And if we fail in this endeavor feel free to send us an email full of Biblical confrontation.